Engaging, focusing, and persisting in the completion of tasks are among the skills needed for school success. Tracking whether a child is learning cognitive problem-solving skills is essential in knowing if they are acquiring skills important for development and school readiness; and if not, how they are responding to early intervention. Use of…

Spatial play in early childhood is associated with a variety of spatial and cognitive skills. However, these associations are often derived from studies in which different tasks are used across different age ranges, leaving open the question of how children's natural behaviors during spatial play develop from infancy into the early preschool…

There is evidence that parents could influence the development of their children's effortful control in infancy through social interaction. Playful interactions in infancy often involve scaffolding - i.e. the parental provision of support and modelling for problem solving and learning during play. However, previous research has found little…

The present study examined the interplay among negative emotionality, responsive parenting and socio-cognitive developmental outcomes (i.e., communication, personal-social and problem-solving outcomes) in about 1620 Korean children using three waves of longitudinal data spanning the first 2 years of their life. Results from the Structural Equation…

Symbolic play is a powerful vehicle for supporting emotional development and communication. It embraces all developmental capacities. This article describes how symbols are formed and how emotional themes are symbolized whereby children reveal their understanding of the world, their feelings and relationships, and how they see themselves in the…

Executive control (EC) develops rapidly during the preschool years and is central to academic achievement and functional outcome. Although children with perinatal adversity are at known risk for EC impairments, little is known about the underlying nature of these impairments or the mechanisms that contribute to their development over time. Drawing…

Evaluated 9-, 14-, and 19-month olds' strategies as they grasped and used spoons presented with the handle alternately oriented to left or right. Found that younger children reached with their preferred hand, disregarding the item's orientation. Older children anticipated the problem, alternated the hand used, and achieved an efficient radial grip…

Sixty-four mother-infant pairs were videotaped during structured episodes in which the mother challenged the infant to use her instrumentally to get access to or to operate a toy. At age 6 months the infants could use their mothers instrumentally in 36% of the episodes, increasing to 67% at 9 months and 78% at 13 months. (MDM)

This study examined the extent to which situational context differentially influences components of play. Two groups of play variables were distinguished: (1) style variables, (reflecting the overall tempo and diversity of play) and viewed as relatively sensitive indicators of short term reactions of situations; and (2) structural variables,…

Early information processing strategies were examined in a study of 32 young children's search for objects. Results suggested a distinction between two aspects of the development of search: the acquisition of new search skills and the establishment of appropriate priorities among skills already in the child's repertoire. (Author/MP)

Nine- and 16-month-old infants were presented a manual search problem in which a toy was hidden in one of two inaccessible containers, which were then moved into reach. Older infants performed better than younger infants, performance improved across trials, and more correct searches occurred when containers or trajectories were distinctive.…

Four experiments assessed infants' ability to solve isomorphic problems and explored the nature of early representations. Found that 13-month-olds transferred a modeled strategy across isomorphic problems, whereas 10-month-olds transferred only after multiple source problems or high perceptual similarity between problems. Comprehension of the…

Three studies investigating the emergence and early refinement of intelligent self-correction are described. Forty-one children ranging in age from 18 to 30 months served as subjects. Parents taught their children a hide-and-seek game in which the parent hid a toy in natural locations in the home while the child watched. After a 3- or 5-minute…

Studied frequency and style of help-seeking in 18- and 24-month olds observed at free play and problem-solving. Found that younger toddlers sought less help than older toddlers; both groups sought more help during problem solving than in free play. Older toddlers increased vocal help-seeking whereas younger toddlers sought help through vocal and…