Play is a powerful influence on children's learning and parents can provide opportunities to learn specific content by scaffolding children's play. Parent-child synchrony (i.e., harmony, reciprocity and responsiveness in interactions) is a component of parent-child interactions that is not well characterized in studies of play. We tested whether…

The present study investigated children's internal state language during play with their sibling and friend across early and middle childhood. Specifically, the category type of internal state language (e.g., cognitions and goals), referent (e.g., own and other), and associations with children's birth order were examined. A total of 65 (T1: Time…

Maternal responsive-didactic caregiving (RDC) and infant advanced object play were investigated in a sample of 400 mothers and their 10-month-old infants during video-recorded semi-structured play interactions. Three maternal behaviours: contingent response, cognitively stimulating language and autonomy-promoting speech were coded and infant…

In recent years, a literature has emerged describing contributions fathers make to the development of very young children. Scholars suggest that active play may be a specific area of parenting in which fathers are primary and, further, that this type of play helps children experience intense emotions and learn to regulate them. However, this…

This article reviews research conducted after the American Academy of Pediatrics 1999 recommendation against screen exposure for children less than 2 years old. Television in the background disrupts play and parent-child interactions. Background TV exposure is associated with negative cognitive and language outcomes. Children begin to understand…

This evidence-based practice overview on Video Modeling (VM) includes the following components: (1) Overview: A quick summary of salient features of the practice, including what it is, who it can be used with, what skills it has been used with, and settings for instruction; (2) Evidence-base: The "VM Evidence-base" details the NPDC…

This study examines the practical and conceptual dimensions of children's play in German and Hong Kong Chinese kindergartens. German ("n"?=?24) and Chinese ("n"?=?24) children (3-6 years) were randomly selected and videotaped during their free play for 5?min continuously on five consecutive days. Play behavior was analyzed by…

Objective: Research on the neurobiology of parenting has defined "biobehavioral synchrony," the coordination of biological and behavioral responses between parent and child, as a central process underpinning mammalian bond formation. Bi-parental rearing, typically observed in monogamous species, is similarly thought to draw on mechanisms of…

Developing "Thinking and Understanding in Young Children" presents a comprehensive and accessible overview of contemporary theory and research about young children's developing thinking and understanding. Throughout this second edition, the ideas and theories presented are enlivened by transcripts of children's activities and conversations taken…

The relationship between cognitive functioning and play behaviors of children residing in an orphanage was examined. Twenty-six young children (15 boys) between 10 and 38 months of age participated. More developmentally competent play behaviors were highly related to better performance on cognitive functioning as measured by the Bayley Scales of…

The study proposes an analysis of the processes through which the material and symbolic features of the setting and the activities of the educators interact to determine the children's experience in an early educational centre. This analysis is of particular interest with regard to both educational practice and understanding developmental…