Although previous quantitative studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the mother-child education programme (MOCEP) that originated in Turkey in 1993, the study reported here uses a qualitative approach to gain an in-depth understanding of mothers' views of the outcomes of the programme. The study was conducted with 100 mothers from five…

The current study examined the influence of maternal characteristics on the development of infant smiling and laughter, a marker of early positive emotionality (PE) and how maternal characteristics and the development of infant PE contributed to subsequent maternal parenting. One hundred fifty-nine mothers with 4-month-old infants participated.…

Within developed countries child poverty is a social problem with significant negative effects. With a backdrop of austerity, the UK's first child poverty strategy was released in 2011. Pervaded by neo-liberal ideology this strategy identifies preschool services as key to remediating the negative effects of child poverty on children and families…

Collaborative goal setting among home visitors and family members is a mandate for Head Start's home-based program. Yet, a dearth of research is available for advancing evidence-based practices for setting and monitoring home visiting goals or for understanding how family characteristics or program features are associated with them. With the…

Parent involvement in play, learning, and everyday home activities is important for promoting children's cognitive and language development. The aims of the study were to (a) examine differences between mothers' and fathers' self-reported involvement with their children, (b) explore the relationship between child, parent and family factors, and…

"Interpersonal" rejection and "intergroup" exclusion in childhood reflect different, but complementary, aspects of child development. Interpersonal rejection focuses on individual differences in personality traits, such as wariness and being fearful, to explain bully-victim relationships. In contrast, intergroup exclusion focuses on how in-group…

Longitudinal data were obtained from 157 children aged 3 years 3 months to 5 years 6 months at Time 1. At Time 2 these children had aged an average of 12 months. Theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF) were measured at both time points. Results suggest that Time 1 ToM scores predict Time 2 EF scores. Detailed examination of sibling…

Parent-child acculturation discrepancy is a risk factor in the development of children in immigrant families. Using a longitudinal sample of Chinese immigrant families, the authors of the current study examined how unsupportive parenting and parent-child sense of alienation sequentially mediate the relationship between parent-child acculturation…

Fifteen-year-old adolescents (N = 109) in a longitudinal study of child development were recruited to examine differences in DNA methylation in relation to parent reports of adversity during the adolescents' infancy and preschool periods. Microarray technology applied to 28,000 cytosine-guanine dinucleotide sites within DNA derived from buccal…

This study assessed whether previous findings linking early maternal employment to lower cognitive and behavioral skills among middle-class and White children generalized to other groups. Using a representative sample of urban, low-income, predominantly African American and Hispanic families ("n" = 444), ordinary least squares regression…

The purpose of this study was to examine parental selection criteria and satisfaction with day care, knowledge about centre philosophy, teacher education and quality of the day-care environment. Parents ("n" = 261) and educators ("n" = 94) in 44 non-profit centres in three Canadian cities participated. Parent knowledge was…

As a society, are we investing enough in our youngest children? The BUILD Initiative's latest report, Early Learning Left Out, by CFPC director Charles Bruner, provides a clear answer that current investments fall far short. The report draws upon the most recent federal, state, and public school budget information--and what we know about effective…

Forest kindergartens are a new idea in the United States but have been around in Germany, Norway, and other European countries for decades. Forest "kindergartens" are preschools for children ages 3-6 and focus on being outdoors and learning through interacting with nature. Instead of building with blocks or doing puzzles at a table…

The current investigation examined continuity from 9-months to 4-years of age in father-child interaction in instrumental child care activities, as well as enrichment and play activities, using data collected from 8,450 children with residential fathers included in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). Additionally, social…

Scientific discoveries repeatedly confirmed the importance of brain growth during the first 5 years of child life. To support early childhood development, California voters passed Proposition 10 in 1998 to collect a 50 cent per pack tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products. Kern County Children and Families Commission (First 5 Kern) was…