Early intervention increases educational gains for inner city children
Researchers followed the 30-year progress of 989 children who attended the Child-Parent Centers program in inner-city Chicago as preschoolers. Their findings suggest preventive interventions beginning in early childhood can promote long-term educational success that contributes...Read more
1000 days to close the gap
What we can learn from the early baby health centres in Victoria to close the gap in Indigenous infant health. International research has shown that the first 1000 days, from conception to age two, offers a...Read more
Pixelating our playgrounds
As parents, consumers, and citizens, how should we respond to the rise of digital technology in our parks? Children’s playgrounds are becoming increasingly digitised through the ubiquity of mobile devices and interactive games. Anyone with a...Read more
Children malfunction without access to nature
Where I grew up on the newly built edge of Campbell River, there was a 100-kilometre swath of forest, rivers and lakes between my doorstep and the Pacific Ocean. Within an hour’s hike I could find beaver dams,...Read more
Children spend half the time playing outside in comparison to their parents
A recent UK study commissioned by the National Trust found that children spend half the time playing outside that their parents did. The National Trust research showed that children are playing outside for an average of...Read more
Shareholders ask Apple to lead fight in smartphone addiction in children
Two Apple investors are advocating for research based modifications to the iPhone in order to “help parents control and limit phone use more easily and to study the impact of overuse on mental health”. There is...Read more
Open access play needs more support, says chair of Play England
In our second interview with contributors to next week’s Child in the City international seminar on children’s play in the urban environment, Nicola Butler, director of Hackney Play Association and chair of Play England, calls for...Read more
Global initiative calls for safer streets and cleaner air for children
A major international conference, ‘Every Journey, Every Child’ at London’s City Hall last month called for urgent action by government, industry and international agencies to tackle ‘the needless deaths of thousands of children worldwide due to...Read more
Policymakers must act on children and lead
It is widely assumed that children’s exposure to the toxic effects of lead in their environment is a thing of the past, at least in the developed world. In fact, as a new US report...Read more
These child obesity solutions wouldn’t be acceptable for zoo animals
Instead of penning them in and shrinking pizzas, let children play outside with their friends – and not just for the exercise – says children’s play expert Rob Wheway. Obesity is an environmental issue, not a...Read more
Salzburg group calls for urgent action on children and nature in cities
An international coalition of environmentalists and urbanists has published a call for action ‘to prioritize children’s needs for their optimal health and development by creating liveable cities that enhance their wellbeing and integrate nature’ into...Read more
New computer model reveals ‘staggering’ cost of childhood inactivity
Increasing the physical activity levels of American children would save trillions of dollars in healthcare costs and increased productivity, reveals a new study. Adrian Voce reports. A new study of the long-term impact of inadequate physical...Read more
Britons ‘support car-free city centres’
A new survey by Volvo has found that more than half of all UK adults would be happy to tolerate only public transport being allowed in their nearest city if it meant air quality could be...Read more
Illegal pollution affects ‘many 1000s of UK children’
The Guardian reports that hundreds of thousands of children are being exposed to illegal levels of damaging air pollution from diesel vehicles at schools and nurseries across England and Wales, as revealed by its joint...Read more