Research Findings: Emotion talk (ET) is an emotion socialization practice theorized to promote children's socioemotional competence. The present study examined parent and child ET in two subgroups of Chinese-heritage families in low-income communities: Chinese immigrant families in U.S. (CA) and Taiwanese families in Taiwan (TW). In a sample of 75…

Research on family socialization of positive emotion has primarily focused on the infant and toddler stages of development, and relied on observations of parent-child interactions in highly structured laboratory environments. Little is known about how children's spontaneous expressions of positive emotion are maintained in the uncontrolled…

This interpretive critique of the US parenting advice literature explores the underlying cultural values and assumptions concerning emotion and power that are revealed in discourses on child behavior management. The analysis reveals a clear emphasis on the pedagogical and therapeutic role of an emotionally knowledgeable parent in relation to a…

The Everyday Learning Series has been developed to focus attention on the every day life experiences of early childhood and to offer insight about how parents and care givers can make the most of these experiences. Having angry feelings or feeling aggressive is normal. Most children learn to manage such feelings in safe and acceptable ways,…

Summarizes this special issue on how children develop emotional and social strengths, as well as difficulties. Highlights three areas of focus among the seven articles: (1) the relation of emotional competence to social competence; (2) the socialization of emotional competence; and (3) attachment as the foundation. (SD)

Investigated linkages between aspects of emotional competence and preschoolers' social skills with peers, as well as parental emotion socialization practices as predictors of social skill. Found that emotional competence variables were meaningfully related to the peer variables and that, for non-constructive anger reactions, maternal reports of…

Examined social reticence and its association with the quality of parenting behaviors. Found that children's shy, socially reticent behavior was predicted by the extent to which mothers were over-solicitous during free-play. Suggested that early childhood educators offer reticent-shy children opportunities to explore their personal and social…

Explored the relation between measures of emotional competence, behavioral regulation, and general social competence and African American preschoolers' peer acceptance and popularity. Found that gender, emotional knowledge, emotion regulation, and themes of violence in response to hypothetical situations of interpersonal conflict were strongly…

Described results of the alteration of Hyson and Lee's Caregiver's Beliefs about Feelings questionnaire for use with parents in order to assess emotional understanding of children. Found mothers' developmental beliefs scores were positively related to mothers' negative emotional expressiveness, and mothers' emotion language scores were positively…