Children compensate lack of focused concentration through creativity

Study shows that children find their own solutions thanks to broad focus

July 25, 2022

Science Daily/Max Planck Institute for Human Development

Many children have a hard time with tasks requiring concentration, but are often good at discovering hidden 'tricks' to make the task easier. Spontaneous strategy changes help them to achieve this.

Children have a hard time with tasks requiring concentration, but are often good at discovering hidden "tricks" to make the task easier. Spontaneous strategy changes help them to achieve this. The study on learning behavior in children by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin was published in the journal PloS ONE.

Compared to adults, children cannot concentrate as well yet, remember less and have a relatively short attention span. This can be ascribed to the stage of cognitive development. As a result -- as had been assumed so far -- they have a disadvantage when solving tasks. However, a study by the Max Planck Research Group "NeuroCode -- Neural and Computational Basis of Learning, Memory and Decision Making" at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development now shows that this broader attentional focus can also prove to be an advantage: children are good at processing less relevant information and using it to spontaneously find new and creative strategies when solving tasks.

Adults, too, show spontaneous strategy changes when solving tasks, similar to so-called "aha-moments" that make solving a task easier. The journal article shows that while children perform significantly worse when solving tasks using traditional strategies, such as focused attention, they are just as likely as adults to master tasks using spontaneous strategy shifts.

"Our results show that while children are often less focused and more easily distracted than adults, they are surprisingly flexible in discovering entirely new solutions," says psychologist and neuroscientist Nicolas Schuck, group leader of the Max Planck Research Group "NeuroCode" at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development. "Especially considering their not fully developed ability to concentrate, these are important results for researching learning behavior in children," Schuck added.

The study, which has been ongoing since 2013, used the following method to conduct research: 47 children between the ages of 8 and 10 and 39 young adults between the ages of 20 and 35 were asked to perform the same decision-making task. In this task, they were asked to determine the position of a pattern using two possible answers. The color of the pattern was not initially relevant for the correct answer, but began to correlate with the correct answer as the task progressed. If participants noticed this, they were able to solve the task much more efficiently and easily. Participants were not informed that there would be other factors influencing the possible solution strategies and could only identify them independently. The NeuroCode team at MPIB, in collaboration with researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, FernUniversität Hagen, Humbold University Berlin, UNSW Sydney, and PFH Göttingen, found the following results: Compared to the young adults, children generally performed significantly worse in solving the task. They committed more incorrect and premature answers. However, the proportion of children (27.5%) who discovered and used the helpful color strategy was very similar to that of the young adults (28.2%).

As long as children only used the initial strategies and rules available, which required concentration and persistence, they performed worse. However, a similar proportion of children and young adults discovered and used the color rule. Thus, although children performed worse in all areas of cognitive control, an almost equal proportion of them compared to the young adults were able to improve through an "aha moment," and thus gained a similar performance advantage as the adult group.

The newfound knowledge around the "aha moment" is an important finding of the study. "Our findings provide evidence that educators, parents, and teachers should be less insistent on rigid rules by only teaching one concrete way to solve problems, but also value and encourage children's broader attentional focus. Our findings show: We can have more confidence in children's creative problem-solving strategies," says Anika Löwe of the NeuroCode team and co-author of the study.

In the future, she says, in the field of cognitive developmental psychology there should be more research on creative processes rather than on the lack of concentration in children.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220725105704.htm

Healthy sleep habits before kindergarten help children adjust to school

July 21, 2022

Science Daily/Penn State

The transition to kindergarten is a notable milestone for children and families, who typically prepare by gathering school supplies and meeting the teacher. New research suggests that one important way to prepare for the transition to first-time schooling is to develop a bedtime routine in which children consistently get at least 10 hours of sleep at night, which will help them adjust during the transition.

In a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, a team of researchers led by Doug Teti, distinguished professor of human development and family studies, professor of psychology and pediatrics, and head of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, found that in addition to an easier adjustment to kindergarten, children who sleep at least 10 hours during the night on a regular basis demonstrated more success in emotional development, learning engagement, and academic performance across the kindergarten year. This was found after statistically controlling for families' income-to-needs ratios, child health status, and number of missed days of school.

The researchers used a movement-tracking watch to record 220 children's sleep habits for four, week-long periods across the course of their kindergarten year, starting in July-August before the academic year began. They then measured sleep habits of these children again in September, November, and April. Alongside these tracking periods, teachers and staff evaluated the students' adjustments to kindergarten.

