This collection of snapshots examines the well-being of America's children and adults through the lens of the 1999 National Survey of America's Families. Snapshots include: "Foreword: Snapshots of America's Families II: A View of the Nation and 13 States from the National Survey of America's Families" (Alyssa Wigton and Alan Weil);…

Asserting that young children often demonstrate challenging behaviors for any number of reasons, this paper presents strategies designed to prevent problem behaviors in young children. Basic principles for establishing a community of learners are discussed. Strategies for teaching children to negotiate, problem solve, and understand the viewpoints…

One of the most important skills of professionals who work with young children is the ability to assess developmental functioning through informal observation. This skill serves as the foundation for screening or identifying children in need of developmental services, conducting play-based developmental assessments, and helping parents to…

Nursery teachers in Greece were surveyed to determine their definition of behavior problems and their relevance to management techniques employed. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 225 nursery teachers; 154 teachers returned the questionnaire for 280 children perceived to be exhibiting behavior problems. The findings showed that…

Distinguishes between adult- and child-centered intervention practices according to five interrelated dimensions of therapy context: event, agenda, interactional lead, evaluation, and repair. To illustrate how these five dimensions could manifest themselves during interaction, clinicians were asked to engage in child-centered interventions and the…

Argues that teachers play a major role in guiding children toward responsible anger management. Addresses what researchers know about the development of children's feeling, expression, and understanding of anger. Examines factors contributing to managing anger including memory, language, and self-referential and self-regulatory behaviors.…

Identified resilient, overcontrolled, and undercontrolled personality types among 7-year-old children. Found that resilient children, throughout adolescence, had higher academic achievement and fewer concentration problems and they more quickly developed a sophisticated understanding of friendship and an internal locus of control than the other…

Investigated how 657 fathers' job satisfaction and job stress were related to four domains: individual, parent-child, marital, and child. Results showed that the job affected all four domains. Job stress and job satisfaction were directly related to family functioning. Discusses implications for families with school-age children. (RJM)

Addresses the concern that society is raising a generation of children who lack a conscience. Examines the increasing number of youth who are not bonded to caring adults in home, school, church, or community. Explores ways to develop self-discipline and values, the role of society, virtue for delinquents, and altruism in action. (RJM)

This study examined a model of emotional, cognitive, and behavior predictors of peer acceptance in 201 early elementary school students. Findings indicated that social skills mediated the effect of emotion knowledge on same- and opposite-sex social preference. However, social skills and verbal ability were more strongly related to opposite-sex…

Reviews research on the determinants and the effects of parents' attributions. The evidence suggests that parents do form attributions for their children's behavior; these attributions vary in predictable ways across judges (mothers versus fathers), targets (age or sex of child), and behavior outcomes (positive or negative); and attributions…

Helps early-years educators to be sensitive to the cultures of the families by providing observations of culturally diverse children at play, the cultural contexts they bring to play activities, and the demonstration of childhood learning of cultural diversity. Theoretical observations about childhood and play are discussed. (GLR)

The use of base rate information by professionals (n=161) and undergraduates (n=97) in deciding probability of sexual abuse was studied. While professionals better prioritized the evidence of abuse in hypothetical cases based on sexual behaviors, both groups misestimated the probability of abuse for a child from a population with a known base rate…

Suggests that children can learn to successfully resolve problems by age four. Describes two interpersonal problem-solving thinking skills (alternative solution thinking and consequential thinking) which, if used by children, facilitate better adjustment and greater social competence. Teaching children problem-solving techniques, or how to think,…

Presents the results of a study exploring teachers' concerns and observations of how the "Power Rangers" television series affects children in their classrooms. Teachers' concerns focus on violence, aggressive play, confusion about fantasy and reality, obsessive involvement with the Power Rangers, and use of them as role models for…