Why story and play time really matter

• First-of-its-kind study shows toddlers’ brains are more engaged during parent interaction than screen viewing   

• Scientists surprised to find children with slower language development and children diagnosed with autism showed similar brain patterns to children with typical development  

• Research is a “paradigm shift” in studying brains during real interactions 

EVANSTON, Ill. –– The everyday moments parents spend reading books, solving puzzles and playing with their toddlers may do more than create memories. New research shows these simple interactions engage young brains in ways that screen time cannot. 

For the first time ever, Northwestern University researchers show how toddlers’ brains respond during natural moments of play with their parent or caregiver using child-friendly electroencephalography (EEG). Comparing those moments with periods spent watching a movie together, the study found that those playful, interactive moments are associated with increased brain activity linked to attention, learning and social processing. 

“We know that parent-child interactions are key for children’s development and this work highlights how meaningfully connecting with your child in play and book reading shifts their brain into a learning mode,” said Elizabeth Norton, senior author of the study, associate professor in the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and director of Northwestern’s Language Education and Reading Neuroscience (LEARN) Lab.  

Co-led by Norton as part of the larger study “When to Worry” about children’s language and mental health development with Laurie Wakschlag, professor of child psychiatry at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, the research will be published Oct. 12 in a special issue of the journal “Brain and Language.” 

Bringing neuroscience into the real world 

Norton called the research a “paradigm shift” in studying brains in the “real world,” not just in artificial lab environments. 

Most neuroscience studies of child development take place under highly controlled laboratory conditions, with children viewing single static images on a screen, hearing sounds or performing structured tasks while researchers measure brain responses. 

To better understand how children’s brains work during everyday experiences, Norton and her research team developed the “Social EEG paradigm,” which enabled the recording of brain activity during natural parent-child interactions. 

The study included 49 toddlers between 24 and 44 months of age with a range of language abilities and with and without autism. Along with their caregivers, the children wore stretchy fabric EEG caps that measured the brain’s natural electrical activity from the scalp. Parents and children participated in familiar activities such as reading interactive books and solving puzzles together. Researchers also recorded brain activity while the children watched movies alongside their parent. 

Norton and collaborators, including Brittany Manning, research assistant professor at Feinberg, reviewed recordings frame by frame to identify moments when parents and children were socially engaged with one another and compared those moments to times when the child’s attention was focused on the movie. 

The study investigated two of the most researched brain activity patterns. Researchers looked closely at alpha brain waves which, when lower, are often associated with being in an awake state and paying attention. They also focused on theta brain waves, which when higher, are associated with a person being socially engaged or socially attentive. 

“Toddlers consistently displayed lower alpha brain activity and higher theta brain activity during those moments of parent-child engagement, compared to just watching a movie,” Manning said. “Even when children look like they are very engaged with a movie, the study’s findings show it’s really these moments of quality interaction with the caregiver that the children are most engaged.”  

Similar patterns across children with and without autism 

Norton says one of the study’s most surprising findings was that the same brain patterns emerged across a variety of children, including those with varying language abilities and children diagnosed with autism. 

“In our study, autistic children and children with a language delay showed many instances of social engagement with their parent,” Norton said. “While that engagement was less frequent than typically developing children, their brains were just as engaged as their peers.” 

Next step 

The current study focused on children’s brain activity, but researchers also collected EEG data from parents during the interactions. The team is now examining whether parents’ and children’s brains become synchronized during moments of engagement and whether that neural synchrony is linked to language and mental health development and might help identify which children would benefit from early support and intervention. 

The study titled “Toddler EEG Power Reflects Behavioral Social Engagement State During Naturalistic Parent-Child Interaction” was funded by NIH grants R01DC016273 (E.N. and L.W.), R01MH107652 (L.W.), R21DC017210 (E.N.), and R01DC014709 (M.R.). B.M. was supported by T32MH126368. Northwestern faculty Megan Y. Roberts is also an author. 