"We found that children who had 10 or more hours of sleep per night on a regular basis, particularly before the kindergarten year began, tended to maintain that more optimal sleep pattern across their full kindergarten year," said Teti. "This has significant implications for anyone interested in promoting healthier sleep patterns in children making the transition to first-time schooling; parents should do what they can to help their children regularly get most -- if not all -- of their sleep during night hours before the school year even begins."

With these data, researchers also looked at the regularity with which the children got at least 10 hours of sleep over 24 hours, instead of sleeping only at night. Getting 10 or more hours of sleep over the course of 24 hours did not have any influence on the child's transition to kindergarten. The finding suggests that "making up" for less sleep at night by taking naps during the day does not have great value in helping children make the adjustment to school.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends that kindergarten-aged children should get 10-13 hours of sleep across a 24-hour time period. However, the outcome of this study indicates that, for those children about to start formal schooling, those hours should be concentrated at nighttime to have the most impact on a child's transition to and success in kindergarten.

For families anticipating their child starting kindergarten, Teti suggests setting routines and expectations for healthy sleep hygiene even before school starts.

"Sleep hygiene is the habits we adopt that influence how we sleep," said Teti. "Good sleep hygiene for children should include organized and consistent bedtime routines, limited screen access, and a bedtime at or before 9 p.m."

Teti recommends avoiding screen time, including TVs, video games, and tablets, at least 30 minutes before bedtime. He also recommends being involved and present during children's bedtimes, implementing a consistent calming bedtime routine that helps prepare children for sleep. That routine could include bath time, reading a book, and talking in a quiet environment.

"Good sleep hygiene appears to be just as beneficial for young children as it is for adults. Establishing habits that lead to a good night's sleep before the kindergarten year begins seems to give kids a leg up when making that transition to formal schooling. These are promising results, and we hope to test them further in a future family intervention study."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220721152238.htm

Just half of parents recognize screen time impact on children's eye health

July 18, 2022

Science Daily/Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

In some homes, summer may mean more screen time for kids.

And among concerns that come with children spending more hours on digital devices, video games and televisions -- and less time outdoors -- harm to their eyes.

But just half of parents recognize that screen time has a major impact their child's eye health, suggests the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health at University of Michigan Health.

"Many parents may not be aware of both the short and long-term health issues linked to excessive screen time, including its effect on children's eyes," said Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark.

"Our findings suggest that some parents may have inaccurate perceptions of activities that affect their child's eye health and vision and how to minimize risks."

The nationally-representative report was based on responses from 2,002 parents of children ages 3-18 surveyed in April.

Some experts have pointed to the combination of increased screen time and less time outdoors as factors that may put children at higher risk for developing myopia, or nearsightedness, which can lead to serious eye problems in the future. The rate of nearsightedness in children has increased dramatically in the past 30 years.

Research is ongoing but studies suggest outdoor time protects against myopia.

"Parents should encourage at least one to two hours of outdoor time per day because exposure to natural light benefits eye development," Clark said.

"Parents should enforce family rules to ensure children have a sustained period of non-screen time during the day. This is especially important during summer months when they're off from school and may have less structured downtime."

Some research has also indicated associations between working up close -- like reading or using a tablet -- increasing the odds of myopia.

"It's important time to think about myopia risks for children because kids with this condition often become more nearsighted over time," said Olivia Killeen, M.D., ophthalmologist at U-M Health Kellogg Eye Center who consulted on the report.

"The age of myopia onset is the most significant predictor of severe myopia later in life."

Using eyewear to minimize risks to children's eyes

Another overlooked area of eye health -- protecting little eyes from intense sunlight.

Less than a third of parents polled say wearing sunglasses when outdoors has a major impact on children's vision and eye health, with just two in five having their child wear eyewear when outdoors.

In fact, when children are outdoors, they should wear sunglasses or wide-brimmed hats to decrease the risks of ultraviolet radiation damage, which can contribute to eye problems in older age, Clark says.

"While parents often make sure their children's skin is protected with sunscreen, they may not think about protecting their eyes from the sun as well," Clark said.

Many parents polled also skip steps that help minimize eye injuries during activities that include a risk of objects hitting the child's eye at high speed or force, with less than a third of parents saying their child wears protective glasses or goggles during contact sports.

Clark recommends parents seek advice from their child's health provider for safe and comfortable eyewear for sports like lacrosse, tennis, baseball and softball, and basketball.

