This article brings into relief two "desiderata" in childrearing, the importance of which the pandemic has made clearer than ever. The first is to ensure that, in schools as well as outside them, children have ample opportunities to enjoy goods that are particular to childhood: unstructured time, to be spent playing with other children,…

Pastoral care in education aims to promote the holistic development of all pupils whilst supporting those who experience challenging personal circumstances. Significant developments have been made in this field in recent years, including increased focus in Initial Teacher Education, yet major challenges remain to be addressed nationally and…

This paper addresses one of the biggest challenges facing Pastoral Care in Education today: the impact of COVID-19 on children's wellbeing. The negative effects on children's wellbeing and mental health are already being widely reported (e.g.; Loades et al. 2020). Therefore, this paper will outline both the impact of COVID-19 on children's…

The IBSA forum is an important collaboration of India-Brazil-South Africa to address the social developmental challenges of developing countries through South-South Cooperation. All three countries share same colonial history and at present have developing economies and struggling to provide best public services to their citizens through the…

The vast majority of the islands in the Anglophone Caribbean ratified the Convention of the Rights of the Child shortly after its adoption by the United Nations in 1989. In this piece, we examine how the articulation of the Convention of the Rights of the Child in the Caribbean has shaped early childhood care and education. We note that though…

Compared to unpaid leave, paid family leave may better help working parents balance the competing needs of job and family early in a child's life, among other advantages. Yet the United States remains one of only two countries in the world without a statutory national paid maternity leave policy, and one of the only high-income countries that…

Background: Although school nutrition policies (SNPs) have been highlighted as an important intervention to support childhood nutrition, their implementation and maintenance within real-word settings is complex. There is a need to understand the factors that influence implementation by consolidating existing research and identifying commonalities…

Background: Asthma has no known cure, and though manageable, it disrupts the everyday lives of over 6 million US children. Because children spend more than half of their waking hours in school, students must be able to carry and administer their inhaler at school to manage their asthma. Methods: This policy paper is a comprehensive review of all…

Health care reaches more children under age three in the United States than any other family-facing system and represents the most common entry point for developmental assessment of and services for children. In this article, Adam Schickedanz and Neal Halfon examine how well the child health care system promotes healthy child development early in…

Children of immigrants--specifically children under the age of 18 who reside with at least one foreign-born parent--are propelling the growth of the child population in the United States (Pew Research Center, 2015). As of 2017, more than 18 million children in the United States lived with at least one immigrant parent (Migration Policy Institute,…

In 2014, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) distributed 250 grants across states and localities in the United States and its territories to establish Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships (EHS-CCPs) to expand access to high-quality child care. A cornerstone of Early Head Start (EHS) is the provision of comprehensive services.…

In the United States, there are significant disparities in the oral health of children from families with high and low socioeconomic status and between majority and minority children. Extant research on these health differences has focused predominately on caregiver knowledge, beliefs, and practices as well as structural barriers such as Medicaid…

After decades of rapid evolution and groundbreaking research, the field of early intervention can be understood within a common framework: the Developmental Systems Approach (DSA). Created by a highly influential leader in the field, Michael Guralnick, this evidence-based, relationship-oriented, family-centered framework focuses on strengthening…

In this article, we briefly describe the current epidemiology of HIV/AIDS among South African schoolchildren, as well as the neurocognitive, academic and psychosocial difficulties they experience. Cultural factors linked to HIV prevention and treatment are identified, and government and schools' response to HIV/AIDS is outlined. We then evaluate…

This article explores the many ways in which states can and are addressing racial equity in problem solving and policymaking. The authors explore national data that make the case for addressing bias and advancing equity in state policy; share strategies and best practices for engaging families and communities; and provide examples of policies that…