Fathering With Multiple Partners: Links to Children's Well‐Being in Early Childhood

The claim that multiple partner fertility may pose a risk of adverse outcomes for children has not been tested. We test this argument using a sample of 4,027 resident fathers and children from the Fragile Families and Child Well‐being Survey by examining the pathways through which fathers' multipartnered fertility is associated with children's externalizing behaviors and physical health status at 36 months. Path analyses indicate that multiple partner fertility exerted both a significant direct and indirect effect through paternal depression to influence children's externalizing behaviors. Fathers' multiple partner fertility also exerted a significant indirect effect through one mediator—father involvement—to influence children's physical health. This evidence suggests that the disruptions brought about by multipartnered fertility are important for understanding child well‐being.     

Proposing a model for promoting Children's Health in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings

This pilot study was conducted in one early childhood pre-school nursery setting in an area of high deprivation in England to explore the under-researched area of how practitioners promote the health of children. The research used an original tool, Child Health Promotion: A Toolkit for Early Childhood Education and Care Practitioners, containing a 5 Step Programme as a model to guide practitioners in identifying and implementing a health promotion activity. The findings will help to set the onward agenda for a larger scale study which will foreground the voices of practitioners and highlight the role that ECEC practitioners can play in promoting the health of children.     

A Children's Standpoint: Needs in Out‐of‐Home Care

This article discusses research reported in ‘The Needs of Children in Care’ ( Mason and Gibson, 2004 ) in which children participated in defining their needs in out‐of‐home care. In this study a central research presumption was that children are knowledgeable about their own needs. The methods used to facilitate the involvement in the project of children and adult stakeholders in out‐of‐home care are described. Also described are findings from the research which identified that of prime importance to the children were their connections with others and their agency in their own lives. These findings are compared with findings from the narratives of the adult stakeholder groups. Finally, the implications of the findings, for improving children's participation in decision‐making around their needs in care are considered in the context of broad adult–child social relations in the care system.     

Do We Have Tb Do This? The Children Act 1989 and Obtaining Children's Views in Early Childhood Settings

How do professionals working with young children seek not only to listen to them, but to identify what the children are really saying and to assess their opinion on matters of importance to them? This paper seeks to help people working in early years settings, looking at the evidence from research and day-to-day practice - both organisational and direct contact. Though the orientation is towards educators, other professionals will see common issues for their communication with young children.     

Implementing a Point‐Based Rewards System as an Educational Tool in Children's Home: From Standardisation to Coconstruction and Negotiation

From a wider educational ethnography, we analysed the implementation of a point‐based reward system as an educational tool in a Spanish children's home. This is examined within a policy and ideological framework strongly influenced by Evidence‐Based Practice, Standardization and New Public Management. The findings show, first, how this system relied on a balance between greater use of standard tools and the experience of the managers; second, how, in practice, basic procedures regarding the system's rigour and objectivity were altered; and third, how the ratings given to evaluate children were very often coconstructed and influenced by broader individual, social and institutional processes.     

From Childhood to Adulthood: A 15‐Year Longitudinal Career Development Study

In 1987, 208 second graders were interviewed about their occupational aspirations and expectations, school likes and dislikes, educational plans, and other variables. They were reinterviewed every 2 years through senior year in high school. A 5‐year post‐high school follow‐up was conducted, and 35 young adults (23 years old) from the original sample completed a detailed questionnaire. Young adults reported significantly less career direction and preparation in high school than they did as seniors in high school. Comparisons between 3 generations within the same families were conducted on educational and occupational achievement. The importance of teachers and parents in children's career development is discussed.     

Space‐oriented Children's Policy: Creating Child‐friendly Communities to Improve Children's Well‐being1

This paper reviews different perspectives of the changing nature of childhood, comparing these to state responses that seek to improve children's well‐being. Unlike previous generations of children, children today spend much of their time under cover and under the watchful eyes of adults. It is likely that this change has had a negative impact on children's well‐being. The paper explores possible styles of state intervention, arguing that a broader approach is needed in the UK than is currently being considered.     

Family Relationships From Adolescence to Early Adulthood: Changes in the Family System Following Firstborns' Leaving Home

This study charted the course of parent–child and sibling relationships from early adolescence to early adulthood and examined how these relationships changed following firstborns' departure from their parents' home for the first time. Data were drawn from a 10‐year longitudinal study of family relationships. Participants included mothers, fathers, and first‐ and secondborn children from 184 White, working and middle class families. Multilevel models revealed declines in parent–child conflict, acceptance, and sibling negativity and increases or U‐shaped patterns in sibling and parent–child intimacy over time. Birth Order × Leaving Home interactions revealed that firstborns' leaving home related to changes in family relationship qualities for both first‐ and secondborns, with relationships improving for firstborns and no changes or declines in relationship quality for secondborns. Overall, the results highlight the inter‐relatedness of family subsystems.     

Family Structure States and Transitions: Associations With Children's Well‐Being During Middle Childhood

Using longitudinal data from the Maternal and Child Supplement of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 3,862) and Hierarchical Linear Models, we estimated associations of family structure states and transitions with children's achievement and behavior trajectories during middle childhood. Results suggest that residing in a single‐mother family was associated with small increases in behavior problems and decreases in achievement and that residing in a social‐father family was associated with small increases in behavior problems. Family structure transitions, in general, were associated with increases in behavior problems and marginally associated with decreases in achievement. Transitioning to a single‐mother family was associated with increases in behavior problems, whereas transitioning to a social‐father family was associated with decreases in reading achievement.     