However, most parents polled say children and teens wear protective glasses or goggles when doing activities that pose a risk of eye injuries, including working with tools and playing shooting games like Nerf guns or paintball.

After time spent on screens, the most common factors parent identify as impacting children's vision and eye health are reading in poor light, how close children sit to the TV/screen, diet and blue light from screens.

"Some parents may still follow advice from past generations on protecting kids' eyes," Clark said. "Reading in poor light or sitting close to the TV can cause eye fatigue or strain, but they will not do any permanent damage or long-term eye problems."

Less than a third of parents say children wear glasses that block blue light. While the amount of blue light does not damage eyes, it may impact circadian rhythms and make it harder for children to fall asleep. Experts recommend children stop blue light screen use at least one hour before bedtime.

Regular eye checks to detect problems early

Four in five parents report their child has had a vision test during a visit to the pediatrician or family doctor while more than a fourth say kids were tested at school or daycare.

Most parents report their child's health insurance covers the full or partial cost of visits to an eye doctor while 9% say they are not covered and 7% are unsure. Parents who report no coverage for eye doctor visits are less likely than parents with full or partial coverage to say their child has seen an eye doctor in the last two years.

One in seven parents say their child has not had a vision test or seen an eye doctor in the past two years.

"Children should get vision tests at least every two years to make sure eyes are developing properly," Clark said.

"It's important to identify and treat vision problems as early as possible, because undiagnosed issues can lead to serious eye conditions in the future, including permanent vision loss."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220718094521.htm

Adolescents more vulnerable to cannabis addiction but not other mental health risks

July 1, 2022

Science Daily/University College London

Adolescents are over three times more vulnerable to developing a cannabis addiction than adults, but may not be at increased risk of other mental health problems related to the drug, finds a new study led by UCL and King's College London researchers.

The study, published today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found that adolescents who used cannabis were no more likely to have higher levels of subclinical depression or anxiety than adults who use cannabis, nor were they more vulnerable than adult users to the associations with psychotic-like symptoms.

These findings build on a separate study by the same team, published recently in Psychopharmacology that found adolescents were not more vulnerable to associations between chronic cannabis use and cognitive impairment.

Lead author Dr Will Lawn (UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit and Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London) said: "There is a lot of concern about how the developing teenage brain might be more vulnerable to the long-term effects of cannabis, but we did not find evidence to support this general claim.

"Cannabis addiction is a real issue that teenagers should be aware of, as they appear to be much more vulnerable to it than adults.

"On the other hand, the impact that cannabis use has during adolescence on cognitive performance or on depression and anxiety may be weaker than hypothesised.

"But we also replicated previous work that if someone becomes addicted to cannabis, that may increase the severity of subclinical mental health symptoms. Given adolescents are also at a greater risk of experiencing difficulties with mental health than adults, they should be proactively discouraged from regular cannabis use."

The findings in both papers come from the CannTeen study, funded by the Medical Research Council, which is comparing the effects of regular cannabis use among adolescents and adults, while also comparing to age-matched controls (non-users of cannabis), a completely novel design.

The study involved 274 participants, including 76 adolescents (aged 16 and 17) who used cannabis one to seven days per week, alongside similar numbers of adult (aged 26-29) users, and teenage and adult control (comparison) participants, who all answered questions about their cannabis use over the last 12 weeks and responded to questionnaires commonly used to assess symptoms of mental ill health. The cannabis users in the study, on average, used it four times per week. The adolescent and adult users were also carefully matched on gender, ethnicity, and type and strength of cannabis.

The researchers found that adolescent cannabis users were three and a half times as likely to develop severe 'cannabis use disorder' (addiction) than adult users, a finding which is in line with previous evidence using different study designs. Cannabis use disorder is defined by symptoms such as, among others: cravings; cannabis use contributing to failures in school or work; heightened tolerance; withdrawal; interpersonal problems caused by or exacerbated by cannabis use; or intending to cut back without success. The researchers found that 50% of the teenage cannabis users studied have six or more cannabis use disorder symptoms, qualifying as severe cannabis use disorder.

Among people of any age, previous studies have found that roughly 9-22% of people who try the drug develop cannabis use disorder, and that risk is higher for people who tried it at a younger age. The increased risk of cannabis addiction during adolescence has now been robustly replicated.

