A six-country study of children from before to after the pandemic found that most children's health, learning, social development, and wellbeing recovered substantially. Setbacks persisted among children with pre-existing risks, rather than the pandemic alone.
The study highlights the importance of parents' motivational practices in supporting their children's math learning. Parents can play a critical role by encouraging independence, praising effort, and giving children room to explore and struggle with hard problems. By doing so, they can help their children develop motivation and engagem...
Infants learn to help through daily routines with their caregivers, with more helping behavior observed when caregivers model the required action. The study highlights the importance of interactive routines and caregiver-child interaction in shaping early helping behavior.
A study found that the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the development of executive function skills in young children, leading to systemic academic and behavioral challenges. The research, tracking over 3,100 children from age 3 to 11, suggests that supporting executive function may be a key recommendation for pandemic recovery efforts.
A new study found that English-speaking children learn to capitalize words based on their position in a sentence, rather than just memorizing rules. The research suggests that students benefit from spelling exercises that focus on the meaning and structure of sentences, not just individual word spellings.
Researchers found that teens who view their age group positively are more likely to take on family responsibilities and prioritize schoolwork. This positive outlook is linked to improved academic functioning, motivation, and attachment with parents.
Research follows 8,795 Wisconsin children from birth to third grade, finding early foster care placement linked to improved reading skills and lower absenteeism. However, findings also reveal racial disparities, with limited benefits for white children, emphasizing the need for targeted support and resources.
The study found that older children evaluated accommodations as fairer and demonstrated greater understanding of how specific accommodations address specific needs. This may encourage teachers, parents, and service providers to discuss accommodations and promote flexibility, understanding, and acceptance among typically-developing clas...
A new study found that increasing infant-directed singing can improve infant mood and have a positive impact on caregivers' health. Researchers explored the effects of a simple music enrichment program, which encouraged parents to sing more frequently to their babies, on infant mood, stress, sleep quality, and music use.
A longitudinal and multi-country study found that parental warmth during childhood and adolescence predicts positive world beliefs, while other experiences have little impact. The study provides insights into human development across diverse cultural contexts.
A new study explores the development of loophole behavior in children, finding it starts around age 5 and peaks at 7-8. Children use loopholes to avoid trouble and find them amusing, while distinguishing them from compliance and non-compliance.
The Jacobs Foundation has awarded grants to the Society for Research in Child Development and the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development to support early career scholars from Ghana and Colombia. The grants will facilitate high-level training, networking, and collaborative opportunities for these scholars.
A new study explores the significance of student-teacher relationships in promoting children's development during early elementary school years. The research highlights the importance of close and conflict-free relationships between students and teachers, with benefits extending across multiple grade levels.
Research suggests that teaching a finger counting strategy can enhance arithmetic performance in kindergarten-age children, with benefits extending to reducing inequity in math education. The study, which included 328 five- and six-year-olds, showed significant improvements in math skills among trained children who initially did not us...
A study reveals that memories of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns predict declines in psychological well-being among children and adolescents. The research found that adolescent females fared the worst, with memories containing more factual information about COVID-19 predicting more robust declines in mental health.
A new study by researchers tracked how French infants aged four to 12 months use their mother's scent to perceive faces. The ability to perceive faces greatly improves between four and 12 months, with younger infants benefiting the most from the presence of their mother's odor.
Research by the University of Texas at Austin found a 16% overall decrease in infants' speech input during real-world interactions when mothers used their phones. Phone use had stronger effects on speech during specific times of the day, highlighting the importance of parents being aware of their phone use's impact on caregiving.
Children and adolescents are aware of and motivated to address inequalities in the classroom, expecting peers from disadvantaged groups to view unfair treatment negatively. They also desire to rectify these inequalities by selecting a student who has been disadvantaged before.
A new study tracks three generations of family relationships, finding that mothers' empathetic responses to their teenage children can predict the teens' empathetic behavior towards their closest friends. This long-term study highlights the importance of adolescent friendships in developing essential social skills like empathy and supp...
Researchers explore how improving sleep can boost health for adolescents and young adults affected by racism. Sleep-promoting programs have been shown to improve developmental outcomes and disrupt the negative effects of racism on mental health, physical health, and academic outcomes.
Researchers used wearable devices to study the behavior of 3- to 6-year-olds, finding that they modulated their behavior across the school day and self-regulation declined over time. The study suggests that tools like wearable technology can help parents and teachers identify impulsive and inattentive behaviors and develop strategies t...
Research highlights advances in developmental executive functions study from Latin American regions, finding both universality and cultural specificity in EFs development. This contextualized approach fosters effective pathways for supporting children's cognitive and emotional development.
A new report recommends a layered approach to prevent adolescent suicide by focusing on pediatrician offices, schools, and neighborhoods. Universal screenings, safe storage programs, and affirming LGBTQ+ policies can help create protective environments.
Recent research on adolescent stereotypes highlights the importance of avoiding one-size-fits-all assumptions across cultures, instead emphasizing social constructions and cultural variation. The article discusses the findings and their implications for policy and societal change.
