Maintains that reading humorous storybooks to toddlers can support their development and learning. A bibliography of humorous children's books is included. (BB)

The normal, biologically adaptive development of attachment between the human infant under 3 years of age and mother/caregivers contrasts with the Anglo-Saxon cultural belief that babies should be accustomed to unpleasantness. Separation of hospitalized children from their mothers, as frequently done in the past, has resulted in psychological…

Compiling essays authored by Benjamin Spock and published in popular magazines, this book examines the emotional and physical needs of infants and toddlers. The chapters are: (1) "Communicating with Your Baby: Reading Your Baby's Cues," including information on crying, motor behavior, squealing, and parents' responses; (2) "Parents'…

This study examined the effectiveness of 11 strategies designed to ease separation anxiety in preschool children. Subjects were 10 preschool children enrolled in a public school early childhood classroom for their first school experience. Each child was delayed in at least two of six developmental areas (social, emotional, cognitive,…

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.…

This cross-cultural study compared the lives of Chinese children and British expatriate children, assessed the children's perception of potentially stressful life events, and examined the relationship between the children's cognitive maturity and their adjustment skills. Subjects were 25 British preschool children living in Singapore and 25 local…

Argues that happy separations are characterized by good relationships between teacher/caregiver and parents and ample time for parents to be in the classroom environment. Provides 10 suggestions for easing the transition for children starting or changing schools to ease the separation anxiety and to make transitions as smooth as possible. (SD)

Discusses two problems related to young children's arrival to and departure from child care centers: parents who have a hard time separating from their children in the morning; and children who cry and do not want to go home at the end of the school day. (AA)

An attachment theory framework is applied toward understanding the emergence of depressive symptomatology and lower perceived competence in maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Confirmed hypotheses that maltreated children with nonoptimal patterns of relatedness show elevated depressive symptomatology and lower competence, whereas nonmaltreated…

With the goal of maintaining settings most conducive to helping each child develop optimally, the essays in this book delve into realistic ways in which child care providers can move from providing inadequate or merely adequate day care to providing high quality center-based or family child care. Most of the 12 essays begin with a question or…

Numerous studies have shown that viewing media violence encourages aggression, desensitization, and pessimism in children. This book reviews research on the effects of television and movie violence on children and adolescents, offering parents suggestions for dealing with the problems it creates. It is asserted that parents frequently…

This study addressed the argument that early child care constitutes a risk to children's social adaptation, and that for high-risk samples this effect depends on the security of the infant-mother attachment relationship. A longitudinal investigation of 135 first-born children in a low-risk sample was conducted to discern the contribution of child…