Troubled sleep: Night waking,breastfeeding and parent–offspring conflict

Disrupted sleep is probably the most common complaint of parents with a new baby. Night waking increases in the second half of the first year of infant life and is more pronounced for breastfed infants. Sleep-related phenotypes of infants with Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes suggest that imprinted genes of paternal origin promote greater wakefulness whereas imprinted genes of maternal origin favor more consolidated sleep. All these observations are consistent with a hypothesis that waking at night to suckle is an adaptation of infants to extend their mothers’ lactational amenorrhea, thus delaying the birth of a younger sib and enhancing infant survival.     

Changing patterns of parent–teacher communication and parent involvement from preschool to school

This study investigated the nature of parent involvement and parent–educator communication in prior-to-school early childhood settings and school, to explore relations to social capital variables and consistencies and changes in practices over time. Parent interview and teacher questionnaire data from two waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children were analysed. Results indicated that parental involvement and communication decreased as children moved from prior-to-school settings to school. Educators in both settings reported using similar strategies to promote parent involvement and communication, but there were setting differences for parents' ratings of communication effectiveness. Using regression analyses, family socio-economic position (SEP), home language (English versus other), Indigenous status and home educational activities were examined as predictors of parent involvement and communication strategies, and effectiveness. Results showed that parents who were more engaged in education activities at home were more involved in their child's early childhood and school settings, had more frequent communication with educators and rated educator communication effectiveness more highly. SEP and home language were less consistent predictors, and Indigenous status was not associated with any of the measures.     

Applying Intervention Mapping to develop an early childhood educators’ intervention promoting parent–child relationships

Supporting parent–child relationships is vital for children’s social and emotional development, future health and well-being. As children now spend significant amounts of time attending early childhood education and care settings, it is opportune that interventions be designed for educators to promote and nurture parent–child relationships. The aim of the current paper was to describe the systematic development of the Educator–Parent–Child Relationship (E-PCR) programme using six steps of the Intervention Mapping protocol. The results of a needs assessment lead to development of the Building Educator Knowledge (BEK) framework, logic model and matrices for programme, performance and change objectives. Theory-based methods and practical strategies were identified to develop intervention materials at three socio-ecological levels: (i) individual, (ii) interpersonal and (iii) organizational. Future evaluations will assess the implementation and effectiveness of the E–PCR programme.