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Journal

Brain and Language

DOI

10.1016/j.bandl.2026.105848 

Having someone to talk to linked to better mental health among LGBQ+ teens

The study also found lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are less likely to turn to their parents when faced with serious problems. Email

Gay or bisexual teens who have someone to turn to with a serious problem have significantly better mental health outcomes than those who don't, according to a new study from Tulane University researchers.

Among gay and lesbian teens, an estimated 61% of those without a trusted person had experienced depression in the past year, compared with 35% of those who had at least one person to turn to. The gap was even wider for suicidal thoughts: 66% of gay and lesbian teens without a trusted person had seriously considered suicide, compared with 27% of those with one.

"Across the board, having someone to talk to was linked to lower rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and having a suicide plan in the past year," said lead author Evan Krueger, assistant professor in the Tulane University School of Social Work. "But for many LGBQ+ youth, it made an even bigger difference."

The study, published Oct. 12 in JAMA Pediatrics, drew on a national survey of adolescents ages 12 to 17. 

The research team also examined who teenagers turn to for help and explored differences for lesbian, gay, bisexual and other sexual minority teens. About 8 in 10 heterosexual teens said they would turn to a parent, compared with about 6 in 10 gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens. 

"Being a teenager is already hard, and LGBQ+ youth face extra stressors, like stigma, discrimination and bullying, on top of the everyday challenges," Krueger said. "When faced with a serious problem, heterosexual youth were more likely to say they could turn to a parent, like their mother or father. On average, LGBQ+ youth are less likely to feel they can turn to their parents."

LGBQ+ teens more often turned to friends, romantic partners and other adults, and were more likely to rely on several different people. 

"LGBQ+ youth are resourceful," Krueger added. "When they don't find support at home, many of them are finding it in other places, from friends, partners or other adults in their lives. This doesn't mean they don't need their parents. But it shows they're seeking out connection and support elsewhere."

Previous research has found that the presence of supportive school personnel, including teachers, counselors, and other staff, is associated with lower suicide risk among LGBQ+ youth. As Krueger notes, these adults may play pivotal roles in filling the support gap and fostering psychological safety and belonging for youth who lack affirmation at home.

Experts have credited part of the recent improvement in teen mental health, reflected in new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to school-based efforts that connect students with support. The study's findings may help explain why these strategies are working. The researchers note that friends may not fully replace a consistent, supportive adult, and that schools, families and communities all have a role in making sure no teen faces a serious problem alone.

"If we can find ways to facilitate meaningful, supportive relationships, that is one way to start reducing some of the longstanding, entrenched disparities that we see," Krueger said. "Supportive relationships benefit all kids, but strengthening them may also be a way of reducing disparities in mental health outcomes for LGBQ+ youth."

The study was co-authored by Isaac Wright, a recent graduate of the School of Social Work. 

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Journal

JAMA Pediatrics

DOI

10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.4247  

College classroom phone bans improve learning and student engagement

 

in this Policy Article, Alp Sungu and colleagues report on a large-scale randomized controlled trial evaluating the impacts of classroom phone restrictions on student outcomes in India. The findings show that restricting phone use can support learning, particularly among lower-performing students. Amidst growing concerns about smartphones’ effects on learning, mental health, and peer relationships, phone bans are being increasingly adopted in schools worldwide. However, large-scale experimental evidence supporting whether these bans improve learning or social outcomes is lacking. To address this gap, Sungu et al. performed a randomized controlled trial involving 16,683 students across 10 higher education institutions in Odisha, India – a state where smartphone ownership and use among youth aged 15 to 29 exceeds 70%. The authors measured academic performance, attitudes toward phone restrictions, well-being, motivation, digital use, and online harassment.

 

The findings show that banning smartphones in class improved academic performance, particularly among lower-performing students and first-year undergraduates. Effects were minimal among higher-performing, postgraduate, and STEM students. Removing phones also reduced disparities in GPA, suggesting that restrictions may help close gaps in learning outcomes. Importantly, attendance rates did not change, indicating that the improvement was likely driven by greater attention and more productive classroom dynamics, rather than students simply attending class more often. Students who experienced classroom phone bans became more supportive of the restrictions and more likely to view them as beneficial, while showing less preference for unrestricted phone use. Classroom observations also found less disruptive behavior and fewer off-topic conversations, along with greater teacher engagement. According to Sungu et al., these findings suggest that students may become more receptive to phone restrictions after experiencing a more focused, phone-free classroom environment. 

