Artificial placentas (APs) are technologies that mimic the human placenta to treat extremely preterm infants. Being an invasive and risky technology, it will raise important ethical questions for human trials. Hence, in this Topic Piece we provide a blueprint of further issues to investigate. First, counselling will have the double role of…

Communication is commonly viewed as connecting people through conscious symbolic processes. Infants have an immature communication toolbox, raising the question of how they form a sense of connectedness. In this article, we propose a framework for infants' communication, emphasizing the subtle unconscious behaviors and autonomic contingent signals…

This article considers the related concepts of 'rehearsal' [Harney, Stefano, and Fred Moten. 2013. "The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study." Brooklyn: Minor Compositions] and 'catastrophe' [Stengers, Isabelle. 2015. "In Catastrophic Times: Resisting the Coming Barbarism." Translated by Andrew Goffey. London: Open…

The capacity for growth and development is an integral part of being human. Infant social-emotional development is critically important to overall development and begins in the first months of life. These processes encompass how we relate to ourselves and others in our everyday lives (Malti & Cheah, 2021). Social-emotional development includes…

Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is rapidly becoming ubiquitous in many contexts. There is limited scholarship, however, in the fields of Developmental Psychology and Early Childhood Education exploring the implications of generative AI for babies and young children. In this Perspectives piece, we discuss potential use cases,…

STEM is not just about learning four discrete subject-specific content areas (McClure et al., 2017), but also an approach of higher order thinking (i.e., the ability to think critically, logically, and creatively, and solve problems; Baharin et al., 2018). In this article, the authors use STEM learning to describe children's learning about STEM,…

Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is a prevalent yet underrecognized cause of sensorineural hearing loss and neurodevelopmental disorders in children. While CMV infection is typically asymptomatic in healthy individuals, its transmission during pregnancy can result in significant and lasting health consequences for the fetus. Despite its…

In this article, the authors identify possible indicators of cerebral visual impairments (CVI) in young children. Noticing the signs of cerebral visual impairment can assist occupational therapists in the early detection and therapy planning for preschoolers in early intervention programs. Several instructional models are described to meet the…

Despite the relative increase in early care and education (ECE) investment over recent decades, access to infant and toddler care continues to be a hurdle for countless families across the nation. While access is a multifaceted issue, main contributors include a lack of available slots and the high cost of providing care to infants and toddlers.…

Frontiers pioneered an alternative model of publishing: Rather than libraries paying subscription fees to publishers to give library communities access to journals full of articles written, reviewed and edited (at no or modest cost to the publishers) by their own faculty, they instead charge the authors to publish articles that are then made…

In recent years, the theoretical lens of new materialism(s) and surge in feminist thinking has opened up new ways of understanding the complexities of motherhood, babyhood and early childhood. This surge in post-qualitative and feminist inquiry towards the troubling of dominant early childhood abstractions and norms, as well as resistance to…

Experiences with books before age three predict children's motivation to read (Bus et al., 1995), and can support the development of vocabulary, communication, and symbolic skills (Scarborough, 2001). Sharing books with infants and toddlers is different than reading aloud to older children. For example, it is important to attend more closely to…

Over one-third of families in the United States experience diaper need, negatively affecting the health and developmental outcomes of young children. Research has shown that when providers recognize the importance of addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH), including diaper need, critical support is provided to children and families.…

This blended pilot-empirical and theoretical manuscript documents a reflective journey undertaken by a group of early childhood teacher educators located across different regions of the United States as they examined their course design, materials, and syllabi construction. Grounded in reflective practice, intersectionality, and critical pedagogy,…

Like many Montessori educators, the author was immediately drawn to the materials Maria Montessori designed for children in the conscious absorbent mind. They are simple, beautiful, and attractive to children. To many, including some parents, these materials are the essence of Montessori. However, Maria Montessori herself thought of her Method as…