Children’s language development is essential for children, as it helps them develop communication skills and the ability to understand the world around them. It is also a communication tool that is important in shaping a child’s character. Good language skills allow children to build healthy interpersonal relationships, understand differences, and adapt to their environments.

 Implementing character education through language development is essential in primary education. Character education includes activities that combine the development of children’s language with character learning, such as reading stories, singing, and group games. It plays a key role in shaping elementary school children’s development, helping them build the skills needed to navigate various obstacles that will come up in their lives. Additionally, it fosters self-reliance and encourages them to contribute positively to society. However, integrating character education in primary schools faces several obstacles, including teachers’ limited understanding and expertise, heavy curriculum demands, and time constraints. This article goes into detail about the potential solutions in order to overcome these challenges. 

It was found that the implementation of character education through language development can be accomplished by combining language development activities with character learning activities such as storytelling, singing, and group games that involve all students. In addition, the results showed that through language development, children can learn communication and social skills that help them build good character. This means that language development can be an effective medium for implementing character education in primary schools.

To read more, click here!

Alexandra Lagaros, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

There is no such thing as a perfect parent; mistakes and struggles are just part of the job. That being said, there is almost nothing as impactful as interpersonal relationships, as repair can be. Repair can be defined as the act of going back in a moment of disconnection, taking responsibility for your behavior, and understanding the impact it had on the other person. This is different from an apology, which aims to shut a conversation down due to the desire to move on, while a good repair opens a conversation up. 

Repair also helps to avoid self-blame, which is something that works in childhood, as it is a survival mechanism in which a child feels safer internalizing the blame and thinking that they are bad rather than perceiving their parents and the world as unsafe. This helps them build a sense of security. However, this is not healthy going on in adulthood, as it fuels feelings of unworthiness, anxiety, and depression Recognizing that self-blame might be an old, adaptive story rather than a current truth is the first step towards healing, allowing us to understand our past and strive for a more self-compassionate present without needing to achieve perfection.

Learning how to repair allows for compassion and understanding, models emotional regulation for your child, and is a model that is ideal to pass down to the next generation!

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here!

Alexandra Lagaros, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Play and toys are very important for children’s development. When children play, they have fun and also learn new skills. Play helps them be creative, solve problems, and get better at interacting with others. For example, building toys can help improve their motor and cognitive skills. In addition, the toys children play with can help them learn how to solve problems, understand emotions, and learn to share and take turns.

While toys with screens can also be fun and educational, it is significant for children to play with regular toys that involve hands-on activities. These toys help children learn to move their bodies and interact with the world around them. The toys children play with can be different depending on their culture and where they live. Parents should give children a variety of toys to help them grow in different ways. Watching how children play can help adults understand what they need.

Overall, toys are not just for fun—they help children learn and grow in many ways. By giving children different kinds of toys and encouraging different types of play, adults can help children develop important skills.

To read more, click here!

Jess Vo, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday!

The answer to last weeks Trivia Tuesday was… 12-18 months. At around 12 months many babies can begin to produce very simple words such as mama, dog, and ball.  By 18 months many babies can recognize up to 50 words and even begin to understand certain one word commands.

This weeks question: At what age do most children achieve basic reading fluency

A. 3-4 years old

B. 5 years old

C. 6-7 years old

D. 8 year olds

Tune in next week for the answer to be revealed!

Jay Schieffelin – Research Assistant

 

Though it’s not often talked about often, sleepwalking is quite common in children. In fact, 1 in 10 school aged children experience sleepwalking episodes. Parents generally notice more noises/sounds from the rooms of their young children rather than their older ones, so it’s more common for younger children to be caught sleepwalking by their parents. It’s important to note that the earlier sleepwalking is treated, the better the outcome for the child will be. 

In this study, the researchers have discovered that sleepwalking is associated with night terrors, restless sleep, and sleep talking. Aside from nighttime activities, it’s also associated with emotional/behavioral issues, usually caused by the sleep problems that affect the children. A stable sleep routine is important for children to minimize any problems that may occur without proper sleep. If they don’t get adequate sleep, they’re more likely to experience daytime problems.  

To read more, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Today, social media is everywhere, used by millions or even billions of people worldwide. Many apps like Instagram, Tiktok, etc., are especially popular among children and adolescents. However, companies are exploiting their vulnerability as minors by ignoring their privacy rights via digital interactions. 