Nearly 1 in 3 new nurse practitioners educated at for-profit schools

  For-profit schools appear to be playing an outsized role in training the nation’s expanding nurse practitioner workforce, according to a study that found nearly one-third of newly licensed nurse practitioners in four states were educated at for-profit programs in 2024, up from just 2.4% in 2010.

“That is enormous growth, especially since nurse practitioners are such a big workforce to begin with,” said senior study author Dr. Michael Barnett, a professor of health services, policy and practice at the Brown University School of Public Health.

The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, examined 117,156 nurse practitioners licensed in California, Florida, Iowa and Texas from 2010 to 2024. (The researchers note that these are large states that represent different geographic areas of the country.)

While all four states saw an increase in the share of for-profit-trained nurse practitioners, they were most prevalent among new licensees in California at 40.9%, followed by Florida at 35.1%, Texas at 21.1% and Iowa at 14.8%.

The number of advanced nurse practitioners is projected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to grow by 35% over the next 10 years — far outpacing physicians, whose numbers are expected to grow by just 3% during the same period.

Also on the rise is the number of for-profit nurse-practitioner training programs themselves, which increased 400% between 2007 and 2016 alone.

“There has been an explosion in the nurse practitioner workforce that is drawing more and more schools into the fray to provide training,” Barnett said. “One of the newer entrants are for-profit schools, which have a checkered past in the U.S.”

The rising number of nurse practitioners graduating from for-profit programs prompts concerns among the study’s authors about the quality of care resulting from for-profit education, especially as prior evidence shows that for-profit nursing education was a significant predictor of lower pass rates of National Council Licensure Examinations.

“For-profit nursing programs have drawn regulatory scrutiny, FTC settlements and many lawsuits in the past,” Barnett said. “We don’t have enough hard data yet to make decisions about the impact of for-profit nursing programs, but there isn’t much transparency to judge at the moment.”

For Barnett, the next important steps include disclosure of licensure exam pass rates and other student statistics from all nurse training programs so the public can better judge the programs’ merits. He added that researchers should look at the outcomes for patients treated by nurse practitioners with different training backgrounds to understand where or if there is a significant difference in quality of care.

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Journal

Annals of Internal Medicine

DOI

10.7326/ANNALS-26-01211

Athletes may have mental health, wellbeing problems w/demands of training, education, work

 No matter how much young athletes love their sport, they remain vulnerable to mental health and wellbeing problems if they don’t balance the demands of training with education, work, leisure and rest.

New research led by Flinders University exposes risks during the ‘vulnerable transition window’ for young athletes (17-24 years old) who face heavy dual-career demands, with 84.6% holding outside employment and 61.5% studying alongside intense training schedules.

“When a passion once pursued for fun begins to consume every waking hour, young athletes face heightened risks for poor mental health and wellbeing, both now and in the future,” says Flinders University PhD candidate Jamie Wilson, lead author of a new article published in the Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy.

“The elite pathway of a young athlete is packed with soaring highs and brutal lows, but the real secret to sustainable success could lie in the life they build outside of sport.”

The new study exposes the steep personal cost behind athletic glory, arguing that ‘occupational balance’ – which is how athletes distribute their time across sport, education, work, leisure and rest – is a powerful force that shapes their mental health.

Female athletes and those who participate in individuals sports often face greater risks to their mental health, the researchers say.

Key contributing factors to poor mental health and wellbeing include:

EXCESSIVE time requirements for sport and training.
OFTEN needing to relocate and move away from important stable relationships.
FEELING ‘objectified’ as a commodity and relying on support systems tied to performance.
‘SUPERHUMAN’ expectations that can create profound obstacles to seeking help.

“Supporting young athletes beyond sport is not a distraction from victory, it is the vital foundation for developing healthier, stronger and more resilient athletes,” adds Flinders University co-author Professor Ivanka Prichard.

