The hippocampus functions in forming and stabilizing memories, playing a role in memory processing and learning. During early childhood, the hippocampus is rapidly developing and so young children need afternoon naps in order to help this brain structure to process new information into memories. The hippocampus can only hold a certain amount of information before it gets overpowered and is unable to process it, so napping helps it slow down and take the time to process information. For example, a 2020 study showed that children who took a nap after storytime were able to better recall the events in the story than those who did not. 

As the hippocampus matures, past the preschool ages, the capacity of the structure increases, able to process more information and increase memory. And so, as children grow, they transition out of napping, as they may not need it to better their learning. However, parents may be concerned when their child is still napping past the preschool age, which they should not be. Brain development occurs on different timelines and one child may need more time for certain development than another, and that is not of concern. 

This also does not mean that naps should be forced on children for their learning. They have an instinct of when they need to nap and when their brain is working for them, so we just need to listen to the children when they said they need a nap. Afternoon napping should not affect how much sleep a child gets at night. At a younger age, they will need about 11-14 hours of sleep while preschoolers will need 10-13 hours of sleep in total. 

Article Link: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-10-25/toddlers-nap-a-lot-and-then-they-dont-new-research-uncovers-why

Tulsi Patel

UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Compared to those who have never played video games, those who have proved to be better on cognitive skills tests due to the impulse control and working memory skills they gain from playing. The differences in these two groups were observed as differences in brain activity. Children who played video games for three or more hours per day should have higher brain activity in the frontal regions which are associated with performing faster and more accurately on cognitive tasks and better vision. When playing video games, children are being cognitively demanded, testing their visual processing, and efficiency. 

Even though video games have been linked to mental health and behavioral changes, the findings are not statistically significant, and those results cannot be taken into account when creating trends. However, this does not mean that children should unlimited time playing video games and being on electronics, but the focus should be on what types of games they are playing. The ones that have proved to be the most cognitively demanding are action-adventure, puzzle-solving, sports, and shooting games. Many parents are concerned about their child’s use of video games and how that will affect their development and so it is important to understand the benefits and cons of it. 

Currently, there is an ABCD study going on which is longitudinal, meaning it will take place over longer periods of time, which looks at these trends further and tries to better understand the different factors that play into a child’s development consecutively with video games. This study includes 12000 participants and looks at brain imaging data to learn more about the development of children and hopefully create interventions to enhance life paths. 

Article link: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221024130852.htm

Tulsi Patel

UConn KIDS Research Assistant 

Halloween is a time for children to have fun, dress up, and experience many tricks and treats. However, a lot of Halloween tricks, costumes, and decorations can understandably be scary and anxiety-inducing for children. Five percent of children and adolescents have a specific phobia, with some children suffering from “maskaphobia,” a phobia of people wearing costumes and masks. Children who are scared of Halloween episodes of their favorite TV shows, of walking around a Halloween store, or of just seeing people dressed up in costumes, in general, may struggle with celebrating Halloween. Psychologists suggest the following tips when helping children overcome their Halloween fears. 

First and foremost, know that it’s normal for preschool-aged children to be afraid of costumes and masks; most children will grow out of this fear when they are in elementary school.

Second, know your child’s goals when it comes to Halloween and why they want to celebrate it. Knowing these goals can help guide you in helping your child combat their fears.

Third, ask your child questions about their fears like, “When you see ____, what goes on in your mind?” Using identifying questions helps you pinpoint the cause behind your child’s worries and can prepare you for helping them cope.

Fourth, help your child prepare for trick-or-treating by buying your own costume. Gradually introducing the costume to your child through steps such as having them help pick it out and letting them play with it and try it on can help them feel comfortable with the costumes they’ll see on Halloween.

Lastly, on Halloween night, let your child abide by their own comfort levels and reassure them of your confidence in them. Acknowledging your child’s courage reinforces their bravery and can give them the push they need to overcome their fears. 

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/emotionally-hardy-children-and-families/202210/what-do-when-your-child-is-afraid-halloween-and

Some of the fondest memories from childhood are from the outlandish and exciting things that we used to think about.  Usually we can all remember a game that we made up, pretending to be our favorite animal, or even playing with an imaginary friend.  Pretend play is any play that mixes reality with one’s imagination.  While play is simply that, play, it can also be an important tool in guiding your child’s development.