The researchers say that adolescents might be more vulnerable to cannabis addiction because of factors such as increased disruption to relationships with parents and teachers, a hyper-plastic (malleable) brain and developing endocannabinoid system (the part of the nervous system that THC in cannabis acts upon), and an evolving sense of identity and shifting social life.

Adolescent users were more likely than adult users or adolescent non-users to develop psychotic-like symptoms, but the analysis revealed that this is because all adolescents, and all cannabis users, are more likely to newly develop psychotic-like symptoms, rather than cannabis affecting the teenagers differently to adults. In other words, there was no adolescent vulnerability, as the increased risk of psychotic-like symptoms was an additive effect (of the two already known risk factors for psychotic-like symptoms, cannabis use and adolescent age), rather than an interaction between age and cannabis use. The researchers say this fits in with prior evidence that cannabis use may increase the likelihood of developing a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia, but they warn their study did not investigate the risk of clinical psychosis or schizophrenia.

The researchers found that neither teenage nor adult cannabis users were more likely to develop depressive or anxiety symptoms than non-users. Only the adolescents that have severe cannabis use disorder had worse mental health symptoms, but the researchers caution that the small sample size for this group limits their confidence in this finding.

The separate study published in Psychopharmacology found that cannabis users were no more likely to have impaired working memory or impulsivity. Cannabis users were more likely to have poor verbal memory (remembering things said to you); this effect was the same in adults and teenagers, so again there was no adolescent vulnerability. However, the researchers caution that cannabis use could impact school performance during a key developmental stage of life.

The researchers caution that these findings were cross-sectional (only looking at one time point), and that longitudinal analyses of how their participants changed over time are ongoing.

Senior author Professor Val Curran (UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) said: "Our findings suggest that schools should be teaching pupils more about the risk of addiction to cannabis, which has been neglected in drugs education. Becoming addicted to cannabis is a serious problem in itself, but it can also increase the likelihood of other mental health problems. Teenagers should therefore be informed of their greater risk of addiction."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220701102757.htm

Helping teens channel stress, grow in resilience

July 6, 2022

Science Daily/University of Rochester

The mental health crisis among teens has prompted an urgent quest for preventive interventions. Researchers believe they have one. As the team explains in a recent study, the 30-minute online training module teaches teenagers to channel their stress responses away from something negative that needs to be feared and tamped down towards recognizing those responses -- sweaty palms, a racing heart, for example -- as a positive driving force.

Adolescents today are more stressed than ever, exhibiting record levels of stress-related mental health problems. Of course, there are plenty of reasons for teens to worry. A global pandemic. War in Europe. Mass shootings, economic insecurity, and staggering college costs in the US.

Add to that the pernicious effects of the 24/7 exposure to social media. Teenagers' psychological well-being, much more so than for other age groups, is affected by how they think their social environment -- peers, teachers, parents, coaches -- perceive and judge them.

"We receive an endless stream of likes, dislikes, and comments via social media, which makes for a constant state of social evaluation," says Jeremy Jamieson, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Rochester. "That's probably one of the most damaging things we've seen for adolescents."

The mental health crisis among teens has prompted an urgent quest for preventive interventions. Jamieson, who heads up Rochester's Social Stress Lab, and colleagues at the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, and the Google Empathy Lab, believe they have one.

As the team explains in a recent study in the journal Nature, the 30-minute online training module teaches teenagers to channel their stress responses away from something negative that needs to be feared and tamped down towards recognizing those responses -- sweaty palms, a racing heart, for example -- as a positive driving force.

The intervention works by helping teens develop what the researchers call two "synergistic mindsets."

The first is a growth mindset -- the idea that people's intelligence can be developed in response to challenges, which helps the teenagers engage with difficult stressors. It's "basically the belief that intellectual ability is not fixed but can be developed with effort, effective strategies, and support from others," Jamieson says. "It's the idea that if I push myself, I can grow, I can learn, I can improve, and I can push through difficulties."

The second is a stress-can-be-enhancing mindset -- the idea that people's stress responses are not harmful but instead can fuel a person's performance by helping them persevere and take on difficult challenges. Sweaty palms, a racing heart, and deeper breathing, for example, are physiological changes that "mobilize energy and deliver oxygenated blood to the brain and tissues," says Jamieson.

How does the 'synergistic mindsets intervention' work?

The researchers showed over the course of six double-blind, randomized experiments, conducted in both laboratory and field settings with a total of 4,291 young people (students in grades 8-12 and college undergraduates), that their intervention improved the participants' stress-linked health outcomes, such as their biological responses, psychological well-being, anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 lockdowns, as well as their academic performance.

