Discusses negative aspects of young children's free play, including aggression, sharing, violent themes, and the exclusion of children with disabilities. Offers resources to early childhood educators for managing these concerns. (JPB)

The articles featured in this issue make apparent the variety of perceptual and cognitive competencies that follow curvilinear developmental courses as well as the complexities inherent in accounting for such phenomena. What is revealed is the way in which a fit is achieved between organisms and the environments they occupy. Curvilinear…

As the articles in this issue attest, U-shaped curves in development have stimulated a wide spectrum of research across disparate task domains and age groups and have provoked a variety of ideas about their origins and theoretical significance. In the authors' view, the ubiquity of the general pattern suggests that U-shaped curves can arise from…

Recent studies on the prevalence of autism indicate that approximately 1 in 200 children meet diagnostic criteria, significantly greater than rates reported just a decade ago (Blanchard, Gurka, & Blackman, 2006). Concurrently, biomedical treatments including psychotropic medication have been used with increased frequency to treat children…

Background. Associations between positive behaviour, emotion understanding and verbal ability have been reported in studies of preschoolers (Cassidy, Werner, Rourke, Zubernis, & Balaraman, 2003), but have yet to be investigated in younger children. Methods. In this study the performance of 36 toddlers (17 boys and 19 girls; mean age = 29…

Structured checklists have been used to supplement psychiatric assessment of children with normal intelligence, but for children with intellectual disability, only a few checklists exist. We evaluated the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in the assessment of psychopathology in Finnish children with intellectual disability. The CBCL was completed by…

In this article, first I describe from observation the spontaneous vocalisations produced during free play by young children of 18 months to three-years-old. I propose that a focus on vocalisations can provide valuable insights into general aspects of children's play. Next I describe two musical play situations between toddlers and their mothers…

Objective: To identify reliable, inexpensive predictors of foster care placement disruption that could be used to assess risk of placement failure. Methods: Using the Parent Daily Report Checklist (PDR), foster or kinship parents of 246 children (5-12 years old) in California were interviewed three times about whether or not their foster child…

Three subtypes of autism based on social style have been proposed by Wing: active-but-odd, passive, or aloof. Previous research has shown evidence of an association between IQ and Wing subtype in untreated children and adults. Because IQ changes can accompany behavioral treatment, but often only for a subset of children, social subtype may be…

Based on the position that cultural ideologies shape child development, many developmental analyses have focused on analyzing cultural conceptions of independence and interdependence. Less attention has been paid to charting the developmental sequences of children's independent and interdependent behavior that are ostensibly shaped by cultural…

This paper presents the clinical/developmental framework underlying a new diagnostic observational tool, the Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule (DB-DOS). The special importance of observation for clinical assessment during the preschool period is delineated. The developmental rationale for a multidimensional assessment of…

This article discusses ways in which classroom teachers can use "life skill" games to facilitate classroom management by giving student opportunities to practice desirable behaviors. There is also usually a reduction in behavior problems when children are allowed to occasionally move. In addition, research has demonstrated that periodic movement…

Autism is a developmental disorder that involves many challenges. Autistic children have trouble forming relationships. They also have difficulty understanding and responding to emotional signals from others. Other challenges include using language, using words creatively, using imagination, and, later, thinking abstractly. These are the core…

Three forms of objective evaluation were used to assess the impact of a nurture group pilot project on the lives of staff and pupils: Boxall Profiles, the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, and questionnaires for staff. In addition, a micro study was carried out of two nurture groups using matched control groups. The article provides an…

Few studies have examined childhood and adolescent animal cruelty motives. Using a sample of 261 inmates surveyed at both medium and maximum security prisons in a southern state, the present study examined the impact of demographic attributes and situational factors relating specifically to a range of animal cruelty motivations. Almost half of the…