In this article, by Mayumi Adachi, there is a lot of emphasis on how to socialize children to music and what our largest role in this is. Adachi set up an observational study in a preschool classroom to demonstrate children’s involvement in music. We know that in preschoolers, child led play is very important as they are learning to demonstrate independence and find their own being in this new world, but Adachi found that within music, it is helpful to have some form of formal instruction. With children having instructions with music, they are able to develop their cognitive skills by beginning to understand what music is about. They can start to pick up on melody and patterns that they can hear rather than just understanding patterns that they see. Music is a way to connect adults and children because melody and tune are universal characteristics that we can observe regardless of age and understanding. By teaching children about these factors and truly facilitating an understanding of music, we can form a new bond and help create a new level of understanding within a young child and their environment.  

     Adachi, in their conclusion, proposes other questions to continue this study and find differences within the findings. They ask how cultural influences would affect this study, how parents’ temperament and sensitivities to new things could influence the findings, and if where the study has taken place would change the findings? Overall, Adachi touches on the impact of music on children’s lives and how we, as adults, can help guide them through these new findings. A great reading for people interested on the connections between music and development! 

 

If you want to read more, click here! 

Jenna Coplon  

UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

The answer to last week’s question: Which sense is not fully developed at birth? 

Is vision!

This week’s trivia question is: 

About how many hours do newborns sleep per day?

1. 9-10 hours
2. 13-14 hours
3. 16-17 hours
4. 19-20 hours

Tune in next week to find out the answer to this week’s question! 

Children’s learning and cognitive development aren’t just affected by what occurs in their development; a crucial factor that is often overlooked is when it happens. The article Promoting Temporal Investigations of Development in Context dives deep into this idea, exploring how the timing, duration, and consistency of social and economic circumstances shape kids’ learning outcomes. Across 75 longitudinal studies conducted between 2000 and 2021, researchers tracked children and families from pregnancy through early adolescence, uncovering how factors like poverty, family stress, and educational opportunity influence cognitive growth over time. The takeaway? Persistent disadvantage during key developmental windows can have lasting effects on learning, while more stable or temporary contexts may decrease these risks. The overarching idea of the article is: timing is everything. This aligns with the findings of other famous studies, such as the Genie Wiley case study. Genie Wiley was lacking verbal attention for the first 12 years of her childhood, so  unfortunately, she never developed the neural pathways to effectively speak. This is an extreme example, however it effectively demonstrates that obstruction or influence on fundamental phases of development can have lasting effects. What makes Promoting Temporal Investigations of Development in Context so compelling is the perspective it takes. To truly understand a child’s development, we can’t just look at where they are now; we have to trace how they got there, and not just what occurred, but when, and how that might influence development. It’s a call for psychologists, educators, and ordinary people alike to think less like photographers and more like filmmakers, to capture not just the moment, but the story unfolding across time.

 

To read this article, click here

Cooper Armogida

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

     In this Ted Talk by fourth grader Gwen Coffey, she explains her point of view as a kid feeling “micromanaged” by adults around her. She brings up creative points about how kids are always being told no rather than being taught how to do things safely. She says she can’t run on the playground to play tag, and she feels rushed to eat her lunch and is told to be quiet. She relates to adults who feel micromanaged by their bosses, and claims that she, as an explorative kid, feels micromanaged at school, a place she believes to be about learning to become more independent. She refers to overprotective parenting and says it doesn’t seem like the worst thing ever, but it can lead to children being more anxious and less independent. Her argument is that parents, teachers, and anyone else who works with kids should teach children thoroughly and not just dismiss their curiosity because of safety.  

     Gwen describes how her parents have let her just be a kid. Exploring her world safely is how she has learned to be more self-sufficient. She says she can use a drill at home and has even learned how to use a blowtorch; she didn’t just discover these things, instead her parents guided her through ways to explore safely. Overall, Gwen Coffey makes simple points to imprint on adults why children need to be able to learn and make mistakes to grow into independent human beings. The idea of letting kids just be kids is a common theme throughout her Ted Talk, which is important for adults who work with or have children to keep in the forefront of their mind when helping these kids grow! 

 

To watch this Ted Talk, click here! 

