Katelyn J. Pitcher, M.S.,  is a graduate student for Rhiannon Smith in the Social Development Lab

She is currently working on the “Expected Classroom Treatment” study (protocol # H21-0086) with Rhiannon Smith and Kim Chaney. In this study, they are investigating how children perceive teachers’ behavior towards their fellow students and how they expect to be treated in the classroom environment. The study is carried out online and can be accessed via this website. 

Katelyn is currently a third year graduate student in the developmental psychology program here at UCONN and is being advised by Dr. Rhiannon Smith. She attended undergrad at Hendrix College, a small liberal arts college in Arkansas. 

Katelyn has two primary research interests: bias development and group awareness in children, and identity development and wellbeing in sexual minority youth. Her current research is concentrating on the former topic; she is very interested in when children become aware of group membership and how to combat stereotype and bias development in childhood. Additionally, she is interested in how children’s race and gender impact their awareness and perception of group differences. She would also like to continue her work on sexual minority youth, especially asexual youth, who are a very understudied group. In Katelyn’s free time, her favorite hobbies are crafting of any kind. She can knit, crochet, sew, cross-stitch, and recently has tried to pick up lace tatting. 

Katelyn’s favorite TV show is currently Avatar the Last Airbender, which has been a favorite of hers since she watched it as it came out when she was in elementary school. She had rewatched it with friends during quarantine and loved its humor as well as its excellent story-telling and characters. 

There is a lot of research portraying the importance of gestures for communication. Research has shown that gesturing helps young infants and children learn.

Especially in the deaf community, there is work showing that these children are more likely to use gestures to communicate. At the age that hearing infants start to babble, deaf infants start to babble in their own way – through gesturing that looks like sections of words in sign language. There is also research explaining that deaf children can learn how to communicate with each other through hand gestures, even without concretely being taught sign language. 

Hearing children can also greatly benefit from learning gestures – baby signs have become a helpful way to communicate with babies before they begin talking. These baby signs were developed to stand for important phrases that infants need to express, like “milk”. There are certain products out there that are based on these baby signs claiming they will improve an infant’s language development, although there is no evidence supporting that these baby signs are particularly helpful in terms of long-term development. However, there is no evidence suggesting that there are any negative effects either. If they find them helpful, parents can use these signs as strategies to help their hearing infants in communicating before they are able to specifically verbalize their needs. 

The act of gesturing has also been shown to help children articulate what they know, but may not be able to verbalize. This evidence has been seen in specific math problems explained in the article. 

When instructors gesture, research has shown that children are more effectively been able to learn the information. Specifically with math problems, when teachers combine verbalizing the explanation of the solution with gestures, this helps to draw attention to the more important parts of the teacher’s explanation. 

Ethel Dvoskin

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-baby-scientist/202108/the-handiness-gesture-childrens-learning

A study conducted on children ages 6-14 showed that face masks may get in the way of children recognizing and processing faces. Specifically, children experience a greater decrease in their ability to recognize these faces compared to adults. While adults most commonly use a “holistic processing” strategy in which they process the face all at once, children more commonly focus on a specific feature to recognize a masked face. This strategy that is more often used by children is less effective for recognizing faces. Learning how to recognize faces in the early years is important because it will help children become proficient at understanding faces when they are older. The ability of children to process and understand faces is affected by the types of faces to which they are more commonly exposed – a previous study showed that children are better at recognizing the faces of their own race. This research raises many questions regarding the effect of masks on children’s perception and the possibility that children will gain expertise in recognizing masked faces but have trouble with unmasked faces. Future research is necessary to determine the long-term impact of children experiencing most of their practice in facial recognition with masked faces.

Ethel Dvoskin

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/parenting-translator/202202/recent-study-finds-masks-may-impact-face-processing

We often forget how important genes are to the development of children. Sometimes, we can be harder on our children because we forget how much of their behavior is affected by their genetic background. Learning about these concepts can help us become better parents and caregivers. 

In addition to affecting their physical genotypical differences like eye and hair color, DNA shapes some parts of the personality, which can affect a child’s behavior. If you notice a pattern of behavior exhibited by your child across different settings and circumstances, this could be due to a genetic difference. Genetic differences can drastically affect how children react to their environment. Roller coasters are a good example of this – some children may be extremely nervous while others are the happiest they have ever been.

Adults respond differently to children depending on their personality. For instance, a child who acts out more often may get a more stern response from parents, or be more likely to receive punishment. Children may have a specific temperament partly due to their genetic background, and then caregivers respond differently based on these characteristics, creating a cycle. 

