Happy childhood? That's no guarantee for good mental health

 It's well understood that a difficult childhood can increase the likelihood of mental illness, but according to new research, a happy and secure childhood does not always protect a child from developing a mental illness later in life.

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Worlds Of Influence: Understanding What Shapes Child Well-Being In Rich Countries

 This report looks at children from the world’s richest countries and offers a mixed picture of their health, skills and happiness. For many, issues such as poverty, exclusion and pollution threaten their mental well-being, physical health and opportunities to develop skills. It finds that even countries with good social, economic and environmental conditions are a long way from meeting the targets set in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Read Unicef report here

Growing up near green space is good for your mental health as an adult - World Economic Forum

Being denied the sights, sounds and smells of nature during childhood is associated with an increased risk of mental health problems later in life, according to a new study. Read article here

Suppressing Negative Feelings Around Kids May Be Wrong Advice

New research contradicts the commonplace advice to avoid showing conflict and strong negative emotions around one’s children. Read PsychCentral article here

Children who experience violence early in life develop faster

A study has shown that exposure to violence early in life -- such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse -- is associated with faster biological ageing, including pubertal development and a cellular metric of biological ageing called epigenetic age. Read ScienceDaily article here

Maternal Depression May Impact Child’s IQ

Maternal depression can negatively impact a child’s cognitive development at least until the age of 16, according to a new study published in the journal Child Development.
Researchers from the University of California (UC), San Diego School of Medicine evaluated approximately 900 healthy children and their mothers living in Santiago, Chile at five-year intervals from the child’s infancy through age 16. Click here to see PsychCentral article

Younger aged children with symptoms of ADHD have reduced brain size

Children as young as four years old with symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) showed reduced brain volumes in regions essential for behavioral control, according to a new study.  Click here for news item.

Exposure to childhood violence linked to psychiatric disorders

Investing in diminishing socioeconomic status inequalities and in preventing violent events during childhood may improve the mental health of youths from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. The results showed that having experienced any traumatic event and low socioeconomic status were associated with an internalizing disorder such as depression and anxiety and an externalizing disorder including attention-deficit hyperactivity. read ScienceDaily article here

Families should feel supported when their child is born preterm, says NICE

Children born preterm should be offered developmental check-ups to help identify any problems or disorders early on, NICE has said in its latest draft quality standard. 

The draft standard aims to improve the follow-up care that is provided to families from when they start planning the discharge of their preterm child from hospital.

Healthy Child Record Standard

The Professional Records Standards Body (PRSB) has launched a new set of information standards, to ensure that children receive appropriate care by setting out what information on screening tests, immunisations and developmental milestones should be securely shared for their treatment, care and wellbeing.

Faltering growth: recognition and management of faltering growth in children

New NICE Guidance covering the recognition, assessment and monitoring of faltering growth in infants and children. It includes a definition of growth thresholds for concern and identifying the risk factors for, and possible causes of, faltering growth. It also covers interventions, when to refer, service design, and information and support.

This guideline includes recommendations on:

• weight loss in the early days of life
• faltering growth after the early days of life
• organisation of care
• information and support for parents and carers

Children born prematurely have greater risk of cognitive, motor and behavioural difficulties

Babies born preterm – at any degree – have a greater risk of developing cognitive, motor and behavioural difficulties and these problems persist throughout school years, finds a new study published online in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists.

The authors call for “organisations delivering healthcare, policy makers and educational institutions to take into account the additional academic, emotional and behavioural needs of children born preterm.”

In the UK, around 60,000 babies are born prematurely each year. Short term complications of preterm for the child include higher risk of respiratory complications, sepsis, and bleeding into brain. In addition, these children are at risk of cognitive, motor, and behavioural difficulties in the long-term.

However, there is little evidence on the effects of being born preterm at various points in subsequent years after birth. Therefore, UK based researchers carried out a systematic review to analyse the effect of preterm birth at various stages on the cognitive, motor, behavioural and academic performance of children born preterm versus those born at term.

TV/Video Games in Bedroom Can Lead to Child Issues

New research suggests that when a child has a TV or video games in their bedroom, negative consequences may happen.
Iowa State University investigators discovered bedroom access to TV or video games resulted in children spending less time reading, sleeping, or participating in other activities. In turn, these children did not do as well in school and were at greater risk for obesity and video game addiction.

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Treating subclinical thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy probably has no benefit

Testing for and then treating pregnant women with mild or “subclinical” underactive thyroid did not improve pregnancy outcomes, newborn baby outcomes, or the child’s IQ at three to five years.

A clearly underactive thyroid (clinical hypothyroidism) in pregnancy has been linked with various adverse outcomes for the mother and baby, including pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, congenital defects and neurodevelopmental delay. This needs treatment. However, there has been debate around the harms and benefits from treating only mildly abnormal blood test results in women who do not show signs of thyroid problems, subclinical hypothyroidism.

From the NIHR Dissemination Centre

Through each other's eyes

This document from the Mental Health Foundation evaluates a programme which sought to promote infants’ social and emotional development using video interaction guidance (VIG) where parents observe and reflect on video recordings of their positive interactions with their child. Results from the preliminary evaluations show that VIG has benefits for parents, practitioners and managers within early years services.