ZERO TO THREE, in partnership with the Bezos Family Foundation, conducted a comprehensive research effort, including a series of in-home discussions and a large national parent survey with a diverse range of parents of children from birth to 5. Our findings provide brand new insights about the challenges parents face, what they do and do not…

The March of Dimes, Texas Chapter, partnered with the faith community to pilot Honey Child[SM], a prenatal education program for African American women. The program is designed to combat prematurity, which is the leading cause of death for African American infants. Honey Child uses a spiritual approach to promote prenatal health through…

The ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others develops remarkably early in infancy. At birth, infants demonstrate an early understanding of the thoughts and feelings of others by sharing emotions with their caregivers. These early affective exchanges subsequently facilitate the development of a more complex awareness of others,…

Language serves as a mental tool set for self-regulation, allowing us to reflect on and modify our own behavior. Children as young as 3 years talk out loud to themselves to regulate their behavior, using self-regulatory self-talk. Can preverbal children use infant signs as self-talk for the purpose of self-regulation? The author shares…

The ability to make sense out of the actions of others is critical to people's daily functioning. Adults are social experts: They understand that people's actions are directed at goals and are driven by intentions. In this article, the authors highlight key findings from studies examining infants' understanding of human action. These findings…

This article describes the core concepts, techniques, and challenges of therapeutic intervention with infants and very young children and their families. The tasks of the infant-parent psychotherapist include addressing internal obstacles that impede the parent from accessing the support she needs, as well as practical assistance in identifying…

In their first few years, almost all children learn at least one language, though not equally well. Differences in the quantity, quality, sources, and variety of language inputs and conversation opportunities have a long-lasting effect. This article provides an overview of early language development and explains how talking with babies promotes…

In the absence of a neurological or genetic marker to aid in the early diagnosis of autism, clinicians can use infant behaviors and parental responses during the child's first year of life to determine the child's risk of an autistic disorder. The author presents 12 questions for clinicians to ask parents about their child's early development. An…

Far from egocentric, infants and toddlers advance significantly in their understanding of others' feelings, desires, goals, intentions, preferences, and views during the first 2 years of life. In so doing, they establish the foundation for later social and emotional understanding. This article surveys those accomplishments, speculates about how…

The loss of a child during pregnancy or infancy raises challenging questions about how to communicate with very young siblings about the family's loss. What to say and how to say it varies with the developmental level of the child and the circumstances of the loss, as well as the family's culture, values, and beliefs. Children need open and honest…

Medically fragile infants, those born prematurely or with other complex medical or genetic problems, are at risk of long-term health and developmental problems. When a medically fragile infant comes home to a family with significant social problems such as domestic violence, mental illness, or substance abuse, the infant is at double jeopardy--at…

Jewish agencies and organizations in communities across the country have developed a variety of innovative programs for parents with young children. Programs combine Jewish themes with content about parenting and child development, both to provide information and support and to inspire families to become more involved with Jewish religion and…

Parents and child care personnel in English-dominant parts of the world often express misgivings about raising children bilingually. Their concerns are based on the belief that dual language learning during the infant-toddler stage confuses children, delays their development, and perhaps even results in reduced language competence. In this…

The Collaborative Mental Health Care program offers infant mental health consultations to case managers in child protection offices throughout the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Through case examples, the authors demonstrate why clinicians working with maltreated infants should expand the scope of their practice to include multidisciplinary…

A significant percentage of all child care programs are offered through religious organizations. This article describes the efforts of one church located in an impoverished section of Washington, DC, to respond to the needs of low-income families with infants and toddlers. The St. Philip's Child Development Center of Anacostia serves the community…