“Interestingly, young athletes who pursue sport for personal enjoyment and a love for the game, rather than in response to external pressure, seem more likely to be persistent and be psychologically healthier, supported by their commitment and enthusiasm.”

Young adults and teenagers, designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a ‘neglected population’, need more support to maintain and build long-term wellbeing and resilience.

As global sporting events turn the world’s focus towards peak performance, this research delivers an essential message: true athletic excellence and long-term wellbeing require a balanced life.

The article – ‘Balancing act: An occupational lens on the process of becoming an elite athlete’ (2026) by Jamie Wilson, Ivanka Prichard, Jasmine Petersen (Flinders and Adelaide University) and Brad Stenner (Adelaide University) – has been published in the Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy. DOI: 10. 1007/s44474-026-00006-2. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44474-026-00006-2.

Mapping the national kindergarten entry assessment landscape

Full report

  Kindergarten entry assessment (KEAs), also known as kindergarten readiness assessments (KRAs), are tools designed to provide a snapshot of a child's developmental status at school entry (Ackerman, 2018; Jensen et al., 2021; Yun et al., 2021). These assessments are administered at or near the start of kindergarten and are designed to evaluate whether students are prepared for school and whether schools are equipped to serve their entering kindergarten class (Ackerman, 2018; Bernstein et al., 2019; Feeney, 2016; Jensen et al., 2021). While the intended purpose of KEAs is clear, how well they accomplish these goals is up for debate. 

Prior work has documented key limitations of KEAs, including the potential for inconsistency across raters (Joseph et al., 2019), low discrimination across items or domains (Rock & Pollack, 2002; Goldstein et al., 2017), and limited instructional value because they only capture a single point in time (Hur et al., 2026; U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2024; Yun et al., 2021)1 . 

Finally, the information is useful only if it is used, which requires training teachers not only to administer the assessment but to use what it shows (Ackerman, 2018); few teachers individualize instruction on the basis of assessment results (Hur et al., 2026). 

Federal policy has served as a major driver of the expansion of these assessments since the 1990 National Education Goals Panel first brought national attention to school readiness (Powers, 2012; Abo-Zena & New, 2012). A significant catalyst for this growth was the 2011 Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge, which required states to implement statewide assessments as a condition for funding (Ackerman, 2018; Kiguel et al., 2024; Yun et al., 2021; Feeney, 2016; Weisenfeld et al., 2020). 

While these federal grant programs defined essential domains and timing, states retain autonomy over the specific assessment design, the domains assessed, the items included, and the implementation approach (Ackerman, 2018).

How schools used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds

 A new study explores how Indiana elementary and middle schools used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to address learning loss related to the COVID‑19 pandemic. In collaboration with the Indiana Department of Education, the Regional Educational Laboratory Midwest examined the ESSER-funded strategies that schools adopted and which strategies were associated with stronger learning recovery and student growth in English language arts and math. The study also explored the approaches schools with high recovery and no recovery used to implement the strategies they adopted. The study linked survey data on the ESSER‑funded strategies to recovery levels and student growth percentiles and included interviews with school and district administrators to better understand implementation approaches. 

Key findings include the following: 

• Schools with no recovery from COVID-19 pandemic learning loss adopted many of the same ESSER‑funded recovery strategies as schools with high recovery. Regardless of recovery level, schools most commonly reported adding tutoring programs (78 percent), investing in technologies to support instruction (71 percent), hiring new staff (60 percent), and expanding mental health services (58 percent). 

• Schools that expanded mental health services or hired additional staff showed greater student growth in math in the 2022/23 school year than other schools. Average student growth in math was approximately 2 percentile points higher in schools that expanded mental health services and approximately 2 percentile points higher in schools that hired new staff. No differences in academic growth were observed for English language arts. 

• In interviews, administrators in schools with high recovery frequently reported using approaches to implement tutoring, online courses, or extended learning programs that incorporated these strategies into schoolwide systems. These administrators described incorporating data on strategy use into progress monitoring systems, aligning strategy content with the regular school‑day curriculum, and providing teachers with professional learning opportunities related to the strategies. 

Read the full report and technical appendix on the Institute for Educational Sciences website.