This article analyzes the longitudinal development of differences in academic skills between children of Turkish origin and children of native-born German parents from age 3 to 6 in Germany with a focus on the role of immigrant parents' acculturation to the receiving society. Growth curve models show that Turkish-origin children start with lower…

We explored the everyday experiences of 18- to 36-month-old toddlers at two study sites and the influence of adaptation to the host culture on the everyday experiences of children from migrant families. First- and second-generation Puerto Rican families in Connecticut, USA, first- and second-generation Turkish families in Bochum, Germany, as well…

The overarching goal of the present study was to trace the development of mirror self-recognition (MSR), as an index of toddlers' sense of themselves and others as autonomous intentional agents, in different sociocultural environments. A total of 276 toddlers participated in the present study. Toddlers were either 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, or 21 months…

The purpose of this study conducted in 36 infant-toddler centres ("Kinderkrippen") in the city of Munich in Bavaria/Germany was to explore structural characteristics of early child care and education and their effects on child care quality. Stepwise regressions and variance analysis (Manova) examined the relation between quality of care…

Using a preferential looking methodology with novel verbs, Gertner, Fisher and Eisengart (2006 ) found that 21-month-old English children seemed to understand the syntactic marking of transitive word order in an abstract, verb-general way. In the current study we tested whether young German children of this same age have this same understanding.…

Children of 15-33 months of age were presented with tasks measuring 2 facets of self: as the object of knowledge and as the subject of experience. Relations between tasks are discussed in terms of changes from the processing of immediate and visible features to the processing of more enduring and nonvisible features of the self during the toddler…

Studied toddler's regulation of negative emotions in Japan and Germany by comparing the responses of 20 2-year-old girls from each country (in the presence of their mothers) to a playmate's distress. Found culture specific differences in the children's regulation patterns and the qualities of mother-child interactions. (SLD)

Presents the Lexical/Semantic Hypothesis, which proposes that early learning is more lexically oriented, and that early word combinations can be explained by more semantically oriented accounts than the Full Competence Hypothesis. The article also replaces the Grammatical Infinitive Hypothesis with the Modal Hypothesis. (32 references) (Author/CK)

Explored fathers' specific contribution to their children's attachment representation at various ages. Found fathers' play sensitivity to be a better predictor of the child's long-term attachment representation than the early infant-father security of attachment. (Author)

Described experiences of 84 German toddlers enrolled or not enrolled in child care. Found total amount of care per weekday did not differ by child-care status; child-care toddlers received lower care levels from center providers; their mothers engaged in more social interactions during nonworking hours than did mothers of home-only toddlers; and…

Examines how young children describe reversals of action that restore objects to a prior, less-constrained, state. In both English and German, children first rely on the verb "open"; they then use their knowledge of particle pairs. Reentry into a prior state is underlined by uses of "back" and "wieder" and the…

Despite U.S. world leadership in research in child healthcare and development, in all the statistical indicators of children's well-being the United States lags well behind most advanced industrialized societies. This book discusses U.S. public policy issues concerning the healthcare and development of children under age three. Studies are cited…

Analyzes monolingual Spanish- and German-speaking children's production of target consonant clusters at early stages of acquisition from a phonological representational perspective. At the beginning stages, target clusters are reduced to a single consonantal position, due to lack of branching of the syllable constituents. At later stages, cluster…

This collection of six case studies is a by-product of a European-focused study that sought to understand the policies focused on children from birth to age 3, whether directly affecting the children or reaching them indirectly through their parents. The study examined the social infrastructure in which the specific "under-3" policies…