Young adolescents undergo rapid physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and sexual development, including puberty, sexual awareness, gender identity, physiological brain and cognitive growth, complex emotions, and impulse control. Tragically, thousands of adolescents die daily from mostly preventable causes such as violence, sexual health problems…

The Early Learning Guidelines: Nebraska's Birth to Five Learning and Development Standards (hereafter referred to as the Guidelines) is a resource to provide information about young children's learning and development. The Guidelines are intended to assist adults in planning and providing meaningful learning experiences and environments for…

The organizers of the Decade for Childhood have formulated Ten Pillars of a Good Childhood as basic requirements for an optimal childhood. The pillars can be used to analyze the quality of childhood in homes and nations, and to guide policies and practices related to the experience of childhood. In this article, the author shall illustrate, pillar…

When the award-winning journalist Eric Schlosser's groundbreaking book "Fast Food Nation" was published for adults, many called for his insights and research to be shared with young readers. And, when "Fast Food Nation" gained popularity as a fictional, yet factual motion picture, the buzz continued. Children, after all, are the fast-food…

The infant and toddler years provide a window of opportunity to establish healthy habits as part of daily routines and activities that prevent childhood obesity. Early care and education programs have the opportunity to make a significant impact on physical development when they promote healthy eating and physical activity in their daily routines.…

"Food insecurity," which is the lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs at all times because of economic constraints, afflicts 40.6% of low-income households with children. Research shows that living in a food-insecure household can lead to negative health and developmental consequences for young children, including obesity.…

A glimpse is provided into a normal school day of an adolescent whose activities and responses are governed by the different stages of physical development. How an adolescent goes through constant fatigue, emotional ups and downs, social pressures and low impulse control compounded by poor nutrition, is a lesson in survival.

This monograph presents descriptive information on the health education program for elementary and secondary schools in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is prefaced by a statement of educational goals adapted for the public schools by the Board of Education. An overview of the program of studies from kindergarten through the twelfth grade provides…

Synthesizing the experience of UNICEF's own work in over 100 countries as well as the views of leading international specialists, this report suggests that recent scientific and social breakthroughs have put into our hands the means to bring about a revolution in the health and well-being of children in the developing world. The first part of the…

This report describes a 2-year study of the effects of various lighting systems on elementary school students' dental health, attendance, growth and development, vision, and academic achievement. The four light types used were: (1) full spectrum fluorescent; (2) full spectrum fluorescent with ultraviolet light supplements; (3) cool white…

In accordance with UNICEF mandates requiring a situation analysis prior to preparing a new country program, this report examines causes and linkages between problems affecting women and children in Iraq, identifies necessary actions to realize the rights of women and children, and contributes to the country program strategy for priority…

Concerns about the quality of a before- and after-school program on an overseas military installation arose due to low staff morale, caregivers' lack of training and experience, and child behavior problems. This practicum project devised and implemented a 10-week training program to increase staff knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices…

The first section of this volume, designated "the state of the art 1987," contains four papers addressing issues of continuing importance to those who work with developmentally handicapped children: (1) "Passive Exposure to Cigarette Smoke Adversely Affects the Health of Fetuses and Infants" (James E. Haddow and Paula K.…