One of the experiments took place at a rigorous, urban public charter high school where 95 percent of students are Black, African-American or Hispanic/Latinx, and nearly all students (99 percent) come from low-income families. The researchers chose this population because students facing the combination of socioeconomic disadvantages and high academic standards are likely to face chronic, daily stressors, which have the potential to elicit negative stress responses.

The team observed striking results in the most demanding STEM courses where the intervention led to a 63 percent pass rate among students in the synergistic mindsets intervention group, compared to just a 47 percent pass rate for students in the control group.

Here's some of what the researchers taught the teenagers during the intervention

• High school is a time when experiences of difficulty, struggle, and frustration offer opportunities for personal growth.

• The stress that your body feels when you face those experiences is preparing you to learn from challenges.

• People who understand that the brain changes with learning and that the body's stress response facilitates learning are better prepared to address the demands of high school.

• As you approach difficult challenges more often, things that used to be hard begin to feel easier. When something feels really difficult your brain learns how to respond more effectively.

Findings

The data showed that the synergistic mindsets intervention

• Improved physiological responses to stress, including increased delivery of oxygenated blood to the brain and body, and caused a faster return to the body's homeostasis after a challenging event

• Improved psychological well-being (people felt liked, powerful, satisfied, good about themselves, had higher self-esteem, and didn't feel rejected, insecure, or disconnected)

• Reduced negative self-regard, an internalizing symptom that can lead to depression

• Increased academic achievement (measured in pass rates for core classes)

• Decreased anxiety symptoms

"Because mindset interventions like the one we tested could be delivered cost-effectively in national or regional scale-up studies, our research links insights about people's affect regulation with the discovery of actionable intervention methods that might be able to produce real and lasting change for a large group of people," says study coauthor David Yaeger, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, who is an expert on adolescent development and well-being.

The team notes that their intervention applies to growth-promotive stressors, such as formal schooling, the acquisition of new skills, or social evaluative contexts. They caution, however, that this kind of approach would not be suitable for addressing trauma, abuse, or structural inequalities.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220706153053.htm

Depression in fathers and children linked, regardless of genetic relatedness

July 6, 2022

Science Daily/Penn State

Adolescent depression and behavior problems are on the rise and paternal depression may be contributing to this increase, regardless of whether the fathers and children are genetically related, according to new research from Penn State and Michigan State.

"A lot of research focuses on depression within biologically related families," said Jenae Neiderhiser, Social Science Research Institute cofunded faculty member and distinguished professor of psychology and human development and family studies at Penn State. "Now more information is becoming available for adoptive families and blended families."

The researchers looked at naturally occurring variations in genetic relatedness between parents and their adolescent children in the 720 families participating in the Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development (NEAD) study, with over half of those families containing a child-rearing stepparent.

Mothers, fathers and children each answered questions to measure symptoms of depression, behaviors and parent-child conflict. The researchers then examined the association between paternal depression symptoms and child behavioral symptoms in a series of models.

Neiderhiser and Alex Burt, professor of clinical science at Michigan State, along with their colleagues found paternal depression was associated with adolescent depression and adolescent behavior problems regardless of whether the fathers and their children were genetically related.

"The results pointed squarely to the environmental transmission of depression and behaviors between fathers and children," said Burt, who has been collaborating on projects with Neiderhiser since the early 2000s "Additionally, we continued to see these associations in a subset of 'blended' families in which the father was biologically related to one participating child but not to the other, which was an important confirmation of our results. We also found that much of this effect appeared to be a function of parent-child conflict. These kinds of findings add to the evidence that parent-child conflict plays a role as an environmental predictor of adolescent behaviors."

According to Neiderhiser, while the results were expected, they also thought the effects on children's behavior and depression would be greater in parent-child pairs who were genetically related.

"It would be great to do more studies on step and blended families," she said. "They tend to be an underutilized natural experiment we could learn more from to help us disentangle the impacts of environmental factors and genetics on families."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220706153059.htm

Helping babies to sleep more

June 29, 2022

Science Daily/Penn State

Over the last decade, researchers and staff working on Penn State's INSIGHT study have trained new mothers in skills that -- among other things -- help newborns sleep more during the night. New research from Penn State's Center for Childhood Obesity Research (CCOR) shows that second children in these families also slept longer.

