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Primary School (6–12)
163 articles
Bilingual children with language disorder: English grew, but the home language lagged
A study followed 54 Spanish–English bilingual children from prekindergarten to 3rd grade to see how their sentences became more complex in each language. Children with developmental language disorder kept pace in English but showed limited growth in their home language, Spanish, after 1st grade.
Source: Frontiers in Education
Children Learn New Words Best When the Clues Line Up, Even From a Speaker Who Got Things Wrong
A PLOS ONE study asked whether 4- to 7-year-olds care how reliable a speaker is when learning a new word, and what happens when a new word clashes with a name they already know. Children remembered new words for new objects from both reliable and unreliable speakers, but struggled when a new name was given to a familiar object.
Source: PLOS ONE — Education
Wushu, posture and eyesight: what a school records study found in primary-school children
A study of 196 primary-school students compared children who regularly did Wushu, a martial art, with classmates who did routine PE. The Wushu group had better posture, fitness and eye measures after 16 weeks, but the design means this shows a link, not a cause.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health — Child Health
Poor sleep in Primary 1–3 children linked to later anxiety and low mood
A study of 1,529 young primary school children in Chongqing, China, found that those with poorer sleep were more likely to report anxiety and depressive symptoms at a later check. The link held even after accounting for how the children felt at the start, though the study cannot prove that poor sleep causes these feelings.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health — Child Health
Girls in Southern Fujian were more short-sighted than boys from primary school on, a study of 1.6 million students finds
A very large Chinese study of school vision screenings found boys and girls had similar eyesight at preschool age, but girls fell behind from primary school onwards. The study is a snapshot from one region, so it cannot show why the gap appears.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health — Child Health
When school feels safe and caring, children turn up: a US study on absenteeism
A US study following 3,334 children to age 15 found that those who had contact with child protection services missed more school, and that a weaker sense of belonging at school was linked to more absences. Feeling connected to school helped all students, though the study could not say why the absences happened.
Source: EdSurge
Arguing over school and tuition: 60% of parents in an IPS study say it happens
A 2026 Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) study found 60% of parents reported arguing with their spouses over their children's education, up from 43% in 2016. Family counsellors say these arguments often point to deeper differences in parenting beliefs, and they suggest ways couples can work through them.
Source: The Straits Times — Singapore
Can active childhoods make exercise easier later? A guinea fowl study offers a clue
Penn State researchers found that young guinea fowl raised carrying small leg weights later walked with a load without burning extra energy, while birds raised without weights burned 23% more. It is an early animal study, so whether the same happens in children is still unknown.
Source: Science Daily — Children's Health
When a Down syndrome diagnosis becomes more than one shock: parents' stories from a Johannesburg special school
A small South African study interviewed eight parents of children with Down syndrome at a special needs school to understand where their trauma comes from. The parents described stress that built up from the diagnosis, healthcare, school access and stigma, alongside a fragile kind of resilience.
Source: Frontiers in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
How two South African primary schools tried to protect children's dignity, and what got in the way
A small South African study asked school leaders in two primary schools how they understand and protect pupils' right to dignity. Their answers show what a respectful school looks like, and where home and school need to work together.
Source: Frontiers in Education
Half the world's children face violence each year, and most countries' protections are falling short
A WHO-led global report found that about 1 billion children each year are affected by physical, sexual or psychological violence, and that countries have been slow to put proven protections into practice. The findings come from a survey of government decision-makers, so they describe national systems rather than what any one family can do.
Source: WHO — Child Health News
Parents' health know-how and faster bone maturing in children with overweight or obesity
A cross-sectional study of school-aged children with overweight or obesity found that higher parental health literacy was linked to a lower risk of advanced bone age. The link looked steadier for mothers, but the study could not show cause and effect, and the summary gives no details of where the children lived or how many took part.
Source: Frontiers in Public Health — Child Health