How well I remember with my own children their reluctance to use school toilets! Now a new Swedish study(Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg) has found that disgusting toilets and feeling uncomfortable when using them make children hesitant to go during the school day, and teachers’ rules also matter. Almost 400 children at eight primary and lower secondary schools in Gothenburg, Sweden, responded to a survey on how they feel about their school toilets and on their toilet habits during school hours. Although this was a local study, the geographical spread of reports on the standards and cleanliness of school toilets hints that they may be a concern to children around the world. Many children reported that there may be urine and faeces splattered on the toilet ring and that the floor is often wet and soiled. As if that was not enough, toilet paper, soap and paper towels are often missing. [continue reading…]
May 2009
istock.com/daaronj
Young children learn how to speak and understand language from the words parents speak at home and teachers speak in preschool. A new longitudinal study has found that their preschool classmates also play a part. The study, by researchers at the University of Virginia and Ohio State University, is published in the May/June 2009 issue of the journal Child Development. [continue reading…]
Children’s behavior is determined, in part, by their genes and by the settings in which they develop. A new longitudinal study describes how a family-based prevention program helped rural African American teens avoid engaging in risky behaviors, even if some of them may have had a genetic risk to do so. [continue reading…]
British scientists have found that keeping the brain active by working later in life reduces the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease at a younger age.
The Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London study, funded by the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, analysed data from 1,320 people with dementia, looking at education, employment and retirement. The research, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, found no link between education or employment and dementia risk, but found those who retire later prolong their mental abilities above the threshold for dementia. [continue reading…]
