When is that magical moment when a child goes from coos and babbles to real words? HELLO Lab’s latest episode, “When Do Kids Say Their First Words,” looks at this question using research and real footage from their lab! 

This episode explains that before words fully emerge, babies spend several months practicing sounds, listening closely, and learning how communication works. Word learning is a long, yet important process. The video discusses the milestones babies reach before they begin to talk. All the small steps lead to the child learning about the purpose of communication.  

Although the moment at which children begin talking varies, most babies develop important communication skills throughout infancy before spoken language emerges. 

Watch more here!

Grace Hoey 

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Children in ADHD often also have sleep disorders, such as insomnia or obstructive sleep apnea, and trouble sleeping at night can double up on the effects of ADHD. Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder where a person may find it hard to breathe at night, leading to trouble sleeping, increased tiredness during the day, and periods of low oxygen throughout the night. In children, this can lead to symptoms similar to those described of kids with ADHD: emotional dysregulation, cognitive deficits, and behavioral issues. Sometimes these symptoms are not seen as indicative of a sleep disorder in kids with ADHD, and some may go undiagnosed.

It is well known that a percentage of children of ADHD also have some sort of sleep disorder, and this research aimed to get a more concrete statistic and also classify which sleep disorders appear to be the most common. After assessing over 600 kids with ADHD, it was found that 70% had a sleep disorder of some sort! The most common sleep disorders, were insomnia (40.2%) and obstructive sleep apnea (23.4%). Factors like ADHD subtype, sleep-related behaviors, and comorbidities (having other disorders/conditions as well), appear to be associated with sleep problems.

Because poor sleep is known to negatively affect behavior, mood, and learning, it is important to recognize how common sleep disorders are in kids with ADHD. These researchers advocate for routine sleep screenings and appropriate sleep interventions to help kids with ADHD sleep better at a young age!

If you want to read more, click here!

Thank you!

Afrah Rafi

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday with UConn KIDS!

This week’s question is multiple choice regards the brain activity of toddlers:

How many times as active is a 3-year-old’s brain compared to an adult’s brain?

A) 2x as active

B) 3x as active

C) 2x less active

D) 3x less active

Stay tuned in next week to find out the answer to this week’s question, and for more trivia next Tuesday!

In the last 10-20 years, the idea of a “critical period” to learn language has become more widely recognized. Parents and schools alike have started to teach children a second language at younger and younger ages, but many still don’t understand what this really means or the possibilities of this idea.

As more and more research is done on the matter, it turns out that humans are born with an innate ability to pick up language. Since communication is such an important feature of our species, we have a significant part of our brain dedicated to both the comprehension and expression of language. The most surprising part is that a child who starts learning a second language at the age of 3 may understand that language better at age 13 than an adult who has been learning it for the same amount of time. This is because when we are very young, even starting as soon as the auditory pathways begin developing in the womb, we start trying to make sense of language. Up until the age of 4 months old, babies can even differentiate between dialects of different languages. After 4 months, we start to lose this ability if not exercised. The same concept goes for learning to understand and express language as a whole. We are born with the most ability to receive new language learning we will ever have, and as we age, if not exposed to new languages, we slowly lose the ability to pick up these languages as easily, “Use it or Lose it.” One of the most groundbreaking discoveries about the critical period is that it does not just apply to spoken language.

This specific article examines how the age at which deaf individuals are first exposed to American Sign Language (ASL) affects their language abilities later in life, providing strong support for the idea of a critical period for language learning. The researchers compared deaf adults who learned ASL from birth, during early childhood, or later in adolescence, and found that earlier exposure led to stronger language comprehension and more accurate use of grammar, even many years later. Those who learned sign language later had more difficulty understanding full sentence meaning, suggesting that the brain is especially prepared to develop language during early childhood. These findings support the broader theory that language learning is most effective during a critical period and becomes more difficult after that window closes. This research also has important implications for bilingualism, as it suggests that early exposure to more than one language, whether spoken or signed, can support stronger overall language development, while delayed exposure may limit fluency. Overall, the study highlights the importance of providing children with early access to rich language environments to support lifelong communication and learning.

If you want to read more, Click Here

Thank you!

~Cooper Armogida

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

 

Many parents worry that exposing a child to more than one language might confuse them or make it harder for them to learn to talk. UConn’s HELLO Lab helps break down that concern in a simple, research-based way. The speaker explains that children’s brains are actually built to handle multiple languages from a very early age, and they naturally sort out which words belong to which language as they grow.

The video also shares that bilingual and multilingual children reach their major language milestones—like saying their first words or forming sentences—on a timeline that is completely normal. Hearing two or more languages doesn’t “overload” them. Instead, it gives them extra tools for thinking, communication, and understanding the world around them.

Overall, the episode reassures families that raising a child with more than one language is not only safe; it can be incredibly beneficial. It encourages caregivers to feel confident that supporting a child’s home language while also introducing English (or another language) can strengthen connection, identity, and long-term learning.

If you want to watch more, click here!

Erin Mulroy

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

A new 2025 study from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS) takes a closer look at how smoking during pregnancy affects young children’s development. While we often hear that smoking can lead to lower birth weight or exposure to harmful chemicals, this research wanted to understand something deeper: does smoking itself directly influence how a child grows, learns, and develops in the first few years of life? To answer this, the researchers followed nearly 4,800 mother–child pairs, tracking the mothers’ smoking habits and evaluating the children’s developmental skills at ages two and four.

