This paper presents causal evidence on the impact of parenting practices on early child development. We exploit exogenous changes in nurturing care induced by a parent training intervention to estimate the impact of nurturing parenting practices on child outcomes. We find a large and significant impact measured at age two; in contrast, at age four…

The importance of supporting parent-child interactions has been noted in the context of prodromal autism, but little consideration has been given to the possible contributing role of parental characteristics, such as psychological distress. This cross-sectional study tested models in which parent-child interaction variables mediated relations…

The South Carolina laws that mandate regular school attendance place the responsibility on parents to ensure compliance. South Carolina still uses punitive measures to address chronic absenteeism, meaning schools can refer students to law enforcement to face criminal truancy charges and jail time. Their parent(s) can also face criminal…

Sleeping difficulties among adolescents constitute a pressing public health issue, and it is of the utmost importance that these are approached from a health-promotion perspective. This study explores adolescents' suggestions on how their sleep could be supported. Data were collected via eight focus group interviews with 43 adolescents aged 15-16,…

Music has been shown to improve social interaction and attention to verbal stimuli in autism. We report a feasibility randomised controlled trial of an online intervention using music-assisted programmes, compared with best-practice treatment (Social Communication Intervention for Pre-schoolers-Intensive) for language learning in preschool…

Parental involvement with children is crucial for children's school readiness. The inequality in Early Childhood Education (ECE) results in an intellectual divide among children aged 3-5 in Bangladesh. Additionally, cognitive and non-cognitive development significantly contributes to school readiness. This case study research gathered information…

In this study, the concept of social media parenting (SMP) was defined and a scale was developed to measure parents' perceptions of SMP. Although SMP is referred to as "sharenting" in the literature, given that it has a much broader definition, an attempt was made to define it as a new concept that includes the concept of sharenting. The…

Children learn words in a social environment. In my dissertation, I examine how caregivers' social cues facilitate young children's word learning in settings that mirror their typical, dynamic learning environments. In Chapter 1, I overview prior work examining how social cues may support word learning, focusing on possible mechanisms underlying…

Learner variability presents an enormous challenge for teachers and schools. Even as early as kindergarten, incredible learner diversity exists in terms of children's early learning experiences, especially in mathematics. Research has shown that this variability begins in the home environment, where parents and caregivers have the biggest impact…

Purpose: Caregivers share critical insight during their child's stuttering evaluation; yet, there have been no empirical studies evaluating whether caregivers provide similar accounts of their 3- to 6-year-old child's communication attitude compared to their child's self-report. This study examined caregiver- and child-reported communication…

Emphasis on continuous infant sleep overnight may be driven by parental concern of risk to child mental health outcomes. The Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional Wellbeing Study (MPEWS) examined whether infant sleep at 6 and 12 months postpartum predicts anxiety disorders at 2-4 years, and whether this is moderated by maternal depression, active physical…

This study has been conducted to examine the relationship levels of fathers who have 6- to 12-month-old babies with their fathers, and their attachment status with their babies. The sample group consisted of 313 fathers. Fatherhood Scale and Father-Infant Attachment Scale have been applied to the fathers who participated in our study,…

This study was carried out to determine the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on maternal adaptation and newborn perception in postpartum primiparous mothers. The research was designed as descriptive and cross-sectional. A total of 378 mothers who were in postpartum 6-8 weeks were reached. Of the 378 mothers participating in the…

We compared speech acts and complexity of maternal speech to firstborn dizygotic twin and singleton infants. Nine twins and nine singletons were video-recorded at home in spontaneous face-to-face interactions with their mothers, from the 2nd to the 6th month. Continuous micro-analysis revealed that (a) open-ended questions, direct requests,…

Mothers of children with an intellectual disability often experience challenges that affect their mental health and the relationship with their children. The present study assesses the correlation between the mental health and relationship patterns of mothers of children with an intellectual disability. In this descriptive-correlational study, the…