For young children, sleep is essential for healthy development. Inadequate sleep can affect emotional, behavioural, cognitive, and health outcomes. Low family income and resources can put children at risk for poor sleep quality, impairing their subsequent cognitive abilities. The current study examined low socioeconomic status (SES) as a factor…

Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the predictive associations between kindergarten developmental, socio-behavioural, and biotic influences on third grade achievement among a nationally representative sample of low-SES children. The findings validate the understanding that developmental and learning trajectories start early in…

The purpose of the study was to explore whether gender or ethnicity moderated the links between language skills and teacher ratings of problem behaviour and between language and social skills in 386 English-speaking Hispanic and European American preschool children from low-income families. The "Preschool Language Scale-4" was…

Early childhood is a critical period to intervene for obesity, developmental and behavioural problems. Data from 1065 children in 14 Northeast Iowa Community Action Head Starts (HS) were collected between 2011 and 2018. Body mass index (BMI) and developmental scores were assessed at the beginning of each school year and compared after the first…

Surprisingly little research has considered whether parent-child activities facilitate social-emotional development and whether these associations differ for boys and girls. To address this gap, this study leveraged the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (2006-2008) to examine the extent to which story reading, storytelling and…

Using propositions within critical race theory, this study examined differences between parent and teacher engagement in ethnic-racial socialization and links between parent--teacher congruence in ethnic-racial socialization and children's social and emotional development across racial and ethnic groups. The participants were 59 parents or…

The first year of a child's life has been considered important in shaping their cognitive development. The research literature has identified area-based socio-economic disadvantage as a possible risk factor for cognitive development but has suggested that various factors may facilitate children's resilience to socio-economic disadvantage. This…

This longitudinal study examined the moderating roles of language use and gender in the relations between maternal depressive symptoms and child internalizing behaviour problems in 242 preschool children (48% girls) enrolled in Head Start centres. Teachers and parents completed the "Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1 1/2-5." Mothers…

Executive function (EF) skills play a crucial role in young children's academic and social-emotional development. Given that factors associated with poverty can compromise the development of EF skills, it is vital to continue to examine what factors help predict and support EF skills in children from at-risk backgrounds. Using a sample of Head…

This study examines the relationship between the psychological states of Korean mothers and early childhood development. In the study, 480 mothers were classified into three groups: cluster A mothers were happy and competent, cluster C were depressed and stressed, and cluster B were neither depressed nor happy. The tendency of infant developmental…

The current study examines the contributions of family context (e.g. life events, home environments) to low-income preschool children's self-regulation (behaviour regulation and executive function) in the United States and Turkey. Participants were 1139 low-income children (486 from the U.S. and 653 from Turkey) and their parents. Children's…

Background: Stunting continues to affect young children as a global nutritional disorder. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence, associated risk factors and spatial clustering for stunting in a disadvantaged South African District. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional weighted survey of households was conducted in the iLembe…

During a regular free writing time in class, children in Kindergarten through sixth grade in various areas of the city were given the writing prompt,"My dreams for the world". Writing samples were collected from an elementary school in an affluent area of the city, an elementary and a middle school in a low socio-economic area, and an…

Parents are in an ideal position to promote long-term healthy dietary behaviours for their children. This study aimed to determine parent and child characteristics and to test their associations in a cross-sectional sample of urban low-income, low-education Latino immigrants with preschool-age children. Also determined were family demographic…

This study examined parents' developmentally appropriate beliefs about young children's play and parents' views on their child's play skills. This exploratory secondary data analysis was drawn from data on low-income African-American and Latino parents and their children (n = 109) participating in Head Start programmes in the USA. Compared with…