As the new year dawns, parents likely turn their thoughts to their child and new beginnings they may experience as they enter an early childhood education and care centre or preschool.
- By Becky Parry
In the build up to Christmas, I’m sure there’ll be many parents who have guiltily allowed their children extra screen time so cards get written and presents wrapped.
Our children feel things deeply, including surprise, delight, disgust, anger, frustration, revenge, jealousy, and enthusiasm. They often don’t even have the words to communicate their feelings, which is why they sometimes act them out inappropriately, but once they learn...
Matt Cox knew he would be criticized when he forced his 10-year-old daughter to walk 5 miles to school in 36-degree weather as her punishment for being suspended from the school bus twice for bullying.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is often overlooked and understudied. Caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, it is sometimes referred to as an “invisible disorder.”
- By Jim Davies
Santa here. I know this season has been hard. Your eight-year-old looked at you baldfaced and said I wasn’t real. How can this be? Is the innocence and magic already gone?
- By Jared Wadley
Improvisational theater training can reduce fearfulness and anxiety among teens struggling with social interactions, according to a new study.
- By James Urton
When school begins later, teens get more snooze time—and grades and attendance improve, a new study shows.
Both the Santa story and consumer culture promote the ideal of wish-fulfilment, but parents can model adaptability and a healthy understanding of limitations by supporting children through disappointment
Shopping for a new high-tech gift for the child in your life this holiday season? It’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the options. Bright boxes, colorful apps and cute plastic robots will promise that learning outcomes will improve if your child plays with x, y or z.
- By Paige Davis
Psychologists first became interested in imaginary friends in the early 19th century because they feared they could be a sign of emotional unstability or psychological problems in children.
As early as the fifth century, the Greek philosopher Thucydides contrasted the self-control and stoicism of Spartans with the more indulgent and free-thinking citizens of Athens.
Multiple hormones produced by the mother, placenta and the fetus drive and coordinate the amazing biological changes and development of the baby that occur with conception, fetal growth and birth.
- By Laura Bailey
Don’t force an unremorseful kid to apologize until they’re truly sorry, new research suggests. The point of an apology—to express remorse and repair relationships—is lost because children may dislike the apologizer even more after the insincere apology than before.
Maternal and child health in Australia, like most countries, has traditionally focused on health during pregnancy and in the early years of life. But this approach may be missing a key opportunity to improve pregnancy and birth outcomes.
- By Amanda Henry
Women often wonder what the “right” length of time is after giving birth before getting pregnant again. A recent Canadian study suggests 12-18 months between pregnancies is ideal for most women.
- By Kim Eckart
New research shows how intensive instruction changes brain circuitry in struggling readers.
Research suggests children can be reliably diagnosed with autism before the age of two. It also shows that many of the behavioural symptoms of autism are present before the age of one.
Over the past three decades, there has been a steady increase in the average age of parents. Advances in fertility science mean that people can, literally, put their eggs or sperm on ice and delay the start of parenthood.
An investigative report by the BBC recently found that the number of antidepressants prescribed to children in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland has risen 24% over the past three years.
Healthy sleep leads to healthy brains. Neuroscientists have gotten that message out. But parents, doctors and educators alike have struggled to identify what to do to improve sleep. Some have called for delaying school start times or limiting screentime before bed to achieve academic, health and even economic gains.
Good emotional health as a child lays the foundation for good life satisfaction in adulthood. However, in the UK children and young people’s happiness with their life is now at its lowest since 2010.
It seems impossible, right? We have been taught from the time we were young that babies are made when a sperm and an egg come together, and the DNA from these two cells combine to make a unique individual with half the DNA from the mother and half from the father.