Used a subsample from the Infant Health and Development Program to examine effects of neighborhood and family income and family risk factors on developmental test scores at ages 1 through 3. Family poverty was associated with lower scores at ages 2 and 3. Neighborhood affluence was associated with higher scores at age 3. Home environment was a…

Notes that, to enhance a baby's brain development, more stimulation is not necessarily better. Suggests that parents strike a balance by following baby's cues about what makes him or her happy, curious, or bored; read to the baby often; and allow them time and space for individual exploration. Also suggests setting guidelines and limits for…

Observed infants' manual gestures while playing with mothers. Infants were more likely than mothers to request objects and less likely to respond to requests for objects. Vocalization accompanying requests increased with age. Infant gazing was most likely during offers that infants initiated without preceding maternal request. Unsolicited offers…

Focuses on the struggle of American psychologists with the question of objectivity and the observer's role, notes Titchener's description of the dangers of subjectivity in observation, and describes the phenomenological approach to observation. Discusses the awareness of baby diarists of the potential problems with the method related to its…

Examines development of representational thought from the perspective of Jean Mandler's image-schema theory and an action-theoretical approach derived from Piaget's theory. Concludes that empirical findings fail to support hypotheses of early onset, and that representational development is more adequately interpreted within the context of an…

Examined analytic methods for describing children's social risk. Found that the individual-risk-variables approach provided better overall prediction of developmental outcomes at a particular age. The risk-factor approach provided good prediction of developmental trajectories with moderate to large sample sizes. The risk-index was useful for…

Suggests ways to use dynamic systems analysis to illuminate the pluralistic and multidimensional model described by Larivee, Normandeau, and Parent (2000). Issues discussed include the characteristics of developmental transitions, such as hysteresis; nature of growth processes, such as hierarchical development or predator-prey interactions; and…

Investigates the changing voices of boys in the fifth and sixth grades. Categorizes their voices by J. M. Cooksey's changing voice stages and uses his criteria for determining stages (highest and lowest pitches sung, overall range, and pitch of the speaking voice). Results indicate an earlier voice change than previous research. (CMK)

Studied the average development of word recognition, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling of poor and better readers during the elementary school period and studied whether differences between these readers increased over time. Results for 3 cohorts of about 900 children each contradict the existence of a Matthew effect for word…

Two studies evaluated items developed for the Attitudes Toward Multiracial Children Scale. Researchers administered the scale to diverse college students, revised it, then administered it again. The scale's psychometric properties were such that the instrument could be used to research adults' attitudes regarding psychosocial development of…

Finnish nursing students (n=85) specializing in child nursing had mainly positive attitudes about caring for children in pain, but lacked knowledge of medications and pain assessment. There were no knowledge differences between older and younger students or those with more or less work experience. (SK)

A study of 31 typical children aged 5-10 engaged in child-to-child social interactions, found joint attention was positively related to age and activity, eye gaze was low relative to joint attention and object engagement, and eye gaze was significantly less than what has been reported for adult-child and adult-adult dyads. (Contains references.)…

Describes how children's play contributes to brain development. Details the importance of early experience for brain development, arguing that the optimal learning activities to promote brain development are complex, use many senses simultaneously, and are perceived as relevant, useful, emotionally engaging, and novel. Suggests that informal play…

Proposes that humans may have evolved a special sensitivity to certain types of social information during rough-and-tumble play that facilitates social cognition. Describes the cognitive benefits of physical play as providing a break from demanding intellectual tasks and hypothesizes that physical play is related to gender differences in spatial…

Considers areas of consensus from commentaries, including the value of an evolutionary perspective and the utility of exploring variations in physical activity play. Examines areas of debate, including the nonplay-play distinction, functions of rough-and-tumble play, and the opportunities of juveniles for exercise training. Calls for more directed…