Formal References

Institutional Reports & Frameworks

Institutional reports and frameworks are created by trusted organizations that bring together decades of research and expert clinical experience.

These sources are valuable because they:

  • Reflect expert consensus, not just one study
  • Translate science into real-world guidance for families and educators
  • Focus on the whole child—emotional, cognitive, physical, and social development

At Infinite Little Minds, these frameworks help ensure our products align with what pediatric and educational leaders widely agree is best for children.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Peer-reviewed research articles are scientific studies that are rigorously evaluated by independent experts to ensure it meets strict scientific standards before it is published in medical and academic journals.

These articles are essential because they:

  • Examine specific outcomes such as emotional regulation, executive function, language growth, health literacy, and long-term well-being
  • Allow researchers to test, refine, and advance developmental science
  • Offer transparency into how conclusions are reached, not just what is recommended

At Infinite Little Minds, peer-reviewed research informs the details of our work — helping us design activities, prompts, and learning experiences that reflect how children actually learn and develop at the brain, body, and relational level.

Comprehensive Research

Relying on only one type of evidence tells an incomplete story.

  • Institutional frameworks tell us where the field agrees and how science is applied in real-world settings.
  • Peer-reviewed studies tell us how those principles work at a deeper level and allow us to stay current as science evolves.

By integrating both, Infinite Little Minds creates products that are:

  • Scientifically grounded and clinically aligned
  • Developmentally appropriate
  • Practical for real families
  • Built for long-term impact, not short-term trends

This dual-layered approach ensures our flashcards are not just informative, but rather they are thoughtfully designed to support children’s development in ways that are trusted, evidence-based, and meaningful.

Institutional Reports and Framework Resources

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds (Clinical report). American Academy of Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2697

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2018). The power of
play: A pediatric role in enhancing development in young children (Clinical report). American Academy of Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-205

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2021). Preventing
childhood toxic stress: Partnering with families and communities to promote relational health (Policy statement). American Academy of Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-052582

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2024). Media and
children: Early childhood development and screen time toolkit (Toolkit). American Academy of Pediatrics. https://www.aap.org

Belfrage, S. L., et al. (2025). Effectiveness of
community-based health literacy interventions for parents: A systematic review (Report). Perspectives in Public Health.

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
(2011). Building the brain’s “air traffic control system”: How early experiences shape executive function (Working paper). Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
(2016). Serve and return interaction shapes brain architecture (Report). Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
(2017). A guide to executive function (Report). Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
(2020). Brain architecture and early childhood development (Report). Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
(2022). Brain-building through play: Activities for children and families (Toolkit). Harvard University. https://developingchild.harvard.edu

García, J. L., Heckman, J., et al. (2023). Long-term
intergenerational effects of the Perry Preschool Project (Working paper). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Harvard Graduate School of Education. (2025). Play helps
children build better brains (Research brief). Harvard University. https://www.gse.harvard.edu

HighScope Educational Research Foundation. (2024). The
Perry Preschool Project: Long-term impact summary (Research report). HighScope Foundation. https://highscope.org

United Nations Children’s Fund. (2024). Caring for the
caregiver: Overview guide (Report). UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org

World Health Organization & United Nations Children’s
Fund. (2023). Nurturing care for early childhood development: A framework for action (WHO/UNICEF framework). World Health Organization. https://nurturing-care.org

Yale Child Study Center. (2020). Parent engagement boosts toddlers’ development (Research summary). Yale University. https://news.yale.edu

Yale Child Study Center. (2022). CHILD: Climate of
Healthy Interactions for Learning & Development framework (Professional framework). Yale University. https://medicine.yale.edu

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Abanoz, T. (2025). Seeding sustainable futures: Enhancing children's environmental literacy through sustainability education. Environmental Education Research.

Alotaibi, M. S., et al. (2024). Game-based learning in early childhood education: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology.

Bakhtiarvand, S. Z., et al. (2025). The constructs of health
literacy in children: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Blair, C., & Diamond, A. (2008). Biological processes in
prevention and intervention: Promoting self-regulation as a means of preventing school failure. Development and Psychopathology, 20(3), 899–911.

Bröder, J., et al. (2017). Health literacy in childhood and
youth: A systematic review of definitions and models. International Journal of Public Health, 62(9), 1039–1054.

Chang, R., Li, C., Wei, M., Jiang, Y., & Zhang, J.
(2024). Roles of caregiver-child interaction in the relationship between socioeconomic status and early childhood development. BMC Public Health.

Chawla, L. (2020). Childhood nature connection and
constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and pro-environmental behavior. People and Nature, 2(3), 619–642.

Dovey, T. M., Staples, P. A., Gibson, E. L., & Halford,
J. C. (2008). Food neophobia and "picky/fussy" eating in children: A review. Appetite, 50(2–3), 181–193.

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K.B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432.

Edwards, R. C., Planalp, E. M., Bosquet Enlow, M., et al.
(2024). Capturing caregiver–child interactions in the HBCD Study. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.

Heckman, J. J., Moon, S. H., Pinto, R., Savelyev, P., &
Yavitz, A. (2010). The rate of return to the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program. American Economic Review, 100(1), 227–229.

Holmen, H., et al. (2025). The role of health literacy in
interventions targeting children with overweight or obesity. Frontiers in Pediatrics.

Hutton, J. S., Horowitz-Kraus, T., Mendelsohn, A. L.,
DeWitt, T., & Holland, S. K. (2015). Home reading environment and brain
activation in preschool children listening to stories. Pediatrics, 136(3),
466–478.

Liu, J., et al. (2024). Children’s pro-environmental
behaviour: A systematic review. Journal of Environmental Psychology.

Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N.,
Hancox, R., Harrington, H., ... & Caspi, A. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 2693–2698.

Richmond-Rakerd, L. S., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., et al.
(2021). Childhood self-control forecasts the pace of aging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(8).

Romeo, R. R., et al. (2018). Conversational exposure is associated with language-related brain function. Psychological Science, 29(5), 700–710.

Roche, E. C., et al. (2024). Caregiver–child neural synchrony: Magic, mirage, or mechanism? Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.

Schweinhart, L. J., et al. (2013). Effects of the Perry
Preschool program on crime outcomes. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 9(2), 215–237.

Størksen, I., et al. (2023). The Playful Learning
Curriculum: A randomized controlled trial. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Thompson, R. A. (2024). Early brain development and public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 45, 345–368.

Waechter, R., et al. (2022). Responsive caregiving
interventions improve child neurodevelopment. Child: Care, Health and Development.

Wells, N. M., & Evans, G. W. (2003). Nearby nature: A
buffer of life stress among children. Environment and Behavior, 35(3), 311–330.

Wilson-Cook, T. (2024). Enhancing learning through
play-based education. Northwestern College Graduate Research Review.

Yin, W., et al. (2025). Charting brain functional development from birth to age 6. Nature Human Behaviour.