Infant and Preschool Learning News

November 7, 2016

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Infants Use Prefrontal Cortex in Learning

Maternal Language Shapes Infants' Cry Melodies

Babies' Spatial Reasoning Predicts Later Math

Latest Headlines

updated 5:06pm EST

'Cultural Learners' in the Cradle

Aug. 10, 2016 — Well before starting to speak, children from a very young age pay higher attention to the information received from native speakers of their language compared to the information received from ... read more

Gender Gaps in Math Persist, With Teachers Underrating Girls' Math Skills

Oct. 27, 2016 — Beginning in early elementary school, boys outperform girls in math – especially among the highest achievers – continuing a troubling pattern found in the late 1990s, finds a new ... read more

New SIDS Research Shows Carbon Dioxide, Inner Ear Damage May Play Important Role

Oct. 25, 2016 — Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) may be linked to the build up of carbon dioxide and existing inner ear damage according to a new study. Experts ... read more

Many Kids Not Ready for Kindergarten

Oct. 25, 2016 — Many children are still learning to control their behavior as they enter kindergarten and may need educational support to develop that critical skill, indicates one of the most conclusive studies to ... read more

General Anesthesia in Young Children Not Associated With Significant Neurological Impairments, Study Suggests

Oct. 18, 2016 — Children who are exposed to general anesthesia from birth to age 2 have developmental testing results in kindergarten that are similar to those of ... read more

Preschoolers Correct Speaking Mistakes Even When Talking to Themselves

Oct. 18, 2016 — One of the differences between adults and preschoolers when it comes to private speech is that adults typically talk to themselves in their heads, while preschoolers talk to themselves aloud, ... read more

The Importance of Loving Care Within Children's Institutions

Oct. 7, 2016 — Nurturing caregiving from a few consistent individuals helps to minimize the potential emotional and mental-health development issues that can arise from spending the early years of a child's life in ... read more

Infants Pay More Attention to Native Speakers

Oct. 5, 2016 — Almost from the moment of birth, human beings are able to distinguish between speakers of their native language and speakers of all other languages. We have a hard-wired preference for our own ... read more

All Work and No Play With Children Make Moms Less Happy Parents

Oct. 4, 2016 — Researchers have used time diary data to find that mothers are less happy than fathers with their parenting duties. Mothers report more stress and greater fatigue than fathers. This experience gap is ... read more

Women With Hearing Loss More Likely to Have Preterm or Low Birth Weight Babies

Sep. 26, 2016 — The first study of birth outcomes in women with hearing loss finds significant differences when compared to women without hearing loss, scientists ... read more

Just One Season Of Playing Football Changes A Child's Brain

Zika: Health Issues Mount As Babies Turn One

Surge In ER Treatment For Soccer Injuries

No Signs of Microcephaly for Baby Born With Zika

Preschoolers' Motor Skill Development Connected to School Readiness

Oct. 13, 2016 — Preschoolers' fine and gross motor skill development is indicative of later performance on two key measures of kindergarten readiness, according to a study. Preschoolers who performed better on ... read more

Opioids May Affect How We Perceive 'Cuteness' of Babies

Sep. 19, 2016 — Opioid dependence -- which includes dependence on drugs such as heroin -- affects how 'cute' we perceive images of children to be, new research shows. As cuteness can trigger caregiving ... read more

Lift-the-Flap Books May Hinder Kids from Learning New Words

Sep. 14, 2016 — Features in non-fiction children’s books such as lift-the-flap may hinder toddlers from learning new words, suggests new ... read more

Research Evaluates Risk Factors for Postpartum Depression in Mothers of Preterm Infants

Sep. 13, 2016 — Postpartum depression is the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth, affecting up to 15 percent of all women within the first three months following delivery. Research has shown that ... read more

Touchscreens May Boost Motor Skills in Toddlers

Sep. 13, 2016 — Does your toddler use a touchscreen tablet? A recent study has shown that early touchscreen use, and in particular actively scrolling the screen, correlates with increased fine motor control in ... read more

Postpartum Psychosis Big Risk for Mothers With Bipolar Disorder

Sep. 9, 2016 — Pregnant women with bipolar disorder and their families and physicians should be aware of a significantly higher risk for developing postpartum psychosis, according to a new review of literature on ... read more

Babies Chew on Subtle Social, Cultural Cues at Mealtime

Sep. 2, 2016 — At the dinner table, babies do a lot more than play with their sippy cups, new research ... read more

Most States Report Medicaid Covers Children's Key Mental Health Services but Gaps Remain

Sep. 1, 2016 — A national study shows an uneven picture of states' use of Medicaid to help families with young children gain access to mental health services. A large number -- as many as 46 states -- use ... read more

Zika Virus Detected in Newborn Until 2 Months After Birth

Aug. 24, 2016 — Researchers outline the case of a baby born with Zika infection in January 2016, who remained infected by the virus even two months and one week after birth. This is the first reported case of ... read more

Infants Develop Early Understanding of Social Nature of Food

Aug. 22, 2016 — A new study finds infants develop expectations about what people prefer to eat, providing early evidence of the social nature through which humans understand ... read more

Fussy Infants Find Food More Rewarding, Putting Them at Higher Risk for Obesity

Aug. 22, 2016 — Babies that seem to get upset more easily and take longer to calm down may be at higher risk for obesity while babies that exhibit more 'cuddliness' and calm down easily are less likely at ... read more

Study Suggests Early Learning in Native Language Can Help English Skills

Aug. 17, 2016 — Spanish-speaking preschoolers experience significant improvements in their English skills when they have a good grasp of Spanish letters and numbers, research indicates. In another study, the ... read more

School Quality, Genetics Play Role in Child’s Reading Ability

Aug. 10, 2016 — Natural smarts can only take a child so far if they are also attending a poor school, according to new educational ... read more

Going the Distance: Babies Reach Farther With Adults Around

Aug. 10, 2016 — Eight-month-old infants are much more likely to reach towards distant toys when an adult is present than when they are by themselves, according to research. The findings suggest that 8-month-olds ... read more

Kindergarteners' Mathematics Success Hinges on Preschool Skills

Aug. 4, 2016 — Researchers have discovered that preschoolers who better process words associated with numbers and understand the quantities associated with these words are more likely to have success with math when ... read more

Breastfeeding Associated With Better Brain Development, Neurocognitive Outcomes

July 29, 2016 — A new study, which followed 180 pre-term infants from birth to age seven, found that babies who were fed more breast milk within the first 28 days of life had had larger volumes of certain regions of ... read more

Newborns With Borderline Thyroid Function at Higher Risk of Poor Neurodevelopmental Outcomes

July 28, 2016 — Babies born with moderately high concentrations of thyroid stimulating hormone have a higher risk of poor educational and development outcomes at school age, a world-first study ... read more

Developmental Differences in Late Preterm Babies May Not Emerge Until After Age Two

July 25, 2016 — Developmental differences in babies born four to six weeks early may not show up until after they turn two, a new study suggests. At age two, late preterm babies were developmentally on track with ... read more

Background Noise May Hinder Toddlers' Ability to Learn Words

July 21, 2016 — A new study of toddlers has found that the presence of background noise in home or at school can make learning new words more difficult for ... read more

Making Parenting a National Priority in U.S.

July 20, 2016 — A new report calls for a new national framework to support struggling parents. Developmental psychologists say the findings emphasize making parenting a national U.S. ... read more

Thursday, October 13, 2016