Early Childhood Maltreatment and Pubertal Development: Replication in a Population‐Based Sample

Early experiences are critically important for female reproductive development. Although a number of early childhood hardships predict earlier physical development in girls, research on specific populations suggests a distinct effect of childhood sexual abuse compared to other adversities. This study leverages the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 6,273 girls) to test the generalizability of these findings, examining associations of early physical abuse, sexual abuse, and physical neglect with pubertal timing. Child sexual abuse predicted earlier menarche and development of secondary sexual characteristics, whereas other types of maltreatment did not. In addition to replicating results from smaller, more specialized samples, these findings reinforce the value of considering puberty within a broader “life span” continuum of birth to adolescence.     

Early Childhood Development Plus Violence Prevention in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: A Qualitative Study

Violence exposure can negatively impact early childhood development (ECD), yet limited research exists in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to determine what effective integration of ECD plus violence prevention (ECD+VP) can look like in LMICs. Seventeen key informants were selected using purposive sampling, representing U.N. agencies, donors, implementers and research organisations. Using open coding of semi‐structured interviews, the authors identify five priority areas for promoting an integrated ECD+VP agenda: (i) parenting and parent child relationships, (ii) family systems, (iii) development in an ecological context, (iv) system strengthening and integration, and (v) building and translating evidence.     

Childhood in Children's Eyes: Analysis of a Discourse among Middle‐Income Sectors in Santiago,Chile

This article describes the results of a qualitative study, based on the perspective of critical discourse analysis, which explores the discourse on childhood of 10‐ and 11‐year‐old boys and girls from a middle‐income socioeconomic sector in Santiago, Chile. Among the findings, a complex and relational notion of childhood is highlighted. The children perceive themselves as overwhelmed and subjected to excessive demands by grown‐ups, and conceive of adulthood as a state without real freedom due to the excessive demands of work and family.     

Prosodic Structure in Early Word Segmentation: ERP Evidence From Dutch Ten‐Month‐Olds

Recognizing word boundaries in continuous speech requires detailed knowledge of the native language. In the first year of life, infants acquire considerable word segmentation abilities. Infants at this early stage in word segmentation rely to a large extent on the metrical pattern of their native language, at least in stress‐based languages. In Dutch and English (both languages with a preferred trochaic stress pattern), segmentation of strong‐weak words develops rapidly between 7 and 10 months of age. Nevertheless, trochaic languages contain not only strong–weak words but also words with a weak‐strong stress pattern. In this article, we present electrophysiological evidence of the beginnings of weak‐strong word segmentation in Dutch 10‐month‐olds. At this age, the ability to combine different cues for efficient word segmentation does not yet seem to be completely developed. We provide evidence that Dutch infants still largely rely on strong syllables, even for the segmentation of weak–strong words.     

Children's Perceptions of Choice in Relation to their Play at Home,in the School Playground and at The Out‐of‐School Club

Choice is often presented as a defining feature of play and it has been argued that a perception of choice contributes to the developmental potential of play. This paper investigates children's self‐recorded levels of choice during play across three contexts—the home, the school playground and the out‐of‐school club. Children recorded their play activities across contexts using a structured diary technique. Findings based on 401 reported play episodes indicated that choice varied across contexts, according to the number of children involved and whether or not an adult was present. The findings are discussed in relation to theory, policy and professional practice.     

Challenges to Aging in Place: Understanding Home Maintenance Difficulties

Age-related declines in capabilities may compromise older adults' ability to maintain their homes thus threatening successful aging in place. Structured interviews were conducted with forty-four independently living older adults (M(age) = 76.1, SD = 4.7) to discuss difficult home maintenance tasks and how they managed those tasks. Solutions to managing difficulties were categorized as person-related or environment-related. The majority (85%) of responses were person-related solutions. An understanding of the specific challenges that older adults face in maintaining their homes can guide redesign efforts and interventions to effectively support older adults' desire to age in place.     

Challenges to Aging in Place: Understanding Home Maintenance Difficulties

Age-related declines in capabilities may compromise older adults’ ability to maintain their homes, threatening successful aging in place. Structured interviews were conducted with 44 independently living older adults (mean age = 76.1, standard deviation = 4.7) to discuss difficult home maintenance tasks and how they managed those tasks. Solutions to managing difficulties were categorized as person-related or environment-related. The majority (85%) of responses were person-related solutions. An understanding of the specific challenges that older adults face in maintaining their homes can guide redesign efforts and interventions to effectively support older adults’ desire to age in place.     

A Global‐to‐Basic Trend in Early Categorization: Evidence From a Dual‐Category Habituation Task

A series of 3 experiments are reviewed in which infants between 4 and 10 months of age were familiarized with members of 2 basic‐level object categories. The degree of distinctiveness between categories was varied. Preference tests were intended to determine whether infants formed a single category representation (at a more global level) or 2 basic‐level representations. Across 3 experiments, 10‐month‐old infants appeared to have formed multiple basic‐level categories, whereas younger infants tended to form broader, more inclusive representations. The tendency to form multiple categories was influenced to some extent by category distinctiveness. Whereas 10‐month‐olds formed separate categories for all contrasts, 7‐month‐olds did so only when the 2 familiarized categories were from separate global domains. A perceptual account of the global‐to‐basic shift in early categorization is offered. Task dependencies in early categorization are also discussed.