When children are engaging in pretend play the child is participating freely as they get to set the narrative and they gain independence by self-guiding their play.  Dramatic play can involve pretending an object is something other than what it actually is or just simply the child themselves taking on a new role.  This type of play is beneficial due to the engagement it requires and children become totally absorbed in what they are doing.  Children are also given the opportunity to practice representational thought in changing these identities as well as developing problem solving skillsl.  These problem solving skills can be further developed when engaging in pretend play with others as they must learn to navigate conflicts and societal rules in these made up scenarios.

Engagement in pretend play has been found to be linked to pre-literacy skills as children practice their storytelling abilities as well as develop language for doing so.  

Read the full article: 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233491368_The_Importance_of_Pretend_Play_in_Child_Development_An_Occupational_Therapy_Perspective/link/552b32f20cf29b22c9c1a5ef/download

Marissa Robarge

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Our emotions allow us to connect with others and make sense of the world around us; they are a central part of our life. During childhood, our emotions may control us more than we control them. When children don’t know how to navigate their emotions they may end up repressing them or seeking out harmful coping outlets, both of which can have negative impacts on their physical and mental health. This is why it’s important to teach children how to manage their emotions properly. 

One way to show children how to regulate their emotions is to model it yourself. Children watch people around them for cues on what behaviors to emulate, so they are likely to pick up on healthy emotion regulation techniques if they see someone else using them. So, the next time you are angry or upset in the vicinity of your child, try taking deep breaths or using other self-regulation mechanisms, and chances are your child will begin using them too. When your child is feeling upset it is also important to use empathy and validate their emotions. Acknowledging your child’s feelings through using statements that reflect their emotions like, “You seem angry,” helps them feel recognized. Showing your child that you are there for them and value their feelings helps them begin the process of expressing, rather than repressing, their feelings. 

It is also important to recognize that emotions cannot be limited; let your child feel their “bad” emotions, but teach them that emotions and actions can be separate. Instead of telling your child to calm down, try teaching them coping mechanisms for their emotions instead. Further, it can be hard to tell what a child is feeling at times. Having them talk their emotions out to you can help you understand their emotional triggers, and helps them sort through their feelings as well. 

Lastly, teach your child how to find and recognize emotional outlets. Using an emotional outlet, like writing, dancing, or exercising, can be a form of self-expression and can help your child regulate their emotions, and can also be a useful tool for self-expression and socialization.

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article Link: https://psychcentral.com/blog/helping-children-learn-how-to-manage-emotions#1

 

One of the earliest science lessons you learn is about the five senses; sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.  We often take our senses for granted such that we are so accustomed to them being a part of our everyday lives and does not require much thought, but what if you were able to help your child advance their learning by taking advantage of these five senses?

Sensory play is exactly how it sounds, it is play that involves any of our five senses.  Sensory play can be as simple as zipping a coat or as complex as riding a bike.  Some of the most common types of sensory play used with children includes finger painting, sand boxes, and even playing with dry pasta.  

Sensory play can shape your child’s learning because it physically helps build nerve connections within the brain’s pathways which can later help when completing various tasks.  This type of play can result in profound growth in language development such that children are forced to expand their vocabulary when trying to describe what they are doing and how it feels as well as learning new ways to communicate their emotions and needs when engaging in this play with others.  Growth can also be seen in fine motor development as the small muscle groups of the hand are strengthened by touching and physically manipulating the object they are playing with.  Cognitive growth has been seen as children are allowed to express curiosity and experiment with the experiences they are provided.  Often when presented with types of sensory play, they are able to participate in trial and error to figure out how things work and ask questions about their experiences.  

Sensory play can have profound effects on child development in various aspects.  For more information and how to incorporate sensory play into your child’s routine read the whole article:

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/benefits-of-sensory-play-ideas/

 

Marissa Robarge

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

When teens and adolescents receive criticism from their parents, they will often internalize it, making them feel bad about themselves. Parents try to discipline their children in order to prevent the misbehavior from recurring again, but when they don’t receive the wanted reaction from the kids, they will continue to discipline. Often, when a child looks down at the ground or does not respond when a parent is disciplining, it is often misunderstood as the child is not getting the message. However, they are, and continuous discipline can cause them to carry guilt and shame around with them which can lead to more destructive behaviors.

