Topic description and stories

Understanding the implications of enabling children to grow into healthy, happy, educated and inquiring adults, in safety and free from adversity.

Child with open arms and an AI powered soft toy on her lap.

Report calls for AI toy safety standards to protect young children

13 Mar 2026

The first systematic study of how generative AI toys affect young children finds that they can misread emotions and struggle with developmentally...

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In a classroom, a tired boy is resting on a desk

No evidence ADHD is being over-diagnosed, say experts

06 Mar 2026

Experts are warning that far from being over-diagnosed, people with ADHD are waiting too long for assessment, support and treatment.

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Two young boys running hand in hand in evening light

Play nicely: Children who are not friends connect better through play when given a goal

26 Feb 2026

Getting children to play together cooperatively depends less on their personal social skills and more on what they are doing – especially if they are...

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Lottie Haworth-Blomfield

Children born with upper limb difference show the incredible adaptability of the young brain

24 Feb 2026

A unique study imaging brain activity in children born with upper limb difference – for example, one hand – has shown the amazing ability of the...

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Sam Behjati at Wellcome Sanger Institute

Professor Sam Behjati appointed Head of Department of Paediatrics

16 Feb 2026

Childhood cancer expert Professor Sam Behjati has been announced as the new Head of the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Cambridge and...

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Young boy and girl

Sex differences in brain growth emerge in the womb, study finds

29 Jan 2026

Cambridge researchers have revealed a detailed picture of how the human brain grows from mid-pregnancy through the first weeks after birth and...

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Premature baby in a neonatal intensive care unit

Helping babies bloom after intensive care

19 Jan 2026

One in three babies admitted to neonatal intensive care unit will fail their school readiness assessment at age five, with consequences lasting into...

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Image taken by UNRWA in a temporary school in Gaza during 2025.

After more than two years of war, Palestinian children are hungry, denied education and 'like the living dead' – report

08 Jan 2026

A University of Cambridge-led analysis of how war has affected education and children’s lives in Gaza calls for an urgent increase in international...

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Reuben, his dad Nathan, and mum Danielle

Parents of children with a genetic diagnosis need better support

01 Dec 2025

Research into parental support needs is informing Cambridge Children’s Hospital’s commitment to provide a ‘whole family’ approach to care.

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Child with autism sitting at table doing crafts

Study reveals genetic and developmental differences in people with earlier versus later autism diagnosis

01 Oct 2025

Researchers find different genetic profiles related to two trajectories that autistic children tend to follow. One linked to early diagnosis, and...

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Girl takes exam in a London secondary school.

Time to 'rewild' the school system, argues Cambridge expert

29 Sep 2025

A new book warns that the school system may be “broken beyond repair”, claiming that it is deepening inequality and making children ill.

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Friends and their children at the beach

UK-wide birth cohort study to follow lives of new generation of babies

09 Sep 2025

Cambridge is to co-lead a new UK-wide scientific study that will follow the lives of 30,000 children born in 2026, helping provide evidence to...

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