tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/childhood-development-310/articlesChildhood development – The Conversation2023-09-12T20:09:54Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2129692023-09-12T20:09:54Z2023-09-12T20:09:54ZStand back and avoid saying ‘be careful!’: how to help your child take risks at the park<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546794/original/file-20230907-17-wbfuhz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C5973%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/low-angle-shot-of-a-woman-and-a-little-boy-sitting-on-a-tree-18053266/">Ryan Fatalla/Pexels </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is ongoing concern about the impact of “<a href="https://www.gottman.com/blog/helicopter-parenting-good-intentions-poor-outcomes/">helicopter parenting</a>” on children’s growth and development. </p>
<p>Keen to ensure the best outcomes for their children, helicopter parents tend to hover over their kids, constantly trying to prevent misadventure or harm. </p>
<p>But child experts say this can lead to a <a href="https://www.healthactionresearch.org.uk/mental-health/helicopter-parenting/">lack of resilience and tenacity</a> in children. Children can also struggle with problem-solving and initiative. </p>
<p>How can we overcome this? </p>
<p>We are educators who study risky environments. Our <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42322-023-00132-6">new research</a> looks at parent’s perceptions of an outdoor play park. It shows how outdoor parks provide opportunities for children to engage in risky play and develop independence and problem-solving skills.</p>
<h2>The importance of risk</h2>
<p>Risk taking means engaging in any behaviour or activity with an uncertain physical, social, emotional or financial outcome. </p>
<p>Risk is an everyday part of life, from driving a car to buying a house at auction or climbing a ladder.</p>
<p>We cannot eliminate risk, so we need to learn how to navigate it. This means taking responsibility for assessing potential consequences and taking necessary precautions. For example, crossing the road carries risk, but we learn how to look for cars or cross at traffic lights if the road is very busy. </p>
<p>Recognising and appropriately responding to risk taking is an integral aspect of children’s growth and development. In 1998, US educator and wilderness guide Jeff Liddle <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/105382599802100201">observed risk was instrumental</a> to lifelong learning. </p>
<p>Outdoor experiences are particularly good places to <a href="https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:24236/">develop skills around risk</a> because they are not a controlled environment. For example, no two trees are the same to climb and conditions can vary depending on the weather. </p>
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<img alt="A young child climbs on park equipment." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546795/original/file-20230907-27-w9ihqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546795/original/file-20230907-27-w9ihqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546795/original/file-20230907-27-w9ihqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546795/original/file-20230907-27-w9ihqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546795/original/file-20230907-27-w9ihqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546795/original/file-20230907-27-w9ihqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546795/original/file-20230907-27-w9ihqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Outdoor experiences can help children learn about risk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-boy-playing-on-playground-s-wooden-equipment-8535649/">Ksenia Chernaya/Pexels</a></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-new-risky-playground-is-a-work-of-art-and-a-place-for-kids-to-escape-their-mollycoddling-parents-193218">This new ‘risky' playground is a work of art – and a place for kids to escape their mollycoddling parents</a>
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<h2>Our study</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42322-023-00132-6">new study</a> we surveyed parents and caregivers about children’s risk taking in the Boongaree nature play park in Berry, New South Wales. </p>
<p>The park includes fixed equipment such as slides and climbing ropes as well as natural elements such as water, stone, timber, sand and greenery.</p>
<p>We chose Boongaree after it became the focus of media and social media debate due to a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-10/3yo-breaks-leg-at-boongaree-nature-play-park-berry/101317636">spate of injuries</a>, including broken bones. The Daily Mail <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10694305/Is-Boongaree-Nature-Play-Park-Berry-Australias-dangerous-playground.html">suggested</a> it was Australia’s “most dangerous playground”. Following community concerns, the park’s tunnel slide was <a href="https://www.2st.com.au/local-news/shoalhaven/boongaree-nature-play-park-tunnel-slide-to-go/">replaced</a> in May this year with another slide with less “momentum”. </p>
<p>Over multiple visits to the park in June 2023, we recruited 302 adults to complete a survey about their children’s park use. We then followed up with a closed Facebook group of 56 parents from the same group. </p>
<h2>The benefits of risk</h2>
<p>We asked parents to share their views about the park and they told us risky park play had many benefits. These included allowing children to:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>be challenged and solve problems</p></li>
<li><p>connect to the outdoors</p></li>
<li><p>direct their own play</p></li>
<li><p>be physically active</p></li>
<li><p>be creative and curious</p></li>
<li><p>demonstrate confidence and independence and</p></li>
<li><p>build social capacity, by sharing equipment and taking turns.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>As one parent told us: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The look on children’s faces as they reach the top of climbing ropes and start walking across the bridges is fabulous – grit and determination, followed by a big deep breath […]</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another parent spoke of the importance of giving kids the opportunity to </p>
<blockquote>
<p>make their own decisions about the risk they want to take, how high or how fast they will go. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Yet another parent described how the park gave children the “freedom to play in any way they feel comfortable”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-parents-can-help-their-kids-take-risks-and-why-its-good-for-them-120576">Five ways parents can help their kids take risks – and why it’s good for them</a>
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<h2>How to support your child in outdoor, risky play</h2>
<p>So next time you go to the park, how can you support your child to take appropriate risks? Here are some tips, based on <a href="https://theconversation.com/being-in-nature-is-good-for-learning-heres-how-to-get-kids-off-screens-and-outside-104935">our work</a> on children, risk and outdoor play: </p>
<p><strong>Start with a positive mindset:</strong> playgrounds are designed to develop physical and social skills. So be prepared for your child to try new things at the park (rather than just play it safe with the same old equipment). </p>
<p><strong>Be ready to support – and to stand back:</strong> there are times when it is best to stand back and let children experience the equipment or the area for themselves. There are others where parents are needed. So keep a monitoring eye on things. But don’t assume you will be helping all the time. </p>
<p><strong>Language matters:</strong> try to steer away from language such as “be careful”. This can set children up to be afraid of a situation. Reframe your language to something more supportive, such as “is there a stronger piece of wood to put your foot on?” or “have you seen the hole over there?” </p>
<p>You could also say something like, “look around, do you want to explore left or right?”. This prompts your child to think about the best approach for them and builds self confidence and problem-solving skills. </p>
<p><strong>Give useful advice:</strong> help children with specific guidance on how to use equipment safely. For example, when climbing you could say, “use three points of contact, two hands and one foot on that ladder”. </p>
<p><strong>Let the child decide:</strong> allow your child to decide what pieces of equipment they use and how far they climb. Do not push them to complete activities they are not comfortable with. And by the same token, intervene only when the equipment is clearly above their skill development level.</p>
<p><strong>Have fun:</strong> show excitement, join in the imaginative games and reinforce the message that it is acceptable to say no or yes to challenge – both choices are OK!</p>
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<p><em>The authors wish to acknowledge Amanda Lloyd, who contributed to the research on which this article is based.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212969/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our research shows outdoor parks offer the ideal place for children to engage in risky play. This may challenge parents who understandably wish to keep their kids ‘safe’ all the time.Tonia Gray, Professor, Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney UniversityJaydene Barnes, Associate Lecturer , Western Sydney UniversityMarion Sturges, Academic Professional Advisor and Lecturer in Education, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2126212023-09-11T20:08:54Z2023-09-11T20:08:54Z‘It’s not fair!’ Kids grumble and complain for a reason, here’s how to handle it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547118/original/file-20230908-29-efu6e7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C22%2C4883%2C3231&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/W82dYwtQrTk">Hunter Johnson/Unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Parents have no doubt heard all the classic grumbles from children and teenagers. From “It’s not fair!” to “Not spinach again!” and our personal favourite, “Why do <em>I</em> have to do all the work?” </p>
<p>All children are prone to being disgruntled and complaining in certain situations. But frequent grumbling can stretch adults’ patience and make them see their kids as ungrateful and unappreciative.</p>
<p>If children are grumbling, they are likely doing it for a good reason. So it is important not to just dismiss it outright. It is also important for kids learn to express themselves in more helpful ways. </p>
<p>Learning how to respectfully express dissatisfaction and call out unfairness can support a child’s <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdev.13968">mental health</a>, foster <a href="https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/parent-fact-sheets/staying-safe/">respectful relationships</a> at school, and a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10964-010-9593-7">positive transition</a> into adulthood. </p>
<p>So, how can we support children to have a voice, while turning their grumbles into more respectful communication?</p>
<h2>Why are kids grumbling?</h2>
<p>Grumbling, whingeing and complaining behaviour is annoying but it means something – children are doing it to communicate. Children <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/parenting/how-children-evolved-to-whine.html">are hardwired</a> from birth to cry to get their parent’s attention. </p>
<p>As they grow up, children’s crying often develops into <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3192404/">whining</a> and grumbling. This generally reduces with age – although, when stressed, adults can still grumble and cry!</p>
<p>To help reduce grumbling, start by observing the patterns and triggers. Does it happen at a particular time of day or around a particular activity? </p>
<p>Children may grumble because they are trying to share their perspective, express a frustration, or address a perceived unfairness. Children may also grumble to seek <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/communicating-relationships/family-relationships/staying-connected-you-your-teen">attention</a> from an adult, or to test limits and boundaries. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/connecting-communicating/communicating/communicating-well-with-children">younger children</a>, grumbling may mean they are tired, hungry, disappointed, frustrated or overwhelmed. They might be responding to changes in their lives, such as a change at school or something different in a <a href="https://ecdefenceprograms.com/modules/course/view.php?id=3">parent’s work routine</a>. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/school-age/connecting-communicating/communicating/conversation-skills">older children</a>, grumbling may also be linked to fatigue, stress and boredom. <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/development/social-emotional-development/independence-in-teens">Teenage grumbling</a> can be particularly aggravating if it is accompanied by eye-rolling or shoulder shrugging – which can really <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/communicating-relationships/communicating/conflict-management-with-teen">push a parent’s buttons</a>. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1CG10N429bI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What is good communication?</span></figcaption>
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<h2>A whingey kid is annoying … but</h2>
<p>It can be hard to empathise with grumbling. Adults may question the child’s reason to be upset, feel a problem has been wildly exaggerated, that a child is trying to avoid a job or is just being plain irritating.</p>
<p>Because grumbling is so annoying, especially if it is frequent and done in a whingey voice, adults may be inclined to make it go away by giving in to the child.</p>
<p>The inadvertent long-term effect of this strategy is to teach children their needs will be met through grumbling.</p>
<p>In moments of exasperation, instead of responding crossly or giving in, try and give yourself a break and step away. When feeling calmer, think about what your child is actually trying to say.</p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stressed-about-managing-your-childs-behaviour-here-are-four-things-every-parent-should-know-104481">Stressed about managing your child's behaviour? Here are four things every parent should know</a>
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<h2>Model positive communication</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A young boy pouts." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547119/original/file-20230908-29-vuv5u4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1133&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When your child is complaining, they are trying to tell you something.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/search/grumpy%20child/">Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Adult-child and adult-teen communication can be tricky, especially if adults focus on the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10566-020-09557-2">negative tone</a> rather than the message behind. it. But adults can <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/communicating-relationships/communicating/teen-communicating-relationships">break this cycle</a>. </p>
<p>The key is to <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/connecting-communicating/communicating/talking-and-listening-activity-children-3-6-years">listen calmly</a>. Avoid being dismissive, raising your voice, or labelling children as “whingers”. </p>
<p>Give your full attention, nod to <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/connecting-communicating/communicating/nonverbal-communication">show you are listening</a> and check you understand their concerns and opinions (even if you don’t agree). </p>
<p>Listening <a href="https://ecdefenceprograms.com/modules/course/view.php?id=2&section=4">in this way</a> helps children feel valued, eventually reducing grumbles. </p>
<h2>Here’s how you can respond</h2>
<p>Having listened – and heard – try to formulate a reasonable response, prompting the child to find a potential solution. This is showing your child how to communicate constructively. </p>
<p>For example, a child might say, “I’m alwaaaaays emptying the bins”. This might mean, “I don’t think the jobs are fairly distributed”, or “I’m getting bored doing the same job”. So adults could ask, “How can the jobs be allocated in a fairer way?” This supports independence and problem solving.</p>
<p>A child might also say, “It took me ages to clean that up”. This might mean, “I want to be thanked and acknowledged”. So you might respond by saying how much better the area looks and thank them for their time and effort. </p>
<p>Or you might hear, “Having those chairs in the hallway is dumb”. This might actually mean “I’ve got some ideas about how we organise our house”. </p>
<p>Parents could say they are interested in alternative ideas, but only if they are expressed with respect. Once they speak politely, if a small change is reasonable, you could ask the child to help adjust the space using a mix of both of your ideas (teaching teamwork). This helps them learn they have a right to be heard, but it is <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/communicating-relationships/communicating/negotiating">their responsibility</a> to speak politely. </p>
<p>Parents could also say something like, “It’s tricky, but using kind words means people are more likely to listen and respond to you”. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-leave-me-alone-why-staying-connected-to-your-teenager-is-tricky-but-important-208847">'Just leave me alone!' Why staying connected to your teenager is tricky but important</a>
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<h2>Times and places</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A mother speaks to a teenager, sitting on a bed." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547139/original/file-20230908-17-wd3xlr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Adults can encourage children to express their views, but do so politely.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-parent-looking-at-a-young-woman-while-holding-a-condom-6470995/">Cottonbro Studio/Pexels</a></span>
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<p>It’s not possible for adults to respond reasonably to every random grumble. We can teach children and teenagers there are times and places to raise complaints and concerns. </p>
<p>For example, your child might say, “We never get enough TV before dinner” right as you are taking the roast out of the oven. In response, you could say, “I can see this issue is really important to you” (acknowledging their concerns). You could add, “It’s late, so let’s chat about this for ten minutes over breakfast tomorrow” (making a time and setting limits). </p>
<p>Grumbling is a fact of life with children. But shutting down grumbles without addressing the underlying cause is likely to provoke more grumbles, and do little to teach children about useful communication. </p>
<p>However hard it may be for a tired, harassed parent, taking the time to deal with complaints and whinges constructively can be beneficial in the long run.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212621/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marg receives funding from the Commonwealth-funded Manna Institute, which aims to improve place-based mental health research for regional, rural and remote Australia. The Child and Family Resilience Programs project she leads has received funding from The Ian Potter Foundation and the Foundation of Graduates of Early Childhood Studies.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cassy Dittman receives funding from the Commonwealth-funded Manna Institute, which aims to improve place-based mental health research for regional, rural and remote Australia. She holds an Honorary Research Fellowship with the Parenting and Family Support Centre, which is partly funded by royalties stemming from published resources of the Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, which is developed and owned by The University of Queensland (UQ). Royalties are also distributed to the Faculty of Health and Behavioral Sciences at UQ and contributory authors of published Triple P resources. Triple P International (TPI) Pty Ltd is a private company licensed by UniQuest Pty Ltd on behalf of UQ, to publish and disseminate Triple P worldwide. Cassy Dittman has no share or ownership of TPI, however as an author on Triple P Programs, she receives royalties from TPI.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Govind Krishnamoorthy works for the University of Southern Queensland. Govind receives funding from the Commonwealth-funded Manna Institute, which aims to improve place-based mental health research for regional, rural and remote Australia. Govind has also received research funding from Rotary Health Australia for child mental health research. Govind is a member of the Clinical College of the Australian Psychological Soceity.