Activist Baroness Beeban Kidron states that “technology is not all to blame, but the technology that should make her day better is actually making it worse.” She created an initiative, “5rights,” that’s designed to ensure children’s rights are delivered in the digital realm. These are: the right to remove, the right to know, the right to safety and support, the right to informed and conscious use, and the right to digital literacy. 

Now, technology is not all bad. It can provide support and entertainment for its users as well! Kidron’s work is not to challenge the app companies, but to make sure that privacy rights are established in the digital world. She doesn’t want “children to be kept offline but support their presence online.” 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here! 

Ashley Bejar, UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Pets have become a staple piece in countless families throughout the world. While not universal, approximately two thirds of American homes have at least one pet inhabiting them and there are similar rates of pet ownership throughout most first world countries. While most people feel positively towards animals, one may come to question if there are any concrete benefits to owning a pet. A scholarly article published by Purewal et al. examines this question in the realm of how pet ownership can effect child development.

According to the article, pet ownership can lead to quite a few social benefits in young children. One such benefit is a potential increase in prosocial behavior that can lead to an increase in social maturity at a young age. Additional social benefits include an increase in language development and enhanced development in nonverbal communication skills. However, there were some negative traits attributed to pet ownership as well. Examples of negative outcomes attributed to pet ownership include lower educational attainment along with an increase in hyperactivity.

While the effects of pet ownership range from positive to negative outcomes, it is clear that pet ownership effects child development through a variety of factors.

Link to article: https://bmcpediatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12887-024-05049-7

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday!

The answer to last week’s Trivia Tuesday is… theory of mind! Theory of mind refers to the capacity to understand and anticipate others’ actions by recognizing they have their own thoughts, feelings, and intentions. This ability to grasp that others have different perspectives is fundamental to social interaction and communication.

This week’s question is: At what age do babies begin to say their first words?

1. 6-12 months
2. 12-18 months
3. 18-24 months
4. 24-30 months

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

Sports are very important for children’s growth and development in many ways. They help improve cognitive skills. Children who play sports often do better in school because they are able to concentrate better, solve problems more easily, and make good decisions.

When it comes to social growth, sports teach children how to work with others. Playing team sports helps them learn how to cooperate, communicate, and be leaders. They also learn how to get along with teammates and coaches, which helps them build friendships and feel like they belong to a group. Additionally, sports help children with their emotions. They learn how to handle stress, feel more confident about themselves, and deal with both winning and losing. These experiences teach them to stay positive and strong, even when things don’t go as planned. Learning these emotional skills is significant for their overall happiness and development. Furthermore, sports keep children physically healthy. Playing sports helps them stay fit. In today’s world, where many children spend a lot of time behind screens, sports are a great way for them to stay active and healthy.

In short, sports are much more than just exercise. They help children grow in many areas—mentally, socially, and emotionally. Encouraging kids to play sports can help them become well-rounded individuals with skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.

To read more, click here!

Jess Vo, UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Children all around the world are struggling with their education. In order to allow young kids to thrive, more emotional management skills need to be taught to students by their educators. 

Speaker Olympia Della Flora begins her TedTalk with an anecdote of one particular student from her school who was struggling. This student would regularly disrupt class, throw chairs, and regularly have fits, which would escalate so much to the point where the entire school would have to go on lockdown. The only options were to throw him out of the school, which would only make his behavior worse, or find out the root of the problem. 

Della Flora then mentions how the education system often looks for a solution that is outside of the box instead of looking at what they already have inside the box. She found out that this child’s father was not in his life and his mother was working long shifts, so he had no stable adult figure in his life to connect with. As a result, he was really struggling to transition into the school system, so she figured out some techniques to ease his transition from home life into school life, such as creating a calm space for him in their time-out space and allowing him to help mentor the younger children at school

Other teachers started to incorporate these techniques that Della Flora was using in their classrooms and were able to be more proactive in their approaches. By teaching young kids coping strategies in order to help them regulate their strong emotions, you are setting them up with the skills to be able to self-regulate. 

 

To watch the full Ted Talk, click here!

Alexandra Lagaros, UConn KIDS Research Assistant