Kids who enter preschool with good vocabulary and attention skills have a head start on academic success.

That's the takeaway from a new study of nearly 900 4-year-olds and their ability to engage with teachers and peers, as well as their involvement in classroom tasks.

“The levels of ...

While some may think of hearing loss as something that happens with age, it can also happen to kids.

Parents and teachers should consider hearing loss if a child's academic performance declines or he or she develops behavioral issues, lack of focus and depression, the American Academy of Audiology advises.

“Because children often don't realize they are missing information and may ...

The dangers of school traffic is a major worry for many parents, a new poll finds.

In fact, a third of more than 900 parents surveyed last spring said speeding and distracted parent drivers are their main concern, and drivers who don't follow the rules should be banned from school parking areas.

According to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health from ...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday it has loosened its COVID-19 social distancing recommendations as the American public learns to live with the virus in its midst.

“We're in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools — like vaccination, boosters, and treatments — to protect ourselves, and our communities, from severe illness from COVID-19,”...

Teachers play a critical role in the early detection and reporting of child abuse, according to a new study that found school closures during the height of the pandemic may have meant that up to 8,000 reports of endangered children were missed.

"Child maltreatment is a vex...

Americans could see an easing of COVID-19 social distancing recommendations as soon as this week.

Updated guidance expected from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would change current recomm...

Medical schools are doing a better job of recruiting minority students, but they still struggle to keep those would-be doctors on...

Long, restful and - most importantly - regular sleep is key to helping kindergarteners adjust to school, and a new study urges parents to start forming good sleep habits a full year ahead of time.

Researchers found that kids who regularly got 10 hours of sleep or more b...

While kids in a classroom are likely to be familiar with all their classmates after a short time, the children they are assigned to sit near are likely to become their closer friends, a new study suggests.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University found that after seat assignments changed, students were more likely to become friends with newly near-seated classmates, than with those w...

The expression "plays well with others" is often tossed around to describe people who are less likely to ruffle feathers, and new research shows these sandbox skills really matter.

It turns out that kids who play well with others in preschool are less likely to experience mental health issues ...

Certain lifestyle factors can sway the risk of dementia, and a new study points to the top threats to Americans these days: obesity, physical inactivity and lack of a high school diploma.

Researchers found that in just the past decade, there has been a shift in the most important modifiable risk factors for dementia in the United States. In 2011, the big three were physical inactivity, de...

State bans on affirmative action have prompted a precipitous decline in the number of U.S. medical students from racial/ethnic minority groups, a new study finds.

"We know that a more diverse physician workforce leads to better care for racial- and ethnic-minority patients," said lead researcher Dr. Dan Ly, a...

If you're battling depression, the success of your treatment might be affected by your race, income, job status and education, a new study says.

"If you're going home to a wealthy neighborhood with highly educated parents or spouse, then you're arguably in a much better environment for the treatment to be effective than if you're going to a poor neighborhood with other problems," said stu...

Preschoolers can learn reading skills in a virtual classroom, University of Washington researchers say.

"Children are ready to learn to read at the age of 5. But the pandemic robbed children of the opportunity for in-person reading instruction," said Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), in Seattle. "What we've shown here is that an online rea...

School segregation may sound like a relic from the past, but it has actually been increasing in the United States for years. Now a new study shows that has come with health consequences for Black children.

Researchers found that in school districts with greater segregation, Black students tended to have more behavioral issues and were more likely to drink alcohol, versus their peers in mo...

U.S. medical schools are not keeping pace with a nation that is more racially and ethnically diverse every day, a new study reports.

The schools' clinical faculty and leadership are not as diverse as the communities around them, though ...

Kids today feel more pressured by their parents' high expectations, and that may be feeding a rise in perfectionism, a new study suggests.

Some people claim the title "perfectionist" ...

Many parents of preschoolers insist that naps are essential to recharge their little ones during the day and improve their mood.

Turns out that daytime shut-eye may also boost early literacy skills.