</span></em></p>Grumbling children and teenagers can be so annoying. But it is important to try and decode their complaints.Marg Rogers, Senior Lecturer, Early Childhood Education, University of New EnglandCassy Dittman, Senior Lecturer/Head of Course (Undergraduate Psychology), CQUniversity AustraliaGovind Krishnamoorthy, Senior Lecturer, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2047852023-05-29T19:50:46Z2023-05-29T19:50:46ZPandemic babies’ developmental milestones: Not as bad as we feared, but not as good as before<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528474/original/file-20230526-23-qh7azn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=301%2C760%2C3838%2C2282&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Scientists and physicians raised concerns early in the pandemic that increased parental stress, COVID infections, reduced interactions with other babies and adults, and changes to health care may affect child development.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/pandemic-babies--developmental-milestones--not-as-bad-as-we-feared--but-not-as-good-as-before" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic created conditions that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S2040174420000847">threatened children’s healthy development</a>. </p>
<p>Scientists and physicians raised concerns early in the pandemic, pointing out that increased parental stress, COVID infections, reduced interactions with other babies and adults and changes to health care <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fcdev.13653">could affect child development</a>. Furthermore, some children could be especially vulnerable to the pandemic circumstances. </p>
<p>With these concerns in mind, we started a <a href="https://doi.org/10.2196/25407">longitudinal study of pregnant Canadians</a> to understand how pandemic stressors might influence later child development. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.07.126">Our initial findings</a> were alarming: the rates of anxiety and depression among pregnant individuals were two to four times higher during the early phase of the pandemic compared to numerous pregnancy studies prior to the pandemic. This worrisome increase in mental health problems <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113912">was seen worldwide</a>. </p>
<h2>Impact on children’s development</h2>
<p>To determine how the pandemic might be affecting children’s development, we measured developmental milestones in 3,742 12-month-old infants born during the first 18 months of the pandemic. We then compared these infants to a similar group of 2,898 Canadian infants born between 2015 and 2018. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pregnant woman and a doctor both wearing face masks in the doctor's office" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528483/original/file-20230526-27-wmxs0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528483/original/file-20230526-27-wmxs0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528483/original/file-20230526-27-wmxs0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528483/original/file-20230526-27-wmxs0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528483/original/file-20230526-27-wmxs0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528483/original/file-20230526-27-wmxs0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528483/original/file-20230526-27-wmxs0a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rates of anxiety and depression among pregnant individuals were two to four times higher during the early phase of the pandemic compared to numerous pregnancy studies prior to the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The study evaluated developmental milestones using the <a href="https://agesandstages.com/products-pricing/asq3/">Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3</a>. The ASQ-3 is a parent report of child behaviour that can help identify children at risk of developmental delays in five separate domains: Communication, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Personal-Social and Problem Solving.</p>
<p>In a study to be published in the <em>Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics</em>, we found that most children born during the pandemic were doing fine, with almost 90 per cent meeting their key developmental milestones in each area. This should be reassuring for parents, caregivers and communities, because it suggests that most children are developing normally despite adverse early circumstances.</p>
<p>However, a slightly higher proportion of children born during the pandemic were at risk of developmental delay in Communication, Gross Motor and Personal-Social domains, compared to children born before the pandemic. Our findings <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/jxx.0000000000000653">are consistent</a> with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.10.21261846">prior smaller studies</a> showing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5563">only small increases in the risk</a> for poor verbal, motor and cognitive performance among 12-month-old infants born during the pandemic.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman smiling and playing with her baby in her lap" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528494/original/file-20230526-27-cc84m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528494/original/file-20230526-27-cc84m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528494/original/file-20230526-27-cc84m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528494/original/file-20230526-27-cc84m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528494/original/file-20230526-27-cc84m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528494/original/file-20230526-27-cc84m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528494/original/file-20230526-27-cc84m2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Engaging an infant in conversation or song (even a pre-verbal infant) is a powerful way to encourage language learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>The largest effects we observed were in the Communication and Personal-Social domains. Infants born during the pandemic were almost twice as likely to score below cutoffs compared to pre-pandemic infants. </p>
<p>This represents an increase of about one to two additional children in 100 who are at risk, but highlights some potentially concerning effects of the pandemic on early child development. Across Canada, this could result in service demands for 20,000-40,000 additional preschool children.</p>
<p>Although small in absolute terms, these increases have important implications, since already limited resources will need to increase to meet the needs of more children. Certainly, it will be important to continue monitoring infants/children born during the pandemic to determine how long-lasting these effects are. </p>
<p>Reassuringly, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-3797(02)00655-4">early interventions</a> can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2009.01.002">highly effective</a> for children who are struggling. </p>
<h2>Concerns about child development</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A smiling baby crawling towards the camera in the foreground, and a young man smiling in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528624/original/file-20230526-15-805x46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528624/original/file-20230526-15-805x46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528624/original/file-20230526-15-805x46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528624/original/file-20230526-15-805x46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528624/original/file-20230526-15-805x46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528624/original/file-20230526-15-805x46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528624/original/file-20230526-15-805x46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Provide your child with many opportunities for one-on-one interaction with a caring and responsive adult.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Parents should be mostly reassured by these findings. Despite the disruptions to nearly every aspect of life during the pandemic, the majority of children continue to show healthy development. Parents with concerns about their child’s development may find these suggestions helpful:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Provide your child with many opportunities for one-on-one interaction with a caring and responsive adult. The <a href="https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resourcetag/serve-and-return/">Harvard Center on the Developing Child</a> describes the back-and-forth interactions that form the key processes of child development as “serve and return.” </p></li>
<li><p>Believe in “ordinary magic.” This is the phrase that child development expert <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.56.3.227">Ann Masten</a> uses to describe how resilience emerges from ordinary, everyday processes and interactions. Children develop resilience when they have access to the right environments, the right relationships and the right chances to be able to safely explore themselves and the world around them.</p></li>
<li><p>Talk and sing with your child. Engaging an infant in conversation or song (even a pre-verbal infant) is a powerful way to encourage <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2005.11.002">language learning</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>There is a wide range of development that is considered “normal.” It is okay for your child to be at a different stage than other children their age, as long as your child is still showing signs of development. </p></li>
<li><p>If you are concerned about your child’s development after some time of monitoring, discuss your concerns with a qualified health professional to determine if further investigation is needed.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Overall, the findings of our study (and others) suggest that the effects of the pandemic on infant development (at least to one year of age) have not been as bad as we feared. However, a greater number of children will likely require further evaluation and support compared to pre-pandemic.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204785/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gerald Giesbrecht receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Lebel receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Brain Canada, the Azrieli Foundation, Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, and the Canada Research Chairs program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Brain Canada, Calgary Health Trust, the Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation and the Weston Foundation. </span></em></p>Research findings are mostly reassuring for parents — despite the disruptions to nearly every aspect of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, most children continue to show healthy development.Gerald Giesbrecht, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryCatherine Lebel, Associate Professor of Radiology, University of CalgaryLianne Tomfohr-Madsen, Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair in Mental Health and Intersectionality, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2039632023-04-25T13:51:28Z2023-04-25T13:51:28ZKids and screen time - an expert offers advice for parents and teachers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521285/original/file-20230417-24-sich9y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C655%2C5013%2C2981&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There's no expert consensus on whether screen time is good, bad or somewhere in between.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>How much time did your child spend looking at a screen today?</p>
<p>The answer likely depends on how old they are, what grade they’re in at school and what rules you have in place at home about screen time. But the reality is that, for children and adolescents growing up as “<a href="https://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf">digital natives</a>”, it is almost impossible to imagine life without screens of some sort.</p>
<p>Devices like cellphones, laptops and tablets have become ubiquitous as tools for entertainment and education in most parts of the world. This has led parents, guardians, teachers and researchers to wonder whether screens are good or bad for children. </p>
<p>The World Health Organization <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015128">recommends</a> that school-going children (five-17 years) limit their recreational screen time. The recommendation for two to four year-olds is not more than one hour of screen time per day (less is better); it <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241550536">suggests</a> that children younger than two should have no screen time. <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2798256">Research evidence</a> suggests that children and adolescents were already exceeding these recommendations, and that the COVID-19 pandemic only made this <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2798256">worse</a>.</p>
<p>There isn’t yet conclusive evidence about whether screen time is good or bad for children. But, based on my ongoing research into children’s development – including the <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-much-kids-need-to-move-play-and-sleep-in-their-early-years-107024">role of play, sleep, physical movement</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-screen-time-for-babies-children-and-adolescents-needs-to-be-limited-110630">screen time</a> – my view is that there are benefits of educational screen time, but we don’t know enough about the potential harms. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, there are several things parents and teachers can do. This includes basics such as being aware of how much time children are spending on screens and what their posture is like through, to more complex issues such as what each child’s developmental weaknesses and strengths are. It also involves setting boundaries.</p>
<p>None of this is easy to implement. However it doesn’t mean that they cannot be a healthy goal worth working towards. It is never too late to start, but the earlier you do, the better.</p>
<h2>Covering the basics</h2>
<p>First, it is essential for parents to be aware about how screen-based activities (educational and recreational) influence their child’s development, as well as their behaviour. </p>
<p>Secondly, remember that all children are different and will therefore respond differently to screen time. So understanding the child and their strengths and weaknesses is key. For example, if a child struggles with managing sensory input – like loud noises, bright lights or certain textures – it may be better for them to avoid recreational screen time.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-screen-time-for-babies-children-and-adolescents-needs-to-be-limited-110630">Why screen time for babies, children and adolescents needs to be limited</a>
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<p>Thirdly, establish boundaries around screen time. This is key at home and at school. </p>
<p>Fourth, keep tabs on how screen time is stopping children from doing other things that are developmentally beneficial. For example, in the home, a child who is learning mostly on screens at school could be encouraged to spend time after school playing outside, and doing activities that develop fine motor skills. Screen swiping and typing are poor substitutes for activities that stimulate these skills, like writing, drawing, colouring in, painting, and cutting.</p>
<p>Fifth, in a school environment, are there other activities that provide children and adolescents opportunities to intentionally develop their social and emotional skills that are not getting as much attention when they are working alone on screens? </p>
<p>Sixth, are screens set up in such a way that encourages good posture? </p>
<h2>Baby steps</h2>
<p>Setting boundaries and striving for a healthy balance of educational and recreational screen time within the broader context of development may seem daunting. </p>
<p>It requires thoughtfully reflecting on the wider impacts of the choices made around screens, and offering a range of opportunities that help to boost chlidren’s chances of growing up to be healthy and well-adjusted adults.</p>
<p>As much as possible, involve children and adolescents in conversations about why a healthy balance of screen time will benefit them. This can help them take ownership of their choices about their health and development – both in the present as well as their future health and well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203963/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Draper receives or has received funding from the British Academy for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the South African Medical Research Council, the Jacobs Foundation, and the European Commission. </span></em></p>Parents should keep an eye on how screen-based activities influence their child’s development and behaviour.Catherine Draper, Associate Professor, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1939552022-11-11T01:46:12Z2022-11-11T01:46:12ZKids’ screen time rose by 50% during the pandemic. 3 tips for the whole family to bring it back down<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/494034/original/file-20221108-26-tdff27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C14%2C3225%2C2138&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.pexels.com/photos/7414095/pexels-photo-7414095.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1260&h=750&dpr=2">Pexels/Kampus Production</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Has your child’s screentime increased since COVID? If you were to estimate by how much would you say 20%, 30% or even a 50% increase? </p>
<p>A <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2798256">newly released review</a> comparing children’s screentime before and during COVID, shows children’s screentime spiked by a whopping 52% between 2020 and 2022. Increases were highest for children aged 12 to 18 years, and for handheld devices and personal computers.</p>
<p>Even though life is (almost) back to normal, many parents have noticed their child’s technology use is still much higher than pre-COVID levels. Their instinct may be to come down hard with rules and restrictions.</p>
<p>But another approach might be to create a healthier balance as a family.</p>
<h2>Easy habits to make</h2>
<p>The full effect of the pandemic on our technology use is not yet clear, but there are factors to consider when understanding the current state of play of increased time on devices. </p>
<p>A key factor driving ongoing increased screentime is that extensive screen use sustained over time turns into <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/habitual-behavior">a habit</a>. </p>
<p>In other words, once a person gets used to using technology for greater lengths of time, it becomes their “baseline”. Much like the way a child may get used to staying up late every night in the summer school holidays and then find it difficult to adjust back to school term bedtime again. The longer we do it, the more adjustment needed. </p>
<p>During our two COVID-induced years of restrictions, regulations and stay-at-home orders, many other activities were also removed from children’s routines. Not only did screentime <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(22)00182-1/fulltext">increase</a>, but it also became the only resource child had for school, play, communication, and everything in between. Screentime was not an add-on to their day, it became the <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2021.684137/full">core of their day</a>. </p>
<p>Another factor driving children’s increased screentime more of our life has gone online since COVID. <a href="https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-021-02909-z">Online learning</a> has become an ongoing element of education. Online work and entertainment have all become more digital. </p>
<p>As a result children continue to use technology for longer periods of time and more intensely, and it’s likely this trajectory will continue to increase. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lockdown-babies-behind-on-communication-milestones-to-help-toddlers-language-skills-just-talk-and-listen-192362">Lockdown babies behind on communication milestones: to help toddlers' language skills, just talk and listen</a>
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<h2>Effects on kids</h2>
<p>Increased screen time likely did not negatively interfere with wellbeing during lockdown periods as it was the only way to remain <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2021.684137/full">socially connected</a>. However many worry, about the impact of ongoing high levels of screentime on children. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07503-w">Evidence of its impact</a> is still sketchy. One of the main reasons is that it is now very difficult to separate our online and offline worlds. </p>
<p>But there are important points to consider regarding how problematic screentime impacts mental and cognitive health, which sit at the core of learning and development for children, and for us as adults. </p>
<p>We know there is a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-022-00015-6">link</a> between screen use and stress and anxiety. This doesn’t not necessarily mean phone use causes stress and anxiety. It may be that when we are stressed and anxious, we reach for our phone to relieve it. But when that happens problems are not resolved and stress maintains. This can become a habit for children. </p>
<p>Overuse of a screen can lead to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-022-00015-6">mental and physical fatigue</a> impacting a child’s mood and ability to focus and learn. </p>
<p>Sleep is important for learning because it is during sleep we consolidate the ideas we engaged with that day. Little sleep means our brain doesn’t have a chance to do this, which negatively impacts learning. Some small, limited lab-based experimental studies <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945716000599?via%3Dihub">suggest</a> screen use may negatively impact adults’ body clock and sleep. </p>
<p>However, disrupted sleep is more often associated with the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691822002773">content</a> a child engages with on a screen before bedtime. Hyped, highly emotive content – whether it’s on their phone, tablet or TV – is more likely to keep a child up at night. Reading a sweet story book on their screen, before bed has a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691822002773#bb0220">different impact</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/development-of-vision-in-early-childhood-no-screens-before-age-two-193192">Development of vision in early childhood: No screens before age two</a>
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<h2>3 tips for cutting back as a family</h2>
<p>Taking measures to cut a child’s screentime may seem like the most obvious parenting strategy. However, it is not necessarily the best as it often cannot be sustained. There are other measures that are more effective. </p>
<p>Like children, adults also experienced <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2021.684137/full.">excessive screentime</a> during COVID. Given parents’ level of screen use is <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2798256">strongly associated</a> with children’s screen use, getting our own screentime back under control is an important role model that children need to see. Here are three tips: </p>
<p><strong>1. Approach it together</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44184-022-00015-6">One study</a> from Denmark focused on all family members taking measures together to change their screen habits and the results were highly effective. Families reported positive effects on mental wellbeing and mood of all family members. </p>
<p><strong>2. Prepare for challenges</strong></p>
<p>Important to the success of families in the study was that they were encouraged to talk about their expected challenges of reducing screen use and list potential solutions. This “in it together” approach enhances family bonding, motivation for change and new home screen environments. </p>
<p><strong>3. Guide all elements of healthy screen use</strong></p>
<p>Ensure parental guidance focuses on all three aspects of healthy device use: screen time, screen quality and screen buddies. This means keeping a eye on time spent on a device but also ensuring a child uses technology in a wide variety of positive ways, in varying social situations – sometimes independently but often with others. </p>
<p>Technology use has changed markedly since COVID. Managing screentime remains integral for children’s health and wellbeing. But how we understand screentime, its place in our lives and how we help children manage it must move with the times. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tiktok-can-be-good-for-your-kids-if-you-follow-a-few-tips-to-stay-safe-144002">TikTok can be good for your kids if you follow a few tips to stay safe</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193955/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Orlando does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Parents may well feel the need to ‘crack down’ on kids’ screentime. But a whole-family approach might be more successful.Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Digital Literacy and Digital Wellbeing, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1782492022-04-18T12:28:31Z2022-04-18T12:28:31ZHealth insurance coverage for kids through Medicaid and CHIP helps their moms too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456440/original/file-20220405-3023-flwpfh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=205%2C115%2C5285%2C2824&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Family stability can benefit a whole household.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/family-pulling-weeds-in-backyard-garden-on-summer-royalty-free-image/1289136070">Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>When children get health insurance through <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/national-medicaid-chip-program-information/downloads/july-2021-medicaid-chip-enrollment-trend-snapshot.pdf">Medicaid</a> or the <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/chip/index.html">Children’s Health Insurance Program</a>, known as CHIP, their families benefit too. </p>
