This practical resource explains brain development from prenatal to age 8 with suggestions for activities educators and caregivers can use to foster children's cognitive growth. The authors begin with the basics of brain development, and the issues that affect it, and then provide information specific to infant, toddler, preschool, and…

Self-regulation and self-determination are part of a continuum of behaviors that are acquired through interaction with the social and physical environment and through problem solving based on experiences that begin in infancy and build throughout early childhood. These abilities should be nurtured early for all children, especially within the…

One of a series intended for parents and other caregivers, this handbook on child development focuses on the first 2 years of life. Contents include discussions on (1) basic developmental principles; (2) physical development; (3) cognitive development and language acquisition; (4) personality development, temperament, attachment, and bonding; (5)…

A survey of research findings on environmental and person variables provides clues as to what is required in a high quality infant-toddler program. One of the most important components of such a program is a loving, responsive caregiver. Research has shown that there are specific adult qualities that nurture the roots of intellectual competence,…

Twelve boys (24-30 months old) with specific expressive language delay (SELD) and with normal development in every other sphere were identified for longitudinal study. Children were videotaped while playing. Analysis using an ordinal play coding scheme revealed strikingly poor pretend play skills. They appeared deficient in either the ability or…

This "Special Focus" section contains three papers which explore social reciprocity interventions for young children with severe handicaps, by describing ways to help parents read and respond to their infants' behavior, help children respond to their caregivers, and help parents and their children have pleasant experiences within the community.…

Designed for use in the home and in professional child-care settings, this program presents developmentally appropriate activities to support growth and development of infants from birth to 1 year. Each of the six 2-month long units contains 24 sets of activities called Activity Plans, with the suggestion to use three activity plans per week. Each…

The monograph presents guidelines for early intervention services for handicapped infants and their families. Guidelines are the result of a 1980 conference on health issues in early identification programs. Three state of the art papers are included: "Infancy, What We Know and What We Need to Know as a Basis for Intervention" by A. Korner; "Child…

This guide was prepared to facilitate the practitioner's selection of formal tests for evaluating communicative behavior in clinical infant populations during the first year of life. Clinical instruments with particular emphasis on communication and emerging language and speech abilities were identified in terms of publishers' recommended…

Compares 17 methadone-exposed and 23 control four-month-old infants in interactions with their mothers. Results indicate that methadone is only one of several risk factors affecting interaction. Mothers rated poor in communication have poor psychosocial and psychological resources, and infants rated poor in communication showed problematic motor…

A 36-item observation instrument was developed for measuring appropriate social development in infants and toddlers. Checklist items indicated such behaviors as asking, protecting, comforting, lending, sharing, hugging, playing with, joining, laughing, smiling, looking at, performing request, leading, following, and conversing. Use of the…

Rich in practical guidelines and suggestions and intended for use with videos illustrating key concepts and caregiving techniques, this guide was written to help caregivers with their day-to-day efforts to nurture social and emotional growth in infants and toddlers. The guide is divided into five sections. In the first three sections, nationally…

The intial discussion concerns attachment and separation in terms of feelings. It is asserted that the key to dealing with separation anxiety is the acceptance of infants' and toddlers' feelings by both child and adult as a means of building infant and toddler self-confidence and trust. Subsequent discussion provides specific ways child caregivers…

The aims of this paper are to document the need for quality infant day care, to encourage the formation of a statewide policy for infant day care in Maryland, and to recommend specific components of that policy. Discussion refers to both family day care and center-based day care. After the first section's introductory presentation of data…

This paper presents the individual's life span trajectory as a unique construction within a unique context for that individual's interactional and adaptive self-regulatory strategies. Issues of adaptive coordination between caregiver and infant are discussed, and five propositions concerning individual development summarize the work. (Author/JDD)