A recent study about the timing for a child to return to school after being injured by concussion with symptoms at 14 days of postinjury. In this study, a randomized clinical trial of child participants aged 8 to 18 years with concussion symptoms was observed. This research was featured through the Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory (PCSI) score on the 14th day post-injury, which is a standardized test that focused on the after-effect symptoms of concussion such as cognitive, emotional, sleep, and physical changes. In short, a student’s return to school timing within two days of the head injury presented a lower lasting effect rather than returning to school after 14 days of the injury or later timed return.

 

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Hsin-Yu Huang

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

New research found that virtual reality (VR) games can be used to detect the signs of ADHD in children. Through playing in a VR game researchers developed, Executive Performance in Everyday Living (EPELI), the result of this particular game outperformed conventional behavioral tests in differentiating between children with ADHD and those without ADHD. 

 

In contrast to the surveys, interviews, and clinical observations that are typically used to assess ADHD, EPELI simulates tasks that occur in daily life. It is advised that players remember to conduct daily tasks like brushing their teeth.

 

Today, VR is used increasingly frequently in the treatment of ADHD. VR is being used in mental health treatment by businesses like XRHealth and Amelia Virtual Care, and various research institutes are currently examining how well VR therapies may treat ADHD symptoms like working memory, executive function, and cognitive processes. Initial assessments suggest that “this technology is effective in delivering optimal rehabilitation of children with ADHD, by replicating and providing a virtual environment for diagnosis, training, monitoring, assessment, and therapy,” even if more research is required.

 

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Hsin-Yu Huang

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

​​Study revealed that frequent use of mobile devices to calm children ages 3-5 was associated with increased emotional dysregulation. Devices may displace opportunities for development of alternative methods to self-regulate, researchers say. Children who already experience hyperactivity, impulsiveness and a strong temperament may struggle with coping skills. The habit of using devices to manage difficult behavior strengthens over time as children’s media demands strengthen as well. The more often devices are used, the less practice children — and their parents — get to using other coping strategies. Alternative soothing methods can help build emotion regulation skills.

Caretakers can also teach kids emotional coping skills when they are calm, according to Radesky. They might discuss with them, for instance, how their favorite stuffed animal might be feeling and how they deal with their strong emotions and relax. Kids can relate to this kind of lighthearted conversation because it employs their language.

According to Radesky, “all of these methods help kids understand themselves better and feel more competent at managing their moods.” “It requires practice on the part of the caregiver, who must likewise try to maintain composure and avoid overreacting to the child’s feelings, but it helps children develop lifelong abilities for managing their emotions.

“Contrarily, employing a distraction like a mobile device doesn’t teach a skill; instead, it simply diverts the child’s attention. In cases where parents are tempted to use a device, Radesky suggests several alternatives. Sensory techniques: Each young child has a different profile of the sensory input that settles them down. Swinging, cuddling, or pressure, jumping on a trampoline, squashing putty in their hands, listening to music, or gazing at a book or sparkling jar are a few examples of what this might entail. If you notice your child becoming agitated, try to distract them with body movement or sensory activities.

Identify the feeling and offer a solution: Parental labeling of a child’s feelings demonstrates to the child that they are understood while also assisting the child in making the connection between language and emotional states. More composed parents are better able to demonstrate emotions to their children.

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Hsin-Yu Huang

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Depression affects everyone, according to the CDC’s 2022 Children’s mental health report, in the United States nearly 3 million children between the ages of 3 to 17 have been affected by depression. Since depression is one of the major reasons that might cause suicide, and the rate of child suicide has been climbing yearly. It became a serious topic that has to be discussed.

Try to explain that depression is a common mental health condition to older children when you are opening the conversation. It is crucial to emphasize that it is never a person’s fault, that it can happen to any one of us, just like other chronic health conditions such as diabetes. Next, when you think your child may have depression, you can go through the list of symptoms with them and ask them which one they felt like they have been experiencing. When your child tries to share about their experience of depression, put in some effort to listen without your judgment and avoid jumping to give your advice. In the end, you can reassure them that many people who have treatments have experienced long periods of being symptom-free.

