Children exposed to elevated levels of air pollution may be more likely to have poor inhibitory control during late childhood and poor academic skills in early adolescence, including spelling, reading comprehension, and math skills. Difficulty with inhibition in late childhood was found to be a precursor to later air pollution-related academic problems. Interventions that target…

How people work out the meanings of new words has been revealed by researchers, who say this is similar to the way in which young children learn language. The researchers said: »A lot of what infants hear is »who’s a lovely baby yes you are now where’s teddy gone oh look here is teddy». How…

Summer holiday school catch-up programs to address gaps in knowledge after school closures need to support children who are still struggling due to social isolation. Findings from their study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, focused on the connections between loneliness, social contact, parental relationships, and the mental health of adolescents aged 11-16 during…

The positive effects of a rich home learning environment during a child’s early years continue into adolescence and help improve test scores later in life, according to a new study. This research shows pre-schoolers whose parents regularly read and talked about books with them scored better on math tests at age 12. The study, lead…

An adolescent’s day can be filled with a dizzying array of digital technologies. For many teenagers, being online is a way to pass the time and communicate with friends. Cell phones and social media can also help teens cope with stressful events — as long as they strike the right balance between spending time online…

More frequent exposure to air pollution spikes were associated with reduced test scores for third graders in Salt Lake County. Schools with a higher proportion of students of color and from households experiencing poverty were exposed to more peak pollution days than were schools serving middle- to upper- class and predominately white students. The results…

Implementing school-based programs aimed at teaching healthy cardiovascular health habits as early as preschool can achieve lasting lifestyle changes in children, according to a new review. Previous studies have found that unhealthy lifestyle habits such as a nutritionally poor diet, sedentary lifestyle and smoking, all of which contribute to cardiovascular disease risk, are prevalent among…

Whether children will enjoy academic success can be now predicted at birth, a new study suggests. The study found that parents’ socioeconomic status and children’s inherited DNA differences are powerful predictors of educational achievement. The study, led by the University of York, found that parents’ socioeconomic status and children’s inherited DNA differences are powerful predictors…

Spatial reasoning ability in small children reflects how well they will perform in mathematics later. Researchers recently came to this conclusion, making the case for better cultivation of spatial reasoning. Good math skills open career doors in the natural sciences as well as technical and engineering fields. However, a nationwide study on basic skills conducted…

Children diagnosed with ADHD inconsistently take their prescribed medication, going without treatment 40 per cent of the time, a new study has found. The research, led by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in Archives of Disease in Childhood, shows the average medication coverage, the total time on drug between the first and…