Urges child care programs to seek accreditation from NAEYC's National Academy of Early Childhood Programs to increase program quality and provides information on the validation process. Includes information on the validation visit and the validator's role and background. Offers suggestions for preparing the director, staff, children, and families…

Mother-child conversations during story-telling play were analyzed for patterns of emotion talk. Subjects were 48 Mexican immigrant and Mexican American mothers and their children aged 3-4. Contrary to previous findings, Mexican immigrant mothers used more explanations of emotions than labels. Mexican American mothers used both, equally. Results…

Discusses implications of cultural influences on child rearing for teachers' communication and caregiving routines in early childhood settings. Highlights the Parent-Teacher Dialogue Project (San Francisco Bay area) to encourage open dialog between parents and caregivers, which has resulted in increased awareness of the impact of teachers'…

Describes the rationale, design, and implementation of a support and education group for parents caring for disabled children in later life. Parents encountered peers facing similar challenges. The experience of this group intervention strategy provides insights into the needs and strengths of a neglected segment of the caregiving population. (RJM)

Describes the origins of the Assistants to Infancy Montessori program from 1947. Focuses on the role of Assistants in helping parents provide a beneficial environment for children during pregnancy and from birth to age three. (Author/KB)

Working in a special needs camp does not require extra-human qualities, it's a matter of changing attitudes. Working with special needs campers presents unique challenges, especially for international staff, but the rewards are proportional to the risks. Working with special needs children is also an opportunity to gain valuable life experiences…

To deal with difficult campers, meet with them at an unexpected place and time, and have as many adults present as campers. Begin with a story, then have each camper share a positive story. Discuss positive possibilities and ask for honest accountability. Frame the solution realistically, get agreement for change, and close with affirmation.…

Presents information on the expected growth of the child care market in the United States. Focuses on trends in the population of young children with employed mothers, work/life patterns, and child care preferences. Asserts that a strong demand for center-based child care will continue well into the future. (KB)

Fourteen Mother-Infant pairs were studied at three, six, and nine months to determine whether mothers simplify speech during the second half of the infant's first year and whether speech adjustment influences later language acquisition by infants. A mother's mean length of utterance (MLU) was predictive of later language development by her infant.…

The Caregiver Information Project trained 200 clergy, lay religious volunteers, and social service providers about caregiving issues and ways to disseminate information to family caregivers. The project succeeded in improving knowledge about aging and caregiver issues, increasing perceived competence in working with family caregivers, and…

Discourse skills and utterance lengths of mothers and their toddlers were examined among four language-delayed and four normal children. Language-delayed child-mother dyads were often interrupted by the need to clarify and the lack of definitive control in the conversational turn-taking structure. Results indicated less shared context in…

Compared caregivers (N=31) in telephone peer support network and caregivers (N=35) listening to telephone informational lectures. Both groups showed increases in information, perceived social support, satisfaction with social supports. Lecture participants showed greater information gain and more frequent emotional support from family and friends;…

Answers questions about nutrition. Presents guidelines for providing nutritious breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, and for encouraging good eating habits in young children in early childhood educational settings. (BB)

Reviews 2 studies of verbal interactions of early childhood teachers from 30 preschools and their 4-year-old students. Linguistically advantaged children, particularly those from lower-class backgrounds, benefited from regular attendance at preschool. (RJC)

Primary caregivers to Alzheimer disease patients (N=60) twice completed Caregiving Hassles Scale and reported on their well-being. Scale provided reliable and psychometrically sound instrument for assessing hassles associated with assistance in basic and instrumental activities of daily living, care-recipient cognitive status and behavior, and…