As the cycle of deployments to war zones by military service members and other federal government employees continue, school psychologists likely have encountered or will encounter children in their schools who have been dealing with an absence of a parent for extended periods of time. While some school psychologists who live and work near major…

While children's and parents' experience of separation has been the subject of many studies and considerable theoretical work, child caregivers' experience of separation has yet to be researched. The current study aimed, through in-depth interviews with ten Israeli day care workers, to contribute toward understanding of the experience of day care…

Objective: To examine the efficacy of a developmentally appropriate parent-child cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) protocol for anxiety disorders in children ages 4-7 years. Method: Design: Randomized wait-list controlled trial. Conduct: Sixty-four children (53% female, mean age 5.4 years, 80% European American) with anxiety disorders were…

The authors explore the importance of early attachments; the effects of separation on infants, toddlers, and 3-year-olds; and ways teachers can support children and families during separations. They discuss the predictable stages of the Emotional Cycle of Deployment, a model used with military families, and strategies teachers can use to help…

Research shows that stress in the crucial early years of a child's life can pose dramatic, lasting challenges to development, learning, and behavior. This is the practical book early childhood professionals need to recognize stress in young children--and intervene with proven relief strategies before pressures turn into big problems. Developed by…

Attachment, separation, and loss are critical life events for many young children. This article discusses prevalent factors of separation and loss and their potential harmful effects on development. Also, books and resources geared for children are suggested to help early childhood professionals facilitate resolution with affected children and…

This article presents calming activities and routines for children at different ages and stages. Honig discusses the different stages of arousal for children ages 0-2 and gives suggestions for ways to sooth fussy babies. Miller discusses calming activities and comforting environments for children ages 3-4, and recommends activities that require…

This article discusses how to transition young children from home to school. The author states that while it's not easy for working parents to place their infant or toddler in childcare, it is a healthy experience for children and their parents. Hopefully, as a parent brings the baby for a little longer stay each day, feelings of mutual trust and…

Refugee families in Australia generally have a dual challenge--dealing with past traumatic experiences while facing the struggles of integrating with a new and unfamiliar society. For children and their families who have experienced war-related trauma and disruption, the resettlement process is being referred to as "secondary trauma" to…

Case studies of three children who participated in the play program at Auckland Hospital in New Zealand are presented. About a third of the children admitted to the hospital have access to the play program, but only a few are able to participate in individual sessions with a hospital play specialist. The first case study described in this report…

Documentation lets teachers visibly assess children's interests and abilities and serves as a tool for recording, reflecting, and supporting children. It also provides parents, children, and others a window into what is happening in the classroom. In The Children's School, the laboratory school at Mills College, teachers are always in search of…

Focuses on factors that can contribute to stress in young children due to family relocation and strategies to smooth the transition. (BB)

Discusses ways in which a teacher's sensitivity to and understanding of separation anxiety can help young children deal successfully with their feelings. (BB)

This paper describes the development, administration, and scoring of the Pictorial Measure of School Stress (PMSS). This instrument was designed to describe individual differences in children's feelings about everyday school situations and their coping strategies for dealing with these. The PMSS uses a semi-structured interview to present specific…

Examined potential differences in psychological correlates between mothers with high and low levels of separation anxiety when their children were 8 months, 3.5 years, and 6 years of age. Mothers with extremely high levels of anxiety about short-term separation from their six year olds tended to have higher levels of depressive symptomatology.…