Studies social play and social and solitary pretend play in well-acquainted toddlers aged 14-38 months in order to describe a sequence of progressively more complex social pretend play forms. Results indicate that social pretend play forms emerge later than comparable solitary pretend and social play forms. (RJC)

More children than ever are in care centers, and child care experiences of infants and toddlers are believed to have a powerful and lasting impact on children's well-being. A team of researchers from the FPG Child Development Institute created a study to examine the effects that transitions have on children's behavior and observable stress when…

Examines the role of the partner in the development of social pretend play in two related studies. In both studies, toddler age children played with same-age and five-year-old partners. In both studies, two-year-olds engaged in more social pretend play with older than same-age partners. (Author/BB)

Analysis of questionnaires completed by parents of 91 young blind children and 74 matched sighted children indicated that sighted children engaged in more complex levels of play at an earlier age; blind children interacted less frequently with other children than did sighted children; blind children preferred tactile-auditory games and toys; and…

Examines whether there are sex differences during middle childhood in children's choices to participate in activities differing in level of adult-provided structure; effects of structure on children's compliance, leadership, and recognition seeking directed to adults and to peers; and relation of sex-typed social skills or dispositions and…

Examines relations among early social and familial experience, social problem-solving skills, and social competence in the classroom, in sample of 46 children, aged four and five years, from economically distressed backgrounds. Finds family experience predictive of both social competence and problem solving. (Author/RWB)