<p>That’s what <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=NBp3DXUAAAAJ&hl=en">I found</a> through recent research conducted with two fellow health economists, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=0jXA1z8AAAAJ">Daniel S. Grossman</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MWW9JgkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Barton Willage</a>. And it was particularly true for their mothers, who become 5% more likely to be in a stable marriage and experience a 5.8% <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w29661">reduction in stress levels</a>. Moms are also less likely to smoke cigarettes and drink heavily.</p>
<p>We figured this out by comparing the rates for marriage, mental health conditions and health behaviors of mothers whose children are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP, a joint effort by states and the federal government to cover kids in families with relatively modest incomes that are too high for Medicaid eligibility, with mothers whose children are less eligible for these programs.</p>
<p>We also compared the employment status of low-income mothers of children who obtained health insurance eligibility with those who did not.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Some 4.3 million children under the age of 19, or 5.6% of all U.S. kids, <a href="https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/09/uninsured-rates-for-children-in-poverty-increased-2018-2020.html">lacked health insurance coverage</a> in 2020 – the most recent data available. President Joe Biden’s proposed Build Back Better Act, currently <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/14/dems-2022-build-back-better-527096">stalled in the Senate</a>, would help close this gap. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/state-indicator/medicaid-income-eligibility-limits-for-children-ages-1-5/">States set their own eligibility requirements</a> for Medicaid and CHIP, and these thresholds range widely. <a href="https://www.healthreformbeyondthebasics.org/key-facts-determining-household-size-for-medicaid-and-chip/">Eligibility usually depends</a> on a child’s age, the number of people in the household and the family’s income. For example, in Oregon, a 3-year-old in a family of three with an annual income of <a href="https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/federal-poverty-guidelines/">US$33,000 would not be eligible</a>. That same child living in Wisconsin, however, would be. And Wisconsin’s policies are not even the most generous in the nation.</p>
<p>Previously, researchers have primarily measured the effectiveness of the Medicaid and CHIP programs for children by assessing direct effects related <a href="https://wke.lt/w/s/yP85NT">to their own health</a>. Our study shows that gaining access to government-provided health insurance coverage also affects a child’s household in positive ways.</p>
<p>One reason that’s important: Prior research has shown that growing up in a stable home benefits a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4173904/">child’s cognitive development</a>. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Our study complements previous research suggesting that obtaining health insurance coverage through Medicaid and CHIP has long-term effects for children, such as through <a href="https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.51.3.1014-6688R1">higher educational achievement</a>. But how that happens remains unclear. That is, do these kids perform better in school because their health is typically better than it would have been – or something else? </p>
<p>Another question that remains is whether these patterns crop up when people gain access to other beneficial programs. For example, when children with special needs obtain the services they require, does it also benefit their parents? Or how does student loan forgiveness improve the lives of people in a household besides the person who owed the money?</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We focused on moms because maternal data was more readily available. In the future, we would like to do further research to see whether the benefits for the fathers of children who gain health insurance coverage through Medicaid and CHIP are similar to the boost that mothers get.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 150,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-150ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178249/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sebastian Tello-Trillo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When states reduce barriers for low-income children to get coverage, their mothers are more likely to be married and less likely to smoke.Sebastian Tello-Trillo, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1776332022-03-25T00:34:41Z2022-03-25T00:34:41ZYes, the ‘terrible twos’ are full-on – but let’s look at things from a child’s perspective<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452124/original/file-20220315-23-1fhj6lu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=60%2C50%2C6611%2C4261&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/whats-in-a-milestone-understanding-your-childs-development-50894">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Meet Eli. He entered the second year of his life with gusto and now, aged 18 months, he is discovering new things every day including ideas he wants to try out immediately. Like, right now. Waiting is not an option. </p>
<p>Combined with his passion for life he often becomes emotionally overwhelmed and erupts into frequent meltdowns. Words and phrases like “no”, “do it myself” and “mine” are used often.</p>
<p>Sometimes the smallest thing ends with Eli kicking, biting and crying. Although he’s still developing a command of words, he shouts “I don’t love you, Dad!” with devastating accuracy. These outbursts happen at home and out in public. </p>
<p>Research <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK544286/#:%7E:text=%5B1%5D%20Researchers%20have%20found%20that,of%20four%2Dyear%2Dolds.">shows</a> tantrums occur in 87% of 18 to 24-month-olds, 91% of 30 to 36-month-olds, and 59% of 42 to 48-month-olds – often on a daily basis.</p>
<p>The “terrible twos” might sound accurate, but branding toddlerhood (18 months to 36 months) this way is an injustice to this group. The generic label fails to grasp the huge developmental growth happening at this age. It also fails to celebrate the developing emotional life of a toddler, at once complex, multifaceted and exhilarating.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-in-a-milestone-understanding-your-childs-development-50894">What’s in a milestone? Understanding your child’s development</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>What’s going on?</h2>
<p>Eli is at a “<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books/about/Touchpoints.html?id=Y0FEnQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y">developmental touchpoint</a>”, where a unique surge in capacities is coupled with behaviour falling apart. At this age, children begin to establish independence while simultaneously needing to learn ways of coping with intense feelings such as fear, anger, frustration and sadness. Researchers are still <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/imhj.21877">discovering</a> what a normal trajectory for emotional regulation development looks like, and what might help or hinder it. </p>
<p>Intense, uncontrolled feelings and defiance are normal at this age. But it can be challenging for parents to support their toddlers through this stage.</p>
<p>Focusing solely on a toddler’s behaviour fails to capture the significant role sensitive care-giving plays in social and emotional development in the early years. </p>
<p>A core component of sensitive and responsive parenting is a parent’s capacity to put themselves into the mind of their very young child and understand the child’s <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16210239/">behaviour has meaning and is driven by internal experiences</a> such as feelings, thoughts, desires and intentions.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1502185488173645828"}"></div></p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jamming-with-your-toddler-how-music-trumps-reading-for-childhood-development-49660">Jamming with your toddler: how music trumps reading for childhood development</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<h2>A child’s-eye view</h2>
<p>Being able to understand the world from the child’s perspective helps a parent to <a href="https://www.appi.org/Handbook_of_Mentalizing_in_Mental_Health_Practice_Second_Edition">anticipate, interpret and respond</a> to the child’s behaviour in ways that build a child’s capacity to regulate their emotions.</p>
<p>Eli’s dad didn’t experience tantrums with his first child, who had a calmer disposition, so he finds Eli’s emotional outbursts hard to tolerate. He becomes angry when Eli refuses to do what he is told and yells at him to “stop it!”. This frightens Eli, who sometimes retreats and sometimes escalates in his distress.</p>
<p>Eli’s dad is unaware of his toddler’s internal experiences and is confused by his own “out-of-control” feelings when parenting him. Frequent emotional outbursts coupled with an authoritative parenting style <a href="https://www.appi.org/Handbook_of_Mentalizing_in_Mental_Health_Practice_Second_Edition">places children at risk</a> of developing more serious emotional and behavioural problems. </p>
<p>Eli’s dad needs to understand that his primary role at this stage is to put his child’s experiences at the centre of his mind. This requires him to try to make sense of what Eli is communicating about himself through his behaviour and to respond in a sensitive way. This can help a child like Eli not be overwhelmed by intense feelings.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452125/original/file-20220315-13-4qeoee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="young girl having tantrum" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452125/original/file-20220315-13-4qeoee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452125/original/file-20220315-13-4qeoee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452125/original/file-20220315-13-4qeoee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452125/original/file-20220315-13-4qeoee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452125/original/file-20220315-13-4qeoee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452125/original/file-20220315-13-4qeoee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452125/original/file-20220315-13-4qeoee.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’s important to figure out the big feeling behind the tantrum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-asian-little-cute-girl-600w-1484664989.jpg">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3 guidelines for parents:</h2>
<p><strong>1. Be aware of your own responses</strong></p>
<p>Tantrums can be emotionally activating for parents. Being aware and making sense of your own feelings will help you to respond sensitively to your child’s distress. When Eli’s dad makes sense of his struggles with managing anger, he is calmer, enabling him to focus on Eli’s emotional experiences.</p>
<p><strong>2. Identify and validate your child’s difficult feelings</strong></p>
<p>Young children need help from their parents to recognise that the feelings they are expressing through their behaviours are just that: feelings that will pass in time. They need help to name them, work out what is causing them and figure out what might help. </p>
<p><strong>3. Search for underlying meaning</strong></p>
<p>Remember not to take emotional outbursts personally. Viewing a tantrum as a means of communication helps parents consider the likely causes of a child’s distress and to think through possible solutions. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3FsBaRYRPnU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are is a tribute to tantrums.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/having-problems-with-your-kids-tantrums-bed-wetting-or-withdrawal-heres-when-to-get-help-125299">Having problems with your kid's tantrums, bed-wetting or withdrawal? Here's when to get help</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Making changes</h2>
<p>With new insights, parents like Eli’s dad can can help their child put themselves back together again after emotional outbursts, which may be less frequent. With consistent support, toddlers can learn to tolerate frustration, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23006014/">gain a sense of control of strong feelings</a> and find words to express what is happening inside them.</p>
<p>Parenting a toddler is no easy task. Today’s parents have the advantages of remarkable leaps in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/temper-tantrum.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article&login=smartlock&auth=login-smartlock">neuroscientific and developmental knowledge</a>. However, these can be difficult to access and even more difficult to put into practice. Unwittingly we can fall back into the familiar ways we were parented, or we might attempt try to do the opposite of how we were parented only to find we have lost direction. </p>
<p>Investment in early intervention programs <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/mona-delahooke/beyond-behaviours-using-brain-science-and-compassion-to-understand-and-solve-childrens-behavioural-challenges">for everyone</a> or at a <a href="https://www.guilford.com/books/Psychotherapy-with-Infants-and-Young-Children/Lieberman-Horn/9781609182403">targeted level</a> where the parent-child relationship is in trouble, could provide the building blocks for lifelong emotional well-being for families and for society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177633/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Terrible or terrific? There is a lot going when you’re two.Rochelle Matacz, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Edith Cowan UniversityLynn Priddis, Adjunct associate professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1638632021-10-06T16:30:18Z2021-10-06T16:30:18ZUnderstanding the early-life origins of suicide: Vulnerability may begin even before birth<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424824/original/file-20211005-19-1cjc5q8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=219%2C323%2C4365%2C3120&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vulnerability to suicide may build up throughout the course of life, and may start with events occurring in the perinatal period and infancy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Suicide is a tragic event. Unfortunately, <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/09-09-2019-suicide-one-person-dies-every-40-seconds">every 40 seconds, a person dies by suicide</a>. Beyond the premature loss of an individual’s life, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12450">more that 100 people may be affected</a> by each suicide, including family, friends and community members. </p>
<p>People considering their own death have often gone through long periods of intense suffering and internal struggles. They may have endured mental illness and experienced a range of adverse life events. Helping people suffering from a mental disorder and/or going through a difficult time is therefore of the utmost importance to preventing suicide. </p>
<p>However, evidence from research conducted in the past two decades has highlighted that suicide is not only the result of such contributing factors around the time of death. Instead, vulnerability to suicide may build up throughout the course of life. It may start with events occurring very early in life, in the perinatal period and infancy, that have long-lasting influences on suicide in adulthood.</p>
<h2>The developmental origins of health and diseases</h2>
<p>In the 1990s, British epidemiologist David Barker noticed that children born with low birth weight (less than 2.5 kilograms) or preterm (before 37 weeks) were more likely to develop chronic conditions such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra0708473">cardiovascular or metabolic diseases</a> as adults. These observations served as the foundation of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihy006">developmental origins of health and diseases</a> (or DOHaD) hypothesis. </p>
<p>The DOHaD hypothesis suggests that exposure to environmental influences during the critical period of fetal development could have significant consequences on an individual’s short- and long-term health. This knowledge promoted <a href="http://www.project-earlynutrition.eu/eneu/">early-life interventions</a> such as prenatal and infant nutrition to improve long-term outcomes. It also supported <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preterm-birth">guidelines to promote quality care</a> before, between and during pregnancies.</p>
<p>As such, the DOHaD hypothesis has increased scientific interest in understanding how early-life events influence the risk of other health problems, including suicide.</p>
<h2>Early-life origins of suicide</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Illustration of a fetus and a network of interconnected dots." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424649/original/file-20211005-19-rez0dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424649/original/file-20211005-19-rez0dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424649/original/file-20211005-19-rez0dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424649/original/file-20211005-19-rez0dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424649/original/file-20211005-19-rez0dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424649/original/file-20211005-19-rez0dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424649/original/file-20211005-19-rez0dc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When the fetus is exposed to adversity, it may adapt to survive a harsh environment in utero.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pixabay/Canva)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As researchers with the <a href="http://www.lifespanproject.net/">LIFESPAN research project</a>, our goal is to better understand whether early-life factors influence the risk of suicide later in life, and how. If early life factors are associated with suicide, suicide prevention strategies need to be implemented early in life.</p>
<p>Within the LIFESPAN project, we recently conducted a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30077-X">meta-analysis</a> looking at 42 articles from 21 longitudinal cohort studies from Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It examined associations of 14 early-life factors in the prenatal and perinatal periods — including low birth weight, obstetric complications, impoverished socio-economic conditions of the family at childbirth and young parental age — with later suicide. </p>
<p>Out of the 14 factors investigated, seven were associated with suicide in adulthood, providing support for the DOHaD hypothesis. The strongest early-life influences on later suicide were parental characteristics such as low parental education, low family socio-economic conditions and young maternal age, as well as restricted fetal growth, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2021.15">low birth weight</a>.</p>
<p>For example, researchers found that children born with a lower birth weight or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyab038">who were premature</a> were more likely to die by suicide than children born with normal birth weight. They also found that children of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(04)17099-2">teenage parents</a> were more likely to die by suicide than children of older parents, and that children born to parents with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwt014">lower levels of education</a> were more likely to die by suicide than children born to parents with higher levels of education. </p>
<p>It is important to note that these are epidemiological findings that should not be directly applied to the single individual, but rather they should be applied to the population. We cannot consider a prematurely born baby as being at risk of suicide, but in a given population, babies born prematurely are, on average, at higher risk of dying by suicide than children born at term.</p>
<h2>How early-life risk factors increase suicide risk</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Illustration of a person's silhouette in a sad posture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424672/original/file-20211005-23-1wm6y6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424672/original/file-20211005-23-1wm6y6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424672/original/file-20211005-23-1wm6y6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424672/original/file-20211005-23-1wm6y6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424672/original/file-20211005-23-1wm6y6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424672/original/file-20211005-23-1wm6y6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424672/original/file-20211005-23-1wm6y6k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If early life factors are associated with suicide, suicide prevention strategies need to be implemented early in life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pixabay)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An important followup question is to understand <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291720002974">why factors occurring very early in life may influence behaviour happening decades later</a>. A first theory implicates social mechanisms. Socio-economic factors (such as poverty or lower education levels) are key determinants of health and tend to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-012-0120-1">transmitted from one generation to another</a>. </p>
<p>Children born to a family with low financial resources may have restricted access to quality education, health care and life opportunities. This may increase their chances of being confronted with financial and social problems in adulthood, which may in turn increase suicide risk. In other words, social and economic problems that increase suicide risk in adulthood may be, in part, the continuation of the socioeconomic conditions of the family into which a child was born. </p>
<p>This is also true for non-monetary indicators of socio-economic position, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716217729471">parental education</a>. Parents who are young and less educated may not have the material and emotional resources to provide their children with the best start in life. Providing resources to young parents from low socio-economic conditions may therefore be an opportunity to improve their child’s health in adulthood, and consequently decreasing suicide risk.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424825/original/file-20211005-17-1ojeeii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of a blue human silhouette with clouds and rain in its head" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424825/original/file-20211005-17-1ojeeii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424825/original/file-20211005-17-1ojeeii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424825/original/file-20211005-17-1ojeeii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424825/original/file-20211005-17-1ojeeii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424825/original/file-20211005-17-1ojeeii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424825/original/file-20211005-17-1ojeeii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424825/original/file-20211005-17-1ojeeii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The capacity to cope with life stress, also known as resilience, is a key protective factor for suicide and mental health problems in general.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A second theory implicates <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023598118">brain development</a>. The DOHaD hypothesis states that when the fetus is exposed to adversity, it reacts with adaptations to survive a harsh environment in utero. These adaptations may result in impairments in brain development, which are in turn associated with decreased cognitive skills that may further reduce a person’s capacity to deal with stressful events later in life. The capacity to cope with life stress, also known as resilience, is a key protective factor for suicide and mental health problems in general. </p>
<p>Reducing risk factors that may determine <a href="https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra0708473">low birth weight or fetal suffering</a>, such as poor nutrition, infections, exposure to chemicals or hormonal perturbations, is important for the health of the offspring. However, interventions to boost resilience among children who have experienced adversity during the fetal period may also be a promising avenue for preventing later problems, including suicide.</p>
<h2>Suicide prevention from an early-life perspective</h2>
<p>Early prevention is universally recognized as a leading way to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-3174">reduce health problems</a> while <a href="https://heckmanequation.org/resource/invest-in-early-childhood-development-reduce-deficits-strengthen-the-economy/">minimizing societal costs</a>. Early prevention often means removing or reducing risk factors in a population before a health problem manifests. </p>
<p>In this perspective, research on the early-life origins of suicide invites us to integrate interventions at the individual level with prevention at the population level. It supports the need to think about suicide prevention as a long-term, rather than uniquely a short-term, endeavour with the goal of reducing vulnerability to suicide during the life course. </p>
<p>Public health policy providing the best environment for children to grow up may have the potential to build resilience and reduce the long-term vulnerability to suicide.</p>
<p><em>If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call 911 for emergency services. For support, call Canada Suicide Prevention Service at 1-866-277-3553 (from Québec) or 1-833-456-4566 (other provinces), or send a text to 45645. Visit <a href="https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/">Crisis Services Canada</a> for more resources.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163863/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 793396 (awarded to Massimiliano Orri).
