Children's expressive language in early toddlerhood: links to prior maternal mind-mindedness

This study examines the prospective links between early maternal mind-mindedness, including references to different types of mental states, and child subsequent expressive vocabulary. Eighty-four mother–infant dyads took part in two assessments. At one year of age, maternal mind-mindedness was assessed during mother–child free play in the home, and at two years, mothers completed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory to evaluate children's expressive vocabulary. Maternal mind-mindedness was related to children's expressive language, above and beyond family socio-economic status. Specifically, only maternal comments on child cognitions were related to children's expressive language. The findings suggest that maternal mind-mindedness is relevant to understanding children's language development while highlighting the importance of considering the exact nature of mind-related comments.     

Child and parent characteristics,parental expectations,and child behaviours related to preschool children's interest in literacy

The current study examined the relations between children's literacy interest and parent and child characteristics (i.e. parents' education level and child's gender), parental expectations of their child's school attainment and achievement and the child's positive and problem behaviours. Participants were 61 preschoolers from predominately low‐income families enrolled in local preschool programmes. Parents completed questionnaires reporting demographic characteristics, parents' expectations and their child's literacy interest. Preschool teachers reported on children's behaviours in the classroom using standard behaviour‐rating scales. Child gender was marginally related to child literacy interest, but parent education was not significantly correlated with interest. Parents' expectation of their child's school achievement was significantly correlated with child literacy interest, but parental expectations about attainment were not. Overall, teachers' reports of children's positive and problem behaviours were correlated with child literacy interest in the expected direction. Interpretation and implications of the findings and future directions for research are discussed.     

Early parenting beliefs and academic achievement: the mediating role of language

Studies have demonstrated the association between parenting style and children's academic achievement, but the specific mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. The development of skills that lay the foundation for academic success might be found in early parent–child interactions that foster language competence. Early negative parenting beliefs, characterised by a lack of reciprocal parent–child interactions may put a child's developing language at risk, which then compromises a child's subsequent academic success. The present study investigated this idea by using longitudinal data and structural equation modelling on a sample of 1364 children at 1 month and 36 months and in kindergarten and grade 1 (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development study of Early Child Care and Youth Development). Authoritarian beliefs were measured at 1 month and in grade 1. Language competence was measured at 36 months and in kindergarten, and academic achievement in kindergarten and grade 1. We found that children's language functioning at 36 months fully mediates the association between early negative parenting beliefs and children's subsequent academic achievement.     

Stress, cortisol and well-being of caregivers and children in home-based child care: a case for differential susceptibility

Background We examined whether children cared for by stressed caregivers show lower socio‐emotional well‐being and more stress, compared with children cared for by less stressed caregivers. Methods Perceived stress and cortisol levels of professional caregivers (n= 44), and associations with children's (n= 44) well‐being and cortisol levels in home‐based child care were examined. Results Caregiver perceived stress and cortisol levels were related to children's well‐being but not to children's cortisol levels. Children's social fearfulness acted as a moderator between caregivers' mean ratio of diurnal change in cortisol and children's well‐being. When caregiver cortisol levels decreased, more fearful children were reported higher on well‐being than less fearful peers. In contrast, when caregiver cortisol levels increased, more fearful children were reported lower on well‐being. Conclusions The findings point to differential susceptibility. Child care organizations and parents need to notice that a non‐stressful child care environment is in particular important for children with a difficult temperament.     

Emotion framing: does it relate to children's emotion knowledge and social behavior?

This study examined the associations between maternal emotion framing and mother–child relationship quality and children's emotional and social competence. Sixty‐one mothers and their preschool children (33 boys) completed dyadic and individual measures. Observations were made of mother–child synchrony and maternal emotion framing. Children's emotion understanding and receptive vocabulary was assessed via individual interviews. Teachers reported on children's social skills. Results show that maternal emotion framing, particularly mildly positive framing, significantly contributes to children's emotion understanding. Children in higher quality relationships with their mothers had better emotion understanding. Therefore, support was found for the roles of relationship quality and maternal emotion framing in children's emotional competence. Unexpectedly, fewer significant associations were found between maternal emotion framing, synchrony and children's social competence. The implications of examining emotion framing and relationship quality as correlates of children's emotional and social competence are discussed.     

