Child care is increasingly viewed as an opportunity to enhance children's development and school readiness, with prekindergarten programs and early intervention programs targeting children at different moments of development. Results of existing research are mixed, and although many children experience different child care arrangements at…

Much is known about how having a teenage mother influences children's outcomes, but the relationship between teenage fatherhood and children's health and development is less well documented. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort, the authors investigated how teenage fathers matter for children. They expected teenage fathers'…

Using a sample of resident fathers in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (9-month Father Study), this study examined how father involvement is associated with infant cognitive outcomes in two domains (babbling and exploring objects with a purpose). Results from a series of logistic regression models indicate that varied aspects of…

Some scholars have suggested that it is the "most advantaged" children, the children of high income households or who have high cognitive ability, who are negatively affected by early maternal employment. If this were true, less advantaged children would not be affected as strongly. Findings indicate that in terms of effects on cognitive…

There is increased interest by parents in communicating with their children about political violence. However, limited attention in the scholarly literature has focused on parent-child communication about war and terrorism. In response, the purpose of this study is to assess, within their respective ecological contexts, American and Northern Irish…

Using multilevel models of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (N = 20,356), the authors find that parental involvement in education partially mediates the association between family poverty and children's math and reading achievement in kindergarten, but differences exist across race. In Asian families, poor and…

Examined impact of biological father on young children's (n=1,688) cognitive and behavior adjustment. Used data from 1986 Child Supplement of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to assess relationship between father's coresidence in household over child's first three years and adjustment. Findings suggest that father-effects operated through…

This study examines the influence of social context on the home environment for children aged 0 to 14years, testing for differences between Cubans (n = 47), Mexicans (n = 240), Mexican Americans (n = 415), and Puerto Ricans (n = 162). Hierarchical linear models showed significant cultural and acculturation effects on the trajectories of cognitive…

Using data from the 1996 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) merged mother-child sample, we investigate the impact of two family events, parental divorce and the birth of a sibling, on the cognitive stimulation and emotional support provided to children in the home. We use fixed-effect regression techniques to control for unmeasured…

The issue of child care is still widely debated, with some scholars arguing that children fare best in parental care, whereas others suggest center care may enhance children's development. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten Cohort of 1998 to 1999, the author demonstrates how the use of cross-sectional versus longitudinal…

Parental leave is a complex area of public policy. Concerns include health protection for working mothers, equal employment opportunities for women, access to adequate antenatal and birthing care, maternal recovery, optimal nutrition for infants, and gender equality within families. Given this complexity, the design of parental leave schemes,…