Although developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) has gained widespread acceptance within early childhood education, it is not accepted by all. This study examined resistance to the DAP concept among: (1) Head Start and other early childhood teachers; (2) child caregivers; (3) African-American mothers; and (4) masters students in early childhood…

Explores problems occurring in the communication between child care providers and parents, through the eyes of a child care educator who is also a parent. Describes how her opinion changed as a result of experiencing the frustration of working parents, and provides ideas on how to achieve a better communication and understanding among parents and…

Examines the socioeconomic, cultural, and familial factors that influenced 14 working-poor mothers' decisions regarding child care. Summarizes the paths the women followed over a three-year period, including sources that informed their choice of child care, reactions to their care providers, and reasons for withdrawing from the arrangements. (MJP)

Offers suggestions to caregivers for creating successful literacy experiences for infants and toddlers in all types of group settings. Explores research on parental behavior during book-reading experiences and provides guidelines for caregivers. Also offers advice on designing a center's physical environment and selecting children's books. (EV)

Describes a program developed to help parents become effective playmates. Suggests that interactive play between infants and adults has numerous benefits, although these benefits will not occur automatically; they require parents to develop the appropriate skills. Proposes methods to facilitate play and make an important contribution to the…

Explored the impact of dementia on family members' physical and mental health while caring for an ill parent/spouse. Severity of illness was significantly associated with health and well-being for spouses, offspring, and in-laws, regardless of the amount of caregiving. Demonstrates the potential cascading effect of severe illness. (RJM)

Proposes methods to enable both normal and at-risk young children to develop high and long-lasting competencies in language and other cognitive and social skills. Recommends engaging children with language informally in play and the ordinary routines of child care, both individually and in small groups, and emphasizing both the social,…

Project REACH is a specialized 2-year training program building on the strengths and addressing the limitations of rural Missouri child care providers. The mission of the project was to improve the quality of rural child care and children's cognitive and social development by providing child care providers with local training, support,…

Examined two groups of adult males who had been sexually abused as children by female maternal caregivers: those in treatment at a clinic specializing in sexual abuse survivor work, and those in treatment at a clinic specializing in sexual offender work. These groups show greater psychological disruption than adult males who as children had not…

Responding to serious behaviour problems requires new practice answers and emphases. Best practice principles and a developmental perspective indicate that the family should be the focus of preventative work. The Incredible Years parent training series is described as an important example of an empirically-supported programme that is presently…

Mental health services are delivered to children in many settings, including inpatient psychiatric facilities. In 1997, over 280,000 children and adolescents were admitted to inpatient psychiatric settings for services related to emotional or behavioral disorders. Building a bridge between hospital and school professionals is necessary to maintain…

As early childhood services move up the policy agenda, so too does the early childhood workforce. Its members are recognised as the main resource for such services, and there is an increasing recognition that the work is complex and requires enhanced education. But despite this recognition, the situation in many countries--where the early…

Childhood overweight has received increased national attention as a social and health problem. Childcare providers play an increasingly prominent role in the lives of young children and are therefore important in initiating change. This qualitative study determined the role of childcare professionals in the prevention of childhood overweight.…

This study examined the playfulness of toddlers, ages 18-24 months, participating in a situational context with a non-maternal adult play partner. The goal was to investigate adult interaction styles and outcomes in terms of children's playful dispositions. Play behaviors were observed and coded from videotapes. A qualitative analysis of…

To assess the impact of gender and filial relationship on adult children's sense of filial obligation, two studies were conducted. The first determined how typical caregiver tasks are classified. Middle-aged men (N=95) and women (N=95) rated seven representative tasks. There was considerable consensus on the designation of five tasks as being…