Jenna Coplon  

UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

 

 

Have you ever wondered how babies start to make sense of all the sounds they hear? For adults, recognizing words in a continuous stream of speech comes naturally and feels effortless, as we are able to rely on our existing knowledge of word forms, grammar, and context.

This study explored how infants use familiar names, such as their own name and the name they use for their caregiver (i.e., Mommy), to help break the continuous flow of speech into separate words. Unlike adults, infants don’t yet have the skill to use top-down processing and rely on stored knowledge of word forms. Instead, they use bottom-up cues like stress, sound patterns, and rhythm to make sense of speech. Because infants only recognize a few words by around six months (like their name or their parents’ name), researchers wondered whether these familiar words could serve as anchors to help them identify new ones. Infants between 6.5 and 7 months from English-speaking homes participated in two experiments. Using a head-turn preference method, researchers played short passages for each baby. In one passage, the baby’s own name was followed by a novel word; in the other, a different name appeared before another new word. The setup tracked how long babies listened to each passage to measure recognition and interest. In both experiments, infants listened significantly longer to the words that followed their own or their mother’s name compared to unfamiliar names or control words. This means that infants could segment and remember new words only when they were paired with familiar names, which showed that even by six months, they can use known words to help make sense of speech. These results suggested that infants begin to develop top-down processing much earlier than previously thought. While adults use a broad vocabulary and grammar to decode speech, infants start with a handful of familiar words as their anchors. As their vocabulary grows through exposure, their speech processing becomes more efficient, eventually resembling the advanced top-down processing adults use every day.

To read more, click here! 

Alexandra Lagaros

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

The answer to last week’s question: At what age do most children begin to use two-word sentences? 

Is 2 years old! 

This week’s trivia question is: 

Which sense is not fully developed at birth? 

1. Vision
2. Hearing 
3. Taste 
4. Smell 

Tune in next week to find out the answer to this week’s question! 

Loose parts play is a free form play where children are given open-ended materials, that can be very beneficial for their cognitive development. Loose parts play involves various toys and materials that children can use in combination or isolation like cardboard, sticks, sand, and beads. These items are typically not intended for play, but children figure out different ways they can use them in their play, which is how loose parts inhibit their creativity and cognitive development. Play provides opportunities for intrinsic motivation which is important for long-term academic and personal success. Structured learning is usually dependent on external rewards, whereas play allows children to be driven by their own curiosity and interests.  

 

Researchers have found that it has helped with children’s problem-solving, creativity, academic skills (reading and math), and both convergent and divergent thinking. One study found that children who played with more natural and creative materials performed better in evaluated problem-solving and language skills. Another study determined that divergent play materials led to originality and fluency in problem-solving, whereas convergent materials led to strategic and task-focused problem-solving. These findings are only some of the many discoveries that researchers have made about the positive influences that loose parts have on cognitive development. 

 

If you want to read more, click here! 

Angelina Stofka 

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant 

 

The answer to last weeks trivia question, “An infant’s brain is 25% of its adult weight at birth, how much of its adult weight is the brain by age 3?”

Is…90%!!

This weeks trivia question is:

At what age do most children begin to use two-word sentences?

A. 9 months

B. 1 year

C.  2 years

D. 3 years

Come back next week to find out the correct answer!

As many of you may know, Bluey is a television program that is very popular amongst children, especially of the preschool age, but is also popular amongst parents because of the messages that the show promotes. A prevalent theme of the show is resilience which is the ability to confront, overcome, and become stronger by life’s challenges. Resilience is very important for children to acquire to help with their regulation of emotions and well-being.  

 

150 episodes of Bluey were analyzed, with resilience being featured across both as primary and secondary themes in a total of 73 out of 150 episodes. The topics of the show pertain to situations that preschoolers are often faced with, which is how children are able to relate to the characters of the show. Researchers have found that Bluey was consistent with containing resilience messages like emotional regulation, persistence, and problem-solving through their main character. With resilience being such a common theme of the episodes, it might encourage children to model the behavior that they are witnessing. It has been reported that repeated exposure to consistent themes can help children with comprehension and retention of the themes. Watching Bluey with children and using on-screen moments as conversation starters can help establish key messages about resilience in real life for children. Not only is Bluey entertaining for children, but it’s also teaching them about important life skills like resilience; something everyone can benefit from! 

 

If you want to read more, click here! 

Angelina Stofka 

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant