news 2015

An Oxford University study says children's centres across England have successfully reached out to support vulnerable families in disadvantaged communities, especially in supporting parenting skills and confidence Organised activities, such as 'Stay and Play' sessions where parents and their children played and learned songs, were linked to small but significant reductions in parenting stress, improvements in mothers' health, and better learning environments in the children's own homes.

Reducing toddlers' portion sizes or number of eating occasions could potentially help to target weight gain in later life according to new research from UCL. It is the first study to look at how the appetitive traits of 'food responsiveness' (the urge to eat in response to the sight or smell of appetising food) and 'satiety responsiveness' (sensitivity to internal 'fullness' signals') relate to the eating behaviours of toddlers in an everyday context.

University research shows first-born individuals are up to 20% more likely to develop short-sightedness than later born children A large study led by researchers from the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences has shown that first-born children are more likely to develop myopia - a term otherwise known as short-sightedness - than later born children.

Study shows how dominant parents affect kids' self-worth Children's self-esteem is linked to the behaviour of who is considered the most powerful parent within the household, new University of Sussex research suggests. The study of English and Indian families living in Britain is the first to assess the impact on a child's wellbeing of the household power structures that exist within different cultures.

New research shows beetles that received no care as larvae were less effective at raising a large brood as parents. Males paired with 'low quality' females - those that received no care as larvae - paid the price by dying younger, researchers found. Our experiments show how parental care allows offspring to inherit characteristics of their parents, but non-genetically Rebecca Kilner When a good insect father pairs with a bad mother, he risks being exploited by her for childcare and could bear the ultimate cost by dying young.

A UCL-led lifelong study of people in England, Scotland and Wales has found that those who perceived their parents as more caring and less psychologically controlling during their childhood were likely to be happier and more satisfied throughout their lives. Care from both mother and father were found to be equally important predictors of participants' mental wellbeing through to middle age, although paternal care had a greater association with wellbeing in later life (age 60-64).

Couples who have successfully conceived following fertility treatment need additional antenatal care and support, new research has found. Two per cent of all births in the UK are a result of fertility treatments such as IVF. An increasing body of evidence suggests the needs of these parents are often not adequately addressed, leaving them feeling abandoned in some cases.

Toddlers as young as 16 months old know the difference between pretending and joking Joking and pretending with your child helps them to develop important life skills Children learn from silly behaviour such as pretending a toy chicken is a hat Parents who joke and pretend with their children are teaching them important life skills, research by the University of Sheffield has revealed.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You can change your cookie settings at any time. Otherwise, we'll assume you're OK to continue. Philosophy discussions for ten year olds can boost their reading and maths Encouraging primary school pupils to have philosophical discussions can boost their maths and reading results, according to new research conducted by Durham University.

Researchers from the University of Bristol have investigated what leads to high use of antibiotics for children with coughs and found the motives for their use are complex but centre around children being vulnerable. GPs are responsible for 80 per cent of all antibiotic prescriptions in the UK and nearly half of these are for coughs, despite the fact that their effectiveness in treating coughs has been shown to be limited.

Children who benefit from a good memory are much better at covering up lies, researchers from the University of Sheffield have discovered. Experts found a link between verbal memory and covering up lies following a study which investigated the role of working memory in verbal deception amongst children.

Mothers' and fathers' parenting behaviour is more likely to resemble their own mothers' than their fathers', according to a new study. Researchers filmed 146 mothers and 146 fathers interacting with their young children, and used questionnaires to record their perceptions of the quality of parenting they received.

Measuring the size of a child's head is done routinely worldwide to screen for possible learning or developmental problems but new research suggests that differences within the normal range of measurements are common - and mainly due to human error - and should not unduly concern parents. This new research, based on over 10,000 participants in Children of the 90s study calls into question the practical value of using head measurement as a screening test as it could mean many children undergo unnecessary tests such as MRI scans and referral to specialists.

A study of 500 couples shows that only a fifth (21%) of couples born between 1956 and 1965 in 'conservative West Germany' followed the traditional model of having a stay-at-home mum and a male breadwinner as their children grew up. Oxford University researcher Laura Langner analysed decades of SOEP data gathered by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), in which households were ed on a yearly basis.

Children behave worse in families in which dads feel unsupported, Sussex study finds Children are more likely to display troublesome behaviour in families in which the father feels unsupported by his partner, a new University of Sussex study has revealed. The findings by doctoral researcher Rachel Latham will be presented today, Thursday 7 May 2015, at the annual conference of the British Psychology Society being held in Liverpool.

It's a common dilemma faced by many working parents: your child has a cough or a cold, do you send them to nursery? Researchers from the University of Bristol have, for the first time, investigated the process of decision-making that parents go through when faced with this situation. The research, published in The Journal of Public Health , reports that parents viewed coughs and colds as less serious and not as contagious as sickness and diarrhoea symptoms.

Babies learn best when they are sleepy Daytime naps of 30 minutes or more help infants to retain and remember new behaviours Bedtime stories are invaluable for a child's development Napping helps infants to develop their memory and retain new behaviours they have learnt, a new study from the University of Sheffield has revealed.