30-May-2025
#Singing to #babies improves their #mood
A new study highlights how singing is a simple yet effective way to support infant well-being.

- may partially explain #evolution of #musicality?

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1085802 #science #childDevelopment #pscyhology #parenting

Adopted and donor-conceived children were way less likely to confound nature and nurture than traditionally-conceived kids (ages 4 to 8).

And this difference wasn’t explained by differences in parents.

Here's the free preprint (otherwise paywalled in Developmental Psychology): https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/3e8rj

Iowa State University: Taking intermittent quizzes reduces achievement gaps and enhances online learning, even in highly distracting environments. “Inserting brief quiz questions into an online lecture can boost learning and may reduce racial achievement gaps, even when students are tuning in remotely in a distracting environment. That’s a main finding of our recent research published in […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/22/iowa-state-university-taking-intermittent-quizzes-reduces-achievement-gaps-and-enhances-online-learning-even-in-highly-distracting-environments/

ABC News (Australia): New media literacy lessons aim to tackle crushing civics results. “The ABC can reveal new lessons about misinformation have been added to the national curriculum to tackle poor civics knowledge. National civics scores show just 28 per cent of Year 10 students and 43 per cent of Year 6 students are proficient in civics.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/22/abc-news-new-media-literacy-lessons-aim-to-tackle-crushing-civics-results/

Harvard Gazette: How young is too young? No such thing, apparently.. “U.S. children aged 8 and younger spend 2½ hours a day on screens, with kids under 2 exceeding an hour each day, according to a recent report from Common Sense Media. It’s data that Michael Rich, an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, finds deeply troubling.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/14/harvard-gazette-how-young-is-too-young-no-such-thing-apparently/

New research uncovers that genes significantly influence when babies take their first steps, offering reassurance to parents about developmental timelines. #ChildDevelopment #Genetics #ParentingInsights

https://geekoo.news/genes-play-a-key-role-in-timing-of-babys-first-steps/

Interesting new paper on #empathy development comparing infants in Uganda and the UK. Starting at 9 months and increasing at 18 months, comforting behaviour was apparent at both sites.

'Results were overall similar at both sites, but we found some site level variation in tendencies to offer comfort spontaneously, with infants in Uganda being more likely to comfort after an explicit cue of need than infants in the UK. Overall, results highlight early onset of empathy development in infancy, with similar developmental trajectories in two sites, despite differences in socio-cultural environment.'

#anthropology #childdevelopment

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0320371

This will be a great textbook on cross-cultural research on #childhood #learning edited by the brilliant Sheila Lew-Levy and Stephen Asatsa

#anthropology #childdevelopment #psychology

https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0440

https://www.europesays.com/uk/85200/ Babies Play With Snakes, What Scientists Discovered Will Surprise You #ChildDevelopment #FearAcquisition #InfantBehavior #LearnedFear #PsychologicalResearch #Science #SnakeStudy #SocialLearning #UK #UnitedKingdom #wildlife

The National (Middle East): UAE schools to begin teaching mandatory AI classes from age of four. “Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday announced that artificial intelligence is to be introduced as a subject across all stages of government education in the UAE.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/08/the-national-middle-east-uae-schools-to-begin-teaching-mandatory-ai-classes-from-age-of-four/

Too Much Fluoride? Research Finds Even Low Levels May Affect Kids’ IQ - https://www.growingyourbaby.com/too-much-fluoride-research-finds-even-low-levels-may-affect-kids-iq/ #childdevelopment #health #research

Tech Xplore: AI companions present risks for young users, US watchdog warns. “In one example cited by the study, a companion on the Character AI platform advises the user to kill someone, while another user in search of strong emotions was suggested to take a speedball, a mixture of cocaine and heroin.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/04/tech-xplore-ai-companions-present-risks-for-young-users-us-watchdog-warns/

Euronews: Finland to restrict the use of smartphones during the school day. “The Finnish parliament has passed legislation which restricts the use of smartphones and other electronic devices by students in primary and secondary schools during the day. Lawmakers say concern over the students’ wellbeing and the quality of their learning environment were the driving factors behind the new […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/05/01/euronews-finland-to-restrict-the-use-of-smartphones-during-the-school-day/

Tubefilter: YouTube videos with “negative interactions” are impacting kids’ mental health, study finds. “A team led by researchers at Ewha Womans University in Seoul and University of California at Davis studied the potential correlation between YouTube videos featuring ‘negative interactions’ and deleterious mental health effects. Results were mixed, but the research team uncovered a […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/24/tubefilter-youtube-videos-with-negative-interactions-are-impacting-kids-mental-health-study-finds/

KQED: A Treasure Trove of Education Reports and Studies is Under Threat. “Initially, ERIC was spared from the department’s mass contract cancellations in February. But according to Erin Pollard Young, the sole Education Department employee who managed ERIC until her job was eliminated in March, the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE has since refused to approve disbursement of […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/22/kqed-a-treasure-trove-of-education-reports-and-studies-is-under-threat/

New study reveals gestational diabetes may increase ADHD risk in children. Learn how maternal health impacts child development. #GestationalDiabetes #ADHD #ChildDevelopment

https://geekoo.news/hidden-impact-how-gestational-diabetes-shapes-childrens-minds/

Early childhood experiences shape brain development and cognition. Discover how supportive environments can mitigate adverse effects. #BrainHealth #ChildDevelopment #Neuroscience

https://geekoo.news/early-life-experiences-influence-brain-development-and-cognitive-abilities/

Vanderbilt University: New tool maps how states govern early childhood programs. “Early childhood governance plays a critical role in shaping how policies are implemented, how funding is distributed, and how families engage with essential supports. Yet states take different approaches to structuring governance, influencing collaboration across education, health, and economic and family […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/02/vanderbilt-university-new-tool-maps-how-states-govern-early-childhood-programs/

AI doesn’t learn like we do. GoPro'd toddlers see mostly knees—but they can ID a dog after a few glimpses, while LLMs need billions of examples. Neuroscience suggests AI intelligence is gathered very differently than ours https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jonippolito_neuroscience-ailiteracy-generativeai-activity-7312811017170808832-dwUW

Poynter: Kids with smartphones report higher well-being than expected, study finds. “The survey shows that 78% of respondents have their own smartphone, including 72% of 11-year-olds. About 52% of all kids surveyed have their own smartphone and data plan, meaning they are connected to the internet 24/7. And if it feels as if kids (like adults) are on their phones constantly, you’re not far […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/28/poynter-kids-with-smartphones-report-higher-well-being-than-expected-study-finds/