Despite the relative increase in early care and education (ECE) investment over recent decades, access to infant and toddler care continues to be a hurdle for countless families across the nation. While access is a multifaceted issue, main contributors include a lack of available slots and the high cost of providing care to infants and toddlers.…

Development of professional competencies is a key outcome of undergraduate programs preparing practitioners to work with infants and toddlers. Competencies for working with young children were examined among 1300 undergraduate students at 12 universities. Students completed a series of online questionnaires indicating their knowledge, beliefs, and…

Globally, an estimated 15 million children are born prematurely each year, resulting in a high burden of under-five mortality and neurodevelopmental disability. Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a key intervention to support the development of preterm infants. However, evidence on the impact of KMC in routine care settings remains limited. This paper…

In the short span of three years, infants learn to move with confidence and grace, to converse with ease, to investigate and solve problems, and to help others in need--building an exquisite foundation for all learning that follows. Maguire-Fong has updated her groundbreaking book designed to assist pre- and in-service professionals working with…

The goal of the present study was to compare profiles among Black families of autistic youth who were identified Early ([less than or equal to] 2 years of age), Mid (age 3 or 4), and Delayed ([greater than or equal to] 5 years of age) to better identify the characteristics that contribute to early ASD identification and delayed ASD identification.…

In recent years the interest in preschool mathematics has increased. However, studies seldom focus on children under the age of three and research is scarce on the early use of mathematics observed in natural settings. This article reports a study of mathematical possibilities during diaper changing in a preschool setting. A diaper change can be a…

Within the context of the education-care divide in the field, numerous studies have affirmed that preschool teachers feel unprofessional when they assume a caring role yet believe that love and care are central to their work. However, immigrant/refugee teachers may experience this tensionality more acutely since their own cultural beliefs and…

Findings from a study investigating the effects of early intervention settings on the extent of parent involvement in IDEA Part C Infant and Toddler Programs are reported. Participants were 124 parents and other primary caregivers of children receiving early intervention in 22 states who completed an investigator-developed scale measuring…

Research Findings: The teacher-child relationships that develop in infant/toddler child care provide a critical caregiving context for young children's socioemotional development. However, gaps remain in researchers' understanding of the individual-level processes that facilitate socioemotional development, specifically in center-based…

This article uses time-diary data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC; N = 2,157 weekday diaries; N = 2,110 weekend diaries) to examine differences in infants' time with a resident father at age 4-19 months according to fathers' duration of leave around the birth. Results showed that those infants whose fathers took 4 weeks'…

This article reminds infant care teachers of the ways thoughtful interactions between adults and very young children teach babies and toddlers who they are as individuals. "When teachers take the time to respond respectfully and thoughtfully, babies and young children learn and thrive."

The authors discuss three steps to helping babies with transitions: observe, ask, and respond (OAR). They advise teachers about how to ask a family questions about their baby and how to give the family suggestions to alleviate the baby's stress, without offending family members. This column includes a list of recommended resources. (Contains 7…

The author explores the extent to which infants and toddlers are regularly in the care of nonparental relatives, friends, and neighbors and notes the limited research on the quality of care provided by family, friends, and neighbors. (Note: This article is an excerpt from "Who's Watching the Babies?: Improving the Quality of Family, Friend, and…

Britt and Gillespie make suggestions for teachers' professional New Year's resolutions, including challenging oneself. They include a collection of resources and urge teachers to join NAEYC's Infant/Toddler Professionals Interest Forum. (Contains 27 resources.)

This report summarizes the roundtable "Infants and Toddlers in State and Federal Budgets: Yesterday's Choices, Today's Decisions, Tomorrow's Options" conducted by the Urban Institute, with support from the A.L. Mailman Family Foundation, on March 30, 2009. The roundtable's focus grew out of the widely perceived mismatch between sharply limited…