Happy Fall, everyone! We hope that all of our terrific BEAR Lab families have been staying happy and healthy this season. Since it has been a little while since we have put out a newsletter, we are excited to share the changes and updates our lab has gone through since then.
What’s New in the BEAR Lab?
We are so excited to introduce you all to a new member of our BEAR Lab team, Ashley Dautrich, who joined us as a full-time project coordinator in August! In addition to this new addition, there has been some movement in our current team. Allie Morra - our previous project coordinator - has now become a first year graduate student with the lab, sixth-year graduate student Natalee Price is currently on internship at University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center on the clinical child track with specializations in traumatic stress and public policy, and sixth-year graduate student Lauren Jones is on internship at Indiana University School of Medicine on the autism track. Ella, Nicole, and Elizabeth all also remain incredibly valuable members of our team who you will still get to see and hear from, along with an amazing group of 20 undergraduate students who will be helping with visits and other important lab responsibilities.
Additionally, we are thrilled to report that we have already had 10 pairs of moms and infants come and visit us at our lab to participate in our new "OTTERS" (Ohio-Texas Transactional Emotion Research Study) study. For a refresher, this project is a collaboration with Dr. Rebecca Brooker at Texas A&M University wherein we are researching the development of mothers’ and infants’ emotions and anxiety during the first three years of children’s lives.
We are still recruiting 11-16 month-old infants and their mothers, no matter whether they experience anxiety or not! Families who choose to participate will have the opportunity to receive up to $225 over three years ($50 at age 1, $75 at age 2, and $100 at age 3). In addition to participating in similar games and activities to our other studies, moms and babies will also participate in activities during which we will take EEG measurements. We’d love for you to join us if you have an infant in that age range, or to pass along our contact info to people you know who do!
You can follow the QR code on the right OR go to the “Contact” tab on our lab website (https://www.mubearlab.com)
The TEDDI study just wrapped up our kindergarten-focused phase (Phase 5). COVID really slowed us down on that one and required that some of you participate when your children were older than kindergarteners. Nevertheless, we persevered together, with 135 families participating! We are currently working on getting our next phases back up and running. Phase 6 will focus on 6-8 year-olds, and Phase 7 will focus on 9-14 year olds. Be on the lookout for more information soon!
BEAR Lab Goes International!
This summer, our lab had the exciting opportunity to travel to Ottawa, Canada to attend the ICIS (International Congress of Infant Studies) 2022 Conference in early July! Along with our director, Dr. Elizabeth Kiel, our graduate students and our project coordinator attended the conference to present posters, listen to symposiums and oral talks on infant and child psychology research, and to get to meet and interact with other researchers in the field.
Helpful Resources for Parents
Do you need ideas for fun fall time and festive activities the whole family can enjoy? Mark your calendar for these events, happening right here in Butler County!
Oxford Farmers Market - Head to the farmers market every Saturday from 9am-12pm to shop the best goods and treats from local businesses! Plus, keep an eye out for our BEAR Lab table where we might be recruiting for our newest studies and giving away coloring pages for the kiddos!
Journey Borealis: Holiday Lights on the Hill - November 18, 2022 - January 1, 2023 at the Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park. Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum's annual light show is back for its 24th year, with more lights than ever before! Round up your friends and family for some festive fun! Experience the holiday cheer as you drive through 2.5 miles of lights and independent art installations. You can watch the park's landscape twinkle and dazzle as the lights cover not only the sculptures but also the natural scenery around them.
Oxford Holiday Festival - December 3, 9am-9pm at Oxford Community Arts Center and Uptown Parks. Join the fun at the Oxford Community Arts Center for the Craft Market, Pictures with Santa, and a Kids Korner with holiday activities. During the evening, the Uptown Parks will be set up with ice skating, musical entertainment, carriage rides, and MUCH MORE. Santa will even be arriving on a fire truck! It will be a full day of holiday fun that you will not want to miss.
Seeing as our newest study is focused on maternal and child anxiety, we recognize the importance of teaching kids how to cope with these big feelings. Here is an article which outlines a few ways you can help to reduce their stress: https://graziadaily.co.uk/life/parenting/childrens-mental-health-week-child-psychologist-tantrums-rag/ (You can find even more articles like this one shared on our Facebook page!)
Keeping in Touch with the BEAR Lab
We want to stay in contact with you! We would like to be able to contact you for help in future studies or just to tell you what we’re up to, so we would like to have your current address information. If anything has changed please let us know by sending an email to BEARLab@miamioh.edu or give us a call at (513)-529-2411. You can also contact our director, Elizabeth Kiel, at Elizabeth.Kiel@MiamiOH.edu or (513)-529-5430.
Be sure to check out our lab website (https://www.mubearlab.com/) where you can find information on our current research studies, the latest news and publications, and more!
You can now like us on Facebook! Follow the “Behavior Emotions and Relationships Lab” page to meet our lab members, read some helpful articles on parenting and emotional development, and stay up to date on all things BEAR Lab.