New parents often want infants to sleep because the parents are tired, but sleep is critical to health and development. The researchers in CCOR study sleep because it affects whether children develop obesity. Sleep also affects a child's capacity for emotional regulation and cognitive development. What is more, research shows that sleep deprived parents are more likely to develop depression and be involved in traffic accidents. Infant sleep can be important for the whole family's health and well-being.

Responsive parenting

The INSIGHT study -- an acronym for intervention nurses start infants growing on healthy trajectories -- began in 2012 with CCOR researchers training 279 mothers of first-born infants in responsive parenting practices. Responsive parenting involves responding to children in a timely, sensitive, and age-appropriate manner, based on the child's presenting needs.

In INSIGHT, the mothers were taught how to respond to infant behavior states like fussiness, alertness (feeding and interactive play), drowsiness, and sleeping. The training included several specific recommendations about bedtime routines and responding to nighttime waking.

Children in the INSIGHT intervention group slept longer each night and were more likely to soothe themselves to sleep than children in the control group. Significantly, these children also had lower body mass indices (BMIs) for the first three years of their lives.

Understanding 'spillover' effects

As the INSIGHT study progressed, it led the investigators to explore whether the training also affected children who were later born into INSIGHT families.

"Many parents say things like, 'Oh, I did everything right with my first child, and then I had no time for the others,'" explained Emily Hohman, assistant research professor in CCOR. "So, in order to understand whether the effects of INSIGHT spill over to other siblings, we launched a new study where we do not provide any training or intervention for parents or children. We just track information about second-born children in families where mothers received the INSIGHT training for their first-born."

Hohman led a team of researchers who examined data from 117 mothers from the original INSIGHT study who were having a second child, about half of whom had received the responsive parenting training with their firstborn child. The team used a brief questionnaire to assess second-born children's sleep behavior and duration when the children were three, 16, and 52 weeks old.

In a recent publication in the journal Pediatrics, the researchers demonstrated that second-born children in INSIGHT families slept an average of 40 minutes longer per night than second-born children in the control group. The second-born INSIGHT children also slept more than 50 minutes longer per 24-hour period, had earlier bedtimes in early life, and were more likely to fall asleep in under 15 minutes.

This is not the first study that has shown that the effects of INSIGHT spilled over to second-born children. Other studies have demonstrated that second-born children in INSIGHT families have lower body-mass indices (BMIs) as infants than children in the control group. Additionally, parental feeding practices and infants' dietary intake were healthier than those of children from control group families.

How parents can promote better sleep for their infants (and themselves)

The INSIGHT study trained mothers, but responsive parenting skills are useful for anyone who provides care to children. At bedtime, responsive parenting involves establishing healthy routines, responding to children according to their development and needs, and teaching children to soothe themselves as much as possible.

For parents who do not know anything about responsive parenting, Hohman recommends starting by establishing a bedtime. "People sometimes think that if they keep their babies awake with them later at night, then the baby will sleep later. But the research shows that early establishment of a bedtime between seven and eight o'clock will help babies sleep longer," said Hohman.

Once a regular bedtime is established, research indicates that consistent bedtime routines also promote longer sleep. The routine should be soothing and include things like baths and reading, while avoiding overly stimulating activities like rowdy play. The routine will help the child prepare for sleep. Additionally, infants who are not yet rolling over can be swaddled to increase their sense of calm.

To help children learn to soothe themselves to sleep, parents are encouraged to put their children to bed while they are drowsy but still awake. Self-soothing is a valuable skill, and the sooner children learn it, the better they and their parents will sleep.

Nighttime waking is inevitable; newborns and infants wake throughout the night for many reasons, including hunger. This does not mean that feeding should always be a parent's first response when their baby wakes. Hohman and her colleagues encourage parents to use "lighter touch" soothing methods like offering the baby a pacifier, words of reassurance, and gentle touches. More engaged soothing, like holding, rocking and feeding, should only be used if the baby remains distressed or shows signs of hunger.

"No one likes to hear their baby cry, and everyone wants to get back to sleep as soon as possible," said Hohman. "But a baby can only learn to soothe themselves when they are not being soothed by someone else. During the daytime, parents should feel free to use more active soothing strategies like holding or rocking, but these should be used more judiciously at nighttime in order to promote better sleep."

Helping families everywhere

The study results indicate that intervening with first-time parents could be an efficient way to help multiple children in a family.

