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Meeri Kim

Meeri Kim, BOLD
Science Journalist

Meeri N. Kim, Ph.D. is a science and health journalist based in Pasadena, CA, USA who contributes regularly to The Washington Post, Consumer Reports, and Optics & Photonics News. She received a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Pennsylvania for her work in biomedical optics and its applications to the human brain.

Portfolio

Contributions by Meeri

The hidden benefits of board games

Meeri Kim / 23 June 2026
Articles Development Play Learning environments
Photo by AnnaStills from iStock

How do children approach forgiveness?

Meeri Kim / 28 May 2026
Articles Development Psychology Equity
Two kids are hugging and playing on the playground.

Why we need to change the narrative around adolescence

Meeri Kim / 19 March 2026
Articles Development Psychology Individual differences
Two teens are greeting each other at school.

How do children learn to navigate their world?

Meeri Kim / 20 January 2026
Articles Development Neuroscience Learning environments
A boy is looking at a map.

When helping your child hurts their progress

Meeri Kim / 11 November 2025
Articles Learning & Education Development Parenting and childcare Equity
A child is doing a puzzle.

Handwriting versus typing for children’s literacy

Meeri Kim / 4 November 2025
Articles Learning & Education Reading and writing Education technology
A boy writes in a notebook in the classroom.

The good and bad of kids’ boredom

Meeri Kim / 15 September 2025
Articles Development Psychology Education systems
A child is bored and lying on the floor.

Why can’t we remember our early childhoods?

Meeri Kim / 2 September 2025
Articles Development Neuroscience
A small child plays with a toy train.

Why do children use loopholes?

Meeri Kim / 19 June 2025
Articles Development Psychology Parenting and childcare
A boy types on a laptop while glancing sideways cheekily.

Once a bully, always a bully?

Laura A. Long and Meeri Kim / 16 September 2019
Articles Development Mental health
Wokandapix, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

How poverty-related stress affects children’s self-regulation

Meeri Kim / 29 March 2019
Articles Development Equity
Engin_Akyurt, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

The mental health benefits of living closer to nature

Meeri Kim / 8 March 2019
Articles Development Mental health
Pexels, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

How children use the power of prediction to learn new words

Meeri Kim / 25 February 2019
Articles Development Language
Marvin Girbig, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

How video games could help teach adolescents about empathy

Meeri Kim / 18 February 2019
Articles Learning & Education Education technology
monikabaechler, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

How does a teenager’s neighborhood influence development?

Meeri Kim / 8 February 2019
Articles Development Equity
Lydia Pintscher, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

How neuroscientists and educators can build a better partnership

Meeri Kim / 16 November 2018
Interviews Development Neuroscience
ePhotographyAustralia, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

Predicting academic outcomes: neuroimaging provides novel insights

Meeri Kim / 9 November 2018
Interviews Development Neuroscience
BilliTheCat, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

More is not always better

Meeri Kim / 7 September 2018
Articles Development Psychology
KurtSebastian, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

”Researchers need to shift their mindset from dissemination to engagement”

Meeri Kim / 3 September 2018
Interviews Society

The effect of story format on children’s brains

Meeri Kim / 31 August 2018
Articles Development Neuroscience
3dman_eu, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

Why do children learn the words they do?

Meeri Kim / 27 August 2018
Articles Development Language
Richard Royle, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

The thrill of winning and the teenage brain

Meeri Kim / 20 August 2018
Articles Development Neuroscience
Sollermann, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

Gender differences in early math ability?

Meeri Kim / 24 May 2018
Articles Learning & Education STEM
Lisa Maruna, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

The link between children’s academic achievement and family income

Meeri Kim / 13 April 2018
Interviews Learning & Education Education policy
Phil Roeder, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

The lasting effects of television and video games in a child’s bedroom

Meeri Kim / 20 February 2018
Articles Development Parenting and childcare
uboiz, Pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

The social robot teacher

Meeri Kim / 9 February 2018
Articles Learning & Education Education technology
Stephen Chin, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Self-control: a double-edged sword for high-striving, low-income youth

Meeri Kim / 5 January 2018
Interviews Development Psychology
Basheer Tome, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

The benefits of paid parental leave for children’s well-being

Meeri Kim / 4 December 2017
Interviews Development Mental health
Darin Barry, flickr.com, CC-BY 2.0

The importance of children’s self-perception for later academic success

Meeri Kim / 6 November 2017
Articles Development Psychology
wiredforlego, flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

How children develop the use of tools

Meeri Kim / 2 October 2017
Interviews Development Neuroscience
StockSnap, pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

The relationship between a parent’s words and child executive function

Meeri Kim / 25 September 2017
Articles Development Equity
3643825, pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

Early institutional care and the developing brain

Meeri Kim / 1 September 2017
Interviews Development Neuroscience
Nim Tottenham

The connection between spatial intelligence and STEM

Meeri Kim / 25 August 2017
Interviews Development Neuroscience
GDJ, pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

The mechanics of influence

Meeri Kim / 28 July 2017
Interviews Development Neuroscience
littleman227, pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

The developmental challenges faced by children of undocumented immigrants

Meeri Kim / 19 May 2017
Interviews Learning & Education Education policy
Hirokazu Yoshikawa

The challenges of growing up in poverty

Meeri Kim / 15 May 2017
Interviews Development Equity
MAJ Aaron Haney, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

The devastating impact of neglect on foster children

Meeri Kim / 20 April 2017
Interviews Development Mental health
Phil Fisher

How chronic stress in early childhood shapes the brain

Meeri Kim / 11 April 2017
Interviews Development Equity
Seth Pollak

Understanding the children of immigrants

Meeri Kim / 6 April 2017
Interviews Society
oatsy40, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

The inner workings of the dyslexic brain

Meeri Kim / 3 April 2017
Interviews Development Language
John Gabrieli

Applying academic insights to the real world

Meeri Kim / 30 March 2017
Interviews Society Equity
Anthony Barrows, ideas42

The creation of a virtual child

Meeri Kim / 22 March 2017
Articles Learning & Education Education technology
Illustration: Mrzyk & Moriceau for BOLD

“Symbolic numbers are a uniquely human, cultural invention”

Meeri Kim / 6 March 2017
Interviews Development STEM
geralt, pixabay.com, CC0 1.0

The parallels between adolescents’ online and offline lives

Meeri Kim / 10 February 2017
Interviews Society Technology and society
Ungry Young Man, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Not all video games are equal in terms of executive functioning skills

Meeri Kim / 3 February 2017
Articles Development Psychology
Reinis Ivanovs, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

In the “Digital Wild West,” quality educational apps aren’t easy to find

Meeri Kim / 27 January 2017
Articles Learning & Education Education technology
Brad-Flickinger, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Extending Sesame Street’s success story

Meeri Kim / 20 January 2017
Articles Learning & Education Education technology
See-ming Lee, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

“Most jobs today involve technology, which children must learn about”

Meeri Kim / 12 December 2016
Interviews Society Technology and society
hackny.org, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

The learning benefits of guided play

Meeri Kim / 5 December 2016
Interviews Development Play
Deena Weisberg

Giving every child the opportunity to learn how to code

Meeri Kim / 18 November 2016
Articles Learning & Education Education technology
Daniel Friedman, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Silicon Valley’s attempt to disrupt education

Meeri Kim / 11 November 2016
Articles Learning & Education Education technology
A flourishing brain in a snow globe.

Is brain training driven by a placebo effect?

Meeri Kim / 23 September 2016
Articles Development Education technology
Beatrice Murch, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Brain stimulation might boost the benefits of cognitive training

Meeri Kim / 14 September 2016
Interviews Development Neuroscience
Cognitive Enhancement. Illustration: Mrzyk & Moriceau for BOLD

Virtual reality enters the classroom

Meeri Kim / 9 September 2016
Articles Learning & Education Education technology
Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, flickr.com, CC-BY-2.0

Brain-training games put to the test

Meeri Kim / 19 August 2016
Articles Development Neuroscience
arthurmlee1, flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

What chess can teach us about aging and intelligence

Meeri Kim / 12 August 2016
Articles Development Play
Kim Love, flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Video games can be good for brain health?

Meeri Kim / 3 August 2016
Articles Development Neuroscience
Chris Betcher, flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Researchers, science journalists, policymakers, and educators contribute to BOLD

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Zoe Ngo

Emmy Noether independent group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development
Zoe Ngo

Marilyn N. Ahun

Assistant Professor, McGill University
Marilyn Ahun

Manuel Bohn

Professor of Developmental Psychology, Leuphana University Lüneburg
Manuel Bohn
Featured story:
Why we need to change the narrative around adolescence
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