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.

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Cuts to mental health services putting young people at risk, say experts

15 Sep 2017

Funding cuts and austerity measures are damaging young people’s access to mental health services, with potentially long-term consequences for their...

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Earliest-known children’s adaptation of Japanese literary classic discovered in British Library

14 Jun 2017

A chance discovery in the British Library has led to the discovery and reproduction of the earliest-known children’s adaptation of one of Japan’s...

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The researchers found that a high fat and high sugar diet exaggerates metabolic changes in the mother which occur naturally during pregnancy, potentially rendering her more susceptible to health complications.

High fat, high sugar diet during pregnancy 'programs' for health complications in mother and child

06 Apr 2017

Eating a high fat and high sugar diet when pregnant leads to metabolic impairments in both the mother and her unborn child, which may 'program' them...

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Encouragement from teachers has greatest influence on less advantaged children

28 Mar 2017

‘Big data’ study finds that children from families with limited education have strongest long-term response to teacher encouragement, and are more...

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0216

Pets are a child’s best friend, not their siblings

26 Jan 2017

Children get more satisfaction from relationships with their pets than with their brothers or sisters, according to new research from the University...

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Lonely teenager

Teenagers who access mental health services see significant improvements, study shows

18 Jan 2017

Young people with mental health problems who have contact with mental health services are significantly less likely to suffer from clinical...

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Artificial pancreas trial in young children with diabetes receives €4.6millon grant from European Commission

05 Sep 2016

An international trial to test whether an artificial pancreas can help young children manage their type 1 diabetes will begin next year, thanks to a...

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Teenagers in Oslo, Norway

Positive teacher-student relationships boost good behaviour in teenagers for up to four years

09 Aug 2016

The first study to look at the impact of the relationship with teachers on adolescent behaviour finds that a positive teacher-student relationship...

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'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...

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Teenager

Changes in brain structure during teenage years provide clues to onset of mental health problems

25 Jul 2016

Scientists have mapped the structural changes that occur in teenagers’ brains as they develop, showing how these changes may help explain why the...

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Surgeon

Parent-led tool opens up NHS children's heart surgery data to families

21 Jun 2016

Transparency without accessibility is not enough: stats must be put in context, say researchers.

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The orbitofrontal cortex (blue) and medial temporal cortex (red) were more similar in terms of thickness in youths with Conduct Disorder than in typically-developing youths, suggesting that the normal pattern of brain development is disrupted.

‘Map’ of teenage brain provides strong evidence of link between serious antisocial behaviour and brain development

16 Jun 2016

The brains of teenagers with serious antisocial behaviour problems differ significantly in structure to those of their peers, providing the clearest...

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