Objective: Advanced parenthood increases the risk of severe neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, Down syndrome and schizophrenia. Does advanced parenthood also negatively impact offspring’s general neurodevelopment? Method: We analyzed child-, father-, mother- and teacher-rated attention-problems (N= 38,024), and standardized measures of intelligence (N = 10,273) and educational achievement (N = 17,522) of children from four Dutch population-based cohorts. The … Read more
Parental age in relation to offspring’s neurodevelopment
Social disparities in the vocabulary of 2-year-old children and the mediating effect of language-stimulating interaction behavior
It is well documented that children’s language skills already vary by socioeconomic status by the time they are about 2-3 years old. In addition, study results demonstrate that the frequency of language-stimulating interaction behavior – as an important aspect of the proximal familial learning environment – significantly predicts children’s later language skills. However, it is … Read more
What impacts early language skills? Effects of social disparities and different process characteristics of the home learning environment in the first 2 years
It is well documented that the language skills of preschool children differ substantially and that these differences are highly predictive of their later academic success and achievements. Especially in the early phases of children’s lives, the importance of different structural and process characteristics of the home learning environment (HLE) has been emphasized and research results … Read more
Children’s socio-emotional skills: Is there a quantity–quality trade-off?
Although it is widely acknowledged that non-cognitive skills matter for adult outcomes, little is known about the role played by family environment in the formation of these skills. We use a longitudinal survey of children born in the UK in 2000–2001, the Millennium Cohort Study by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies, to estimate the effect … Read more
Just a phase? Mapping the transition of behavioural problems from childhood to adolescence
Purpose Young people change substantially between childhood and adolescence. Yet, the current description of behavioural problems does not incorporate any reference to the developmental context. In the current analysis, we aimed to identify common transitions of behavioural problems between childhood and adolescence. Method We followed 6744 individuals over 6 years as they transitioned from childhood (age … Read more
The health impacts of universal early childhood interventions: evidence from Sure Start
This research evaluates the short- and medium-term health impacts of Sure Start, a large-scale and universal early childhood programme in England. The programme provided Sure Start Centres across the country which operated as ‘one-stop shops’ for families with children under 5, bringing together a range of support including health services, parenting support programmes, and access … Read more
Parenting Behaviours and Early Child Development in Europe
Social inequality related to children’s development starts early in life. Parenting behaviour as an explanatory factor has important effects on very young children’s verbal and behavior social skills, and on later school achievements.
Formation of Children’s Cognitive and Socio- Emotional Skills: Is All Parental Time Equal?
This paper asks how time spent with one or both parents can affect children’s social, emotional and verbal skills. It finds the effect of doing educational activities with the father is smaller than that of time spent with the mother or with both parents together for children’s verbal and socio-emotional skills. The research uses data … Read more
The association between mother’s education level and early child language skills; findings from three European cohort studies
The development of language skills during the early years of a child’s life are vital for school readiness, educational attainment, and later life outcomes. The socio-economic background of parents, as measured by occupation, income, and level of education, have been found to significantly affect child language skills and the differences we see between children.
The Pros and Cons of Combining Birth Cohort Data
This short SEED working paper is designed to highlight the value of and the pitfalls in combining and comparing data across large scale representative population cohorts. It was carried out as part of the Norface DIAL initiative by the SEED project (Social InEquality and its Effects on child Development: A study of birth cohorts in the UK, … Read more