The early onset of puberty in girls has been linked with better bone health in older women, but it is also associated with a host of negative outcomes including teenage pregnancy and serious ill health in mid-life. With girls over the last few decades starting their periods earlier and earlier, this is a real cause…
Young drinkers: using evidence to prevent alcohol abuse
Research by Child of our Time Editor Yvonne Kelly on 11 year-old drinking has caught the eye of Mentor, a charity working to build resilience among young people to prevent alcohol and drug misuse. The charity’s CEO, Michael O’Toole is now looking to collaborate with Yvonne in future research that will take a look a first look at data…
Alcohol – who is drinking or drunk age 11?
Child of our Time editor, Professor Yvonne Kelly was among a group of experts looking at drinking behaviour across the life course this week. She presented her recent thought-provoking work on 11 year-olds and drinking at a seminar for policy makers and third sector workers on alcohol and health, organised by the ESRC International Centre for…
Mixed race kids: happier than we might think!
It’s been said and shown over the last few decades that mixed race and mixed ethnicity children tend not to do as well socially and emotionally as their non mixed peers. But new research casts a rather different light on the matter, showing that children both in the UK and US who are from mixed…
Being drunk – aged 11
Better understanding why very young people start drinking has been a recent focus for the team at the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies at UCL. Research published earlier this year by the team showed that one in seven 11 year-olds said they had drunk alcohol and indicated strong ties with having friends who drank…
Born in Bradford
Born in Bradford is a fascinating child health development project following the lives of thousands of children in the city. It hopes to find out more about the causes of childhood illness by studying children from all cultures and backgrounds as their lives unfold. In this Child of our Time Podcast episode, one of the project’s lead researchers,…
A bedtime story
Reading is key to giving children the best possible start in life. That’s what Child of our Time Editor Professor Yvonne Kelly will be telling representatives of the Swedish Government and European Commission today when she delivers the key note presentation at a seminar highlighting the importance and benefits of early interventions in children’s lives. The seminar in…
Who are the 11 year old drinkers?
The number of young people who say they drink alcohol has recently fallen. But the teenage years are still the time most of us start drinking. Drinking can be linked to other types of risky adolescent behaviour and, later in life, alcohol remains a major risk factor for illnesses such as heart attacks, cancer and…
Giving children a better start
Child of our Time Editor, Yvonne Kelly will today be discussing why poorer children are more likely to be obese than their better off peers at a Big Lottery Fund event looking at how to give young children a better start in life. She will be sharing recent research from the team at the ESRC International…
Changing behaviour and mixed ethnicity
The number of mixed ethnicity children born in the UK is growing. Research to date has shown that coming from a mixed ethnicity as opposed to a non mixed background has no impact on the likelihood of a child having behaviour problems. But a new report from a team at the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies…