B. F. Skinner is the most eminent psychologist of the twentieth century, and it is no exaggeration to say that his discovery of operant learning (conditioning) has influenced the broader field of psychology, as well as other disciplines, including education, neuroscience, and philosophy. Skinner's discovery and elucidation of operant learning has…

The goal of this intensive longitudinal study was to trace the developmental trajectories of infant pointing production, through consideration of the modality (i.e. pointing alone vs pointing-vocal coupling) and the communicative intention (i.e. imperative vs declarative). Multilevel analysis was used to model the normative trend and the…

This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of parent-infant interventions for parents of preterm infants on parental sensitivity compared to standard care or active comparators. This review follows the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and was prospectively registered in…

The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) is a screening questionnaire for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Previous findings have confirmed the M-CHAT's sensitivity and specificity across several cultures, yet few studies have considered M-CHAT scores as a distributed trait in a sample of typical infants. The current study examined…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires states to monitor and enforce IDEA Part C and Part B requirements, with a primary focus on those requirements that are most closely related to improving results and functional outcomes for infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. This guide describes the IDEA requirements…

Consistent, sensitive caregiving across home and childcare contexts supports optimal development. In this paper, we share the story of the development of Hearts and Minds on Babies (HMB) for Early Head Start (EHS) administrators, teachers, and parents. HMB was designed to support caregiver reflective functioning and sensitivity and reduce…

There is no relationship more vital than the one a child shares with their primary caregivers early in development. Yet many children worldwide are raised in settings that lack the warmth, connection, and stimulation provided by a responsive primary caregiver. In this study, we used data from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP), a…

Infants and toddlers experience the world in interaction with others. Likewise, social interactions are important in learning about math--concepts of number ("one," "two," "three"), space ("on top," "upside-down," "round"), and magnitude ("more," "big,"…

A must for home visiting programs, the updated second edition of the LSP is the most efficient, reliable way to evaluate a parent's life skills: the abilities, behaviors, and attitudes they need to achieve a healthy and satisfying family life. For use with at-risk, low-income pregnant and parenting individuals with children from birth to 5 years…

This Statistical Compendium to the report "The State of the World's Children 2024: The Future of Childhood in a Changing World," offers vital statistics on child survival, development, and protection worldwide, supporting UNICEF's commitment to tracking progress toward global goals for children's and women's rights. It includes the…

Many parents express concerns for their children's multilingual development, yet little is known about the nature and strength of these concerns - especially among parents in multilingual societies. This pre-registered, questionnaire-based study addresses this gap by examining the concerns of 821 Quebec-based parents raising infants and toddlers…

Despite the clear efficacy and appeal of naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for families of young children, they are often difficult for families to access due to the limited availability of trained service providers. In recent years, telehealth has emerged as an effective tool for overcoming issues related to access, especially…

Negation is a cornerstone of human language and one of the few universals found in all languages. Without negation, neither categorization nor efficient communication would be possible. Languages, however, differ remarkably in how they express negation. It is yet widely unknown how the way negation is marked influences the acquisition process of…

Early Intervention (EI) aims to lessen the effects of developmental delay by providing services to infants and young children. Newborn screening (NBS) is a public health program that identifies infants with treatable conditions, although many conditions put children at risk of developmental delay even after medical intervention. The purpose of…

Parents and caregivers across Boston continue to face immense challenges to find quality, affordable childcare and this crisis is having a far-reaching impact on our society. Neighborhood disparities continue to exist, but families in all 15 neighborhoods face this challenge -- child care in Boston remains unaffordable for the majority of…