Childhood Development News and Research

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Thriving early environments boost brain and cognitive development in children

Researchers have found that environmental supports in the first year of life, termed the thrive factor (T-factor), play a crucial role in brain, cognitive, and socioemotional development in children by age 3, underscoring the importance of quality environments for early childhood development.

19 Mar 2024

Supportive parenting and screen time link maternal depression to child self-control, research finds

The potential association between depression among mothers and behavioral self-regulation.

13 Feb 2024

COVID-19's impact on early education: Retrospective study shows decrease in kindergarten readiness

A new study explored associations between school district early Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) and electronic health records (EHR) data and linked KRA scores with the changes occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

6 Feb 2024

Gut microbiome diversity predicts cognitive function and brain structure in healthy children

Emerging evidence implicates the gut microbiome in cognitive outcomes and neurodevelopmental disorders, but the influence of gut microbial metabolism on typical neurodevelopment has not been explored in detail.

26 Dec 2023

Early childhood education and care enhance language and problem-solving skills, study reveals

A study in the Journal of Early Childhood Research shows that early childhood education and care (ECEC) significantly benefits language development and problem-solving skills in children aged 5 to 23 months, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

4 Dec 2023

Study highlights need for early intervention for behavioral problems

A six-year study that analyzed data from a 25-question screening tool found alarming evidence of unhealthy behavioral trajectories starting as early as age 2 among families affected by low income and other social stressors.

16 Oct 2023

Indoor air pollution from cooking fuels linked to developmental delays in children

Just about everyone knows that cigarette smoke is bad for babies. Should cooking fuels like natural gas, propane and wood be viewed similarly when used indoors?

26 Sep 2023

Study finds link between PFAS exposure and later puberty in children

Children exposed to higher levels of synthetic chemicals in everyday products, such as water-resistant clothes, umbrellas and food packaging, are more likely to mature later during puberty, according to research presented at the 61st Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting in The Hague.

21 Sep 2023

Doctors created a primary care clinic as their former hospital struggled

About a year ago, Valory Wangler, a family medicine doctor, invited a handful of former co-workers to her backyard.

21 Jul 2023

Exposure to tobacco smoke increases the presence of heavy metals in children's saliva, study shows

Secondhand tobacco smoke continues to be a major source of indoor air pollution that causes more than 41,000 nonsmoking adults to die every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

29 Jun 2023

Elucidating the role of the gut-brain-axis in autism

The study investigates the relationship between the gut and the brain in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), identifying microbial profiles and metabolic products associated with ASD phenotypes, dietary patterns, and inflammation. The findings provide insights into the role of the gut-brain axis in ASD and its potential impact on understanding and managing the disorder.

28 Jun 2023

Health experts and multinationals join together to announce the formation of Movement Health Foundation

On the sidelines of the 76th World Health Assembly, Harvard University's Professor of Global Health Systems, Rifat Atun, the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies (CIFS), Microsoft, Roche, and Siemens Healthineers came together to announce the formation of the Movement Health Foundation.

27 May 2023

Low vitamin D levels during pregnancy linked to childhood obesity in boys

Study examines the association between prenatal vitamin D levels and growth and adiposity in late childhood. The results suggest a sex-specific programming effect of early pregnancy vitamin D3 levels on offspring body composition into late childhood observed in boys.

25 Apr 2023

Mother-child microbiota bond: Transmission shapes future health and development

Research discusses the link between the gut microbiome and health, particularly in early life. It explores the acquisition and transmission of early-life microbiota from mother to child and potential interventions for improving health outcomes.

25 Apr 2023

Prenatal alcohol exposure associated with the facial shape of children

Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technology to find a link between alterations in the shape of children's faces and the amount of alcohol their mothers drank, both before becoming pregnant and during pregnancy.

16 Feb 2023

Researchers find link between fungal microbes in infant gut and body-mass index

Researchers in the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) at the University of Calgary in collaboration with the Canadian CHILD Study have found a link between the diversity, or number, of fungal species in the infant gut and the body-mass index (BMI) of infants.

9 Feb 2023

Specific genetic variant linked to early-onset childhood epilepsy discovered

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have discovered a specific genetic variant in SCN1A, the most common genetic epilepsy, that leads to an earlier onset of epilepsy, with clinical features distinct from other epilepsies.

30 Nov 2022

Parental methods to help toddlers sleep are related to the development of a child's temperament

A group of international researchers examined parental methods to help toddlers sleep across 14 cultures and found that these methods are related to the development of a child's temperament.

24 Nov 2022

Babies born below the 25th percentile for birthweight have higher risk of developmental difficulties

Being born below the 25th percentile for birthweight may put a child at risk for developmental difficulties, according to a new study by Abiodun Adanikin of Coventry University, UK, and colleagues, publishing October 11th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine.

11 Oct 2022

Acetaminophen use during pregnancy associated with sleep, attention problems in children

Acetaminophen use during pregnancy is associated with sleep and behavior problems consistent with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a study by Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

4 Oct 2022