Parents need to realize that their authority and physicality can be imposing on children and that they need to get to their level in order to effectively discipline their child. Often, yelling and overbearingness can have the opposite effect of what the parent wants. They need to first explain to the child that the behavior conducted is being criticized and not the child itself, so that they do not carry around that feeling on the daily and start to lose value of themselves. It has been found that teens that grew up believing that they were “bad” people or that there was something wrong with them due to criticism, turn to experimenting with drugs, becoming involved in inappropriate relationships, and even having suicidal ideations.

Parents have the capability of changing the way their children feel about themselves and the words and emotions that they internalize. Instead of acting in the moment when their child misbehaves, it is better to think and understand the child first, and it can lead to positive outcomes in the future.

Article Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/adolescents-explained/202210/kids-may-turn-their-anger-inward-when-criticized-adults

Tulsi Patel

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Middle child syndrome, a “syndrome” developed by pop culture, describes the overshadowing of middle children by their older and younger siblings. The syndrome is deemed a “hypothetical condition” by the American Psychological Association, given the lack of empirical evidence supporting it. Middle child syndrome alleges that children who are in the middle of the birth order of their family develop outcast, rebellious personalities as a result of more attention going to the cuter younger sibling or the authoritative older sibling. 

The syndrome is composed of many common characteristics, such as being independent, attention-seeking, and feeling distanced from parents. It also is well-known for its exaggerated stereotypes, including middle children being the “forgotten child,” and having an inferiority complex. Experts have looked further into whether birth order has an influence on personality, and have found that middle children are more likely to have trouble with wrongdoing and are less family-oriented. Birth-order may also have effects on mental health, with higher birth order being associated with poorer mental health. 

Since middle child syndrome is a “hypothetical condition,” and is full of uncertainties concerning the negative characteristics of middle children, it can be hard to foresee how being a middle child can affect a child. However, given the commonality of middle child experiences, it can be worth it to check in on their mental health, and to try therapy if they are experiencing any of the characteristics of middle child syndrome. Overall, empirical evidence suggests that the effects of being a middle child may be minimal, but they are still worth paying attention to.  

Kylie Robinshaw

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article Link: https://psychcentral.com/health/middle-child-syndrome

The teenage years are a prevalent theme in society with emphasis on them being “the best years of your life” and a time of true growth.  But how, as parents and those in the community, can we ensure that teens are able to reach their full potential?  Recent studies have shown that altering our perception of teenagers can be the right step in helping adolescents blossom into adulthood.

All teenagers have an internal drive to prove themselves as an individual as well as express their ability to be independent.  However, society’s current stereotypes regarding teenagers can cause this drive to foster itself in different, less productive ways.  Today’s culture often highlights teenagers to be phone-crazy, irresponsible, and lazy which has been shown to drive teenagers to change their behavior such that they resemble these stereotypes.  

Current research has shown that by shifting our beliefs about teenagers to be more positive can help teenagers to be more successful in their contributions and independence.  One study exposed teenagers to a passage stating positive views about teenagers and countered the negative beliefs about them and then researchers observed their behavior after reading the passage.  They found that in the days following the reading of the passage that participants showed higher engagement in the classroom as well as involvement in household tasks.  

Teenagers have a drive to become a member of the “real world” and seek responsibility in order to prove that they are.  The key to supporting teenagers in their development can be sharing positive and optimistic thoughts about them.

Read the full article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/natured-nurture/202210/recipe-responsible-teenagers

Marissa Robarge

UConn KIDS Research Assistant

Today’s Friday Feature is Kaya LeGrand! 

Kaya LeGrand is a second-year PhD student at UConn studying Developmental Psychology. She has a BA in Linguistics from Pomona College, as well as a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Emerson College. With her Linguistics degree and her passion for language, she was able to work with people as a speech pathologist. She worked at a residential school for autistic students after finishing her Master’s degree. Realizing that the autistic students she worked with (the ones with the most trouble learning language) are very understudied and that she misses doing research, she decided to go back to school to pursue her PhD.

Currently, she is working on the study Longitudinal Study of Early Language (IRB H02-415OSUBU, PI: Letty Naigles). This study follows individuals with autism spectrum disorder over time to investigate various questions related to language development in autism. She is working on a project that analyzes children’s verb production over the course of development from approximately age 2-5 to determine whether verbs are a particularly difficult aspect of language for children with autism.

Kaya’s favorite activity is to do anything outside, especially hiking and backpacking. She loves hanging out with her dog, Hugo, and playing board games!