Certain social context features (e.g., maternal presence) are known to increase young children's exploration, a key process by which they learn. Yet limited research investigates the role of social context, especially peer presence, in exploration across development. We investigate whether the effect of peer presence on exploration is mediated by…

Studies on the relationship between bookreading and language development typically lack data about which books are actually read to children. This paper reports on an Internet survey designed to address this data gap. The resulting dataset (the Infant Bookreading Database or IBDb) includes responses from 1,107 caregivers of children aged 0-36…

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…

Parents of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are more likely to experience high parental stress compared to other parents, and social support has been identified in previous research as an effective buffer against stress. However, limited research has evaluated the associations between different types of social support and stress…

Early childhood programs with infants and toddlers are bustling and alive in ways different from programs that have only preschoolers. Infants and toddlers can make group care environments more caring and family focused spaces, nurturing the well-being of all adults and children participating in the program. The number of infants and toddlers who…

This article examines cultural influences on child temperament, including how broadly shared cultural values influence parents' socialization goals for their children. Nearly 40% of children in the United States are being raised in families that may espouse somewhat different socialization goals and may value different "ideal" traits…

The Research-to-Policy Connections series summarizes current research on key topics in child care and early education and discusses implications for policymakers. An examination of employed parents' child care arrangements for their infants and toddlers while working, at school, or otherwise unavailable to provide parental child care, and…