Identifies popular child care settings and outlines several components of quality child care. Lists short- and long-term cognitive, social, and emotional effects of child care on children from low-income families. Describes some benefits of child care and reports a cost-benefit analysis of one quality program. Offers recommendations for future…

Describes Storytelling and Rural Areas (SARA) program for children and families at Longreach School of Distance Education (Central Queensland). SARA promotes children's oral language skills, self-confidence, and social construction. Explores ways storytelling assists this development. Notes how SARA provides links between home and school and…

Analyzed 88 articles from 7 popular women's magazines published between 1977 and 1990 to determine treatment of day care and maternal employment effects on children. Results suggest that coverage of the topics increased. However, the change from positive to mixed views appears to reflect conflicting opinions of child care experts regarding effects…

Describes two-generation programs and how they differ from earlier single-focus approaches to serve children and families. Results from six programs are reviewed and indicate mixed and modest success in promoting the development of children and improving the parenting skills and economic self-sufficiency of parents. Recommendations are presented…

Describes how the Absorbent Mind uses human tendencies during the first 6 years of life to construct one's own individual self. Maintains that the adult's task is to form the link between the child and the environment so that the human tendencies to explore, orient, order, work, repeat, control errors, be exact, create, invent, and communicate can…

Reviews selected research on the beneficial effects of tactile stimulation on infants. Examines the results of studies with animals, preterm infants, cocaine- and HIV-exposed preterm infants, and normal full-term infants. Briefly discusses caregiving implications and offers suggestions on how caregivers can incorporate tactile stimulation in…

Twenty children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and low IQs were followed up 4.5 years later (ages 8-20). A majority continued to screen positive for ADHD, as well as display high rates of comorbid anxiety disorders, tics, and elimination disorders. Multiple medication trials resulted in significantly lower hyperactivity…

Presents a network-assessment technique and examples showing how group experiences affect children's behavior. Compares classical sociometry and the use of composite social maps. Discusses quantifying peer-network information, using peer-network profiles as context descriptors, and identifying change in children and networks. Shows that peer-group…

Examined how separation of competency and affect components of self-concept domains varied in 7- to 13-year-olds. Found that Self-Description Questionnaire factor loadings were invariant over age comparisons. Correlations among reading, math, and school self-concepts decreased with age. Correlations between competency and affect within domains…

A case study of a 3-year-old with a phonological disorder is used to demonstrate the application of optimality theory to the assessment and treatment. A tutorial of the theory is provided and then several prototypical error patterns evident in the child's productions are analyzed within the framework. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This article concludes a forum that considered theoretical and analytical frameworks applied to developing systems in phonological theory and treatment. It discusses the role of complexity in target selection of children with language impairments: error pattern interaction and complexity; complexity, treatment, and constraint demotion; and…

The literature on somatic complaints in children without a clear physical medical cause often demonstrates connections with various psychological factors, such as negative emotions and problems handling them, poor self-image, and coping potential. We entered these elements into a structural model to elucidate the relationships among them and…

The aim of the review of D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (funded by the General Electric Company; this issue) is to "evaluate [the] literature relating the effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) upon neurobehavioral, health-related, and cognitive deficits in neonates, developing infants,…

This invited response to the paper by D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (CKS), and the responses by the investigative teams of the studies criticized by them, addresses specific errors of logic and interpretation by CKS, and integrates comments made by the study investigators. CKS provide a flawed analysis of the literature on the…

In this article, the author answers the following question: In addition to the usual wide-ranging abilities of a new class, I have one 4-year-old who has learning delays and three children with speech and language disorders. What can I do to be sure that I'm creating a classroom environment where the needs of all the children in my group can be…