The mothers in the study were grouped by their smoking behavior: those who never smoked during pregnancy, those who quit before pregnancy, those who quit after finding out they were pregnant, and those who continued smoking throughout. The children were later assessed on thinking skills, early language and communication, social behavior, and motor skills. The researchers also looked at factors like birth weight and cadmium levels in the mother’s blood, since cadmium is a toxic metal found in cigarette smoke and has been linked to developmental concerns.

The clearest finding was that boys whose mothers smoked while pregnant showed noticeable developmental delays at both ages two and four. Their scores in areas like problem-solving, communication, and social development tended to be lower compared to boys whose mothers did not smoke. Interestingly, the same pattern was not as strong or consistent in girls, suggesting that boys may be more sensitive to prenatal exposure to smoking. The study also showed that the developmental differences were not simply due to babies being born smaller or being exposed to cadmium—meaning the act of smoking itself likely plays a direct role in affecting early brain development.

For families and health professionals, these findings offer an important takeaway. Avoiding smoking during pregnancy is not only about protecting a baby’s physical health at birth—it also supports the child’s long-term developmental well-being. This research adds another layer to our understanding of prenatal health and reinforces why reducing smoking during pregnancy remains a critical public health priority.

If you want to read more, click here!

Erin Mulroy

UConn Kids Research Assistant

The answer to last week’s question: At what age do infants typically say their first word?  

Is 10-18 months! 

This week’s trivia question is: 

By what age can most children typically skip and hop on one foot? 

1. 2-3 years old
2. 3-4 years old  
3. 4-5 years old
4. 5-6 years old 

Many parents are amazed by how early babies seem to understand the world around them. Research over the years has suggested that even very young infants can tell the difference between “good” and “bad” behavior. For example, in classic baby psychology experiments, infants often prefer a character that helps another over one that hinders. This has led some scientists to believe that babies might be born with a basic moral sense. But a newer study offers a different, simpler explanation. 

Instead of babies making moral judgments, the researchers suggest that infants may just be responding to basic positive and negative experiences they see on screen. The researchers wondered: are babies really judging helpfulness, or are they just reacting to what looks and feels good or bad? To test this, they redesigned the experiments.  

They found that babies are incredibly smart, but their preferences may come from simple cause-and-effect learning rather than built-in moral reasoning. Instead of thinking, “That character was nice,” they may be thinking, “That scene made me feel good.” This doesn’t mean babies won’t grow into moral thinkers. It just shows that what looks like morality in the first year of life might actually be the early building blocks of learning how the world works. Simple experiences like comfort, joy, surprise, and discomfort may be the foundation that later supports real moral understanding. Babies may not be born with a moral compass, but they are constantly learning from what feels good and what doesn’t, and that’s where their future sense of right and wrong begins. 

If you want to read more, click here! 

Angelina Stofka 

UConn KIDS, Research Assistant 

This week’s Friday Feature highlights HELLO Lab and the launch of their new YouTube channel, HELLO Lab Presents. The channel debuts a series of engaging, research-informed videos about early language development and child learning.

HELLO Lab Presents aims to provide evidence-based “edutainment;” accessible, clear explanations about child development topics. Viewers can watch short, informative episodes that break down common questions about early learning, such as when babies typically say their first words, how social interaction shapes language skills, and why playful communication is so important in infancy and toddlerhood. The channel also addresses frequent misconceptions, highlighting what the research actually says in a friendly, easy-to-understand format.

This launch represents a broader effort to promote science communication and make developmental research more widely available to families and caregivers who can benefit from it most. Several videos are already live, including topics related to “baby talk,” early speech sounds, and the foundations of communication. Additional content will be soon to come, offering a growing library of reliable, evidence-based resources.

Stay tuned for HELLO Lab’s upcoming video release on December 10, “Is Learning Multiple Languages Confusing My Kid?”, where they’ll continue sharing accessible, research-informed insights into early language and child development.

If you want to learn more subscribe here!

Thanks HELLO Labs for being our Friday Feature this week. Stay tuned for more upcoming features!

 

In her talk, Lenore Skenazy argues that many parents today, caught up in a culture of fear and hyper-protection,  inadvertently deprive children of the very experiences they need to grow into confident, resilient adults.

Skenazy points out that decades of media-driven fear have convinced many caregivers that kids are constantly in danger, so much so that everyday childhood tasks like walking to school, playing outside with friends, or solving small problems on their own have become almost taboo. She warns that this over-protection can erode a child’s sense of autonomy, fuel anxiety, and stifle the natural confidence that comes from doing things independently.

Instead, Skenazy calls for a return to “real childhood”–a version in which children are trusted with age-appropriate responsibility, allowed unsupervised play, and encouraged to take small risks under safe conditions. She argues that by gradually giving children freedom and opportunities to make mistakes (and learn from them), parents and communities can help kids build true self-reliance, resilience, and emotional strength. 

Importantly, this isn’t about reckless parenting or neglect. Skenazy emphasizes “safe, sane” freedom, suggesting practical, incremental steps families and neighborhoods can take to renormalize independence, unsupervised play, and trust in young people. Ultimately, her message is a reminder: when children are given space to explore, fail, try again, and succeed (on their own terms), they become more confident, capable, and ready for life.

To watch this Ted Talk, click here!

Erin Mulroy 

UConn KIDS Research Assistant