Five essential ideas or understandings that should underlie early childhood teacher education programs are discussed conceptually. Inquiry and reflection into practice are critical for continued teacher learning and development; learning and development are cultural and constructivist processes; the teacher's image of the child should be as a…

Sleep is an important aspect of a child's early development and is essential to family well-being. During their first 3 years, infants and toddlers spend more than 50% of their lives sleeping. However, concerns about sleep and sleep problems are among the most common issues brought to the attention of pediatricians. Although sleep is one of the…

Purpose: This article describes guiding principles in early intervention (EI) and demonstrates how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can apply these principles to best serve infants and toddlers with communication and related problems and their families. Method: Four principles guide the implementation of speech-language pathology services. EI…

Prenatally and in infants and toddlers, the brain is being constructed as a foundation for all later learning. Positive early experiences contribute to the formation of a brain that is capable, early in infancy, of utilizing and strengthening the basic processes of learning. Throughout a lifetime, a person will repeatedly use these approaches to…

Minnesota provides supplemental state funding to existing federal Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) grantees to increase their capacity to serve additional infants, toddlers, and pregnant women. The initiative was started in 1997 when the state legislature earmarked $1 million of the general state Head Start supplemental funds for children…

Molly wrote this article thirteen years ago. It is a fitting counterpart to the preface of this publicaton because it predicts the role of nature across the planes of education even before the Erdkinder was tested. The article combines contemporary environmentalists with Montessori's seminal insight into the developmental impact of nature on the…

Early intervention for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families has strayed from its conceptual roots and the intent of the original legislation. The author describes the top 10 mistakes commonly made in early intervention, including what happens at intake, assessment, plan development, and delivery of services. He proposes five…

The most common setting for early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families is the home. This article discusses home- and community-based early intervention and how the routines-based interview (RBI) can set the stage for successful home visits. It also addresses what has been learned about home visiting,…

Federal directives require that any child less than 3 years old with a substantiated case of abuse be referred to the early intervention (EI) system. This article details the need and presents a vision for a trauma-informed EI system. The authors describe two exemplary program models which implement this vision and recommend steps which the field…

The most rapid and significant phase of development occurs in the first three years of a child's life. The "Supporting Children from Birth to Three" series focuses on the care and support of the very youngest children. Each book takes a key aspect of working with this age group and gives clear and detailed explanations of relevant theories…

To fully grieve a parent's death, a young child needs to come to terms internally with the loss. The author describes this process in a toddler whose mother committed suicide. In therapy, the child formed a relationship with a stone statue and communicated her need to be found and protected. Drawing on the notion of "potential space," an…

Self-regulation is a complex process that involves coordinating various systems of the body and mind, including feelings. It's not only about emotions but also about cognition. Self-regulation has an impact on social development, influencing how babies and toddlers get along with others. Through self-regulation, babies and toddlers learn to pay…

Professionals assigned to address the social and emotional needs of children in foster care have an enormous responsibility not only to understand these needs but to work with the multiple systems of care that converge to make decisions in the best interest of the child. In this essay, the author explores the emotional toll on those professionals…

Missouri's Early Head Start/Child Care Partnership Project expands access to Early Head Start (EHS) services for children birth to age 3 by developing partnerships between federal Head Start, EHS contractors, and child care providers. Head Start and EHS contractors that participate in the initiative provide services through community child care…

Psycholinguistics coined the term idiomorph to describe idiosyncratic invented word-like units that toddlers use to refer to familiar objects during their early language development (Haslett & Samter, 1997; Otto, 2008; Reich, 1986; Scovel, 2004; Werner & Kaplan, 1963). Idiomorphs act as "words" because their meanings and phonetic pronunciations…