New research by scholars in Australia and England suggests that naps help preschoolers map...

School mask mandates helped protect students and staff last fall as the Delta variant spread, a new government report shows.

Ironically, the finding arrived just as many U.S. school districts have dropped masking rules.

In the study released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Cont...

The pandemic has dramatically disrupted kids' normal routines, but a new study suggests the initial lockdowns of 2020 did not necessarily hinder preschoolers' language development.

In fact, researchers found, there was an unanticipated "lockdown boost" in youngsters' vocabulary growth -- possibly because parents were spending more time at home.

Studying families in 13 countries, the...

Most parents have dealt with having to hurry a sleepy child out the door on a school morning, but experts say taking the time to establish good sleep routines for your kids is worth the effort.

Amid the pandemic, there can be a great deal of uncertainty around school, but a set sleep regimen can help ease youngsters'

Living through the pandemic has not been easy for kids, but it has really thrown off children who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), new research warns.

Though they were not more likely to catch COVID-19, they were more likely to experience symptoms if they were infected. But the damage did not stop there: These children were also more likely to have trouble sleeping, f...

Despite earlier concerns that at-home COVID-19 tests might be less accurate than PCR tests, new research in U.S. children and teens adds to evidence that the rapid tests are highly accurate.

The scientists said the accuracy of the tests -- which can be used at home and in schools and provide quick results -- is similar to that of

Hands-on learning can be fun, and new research suggests that it works as well as more traditional teaching methods.

Known as "guided play," the technique involves educational activities that are gently steered by an adult but give kids the freedom to explore while learning. They include games that require children to read, write or use math.

"The argument is sometimes made that play...

In an effort to keep kids in classrooms, the White House announced Wednesday that 10 million free coronavirus tests will be provided to schools around the country every month while the wildly contagious Omicron variant continues to surge.

President Joe Biden has been pushing for months to have schools stay open because the academic, social and emotional toll of remote learning has put kid...

For several years, a leading U.S. pediatricians' group has called for middle and high schools to start later in the morning, to help these young people get the right amount of sleep.

Now, new research suggests that students aren't the only ones who benefit from later start times: Their parents also catch a break.

"Kids don't live in a vacuum. They live in a complex family system. In...

Parents, brace yourselves.

As the Omicron variant surges and U.S. schools deal with a substitute teacher shortage and related pandemic fallout, don't be surprised if a return to remote or hybrid learning leads your kids to act out, a new study warns.

Previous shifts from in-person to re...

When a sick child spends time in the intensive care unit, the impact lasts even after the hospital stay is over.

Added to it are days, weeks, sometimes months out of school for the young patient and extended work absences for their primary caregivers.

"Pediatric critical illness impacts a family's health and well-being not only during the child's treatment but after they leave the ...

The percentage of older Americans reporting serious problems with memory and thinking has declined in recent years -- and higher education levels may be part of the reason, a new study finds.

Researchers found that between 2008 and 2017, the proportion of older U.S. adults reporting...

Ask a teacher whether school uniforms make a difference in their classrooms, and many are sure of it.

They insist those crisp shirts and ties and those modest plaid skirts help kids focus on their classwork, level the playing field and boost attendance, among other perks.

But a new study says it's just not so.

Turns ou...

Of course kids make up the bulk of people at schools, but new evidence shows that requiring masks for adults working at schools greatly reduces the severity of COVID-19 outbreaks.

In the study, the researchers found that children were most often the first identified cases in schools. However, outbreaks in schools were more severe when an adult was the first case, and mask wearing by adult...

Unvaccinated students exposed to COVID-19 can remain in the classroom as long as they're regularly tested for the virus at school, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

The CDC pointed to two new studies from California and Illinois as evidence that school districts can...

Autism may be more prevalent among American children than believed, a new U.S. government study shows.

One in 44 children at age 8 in the United States have been diagnosed with the developmental disorder, a jump from the previous estimate of 1 in 54 children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found.

But a second study offered more heartening news: After look...