Objective: To examine the prevalence/predictors of mental health (MH) problems and services use in 12- to 36-month-old children who had been investigated for maltreatment. Method: Data came from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II), a longitudinal study of youth ages 0 to 17.5 years referred to U.S. child…

Between March 2009 and March 2011, Talk To Your Baby has been engaged in a research project, under the title of Face to Face, to identify key messages for parents and carers in relation to communicating with babies and young children, and has examined the most effective ways to promote these messages to parents and carers. The Face to Face project…

An experimental study showed that a video feedback intervention improved the interaction skills of early childhood education and care teachers. The teachers who had received the Video Interaction Guidance training appeared more stimulating in their behavior, were more sensitive and more verbally stimulating than teachers from the control group.…

Employees working in residential treatment know from experience that holidays will be stressful and treacherous for the children and youth placed in their programs (and, consequently, for the staff themselves). Using a multiple systems approach, this article examines risk factors for holiday-related stress and crisis in residential settings…

The purpose of this study was to examine access to and use of Internet by 97 physically disabled adolescents. Four main objectives were to: (1) explore frequency and nature of Internet use and the role of care givers, (2) compare these results with non-disabled adolescents, (3) explore associations between access to and use of Internet and…

This paper addresses issues of infantile gender identity as they are demonstrated through group processes amongst the carers of disturbed adolescents. It uses this and other clinical material to explore gender narcissism--both male and female. It examines how such narcissism is linked to sado-masochism, and how it can impede a healthy development…

This article presents an interview with two child care providers who are also legislators, Representative Shannon Erickson and Representative Mary Jane Wallner. Shannon Erickson is a Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 124 in Beaufort County. While coming to office in a special election in…

Forty-nine caregivers in eight daycare centres were interviewed about their daycare experiences, their own childcare decisions and practices, and their views of how their profession is perceived by society. Results suggest that: caregivers comment positively on the process elements of their work, such as their enjoyment and love of children, and…

Background: The quality of child care is of social and economic significance worldwide. The beliefs that child care workers hold about knowing and knowledge (epistemological beliefs) influence the quality of their professional work. However, attention to epistemological beliefs is rarely a focus in vocational education programmes. Aim: The aim of…

Research during the past 15 years has repeatedly demonstrated the beneficial effects of dialogic reading (DR), a form of shared storybook reading, on the development of language in preschool children. Although much is known about the effects of DR on children, little attention has been paid to the role that adult caregivers play in the DR…

Neuroscience shows that humans develop their abilities for emotional self-regulation through connections with reliable caregivers who soothe and model in a process called "co-regulation." Since many troubled young people have not experienced a reliable, comforting presence, they have difficulty regulating their emotions and impulses. Co-regulation…

This study investigates early childhood educators' language training competence that is required to support children's linguistic development. Hundred and forty-four early-years-professionals in Germany completed a computer-based assessment. We first tested knowledge of linguistic topics (e.g. morpho-syntax, developmental stages). Second, we…

This report provides a literature review of the evidence on the quality of early childhood education and care for children under three. It considers the implications for policy and practice, particularly for the Government's programme of free early years provision for disadvantaged two year-olds. The review of the research evidence identified four…

Offering intensive parent support programs within an early childhood setting recognises that early childhood educators are uniquely placed to form highly supportive and ongoing relationships with children and their families as part of their everyday work. This feature of early childhood programs can be utilised to include educators as partners in…

This article describes an action research project carried out in North West England that aimed to assist Children's Services Departments and Care Trusts in developing their strategies for supporting care leavers into employment and training. The study found a range of models and approaches that can be utilised to develop local and regional…