Latest news with #childDevelopment
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Parents warned to limit their children's screen time, as research finds youngsters glued to smartphones and tablets have smaller brains and lower IQs
Parents are being warned to limit children's screen time after a study found it could lead to them having smaller brains and lower intelligence. Scientists found children who watched television and used smartphones, tablets and computers had, on average, lower IQs and less intracranial volume (ICV) – a marker for brain size. In contrast, children who exercised in their spare time were likely to be more intelligent and had a larger brain volume, according to the research. The study used databases from across Europe that contained information from thousands of children on IQ, screen use and physical exercise. This was analysed to establish whether there was any link between leisure time habits, intelligence and ICV – the total space within the skull which is used as a proxy for the maximum size of the brain. Larger ICV has been linked to superior intelligence. The researchers, based in China, say their results provide further evidence that excessive screen time has a lifelong impact on children's brain development. 'These findings highlight the critical need to manage and regulate children's media use while also promoting increased physical activity,' they wrote in the journal Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. The study comes as children's screen time use has rocketed in recent years. The average amount of time British children aged five to 15 spend on screens rose from nine hours a week in 2009 to 15 hours a week in 2018, according to a House of Commons education committee report from last year. While there can be benefits, including building friendships and improving learning, negative effects include online bullying, exposure to violence and pornography, lower levels of physical activity and eye strain. Sir Cary Cooper, a psychology professor at the University of Manchester, said: 'Children are using these devices and they are not learning social and non-verbal skills that we pick up from interacting, face-to-face, with other people.'
Arab News
3 days ago
- Health
- Arab News
What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Anxious Generation' by Jonathan Haidt
In 'The Anxious Generation,' Jonathan Haidt lays out the facts about the epidemic of teen mental illness that hit many countries at the same time. He then investigates the nature of childhood, including why children need play and independent exploration to mature into competent, thriving adults. He explains why social media damages girls more than boys and why boys have been withdrawing from the real world into the virtual world, with disastrous consequences.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Telling your kid a white lie feels harmless, but it isn't. What I do instead.
'We're out of cookies.' 'The remote is broken — guess we can't watch TV.' 'Whoops, the pool is closed today.' Many parents end up telling the occasional white lie to their kid — often out of exhaustion or to avoid the inevitable meltdown or power struggle that comes after saying no. But while these minor fibs seem harmless in the moment, they can actually undermine a child's trust in themselves and you. In the fifth episode of their podcast After Bedtime With Big Little Feelings, Big Little Feelings founders Deena Margolin, a child therapist specializing in interpersonal neurobiology, and Kristin Gallant, a parenting coach with a background in maternal and child education, chat about some of the white lies they've told their own kids — and the surprising repercussions that followed. For Yahoo's column After After Bedtime, Margolin shares three steps parents can take to help set boundaries without resorting to fudging the truth. And if your kid should still catch you in a small fib? Here's what to do. Let's be real: We've all done it. 'The park is closed.' 'The tablet is broken.' 'This is spicy, you won't like it.' (Spoiler alert: It's cake, they'd absolutely love it.) 'The ice cream truck only plays music when it's out of ice cream.' These tiny fibs usually come from one place: parental survival. You're exhausted. You've repeated yourself 400 times. You just need to make it through the next five minutes without a meltdown. And in those moments, a white lie feels like the easiest way to get there. But here's the thing: Truth builds trust. Research shows that kids, even as young as age 3, can detect inconsistencies between what adults say and what they do. And kids who are frequently lied to? They're more likely to lie to themselves and less likely to trust their caregivers over time. Now does that mean you've ruined your child because you fibbed about the park being closed? Absolutely not. The goal isn't perfection — it's awareness, repair and modeling honesty in age-appropriate ways. So how do we handle these gray areas? Here are some suggestions. Lying usually feels like the fastest way out of a hard moment. 'The tablet's broken' feels easier than saying, 'No more shows' — and then dealing with the meltdown that follows. But here's the thing: Shortcuts don't build skills. Boundaries do. Instead of reaching for a lie, you can try holding the limit honestly: 'We're done with the tablet for today. I know that's hard to hear. It's OK to feel upset.' You're still saying no, but you're doing it in a way that makes space for the big feelings that come with it. That's not weakness — that's regulation. That's leadership. Every time you choose truth plus a calm boundary, you're teaching your child, 'I can be told the truth.' 'I can feel big feelings and move through them.' 'My parent is safe, steady and honest, even when it's hard.' If your child calls you out for a little white lie that slipped out (and they will), be honest: 'You're right. I said the iPad was broken. That's not true; I made a mistake. IPad time is done today, and we will have more tomorrow.' This is where the magic happens, because now you're modeling accountability and emotional safety (instead of gaslighting them). You don't have to explain the entire truth to a 4-year-old. You just have to stay grounded in it. Try: 'We don't have time to go to the park today, but I will find a time for us to go this week.' 'TV time is done today. We will have more soon.' 'I don't want to share right now. Let's find something you can enjoy too.' No lies. Just limits — with love. So the takeaway? You're not a bad parent if you've lied to your kid. You're human. But every moment is a chance to build, or rebuild, trust. Because while there's no gold star for 'most honest parent of the year,' there is a deep, lasting connection when your child knows: I can trust what my parent says. I can believe in their words. They see me, they respect me, and they tell me the truth, even when it's hard. And that's the kind of honesty that changes everything.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How AI pales in the face of human intelligence and ingenuity