In contrast, since younger children may not be able to understand sophisticated concepts, try to link depression to emotional experiences such as when they felt sad or blue. You could describe depression as a sad feeling that never fades away. Using analogies when making this conversation about depression works too, analogies such as “dark rain cloud”, and “outside is in the sunshine, but it’s always raining above them” could help them understand better. In the end, reassure them that there is nothing to feel bad or embarrassed about depression, and with some treatment, they can feel better again, just like when they caught a cold before.

Finally, as intimidating as to start a conversation about this topic with your child, there is a lot of guidance that is available online. There are some great resources that have released their own guides about depression for children. Resources such as:

• Nemours Children’s Health
• Children’s Mental Health Matters!
• National Institute of Mental Health

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Hsin-Yu Huang

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Hsin-Yu Huang is a research assistant at UConn KIDS. She is a senior undergraduate student majoring in Psychology and minoring at the business foundation at UConn Storrs. She is from Taiwan and is currently the co-president of the Taiwanese student association at UConn. Hsin-Yu is passionate about areas of human behavior. In the future, she wants to work around the world. In her free time, she loves to read and watch pet videos.

Playing plays a very crucial part in child development, among them pretend play is one of the activities that involve the most developing skills. A checklist provided by a researcher in the child and family early childhood intervention team listed out the skills a child could learn during pretend play. Pretending to play such as play script, role play, and social interaction is a way that child shows and intimate the behaviors that they have previously seen while they also train their imaginary thinking skill when creating a story or playing with an imaginary friend. Through pretend play a child manipulates and explores objects to show their understanding of the functional use of the object.

The age between 12 months to 5 years is a significant period for child development. During the first 12 months, a child observes and mirrors familiar behaviors. In their second year, children play scripts with actions such as pretending to drink, pretending to talk on a phone, and sweeping the floor. This is also a phase in which children recognize the exterior and shape of objects, for instance, they might use paper as a blanket. Around 3 years old, child plays are more detailed and logical, we would ask adults for missing objects in their game. They can use different objects for different purposes, such as seeing a box as a bed and a car or using different boxes to build a train. 4 years old, they can play with complex sequences and a special toy has its personality and background story with thoughts and feelings. In the fifth year, their play scripts start to include non-personal experiences, and stories such as pirates. In this phase, a child can play with negotiation.

In conclusion, pretend play is a crucial part that assists a child to learn and adapt skills to integrate into the world.

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Hsin-Yu Huang

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Sibling Rivalry is a common behavior in families with more than one child. This practice has been with humans for more than centuries, however, contrary to common parents’ beliefs it could lead to serious negative consequences. In 2021, the research found that there is a strong correlation between sibling bullying and lower self-esteem and a sense of competence. Another research also discovers that sibling bullying can greatly increase the risk of depression and self-harm behavior.

    In the existence of sibling rivalry, parents’ reactions toward it are crucial. A few strategies provided by professionals are to resist comparisons and to be aware of the situation.

Every child is unique and different. Sometimes comparisons are inevitable and it was one of the greatest tools for keeping kids in order, be careful not to compare to the extent that would make one feel less than another. To be aware, be aware of your biases and how life events, and stages can affect siblings. Second, be aware of what you say and do around them, and to the greatest extent try to be equal to every child. Furthermore, many events could affect siblings, both positive and negative, not that you shouldn’t celebrate the good but try to give the other sibling some extra love too.

Finally, spend more time together as a family, and set some ground rules. However, if sibling rivalry is becoming a huge problem, talk to someone, talk to a doctor. Let in some help.