Massimiliano Orri is affiliated with the Bordeaux Population Health Research Centre, INSERM U1219, University of Bordeaux</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marie-Claude Geoffroy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Early life influences have been linked to higher risk of suicide later in life. Reducing those risks, and boosting resilience in children exposed to them, may help reduce suicide rates.Massimiliano Orri, Assistant Professor, McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill UniversityMarie-Claude Geoffroy, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Canada Research Chair in Youth Suicide Prevention, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1680702021-09-22T17:55:14Z2021-09-22T17:55:14ZClimate change is harming children’s mental health – and this is just the start<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421694/original/file-20210916-23-izows9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=71%2C65%2C3922%2C2592&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Despite warnings about the impact of climate change on health, surprisingly little has been written about the mental health consequences of climate change for children.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Callum Shaw)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 175px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/climate-change-is-harming-children’s-mental-health-–-and-this-is-just-the-start" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>With record-breaking <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/extreme-weather-2021-1.6128874">heat waves, wildfires and floods</a>, 2021 may be the year we finally <a href="https://public.wmo.int/en/media/news/2021-%E2%80%9Cmake-or-break-year%E2%80%9D-climate-action">wake up to climate change</a>. According to the most <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/#FullReport">recent assessment</a> of the International Panel on Climate Change, the effects are now “widespread, rapid, and intensifying.” Many impacts are irreversible and changes to oceans, ice sheets and sea levels will persist for thousands of years.</p>
<p>In August, the <a href="https://www.unicef.org/eap/press-releases/one-billion-children-extremely-high-risk-impacts-climate-crisis-unicef">United Nations Children’s Fund reported</a> that half the world’s 2.2 billion children are at “extremely high risk” from the impacts of climate change. More than 230 health-care journals have since <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n2177">published a joint editorial</a> calling for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1734">urgent action to address the “catastrophic harm to health” from climate change</a>. </p>
<p>Despite these warnings, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00179-0">surprisingly little</a> has been written about the mental health consequences of climate change for children. </p>
<p>In a new <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026211040787">research paper</a>, we show that climate change is already affecting the healthy psychological development of children worldwide. These impacts begin before birth and stretch across development, and will accelerate as climate change advances. </p>
<h2>Playing havoc with development</h2>
<p>Although awareness about climate change and mental health is increasing, most attention has focused on the issue of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102263">worry about climate change</a> — sometimes called “eco-anxiety” — and the effects of single acute stressors such as extreme weather events. While these problems are important, mental health (both good and bad) is not the consequence of single events, but rather the result of complex causal chains that begin before birth and unfold across development.</p>
<p>We need a broader conceptual framework to understand the relationship between climate change and mental health. A developmental life-course perspective is particularly well-suited to this end. <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.comppsych.2018.10.014">Developmental perspectives</a> are widely used in psychology, psychiatry and related developmental sciences to understand the origins, course and outcomes of mental health across the lifespan.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422717/original/file-20210922-15-5tpa7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph illustrating the interaction of climate change risks, children's mental health and interventions" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422717/original/file-20210922-15-5tpa7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422717/original/file-20210922-15-5tpa7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422717/original/file-20210922-15-5tpa7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422717/original/file-20210922-15-5tpa7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=406&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422717/original/file-20210922-15-5tpa7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422717/original/file-20210922-15-5tpa7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422717/original/file-20210922-15-5tpa7n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=510&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A long-term developmental perspective recognizes the importance of early detection and prevention of climate change risks to children’s mental health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(F. Vergunst)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The approach is based on the observation that most mental disorders begin early in life, that disorders are the consequence of genetic, psychosocial and environmental factors — including the interplay between them — and that the timing, severity and duration of early-life stressors can have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620920725">life-long effects</a> on psychological health and well-being.</p>
<p>Developmental approaches are well-suited to studying the effects of complex, interactive and ongoing stressors like those that arise in the context of climate change. This can be illustrated with several concrete examples.</p>
<h2>Children’s vulnerability to climate change</h2>
<p>Childhood is a period of extremely high <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2513">developmental vulnerability</a>. Even before birth, acute environmental stressors — such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods and heat waves — can <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/global/recordisplay.cfm?deid=236389">traumatize the mother</a> physically and mentally. These experiences can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainresrev.2010.06.002">harm the developing fetus</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2014.00019">increase disease</a> vulnerability for the unborn child <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1820838116">throughout life</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422054/original/file-20210920-48987-nrubkw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A sign outside an emergency cooling centre during a heat wave" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422054/original/file-20210920-48987-nrubkw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422054/original/file-20210920-48987-nrubkw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422054/original/file-20210920-48987-nrubkw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422054/original/file-20210920-48987-nrubkw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=427&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422054/original/file-20210920-48987-nrubkw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422054/original/file-20210920-48987-nrubkw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422054/original/file-20210920-48987-nrubkw.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=537&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Heat waves can disrupt sleep quality, learning, cognitive test performance and high school graduation rates.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sub-acute stressors like summer heat waves are linked to increased risk of <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0604">obstetric complications and preterm birth</a>, which are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-010-2035-0">well-established risk factors</a> for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33068750/">several major</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v2.i1.13">psychiatric disorders</a>.</p>
<p>From birth to age five, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1289%2Fehp.1002233">children are highly vulnerable</a> to infectious disease, environmental toxins, heat exposure and dehydration. Physical health problems can delay reaching developmental milestones in areas such as cognition and language, and these interact with and increase <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/21677026211030211">mental health</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30132-4">vulnerability</a>.</p>
<p>In the middle childhood period (six to 12 years), children remain vulnerable to acute and chronic environmental stressors, and become more able to understand climate change and its anticipated impacts. This heightens their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.641">capacity to experience stress</a> <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58549373">and anxiety</a> about the consequences of living on a warming planet. </p>
<h2>Adolescence on a warming planet</h2>
<p>Major physiological, hormonal and social changes characterize adolescence and many teenagers feel overwhelmed by the challenges presented during this time. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01161-7">peak age of onset</a> for any psychiatric disorder is 14.5 years, and around half of all disorders are established before age 18.</p>
<p>Climate change is turning up the heat on this pressure-cooker life stage by increasing the frequency, intensity and duration of weather-related stressors such as drought, heat waves, cyclones and floods. Exposure to such events is linked to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01615-3">increased risk</a> of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.113.131227">PTSD</a>, anxiety and <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10566-014-9249-y">depression</a>, which compromise long-term mental health resilience.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422052/original/file-20210920-15-rg70e2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young people holding up a sign reading 'There is no planet B'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422052/original/file-20210920-15-rg70e2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422052/original/file-20210920-15-rg70e2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422052/original/file-20210920-15-rg70e2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422052/original/file-20210920-15-rg70e2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422052/original/file-20210920-15-rg70e2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422052/original/file-20210920-15-rg70e2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422052/original/file-20210920-15-rg70e2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Climate change can add to the stress associated with the physiological, hormonal and social changes of adolescence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Li-An Lim)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Heat waves alone can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1601555">disrupt sleep</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-00959-9">learning</a>, cognitive test <a href="http://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.57.2.0618-9535R3">performance</a> and high school <a href="http://doi.org/10.1086/694177">graduation rates</a>. These factors can impede the healthy transition to adulthood and damage long-term social and economic prospects.</p>
<p>In other words, climate change is creating new risks for children and adolescents because it can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2018.10.014">trigger a cascade</a> of abnormal developmental changes that interact in complex ways to undermine healthy psychological maturation across the life course. </p>
<h2>Protecting children</h2>
<p>The best way to protect children from the effects of climate change is to aggressively mitigate global heating and supercharge adaptation to the harm it has already done. This may seem obvious, but the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58600723">persistent failure</a> of national governments to collectively tackle climate change has crushed optimism and nibbled away at hope.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Overhead shot of flooded streets in LaPlace, La., after Hurricane Ida" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422048/original/file-20210920-25-ihsp5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422048/original/file-20210920-25-ihsp5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422048/original/file-20210920-25-ihsp5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422048/original/file-20210920-25-ihsp5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422048/original/file-20210920-25-ihsp5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422048/original/file-20210920-25-ihsp5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422048/original/file-20210920-25-ihsp5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Environmental stressors such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods and heatwaves can cause trauma.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Steve Helber)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many young people <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58549373">feel helpless and betrayed and are angry</a> with adults for failing to prevent the climate crisis. They can and should be <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1002%2Fwps.20843">empowered to participate</a> in adaptation and response planning. Effective <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2019.1614532">climate change education</a> is central to this end. It can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102282">help children cope</a> and lay the foundation for a new generation of engaged citizens and effective leadership.</p>
<p>Around 85 per cent of the world’s children <a href="https://www.unicef.org/publications/index_74647.html">live in developing countries</a> that are most vulnerable to climate change, despite being least responsible for causing it. Swift and effective action to reduce this burden is therefore a matter of major international and inter-generational justice.</p>
<h2>No time to lose</h2>
<p>Healthy psychological development underpins societies’ future social, economic and human capital, but it is being undermined by unchecked climate change. The damage begins before birth and cascades across development, with each unresolved challenge setting traps for the next. </p>
<p>Rapid and effective action to reduce these risks is a pressing practical and moral imperative and a critical investment in the health and well-being of current and future generations of children around the world. There is no time to lose. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422233/original/file-20210920-20-12eqvul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/422233/original/file-20210920-20-12eqvul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=30&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422233/original/file-20210920-20-12eqvul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=30&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422233/original/file-20210920-20-12eqvul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=30&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422233/original/file-20210920-20-12eqvul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=38&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422233/original/file-20210920-20-12eqvul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=38&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/422233/original/file-20210920-20-12eqvul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=38&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2><em>Mental health quick facts</em></h2>
<ul>
<li><em>Mental disorders <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/26/climate-crisis-inflicting-huge-hidden-costs-mental-health">affect more than a billion people</a> worldwide every year</em>.</li>
<li><em>They are a leading cause of global disease burden, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(15)00505-2">ranked first</a> in terms of years lived with disability</em>.</li>
<li><em>In high-income countries, <a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/mental-health-disorder-statistics">one in four people</a> will experience a mental health problem in any given year</em>.</li>
<li><em>People exposed to extreme weather events such as cyclones and wildfires have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.2018.210">increased risk</a> of PTSD, anxiety, depression and suicide</em>.</li>
<li><em>15-60 per cent of children and adolescents exposed to such events experience <a href="http://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.113.131227">PTSD</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01615-3">anxiety</a> and <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10566-014-9249-y">depression</a>.</em></li>
<li><em>Most children with mental health problems, including those living in high-income countries, receive <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.5399">no treatment</a>.</em></li>
</ul>
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</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168070/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Francis Vergunst receives postdoctoral fellowship funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) and Fonds de Recherche du Québec Santé (FRQS)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Louise Berry has received funding from various competitive research funding sources. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party.</span></em></p>Research shows climate change is already affecting the healthy psychological development of children worldwide. Children’s mental health risks will only accelerate as climate change advances.Francis Vergunst, Postdoctoral Fellow in developmental public health, Université de MontréalHelen Louise Berry, Hon Professor of Climate Change and Mental Health, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1680432021-09-16T18:22:25Z2021-09-16T18:22:25ZStates sue Meta for knowingly hurting teens with Facebook and Instagram − here are the harms researchers have documented<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421642/original/file-20210916-27-1xq65r4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5499%2C3663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Instagram's emphasis on filtered photos of bodies harms girls' self-image.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenage-friends-hanging-out-in-front-yard-on-summer-royalty-free-image/854140120">Thomas Barwick/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Forty-one states and the District of Columbia <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/states-sue-meta-alleging-harm-to-young-people-on-instagram-facebook-f9ff4641">filed lawsuits against Meta</a> on Oct. 24, 2023, alleging that the company intentionally designed Facebook and Instagram with features that harm teens and young users. </p>
<p>Meta officials had internal research in March 2020 showing that Instagram – the social media platform <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/24/teens-and-social-media-key-findings-from-pew-research-center-surveys/">most used by adolescents</a> after TikTok – is harmful to teen girls’ body image and well-being. But the company swept those findings under the rug to continue conducting business as usual, according to a Sept. 14, 2021, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739">Wall Street Journal report</a>. The report was based on documents provided by <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?515042-1/facebook-whistleblower-testifies-protecting-children-online">Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen</a>.</p>
<p>Meta’s record of pursuing profits regardless of documented harm has sparked comparisons to Big Tobacco, which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2011-050338">knew in the 1950s that its products were carcinogenic</a> but publicly denied it into the 21st century. Those of us <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tuYEhtgAAAAJ&hl=en">who study social media use by teens</a> didn’t need a suppressed internal research study to know that Instagram can harm teens. Plenty of peer-reviewed research papers <a href="https://theconversation.com/mounting-research-documents-the-harmful-effects-of-social-media-use-on-mental-health-including-body-image-and-development-of-eating-disorders-206170">show the same thing</a>.</p>
<p>Understanding the impact of social media on teens is important because almost all teens go online daily. A Pew Research Center poll shows that <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/24/teens-and-social-media-key-findings-from-pew-research-center-surveys/">77% of teens report they use social media daily</a>.</p>
<p>Teens are <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/24/teens-and-social-media-key-findings-from-pew-research-center-surveys/">more likely to log on to Instagram</a> than any other social media site except TikTok. It is a ubiquitous part of adolescent life. Yet studies consistently show that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000182">the more often teens use Instagram</a>, the worse their overall well-being, self-esteem, life satisfaction, mood and body image. One study found that the more that college students used Instagram on any given day, the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000350">worse their mood and life satisfaction were that day</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Meta has taken steps to make Instagram less harmful to teens, but experts say the changes are not enough.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Unhealthy comparisons</h2>
<p>But Instagram isn’t problematic simply because it is popular. There are two key features of Instagram that seem to make it particularly risky. First, it allows users to follow both celebrities and peers, both of whom can present a manipulated, filtered picture of an unrealistic body along with a highly curated impression of a perfect life. </p>
<p>While all social media allows users to be selective in what they show the world, Instagram is notorious for its photo editing and filtering capabilities. Plus, the platform is popular among celebrities, models and influencers. Facebook has been relegated to the uncool soccer moms and grandparents. For teens, this seamless integration of celebrities and retouched versions of real-life peers presents a ripe environment for upward social comparison, or comparing yourself to someone who is “better” in some respect. </p>
<p>People, as a general rule, look to others to know how to fit in and judge their own lives. Teens are especially vulnerable to these social comparisons. Just about everyone can remember worrying about fitting in in high school. Instagram exacerbates that worry. It is hard enough to compare yourself to a supermodel who looks fantastic (albeit filtered); it can be even worse when the filtered comparison is Natalie down the hall.</p>
<p>Negatively comparing themselves to others <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sipr.12033">leads people to feel envious</a> of others’ seemingly better lives and bodies. Recently, researchers even tried to combat this effect by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2021.1968440">reminding Instagram users that the posts were unrealistic</a>. </p>
<p>It didn’t work. Negative comparisons, which were nearly impossible to stop, still led to envy and lowered self-esteem. Even in studies in which participants knew the photos they were shown on Instagram were retouched and reshaped, adolescent girls still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2016.1257392">felt worse about their bodies</a> after viewing them. For girls who tend to make a lot of social comparisons, these effects are even worse. </p>
<h2>Objectification and body image</h2>
<p>Instagram is also risky for teens because its emphasis on pictures of the body leads users to focus on how their bodies look to others. My colleagues’ and my research shows that for teen girls – and increasingly teen boys – thinking about their own bodies as the object of a photo <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0272431618770809">increases worrying thoughts about how they look to others</a>, and that leads to feeling shame about their bodies. Just taking a selfie to be posted later makes them feel worse about how they look to others.</p>
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<p>Being an object for others to view doesn’t help the “selfie generation” feel empowered and sure of themselves – it can do exactly the opposite. These are not insignificant health concerns, because body dissatisfaction during the teen years is a powerful and consistent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.22270">predictor of later eating disorder symptoms</a>.</p>
<p>Meta has <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739">acknowledged internally</a> what researchers have been documenting for years: Instagram can be harmful to teens. <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-20474437">Parents can help</a> by repeatedly talking to their teens about the difference between appearance and reality, by encouraging their teens to interact with peers face-to-face, and to use their bodies in active ways instead of focusing on the selfie. </p>
<p>The big question will be how Meta handles these damaging results. History and the courts have been less than forgiving of the head-in-the-sand approach of Big Tobacco. </p>
<p><em>This story has been updated to include news of state attorneys general filing lawsuits against Meta claiming the company knowingly put children at risk.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168043/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christia Spears Brown does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ample research demonstrates the harms Instagram causes teen girls, especially around body image. Meta is now facing the consequences of knowingly marketing a harmful service.Christia Spears Brown, Professor of Psychology, University of KentuckyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1584932021-06-15T12:24:06Z2021-06-15T12:24:06ZTeaching kids social responsibility – like how to settle fights and ask for help – can reduce school bullying<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394648/original/file-20210412-17-77hxt9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4859%2C3368&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Elementary school students in Brazil learn healthy ways to resolve conflicts during a three-day workshop in 2019.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Roza</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Schools that encourage their students to care for their classmates’ feelings and to peacefully resolve conflicts with their peers can lower incidents of bullying, according to our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254211020133">peer-reviewed study</a> published in the International Journal of Behavioral Development in June 2021.</p>
<p>We surveyed 1,850 Brazilian schoolchildren ages 7 to 15 and their teachers over a three-month period in 2019 – shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person instruction. The teachers were working to cultivate these social responsibility skills among their students. </p>
<p>Students who said their teachers encouraged them to care about others and work together to settle disputes, and fostered a classroom environment with clear rules, also said they felt both less aggressive and less victimized by their classmates. </p>
<p>Specifically, there was a 34% decrease at the end of the period in reported incidents of hitting, kicking, pushing, spreading rumors and leaving people out. Students said that a supportive classroom climate was the main reason for the decrease. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Around the world, including in the U.S., over half of children and adolescents say they are <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161006102658.htm">victimized by their classmates</a>, with at least 10% being bullied repeatedly.</p>
<p>When children help each other out and cooperate to resolve conflicts, they are exercising what psychologists call “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12092">social responsibility</a>” by contributing to the greater good of a group. </p>
<p>School can nurture social responsibility by fostering an environment that combines fairness and positive social connections with opportunities for students to learn and model ways to be kind and include others. For example, teachers can encourage students to feel responsible for their actions, help others and seek assistance when in need.</p>
<p>Additionally, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/education-lab/how-will-seattle-area-students-cope-with-a-return-to-online-schooling-when-pre-covid-school-was-such-a-lifeline/">no one knows</a> how the social distancing required by the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the children and teens who are growing up today, in Brazil or anywhere else. But it seems likely that the decline in interactions will take some kind of toll. </p>
<p>We believe it’s important that schools focus on children’s social and emotional well-being both during and after the pandemic.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Brazil had registered <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/brazil">over 17 million COVID-19 cases</a>, including over 480,000 deaths, as of June 2021 – more than any other country except the U.S. and India. Many Brazilian K-12 schools, as in the U.S., pivoted to remote instruction in early 2020. </p>
<p>The techniques used by teachers in our study might help to cultivate positive connections and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-020-00010-w">foster a resilient response to the pandemic</a> – in Brazil, the U.S. and elsewhere – among children, families, schools and communities. As for how exactly social responsibility can help accelerate this recovery, more evidence-based research is needed. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We are conducting rapid-response surveys and interviews with schoolteachers and designing new programs, such as new lesson plans for remote learning, including for children without internet access. We are also deploying program activities through <a href="https://programadiga.com.br/emcasa/">social media and online learning platforms</a> to help children to continue learning these skills and also nurture a sense of connection in their remote schooling activities.</p>
<p>Our next goal is to study how fostering social responsibility in children contributes to the development of engaged and responsible citizenship as students grow up. We want to understand new ways to create opportunities for children and adolescents to actively engage and contribute to the well-being of their communities. </p>
<p>[<em>The Conversation’s newsletter explains what’s going on with the coronavirus pandemic. <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=coronavirus-going-on">Subscribe now</a>.</em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan B. Santo received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada and Fonds Québécois de la Recherche Sur la Société et la Culture (FQRSC). Jonathan also serves on the Publications committee of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development whose outlet, the International Journal of Behavioral Development has accepted this manuscript for publication.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Josafa da Cunha receives funding from the Templeton World Charity Foundation as the principal investigator in this study. </span></em></p>When students feel their classrooms are supportive and fair, they behave better, a survey in Brazil found.Jonathan B. Santo, Professor of Psychology, University of Nebraska OmahaJosafa da Cunha, Professor of Educational Psychology, Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1484192020-10-26T11:58:18Z2020-10-26T11:58:18ZKids are probably more strategic about swapping Halloween candy and other stuff than you might think<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/365034/original/file-20201022-17-1nba4m7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C77%2C4490%2C3325&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children can use preferences for leverage.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/hey-what-did-you-get-royalty-free-image/477825097">PeopleImages/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Children seem to understand that others will give up more things they don’t like to get fewer items they prefer. This tendency indicates that they can trade with sophistication. </p>
<p>As a result, Halloween gives children a chance to practice a fundamental form of economic exchange – one they will have to grapple with for the rest of their lives.</p>
<h2>How we did our work</h2>
<p>To see whether kids realize that preference can be used as leverage, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=p4aWpaQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">I worked with</a> two other psychologists, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UY-vcWAAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Kayla Good</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=guTGv00AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao%5D">Alex Shaw</a>.</p>
<p>Across three studies, which appeared in <a href="http://journal.sjdm.org/20/200213/jdm200213.pdf">Judgment and Decision Making</a>, an academic journal, we asked 314 children as young as 5 and up to 10 years old to predict whether someone we called Mr. Frog would agree to make a specific swap. In two of these studies, our team told some of these kids that Mr. Frog preferred chocolates to cookies and others learned that he liked these two foods equally. </p>
<p>We then proposed a series of trades, and children predicted whether Mr. Frog would accept them. In some cases, the trades were equal – such as a cookie for a chocolate – and in others they were unequal – say two cookies for one chocolate. Children were less likely to predict that Mr. Frog would give up more cookies for fewer chocolates if they were told he was just as fond of cookies as chocolates.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Whether they’re in the classroom or the cafeteria or on the playground, kids find opportunities to trade. And although this finding may not surprise you, it runs counter to a lot of what experts have learned about children’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2011.04.006">commitment to fairness</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025907">equality</a>.</p>
<p>Usually – when a pandemic isn’t disrupting everyday life – kids trade the candy they gather on Halloween. After they go trick-or-treating, children wind up with some treats they really, really like and others that they can’t stand. Once they’ve taken stock of their inventory, children can get down to the business of trading away candies they dislike for candies they do like. </p>
<p>These swaps can take place among siblings, neighborhood friends or classmates. Our results suggest that a child who winds up without any <a href="https://news3lv.com/news/offbeat/survey-nevadans-like-kit-kat-bars">Kit Kats</a>, but really likes them, will be more likely to trade <a href="https://nj1015.com/mms-the-worlds-most-famous-candy-a-part-of-jersey-history/">two bags of M&M’s</a> for one Kit Kat than a child who prefers M&M’s and Kit Kats equally.</p>
<p>This scenario assumes, however, that the child is trading with someone who knows about this preference. Otherwise, kids may rely on other criteria, such as a treat’s size or quantity, when they swap their Halloween hauls.</p>
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<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>There’s still more to learn about children and trading. We asked children to predict what someone else – Mr. Frog – would do. This means that we don’t yet know if these predictions reflect what children would do themselves.</p>
<p>Second, we prompted children to think about specific trades. It is unclear which trades children would spontaneously propose themselves. </p>
<p>Third, we did not examine the extent to which other factors, such as sibling rivalry, might influence a child’s trading patterns. Kids with at least one sibling could have more experience trading and may thus engage in more sophisticated trading strategies. </p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>I’m looking into other aspects of how <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1002%2Fbdm.2071">children become consumers</a> because, as a group, kids spend a lot – making it important to know what they are doing with their money and why. Among other things, I’m also testing the extent to which <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/709172">children incorporate preferences into their own decision-making</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148419/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Echelbarger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When deciding whether others should make trades, children may consider who likes what.Margaret Echelbarger, Postdoctoral Researcher of Behavioral Science, Booth School of Business, University of ChicagoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1434102020-08-03T12:01:07Z2020-08-03T12:01:07Z3 ways to promote social skills in homebound kids<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350648/original/file-20200731-20-xiyg45.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=543%2C129%2C4802%2C3492&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Too much time screen time can lead to lower self-esteem.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teen-boy-plays-game-on-digital-tablet-at-home-royalty-free-image/1146552988">SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic getting worse in most of the country, a growing number of school districts from <a href="https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/san-francisco-public-schools-to-start-distance-learning-for-fall-semester-aug-17/">San Francisco</a> to <a href="https://www.11alive.com/article/news/education/atlanta-public-schools-to-require-virtual-learning-for-first-quarter-of-school-year/85-57d59621-0a94-4d89-89a8-603a3f54921c">Atlanta</a> have determined that a return to daily in-person instruction isn’t yet safe or viable. They aim to to stick with remote learning as the school year gets underway.</p>
<p>Based on my <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=RzBpB7MAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">research</a> about the psychological effects of digital technology, I’ve seen that when children and teens spend a great deal of time isolated at home and gazing at screens their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2013.0466">social skills</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2005.8.1">self-esteem</a> can suffer and they may <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444812466715">become lonelier</a>. Fortunately, there are ways to lower those risks while young people spend way more time than usual at home.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350651/original/file-20200731-15-ge3pg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Teenage boy sits in chair playing a video game on a big flat screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350651/original/file-20200731-15-ge3pg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350651/original/file-20200731-15-ge3pg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350651/original/file-20200731-15-ge3pg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350651/original/file-20200731-15-ge3pg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350651/original/file-20200731-15-ge3pg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350651/original/file-20200731-15-ge3pg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350651/original/file-20200731-15-ge3pg9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kids who play outside and do things offline are better able to focus on their studies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenage-boy-sits-in-front-of-tv-playing-video-game-royalty-free-image/106748964">Schedivy Pictures Inc./DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Practice paying attention to other people</h2>
<p>One important social skill is the ability to pay attention to another person while you’re interacting with them. A long-term study of more than 300 teenagers found that those with the heaviest screen use were also the most <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.10.032">likely to focus on their own needs</a>, instead of those of the other people they were interacting with. Other research indicates that this <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2013-0003">self-centered behavior</a> tends to lead to more social problems with friends.</p>
<p>The good news is that regular, daily activities apart from technology can help kids focus in general and pay attention to other people. For example, when families do things together, such as cooking meals and gardening, or have a designated time when everyone reads at the same time, it can help children maintain the social skill of paying attention to others. A large study found that both adults and children engaged in these kinds of activities <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1037%2Fa0014123">felt better about their relationships</a>. </p>
<p>Kids find it easier to focus on their friends when they play together in person – something that is harder to do while social distancing. And when children play outdoors, or even just spend time outdoors, they become more able to pay attention to their friends and, later on, <a href="https://sophia.stkate.edu/maed/309">focus on schoolwork</a>. In addition, <a href="https://doi.org/10.4103/2277-9531.119043">yoga and other relaxation exercises</a>, such as breathing exercises, can help children practice focusing in general.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350655/original/file-20200731-21-mqo82r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Teenage girl studying with video online lesson at home with her family amid widespread distance learning." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350655/original/file-20200731-21-mqo82r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350655/original/file-20200731-21-mqo82r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350655/original/file-20200731-21-mqo82r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350655/original/file-20200731-21-mqo82r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350655/original/file-20200731-21-mqo82r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350655/original/file-20200731-21-mqo82r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350655/original/file-20200731-21-mqo82r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Practicing the art of conversation helps kids who aren’t around their classmates sharpen their social skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenage-girl-studying-with-video-online-lesson-at-royalty-free-image/1216391310">valentinrussanov/E+ via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Foster the give-and-take of conversation</h2>
<p>Interactions at school help children learn to read facial expressions and body language, the give-and-take of conversations and how to change or initiate topics of conversation. Having these informal encounters regularly are one way that kids learn how to meet and greet people. While there’s no perfect substitute online, there are steps parents and other guardians can take to help preserve a child’s social skills.</p>
<p>Some online activities can help kids practice perceiving others’ emotions by looking at their faces. One example is the “<a href="http://socialintelligence.labinthewild.org/mite/">Eyes In the Mind Test</a>,” in which people look at a picture of someone’s eyes and guesses the emotion that person is experiencing.</p>
<p>Family time can potentially make the biggest contribution to conversational and social skills. Plan to eat dinner together, without the distraction of any screens or phones because <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25676655/">kids who eat dinner with their families</a> tend to form stronger relationships with their peers, marked by less fighting and bullying.</p>
<p>Writing letters by hand, instead of relying on electronic devices for written communication are helpful too. Parents can encourage kids to find new friends in faraway places through “snail mail,” by taking advantage of a <a href="https://www.penpalschools.com/">pen pal website</a>. Exchanging letters with a stranger builds conversational skills, since writing a letter to get to know someone involves posing questions such as asking about favorite activities and foods.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350658/original/file-20200731-18-iwsqh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Toddler looks at a laptop in the dark." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350658/original/file-20200731-18-iwsqh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350658/original/file-20200731-18-iwsqh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350658/original/file-20200731-18-iwsqh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350658/original/file-20200731-18-iwsqh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350658/original/file-20200731-18-iwsqh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350658/original/file-20200731-18-iwsqh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350658/original/file-20200731-18-iwsqh6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Children of all ages are spending more time gazing at screens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/year-old-boy-looking-a-laptop-in-the-dark-royalty-free-image/922390736">Thanasis Zovoilis/DigitalVision</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Maintain friendships</h2>
<p>Parents of home-bound kids may need to look for creative ways to keep school friendships going. Apps like Skype, Zoom and FaceTime can be useful but children – like adults – can grow tired of them. Fortunately, there are alternatives. </p>
<p>Remind your kids about the difference between brief messages or posts and longer communications. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.0690">Through my research</a>, I’ve found that children generally see the differences between brief but fun interactions versus feeling a deep connection to a good friend. Encourage kids to write longer, but less frequent, messages to their friends because it may help keep those relationships strong.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=coronavirus-facts">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.</a>]</p>
<p>Despite having to socially distance, don’t forget that children of all ages can also connect with others outdoors, which is <a href="https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2020/07/17/outdoor-gathering">safer than being together indoors</a>. Set up outdoor visits that keep children and teens and their friends six feet apart from each other and make sure <a href="https://theconversation.com/kids-need-to-wear-masks-when-they-go-to-school-in-person-and-parents-can-help-them-get-the-hang-of-that-143389">everyone wears masks</a>. Consider <a href="https://www.woodmallets.com/how-to-play-croquet/">playing croquet</a> or other games that can work with these circumstances or just having them run through sprinklers. Even just a small group of friends hanging out while social distancing can preserve friendships.</p>
<p>Last but not least, encourage teachers to break classes into small groups while they’re learning online. Kids can still learn how to study together, practice skills together, and talk and socialize while they learn outside the classroom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143410/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Englander receives funding from The Digital Trust Foundation. </span></em></p>It’s worth going out of your way to ensure that kids practice interacting with others and maintain their friendships.Elizabeth Englander, Professor of Psychology, and the Director of the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC), Bridgewater State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1422442020-07-31T12:23:07Z2020-07-31T12:23:07ZTimeouts improve kids’ behavior if you do them the right way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350520/original/file-20200730-23-l4mu8g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=371%2C323%2C4447%2C2630&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The disciplinary technique can reduce aggression and help get children to follow family rules.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/girl-sitting-on-chair-in-empty-room-royalty-free-image/523527668"> Brooke Fasani Auchincloss/The Image Bank via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With parents spending more time with their children than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their need for discipline that works is greater than ever. Fortunately, there are some proven techniques.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://mpsi.wayne.edu/profile/Du4864">developmental psychologist</a>, I believe that anyone raising little kids could learn how to better use <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9371-x">timeouts</a>. This disciplinary technique is among the best ways to stop frustrating child behavior, like not listening, breaking family rules or being overly aggressive.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Following all the required steps is essential.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Incorrect and incomplete information</h2>
<p>Psychologists have encouraged parents, other guardians and frequent caregivers to use timeouts, which are generally appropriate for children between the ages of 2 and 5, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-09751-001">since the 1960s</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-010-9371-x">During timeouts</a>, parents and other guardians briefly stop paying attention to their child and make the child sit quietly and calm down. Timeouts are meant to halt misbehavior and get children to stop acting out in the future.</p>
<p>Researchers have found over and over that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18205039/">timeouts generally work well</a> – as long as parents and other primary caregivers consistently follow five specific steps.</p>
<p>The trouble is, much of the information available on the internet and through other channels is inaccurate or incomplete.</p>
<p>When a team of scholars <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4179870/">reviewed about 100 websites</a>, they found that not one of them included every essential step. So it shouldn’t be surprising that other researchers have found that <a href="https://www.academicpedsjnl.net/article/S1876-2859(16)30407-7/abstract">most parents who use timeouts fail to follow</a> them all.</p>
<p>Another problem is that timeouts aren’t appropriate for all forms of misbehavior. They’re best reserved for when kids behave aggressively, when they break things, or when they refuse to follow directions that makes them unsafe. For instance, your child hitting his brother or sister would be an appropriate reason to give a timeout. But tantrums, whining and talking back are not. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/parents/essentials/consequences/ignoring.html">Parents should try other strategies</a>, such as ignoring the child for these behaviors.</p>
<p>What’s more, I do not recommend them at school, where, although there has not yet been conclusive research, I believe that other strategies work better.</p>
<p>Instead of using timeouts whenever a child misbehaves, adults should try other techniques, such as ignoring minor misbehavior, and consider if they can improve on how they react when a child misbehaves.</p>
<p>For parents and other guardians, that means making sure that their children’s days are filled with happy and fun “<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-09751-001">time in</a>.” Parents can accomplish this by devoting at least 10 minutes a day to one-on-one play with their children. Parents should also be on the lookout for children’s good behavior and praise all the wonderful things their children do.</p>
<p>Kids should know which kinds of misbehavior will lead to timeouts, where they’ll have to go during timeouts and how long they’ll last. Parents should explain what will happen during timeouts when everyone is calm and happy, using a stuffed animal to demonstrate each step.</p>
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<h2>Key steps</h2>
<p>Timeouts are supposed to be boring, not scary or extremely punitive. Parents need to stay calm and quiet the whole time, saying only the bare minimum to children about each step. </p>
<p>Before making your child begin their timeout, explain clearly why they have to do one. For instance, you could briefly say, “You hit your sister, you’re going to a timeout.” Then walk your child to the timeout chair. I recommend using a quiet, boring location, rather than a room with lots of toys, filled with people or where a TV or another distracting device is on. It helps to use a sturdy chair suitable for grownups, rather than one designed for children because kid-sized chairs can be easily pushed over or even thrown by upset children.</p>
<p>Kids should spend one minute for each year of their age in the chair. There’s no evidence that making <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9371-x">timeouts last any longer than that works better</a>. </p>
<p>It’s OK if they get out of the chair, which does happen a lot. Parents can return their children to the chair, while staying calm and quiet. This might have to happen more than once because timeouts are boring by design and not all children can stand being bored.</p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>If a child will only sit for 30 seconds at first, then end it after 30 seconds. But it needs to be up to the adult in charge, not the child, to say when the timeout is over. Once everyone involved gets the hang of doing timeouts the right way, they can gradually last longer. If your child was cooperative, thank them for that afterward. </p>
<p>Once the timeout ends, reconnect. This could be sitting on the floor and playing together. Or parents, other guardians and frequent caregivers can watch for things the child does that they want to see happen more often and praise that behavior. </p>
<p>Both parents and children need to follow all of these steps every time for timeouts to work. If you have trouble controlling your own temper, try something else. Also, timeouts aren’t appropriate for all children. </p>
<p>In most families, however, I find that timeouts work because young children realize that hitting and other kinds of misbehavior will bring about an unwanted break from having fun.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142244/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy (Kathleen) McGoron receives funding from the National Institute of Mental Health. </span></em></p>Having loads of extra quality time with a toddler or preschooler and feeling flustered? Make sure you know how and where to do this basic disciplinary method the right way.Lucy (Kathleen) McGoron, Assistant Professor of Child and Family Development, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1408232020-06-22T12:18:10Z2020-06-22T12:18:10Z5 reasons to make sure recess doesn’t get short shrift when school resumes in person<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342775/original/file-20200618-41221-1sy11vc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1092%2C802%2C4599%2C2628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Playing together at school helps children learn.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/high-angle-view-of-children-playing-with-ball-in-royalty-free-image/681888143"> Maskot via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Once children return to school for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic upended everything, they will most likely <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/04/24/842528906/what-it-might-look-like-to-safely-reopen-schools">spend less time on school grounds</a>. And as educational leaders decide how to schedule elementary school students’ days, they see <a href="https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/inside-school-research/2020/04/covid_slide_worse_summer_slide_NWEA.html">catching students up</a> on math, English and other academic subjects as a top priority.</p>
<p>In our view, helping students heal from the stress and trauma of what they have been through this spring is also essential. We are founding members of the <a href="https://globalrecessalliance.org/who-we-are/">Global Recess Alliance</a>, an international group of health and education experts who came together in the pandemic to advocate for saving school recess.</p>
<p>We believe that leaving recess out of the school day could hurt elementary school students. Along with our colleagues in this field, we have found <a href="https://globalrecessalliance.org/recess-statement/">clear evidence</a> that children will need a chance to play during recess more than ever when schools open their doors. Here are five main benefits from recess:</p>
<h2>1. Getting time to play</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/10-things-every-parent-play">Young children learn</a> important skills like collaboration and conflict resolution by playing with each other. Physical activity is important for health, but also because it <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/health_and_academics/pdf/pa-pe_paper.pdf">helps children to pay attention in class and learn</a>. Since recess is essential for children’s well-being, the <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/131/1/183">American Academy of Pediatrics</a> recommends all schools offer recess every day, and that adults not withhold recess as punishment or to make up missed school work.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, just 11 states required daily recess as of 2018. And only 15 more mandated any amount of physical activity during the school day. Of states that require recess, most follow <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/physicalactivity/pdf/Recess_Data_Brief_CDC_Logo_FINAL_191106.pdf">CDC guidelines</a> of at least 20 minutes per day, with an average amount of 27 minutes per day for recess.</p>
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<h2>2. Healing from stress and trauma</h2>
<p>When <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3968319/">children experience stress and trauma</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3968319/">it’s hard for their brains to support thinking and reasoning</a>. We would expect putting pressure on children to make up for all they did not learn while schools were closed before they’re ready to prove counterproductive. </p>
<p>That’s one reason why the <a href="https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/clinical-guidance/covid-19-planning-considerations-return-to-in-person-education-in-schools/">American Academy of Pediatrics</a> notes that children will need time to heal from the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24618142/">stress and trauma</a> of the coronavirus pandemic before they will be ready to focus on their studies. </p>
<p>Elementary students also <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Why-Play-%3D-Learning-Hirsh-Pasek-Golinkoff/d13e03bdd9aef939147f551aaa342b6821f070f3">learn important life lessons</a> through recess. As they play active games or create their own imaginative activities, they may be getting the hang of controlling their emotions when things don’t go their way, sharing, resolving conflicts and feeling empathy for their classmates. These aren’t just significant on their own. Developing these kinds of social and emotional skills makes children become <a href="https://casel.org/2017-meta-analysis/">better learners</a>.</p>
<h2>3. Overcoming disparities</h2>
<p>Children of color and those residing in low-income, urban areas have <a href="https://www.hepg.org/hep-home/books/rethinking-recess#:%7E:text=Rethinking%20Recess%20highlights%20the%20need,can%20use%20to%20redesign%20recess.">the least scheduled recess</a> in the nation. About 76% of students in elementary school in higher-income families regularly get recess, versus <a href="https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/123/2/431.short">58% of low-income children</a>.</p>
<p>These same children have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s health and economic consequences, with many experiencing <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/05/06/the-covid-19-crisis-has-already-left-too-many-children-hungry-in-america/">food insecurity</a> and other <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2020-34995-001.pdf">economic hardships</a> while their families struggle to keep their jobs and access adequate health care. Some of these same young people, especially black children, are now reeling from fear and anger in their communities from the police violence and racial injustice that has fueled protests nationwide. We believe that turning to play for healing during this emotionally difficult time will help children shift from stay-at-home to back-to-school mode.</p>
<h2>4. Connecting with peers</h2>
<p>What children have missed during a period of remote learning and canceled summer activities is <a href="https://www.redbookmag.com/life/mom-kids/a32343704/what-kids-miss-most-about-school/">being able to see their friends</a>. When they return to school, they may not have seen their school friends for quite some time. They will also come with different levels of ability to control their emotions and outbursts. Based on what we’ve seen in the past, we expect that reducing pressure and providing students with ample time to reconnect with their friends is an important way to transition back to school. </p>
<h2>5. Spending time outside</h2>
<p>Scientists have determined that the <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/496483-evidence-mounts-that-outside-is-safer-when-it-comes-to-covid-19">coronavirus spreads less through contact with others when people are outdoors</a>. Where space is available for outdoor recreation or learning, schools should take advantage. Recess need not involve shared equipment or play structures that could conceivably get infected, but we do think it’s wise for outdoor spaces to be equipped with enough sanitizer dispensers or sinks with soap, so that everyone can quickly clean their hands when playtime is over.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-facts">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140823/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca London receives funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She is Adjunct Fellow in K-12 Policy at the Public Policy Institute of California.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Massey receives funding from the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation and Playworks Education Energized. </span></em></p>Children need time to play and be outside. That will be true even if instructional hours are cut short due to social distancing.Rebecca London, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa CruzWilliam Massey, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1369232020-05-01T12:15:58Z2020-05-01T12:15:58ZWhy are kids asking such big questions during the pandemic?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331854/original/file-20200430-42918-zdz9ra.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6720%2C4034&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">All children harbor intense curiosity.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/beautiful-kid-playing-thinker-with-serious-royalty-free-image/1138876864">Erdark/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Why do people have to die?</em></p>
<p><em>Are mistakes always bad?</em></p>
<p><em>Can you be happy and sad at the same time?</em></p>
<p>Kids often ask questions like these that are hard if not impossible to answer.
