Birthweight varies according to ethnic group but height at the age of five does not. Why might that be? Does it tell us anything about the lives of second and third generation immigrants? And does it offer any useful guidance to health professionals hoping to target disadvantaged groups? Professor Yvonne Kelly outlines recent research with…
Tag: Children
How well are the kids talking? Ethnic differences in children’s verbal abilities
How well our kids are doing is important to us all. The better they are doing early on in life, the better they’re likely to be doing further down the line as they grow into teenagers and adults. The earlier we can get to grips with any disadvantages or inequalities faced by individuals and groups of…
Get up, get out, get active!
Just what are the long term effects of being a couch potato as a youngster? New research using the 1970 British Cohort Study shows we may reap what we sow if we don’t switch off the television or the Playstation and get ourselves and our kids off the couch and active. Dr Mark Hamer from UCL…
Can a child’s ethnicity tell us something about asthma?
Asthma and wheezing illness are some of the most common childhood illnesses, and appear to have been on the rise in many developed countries. In the ongoing battle against them, considerable research has looked at the links with the surroundings we live in. From the effects of cold weather to dusty homes and living in polluted…
Breastfeeding – to a schedule or on demand?
Mums-to-be are frequently advised in baby books that feeding to a schedule is best for their child. But what does the evidence tell us when it comes to the different approaches and what might that mean for parents, practitioners and policy makers? Dr Maria Iacovou from the University of Cambridge presents recent evidence breastfeeding research at an ESRC Centre…
What are the links between ethnicity and mental health?
What are the links between ethnicity and mental health? Do children aged 7 from certain ethnic backgrounds exhibit more socio-emotional difficulties than their white counterparts? Afshin Zilanawala from the ESRC International Centre for Lifecourse Studies at UCL talks to Christine Garrington about new findings from the Millennium Cohort Study. Ethnic Differences in Children’s Socioemotional Difficulties: Findings from…
Alcohol and adolescence: who’s drinking age 11?
Who is drinking alcohol at age 11? And what are the links with parents’ and friends drinking habits? See the slides and listen to Professor Yvonne Kelly talk at an ESRC Centre for Lifecourse Studies Policy Seminar about her research, Alcohol and adolescence: exploratory drinking in 11 year-olds, which makes use of data from the…
Understanding ethnicity in the battle against obesity
One in five children in Reception class (age 4-5) at school is either overweight or obese according to the most recent figures from Public Health England. By the time they go into year 6 (age 10-11), the figure rises to one in three. Over time our children are becoming increasingly overweight and it’s a tide…
Time for bed! Is a child’s bedtime linked to how well they are getting on?
What are the links between a child’s bedtime, their reading ability and their behaviour over time? See the slides and listen to Professor Yvonne Kelly talk at a Policy Seminar about her research Changes in Bedtime Schedules and Behavioral Difficulties in 7 Year Old Children. Photo credit: Tom Leuntjens
How racism can damage our children’s development
How a mum’s experiences of racism can damage her child. Professor Yvonne Kelly discusses compelling evidence for considering racial discrimination in the mix of things that impact negatively on our children.