A study of Music Together program found increased conversational turns and parent verbal quality in participants, suggesting community-based music programs as a promising population-level intervention for infancy. Future work should include broader populations to generalize results.
A new program, Recipe 4 Success, helps toddlers develop essential self-control skills like paying attention, controlling their bodies, and cooperating with parents. By involving them in cooking activities, toddlers learn to try new foods and improve their eating habits.
A new study examines how youth from Honduras and Nicaragua evaluate moral judgments on acts of physical violence. The findings show that both groups prioritize the well-being of others, but differ in their reasoning, with some forms of violence judged as having protective factors in insecure conditions.
A new study found that children as young as 4-5 years old can avoid and recognize sick faces, while adults are more accurate. The study's findings add to the growing body of knowledge on humans' sensitivity to illness in faces, suggesting a behavioral immune system that improves with age.
A new study examines the effects of minor infraction suspensions on non-disciplined Black and White American adolescents. The research found that witnessing same-race peers' suspensions can lead to more defiant behaviors among non-suspended Black American youth, while White American youth may become more cynical when witnessing racial ...
A recent study analyzed the impact of vulnerable friendships on Chinese adolescents' social networks, finding that befriending a victimized peer can decrease depressive symptoms but increase victimization. Classroom supportive norms play a crucial role in mitigating these effects.
Children begin considering past choices at age 6, influencing their moral judgments of others. As they grow older, they account for choice in judging character behavior.
A new study by researchers at McMaster University examined a child's behavioral, affective, and physiological responses to a speech task. The findings showed that approximately 10% of children may be characterized as temperamentally shy, while 25% may experience shyness as an emotional state in some situations.
A new study finds that children with more autistic traits exhibit shame-like avoidance after transgressions, rather than less guilt and embarrassment, contradicting previous assumptions. This association is not fully explained by lower Theory of Mind abilities.
A study by Princeton University researchers found that children are more likely to know an emotion label when they also know many related valenced words. Parents can support young children's learning of emotion labels by surrounding them with related words, such as
Research shows that parental social support and psychological control significantly impact LGBTQ youth's depressive symptoms. High psychological control, however, was linked with more depressive symptoms in those whose parents did not know their identities.
A new study using longitudinal databases from five countries found almost no evidence that extensive time in early center-based child care causes behavior problems in young children. The results suggest that parents can participate in the workforce without worrying about harm to their children's behavioral development.
A study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that students increasingly rely on dimensional comparisons to define their math and reading abilities. This tendency, present since grade 1, contributes to the formation of specialized academic identities in high school. The findings suggest that students tend to think...
A new study finds that older children are more likely to effectively test surprising claims made by adults, suggesting an increase in skepticism and intentional exploration. As a result, their exploration becomes more targeted and efficient.
A new study found that symbolic counting skills are strongly related to young children's fair sharing behavior. Researchers developed a counting intervention that improved sharing behavior in preschoolers, suggesting that learning to count may be a key factor in developing this social skill.
A new study found that napping can positively affect preschool children's learning of letter-sound mappings and transfer this knowledge to reading unfamiliar words. The research suggests that naps may facilitate the acquisition and application of these fundamental literacy skills.
A new study found that siblings of children with disabilities exhibit greater cognitive empathy, understanding their sibling's thoughts and feelings. This increased empathy is linked to improved social skills and prosocial behavior in these individuals.
A recent study published in Child Development found that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted preschool children's educational development, particularly in motor, language, and logical-mathematical skills. The research highlights the importance of targeted interventions for vulnerable children to mitigate the achievement gap.
A new study examined caregiver-child interaction in the US and Japan, finding that mothers directed their children's attention differently and Japanese children shifted their attention to become more sensitive to contextual background. The research provides insights into the role of social interaction and cultural diversity in cognitiv...
A large-scale study of over 14,000 middle and high school students in the US during COVID-19 found that parent supportiveness was a key factor in predicting depression. The quality of relationships with adults, both at home and at school, was also crucial in protecting against anxiety and other mental health issues.
A new study found that parent praise, especially generic process praise, relates to fluctuations in child persistence during everyday tasks. Children brushed longer on days when parents used more praise and less instruction.
Toddlers increased their use of distraction as a mechanism to calm themselves after observing others. Toddlers also benefited from observing both calm and active distraction strategies, regardless of temperament or play preferences. Observing strangers can help toddlers develop emotional regulation skills.
A new study documents that observable social-communication differences for infants with ASD unfold by 9 months, pointing to a critical window for targeted intervention. Infants with ASD exhibit significantly fewer social and early speech skills than their typically-developing peers at 9 months of age.
Researchers found that infants spend most of their time playing with household objects, suggesting that everyday learning and development occur through spontaneous object interactions. This challenges traditional views of infant behavior as flighty and distractible.
A new study found that teens with secure family relationships at age 14 provide greater empathic support to their close friends across adolescence. They also tend to receive more support from their friends, suggesting a reciprocal relationship between the two.
A new study found that asking early adolescents to evaluate the healthiness of their peers' food choices leads to significantly healthier food selections. The stage of cognitive development also plays a role, with older students benefiting more from this approach.