This hearing serves as a first in a set of hearings focusing on early learning. In his opening statement, Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, strongly encouraged members of this committee on both sides of the aisle to hold roundtables and have discussions on early learning in their local…

A developmental cascade model for adolescent substance use beginning in infancy was examined in a sample of children with alcoholic and nonalcoholic parents. The model examined the role of parents' alcohol diagnoses, depression and antisocial behavior in a cascading process of risk via 3 major hypothesized pathways: first, via parental…

Nearly half a million children in the United States are currently being served by the foster care system. Infants and toddlers represent the largest single group entering foster care. While these very young children are at the greatest peril for physical, mental health, and developmental issues and tend to spend the longest time in the foster care…

Few studies have examined how experiences associated with being an undocumented immigrant parent affects children's development. In this article, the authors apply social exclusion theory to examine how access to institutional resources that require identification may matter for parents and children in immigrant families. As hypothesized, groups…

From the time of conception to the first day of kindergarten, development proceeds at a pace exceeding that of any subsequent stage of life. Relationships and experiences with parents, caregivers, and preschool teachers during these early years "form the foundation and scaffold on which cognitive, linguistic, emotional, social, and moral…

The authors summarize previous research and report the results of their study on young children's television and video viewing habits. Previous studies confirm that children under 2 years spend a significant amount of time engaging with television and videos and are highly attentive to them. Attentiveness is contingent on age; for instance, one…

This final report reviews activities and achievements of the "Let's Play!" project, an effort to apply assistive technology (AT) to promote the play skills of infants and toddlers with disabilities within their natural environments. The federally supported project was designed to assist county early intervention programs and developed,…

Conflicting perspectives on the parent's role in the infant/toddler classroom can play a significant role in early educational settings. A recent ethnographic study of an Early Head Start program in New York City focused on conflict of this nature and raised the following set of questions: What sort of power and privilege should parents be given…

This collection of 22 brief resource guides for parents provides information on various aspects of child development and parenting. Topics include (1) planning an in-home toddler playgroup; (2) terrific and terrible 2-year-olds; (3) 3- and 4-year-olds; (4) the middle years from 6 through 11; (5) adolescents; (6) helping parents discuss sex with…