Good afternoon and welcome to Trivia Tuesday! This week’s question relates to something we see on jack o’lanterns… bright, wide smiles!

As your child begins to interact with the world, within a few weeks you will begin to see some smiles from your young ones. However, there are two different major types of smiles that emerge from infants… what are these two smiles called?

1. Happy smiles and surprise smiles
2. Regular smiles and super smiles
3. Joyful smiles and enjoyment smiles
4. Reflective smiles and social smiles

The answer to last week’s question is yes! This is due to a child’s inability to think from another person’s perspective. Here is a refresher to last week’s scenario for the question:

Person 1 left their toy on the table and walked into another room. Person 2 then moved the toy and put it somewhere else different than where it was left. Person 1 then comes back into the room, would person 1 know where their toy is now?

As adults, we know that after Person 1 walks back into the room, they would look in the original location of the toy because they did not see Person 2 move the toy. Children under the age of four typically do not understand this, meaning they would assume Person 1 knows that the toy was moved since the child saw Person 2 move the toy themselves. This concept of recognizing situations from another person’s perspective is called the Theory of Mind and it is not achieved until around the age of five. Experiments are often completed to test children’s understandings in this theory through using a False-Belief task such as the scenario above.

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

A fear of needles is incredibly common in children. Many children associate having a vaccine as a painful and scary experience due to the involvement of needles. Showing fear is normal for young children, but sometimes, these fears become so severe they can be considered phobias and lead to the avoidance of medical procedures.

Fears and phobias can range from mild to severe and debilitating. Some ways to help children navigate these fears include informing them about the procedure so they know what to expect. It’s important to understand the details of the procedure. Knowing where the procedure will be, who will be there, and what will happen can all help reduce fears. 

Most importantly, it’s crucial to be supportive of the individual. A trusted person who understands the fear and provides comfort can help soothe the fearful individual. It’s important to know that fear is not a choice but something we can learn to manage.

Read the full article here.

Emma Dineen

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Today’s Friday Feature is Mouhamadou Cisse!

Mouhamadou is currently a Master’s in Biomedical Sciences at Barry University in Miami, Florida. He is a research assistant currently involved in the Caring Study, led by Dr. Eileen Condon, Ph.D., APRN, FNP-BC, a professor at the UConn Nursing Department. This research aims to explore the relationship between toxic stress, sleep patterns, and the health of both children and parents. Mouhamadou’s primary responsibility involves enrolling participants in the study, primarily within the CCMC Emergency Department. On occasion, when he gets lucky, he is able to participate in UConn KIDS events.

Learn more about the Caring Study here.

Mouhamadou graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2021 and currently resides in Windsor, CT. Though he was born and shortly lived in Dakar, Senegal. His career aspiration is to become a physician, and he is actively working towards getting admitted into medical school within the next two years. Mouhamadou’s enduring passion for science stems from childhood, and he’s proud to contribute to research that seeks to enhance people’s lives. The research he undertakes has the potential to assist mothers who struggle with sleep, identify modifiable factors, and influence how future mothers manage stress and sleep. Ultimately, it plays a significant role in a child’s health and development into adulthood.

Mouhamadou enjoys indulging in video games during his leisure time and currently owns a PlayStation 5 and a Nintendo Switch. Recently, he’s been immersed in Spiderman 2. In addition to gaming, he has a deep love for physical activities, having a background in soccer and track. Mouhamadou maintains a regular workout routine and focuses on cardio. Whenever the opportunity arises, he’s an enthusiastic traveler, and one of his favorite photos is from a trip to Morocco.

Babies cry. Every parent who is getting ready to have a kids knows that they will be losing sleep and gaining a lot of stress through this new stage in their life, but it is for the better. Babies crying and fussing may be undesirable, but it is necessary and actually good. They need our attention to survive and grow up healthy and that is the way they get it.

This TED Talk was very interesting. Sue Roffrey was very well spoken in it and was inspiring. This Ted Talk was about positive environment for development in schools. When schools promote a healthy environment for development, both children and teachers get a better experience. A positive environment fosters emotional well-being. When children feel safe, supported, and valued, they are more likely to develop healthy self-esteem and emotional resilience. This then contributes to better mental health and reduces the risk of emotional issues.

positive environments are more likely to inspire children’s intrinsic motivation to learn. When students are encouraged to explore their interests, think critically, and express themselves, they are more engaged in the learning process.

Overall this Ted Talk was very relevant with life today and is something that schools should follow immediately for the better future of our children

Watch the full Ted Talk Here!