Gender,play, language,and creativity in preschoolers

This study explored the effects of a child's gender and school setting on preschoolers' language abilities (receptive vocabulary), creativity, and social play. The participants were primarily European-American children who spoke English as a primary language (nine children were bilingual), and were from middle income socioeconomic backgrounds. There were 20 girls and 33 boys. Ages ranged from 3.11 to 6.60 years with a mean age of 4.66 years. On separate occasions, children individually completed the Goodenough-Harris Draw-a-Person Test and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IV. We also recorded the children's social play using Howes and Matheson's [1992. Sequences in the development of competent play with peers: Social and social pretend play. Developmental Psychology, 28, 961–974] scale. We employed a time sampling approach and also notated the area in which the child was playing. We found that gender and school setting influenced children's language abilities and social play. For example, children in the preschool that engaged in pretend play with greater frequency performed well on the receptive vocabulary test. We also found that certain classroom areas generated different types of social play. We discuss the applied value of our findings as these relate to future research.     

THE DYNAMICS OF INCOME‐RELATED HEALTH INEQUALITY AMONG AMERICAN CHILDREN

We estimate and decompose income‐related inequality in child health in the USA and analyze its dynamics using the recently introduced health mobility index. Data come from the 1997, 2002, and 2007 waves of the Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The findings show that income‐related child health inequality remains stable as children grow up and enter adolescence. The main factor underlying income‐related child health inequality is income itself, although other factors, such as maternal education, also play a role. Decomposition of income‐related health mobility indicates that health changes over time are more favorable to children with lower initial family incomes versus children with higher initial family incomes. However, offsetting this effect, our findings also suggest that changes in income ranking over time are positively related to children's subsequent health status. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Maternal mental health and childrearing context in the development of children at 6, 18 and 36 months: a Taiwan birth cohort pilot study

Background This study investigated a possible pathway of the childrearing context and maternal mental health at 6 months, and how these factors influence children's development at 6, 18 and 36 months. Methods Using random sampling, 2048 children and mothers were selected. The mother's health status was evaluated using the Taiwanese version of the 36‐Item Short Form Health Survey (SF‐36), and infant development was assessed using the high reliable Taiwan birth cohort study instrument. All data were collected using parental self‐report, and were analysed using multiple linear regression analysis and further pathway using structural equation modelling. Results This study showed that 12 factors effected children's development at 6 months, and some dissipated with growth. Of these, maternal education had an enduring effect on different domains of child development, and this effect intensified as the child grew older. Children who grew up in a family with more siblings would show a delay in language development at 6 months; they have a delay in motor and social development at 18 and 36 months. Additionally, maternal mental health effected the children's fine motor development at 6 months. However, this effect disappeared at 18 months, and influenced children's social development at 36 months. Conclusions This study demonstrated that the development of children at as young as 6 months is affected by various factors. These factors may dissipate, continue to influence child development up to 3 years of age, turn from being disadvantageous to beneficial, or affect different domains of child development. Also, parental self‐report instrument might be has its limitation and could be contributed by several confounding factors. Thus, continuous longitudinal follow‐up on changes in maternal conditions, family factors, and environmental factors is vital to understand how these early infantile factors affect each other and influence the developmental trajectories of children into early childhood.     

Coping Behaviors,Parenting, and Perceptions of Children's Internalizing and Externalizing Problems in Rural African American Mothers

Abstract: We tested a hypothetical model linking maternal education and maternal coping behavior with parent‐child relationship quality, and in turn, children's self‐regulatory behavior and mental health difficulties. Consistent with predictions, mothers’ use of active coping behaviors predicted more positive parent‐child relationship quality, greater child self‐regulatory behavior, and fewer perceived behavioral and emotional difficulties in children. Implications of these findings for intervention with rural African American mothers are discussed.     

The relationship between creativity,social play,and children's language abilities

In this study, we explore the interconnectedness between children's creativity, social play, and language abilities. The participants were 225 (109 girls, 116 boys) preschool children, from diverse European American, African American, and Hispanic ethnic heritages. We assessed the children in three ways. First, each child completed the Goodenough Harris Draw a Person task as a measure of creativity. Second, we recorded observations of children's social play using time sampling techniques and Howes and Matheson's Peer Play Scale. Finally, performance on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-IV) served as a measure of receptive vocabulary. Correlation analyses revealed a clear relationship between certain types of social play and creativity. For example, higher incidences of solitary, onlooker, and parallel aware play appeared to connect to lower creativity scores. In addition, children's receptive or hearing vocabulary related to specific types of social play, that is, higher instances of parallel play led to lower receptive language scores. In addition, setting shaped language abilities. For example, in one setting, complex relates to increased vocabulary abilities. In contrast, in another setting, simple social and parallel play relates to lower language scores. These findings suggest a positive relationship between children's language abilities, creativity, and play. Such studies help inform classroom curriculum and practice.     

