Within the United Kingdom, the importance of the appropriate parenting of children in their early years has received significant political support. However, it has been found that positive outcomes for young children, in terms of their present experience and future life chances, are often significantly weakened by the impact of poverty. A…

This article examines how a sample of first-time mothers in the UK constitute childhood in general, and their own children in particular, in and through their talk about the mundane practices of childcare. The data analysed are drawn from a longitudinal qualitative interview study that followed a sample of mothers from late pregnancy until their…

Chaotic home systems have been linked with children's adverse psychological and academic outcomes. But, as they represent a departure from the suburban ideal of space, order, and family cohesiveness and stability, they should also be linked with low support for survival values. Using longitudinal data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)…

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…