To examine children's patterns of social interaction in group care, the activities and verbal behavior of 50 preschool children attending 5 Japanese day care centers in metropolitan Tokyo were observed and recorded during a total of 20 minutes of free play for each child. Participants were equally dispersed across five age categories each…

One of a series intended for parents and other caregivers, this handbook on child development focuses on the first 2 years of life. Contents include discussions on (1) basic developmental principles; (2) physical development; (3) cognitive development and language acquisition; (4) personality development, temperament, attachment, and bonding; (5)…

Focusing on gender as a stimulus variable, this study explored whether performer and respondent's gender and ethnicity would affect the labeling of toddler behavior. In addition, such demographic variables as age, education level, and contact with children were investigated. From a subject pool of 928, a total of 528 subjects were drawn, equally…

In order to assess the potential role of imitation in early socialization, a study was conducted to investigate the content and development of children's imitative behavior in the home. Data consisted of incidents of immediate and deferred imitation collected over a 4- to 8-month period by mothers trained in observational recording. Subjects…

Toddlers (2 to 3 years) and preschool children (5 to 6 years) were repeatedly presented with a six-tone melody, then tested for their discrimination of a variety of pattern features, including the specific component frequencies, successive intervals, and general melodic contour. To manipulate the information-processing demands of the task, the…

The bibliography contains over 50 annotated citations of research on the nature of maternal speech and its effects on child language development. It is limited to studies focusing on verbal features of mothers' speech to normal one-to-four-year-olds learning English. The first section is devoted to literature describing characteristics specific to…

Caregiver-infant interactions in the first years of a child's life provide models and shape patterns of responding that can have consequences throughout the life-span. Research and practice have produced knowledge about the sensitivity of outcomes to characteristics of the infant nurturing situation. Infant caregivers should accept babies' need…

The two bibliographies contains citations to materials available in the library of the Birth to Three Clearinghouse (Illinois) concerning issues on personnel preparation and program evaluation. The 36 citations on personnel preparation and the 46 citations on program evaluation are arranged alphabetically by author and cover the years 1978 to…

The purpose of this brochure is to help parents and caregivers guide children's behavior in a more effective and pleasant manner. Twenty principles of child management are listed and explained. Examples illustrate how each principle should be applied. These principles include general suggestions for creating family rules and guidance on how to…

Three experiments investigated the processes by which 2-year-olds acquire the language to express category hierarchies. The first experiment studied how children use current linguistic knowledge to constrain the potential meanings of new words. This experiment compared interpretations of new words given to objects the children could already name…

A survey of research findings on environmental and person variables provides clues as to what is required in a high quality infant-toddler program. One of the most important components of such a program is a loving, responsive caregiver. Research has shown that there are specific adult qualities that nurture the roots of intellectual competence,…

As part of a study of mother-child interaction, 31 children were observed at 21 and 35 months of age to assess the influence of the birth of a sibling on the stability of temperament. All subjects were only children when they were surveyed at 21 months of age. By the time of the second observation, when subjects were 35 months old, the birth order…

Designed to introduce the responsibilities of citizenship to children between 2 and 6 years of age, this 2-week lesson plan aims to ensure that children can explain the importance of voter registration and voting to their parents. It is also designed to develop in children a sense of the importance of exercising their citizenship rights.…

A study of the awareness of verb transitivity in the spontaneous speech of two two-year-old native speakers of Quiche was accomplished by examining three factors: transitive terminations given to verbs, subject markers on the verbs, and syntax. The first was studied by counting the number of transitive verbs used with both transitive and…

Three studies investigating the emergence and early refinement of intelligent self-correction are described. Forty-one children ranging in age from 18 to 30 months served as subjects. Parents taught their children a hide-and-seek game in which the parent hid a toy in natural locations in the home while the child watched. After a 3- or 5-minute…