This theoretical paper discusses the role of pretend play and games with rules in fostering children's self-regulation. It proposes several pathways through which play facilitates self-regulation processes. First, in play, children learn to inhibit their impulsive behaviour and follow rules which transform their behaviour from impulsive and…

Aim: The purpose of this review was to examine the possible pathophysiological links between epilepsy, cognition, sleep macro- and microstructure, and sleep disorders to highlight the contributions and interactions of sleep and epilepsy on cognitive functioning in children with epilepsy. Method: PubMed was used as the medical database source. No…

A central goal in cognitive and developmental science is to develop models of behavior that can generalize across both tasks and development while maintaining a commitment to detailed behavioral prediction. This paper presents tests of one such model, the Dynamic Field Theory (DFT). The DFT was originally proposed to capture delay-dependent biases…

We examined the importance of children's classroom activity, defined as task-focused versus task-avoidance behavior, on different literacy outcomes in an orthographically consistent language. Greek children (n=95) were tested in kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 2 on measures of general cognitive ability, phonological awareness, RAN, and short-term…

The relation between cognitive and motor performance was studied in a sample of 378 children aged 5-6. Half of these children had no behavior problems; the others were selected for externalizing (38%) or internalizing problems (12%). Quantitative and qualitative aspects of motor performance were related to several aspects of cognition, after…

Of the recent advances in education-related research in Down syndrome, the characterization of the Down syndrome behavioral phenotype has become a potentially critical tool for shaping education and intervention in this population. This article briefly reviews the literature on brain-behavior connections in Down syndrome and identifies aspects of…

Working memory plays a key role in supporting children's learning over the school years, and beyond this into adulthood. It is proposed here that working memory is crucially required to store information while other material is being mentally manipulated during the classroom learning activities that form the foundations for the acquisition of…

Child sex abuse increasingly is recognised as a societal problem that can no longer be ignored. In this paper definitions, prevalence, trends, assessment, and available diagnostic procedures are described and critically evaluated. It is argued that the lack of reliable diagnostic procedures remains one of the main difficulties in dealing…

Given the rise in chronic kidney disease (CKD) in both children and adults, CKD has recently been targeted as a public health priority. Childhood onset kidney disease is generally a noncurable and progressive condition that leads to kidney failure by early adulthood. Fortunately, improved identification of kidney problems allows for early…