Ben Solomon,

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Good evening and happy Trivia Tuesday! Today’s question connects a bit with last weeks question…

A false-belief task is when a child is presented with a scenario where they must think about a situation from someone else’s perspective. A scenario like this would often be presented to a child:

Person 1 left their toy on the table and walked into another room. A person 2 then moved the toy and put it somewhere else different than where it was left. Person 1 then comes back into the room, would person 1 know where their toy is now?

This trivia Tuesday question is: would a 3-year-old child believe that the person knows where the toy’s new location is?

a.    Yes!

b.    No!

As promised, the answer to last week’s question is 7-12 years old! Children reach Piaget’s concrete operational stage around 7 to 12 years old where they can begin to understand concepts of conservation and have more of an organized, logical way of thinking. 

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

Infants learn new things about their external environment every day; whether it be that hitting the drums makes loud noises or that objects are able to be picked up if you reach for them. But when do babies understand that they are people too? In other words, when do they become self-aware of themselves?

The given article answers these questions, addressing a popular test used to assess self-awareness in infants. The mirror test, also called the ‘rouge test’, is where a mark of red coloring is smudged on the infant’s nose. If the infant sees their reflection in a mirror and wipes the mark off, they are thought to have developed a sense of self. Babies who do not attempt to clean the smudge believe the reflection is another infant and not themselves; suggesting that these younger infants have not yet become self-aware. 

Self-awareness is typically acquired around two years of age, however studies have shown cross-cultural differences for this phase in children’s developmental trajectories.

Read the full article here!

Nolyette Verastegui

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Today’s Friday Feature is Lucie Lopez

Lucie is an Undergraduate Student Investigator is Dr. Rhiannon Smith’s Social and Emotional Development Lab. She is currently working on a project through the UConn IDEA Grant Program researching the relationship between participation in free and reduced school meal programs and sense of belonging in school, particularly among adolescents.  Her project entails a two part study: the first part is a survey that asks college – aged people to think retrospectively about their experiences receiving free and reduced meals during their K-12 education in CT and how it impacted their sense of belonging. The second part is a survey for parents/guardians and their children in high school who participated in the free and reduced meal program before and throughout the COVID-10 pandemic. She is very excited to analyze her data and see how changes from the COVID pandemic impacted sense of belonging.

Lucie is from Avon, CT and is a senior at UConn, pursuing a dual degree in Psychological Sciences and Spanish. After completing her undergraduate education, she plans on attending graduate school to earn a Ph.D. in School Psychology. She is very passionate that more research in school psychology needs to focus on the social, emotional, and behavioral aspects of learning. With her research she hopes to inform policy allowing all schools to provide universal free meals to students. She is also a teaching assistant in the First Year Experience program, the student coordinator for the language and literacy programs in Community Outreach, and a peer research ambassador in the Office of Undergraduate Research.

Lucie loves to read, listen to music, walk outside, paint/draw, and play with her cat, Gary!

(Lucie and Rhiannon Smith at and IDEA Grant event last semester)

Not only is cooking with preschoolers a fun way to bond, but it can also help further their development. Cooking can help young children learn basic math skills by counting items, following step-by-step directions, or using measuring cups. Reading the recipe with your child can also promote literacy by introducing new words to their vocabulary. On top of this, it encourages children to have an adventurous palate. Kids may be more likely to try food if they play a role in preparing it. 

A boost in self-confidence is a big part of cooking with children. It allows them to showcase new skills they’ve learned, giving them a sense of accomplishment. Whether it’s stirring pancake batter, assembling a pizza, tearing lettuce, or simply adding ingredients, praise children and let them know that their help is important.

Read the full article here.

Emma Dineen

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

In this article, a popular topic in the world of child development is addressed surrounding critical periods. The critical period is thought of as a window in time where children must receive input from the world around them to properly develop important skills used later in life. There is a multitude of research that has been done on animals which have found critical windows for the development of the visual system as well as for the auditory system.

Researchers in this article were interested in whether or not this sort of window for auditory input exists for congenitally deaf children. In other words, is there a specific age in development where congenitally deaf children should receive a cochlear implant or engage in other forms of intervention? Is earlier better? 

In all tests of speech perception conducted with children ages 2-13 who received cochlear implants, researchers consistently found that earlier implantation is always better. More specifically, two year olds who received the implant significantly outperformed their older counterparts; showing possible evidence for a critical period of cochlear implantation for congenitally deaf children.

Read the full article here!

Nolyette Verastegui

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS