As directors of early learning programs, one deals with a myriad of issues on a daily basis. One of the more frustrating things that come up from time to time is biting. Biting is particularly problematic because it tends to elicit such a strong response from caregivers, parents, and other children. In this article, the author talks about biting…

The article explores the insight into child and adolescent behavior offered by clowns. It reviews the Big Apple Circus Clown Care hospital clowning program and evaluates the role clowns could play in pediatric mental health inpatient work and their implications for the broader clinical setting.

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children. Prior research has implicated both child behavioral attributes and parent supervisory patterns as risk factors. The present study assessed interactions between these two risk factors and determined whether supervision moderates the relation between child attributes and injury.…

A sample of 750 women were interviewed during pregnancy on their depression and anxiety symptoms, substance use and demographic variables. A subsample was seen again at the neonatal stage (n = 152), and their infants were observed for sleep-wake behavior. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were related to caffeine use. Mothers who consumed more…

To determine the role of action-outcome learning in the control of young children's instrumental behavior, the authors trained 18- to 48-month-olds to manipulate visual icons on a touch-sensitive display to obtain different types of video clips as outcomes. Subsequently, one of the outcomes was devalued by repeated exposure, and children's…

This paper investigates the long-term impact of participation in the Chicago School Readiness Project (CSRP) during the Head Start year on children's behavioral outcomes at the end of their Kindergarten year. The primary questions addressed in the paper are: (1) What is the experimental impact of CSRP on two-year change (from Fall Head Start to…

Austin Independent School District supported parent training in the Love and Logic curriculum during the 2009-2010 school year, and survey results indicated that most parents reported improvements in their children's behavior and their own behavior after completing training.

This study investigates the psychosocial adjustment of hearing siblings of deaf and hard of hearing (d/hh) children, as well as the quality of the relationships between siblings and between hearing siblings and mothers. Thirty families from Cyprus took part in the study. Self-report data were collected from the mothers and the hearing siblings.…

In many societies the prevalence of behavioural problems in school-aged children varies by national origin. We examined the association between national origin and behavioural problems in 1 1/2-year-old children. Data on maternal national origin and the Child Behavior Checklist for toddlers (n = 4943) from a population-based cohort in the…

Research Findings: Sibling pretend play, collaboration, and creativity during maternal presence and absence were investigated in 24 dyads in early and middle childhood (younger siblings' M age = 5.3 years; older siblings' M age = 8.2 years). Associations between sibling behavior and maternal interaction (e.g., guidance, positive responses) were…

Of all the developmental difficulties that may be present in childhood, language impairment is probably the most common. It is of vast importance to prevent cumulative negative consequences of these impairments. The present study evaluates the effects of a language and activity-based intervention programme on verbal and non-verbal performance and…

Mothers of children with Down syndrome, autism, and mixed etiology intellectual disabilities, matched on child age, gender, and communication skills (n = 19 in each group) completed measures of their child's adaptive and problem behaviors, their own parenting stress, and positive perceptions of their child. Children with autism were rated as…

Research clearly indicates that early intensive behavioral intervention is an effective intervention for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However little is known about the longitudinal development of these children. The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes for a number of children with ASD following intensive…

Canadian data based on maternal reports for a nationally representative sample of 4,521 4-5-year-olds were used to examine associations among child care, family factors, and behaviors in preschool-aged children. Linear regressions testing for direct and moderated associations indicated that regulated home-based care was associated with less…

Background: The Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) is one of the most widely used instruments for measuring parenting stress in families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, no research to date has examined the psychometric properties of the PSI-SF in a sample of parents of young children with ASD. In this regard,…