Attachment insecurity predicts child active resistance to parental requests in a compliance task

Aim We studied the effects of early mother–child relationship quality and child temperament on the development of child compliance and active resistance in a large population‐based cohort study (n= 534). Background Parenting and the quality of the parent–child relationship can either hamper or support the development of child compliance directly or in interplay with child temperament. Methods Mother–infant dyads were observed at 14 and 36 months and maternal and child behaviours were independently coded. The quality of compliance was assessed at 36 months in a clean‐up task. Child behaviour was coded using a system differentiating between two dimensions: Compliance and Active Resistance. Results Controlling for concurrent maternal sensitivity, child temperament, and gender children with a more insecure attachment relationship showed higher levels of active resistance during Clean‐Up than more securely attached children. The effect was stronger for boys than for girls and mainly driven by attachment avoidance. Conclusions Early attachment is an important contributor to child socialization of moral behaviour.     

Acceptance of a Novel Food is Related to Caregiver Perceptions of Infant and Toddler Food-related Receptive Language

ObjectiveLanguage development, both what is understood (receptive language) and spoken (expressive language), is considered critical to a child's ability to understand and interact with their environment. However, little research has investigated the role children's early language skills might play in their food acceptance. The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between young children's food-related receptive language (FRL) and food-related expressive language (FEL) and acceptance of novel food.MethodsCaregivers (n = 54) reported their perceptions of children's (aged 7–24 months) FRL and FEL using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. Novel food acceptance was observed (grams consumed) during a laboratory visit. Multivariable linear regression tested associations between FRL, FEL, and novel food acceptance, by child age (infants [aged from 7 to < 12 months], toddlers [aged 12–24 months]), and at a significance level of P < 0.1 for hypothesis-generating research.ResultsChildren's FRL and food acceptance differed by age (F = 8.08, P = 0.01). Among toddlers, greater FRL was associated with greater novel food acceptance (0.22 g [95% confidence interval, ?0.04 to 0.49]), P = 0.09). In infants, greater FRL was associated with lower novel food acceptance (?0.80 g [95% confidence interval, ?1.53 to ?0.07], P = 0.03). No association between FEL and novel food acceptance was noted in either group.Conclusions and ImplicationsToddlers’ understanding of food-related vocabulary may facilitate food acceptance; however, young infants may not yet have sufficient FRL to facilitate novel food acceptance.     

Predictors of parents seeking help or advice about children's communication development in the early years

Background Children's access to services for communication disorders is often determined by parental decisions to seek help or advice. The factors that predict whether parents seek help/advice about their child's communication development were explored in this study. Methods Parents of children in a large, community cohort of children (the Early Language in Victoria Study) were asked whether they had sought help or advice about speech and language development at 1, 2, 3 and 4 years. Child, family and environmental variables, as well as parental concern and children's communication status, were used to predict help/advice seeking. The communication abilities of those in the help‐seeking group were also evaluated. Results Gender, age, children's communication status and parental concern were consistent predictors of help/advice seeking. Significant over and under‐identification was evident, and there was preliminary evidence that children with overt communication difficulties (such as unintelligible speech) were more likely to receive help. Conclusions Parental support and education, as well as education of professionals who regularly have contact with young children, is necessary to support appropriate early identification of communication problems. Further research into service level factors such as availability and accessibility which may support or inhibit help/advice seeking is also indicated.     

Predictors of Maternal Responses to Child Abdominal Pain

This study examined predictors of maternal responses to children's abdominal pain symptoms. Mothers (N = 450) provided data on psychological distress (self and child), responses to their children's symptoms, and perceived symptom severity. Several demographic factors predicted protectiveness and/or symptom monitoring: younger or male child, maternal non-Caucasian race or less education, and no father in the home. Psychosocial predictors included maternal somatization (related to greater monitoring and less minimization) and child distress (related to greater minimization). A child gender × condition severity interaction indicated greater protection of boys based on perceived severity, but no such discrimination for girls.     

The Role of Maternal Beliefs in Predicting Home Learning Activities in Head Start Families*

A conceptual model specifying that maternal beliefs (maternal self‐efficacy, perceived control) mediate the relation between child–family characteristics (child's difficult temperament, mother's education, stressful life events) and the extent of involvement in home learning activities in Head Start families was tested. The sample was 306 mothers (51% Mexican American, 36% Anglo American, 13% other minorities). Results provided partial support for the model (i.e., parental self‐efficacy mediated the effects of the child's difficult temperament on mothers' reports of family involvement in home learning activities). Maternal education and family stress were not directly related to home learning, although family stress influenced home learning indirectly through parental self‐efficacy. Separate analyses yielded comparable results for Anglo Americans and Mexican Americans. Ways to facilitate parent self‐efficacy are discussed.     

