Topic description and stories

Father hugging his son

Young children who are close to their parents are more likely to grow up kind, helpful and ‘prosocial’

09 Oct 2023

Study using data from 10,000 people in the UK found that those who had a closer bond with their parents at age 3 tended to display more socially-...

Read more
Children in Idlib Governorate, Syria: one of the countries most seriously affected by the underfunding of pre-primary education

Richest nations drift further away from 10% aid goal for pre-primary education

17 May 2023

New research shows proportion of international education aid for early childhood learning fell to just 1.1% post-pandemic, far short of an agreed 10...

Read more
Angry boy on stairs

Harsh discipline increases risk of children developing lasting mental health problems

31 Mar 2023

Parents who frequently exercise harsh discipline with young children are putting them at significantly greater risk of developing lasting mental...

Read more

Learning through 'guided' play can be as effective as adult-led instruction

12 Jan 2022

Play-based learning may also have a more positive effect on younger children’s acquisition of important early maths skills compared with traditional...

Read more
Children playing with a parent

Supporting mums’ mental health strengthens ‘protective’ playmate role with children

07 May 2021

Helping parents with depression or anxiety could also improve their ability to engage in potentially ‘protective’ forms of play with their children...

Read more
Mum and toddler

Video-led feedback programme reduces behaviour problems in children as young as 12 months

16 Mar 2021

A home-based parenting programme to prevent childhood behaviour problems, which very unusually focuses on children when they are still toddlers, has...

Read more

The neuroscientist who champions LGBT+ equal rights

26 Feb 2021

Duncan Astle is a neuroscientist on a mission to understand why the brains of some children develop differently to others – and how it affects not...

Read more

Children use make-believe aggression and violence to manage bad-tempered peers

06 Oct 2020

Children are more likely to introduce violent themes into their pretend play, such as imaginary fighting or killing, if they are with playmates whom...

Read more

Socio-economic status predicts UK boys’ development of essential thinking skills

21 Jul 2020

A comparison of children in Hong Kong, mainland China and the UK has found that British boys’ development of key thinking skills, known as ‘executive...

Read more

Playtime with Dad may improve children’s self-control

30 Jun 2020

Children whose fathers make time to play with them from a very young age may find it easier to control their behaviour and emotions as they grow up...

Read more
'Away he flew, right over the houses to the Gardens': illustration by Arthur Rackham for 'Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens'

Peter Pan and Wendy: how J M Barrie understood and demonstrated key aspects of cognition

03 Aug 2016

In a fascinating study of J M Barrie’s classic works for children, Dr Rosalind Ridley (Newnham College) reveals that the creator of Peter Pan, and a...

Read more
Figure from Mothercare, published by Truby King's daughter, Mary

Too big to cry: when war ended, the damage began

07 Nov 2015

A collection of essays edited by Drs Trudi Tate and Kate Kennedy looks at the legacy of the First World War through the lens of the creative arts. As...

Read more

Pages