When children raise uncomfortable questions or questions that seem to have no answers, adults tend to respond with explanations that try to resolve the issue, at least temporarily.</p>
<p>It’s natural to attempt to comfort a kid who is feeling bewildered by the world.</p>
<p>But simple explanations may not be what the child needs or wants, especially as the coronavirus pandemic upends everyday life. Sometimes, kids simply want to talk about their questions and thoughts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331857/original/file-20200430-42946-1xvsm1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331857/original/file-20200430-42946-1xvsm1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331857/original/file-20200430-42946-1xvsm1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331857/original/file-20200430-42946-1xvsm1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331857/original/file-20200430-42946-1xvsm1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331857/original/file-20200430-42946-1xvsm1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331857/original/file-20200430-42946-1xvsm1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331857/original/file-20200430-42946-1xvsm1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Parents can’t answer every question.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/learning-bicycling-during-corona-virus-pandemic-royalty-free-image/1215276421">Martin Novak/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Listening</h2>
<p>I’m a <a href="https://phil.washington.edu/people/jana-mohr-lone">philosopher and educator</a> who has been listening to children and talking with them about their <a href="https://www.philosophyforchildren.org/">big philosophical questions</a> for the past 25 years. I <a href="https://rowman.com/isbn/9781442217348/the-philosophical-child">encourage all young people to think for themselves</a> about issues that matter to them because it’s important for them to learn how to analyze and understand their own experiences.</p>
<p>Most kids start <a href="https://rowman.com/isbn/9781442234789/philosophy-in-education-questioning-and-dialogue-in-schools">wondering about big questions</a> almost as soon as they learn to speak, and they continue to think about them throughout childhood.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Brimming with curiosity</a> about things that most adults take for granted, children all over the world are wide <a href="https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/The-Spiritual-Life-of-Children/9780395599235">open to the mysteries that pervade human life</a>. <a href="https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/beautiful-questions-in-the-classroom/book263079">Research shows</a>, though, that as they get older, kids ask questions less and less.</p>
<p>Children often tell me that they lie awake at night thinking about things like whether God exists, why the world has the colors it does, the nature of time and <a href="https://rowman.com/isbn/9781442217348/the-philosophical-child">whether dreams are real</a>. These are not the kinds of questions that can be answered by Googling them or asking Siri or Alexa. They are age-old questions that everyone can wonder about during any stage of life.</p>
<p>Sometimes the questions are more important than finding the answers.</p>
<iframe style="border: none" src="https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/5260902/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/backward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/517891/" height="90" width="100%" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<h2>Wondering aloud</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331855/original/file-20200430-42913-1228yf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331855/original/file-20200430-42913-1228yf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/331855/original/file-20200430-42913-1228yf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331855/original/file-20200430-42913-1228yf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331855/original/file-20200430-42913-1228yf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331855/original/file-20200430-42913-1228yf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331855/original/file-20200430-42913-1228yf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/331855/original/file-20200430-42913-1228yf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Listen to your child’s questions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/african-american-boy-making-a-face-royalty-free-image/79671373">Mark Edward Atkinson/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The pandemic has led more kids to ask about such topics as loneliness, isolation, boredom, illness and death. When the Seattle schools closed this spring, I began continuing the philosophy sessions I lead in elementary school classrooms on Zoom, with small groups of children with whom I’ve been working this year.</p>
<p>In a recent Zoom conversation with six 9-year-old students, we reflected about the difficulties of life during the pandemic. We discussed how being deprived of things can make you appreciate them in new ways.</p>
<p>“I like to be alone, but it’s different when you have to be alone. It makes me really appreciate my friends,” said a girl I’ll call “Hannah.”</p>
<p>Then, “Max” said that he never thought he liked school but being at home this spring has led him to think differently about what school means to him. We wondered whether we always value things more when we are without them, and why that seems true.</p>
<h2>No final answers</h2>
<p>While children do need adult help and guidance, parents don’t always have to be in the position of the expert providing the answers. Thinking with children about their bigger questions can make way for a more mutual kind of interaction.</p>
<p>Because these kinds of questions <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/meta.12018">tend not to have settled and final answers</a>, discussions about them allow parents – and other guardians – and children to wonder together. In this way, adults feel less pressure to be the experts.</p>
<p>Listen when kids ask these thought-provoking questions, acknowledge how hard it is to answer them and respond with an open mind.</p>
<h2>Budding philosophers</h2>
<p>In some ways, kids are the ideal beginning philosophers.</p>
<p>Most of them have few long-held assumptions about how the world works and they are <a href="http://alisongopnik.com/ThePhilosophicalBaby.htm">open to many possibilities because the world is so new to them</a>. In discussions about bigger questions, kids often suggest original and creative ways of looking at them.</p>
<p>Talking with kids about what they are thinking without always feeling compelled to offer answers can help them explore their own concerns and ideas. Especially now, as families are quarantined together in a time of great uncertainty, these conversations have the potential to allow parents and children to communicate more deeply and authentically.</p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-facts">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/136923/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jana Mohr Lone is the founding President and member of the Executive Committee of PLATO (Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization), a nonprofit promoting philosophical inquiry for children.</span></em></p>Children are always brimming with curiosity about things that most adults take for granted.Jana Mohr Lone, Director of the Center for Philosophy for Children; Affiliate Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of WashingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1318062020-03-02T12:19:56Z2020-03-02T12:19:56ZWhy do Americans say ‘bay-zle’ and the English say ‘baa-zle’?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/316917/original/file-20200224-24676-1lhaasp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Depending on where you're from, you say words like 'basil' a specific way.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-female-cook-cutting-basil-on-251585563">Leonie Broekstra/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Why do Americans say “bay-zle” and the English say “baa-zle”? – Sly M., age 6, Cambridge, Massachusetts</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>A person’s voice is like their <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-did-i-get-my-own-unique-set-of-fingerprints-128391">fingerprint</a>. Everyone talks differently, and everyone’s voice is unique.</p>
<p>Some of these linguistic differences are because of how our individual bodies are shaped, especially the <a href="https://voicefoundation.org/health-science/voice-disorders/anatomy-physiology-of-voice-production/understanding-voice-production/">size of our vocal cords and tracts</a>.</p>
<p>Our families, our friends and other people in our communities also <a href="https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/why-do-some-people-have-accent">influence how we talk</a>. I <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Gu8Um_gAAAAJ&hl=en">study language, literacy and culture</a>, and I’ve found that how we use language – including accents – is a way of showing who we are.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5aXmNle560k?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Language influences who we are.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why we have accents</h2>
<p>We develop different accents because of whom we interact with and where we grow up.</p>
<p>An accent is <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accent">how a person sounds</a>. Kids who grow up in Australia develop Australian accents. Kids who grow up in England develop British accents. And kids who grow up in the United States develop American accents. Everyone has an accent.</p>
<p>When we pick up on another person’s accent, it means we are identifying clues in their <a href="https://theweek.com/articles/451308/aunt-adult-pajamas-why-cant-agree-how-pronounce-common-words">pronunciation</a> that tell us something about who they are. These differences can be as small as a single sound, but we often spot them right away.</p>
<p>For example, in the U.S., the word “basil” is pronounced “bay-zle.” But in England, it is pronounced “baa-zle,” like the word “dazzle.” In the U.S., “schedule” is pronounced with a “sk” sound at the beginning, but in England, it’s pronounced with a “sh” sound.</p>
<p>There are also spelling differences, like “theatre” in England versus “theater” in the U.S., and word differences, like “aubergine” in England versus “eggplant” in the U.S.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UcxByX6rh24?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Everyone has an accent.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Across the country</h2>
<p>There are also linguistic differences within countries. Not all people from England sound the same, and the same goes for people from the U.S. </p>
<p>In my own research, <a href="https://christinemallinson.com/research/">I study differences</a> in English spoken in the U.S. In the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/smokies/">Great Smoky Mountains</a>, you might hear the word “fire” pronounced like “far,” and “tire” pronounced like “tar.” In the <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315768076/chapters/10.4324/9781315768076-5">U.S. South</a>, the words “bide” and “ride” tend to sound more like “bad” and “rad.”</p>
<p>And in the city of <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/features/baltimore-insider/bs-lt-baltimore-slang-20170209-story.html">Baltimore</a>, you might hear some African American residents pronounce “dog” as “dug,” and “frog” as “frug.” </p>
<p>Even in a globally connected world, where it is easier to meet people from other countries than ever before, the way we talk still represents who we are.</p>
<p>So be proud of your vocal fingerprint. A kaleidoscope of languages and accents helps make our world a culturally rich and exciting place.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
<p><em>And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/131806/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Mallinson receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.
</span></em></p>Accents differ depending on where we’re from, even in the same country.Christine Mallinson, Professor of Language, Literacy and Culture and Director of the Center for Social Science Scholarship, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1250532019-11-12T19:03:39Z2019-11-12T19:03:39ZIt’s 25 years since we redefined autism – here’s what we’ve learnt<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/300582/original/file-20191107-12521-1pg5b01.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The frequency and intensity of repetitive behaviours vary between mild and severe, which is why it's called a spectrum.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/boy-headphones-looking-out-window-airport-219436822?src=4360f59d-f1ce-4544-ab94-e99b723f70cc-2-6">Dubova/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s 25 years since the fourth edition of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-the-dsm-14127">Diagnostic and Statistical Manual</a> (DSM-IV) was published. The manual is the clinical “bible” that defines the criteria for the diagnosis of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions, and was a landmark document for autism spectrum disorder.</p>
<p>The first mention of autism came in the third edition of the DSM in 1980, with the introduction of the diagnostic category of “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3716967">infantile autism</a>”. This label was generally only applied to children with substantial language impairment and intellectual disabilities.</p>
<p>In 1994, the DSM-IV recognised people could also show the core behaviours of autism without having significant language impairment or any intellectual disability. This change in how we described autism contributed to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-more-children-have-autism-now-than-before-4497">surge in diagnoses</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-more-children-have-autism-now-than-before-4497">Do more children have autism now than before? </a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There was also a surge in autism research, from around <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=(Autism%5BTitle%5D)%20AND%20(%221994%2F01%2F01%22%5BDate%20-%20Publication%5D%20%3A%20%221994%2F12%2F31%22%5BDate%20-%20Publication%5D)">96 studies</a> in 1994, to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=(Autism%5BTitle%5D)+AND+(%222000%2F01%2F01%22%5BDate+-+Publication%5D+%3A+%222000%2F12%2F31%22%5BDate+-+Publication%5D)">207</a> in 2000, and then <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=(Autism%5BTitle%5D)+AND+(%222018%2F01%2F01%22%5BDate+-+Publication%5D+%3A+%222018%2F12%2F31%22%5BDate+-+Publication%5D)">2,789</a> in 2018.</p>
<p>So, 25 years on, what have we learnt about autism?</p>
<h2>The autism concept</h2>
<p>In the 1990s, we viewed autism as one condition, with all children showing similar, severe difficulties with social and communication skills. </p>
<p>We now know the reality is very different.</p>
<p>In its most literal sense, autism is diagnosed when a person displays a set of behaviours typified by difficulties in social interaction and communication, as well as having more restricted interests and repetitive behaviours than we typically expect.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-some-people-with-autism-have-restricted-interests-and-repetitive-movements-94401">Why do some people with autism have restricted interests and repetitive movements?</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<hr>
<p>The severity of the behaviours that characterise autism <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1362361319852831">vary considerably</a> between people. Social interaction and communication difficulties, for example, can range from having no verbal language to highly fluent language. </p>
<p>The frequency and intensity of autism behaviours – such as repetitive play with objects and repeated body movements like rocking and hand flapping – vary between mild and severe. </p>
<p>And intellectual abilities can range from significant disability to a very high IQ.</p>
<p>This variation is the so-called “autism spectrum”, which has also led to the worldwide movement of “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1362361318820762">neurodiversity</a>”. This views neurological conditions such as autism as part of the natural spectrum of human diversity, and posits that this diversity should be respected rather than pathologised. </p>
<p>Neurodiversity challenges the medical model of autism as a disorder, instead viewing autism as an inseparable aspect of identity.</p>
<p>Autism is diagnosed by a team of clinicians, through a <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-autism-guidelines-aim-to-improve-diagnostics-and-access-to-services-104929">consistent and rigorous diagnostic process</a>. While the dividing line between “typical” and “atypical” can be blurry, a diagnosis is made when the core behaviours of autism have a functional impact on an individual’s daily life. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301055/original/file-20191111-194665-o65yvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301055/original/file-20191111-194665-o65yvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301055/original/file-20191111-194665-o65yvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301055/original/file-20191111-194665-o65yvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301055/original/file-20191111-194665-o65yvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301055/original/file-20191111-194665-o65yvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301055/original/file-20191111-194665-o65yvq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Some people with autism have very high IQs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">LDprod/Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>It’s now clear that autism is not one condition in the sense that there is a <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/system/files/issues/whit11667.pdf">common cause</a> shared by all people on the autism spectrum. </p>
<p>Instead, autism is best thought of as an <a href="https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Autism_spectrum_disorder/">umbrella term</a> which describes a range of different people, all with relatively similar behaviours, which may or may not be caused by the same biological factors.</p>
<p>Critically, autism is not just a childhood condition. While the behavioural characteristics of autism first emerge during childhood, they almost always persist into adolescence and adulthood, but often present in a different form. </p>
<p>Social difficulties in childhood might be shown through a preference to play alone, for example, while in adulthood this may be reflected by difficulty in maintaining social relationships.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-stop-perpetuating-the-myth-that-children-grow-out-of-autism-119540">We need to stop perpetuating the myth that children grow out of autism</a>
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<p>The dramatic refinement of our understanding of autism from a severe childhood condition, to a cluster of complex and variable conditions that endure into adulthood, is a great achievement of scientific research and has driven all other research and policy advances. </p>
<h2>Causes</h2>
<p>In 1994, there was already a good understanding that autism originated from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/562353">genetic differences</a>.</p>
<p>Advances in genetic research in the late 1990s and 2000s – first by sequencing the human genome, then the dramatic reduction in the cost of this sequencing – led scientists to believe they would soon find the single gene that causes the brain to develop differently.</p>
<p>But after several decades of intensive research, the picture turned out to be far <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-causes-autism-what-we-know-dont-know-and-suspect-53977">more complex</a>. </p>
<p>There is now <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4650984/">consensus</a> that there is no one genetic difference shared by all individuals with autism. And rarely does one person possess a single genetic factor that leads the brain to develop differently. </p>
<p>There is also evidence to suggest other biological factors may play a role in the development of autism, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/bugs-and-allergies-in-pregnancy-linked-to-child-developmental-disorders-like-autism-and-adhd-87358">inflammation</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/extreme-male-brain-theory-of-autism-confirmed-in-large-new-study-and-no-it-doesnt-mean-autistic-people-lack-empathy-or-are-more-male-106800">hormonal factors</a>. But the evidence for these factors remains preliminary.</p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-causes-autism-what-we-know-dont-know-and-suspect-53977">What causes autism? What we know, don’t know and suspect</a>
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<p>We now know a range of conditions, including Fragile X syndrome and tuberous sclerosis, have very clear genetic or chromosomal differences that can lead to autistic behaviours. In total, these conditions account for around <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22089167">10%</a> of all people on the autism spectrum.</p>
<p>Genetic factors are still very likely to underpin autism in the remaining majority of people. But the genetic differences are likely more complex, and require advances in statistical techniques to better understand why the brain develops differently for some children.</p>
<h2>Therapies and treatments</h2>
<p>In the 1990s, behavioural interventions for autism were dominated by applied behaviour analysis (<a href="https://theconversation.com/behavioural-method-is-not-an-attempt-to-cure-autism-19782">ABA</a>), an approach to therapy that helps children learn new skills.</p>
<p>While ABA remains prominent throughout the world, other therapeutic models have emerged, such as those based on <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/therapies-guide/teacch">developmental principles</a>, those that target <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4755315/">communication</a> and those that use a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5121131/">combination of approaches</a>.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301054/original/file-20191111-194650-xqkdi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301054/original/file-20191111-194650-xqkdi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301054/original/file-20191111-194650-xqkdi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301054/original/file-20191111-194650-xqkdi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301054/original/file-20191111-194650-xqkdi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301054/original/file-20191111-194650-xqkdi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301054/original/file-20191111-194650-xqkdi3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Therapies have come a long way.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-little-child-during-therapy-school-755297134">Photographee.eu/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>While these therapies help the development of some children with autism, no one therapy model will be effective for all. The great advance of the last 25 years has been to provide families with <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-guide-for-how-to-choose-therapy-for-a-child-with-autism-64729">alternate options</a> if their original choice of therapy isn’t as beneficial as they hoped.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-guide-for-how-to-choose-therapy-for-a-child-with-autism-64729">A guide for how to choose therapy for a child with autism</a>
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<p>But pharmacological (drug) treatments have not seen as much progress. Despite substantial research investment, there remains <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0269881117741766">no medication with good evidence</a> for reducing the disability associated with the core social and communication difficulties of autism. </p>
<p>Pharmacological intervention in autism is primarily used to assist with other challenges that can be associated with autism such as anxiety, attention problems, epilepsy and sleeping difficulties.</p>
<h2>Where to next?</h2>
<p>Despite progress over the past 25 years, health and disability challenges remain pervasive for people on the autism spectrum, and our policy responses continue to be fragmented across health, disability and education systems.</p>
<p>Given the ever-marching advance of science, it’s impossible to predict the next 25 years of research. A key challenge for scientists is how we use the knowledge we create to lead to clear and tangible benefits for humanity.</p>
<p>This will likely require meaningful partnerships with autistic people and their families to better understand their priorities for their lives. We need to learn how the knowledge we’ve obtained, and that still to come, can best support each person to discover their own strengths and what they want for their lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125053/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Whitehouse receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>It’s been 25 years since autism was redefined and the surge in diagnoses and research began. But while we’ve come along way in our understanding of the spectrum, advances in drug therapies has lagged.Andrew Whitehouse, Bennett Chair of Autism, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1069092018-11-15T09:25:56Z2018-11-15T09:25:56ZLondon air pollution is restricting children’s lung development – new research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245595/original/file-20181114-194488-ucnpos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C162%2C5952%2C3791&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-england-1st-november-2017-group-776099560?src=MNTznf_oK8Ia5Ie9cc_7iQ-1-32">John Williams RUS/Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Air pollution is known to <a href="https://www.rcplondon.ac.uk/projects/outputs/every-breath-we-take-lifelong-impact-air-pollution">contribute to early deaths</a> from respiratory and cardiovascular disease. There is also <a href="https://www.alzheimersresearchuk.org/research-london-links-air-pollution-dementia-risk/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzvOypu_T3gIVwpTVCh3UwQ3LEAAYAiAAEgJ8HPD_BwE">mounting evidence</a> to show that breathing polluted air increases the risk of dementia. Children are vulnerable, too: exposure to air pollution <a href="http://www.escapeproject.eu/publications.php">has been associated with</a> babies being born underweight, as well as poorer cognitive development and lung function during childhood. </p>
