We examined how to allocate a subsidy to low-income women that would stabilize children in day care at a Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). The subsidy is to alleviate day care hopping (i.e. when parents move from day care to day care) leaving unpaid tuitions at each place. Day care hopping is really a survival strategy for the working…

This policy brief examines who is taking care of preschoolers of employed mothers in rural America. While most rural families choose home-based child care (such as relatives or informal nonrelated care providers), formal care (such as in day care centers) has positive benefits to a child's development. The brief recommends that programs are needed…

This observational study examined practices through which child care teachers socialize children's emotion. A specific aim was to describe strategies of teacher intervention in response to emotion displayed by children in child care centers, and to answer the question of differential interactions based on children's age and gender. The results of…

Excessive exposure to sunlight during early childhood increases the risk of developing skin cancer. Self-administered questionnaires exploring sun-protection knowledge, practices and policy were mailed to the directors/co-ordinators/senior teachers of all known early childhood services in Queensland, Australia, in 2002 (n = 1383; 56.5% response).…

There is a considerable amount of research documenting the effects of noise on children. The effects are largely negative. Chronic exposure to noise has been shown to be harmful to children of various ages. It can have especially detrimental effects on younger children when language and discrimination skills are forming. Sometimes major noise…

Over half of this nation's children 5 years and under are in nonparental care while their parents work. Research indicates that children benefit from being with well-trained, consistent early care and education staff. Staff retention is crucial because frequent turnover impedes the formation of positive nurturing relationships between caregivers…

Urges child care programs to seek accreditation from NAEYC's National Academy of Early Childhood Programs to increase program quality and provides information on the validation process. Includes information on the validation visit and the validator's role and background. Offers suggestions for preparing the director, staff, children, and families…

Examines questions related to child safety raised by early childhood practitioners in a Reggio Emilia program. Discusses the importance of organizing both materials and time to use the materials in such a way as to promote respect for them. Asserts that children need time to feel involved from the beginning in a project and to develop an attitude…

For increasing numbers of Australian children, childcare is part of their everyday experiences. The marketisation and corporatisation of education have been under discussion for some time, particularly in relation to schooling. There has been comparatively little public scrutiny of how this trend might impact on, and shape Early Childhood…

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services are expected to make an important contribution to the prevention of educational disadvantages stemming from social-ethnic factors. In the present study, three services are central: daycare centers, preschools, and special parent-child programs. Whether or not relations exist between the…

Based on ecological theory, this study examined how four components of children's home and child-care literacy environments, and the connections between these environments, were associated with preschool-age children's literacy and language development. Interview and standardized assessment data were collected from 85 preschool-age children, their…

Considers economic factors in the development of employer child care, noting the expansion of two large child care provision corporations despite slow economic growth and changes for smaller child care providers. Quotes program administrators on trends in employer child care services and provides a list of the 14 largest employer child care…

This study examined strategies teachers reported using to support friendships among young children in inclusive early childhood classrooms. The teachers included 25 general early childhood educators from 9 child care centers and 20 early childhood special educators from 9 specialized programs. The Playmates and Friends Questionnaire for Teachers…

The importance of motor development has been well understood by early childhood educators for many years. Unfortunately, they have received little in the way of guidance from designers or manufacturers of play equipment as to how to provide for safe active play. Things have gotten a lot better since 1991. Advocates for children's play have…

The Research in Practice Series is published four times each year by Early Childhood Australia. The series aims to provide practical, easy to read, up-to-date information and support to a growing national readership of early childhood workers. The books bring together the best information available on wide-ranging topics and are an ideal resource…