This report investigates alternatives to the current targets related to early childhood education and care (ECEC), in particular by looking at socio-economic differences in the level of ECEC attendance in EU Member States. Using data from the EU Survey on income and living conditions (EU-SILC), it assesses different categorisations of…

Early symptoms of ASD develop through the second year of life, making a stable ASD diagnosis possible at 24 months of age. However, in general, children with ASD have their diagnosis at an older age. This retrospective study, including 30 children with ASD and 30 control children aged 3-6 years, explored the possibility of developing a short…

Homelessness is a reality for many families with young children in the United States. Homeless children and youths lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. In 2017, about a third of all people who stayed in a shelter were families with children, and nearly half of children served by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban…

In January 2016, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released the first 50-state profile on Early Childhood Homelessness as part of an interagency collaboration with multiple departments and agencies participating on the early childhood workgroup of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). This report updates ED's…

Despite the widely-recognized benefits of early childhood experiences in formal settings that enrich the social and cognitive environments of children, many children--particularly infants and toddlers--spend their days in unregulated (or very lightly regulated) "informal" childcare settings. Over half of all one- and two-year-olds are…

Is income during children's earliest years a key determinant of long-term child and adult success in the longer run? The research to date, Christopher Wimer and Sharon Wolf write, suggests that it is. Wimer and Wolf review substantial descriptive evidence that income can enhance child development and later adult outcomes, and that it does so most…

Homelessness is a reality for many families with young children in our country. In 2015, a third of all people who stayed in a shelter were in families with children and nearly half of children served by HUD-funded emergency/transitional housing providers in 2015 were age five or younger (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),…

Purpose: The aims of the present research were to determine (a) the age at which children with typical development understand the concept of opposite, (b) whether this is related to other cognitive abilities or experiences, and (c) whether there is early implicit understanding of the concept. Method: Children (N = 204) between 3 and 5 years of age…

Purpose: This study was designed to (a) identify sociodemographic, pregnancy and birth, family health, and parenting and child care risk factors for being a late talker at 24 months of age; (b) determine whether late talkers continue to have low vocabulary at 48 months; and (c) investigate whether being a late talker plays a unique role in…

Homelessness is a reality for many families with young children in the country. In fact, infancy is the period of life when a person is at highest risk of living in a homeless shelter in the United States (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 6th Annual Homelessness Report, 2012). Every day more and more Americans understand…

This study investigated whether the amount and timing of group-based childcare between birth and 51 months were predictive of cognitive development at 51 months, taking into account other non-parental childcare, demographic characteristics, cognitive development at 18 months, sensitive parenting and a stimulating home environment. Children's…

The purpose of this series is to summarize key findings and implications from the Maryland Child Care Choices study, a longitudinal survey of parents who were applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in 2011. Families in the Maryland Child Care Choices study had at least one child age six or younger and lived in one of the…

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary funding source for federal child care subsidies to low-income working families, as well as improving child care quality. CCDBG provides child care assistance to children from birth to age 13. This fact sheet highlights key information about school-age children and CCDBG. This…

This study aims to examine social competence of Chinese immigrant children and its associations with age, length of attendance in childcare, gender, generational status and proficiencies in English and Mandarin Chinese. One hundred Mandarin-speaking children aged three to five years from 15 childcare centres in Sydney were assessed by normed…

During the past three decades, extensive literature has accumulated on the early years of life for children. Research findings unequivocally agree that these years are a critical period of intense learning for children which provides the foundation for later academic and social success. This review explores the literature on the complex…