Risk factors for parenthood, early interaction and parents' perception of their 1-year-old child were examined in relation to the demographic and pregnancy-related background factors and to the further training for public health care nurses (PHCNs), according to European Early Promotion Project (EEPP). The short version of the Parenting Stress…

This study examined the relevance of infant temperament, parent personality and parenting stress for children's socio-emotional development, looking in addition for any differences between mothers and fathers. Participants, from a community sample, were 410 mothers and fathers reporting their personality (NEO Personality Inventory), child…

The recognition that adverse childhood experiences have long-term negative effects parallels the explosion of evidence demonstrating how early experience gets into the body and brain. This knowledge, in turn, has significant implications for treatment of emotional and behavioral problems in early childhood. In this article, I offer a guide to…

The studies reported here aimed to test the proposal that mind-mindedness is a quality of personal relationships by assessing mind-mindedness in caregiver-child dyads in which the relationship has not spanned the child's life or in which the relationship has been judged dysfunctional. Studies 1 and 2 investigated differences in mind-mindedness…

Mechanisms were examined to clarify relations between maternal depressive symptoms, dysfunctional cognitions, and infant night waking among 45 infants (1-24 months) and their mothers. A mother-driven mediational model was tested in which maternal depressive symptoms and dysfunctional cognitions about infant sleep predicted infant night waking via…

The atypical behaviour of preterm infants can elicit stress in fathers and influence their ability to perceive and interpret infants' cues. This study investigated whether fathers of moderately and late preterm infants were more stressed than fathers of term infants. In a randomised controlled trial, we also studied the effect of the Mother-Infant…

Research suggests that early self-regulatory difficulties among high-risk newborns can lead to poor interactional difficulties and negative long-term cognitive and social-emotional outcomes if not identified and treated early. This article describes why an individualized, developmentally supportive, relationship-based program, such as the Newborn…

Background: Developing control of attention helps infants to regulate their emotions, and individual differences in attention skills may shape how infants perceive and respond to their socio-emotional environments. This study examined whether the temperamental dimensions of self-regulation and negative emotionality relate to infants' attention…

Background: The differential susceptibility (DS) model suggests that temperamentally prone-to-distress infants may exhibit adverse outcomes in negative environments but optimal outcomes in positive environments. This study explored temperament, parenting, and 36-month cognition and behavior in preterm infants using the DS model. We hypothesized…

Early childhood professionals know that good fathering has a profound impact on children. Research confirms that when fathers are involved in the lives of their children, positive outcomes can be expected; when fathers are not involved in their children's lives, more negative outcomes can be seen. Fathers can play an integral role as attachment…

Objective: To examine the underlying mechanisms of adults' intended caregiving responses to cry sounds in a behavioral genetic design and to investigate the role of cry pitch and perceived urgency in sensitive and harsh caregiving responses. Methods: The sample consisted of 184 adult twin pairs (18-69 years), including males and females, parents…

Training was found to increase both parents' and infants' competence in the parent-infant dyad. A reciprocal relationship between increases in the trained fathers' interactions and decreases in the trained mothers' interactions was found, indicating that the triad may be the crucial unit for studies of parental competence. (Author/RH)

A way of thinking about the child's stimulus effects is advanced and applied to parent-child interactions observed in home settings. (Author/WY)

Scientists believe that the stimulation that infants and young children receive determines which synapses form in the brain. This book presents 125 games for infants from birth to 12 months and is designed to nurture brain development. The book is organized chronologically in 3-month increments. Each game description includes information from…

This book is a comprehensive month-by-month guide covering parents' questions about the first year with a new baby. It includes an illustrated baby care primer, a first-aid guide, and recipes. It also contains special sections on the older sibling, selecting the right physician, seasonal concerns and traveling with baby, managing childhood…