The aim of this grounded theory study was to understand parents' emotions and coping strategies regarding their child's initial placement in an Israeli special education kindergarten. Proper placement is essential to effectively support children with developmental disabilities (DD), yet parents tend to approach assessment procedures with dread.…

While Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) play a crucial role in children's and parents' ability to maintain routines, their impact during armed conflicts remains understudied. During a 10-day military operation in Israel involving missile launches, we conducted an online survey among parents of children aged 1-7, to assess the relationship…

Research Findings: Cultural differences emerge in the home literacy environment and the nature of shared book-reading (SBR), yet the impact of culture on parents' book selection remains unexplored, despite the centrality of the book in SBR. Parents in Spain (n = 132) and Israel (n = 123), two Western countries with different cultural patterns,…

English, the global lingua franca, enjoys a growing status worldwide. The high status of English is also linked to the increasing interest in teaching English to young learners (EYL), and is reciprocally linked to complex political, cultural and social forces. Research on the advantages of learning English at a young age is controversial and…

The lockdown that was imposed by governments as part of the attempt to contain the COVID-19 pandemic included extreme measures, such as home confinement and the shutting down of special education systems. Our aim was to learn about the core experiences of parents of children with autism during this significant life disturbance. Thirty-one parents…

The study characterized children's literacy, mothers' beliefs, and writing mediation of homeschooled compared to formally schooled kindergartners. Participants were 60 children (ages 4-6) and their mothers (30 in homeschooling). At the children's home, we assessed children's literacy, maternal beliefs, and video-recorded mother-child joint writing…

Experts in children's literature and child development value complexity in the language, socio-emotional content, and structure of books, yet little is known regarding parents' attitudes towards these aspects. The study thus examined how parents' gender, education, and profession, children's age and gender, and frequency of parent-child reading…

"Concerted cultivation" has been described as a common, urban middle-class practice concerning the enrollment of children in a variety of age-specific activities that may promote the learning of valuable life skills as well as the development of individual abilities (Lareau, 2003). Music is one such activity. This study investigated the…

The study examined differences in parental satisfaction associated with solitary and parent-child co-sleeping in a sample (N = 61) of Israeli families with children ranging in age from 12 to 48 months (M = 28.04, SD = 10.71). Questionnaire data regarding the family sleeping arrangement, parental satisfaction with the sleeping arrangement, child…

This study examined the contribution of a model of maternal characteristics in explaining mothers' involvement in the early intervention of their 1- to 7-year-old children with hearing loss. The model of maternal factors affecting mothers' involvement in intervention comprised (a) four personal characteristics conceived as exogenous variables…

Israeli parents (N=13) bereaved of young children were compared with parents (N=42) who had lost sons to war. Although all parents demonstrated pronounced mourning, those bereaved of adult sons were particularly affected by loss. This was true for initial year and for current status of bereavement response, an average of 10 years postloss.…

This study of 60 mothers of young children with physical disabilities in Israel failed to support hypothesis that mothers with "internally" focused locus of control would demonstrate greater utilization of their support system. Analysis indicated that mother's age, child's level of functioning, and existence of additional members of…

This study, involving 24 Israeli mothers of children (average age 3.3) with severe mental retardation, found that the mothers' locus of control and perception of social support (belonging, appraisal, tangible support, and self-esteem) serve as buffers against parental pessimism concerning their severely handicapped children. (JDD)