Children find different environments appealing depending on their personality, what they are naturally good at, and what they take interest in. As they get older and are able to pick their environments based on their temperament, this affects their experiences, creating another cycle. For instance, introverted children may be more likely to hang out in smaller groups doing quieter activities. A child’s genetic background affects their development and experiences by contributing to their decisions regarding which environments they select.

Additionally, parents can help their children by working with their genetic predispositions and making sure that their environments agree with their temperaments. For example, an introverted child may have a hard time in an unfamiliar setting with many new people – it is vital to slowly introduce a child to this environment so that they feel more comfortable. Children may also need different strategies and disciplinary tactics, depending on these personality differences that are influenced by their genetic makeup.

Ethel Dvoskin

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/genes-environments-and-human-behavior/202201/5-ways-children-s-genes-shape-their-behavior

 

Healthy sleep patterns are vital for healthy functioning in both children and adults. Inadequate sleep can weaken the immune system, as well as diminish functioning and cause general fatigue. However, sleep problems are common, as many children have problems falling or staying asleep. It is important to understand the amount of sleep your child needs, as this varies based on the individual child and their age. Among adolescents, extra responsibilities when it comes to school and extracurricular activities typically contribute to sleep issues. In school children, lack of sleep can cause similar symptoms to ADHD. 

Pediatric sleep psychologists treat insomnia most widely. Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) and phase advance therapy are common treatments for insomnia in adolescents. Specific routines associated with waking up and bedtime are vital for children of all ages suffering from insomnia. There are also sleep training techniques that can be helpful for children up to 3 years old. These techniques can be controversial, but ultimately it is up to the family and what works best for them.

Many children experience bedtime resistance in which they may reject the idea of going to sleep or throw tantrums, causing stress for families. One simple solution is to create a bedtime routine consisting of 20 to 45 minutes of a few quiet activities. Both the order of activities and the time of day that the routine is started should stay consistent.

Curtain calls are another widespread problem—this is when a child delays bedtime by getting out of bed multiple times. A common effective strategy for this is called the bedtime pass program. For this strategy, a child gets only 3 passes allowing them to get out of bed, and is rewarded in the morning if any passes are unused. For children who have a fear of the dark, certain self-talk methods can be helpful. 

For those experiencing nightmare disorder, it is widely treated with imagery rehearsal therapy. In this therapy, patients make up a new ending to a recurring dream and continuously think and talk about this ending. This causes the emotions associated with thoughts of the nightmare to become more neutral or positive, causing the nightmares to become more tolerable and less frequent.

Ethel Dvoskin

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

Article link: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/07/ce-corner-sleep

Today’s Friday Feature is Ethel Dvoskin!

Ethel Dvoskin joined UConn KIDS as a Research Assistant in January. Ethel is currently a sophomore at UConn, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS). She hopes to complete an Early Childhood Specialization within HDFS and is also completing pre-requisite courses for accelerated nursing programs. She believes that if we want to build a healthy and happy population, it starts with young children. She is passionate about working with children and helping them grow emotionally, mentally, and socially. She hopes to find a career in which she can improve the health of our youth. Ethel joined UCONN KIDS in hopes to learn more about child development and the research recruitment process.

In high school, she volunteered at a summer school program designed to enhance literacy skills for first graders, many of whom spoke English as a second language. She has also helped children grow their confidence in creating through working as an arts and crafts counselor at a swim and tennis club. During the 2020-2021 academic year, she worked at an after-school program for elementary school-aged children.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, listening to music, jogging outdoors, and painting.

As Thanksgiving rolls right around the corner, it is important to discuss the significance of family dinners in a child’s life. Research has found many benefits on a child’s development when they have consistent family dinners. Children having family dinners four or more times a week have been shown to do better in school, improve in mental health issues such as anxiety, and are less likely to be involved in drug abuse. Yet, for an effective and fulfilling family conversation at dinner, several details parents need to consider. First, put away cell phones and other distractions. Removing digital distractions from the dinner table allows families to increase their engagement with each other. Second, ask open-ended questions. One example could be “What was your favorite part of the day, and what was your least favorite part?” Asking this question will help parents to understand what their child is excited about at the moment, and also where they might need more guidance. Parents can additionally ask more general questions that relate to their child’s life at the moment: “How is your team sport doing” or “How are your friends?”

