Objective: Child sleep problems are commonly reported by parents of children aged 6--18 years, with a growing body of evidence describing the link between children's screen time and parental perceived child sleep problems. Using cross-sectional data, representative of the Victorian population, this study explored whether the relationship between…

This study aimed to determine whether there is a correlation between maternal conversational participation and the unconventional language of autistic children, and whether the relative vocabulary diversity between mother and child would affect the relationship between them. Participants were 39 autistic Mandarin-speaking children, aged 3-6 years,…

Physical distancing and lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on families' lives, especially those from socioeconomically vulnerable backgrounds. In this context, fast-paced digitalization occurred in significant areas of everyday life, including school education, entertainment, socialization, and work. The literature…

The first years of life are critical for language development. Numerous studies indicate that actively participating in music creates a neural processing advantage in brain regions that support language development. Nevertheless, shared social characteristics between music and language may also play a role in explaining the benefits of music…

Background: The associations between the characteristics of the home literacy environment (HLE) and children's language and literacy skills have been established in first languages. This study investigated the longitudinal interplay between the father-child and mother-child HLE and children's English language skills as L2. Methods: In this study,…

Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) predicts that people adjust their language to match that of the other to promote comprehension, coordinate action, and facilitate harmonious relationships. CAT predicts that mothers will adjust their sentence length and complexity to match those of children. Prior tests of CAT confounded trait-like language…

This paper draws upon evidence captured from a parent consultation exercise conducted by Helen Dunn (author) and Paula Keenan on behalf of Children in Northern Ireland (CiNI) for the Department of Health as part of the Review of Children's Social Care led by Professor Ray Jones during 2022-23. CiNI is the regional umbrella organisation for the…

This study analysed the total words and emotion words, narrative styles, and narrative content of low-income parent-child conversations about past emotions in Taiwan. We recruited 38 low-income parents and their children (20 boys and 18 girls); the parents were recorded in their homes as they discussed past events with their children. The average…

Unwanted pursuit behaviours (UPBs) are behaviours that are often intended to initiate a relationship or restore romantic relationships following a break-up. Research shows relatively high prevalence rates of UPBs in college students. In the current study, we tested a conceptual mediation model, where perceived parental warmth would be indirectly…

Maternal substance use and unpredictable maternal sensory signals may affect child development, but no studies have examined them together. We explored the unpredictability, frequency and duration of maternal sensory signals in 52 Caucasian mother-child dyads, 27 with and 25 without maternal substance use. We also examined the association between…

Background: Parent-mediated intervention (PMI) is a potentially scalable approach for tailored interventions in neurogenetic conditions like Down syndrome (DS). Because PMIs require ongoing parent engagement, they must be developed in alignment with the needs of intended users. The present study examined caregiver opinions and preferences to…

Parenting programs aim to improve parenting quality, which may, in turn, support various aspects of child development, including behavior and mental health. However, parenting interventions show considerable heterogeneity in response patterns across different families, demonstrating that they are not one-size-fits-all programs. This variability…

Developmental research confirms the importance of early parental language input for building children's vocabulary and language skills (Hart & Risley, 1995). While reading with a caregiver is a common way for language input to occur, the approaches parents utilize often fail to capitalize on techniques for improving language and pre-literacy…

This article interlaces the story 'Comfort' by Alice Munro with Hannah Arendt's understanding of education as intergenerational passing on. Its principal aim is not to criticise Arendt or the fictional character of Lewis but to work with them towards a richer and more complex understanding of what can go wrong in education in general and teaching…

Caring for children with different developmental trajectories brings various challenges, which are often exacerbated in low-resource settings. International research has shown that raising a child with autism strongly impacts family caregivers, particularly mothers. There is a dearth of information regarding caregiving for individuals with autism…