<p>Cities including London are looking to tackle the social, economic and environmental costs of air pollution by improving urban air quality using <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/low-emission-zone">low emission zones</a>. In these zones, the most polluting vehicles are restricted from entering, or drivers are penalised to encourage them to take up lower emission technologies. London’s low emission zone was rolled out in four stages from February 2008 to January 2012, affecting mainly heavy and light goods vehicles, such as delivery trucks and vans. </p>
<p>But our <a href="http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(18)30202-0/fulltext">new research</a>, involving more than 2,000 children in four of London’s inner-city boroughs, reveals that while these measures are beginning to improve air quality, they do not yet protect children from the harmful effects of air pollution. It is the most detailed assessment of how a low emission zone has performed to date. </p>
<h2>Young lungs</h2>
<p>Our study focused mainly on the boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney, but also included primary schools in the City of London and Greenwich. All of these areas experienced high levels of air pollution from traffic, and exceeded the annual EU limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). What’s more, they have a very young demographic and are among the UK’s most deprived areas. </p>
<p>Between 2008-9 and 2013-14, we measured changes to air pollution concentrations in London, while also conducting a detailed examination of children’s lung function and respiratory symptoms in these areas. </p>
<p>Every year for five years, we measured the lung function in separate groups of 400 children, aged eight to nine years old. We then considered these measurements alongside the children’s estimated exposure to air pollution, which took into account where they lived, and the periods they spent at home and at school. </p>
<p>Our findings confirmed that long-term exposure to urban air pollution is related to smaller lung volumes among children. The average exposure for all children over the five years of our study was 40.7 micrograms of NO₂ per cubic metre of air, which was equivalent to a reduction in lung volume of approximately 5%. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245645/original/file-20181114-194491-tmz9d3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245645/original/file-20181114-194491-tmz9d3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245645/original/file-20181114-194491-tmz9d3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245645/original/file-20181114-194491-tmz9d3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245645/original/file-20181114-194491-tmz9d3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245645/original/file-20181114-194491-tmz9d3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245645/original/file-20181114-194491-tmz9d3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A long-term effect.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-young-children-running-towards-camera-289559627?src=AsgTaVHe8Gjr4kc2VzOg9w-1-3">Shutterstock.</a></span>
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<p>Changes of this magnitude would not be of immediate clinical significance; the children would be unaware of them and they would not affect their daily lives. But our results show that children’s lungs are not developing as well as they could. This is important, because failure to attain optimal lung growth by adulthood often leads to poor health in later life. </p>
<p>Over the course of the study, we also observed some evidence of a reduction in rhinitis (a constant runny nose). But we found no reduction in asthma symptoms, nor in the proportion of children with underdeveloped lungs. </p>
<h2>Air pollution falls</h2>
<p>While the introduction of the low emission zone did relatively little to improve children’s respiratory health, we did find positive signs that it was beginning to reduce pollution. Using data from the <a href="http://www.londonair.org.uk/LondonAir/Default.aspx">London Air Quality Network</a> – which monitors air pollution – we detected small reductions in concentrations of NO₂, although overall levels of the pollutant remained very high in the areas we looked at. </p>
<p>The maximum reduction in NO₂ concentrations we detected amounted to seven micrograms per cubic metre over the five years of our study, or roughly 1.4 micrograms per cubic metre each year. For context, the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/quality/standards.htm">EU limit</a> for NO₂ concentrations is 40 micrograms per cubic metre. Background levels of NO₂ for inner city London, where our study was located, decreased from 50 micrograms to 45 micrograms per cubic metre, over five years. NO₂ concentrations by the roadside experienced a greater reduction, from 75 micrograms to 68 micrograms per cubic metre, over the course of our study. </p>
<p>By the end of our study in 2013-14, large areas of central London still weren’t compliant with EU air quality standards – and won’t be for some time at this rate of change. </p>
<p>We didn’t detect significant reductions in the level of particulate matter over the course of our study. But this could be because a much larger proportion of particulate matter pollution comes from tyre and brake wear, rather than tail pipe emissions, as well as other sources, so small changes due to the low emission zone would have been hard to quantify. </p>
<h2>The route forward</h2>
<p>Evidence from elsewhere shows that improving air quality can help ensure children’s lungs develop normally. In California, the long-running <a href="https://healthstudy.usc.edu/">Children’s Health Study</a> found that driving down pollution does reduce the proportion of children with clinically small lungs – though it’s pertinent to note that NO₂ concentrations in their study in the mid-1990s were already lower than those in London today. </p>
<p>Our findings should encourage local and national governments to take more ambitious actions to improve air quality, and ultimately public health. The <a href="https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone">ultra-low emission zone</a>, which will be introduced in central London on April 8, 2019, seems a positive move towards this end. </p>
<p>The scheme, which <a href="http://content.tfl.gov.uk/ulez-boundary-map-from-25-october-2021.pdf">will be expanded</a> to the boundaries set by the North and South circular roads in October 2021, targets most vehicles in London – not just a small fraction of the fleet. The low emission zone seems to be the right treatment – now it’s time to increase the dose.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Mudway receives funding from The Wellcome Trust, The MRC and the NIHR. He is affiliated with MRC-PHE Center for Environment and Health, MRC and Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma and the NIHR-PHE HPRU in the Health Impact of Environmental Hazards. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Griffiths receives funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC), the National Institute for Health Research, the Wellcome Trust and Asthma UK. He is affiliated with the MRC, the Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma, the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research and Doctors Against Diesel.</span></em></p>London’s low emission zone has started to reduce air pollution – but not enough to protect children’s lungs.Ian Mudway, Lecturer in Respiratory Toxicology, King's College LondonChris Griffiths, Professor of Primary Care, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1066112018-11-15T07:35:20Z2018-11-15T07:35:20ZWhy early diagnosis of autism should lead to early intervention<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245183/original/file-20181113-194506-1ssbmid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=169%2C280%2C4750%2C2995&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Early intervention can help children with autism to develop their communication skills.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Research suggests children can be reliably <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22735682">diagnosed with autism</a> before the age of two. It also shows that many of the behavioural symptoms of autism are present before the age of one. </p>
<p>These behaviours include decreased interest in social interaction, delayed development of speech and intentional communication, a lack of age-appropriate sound development, and unusual visual fixations. </p>
<p>Preliminary results of a <a href="https://www.victoria.ac.nz/news/2018/09/new-play-based-therapy-effective-for-new-zealand-children-with-autism">study in the Wellington region</a> indicate most children are diagnosed when they are around three years old. However, there is arguably little point of providing early diagnosis if it does not lead to evidence-based early intervention.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-autism-guidelines-aim-to-improve-diagnostics-and-access-to-services-104929">New autism guidelines aim to improve diagnostics and access to services</a>
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<h2>Early start</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.esdm.co/">Early Start Denver Model</a> (ESDM) is a promising therapy for very young children (between one and five years) with, or at risk for, autism. ESDM uses play and games to build positive relationships in which the children are encouraged to boost language, social and cognitive skills. </p>
<p>Where ESDM differs most from traditional intervention is that behavioural teaching techniques are embedded within this play. This includes providing clear cues for a behaviour, and rewarding that behaviour. Parents, therapists and teachers can use ESDM techniques within the children’s play and daily routines to help them reach developmentally appropriate milestones. </p>
<p>For example, a child who does not yet talk, may be learning to reach for preferred items. A child who has a lot of language may be learning to answer questions like “what is your name?”. </p>
<p>Initial research conducted in the United States, where the model was developed, suggests that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19948568">ESDM is particularly effective</a> when implemented for more than 15 hours a week by trained therapists in the home environment.</p>
<h2>Improved cognition in early childhood</h2>
<p>The model was adopted in Australia where the government funds <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers/programs-services/for-people-with-disability/autism-specific-early-learning-and-care-centres">autism specific early childhood centres</a>. Research conducted in these centres indicates that children receiving ESDM intervention from trained therapists show <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24974255">greater improvements</a> in understanding and cognitive skills than children who were not receiving treatment.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-autism-guidelines-aim-to-improve-diagnostics-and-access-to-services-104929">New autism guidelines aim to improve diagnostics and access to services</a>
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<p>In New Zealand there is no government funding for such therapy. As a result, the cost of providing this intensive level of early intervention is beyond the budget of most families. There is also a lack of trained professionals with the technical expertise to implement such therapies. </p>
<p>For these reasons, we are working with the <a href="http://www.autisminterventiontrust.org.nz/">Autism Intervention Trust</a> and <a href="https://www.autismnz.org.nz/">Autism New Zealand</a> to develop a New Zealand-specific low-intensity approach to delivering ESDM. The team is using the research of what is effective overseas and is applying it within a New Zealand context. </p>
<h2>Mainstream schooling</h2>
<p>New Zealand takes an <a href="https://www.education.govt.nz/school/running-a-school/inclusive-education/">inclusive approach to education</a>. The main goal of the research programme therefore is for children with autism and their families to receive support earlier so that they can get a better start in their development and go on to mainstream schools.</p>
<p>One project involves training kindergarten teachers in ESDM. Inclusion of ESDM strategies in kindergartens is the biggest unknown because there is little teacher training in New Zealand around how to best support children with autism in mainstream settings. </p>
<p>A second project involves providing parent coaching and then adding on a small amount of one-on-one therapy. This will provide some preliminary evidence as to whether adding a minimal amount of one-on-one therapy is any more beneficial that just coaching parents.</p>
<p>Each project involves examining specific measures of communication, imitation (a key early learning skill children with autism typically struggle with) and social engagement with others. </p>
<p>Other countries with little government funding and support for children with autism and their families have taken a similar approach to providing ESDM therapy at a lower intensity. The <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29110508">research suggests</a> that just a few hours of therapy can lead to positive outcomes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106611/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This project receives funding from the IHC Foundation, and the Autism Intervention Trust.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This project receives funding from the IHC Foundation and Autism Intervention Trust. </span></em></p>Unlike Australia, New Zealand doesn’t fund early intervention therapy for autistic children, but there are programmes pre-school teachers and parents can use to help kids develop.Hannah Waddington, Lecturer in Educational Psychology, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonJessica Tupou, PhD candidate, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLarah van der Meer, Senior Lecturer, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1063742018-11-12T09:01:45Z2018-11-12T09:01:45ZModern life offers children almost everything they need, except daylight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244104/original/file-20181106-74751-1be3qbk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/148995752?src=WdMz3b9-sSBQujY8FOHEnQ-1-0&size=medium_jpg">Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The debate about the volume of homework that children are being given has been bouncing around the opinion pages of <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/why-the-hippies-are-wrong-about-homework-c76bz57qd">broadsheets</a> and <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/7348546/piers-morgan-gary-lineker-homework-row/">red tops</a> in recent weeks after Gary Lineker tweeted that it was “<a href="https://twitter.com/garylineker/status/1044528524705640448?lang=en">a waste of time</a>”. As names are called and sides are taken in the debate there are much bigger issues at stake than either side is admitting. </p>
<p>As children are given ever more homework we must concede that cramming a child’s day with indoor activities is rolling the dice with their long-term health. As adults, we now spend more time indoors than we have ever done throughout the history of our species. While our indoor habits have implications for our own health, there is more at stake when we encourage this behaviour in our children. </p>
<p>Already, most children are schooled indoors. At the end of their day, there is perhaps an after-school club, tuition or homework to do. When all those are complete, gaming, streaming and social media beckon. As a result, nearly three-quarters of children in the UK spend <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/25/three-quarters-of-uk-children-spend-less-time-outdoors-than-prison-inmates-survey">less time outdoors than prison inmates</a>.
A <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/498944/mene-childrens-report-years-1-2.pdf">2016 report</a> concluded that 12% of children in the UK had not been to a park or natural environment at all in the preceding year. </p>
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<h2>Short-sighted</h2>
<p>Outdoor time is essential for children because it helps their eyes, bones and immune systems develop correctly. Evidence is also mounting that it may prevent the onset of food, nut and other allergies. </p>
<p>Babies are born longsighted, with a short eyeball that grows as their bodies do. A healthy eye stops growing when it reaches its optimum shape, but it struggles to do this without access to good quality light – which is only available outdoors. Our eyes are very good at tricking us into believing that our indoor environments are well lit – but even a brightly lit room cannot match the levels of outdoor light, even a cloudy day outside.</p>
<p>Without the correct daylight cues, the eyeball can grow too long, making the child shortsighted; at which point, they will need lenses or surgery to correct their vision. And it’s not just a matter of wearing glasses or paying for some laser surgery. Severe myopia – about a fifth of cases – can lead to blindness in older age. Even though laser surgery can restore vision, the damage done to the eye during development remains, as do the risks. </p>
<p>Several countries in South-East Asia are well ahead of the UK in driving these indoor lifestyles. Most people in Singapore (85%) are shortsighted. Throughout the region, rates are highest among the young. A staggering <a href="https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2166142">96.5% of 19-year-old men</a> in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, are myopic. And while there are a couple of hundred genes at play in the outcome of myopia, the numbers we are seeing are being driven by lifestyle (because it’s believed that genes play only a small to moderate role in the disease’s architecture). </p>
<p>Shortsightedness among the young in the UK has more than doubled <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0146332">in the last 50 years</a>. It is predicted that if nothing is done to curb its spread, half the world’s population will be <a href="https://bit.ly/2OqJWoc">myopic by 2050</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244285/original/file-20181107-74787-j31wd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244285/original/file-20181107-74787-j31wd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244285/original/file-20181107-74787-j31wd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244285/original/file-20181107-74787-j31wd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244285/original/file-20181107-74787-j31wd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244285/original/file-20181107-74787-j31wd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244285/original/file-20181107-74787-j31wd2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Severe myopia can lead to blindness in old age.</span>
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<h2>The sunshine vitamin</h2>
<p>Shady living is also in the frame for the return of a disease that was thought to have been eradicated after World War II. Sunlight is essential for our body to make vitamin D. Without it, we cannot absorb calcium and phosphate, which we need for healthy bones, teeth and muscles. Endless indoor hours are contributing to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/23/poorer-children-disproportionately-need-hospital-treatment">return</a> of <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/rickets-and-osteomalacia/">rickets</a> among children in the UK. Rickets causes pain, poor growth and soft or weak bones that bend under the weight of the torso.</p>
<p>Vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with the rise of <a href="https://www.mcri.edu.au/news/investigating-allergies-food-allergy-capital">food and nut allergies</a>, where scientists have noticed that the prevalence increases the further you get from the equator. A lack of outdoor time and lack of exposure to natural environments have also been linked to the huge upturn in allergies more broadly, such as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cea.12527">hay fever</a> and <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1508749?viewType=Print&viewClass=Print&sort=newest&page=-15">asthma</a>, as well as type 1 diabetes. In the case of the latter, it has been suggested that “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26729037">rapid environmental changes and modern lifestyles</a>” are probably behind the increase.</p>
<p>All of these diseases are telling us that, while urban life offers us many comforts and advantages, it is a lifestyle that is confusing to the modern human body. I know from having <a href="https://www.octopusbooks.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781788401081">researched a book on the way our environment is changing us</a> that we carry DNA which expects us to be performing a wide array of outdoor activities, and not to be spending all our time reading, streaming or playing <a href="https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/buy-now/battle-royale">Fortnite</a>. </p>
<p>Making small changes, such as giving your children more access to daylight, even when it’s cloudy, and encouraging regular physical activity, will set them up for a much healthier future. Getting your children to go out and play is not some hippy notion, it is an essential component of their long term health.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106374/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vybarr Cregan-Reid does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A strong case for telling children to go outside and play.Vybarr Cregan-Reid, Reader in Environmental Humanities, University of KentLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1049292018-10-16T02:32:48Z2018-10-16T02:32:48ZNew autism guidelines aim to improve diagnostics and access to services<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/240698/original/file-20181015-165891-z4th2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You can't test for autism with a simple blood test or scan, which can make the diagnostic process difficult and dependent on the skill and experience of the clinician.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/one-sad-little-boy-sitting-near-567198409?src=yv9Uc0Pd-gUl0g8pgwmO9w-3-74">altanaka/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.autismcrc.com.au/national-guideline">New Australian autism guidelines</a>, released today, aim to provide a nationally consistent and rigorous standard for how children and adults are assessed and diagnosed with autism, bringing to an end the different processes that currently exist across the country. </p>
<p>There is no established biological marker for all people on the autism spectrum, so diagnosis is not a straightforward task. A diagnosis is based on a clinical judgement of whether a person has autism symptoms, such as social and communication difficulties, and repetitive behaviours and restricted interests. This is an inherently subjective task that depends on the skill and experience of the clinician.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-some-people-with-autism-have-restricted-interests-and-repetitive-movements-94401">Why do some people with autism have restricted interests and repetitive movements?</a>
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<p>This judgement is made even more difficult by the wide variability in symptoms, and the considerable overlap with a range of other developmental conditions such as <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd">attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder</a> (ADHD), intellectual disability, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developmental_language_disorder">developmental language disorder</a>.</p>
<p>Further complicating autism diagnosis in Australia is the lack of consistent diagnostic practices both within and between states and territories. This leads to patchy and inconsistent rules around who can access public support services, and the types of services that are available. </p>
<p>It is not uncommon in Australia for a child to receive a diagnosis in the preschool years via the health system, for instance, but then require a further diagnostic assessment when they enter the education system. This is a bewildering situation that has a significant impact on the finite financial and emotional resources of families and the state. </p>
<p>The new guidelines aim to address these inconsistencies and help people with autism and their families better navigate state-based support services. It also brings them into line with the principles of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which seeks to determine support based on need rather than just a diagnosis. </p>
<h2>National guidelines</h2>
<p>In June 2016, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) and the <a href="https://www.autismcrc.com.au/">Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism</a> (Autism CRC), where I’m chief research officer, responded to these challenges by commissioning the development of Australia’s first national guidelines for autism assessment and diagnosis.</p>
