Naturalistic observations of 20-month-old infants and their older siblings (1 1/2 or 3 years older) suggested the presence or absence of the mother may be an important variable in interactions between the two. (BJD)

Results of a study conducted in 14 villages of Sui Lin Township, Taiwan, suggest the hypothesis that, under conditions of extreme economic impoverishment and among children within populations where energy protein malnutrition is endemic, there is an inverse relationship between incidence of morbidity in infancy and measures of motor and mental…

Evaluates objective/subjective factor model of parent reports of child characteristcs. A total of 27 mother-report scales were collected when children were 6, l3, 24, and 36 months old; scales measured various contructs of temperament, mother-child relationship, child competence, and problem behavior. Factor analysis of scales indicated that…

A total of 133 children was assessed at ages one, two, three, four, and five, in the teen period, and in young adulthood. Difficult/easy temperament scores in the earlier periods were compared with the later young adult scores. Ages three and four were found to be better predictors of young adults' temperament than were ages one, two, and five.…

As part of a longitudinal study, home observations were made of 14 Down Syndrome and 19 nonretarded infants at 6.5 months and 17 months. Findings stressed the importance of early compensatory training involving Down Syndrome infants and their parents in the home environment. (CL)

Studied the maternal plasmatic zinc behavior at delivery time and the cord blood zinc concentration from appropriate and low-birth-weight full-term infants and appropriate preterm infants. Findings indicated that neither prematurity nor fetal growth delay interfere in maternal or newborn infants' zinc levels. (BJD)

Maternal and paternal responses to infant distress are studied to (1) examine differences among two-week-old infants in their levels of irritability; (2) investigate differences among parents in how they soothe their one-month-old infants; and (3) relate these parent and infant behaviors. (BJD)

To assess the role of sibling teaching, 56 preschool-age children, their mothers, and their infant siblings were observed as the preschoolers attempted to teach their younger siblings the operation of a toy camera. (BJD)

The beginnings of representational play were examined in 16 visually impaired children (18-38 months). Nine children demonstrated some symbolic acts at a mean age significantly earlier than the literature suggests. Presence of symbolic acts was significantly related to use of the word "no," two-word combinations, and general sensorimotor skills.…

Theme: Understanding the sequence and variability in the individual development of self-care skills enables caregivers to encourage children to attempt activities while not expecting unrealistic accomplishments.

Children's car seats provide protection from the types of injury with the worst consequences. This document presents guidelines for selecting and installing child car seats, booster seats, and seat belts. The document includes suggestions for identifying when a child's safety restraint system should be changed, for determining if the restraint…

Seven experiments study the decrease in response to repeated visual stimulation in children's first four years. (DR)