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 

Developmental psychologist Stella Lourenco invites us to see babies not as blank slates, but as little thinkers: even before they can talk, babies are actively reasoning about the world. She shows how scientists use clever, nonverbal experiments to uncover what’s going on in babies’ minds — how they perceive objects, quantities, space, and even social relationships.

One example: infants as young as 10 months can make transitive inferences about dominance (if A dominates B, and B dominates C, then A should dominate C) — something once thought to emerge much later. Lourenco argues this reveals that babies are not just absorbing facts, but forming predictions, ruling out possibilities, and trying to make sense of cause and effect in their social world.

Ultimately, the talk reminds us that babies are deeply curious, reasoning creatures — and that understanding their hidden thought processes can help us appreciate how thinking and knowledge emerge from our earliest days.

This study tested whether teaching parents specific ways to play, talk, and interact with their children could improve early development and behavior. The program they used, called the Care for Child Development guideline, was offered through group sessions to pregnant mothers in Iran and followed their children for the first 18 months of life. The idea was to give parents practical tools—like looking into the baby’s eyes, responding to sounds, using toys, playing peek-a-boo, and naming objects—so they could support their child’s learning and emotional growth from birth onward.

When the researchers compared children whose parents received the training to those who did not, they found only small differences. Specifically, children in the program showed slightly better scores in cognitive development (thinking and learning) and a small reduction in anxiety or depression-related behaviors. However, there were no significant improvements in other areas like language, motor skills, or most behavioral problems. One possible reason is that many children in the study were already developing well, so there was less room to see noticeable changes. Another factor was the limited number of training sessions, especially because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted participation.

Even though the effects were modest, the study is important because it shows that group-based parenting programs are possible in resource-limited settings and may provide some benefits at relatively low cost. The researchers conclude that while the program didn’t dramatically change development outcomes, it still highlights the value of supporting parents with guidance and practical activities. With more sessions, larger studies, and broader involvement (such as including fathers), these interventions might play a bigger role in helping young children thrive, especially in communities with fewer resources.

 

If you want to read more, click here! 

Erin Mulroy  

UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

The answer to last week’s question, “By age 3, about how many words are children able to understand?”  

Is 20,000 words! 

This week’s trivia question is:  

An infant’s brain is 25% of its adult weight at birth, how much of its adult weight is the brain by age 3? 

1. 60% 
2. 70% 
3. 80% 
4. 90% 

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

     This article emphasizes how important it is to keep families at the center of care in nursing/medical situations. Any sort of medical scenario for a child brings up a lot of stress for the child and for the family, there are so many unknowns and possibilities that we tend to spiral. This article talks about the importance of including families in medical care practices in order to decrease this anxiety and help the whole group feel more at ease. Because a child’s family is usually a constant in their life, having their family be near in such an unfamiliar situation helps the child also stay calmer. When the parents and the child are able to stay calm and collected, this helps the medical professionals provide the best care possible.  

     The article also builds on how parents know their kid best, so it is vital to have them work closely with the medical professionals giving their child care. Additionally, when the family is involved and able to give the medical professionals information that they would not know from running medical tests, this helps the medical professionals provide better care for their patient. While the nurses have to juggle many patients and many different tests, it helps to have the family be supportive and helpful. Overall, this article emphasizes how important it is to have a strong, supportive family system during any sort of medical care. It is vital to the child’s overall care that the parents and medical staff work as a healthcare team to ensure exceptional care! 

 

If you want to read more, click here! 

Jenna Coplon  

UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Angie is a research assistant for UConn KIDS. She is a senior Psychological Sciences major, minoring in Human Development & Family Sciences in the Early Childhood Specializations program. After graduating, she plans on attending graduate school to become a counselor for young children and their families. She is involved with the University Ballet Company on campus and Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. 

Angie is eager to be a research assistant this semester because she loves to help the supporting of children and their development, and we are so excited for her to be here! 

For children, play isn’t just fun–it’s brain-building, and the simplest everyday interactions with kids matter more than flashcards or fancy toys. Jesse Ilhardt reflects on her own experience as a preschool teacher–once focused on checklists of letters, numbers, and shapes–and explains why real learning comes through play and interactions. Research shows that playful back-and-forth interactions between children and adults actually build the brain’s architecture, especially the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for problem-solving, planning, and emotional regulation.

But many parents and teachers still avoid play because they want quick results (like memorizing letters) or feel unsure how to play. The talk highlights how simple, everyday moments, like using measuring cups and sponges at bath time instead of traditional bath toys, can become powerful brain-building opportunities. The takeaway: kids don’t need fancy toys or endless worksheets. What they need most is time to play, and caring adults who join in.

     In this article written as a master’s thesis by Courtney Lincoln, they go on to describe the differences in emotional regulation ability in children that come from different home lives and have different levels of care. Lincoln explains that children who are raised by single mothers and children who were receiving extra attention through a Head Start program had a better ability to regulate their emotions. On the contrary, children who were raised with a married mother or were not receiving attention from a program like Head Start had a harder time regulating their emotions and this was because of less attentiveness by the mother to understand her child’s emotional needs.  

     Lincoln goes on to discuss the main emotional regulation that children struggled with: emotional lability. Emotional Lability is characterized by unstable and sudden mood changes. For example, if a kid were to be enjoying a game but quickly gets very frustrated when something does not go their way, this would be emotional lability or a labile mood. Lincoln addressed this as an issue revolving around mothers’ abilities to help their child regulate their emotions. Showing a correlation between mother-child interactions and the emotional awareness that their children have.  

     Overall, this article dives deeper into how attentiveness and recognition of emotions play into how children interact with other children and adults. If parents are not encouraging work on emotional regulation, and helping their young children work through big feelings, their child will have a harder time recognizing these problems and finding ways to solve them. Parenthood is about guiding your child through this world they now must navigate and, especially when they get to school age, they need to be well prepared to understand themselves and the world around them. Lincoln does a great job of describing the key points of this study and elaborating even more on the impact of parental interactions on kids’ emotional regulation.  

 

To read more, click here! 

Jenna Coplon  

UConn KIDS Research Assistant