Yet, in recent years we have seen an increased pressure on parents to have a family dinner every night. As family members, we need to understand and acknowledge family dinners will not happen every day. Parents have long work days and kids have many extracurricular activities that happen at night. Therefore we need to have a flexible mindset. While family dinners are one of the best opportunities to connect as a family, the importance lies in making sure the family is talking and staying up to date on each other’s lives and mental states. 

 

Laura Hinsch

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

 

Article Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/decisions-teens-make/202111/the-art-and-science-family-dinner

At the University of California at Irvine, there have been recent developments in creating STEM learning activities in family community spaces. These are spaces where kids and families play and interact, such as local parks, stores, and playgrounds. The STEM learning activities reflect science and mathematics practices, while also incorporating community culture and history. Integrating STEM focused activities in places such as parks, gives children the chance to have hands-on experiences in daily life events

In one of UC Irvine’s projects, they have developed an outline for a STEM activity at a bus stop that involves the well-known cultural game “Loteria” in the area. UC Irvine has also created an “I-Spy” mural at the bus stop where parents and children can talk about the different pictures and objects they observe. In addition, the program has created a new game called “Fraction Ball” at a local Santa Ana basketball court. The game gives kids the ability to learn about fractions through playing and shooting at the basketball court.  

UC Irvine’s STEM learning projects are part of a bigger national movement called Playful Learning Landscapes (PLL). Playful Learning Landscapes creates these community STEM learning activities based on child development research about learning, school achievement, and the parent-child relationship. 

These-up and-coming STEM learning activities in daily life are a great initiative to get kids outside and playing, while also learning about mathematics, science, and more! It will be exciting to see if more pop up around cities and towns in the near future. 

 

Laura Hinsch

Research Assistant, UConn KIDS

 

Article Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/playful-stem-learning/202111/playing-the-way-high-quality-stem-learning

In the midst of a pandemic, many stressors in our lives are still in play and some are even amplified. Stress that is not managed at its starting point, can lead to both physical and mental health issues such as high blood pressure, anxiety, and depression. When thinking about stress in children, there are several main areas where this feeling arises from. Many kids develop stress when dealing with conflict at home. This might involve parental divorce or new changes in the family atmosphere such as moving. School is also a huge factor when it comes to stress in children. School brings the issues of bullying, teachers and friendships together that may cause some degree of concern in kids. For teenagers, not only is school a common stressor, social issues seen in the media such as school shootings and climate change are also of large concern. To help identify how these stressors might be impacting your child, look for the following behaviors: 

• Avoiding responsibilities and duties
• Increase in physical sickness
• Behavioral changes
• Increase in moodiness or anger
• Changes in diet

After identifying some of the symptoms of stress your child may be having, try and implement these stress management tactics in both you and your child’s everyday life: 

1. Get a sufficient amount of sleep each night – Children are recommended to get at least nine hours of sleep each night while teens need at least eight. 
2. Fitness routine – Try to develop about 60 minutes of physical activity into your child’s daily routine.  by ways of walking, attending fitness classes, or weight training. Being physically active has been seen to reduce stress levels in all ages.
3. Have conversations with your child – Talk directly about the situations that might be causing stress in your family. Understanding why your kid might be having a hard time and talking through it will help put the situation in new light and hopefully new solutions. 
4. Journal – Have your children write down their thoughts and feelings about anything going on. Writing down whatever you are thinking has been seen to lower stress symptoms and have children focus on mindfulness.
5. Avoid negative words and thoughts – Try to avoid speaking negatively and model positive affirmations for your child. Promoting positive self-talk will remind them of their worthiness and the positives in each situation. 

 

Laura Hinsch

Research Assistant, UCONN KIDS

Article link: https://www.apa.org/topics/child-development/stress

Halloween and child development: Does trick- or – treating help our kids learn to socialize?  

 

With the upcoming holiday, it’s important to discuss the value they have. Especially with halloween children gain many benefits from it. For one, Halloween helps to nurture important social skills and allow parents the opportunity to be creastice with their children. In addition, Halloween has benefits for all ages. A baby is able to experience the world through the new touches of pumpkins, the sound of leaf crunching. For toddlers they get to taste new fall tastes that they haven’t had before. Preschoolers and early elementary school aged children are in the height of the pretending stage. They learn to role play, taking other people’s sides and creating the basis for empathy. But the most beneficial component of Halloween is that children get to spend that quality time with parents which helps to form positive family connections. 

 

Article link: https://www.al.com/entertainment/2016/10/halloween_and_child_developmen.html

 

Katie Nguyen

Research Assistant, UCONN Kids