by It cannot be denied that scientific discovery and innovation have changed the face of modern parenting. We now have the technology to create human embryos in a laboratory, test them for genetic diseases and freeze them for later use. We know more than ever about the psychological impact our parenting choices have on our children, and many of us are consciously doing things differently than our own parents did for us.
Despite all this innovation and insight, children still don’t come with a teaching manual. There’s plenty of conflicting advice about how to raise a healthy, happy little one, and much is still shrouded in mystery: When is nature’s trump card nurtured? How does a parent know when to step back and when to intervene? Does the technology provide a solution to an existing problem or the potential cause of a new problem?
Parenting is not a science, but the latest research from the fields of medicine, psychology, education (and more) informs the way we parent, affecting everything from when we introduce potential food allergens to until we allow our children their own social media accounts. .
Here are some of the things science has taught us about children in 2023.
Physical activity is good for children’s psyches as well as their bodies.
A study from the University of Eastern Finland found that 8th and 9th grade students who walked or rode their bikes to school had higher “perceived academic performance” and enjoyed school more than those who peers who used other forms of transport.
More frequent activity had an even greater positive effect. Students who engaged in leisure time physical activity, such as sports practices, for 4-6 hours a week were 50% less likely to experience a school burn than their less active peers. They were also almost three times more likely to report high levels of “enjoyment at school”.
More screen time for children is associated with an increased risk of developmental delays.
A study published in JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) Pediatrics found a correlation between the amount of screen time children received at age 1 and the chance of them having developmental delays at ages 2 and 4. Delays were found at age 2 and 4. in both communication and problem solving areas.
It is important to note that the study found a correlation between screen time and developmental delays, not a causal relationship. Scientists don’t know if such delays are a result of screen time itself. It is possible, for example, that children who get more screen time are getting less face-to-face time with attentive caregivers, and this could contribute to delays in communication or other areas.
Children who have warm, loving relationships with parents grow up to be kinder people.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge used data collected from over 10,000 people in the UK to examine the impact of early relationships with carers. The children were followed through age 17, and researchers found that children who had warm, loving relationships with their parents at age 3 grew up with fewer mental health problems. In addition, these children and teenagers showed more “prosocial” behaviors such as kindness, compassion, helpfulness, generosity and volunteering.
Screen time affects young people’s brains and can put them at risk for mood disorders.
Children who spent more time on screens at ages 9 and 10 were more likely to show signs of anxiety at ages 11 and 12, according to a study published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions. Because the researchers looked at brain imaging of the children, they were able to identify structural changes in the brain associated with these symptoms. The structural brain changes that scientists have found share a pattern with those associated with teenage alcohol consumption, suggesting that the way screens affect the adolescent brain is similar to addictive substances.
Some children are born poor sleepers.
As millions of sleepy-eyed parents know all too well, sometimes kids just won’t go to sleep, no matter what you do. This study in the Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry found that the genetic variations that were linked to insomnia in adults are also correlated with insomnia in children. Children with a genetic predisposition were more likely to have difficulty falling asleep or to have frequent awakenings. Parents who struggle to get their children to fall asleep or stay asleep can take solace in the fact that genetics rather than lack of effort may be to blame.
Teenage girls are experiencing sexual violence more than ever before.
In February, the Centers for Disease Control released a report highlighting trends in data collected by its Youth Risk Behavior Survey over the past decade. While not all of these trends were negative, the report raised several troubling findings, including that 14% of teenage girls said they had been forced to have sex in the past year. This was the first time in ten years that this number had risen. For Native American and Alaska Native girls, and for those who identified as LGBQ+, the number was even higher. (Note that the survey did not give students an option to identify as trans.)
The report also documented an increase in the number of girls who experienced “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” and the number who attempted suicide. Again, LGBQ+ youth were at higher risk.
Talking to children affects the structure of their brain.
A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience in June found a correlation between the amount of speech children were exposed to and their brain structure. The scientists measured the amount of language children exposed to at home and used brain imaging to examine concentrations of myelin, a substance that coats nerves and facilitates connections. They found that babies who heard their parents and other adults say more words had a higher concentration of myelin in parts of their brain associated with language. Although parents may sometimes feel a little silly having one-way talks with children, it is ultimately how they learn to talk to children, and now we know that these experiences affect the physical structure of their brains.
Children’s nap patterns are related to their cognitive function.
A group of researchers at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom used the closure of childcare centers during the pandemic to study the natural napping tendencies of young children. Examining data from 463 children aged 8 months to 3 years, they found a relationship between nap patterns and a child’s cognitive function. Infants with smaller vocabularies and poorer cognitive skills tend to overeat more often. “Our research shows how often the step-child shows his individual cognitive need. Some are more efficient at consolidating information during sleep, so they are less frequent,” said lead researcher Dr. Teodora Gliga. Researchers have advised parents to let children nap as long as they need to, noting that reducing children’s naps will not improve brain development.
The infant mortality rate in the US is on the rise.
An analysis of child mortality data from 1999-2021 found that the mortality rate for ages 1-19 increased from 2019-2020 and again from 2020-2021. Dr. Steven H. Woolf of Virginia Commonwealth University, one of the authors of the analysis, told HuffPost that researchers believe the last such increase occurred in 1918 – the year of the Spanish flu pandemic.
COVID-19 led to an increase in adult mortality during those same years, but the virus did not account for the increase in child deaths. What does?
“Suicide, homicide, drug overdoses and car accidents,” Woolf said.
Among those numbers are large racial disparities. Boys, older children and Black children are at much higher risk of death by homicide, for example.
Access to firearms plays a critical role, with a gun involved in almost all homicides and almost half of all suicides in this age group.
Babies may recognize consciousness from the time they are born.
Although a baby cannot tell us what it thinks or feels, and no one can remember what it was like to be a baby, we now have evidence of conscious thought in infants. A study published in the journal Trends In Cognitive Sciences found the same markers of consciousness previously identified in adults in brain imaging of children. Although we may not be able to “read a child’s mind”, these findings suggest that children do make sense of their own lives. The study authors pointed out that these findings could have clinical, ethical and even legal implications. Parents may experience those early days and nights with their children in a new light, knowing that their child is already developing their own mind.