<p>We undertook a two-year project that included wide-ranging consultation and extensive research to assess the evidence.</p>
<p>The guidelines do not define what behaviours an individual must show to be diagnosed with autism. These are already presented in international manuals, such as the <a href="https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/dsm">American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual</a> (DSM-5) and the <a href="http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/">World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases</a> (ICD-11). </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/autism-diagnostic-standards-fall-short-of-the-mark-58433">Autism diagnostic standards fall short of the mark</a>
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<p>What the new guidelines provide is a detailed description of the information that needs to be collected during a clinical assessment and how this information can be used to inform the ongoing support of that person, including through a diagnosis of autism. </p>
<p>The guidelines include 70 recommendations describing the optimal process for the assessment and diagnosis of autism in Australia.</p>
<h2>Understanding strengths and challenges</h2>
<p>A diagnostic assessment is not simply about determining whether a person does or doesn’t meet criteria for autism. Of equal importance is gaining an understanding about the key strengths, challenges and needs of the person. This will inform their future clinical care and how services are delivered. </p>
<p>In essence, optimal clinical care is not just about asking “what” diagnosis an individual may have, but also understanding “who” they are and what’s important to their quality of life. </p>
<p>We know diagnosis of autism alone is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22250827">not a sound basis</a> on which to make decisions about eligibility for support services such as the NDIS and state-based health, education and social support systems.</p>
<p>Some people who meet the diagnostic criteria for autism will have minimal support needs, while other individuals will have significant and urgent needs for support and treatment services but will not meet diagnostic criteria for autism at the time of assessment. </p>
<p>Some people may have an intellectual disability, for example, but not show the full range of behaviours that we use to diagnose autism. Others may present with the latter, but not the former. </p>
<p>In the context of neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, it is crucial that a persons’s needs – not the presence or absence of a diagnostic label – are used to determine eligibility and prioritisation of access to support services. </p>
<h2>What may influence an autism assessment?</h2>
<p>The guidelines also detail individual characteristics that may influence the presentation of autism symptoms.</p>
<p>Gender is one key characteristic. Males are more commonly diagnosed with autism than females. But there is increasing evidence that autism behaviours may be different in males and females. Females may be better able to “camouflage” their symptoms by using compensatory strategies to “manage” communication and social difficulties. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/memory-and-sense-of-self-may-play-more-of-a-role-in-autism-than-we-thought-63210">Memory and sense of self may play more of a role in autism than we thought</a>
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<p>It is similarly important to consider the age of the person being assessed, because the presentation of autism symptoms changes during life. </p>
<p>The guidelines provide information on how gender and age affect the behavioural symptoms of autism. This will ensure clinicians understand the full breadth of autistic behaviours and can perform an accurate assessment.</p>
<p>The next step is for all clinicians and autism service providers across Australia to adopt and implement the guidelines. This will ensure every child and adult with autism can receive the optimal care and support.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104929/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Whitehouse receives funding from the NHMRC, ARC and the Autism CRC.</span></em></p>Current rules about who meets the eligibility criteria for autism support services are patchy and inconsistent, meaning those with the greatest need don’t necessarily have the greatest access.Andrew Whitehouse, Winthrop Professor, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1039702018-09-27T15:29:49Z2018-09-27T15:29:49ZTeen ‘boys will be boys’: A brief history<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/238333/original/file-20180927-48647-ihraha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are white boys given longer to grow up?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fraternity-pals-93651397">Everett Collection/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s actions as a 17- and 18-year-old are at the center of a public firestorm.</p>
<p>“I’ve been really troubled by the excuse offered by too many that this was a high school incident, and ‘boys will be boys,’ said Sen. Chris Coons during testimony by Christine Blasey Ford before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 27.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kellyanne-conway-says-brett-kavanaugh-accusers-allegations-feel-like-a-vast-left-wing-conspiracy-2018-09-24">Trump surrogates such as Kellyanne Conway</a> have dismissed his actions are merely those of a "teenager.” The adult Kavanaugh cannot be held accountable, such logic goes, for these alleged youthful indiscretions.</p>
<p>What exactly do we mean by teenage behavior? And who gets to be this kind of teenager? </p>
<p>In the United States, the teen years are frequently assumed to be a time of experimentation, risk-taking and rebellion. But this notion of adolescence as a phase of irresponsible behavior is a relatively new invention.</p>
<h2>The idea of adolescence: A history</h2>
<p>It was only in the first decade of the 20th century that U.S. psychologists came up with the idea of a separate life phase called adolescence and began treating these years as an extension of childhood. </p>
<p>The term “adolescence” – emerging from the Latin word for youth, adulescence – had circulated in English since the Middle Ages, but modern psychologists carved it out as a chronologically specific phase during which a person prepared for adulthood while legally remaining a child. And, as my research shows, U.S. psychologists’ idea of adolescence took time to take root and traveled slowly to other parts of the world, even encountering resistance in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&user=OO80OCkAAAAJ">places such as India</a>.</p>
<p>In the U.S., compulsory schooling and age-based classrooms inaugurated in the 1870s laid the groundwork for imagining teen years as <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/4418.html">a sheltered phase</a>. By the 1910s, educators came to a consensus that compulsory high school should extend until age 18. Before then, most men and women under that age could be, and were, expected to work, get married and even have children. </p>
<p>The most forceful explanation of adolescence as a distinct phase appeared in the work of G. Stanley Hall, founder of the American Journal of Psychology and the first president of the American Psychological Association. His 1904 “Adolescence” described a phase that spread out between the ages of 12 and 18, encompassing the breaking of voice and facial hair for boys and the first menstrual period and breast development for girls – and the <a href="https://archive.org/details/adolescenceitsps01hall">emotional maturation following these physical developments</a>. </p>
<p>While the end of childhood had been marked in many cultures with a rite of passage at puberty – such as the bar mitzvah or the quinceanera – he proposed that the emotional transition actually lasted longer and ended later.</p>
<h2>Rebelliousness</h2>
<p>Hall described adolescence as a period of rebelliousness and individualism. Rebelliousness, he believed, was a developmental requirement for the full flowering of self. He also expressed anxiety around how to manage boys’ sexual impulses during the teen years, devoting an entire chapter to the “dangers” of sexual development. More than any other psychologist, Hall contributed to the understanding of adolescence as a time of heightened storm and stress and emotional turbulence. His chosen constellation of features – rebelliousness, emotional turbulence, sexual recklessness – became the blueprint for analyzing and assessing the problems of young people.</p>
<p>But here’s the catch. Many of these early descriptions of adolescence were written for and about boys of the same social background as the author – white and middle-class. It was primarily such boys who could enjoy an extended childhood characterized by social and sexual experimentation. Lower-class boys and most black boys were expected to grow up earlier by entering the manual labor market and assuming responsibilities in their teens. A prolonged preparation for adulthood was actually available only to those with economic means.</p>
<h2>Double standards</h2>
<p>A similar double standard is echoed today in the way Kavanaugh’s supporters grant him leeway. Sympathetic accounts contextualize Kavanaugh’s behavior as part of boys’ culture at the elite institutions where he studied and just <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/09/18/brett-kavanaugh-accusation-rough-horseplay-ath-vpx.cnn">“rough horseplay</a>.” This reaction is part of a social tendency to see wealthy white boys’ actions as innocently naughty, rather than dangerous. Black boys, on the other hand, routinely experience “adultification,” as historian Ann Ferguson called it – the assignment of <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/mpub.16801">adult motivations and ability</a>. We do not need to look far for contemporary examples: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/trayvon-martin-and-the-irony-of-american-justice/277782/">Trayvon Martin</a>, age 17, was stalked and killed by a vigilante neighbor who suspected he was a threat. Even 12-year-old <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/tamir-rice-story">Tamir Rice</a> was killed because police officers thought he was a danger. And 17-year-old boys of color are regularly tried <a href="https://theconversation.com/memo-to-kavanaughs-defenders-passage-of-time-doesnt-erase-youthful-mistakes-in-the-criminal-justice-system-especially-for-people-of-color-103493">as adults</a> and sent to prison.</p>
<h2>What about adolescent girls?</h2>
<p>Expectations for teenage behavior are also deeply gendered in the United States. </p>
<p>Innocently naughty behavior has historically been the prerogative of teenage boys rather than girls. Rebelliousness was frowned upon if girls – whether black or white – expressed it. Historian Crista DeLuzio goes so far as to depict much of the early writing on adolescence as “<a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/content/female-adolescence-american-scientific-thought-1830%E2%80%931930">boyology</a>.” Girls were simply not imagined, in psychologists’ work, to have the same entitlement to experimentation and innocent risk-taking. </p>
<p>This double standard continues to permeate U.S. culture. There is a telling relevant example from the U.S. college context: Sororities, unlike fraternities, are bound by a <a href="https://www.thedp.com/article/2017/04/sororities-rules-say-they-cant-host-parties-with-alcohol-members-dont-want-this-to-change">ban on alcohol</a> by the National Panhellenic Conference. </p>
<p>Kavanaugh’s alleged actions as a teen under the influence of alcohol have not tainted his reputation as a judge for many on the political right. But Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez are pilloried by Donald Trump as unreliable because they were <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/9/25/17901566/trump-united-nations-kavanaugh-deborah-ramirez-drunk">possibly drunk</a> at age 15 and 18. Kavanaugh’s own views on teenage girls’ accountability are telling: In a controversial decision he offered as a federal judge, he called to delay a 17-year-old pregnant undocumented girl’s access to an abortion. Although he claimed it was because she was a minor and needed parental consent, his delay could have forced the 17-year-old into motherhood – an <a href="https://www.bustle.com/p/kavanaugh-explained-his-garza-decision-denying-immigrant-teen-abortion-11761938">adult consequence</a>.</p>
<h2>Social expectations</h2>
<p>Humans going through puberty certainly experience <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648/">endocrine changes and neural growth</a>. But our social expectations for behavior are what permit – and indeed elicit – specific types of acts, such as drunken unruliness. As psychologist Jeffrey Arnett notes, Hall’s ideas about adolescent storm and stress have been widely <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1093-4510.9.3.186">repudiated</a> by subsequent generations of psychologists, even if some of the physiological changes he tracked are <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/926586306">still considered accurate</a>. And Crista de Luzio notes that in the 17th century, youth was experienced as a “relatively smooth” period in New England Puritan culture in contrast to Europe in the same era. Widespread youthful rebelliousness, she argues, corresponded more generally with <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/926586306">social instability</a>.</p>
<p>Ultimately, there is no necessary physiological reason for holding that unruly or rebellious behavior has to accompany endocrine changes in the teen years. Our uneven expectations about teenage behavior – condoning white wealthy boys’ actions but not those of girls or other boys – say more, then, about us than about teens themselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/103970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashwini Tambe received funding from SSHRC and NEH for her research on the history of girlhood.</span></em></p>What exactly do we mean by teenage behavior? And who gets to be this kind of teenager?Ashwini Tambe, Editorial Director, Feminist Studies; Associate Professor, Department of Women's Studies, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/975152018-06-06T10:38:46Z2018-06-06T10:38:46ZWhy long-term separation from parents harms kids<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221628/original/file-20180604-175407-oeh2pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Children are often sad when separated from their parents for a short time, but the effects are pronounced if the separation is long.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/scared-alone-311598398?src=afSNnHJTxpC57-uuKFQqEQ-1-5">Eakachai Lessin/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As a society, we often wax eloquent about how important it is to nurture, support and protect our children. The sad reality, however, is that all too often major, life-changing decisions are made without any consideration of their potential lifelong and devastating impact on kids. </p>
<p>Case in point: children <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/us/immigrant-children-separation-ice.html">separated from their parents at borders</a> as new immigration policies are debated. Separation from parents for even short periods can cause anxiety disorders that can last a long time.</p>
<p>I wish to underscore that my explanation here is apolitical. Instead, I am writing as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, parent, and member of our society, who would prefer that we be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to protecting vulnerable children at high risk for separation anxiety disorder and other emotional and behavior problems. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.uptodate.com/contents/anxiety-disorders-in-children-and-adolescents-assessment-and-diagnosis#H545216747">Separation anxiety disorder</a> is a disorder that is marked by unusually strong, and clinically significant, fear and distress related to separation from the home, a parent or other attachment figure. The fear and distress exceed levels appropriate for the individual’s age and developmental level, and lasts at least four weeks in children.</p>
<p>Symptoms can include persistent fears of parents being killed or kidnapped, worries about a parent getting sick and being afraid to go to school. Abdominal pain, nausea and other physical symptoms are also common.</p>
<p>Uncertainty and pathological doubting can dominate. These children with separation anxiety disorder never get the “all clear signal” that they or their loved ones are safe unless they are physically together. Even then, safety is precarious as there is always the risk for future separation.</p>
<p>Low socioeconomic status, a family history of anxiety or depression, and other <a href="http://iacapap.org/wp-content/uploads/F.2-SEPARATION-ANXIETY-300812.pdf#page=5">environmental, hereditary and genetic factors</a> appear to increase the risk of developing separation anxiety disorder. However, some of the most common precipitants of separation anxiety symptoms are stress, trauma or a sudden change in environment, such as a divorce or death in the family, a move to a new house or school, or from being forcibly separated from a parent or loved one.</p>
<p>It is important to point out that it is perfectly normal for young children to experience separation anxiety. It is a normal developmental milestone. For example, it is common for young children to get nervous and scared when their parent leaves and says goodbye. </p>
<p>This usually gets better in children as they get older, but in about <a href="https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200115020-00002">4-5 percent of children and adolescents</a> separation anxiety persists and requires therapeutic intervention.</p>
<p>Treatment for separation anxiety disorder includes therapy, reassurance of the child and caregivers, and psychoeducation to provide the family with information about this disorder and the available treatment services that they can receive. However, medication may also be required for severe cases.</p>
<p>Separation anxiety disorder also <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1097%2FCHI.0b013e31816765e7">increases the risk</a> for developing depression, other anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and a dependent personality disorder in adulthood.</p>
<p>While it is true that children can be resilient and either persevere or recover, it is never easy and the hidden scars remain.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97515/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Rosenberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Kids often experience anxiety when separated from parents for short periods. Longer separations, happening with some immigrant children, is a different matter, a leading child psychiatrist explains.David Rosenberg, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Wayne State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/885322018-04-03T10:46:46Z2018-04-03T10:46:46ZGenes and environment have equal influence in learning for rich and poor kids, study finds<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212454/original/file-20180328-109204-1um4x34.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Two youngsters in a kindergarten classroom. A new study suggests that class may not affect their learning as much as previously believed. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/american-african-boys-reading-together-happiness-1006711075?src=YuGIwz_MT0h0pXNI6GXfBw-1-59">mangpoor2004/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 40 years ago, psychologist Sandra Scarr put forth a provocative idea: that genetic influence on children’s cognitive abilities is linked to their family’s income. The wealthier the family, the <a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/174/4016/1285">more influence genes have on brain development</a>, the thinking went. </p>
<p>Scarr turned the nature-nurture debate on its head, proposing that how much “nature” matters varies between environments. Scarr’s research has since been roundly debated and thoroughly studied by other researchers with mixed results, including reaffirmation by another American psychologist, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10546338">David Rowe</a>, in 1999. </p>
<p>The line of research has come to be called the Scarr-Rowe hypothesis — that parents’ socio-economic status moderates genetic contributions to variation in intelligence. The thinking was that, for people of lower socio-economic status, a person’s intelligence is influenced more by his or her environment than by genetics, meaning whether a child reaches full potential depends on economic standing. </p>
<p>I have been studying the relationship of early health conditions to subsequent school performance for 25 years and been fascinated by the role that genetics and environment play in student achievement.</p>
<p>A group of us set out to re-examine the question: Are genetic influences on cognitive abilities larger for children raised in a more advantaged environment? To get that answer, I collaborated with colleagues at Northwestern University and Stanford University. </p>
<h2>Studying twins, siblings gives insight</h2>
<p>We <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/114/51/13441">analyzed birth and school records</a> of 24,000 twins and nearly 275,000 siblings born in Florida between 1994 and 2002. As did previous researchers who examined genetic and environmental influences of cognitive development, we focused on a very large set of twins and siblings. </p>
<p>Twins and siblings close in age allowed us to disentangle the role of genes and environment in development of cognitive ability. We found no evidence that social class played more of a role in educational performance for poor kids than for rich ones.</p>
<p>While students in the higher income groups performed better than students in the lower income groups, the relative influence of genetic and environmental differences was the same across groups. The results were published recently in the <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/114/51/13441">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.</p>
<h2>A complex gene-environment interaction</h2>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212455/original/file-20180328-109185-t173q0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212455/original/file-20180328-109185-t173q0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212455/original/file-20180328-109185-t173q0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212455/original/file-20180328-109185-t173q0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212455/original/file-20180328-109185-t173q0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212455/original/file-20180328-109185-t173q0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/212455/original/file-20180328-109185-t173q0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The influence of genetics and environment is equally strong in kids from rich and poor families.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-woman-parents-two-children-having-71140174?src=7Y7aaCTHhwEwYM8a8ZGYiw-1-25">Darren Baker/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<p>What is the significance of our findings? According to David Figlio, dean of the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern and lead author of the study, we did not confirm that environmental factors mitigate the effects of genetics on cognitive development. Environmental differences are just as important for students from affluent backgrounds as students from poorer backgrounds.</p>
<p><a href="https://labs.la.utexas.edu/tucker-drob/files/2015/02/Tucker-Drob-Harden-4.20.15-A-Behavioral-Genetic-Perspective-on-Noncognitive-Factors-and-Academic-Achievement.pdf">Recent research</a> has found evidence of a difference in genetic influence on academic performance between rich and poor families in the United States, when compared with families in Australia or Western Europe. </p>
<p>However, our research did not replicate the U.S. findings, in part because our large data set from Florida represented a very socio-economically diverse set of families. </p>
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<p>Our findings, however, do not contradict the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4641149/">overall pattern</a> that parental socio-economic status is associated with children’s cognitive development. Among twins and siblings pairs who were close in age, standardized math and reading scores increased proportionally along with mothers’ years of education beyond high school. </p>
<p>More broadly, our findings suggest that the confluence of genes and environment that shape a child’s cognitive ability is not so clear cut; it is far more elusive and complex than currently understood.</p>
<p>Jeremy Freese, a Stanford University sociology professor and second author of our paper, noted that being able to say that genes matter more for one group than another is appealing partly for its simplicity. We suspect the truth is more complicated: Some genes may matter more in wealthier families, and other genes may matter more in poorer families, so there’s no overall characterization one can provide.</p>
<p>In the near future, deeper understanding of the interplay between genetics and environment will become available. With the advent of more specific genetic information, we may be able to map more precisely the gene-environment connection. Such information will improve the ability for researchers to forecast how children achieve their intellectual potential.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88532/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeffrey Roth received funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>For years, educators have viewed socio-economic status as an influence on learning. Here’s why a recent study suggests the full story may be more complicated than that.Jeffrey Roth, Professor of Pediatrics, University of FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.