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Hsin-Yu Huang

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

The “clean plate club” is a common phenomenon among American households which encourages children to finish the entirety of their meals and to ensure proper nutrition.  However, can this idea of having to always eat everything on your plate be harmful when trying to build healthy habits in children?  Perhaps a better approach to building healthy eating habits in children is to practice something known as intuitive eating.  This approach to diet and nutrition emphasizes trusting your body in its hunger and fullness cues to determine when, what, and how much to eat.  Every individual starts off practicing intuitive eating when suckling from their mother or receiving formula, but once children reach the age of two, respecting natural hunger and fullness cues is heavily influenced by the environment the child lives in. 

 

Children will mould their eating habits based on what they are subjected to whether it be observing someone else’s eating habits, TV commercials, boredom, or coping.  It is crucial during childhood years for children to develop a positive relationship with food and practicing intuitive eating can kickstart the route to independence by getting to have control over food choices.  

 

Parents are encouraged to promote and assist children to eat intuitively by keeping nutritious food in the home, but allowing the child to pick which of those nutritious foods they would like to eat.  Intuitive eating relies on listening to the body’s hunger cues so make sure to allow the child to say when they are full rather than forcing them to finish the entire plate and letting them eat more than you may have expected at times.  Parents can be a great role model when it comes to intuitive eating by sharing meals often with their children and practicing what you are preaching-listening to hunger cues and enjoying sharing the meal with them.

 

As parents you can make yourself feel empowered by setting your child up for success in their relationship with food through intuitive eating while empowering your child at the same time when it comes to making food choices that are appropriate for them.

 

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Marissa Robarge

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Well, for some of us it is.  While most people look forward to the holidays as a time for catching up with family, and lavish meals, and creating and continuing traditions, for some the holidays can be a time of high stress and anxiety.  Typically, when thinking about those who experience difficulties during the holidays, we consider adults to be those most affected.  However, despite presents and the holiday spirit, children are also prone to feeling the chaos of the holidays.  

 

The holidays are known to cause stress in children due to unfamiliar environments when it comes to holiday parties, lots of people they may not know, gift giving and receiving, and sometimes traveling long distances.  Children thrive on routine and if there’s anything that tends to disrupt these routines it is the holidays.  So how can we prevent children from feeling the pressure of the holidays?

 

Experts suggest that the first step in reducing your child’s negative emotions about the holidays is by first managing your own stress as children can sense and follow the way that their caretakers are feeling.  The second most important step in keeping kids calm during the holidays is by trying to keep their routine as similar as possible to what i normally is throughout the year–getting plenty of sleep and eating enough.  Another great way to help kids cope with the stress of the holidays is setting expectations daily about what the routine is for the day and keeping them active to burn off that extra energy.

 

Let’s keep the spirit alive this holiday season both in ourselves and in our children!

 

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Marissa Robarge 

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Research has shown that shy children are more susceptible to insecurity, peer pressure, and anxiety, and are likely to be insecure and reserved in adulthood. Encouraging a shy child to break out of their shell can be tough, given the pressure it puts on children to breach their comfort zone. However, when parents take actions that reinforce shyness, it teaches children that they do not need to be independent, which in turn may lead to increased avoidance of uncomfortable situations. 

Nonetheless, shyness in children is fixable through gentle, patient assertiveness. Psychologists suggest encouraging your child to act confident and bold. This can be done by creating a hierarchical series of steps for your child to follow, starting with something that requires a little bit of confidence and ending with something that requires a lot of confidence. Using a modeling technique, where the child would copy your actions, for each step could also prove to be beneficial for building confidence. For example, you could explain that you’re going to say “Hi,” to some friends and enact it with a handshake, and then after seeing how it’s done, the child would do the same. Some activities that you could encourage your child to engage in to help boost their confidence include, participating in class, joining a sports team, and joining clubs at school. 

There’s no set point for how long the process of confidence-building will take, as children who tend to be shyer may require longer periods of guidance. Further, moments of failure should be expected and accepted while your child works past their shyness; failure, nonetheless, is beneficial as it shows your child that while embarrassing moments happen, life goes on. Overall, the process of helping your child work through their shyness is a fulfilling process that will produce lasting benefits.

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

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