This study investigated infant listening preferences for two versions of an unfamiliar Chinese children's song: unaccompanied (i.e., voice only) and accompanied (i.e., voice and instrumental accompaniment). Three groups of 5-, 8- and 11-month-old infants were tested using the Headturn Preference Procedure. A general linear model analysis of…

This article reports the results of two experiments studying the effects of type of interaction on infant production of declarative pointing. In Experiment 1, intensity of social presence was manipulated in adult-infant interaction with 12-19-month-olds (no social presence; adult responding only; adult also initiating joint attentional bids).…

Authentic assessments are naturalistic methods to obtain functional, contextual information relevant to learning in routine activities. Seven focus groups were conducted with 73 practicing Part C early interventionists to gather their reports on authentic assessments. Participants reported various ways of applying authentic assessment methods,…

Toddlers may be at particularly high risk for a number of psychiatric, developmental and neurobiological consequences in the aftermath of trauma. The social and emotional impact of potentially traumatic life events experienced between 6 and 36-months of age was assessed in an epidemiological birth cohort of 18- to 36-month-olds from the Greater…

The purpose of this study conducted in 36 infant-toddler centres ("Kinderkrippen") in the city of Munich in Bavaria/Germany was to explore structural characteristics of early child care and education and their effects on child care quality. Stepwise regressions and variance analysis (Manova) examined the relation between quality of care…

The early noncry vocalizations of infants are salient social signals. Caregivers spontaneously respond to 30%-50% of these sounds, and their responsiveness to infants' prelinguistic noncry vocalizations facilitates the development of phonology and speech. Have infants learned that their vocalizations influence the behavior of social partners? If…

"Child Care Health Connections" is a bimonthly newsletter published by the California Childcare Health Program (CCHP), a community-based program of the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, Department of Family Health Care Nursing. The goals of the newsletter are to promote and support a healthy and safe environment…

Integrating infant mental health services into early education programs leads to better child outcomes and stronger parent-child relationships--the big question is how to do it appropriately and effectively. Clear answers are in this accessible textbook, created to prepare early childhood professionals and programs to weave best practices in…

In this study, an attempt was made to determine whether psychophysiological differences existed between 20 prematurely born and 20 full-term infants in their responsiveness to tactile stimulation and in their ability to discriminate among different intensities of such stimulation. (Author/SB)

Premature infants vocalized less, played less, and were more fretful than full-term infants of the same chronological age, although they looked at objects and looked around their environment more. Mothers of premature infants demonstrated more caretaking and affectionate behavior toward their infants. Between-group differences decreased as age…

The second of a four-part series on the development of infants and toddlers, this article reviews current research on social and emotional development during the first two years and provides a selected list of activities designed to promote infants' optimal development. Attachment behavior and affective behavior are two major topics explored. (EV)

Defines crying as a baby's tool of communication and suggests an alphabet of ideas that assist in interpreting reasons and developing solutions for a crying infant. (BAC)

Despite the fact that early childhood preservice teachers are typically being prepared to work with children from birth through age 8, preservice field experiences with infants continue to be largely missing in early childhood teacher preparation programs Since the education and care of infants often takes place in vastly different settings than…

Hays (1996) was the first to describe the construct of intensive mothering beliefs, yet little empirical research exists to substantiate its prevalence among contemporary mothers and its implications for their lives. The purpose of this study was to examine the construct of intensive mothering beliefs and its longitudinal associations with…

In 2008, the Shreveport-Bossier Community Foundation selected education, health, and poverty as funding priorities. But the foundation realized that it needed more specific guidelines on how best to distribute grants. RAND developed a framework for making investment decisions that incorporates the best of traditional decision making approaches.…