"Our outcomes suggest that pediatricians may have a new tool to help promote better infant sleeping and prevent unhealthy infant weight gain," Hohman said. "Pediatricians typically have a lot of visits with new families. If those clinicians help new parents build responsive parenting skills, the benefits could extend to the parents, their newborns, and any potential future children in those families."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220629150317.htm

Study shows link between cyberbullying and suicidality in early adolescence

June 27, 2022

Science Daily/Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Researchers found that targets of cyberbullying were more likely to report suicidal thoughts and attempts, above and beyond offline bullying.

Young adolescents who are targets of cyberbullying are more likely to report suicidal thoughts and attempts, an association that goes above and beyond the link between suicidality and traditional offline bullying, according to new research from the Lifespan Brain Institute (LiBI) of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania. The findings were published today in JAMA Network Open.

"At a time when young adolescents are spending more time online than ever before, this study underscores the negative impact that bullying in the virtual space can have on its targets," said senior author Ran Barzilay, MD, PhD, an assistant professor at LiBI. "Given these results, it may be prudent for primary care providers to screen for cyberbullying routinely in the same way that they might screen for other suicide risk factors like depression. Educators and parents should also be aware of the substantial stress bullying in the cyberworld places on young adolescents."

Suicide rates among children have been steadily rising. According to the CDC, suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 24 in 2018. The factors contributing to suicidality in children and adolescents are not fully understood, but research has shown that environmental stressors play a role. Traditional bullying and peer victimization are well established suicide risk factors among youth.

In modern times, and particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, a substantial proportion of peer interaction, including bullying, occurs online, through text messages or social media platforms. However, prior to this study, it was not clear whether being a target of cyberbullying is an independent risk factor for suicidality.

To better understand whether cyberbullying is unique in its association with suicidality in early adolescence, the researchers collaborated with Anat Brunstein Klomek, PhD at Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology at Reichman University in Israel. Together, the researchers analyzed data collected between July 2018 and January 2021 from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study (ABCD Study), a diverse sample of over 10,000 US children between the ages of 10 and 13.

As part of the ABCD Study, participants filled out a cyberbullying questionnaire, which asked whether they had ever been a target or perpetrator of cyberbullying, defined as "purposefully trying to harm another person or be mean to them online, in texts or group texts, or on social media (like Instagram or Snapchat)." Traditional offline bullying was surveyed through a separate questionnaire, which broke down behavior into three categories: overt aggression, such as threatening or hitting; relational aggression, such as not inviting or leaving someone out; and reputational aggression, such as spreading rumors or gossiping.

To determine suicidality, the researchers examined whether participants reported past or current suicidal thoughts or acts.

Of the 10,414 ABCD Study participants included in the study, 7.6% responded that they had experienced suicidal thoughts or acts, 8.9% reported being targets of cyberbullying, and 0.9% reported cyberbullying others. The authors found that being a target of cyberbullying was associated with suicidality, whereas being a perpetrator of cyberbullying was not. That finding was distinct from traditional offline bullying, where being either a target or perpetrator of bullying is linked with suicidality.

Additionally, the researchers found that being bullied online only partly overlaps with being bullied offline, supporting the notion that cyberbullying is a distinct phenomenon, independent of offline experiences of bullying. This may suggest that adolescents affected by cyberbullying are different from those affected by offline bullying.

"Our findings suggest being a target of cyberbullying is an independent risk factor for youth suicidality," Dr. Barzilay said. "For policy makers wishing to optimize youth suicide prevention efforts, this study should further encourage interventions for those who are being bullied online."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220627124955.htm

Preadolescents exposed to high levels of air pollution in their first years of life display changes in brain connectivity

June 15, 2022

Science Daily/Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)

Higher exposure to air pollution is associated with higher functional brain connectivity among several brain regions in preadolescents, while exposure to traffic noise was not, according to a study led by ISGlobal, an institution supported by "la Caixa" Foundation. The findings also identify the first years of life as the most sensitive period of exposure to air pollution.

Traffic-related air pollution and noise are affecting an increasing number of people worldwide. "We already know that children are particularly vulnerable to the effect of these exposures, because of their immature metabolism and developing brain," says ISGlobal researcher and senior author Mónica Guxens. In fact, several studies by Guxens and others have found an association between exposure to traffic-related air pollution during early childhood and alterations in the brain structure.

In this study, the research team used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to explore whether higher exposure to air pollution or noise could also be associated with possible alterations in brain connectivity (i.e. the way in which different brain regions interact). "The use of MRI has opened up new possibilities in epidemiological research for investigating the structure and the functioning of the brain," says Guxens.

