Recent changes such as declining economic status of families and large-scale employment of women have resulted in increased utilization of child care services and the need for qualified child care providers. This study evaluated the Preservice Training for Child Care Workers programs' ability to meet the training needs of rural Texas child care…

This study examined early childhood caregivers' perceptions of the availability and quality of child care and examined the extent to which caregiver knowledge, training, experience, and motivation predicted judgments of quality and availability. Surveys were mailed to 292 licensed and registered family day care providers in Shelby County,…

Examines how child caregivers can shape parents' expectations of child care through written and visual materials. Includes suggestions for writing notes to parents, focusing on characteristics of good parent notes. Provides excerpts from sample notes and lists nine sources of parent/program conflict, including biting and child aggression, outdoor…

Reports the findings from a study of factors related to negative interactions between elderly care-receivers, recently discharged from a hospital stay, and family caregivers. Respondents were 41 patients ages 56-90. Feeling like a "thing" instead of a "person" was significantly associated with higher levels of conflict, and the…

Examined conflict behavior of 50 3-year olds in day care centers to learn how and why adults become involved in children's conflicts. Found that adults were more likely to intervene when there was some physical activity involved in the conflict, and that this heading off of violence may inhibit children from learning to deal independently with…

Reports on behavior management training given to seven caregivers of a home-dwelling spouse with Alzheimer's disease. Results reveal that trained caregivers were successful at decreasing patient repetitions using written cues. Patients of control subjects showed no systematic changes in behavioral disturbances. Intervention effects lasted for 16…

Discusses how child caregivers can work with child life specialists to provide appropriate support for children with special health needs in early childhood settings. Describes the impact of chronic illness and hospitalization on infants and toddlers, offers suggestions for helping infants/toddlers and their families cope, focuses on play as a way…

Four workshops focus on nutrition for infants and children in child care settings. Articles are: (1) "Nutrition and Child Development: Global Perspectives" (Jacqueline Hayden); (2) "Working with Families around Nutritional Issues" (Wayne Eastman); (3) "Breastfeeding Promotion in Child Care" (Laura Dutil Aird); and (4) "Food as Shared…

Replies to the commentary by McCartney and Black (PS 523 017) on an article by Bradley and Caldwell (PS 523 016), both reported in this issue. Argues that scientifically useful descriptions of caregiving environments can be attained using a systematic, objective approach to classifying acts and conditions of the environment while recognizing that…

Discusses the statement "I just love children" and its inappropriateness in the context of working with children in child care settings. Stresses that such statements are sometimes indicators of inappropriate attitudes on the part of caregivers, such as exercising undue power, fostering dependency, patronizing, being amused by children,…

Reports on the appropriateness of the stress-coping and life transitions models for late life experiences by examining psychosocial correlates of spouse caregiving. Results, based on 1000 subjects, aged 65 and over, indicate that caregiving was a usual precursor to widowhood and may have prepared older people for widowhood. (RJM)

Examines the relationship between meaning in caregiving (positive beliefs about the caregiving situation and the self as caregiver) and the psychological well-being of 131 informal caregivers to community-residing frail elders. Results indicate that meaning in caregiving explained a significant portion of the differences in depression and…

Child care professionals in Hawaii were surveyed to assess health training needs. Respondents reported a high degree of comfort in managing common health conditions. The most commonly requested health services involved speech/language testing and vision/hearing screening. The most requested health/safety workshop topic was behavioral problems. The…

Comparison of caregiver behaviors of children with either autism, developmental delay, or typical development found no difference between groups in caregiver synchronization with the child's focus of attention. Also, caregivers of children with autism who showed higher levels of synchronization during initial play interactions led to superior…

Evaluated the impact of training and experience on the knowledge, beliefs, and practices of AmeriCorps child-care volunteers in North Carolina. Found that Corps members completed successful training, but, after nine months of service, showed a decline in the appropriateness of their interactions with children. (JS)