This study investigated the effects of four factors (threat, surveillance, sex of child and time) on obedience of children to adult requests. An adult told the subjects (48 4-year-old boys and girls) to carry marbles from one box to another. The adult either made no threat or threatened the child for possible disobedience, and either stayed in the…

This study investigated the interaction of child and parent gender with child responsiveness in determining parents' later selection of discipline. Participants were 40 parents and their preschool children (ten pairs each of mother/daughter, mother/son, father/daughter, and father/son combinations). After being separated from his or her child,…

As part of long term research on the effects of a small, yet intensive, early-age intervention, this study examined the family communication style of 54 mother-child dyads and the scholastic perfomance of the target children. The 19 experimental dyads were of low socioeconomic status and had participated in Project Know How. In this project,…

As part of a larger 1-year examination of the relationship between television viewing patterns and spontaneous play in nursery school, this study focuses on (1) the correlation between children's television viewing patterns in the home and their level of aggression in nursery school, and (2) specific factors within family settings that might…

Directors, teachers, parents, and mental health professionals in child care centers were interviewed about aggressive behavior of preverbal children to determine the caregivers' level of understanding about children's emotional development. The definition of aggressive behavior included hitting, biting, pushing, scratching, pinching, grabbing,…

This paper discusses attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children under the age of five and how parents can cope with the disability. Topics include: (1) the presentation of the disability in children under five; (2) the diagnosis of the disability; (3) different approaches parents can adopt to deal with the disability; (4)…

This study explored how children are socialized through discipline in the preschool classroom. Using detailed descriptions of teacher-student interactions and an interpretive method, the study mapped the process of the children's socialization and the role of discipline. The case study in one 4-year-olds' room examined early socialization…

For this study of relations between maternal and paternal discipline, children's playground behavioral orientations and children's peer status, 106 mothers and fathers of preschool-age children were interviewed. The children's playground behavior in child care settings was observed and measures of sociometric status were obtained. Results…

This study examined parenting styles reported by middle-class families of 105 preschoolers between 3 and 5 years of age who had experienced varying amounts of full-time infant child care. Children had experienced one of the following conditions: (1) full-time nonparental care beginning before 9 months of age; (2) full-time nonparental care…

What can teachers of small children do to promote peace in the world? The answers go back to that "war between adults and children" first described by Maria Montessori; to the relationships between parents and offspring; and to the physical, psychological, and spiritual abuse of children that gets passed along through the generations.…

Happy Sticks, the name given to the reinforcement system used in a classroom of pre-school autisitc children, is presented. Happy Sticks are decorated tongue depressors serving as token rewards; Happy Bags, or pouches are worn by the children around their necks to hold the earned Happy Sticks. Reinforcement can be immediate and occur throughout…

Nursery teachers in Greece were surveyed to determine their definition of behavior problems and their relevance to management techniques employed. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 225 nursery teachers; 154 teachers returned the questionnaire for 280 children perceived to be exhibiting behavior problems. The findings showed that…

This qualitative study used a symbolic interactionist framework to examine the perceptions and attitudes of mothers living with preschool children who are considered hard-to-manage because of problematic behavior such as aggression, noncompliance, and hyperactivity. Participating in the study were six mothers whose children were enrolled in Head…

Recent studies suggest that with more and more children in the United States being placed in day care centers, families are likely to become less powerful as agents of socialization. In this paper, eight value-laden areas of probable difference between staff members and parents concerning the process of child socialization are identified. These…

As part of a longitudinal study of children's social development, this study explored preschool home environments of elementary school children who were persistently bullied and victimized by their peers. Subjects included approximately 200 children randomly sampled from predominantly lower and middle socioeconomic populations. One-fourth of the…