The researchers used data of 2,197 children from the Generation R Study, born between April 2002 and Jan 2006 and living in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Using land use models, they estimated levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx and NO2) and particulate matter (PM) at the participants' homes at different time periods: during pregnancy, from birth to 3 years, from 3 to 6 years, and from 6 years of age to the age at which the MRI scan was performed. Noise levels due to traffic road were estimated using existing noise maps. Between 9 and 12 years of age, the participants were invited to undergo an MRI scan in the resting state (i.e. with no external stimuli).

The findings show that higher exposures to NO2 and PM2.5 absorbance (an indicator of black carbon particles) from birth to 3 years, and to NOx from 3 to 6 years of age were associated with higher functional brain connectivity among several brain regions in the preadolescents. The associations were identified in brain areas predominantly involved in two networks that have strongly opposing functions: the task negative (or "default-mode") network tends to be activated in resting conditions and the task positive network tends to be activated during tasks that demand attention. "We still have to understand the consequences of this increased activity of both networks in resting conditions, but for now we can say that the brain connectivity in children exposed to higher levels of air pollution is different from what we would expect," says Laura Pérez-Crespo, first author of the study.

The period from birth to 3 years was the one with the highest susceptibility to air pollution, and black carbon was the pollutant most associated with brain connectivity changes. As the authors note, the main source of black carbon and nitrogen oxide gases in European cities are diesel vehicles. Noise exposure at home was not associated with differences in brain connectivity, even though several studies show that noise affects cognitive development in children.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220615113249.htm

Whole-body learning can boost children's letter sound recognition -- the first step toward reading

Children who move while learning sounds of letters significantly improve their ability to recognize individual letter sounds

June 8, 2022

Science Daily/University of Copenhagen - Faculty of Science

Children who move while learning sounds of letters significantly improve their ability to recognize individual letter sounds. This is the conclusion of a new study conducted by the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports and Denmark's National Centre for Reading, in collaboration with 10 Copenhagen area school classes.

Reading is a complex and crucial skill that impacts the ability of youth to perform as students, across social contexts and in their eventual working lives. Therefore, it is important to develop reading skills during childhood.

Children get twice as good with difficult letter sounds

Now, a team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Denmark's National Centre for Reading has focused on whether whole-body learning in instruction, known as embodied learning, has a positive impact on children's ability to learn letter sounds.

"Our research demonstrated that children who used their whole body to shape the sounds of letters became twice as proficient at letter sounds that are more difficult to learn compared to those who received traditional instruction," says PhD student Linn Damsgaard of UCPH's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports.

With regards to difficult letter sounds, she adds, "There are many difficult letter sounds in Danish and these sounds are particularly important, because once children become proficient at them, it has already been shown that they will be better readers."

The project included 149 children, 5 -- 6 years old, who had just started school. They were divided into three groups: one that stood up and used their whole body to shape letter sounds; a seated group that shaped letter sounds with their hands and arms; and a control group that received traditional, seated instruction during which they wrote letters out by hand.

The study also demonstrated that students who shaped difficult letter sounds with hand movements while seated also had a greater increase in proficiency than the control group.

Giving beginner readers the best start possible 

Associate Professor Jacob Wienecke of UCPH's Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports led the study and explains the project's background:

"The overarching goal is to learn more about which methods can be used to give beginner readers a good start. The idea is that if, through play and movement, we can reach children where they are and where their strengths truly lie -- and we can create a form of learning that combines reading with play -- then that's truly positive."

Previously, the researchers demonstrated that the children felt more motivated by teaching methods which incorporated physical movement. Associate Professor Jacob Wienecke hopes this will provide an opportunity to inspire teachers and school managers to prioritise movement across subjects.

The study also investigated whether a direct effect of embodied learning could be found through children's reading of individual words. This was not possible, which may be due, among other things, to the fact that the children were at such an early stage of their literacy development that they could not yet transfer their knowledge of letter sounds to reading words. Or, as PhD student Linn Damsgaard describes it: "Just because you learn the notes and sounds of a flute, doesn't make you a master."

The study is the first in the world to examine the effect of linking whole-body movement to the learning of letters and their sounds. It is published in Educational Psychology Review as: Effects of Eight Weeks with Embodied Learning on 5-6 Years Old Danish Children's Pre-reading Skills and Word Reading Skills: The PLAYMORE Project, DK.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220608091403.htm