Pediatrics | Penn Today

Adult wearing mask adjusts the mask of a young child

A COVID vaccine for kids

Jeff Gerber, who is heading the clinical trial of the Moderna vaccine in kids under 12 at CHOP, speaks with Penn Today about the trial and why getting children vaccinated is so essential.

A person in a face mask giving hand sanitizer to a child also wearing a face mask.

Five tips for talking to young children about COVID-19 today

Many vaccinated adults have started going maskless, but most children still cannot. Some states are now fully open. Psychologist Caroline Watts offers parents language they can use to talk openly as a family about this newest phase of the pandemic.

A person standing on a stairwell, being photographed from above.

A link between childhood stress and early molars

Penn researchers discovered that children from lower-income backgrounds and those who go through greater adverse childhood experiences get their first permanent molars sooner.

Person sitting at a table with blurry people in front and a screen hanging on the wall behind, which reads, "Experiential effects on brain development."

Scientists say active early learning shapes the adult brain

Through the Abecedarian Project, an early education, randomized controlled trial that has followed children since 1971, Penn and Virginia Tech researchers reveal new discoveries about brain structure decades later.

A young person wearing a mask and polka dot t-shirt leaning against a faux wooden wall.

A mental health checkup for children and adolescents, a year into COVID

As a whole, this group experienced a significant short-term psychological toll. Though the long-term consequences aren’t yet known, particularly given how the year disproportionately exacerbated adverse childhood experiences, Penn experts remain cautiously optimistic.

Sign in grocery store windows indicating that SNAP is welcomed there.

WIC Child Nutrition Program saw enrollment grow after switch from paper vouchers

A Penn Medicine study finds electronic benefit cards are more user-friendly and encourage less stigma than paper vouchers.

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Infants experiencing opioid withdrawal more often treated in poorer quality hospitals

The research from the School of Nursing analyzed information from three datasets accounting for 25% of U.S. births annually.

Young child with autism plays with a large beach ball.

A tool for more inclusive autism screening

A new visual screening tool for autism spectrum disorder may reduce disparities in diagnoses, especially when English is not a family’s primary language.

Close up head shot of a smiling young person wearing a black V-neck shirt.

Doulas help families meet breastfeeding goals

Research from the School of Nursing shows that these support professionals can be another tool to improve outcomes for newborns and parents.

Immune response in some children may influence COVID treatments for adults

A joint study from researchers at Penn and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia shows that T cell activation in children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome is more similar to adults with severe COVID-19.

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