Contributions of the home literacy environment to preschool‐aged children’s emerging literacy and language skills

This paper reports on a study that examined both the concurrent and logitudinal connections between multiple components of the home environment and indicators of preschool‐aged children’s literacy and language development. Data were collected from 85 parents and their children at two different times. Results of structural path models indicated that (a) parental literacy habits were positively associated with parental reading beliefs, (b) parental reading beliefs were positively associated with parent–child literacy and language activities in the home, and (c) parent–child literacy and language activities were positively associated with children’s print knowledge and reading interest. Parental demographic characteristics were associated with children’s expressive and receptive language skills. The results highlight how different components of the home literacy environment are associated with different components of preschool‐aged children’s literacy and language abilities, findings that become more important as educators and policy‐makers look for ways to enhance children’s literacy and language development.     

Mothers of young children with disabilities: perceived benefits and worries about preschool

A child's move from early intervention (EI) to special education preschool is considered to be a critical transition point for both the child and family. Family concerns during this process are heightened by changes in service delivery systems. Although much has been written about the transition from EI services, little is known about the parents' perceptions of the early preschool experience. Data from a sample of 105 mothers and their children from the Early Intervention Collaborative Study [Hauser-Cram, P., Warfield, M.E., Shonkoff, J.P., & Krauss, M.W. (2001). Children with disabilities: A longitudinal study of child development and parent well-being. Society for Research in Child Development Monographs, 66, 1–131] were used to analyse mothers' reports on a study-developed measure designed to capture their views of children's preschool experiences immediately following transition. Factor analysis indicated two distinct factors, ‘benefits of school’ and ‘worries about school.’ Each of these factors was then regressed on child, family, and preschool classroom characteristics to examine predictors of maternal perceptions about her child's new preschool experience. Implications for the receiving special education programmes and preschool teachers' practices are discussed.     

Coparenting Quality: Contributions of Child and Parent Characteristics

Child gender, age, and temperament; parents' personality and education; and coparenting quality in the parents' families of origin were used to predict the quality of coparenting during family interactions (father, mother, and preschool child). Forty Midwestern, predominantly White families participated in the study. Families with college‐educated mothers had high levels of supportive coparenting during family interactions regardless of the quality of coparenting in the mother's family of origin. In contrast, in families with high school–educated mothers, the more supportive the coparenting relationship in the mother's family of origin had been, the more supportive the couple was during the current family interaction. Couples with less educated and adjusted mothers were likely to be unsupportive during the family interaction.     

Threats to Maternal and Child Well-Being in Rural Communities in Ngamiland,Botswana

The authors’ main objective of the study was to explore threats to maternal and child well-being in two nonriparian and two riparian communities in the east and west of the Okavango River Basin in Ngamiland District, Botswana. Primary data were collected from a simple random sample of 60 households. Data on women's access to human, financial, physical and institutional capital, productive assets and livelihood activities, household food resources, and social services (education, health, water, sanitation) were collected. Children's nutritional status was also evaluated. Our observations reveal that caregiving is gender biased toward women whose well-being is undermined by their limited access to resources. Further, women's poor access to basic household resources undermines gains made through clinic-based maternal and child welfare nutrition programs. In addition, a significant proportion of children's caregivers have access to low-tier primary health care provision in the study area, but inadequate physical infrastructural development limits their access to specialized care, particularly emergency obstetric services. Childhood malnutrition is also a concern in the study area, and it mostly affects children whose caregivers have limited access to resources. The authors conclude that improving maternal and child access to education and health services remains a challenge in the district. The authors recommend interventions that prioritize sensitive aspects of child well-being, early childhood education, and development.     

Environmental Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity in Taiwanese Children

Background: We explored the relationship among sociodemographic, behavioural, household environmental and perinatal factors, and risks of childhood overweight and obesity in Taiwan. Methods: A total of 7930 children aged 9 to 14 years were recruited from 14 randomly selected Taiwanese communities in 2007 and 2010. Height and weight were measured using standard protocols during school visits. Questionnaires that contained children's family information, birth conditions, exercise habits and household environmental factors were answered by the parents. Associations between risk factors and childhood overweight and obesity were estimated through odds ratio and 95% confidence interval from mixed models. Results: In this cohort, 32.3% of the children were overweight and 17.5% were obese. Male gender, high birthweight, exposure to in utero maternal smoking and current exposure to household environmental tobacco smoke (stronger effect of maternal than paternal smoking) were positively associated with childhood overweight/obesity. In contrast, higher parental education level, number of siblings, active exercise habits and taking vitamins were associated with reduced risks of childhood obesity. Birthweight revealed a J‐shaped relationship with the probability of childhood overweight/obesity. Conclusions: This study uncovers several modifiable risk factors for childhood overweight and obesity, and parents are encouraged to provide an anti‐obesity environment such as quitting smoking, controlling birthweight of child during pregnancy and building up exercise habits.