Gary Marcus is right to point out – as many of us have for years – that just scaling up compute size is not going to solve the problems of generative artificial intelligence (When billion-dollar AIs break down over puzzles a child can do, it's time to rethink the hype, 10 June). But he doesn't address the real reason why a child of seven can solve the Tower of Hanoi puzzle that broke the computers: we're embodied animals and we live in the world. All living things are born to explore, and we do so with all our senses, from birth. That gives us a model of the world and everything in it. We can infer general truths from a few instances, which no computer can do. A simple example: to teach a large language model 'cat', you have to show it tens of thousands of individual images of cats – being the way they are, they may be up a tree, in a box, or hiding in a roll of carpet. And even then, if it comes upon a cat playing with a bath plug, it may fail to recognise it as a cat. A human child can be shown two or three cats, and from interacting with them, it will recognise any cat as a cat, for life. Apart from anything else, this embodied, evolved intelligence makes us incredibly energy-efficient compared with a computer. The computers that drive an autonomous car use anything upwards of a kilowatt of energy, while a human driver runs on twentysomething watts of renewable power – and we don't need an extra bacon sandwich to remember a new route. At a time of climate emergency, the vast energy demands of this industry might perhaps lead us to recognise, and value, the extraordinary economy, versatility, plasticity, ingenuity and creativity of human intelligence – qualities that we all have simply by virtue of being HaymanAdvisory board member, Minderoo Centre for Technology & Democracy, Cambridge University • It comes as no surprise to me that Apple researchers have found 'fundamental limitations' in cutting-edge artificial intelligence models (Advanced AI suffers 'complete accuracy collapse' in face of complex problems, study finds, 9 June). AI in the form of large reasoning models or large language models (LLMs) are far from being able to 'reason'. This can be simply tested by asking ChatGPT or similar: 'If 9 plus 10 is 18 what is 18 less 10?' The response today was 8. Other times, I've found that it provided no definitive answer. This highlights that AI does not reason – currently, it is a combination of brute force and logic routines to essentially reduce the brute force approach. A term that should be given more publicity is ANI – artificial narrow intelligence, which describes systems like ChatGPT that are excellent at summarising pertinent information and rewording sentences, but are far from being able to reason. But note, the more times that LLMs are asked similar questions, the more likely it will provide a more reasonable response. Again, though, this is not reasoning, it is model TaylorMona Vale, New South Wales, Australia
Associated Press
16-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Compassion International Joins Africa in Commemorating Day of the African Child (DAC) 2025
Observed across the continent, DAC honors the rights, dignity and wellbeing of Africa's children Colorado Springs, Colorado--(Newsfile Corp. - June 16, 2025) - Compassion International, a leading child development organization, proudly joins the African continent in commemorating the Day of the African Child (DAC) on June 16, 2025. This year's theme, 'Planning and Budgeting for Children's Rights: Progress Since 2010,' underscores the importance of intentional investment in the protection and development of Africa's children. The Day of the African Child, observed annually on June 16, honors the rights and dignity of children across the continent. It serves as a moment to reflect on the progress made in advancing children's rights and to confront the persistent challenges they face. Spearheaded by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC), DAC 2025 invites governments, organizations, and communities to evaluate and strengthen their efforts to uphold children's rights through effective planning and budgeting. At the heart of Compassion International's mission is a steadfast belief that every child must be known, loved, and protected. This commitment aligns powerfully with the 2025 DAC theme. Through its child development programs, Compassion supports over 2.2 million children globally. In Africa, Compassion International currently operates in ten countries, partnering with local churches to serve nearly one million children. Together, we are committed to releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name by nurturing their holistic development and safeguarding their dignity. 'By participating in DAC 2025, Compassion International reaffirms that child protection is not merely a programmatic goal-it is a fundamental right for every child. The organization stands in solidarity with African governments, civil society, and communities in calling for sustained, strategic investment in the future of Africa's children.' Says Palamanga Ouali, Vice President of Africa Region at Compassion International. Compassion's work directly supports the DAC 2025 vision by: 'My dream for Burkina Faso children is for them to reach their full potential. I want to see that our rights are respected, and our voices are heard in decision making.' - Djamila, 10-year-old program participant from Centre-East Burkina Faso. In collaboration with our frontline church partners Compassion International has organized a range of activities including radio and TV talk shows, community dialogues, presentation of children's position papers to authorities, youth budget forums, participation in DAC 2025 commemoration event, art and poster exhibitions and child seminars among other events. [ This image cannot be displayed. Please visit the source: ] Children participate in a past Day of the African Child celebrations in Kenya To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: For more information about the Day of the African Child 2025, please visit About Compassion International Compassion International is a Christian child development organization dedicated to releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name. Founded in 1952, Compassion partners with more than 8,500 local churches in 29 program countries to deliver spiritual, economic, social, and physical care to over two million babies, children, and young adults in poverty. Ranked No. 12 in Forbes' America's Top Charities List in 2024, Compassion is a founding member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and an accredited charity with the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. For more information, visit or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, and TikTok. Media Contact: Daniel Kamau [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit
