The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between two structural factors of quality: organisation form (stable groups versus flexible groups) and staff-child ratio, in relation to interaction quality in toddler groups in Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC). Data were collected from 206 kindergarten groups in the…

In this study, the relationship between play, language skills and social competence is explored in a sample (n = 1005) of 33-month-old toddlers in a Norwegian early childhood education setting--Barnehages--based on two observational materials ("Tras" and "Alle med"). The study has two aims: (1) to investigate whether there is a…

This study examines possible relations between early mathematical skills and motor life skills in 450 toddlers aged two years and nine months. The study employs baseline data from the longitudinal Stavanger Project--The Learning Child. The children's mathematical skills and motor life skills were assessed by structured observation in the natural…

This article explores variations in development of everyday motor-life-skills in 661 children (329 girls and 332 boys) in Norwegian kindergartens of ages 2:9 (T1) and 4:9 (T2) years:months. The particular focus is on children at risk for problems in motor development (the 10% weakest children in the sample). The methodological approach chosen is…

This article explores the relationship between toddlers' (age: 30-33 months) well-being (WB), play (PL), social-emotional competence (SC) and movement skills (MS). Two hypotheses were put forward for testing: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between WB, PL, SC and MS, and (2) toddlers' WB can be predicted from their PL, SC and MS.…

The purpose of this study was to explore the quality of toddler childcare in Norway using the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised Edition (ITERS-R; [Harms, Thelma, Debby Cryer, and Richard M. Clifford. 2006. "Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scales Revised Edition." New York: Teachers College Press.]), drawing on a sample of…

Sex differences in typical development can provide context for understanding ASD. Baron-Cohen ("Trends Cogn Sci" 6(6):248-254, 2002) suggested ASD could be considered an extreme expression of normal male, compared to female, phenotypic profiles. In this paper, sex-specific M-CHAT scores from N = 53,728 18-month-old toddlers, including n…

This article discusses how 2-year olds cope with various everyday activities as observed by kindergarten staff from a gender perspective. Everyday activities are part of the daily pedagogical life in a kindergarten and are linked to situations such as meals, dressing and undressing, grooming and potty/toilet training. Data were collected through…

This article discusses motor-life-skills in a sample (n?=?1083) of 33 months (2.9-year-old) children in Norwegian early childhood education and care institutions (ECEC-institutions) and to compare the findings with the results from a similar British sample. The Early Years Movement Skills Checklist (EYMSC) (Chambers and Sugden 2006) was applied.…

In countries with universal access to early childhood education and care (ECEC), child participation is high across a range of socioeconomic groups. However, ECEC quality is often varying, and many children spend much time in ECEC settings that are not necessarily high quality. In this observational study, we therefore examined the relationship…

A body of studies, which are mostly based on parental reports, have documented gender differences in early language proficiency, and girls tend to outperform boys in both language production and language comprehension. In this study, staff in Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care institutions observed language comprehension, word…

This study investigated the normative use and developmental course of physical aggression (PA), defined as use of physical force such as hitting, biting, and kicking, from 8 to 26 months and predictors thereof. We used data from the Behavior Outlook Norwegian Developmental Study, comprising 1,159 children (559 girls and 600 boys). Both mothers and…

This study explores the stability and change in maternal life satisfaction and psychological distress following the birth of a child with a congenital anomaly using 5 assessments from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study collected from Pregnancy Week 17 to 36 months postpartum. Participating mothers were divided into those having infants…