Download Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood

Chapter 10
Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood
Learning Objectives
When students have studied the material in this chapter, they will be able to answer the following:
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Introduction
1. What are the major social achievements of early childhood?
2. How are social, emotional, and cognitive development interrelated in the preschool years?
3. What can preschool and day care teachers do to foster healthy social and emotional development
in early childhood?
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Some hallmarks of early childhood social and emotional development
1. How do children's social worlds expand in the preschool years?
2. Explain the increases in self-reliance, self-control, and self-management that occur in early
childhood.
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The developing self
3. Summarize the development of preschoolers' sense of self and explain how cognitive
development is involved in this process.
4. Explain what is involved in children's development of a gender-based self-concept.
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Social development: the world of peers
5. How do children's peer relationships change during the preschool years?
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Emotional development
6. What major emotional developments occur during the preschool years?
7. Explain how preschoolers' cognitive and emotional development are related.
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The role of play in preschool development
8. What function does play serve for preschoolers?
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The parents' role in early childhood development
9. How do parents' roles and tasks change during early childhood?
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The coherence of behavior and development
10. Discuss how coherence in behavior and development increases during early childhood.
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Chapter Summary Outline
Note: Terms in bold print are chapter vocabulary words.
Introduction
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Between the ages of 2½ and 5 years, children experience a dramatically expanding world.
One sees how children in this age group:
1. Begin to develop true peer relationships.
2. Exhibit an increase in self-reliance, self-control, and self-regulation.
3. Begin to explore adult roles.
4. Begin to show more organization and coherence in their behavior.
5. Display a greater capacity to be connected to peers.
Some Hallmarks of Early Childhood Social and Emotional Development
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The Child's Expanding World
1. Through day-care, nursery school, and kindergarten experiences, children come into
contact with peers. Peer relationships formed in these settings play an important role in
children's social and emotional development. Sibling relationships become increasingly
important during this period. All of these new developments influence each other.
Moving toward Greater Self-Reliance
1. Preschool-aged children develop increased initiative (Erikson) and self-efficacy
(Bandura). Greater self-reliance is supported by several capacities of young children:
 Motor skills allow for greater ability to do for the self.

Language and other cognitive abilities enable them to think, plan, and solve problems
in new ways.
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A growing ability to tolerate delays and frustrations.

An emerging capacity for imagination and fantasy play allows for a sense of
power/control and movement toward independence.
2. Some children have difficulty with the move toward greater independence. A history of
secure attachment makes it easier for children to move in this direction. A distinction
must be made between instrumental dependency (need for help from adults when
trying to solve complex problems or perform difficult tasks) and emotional dependency
(an abnormal need for continual reassurance and attention from adults).
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Self-Control and Self-Regulation
1. By the end of the preschool years, children are beginning to show signs of effortful
control and self-regulation. According to Maccoby, compared with younger
preschoolers, older preschoolers are better able to:
 Weigh future consequences when deciding how to act.

Stop and think of possible ways around an obstacle that is blocking a goal.

Control emotions when goal-directed activities are blocked.

Concentrate and focus on what is needed to reach a desired objective.

Perform more than one action at a time.
The Developing Self
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Cognitive advances have a profound effect on the development of a child’s sense of self.
Changes in Self-Understanding
1. By age 3 or 4, children are no longer limited to experiencing the self through direct action.
Instead, they can observe and direct the self in action and can alternate between
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observation and action. Thus, they can pretend and at the same time observe
themselves pretending.
2. There are still some limitations in areas such as simultaneously understanding different
aspects of the self, understanding the selves of others, and self-reflection.
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Self-Constancy and Self-Esteem
1. Self-constancy (a sense that the self endures) develops during the preschool years as a
result of experiences with parents and their rules. Children start to think of themselves as
having dispositions that are consistent across time.
2. Preschoolers also begin to develop positive thoughts and feelings about the self, based
on their own unique experiences. Most think of themselves as good, likeable, kind, and
competent. Such thoughts about the self are referred to as self-representation.
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Gender and the Self
1. Gender is a key aspect of the preschooler's emerging self-concept. It is a central
organizing theme in development. Development of a gender-based self-concept involves:
 The gradual adoption of sex-typed behavior – actions that conform to cultural
expectations about what is appropriate for boys and for girls.

The acquisition of a gender-role concept – a beginning knowledge of the cultural
stereotypes regarding males and females.

Children develop an emotional commitment to one's gender.
2. Changes in Sex-Typed Behavior
 Sex-typed behavior develops gradually. By age 2, children show gender-related
preferences in toys. By age 3 to 4, sex-typed behavior greatly increases, and children
know a great deal about which objects and activities are "masculine" and "feminine"
(categorical thinking).

Parents and peers generally support gender-appropriate play and show disapproval
of gender-inappropriate play during this time. Mothers are often more accepting of
“cross-gender” play.
3. Developing Gender-Role Concepts
 By age 4 to 5, children are acquiring a gender-role concept, consisting mainly of
concrete aspects of gender roles, such as occupations and activities. The male role
is more instrumental and the female role is more expressive. As sex-typed behavior
and knowledge of gender roles increase, so does gender segregation in the
preschool classroom and among friends.
4. Understanding Gender Constancy
 An understanding of gender constancy emerges during the preschool years, though
the exact age at which it appears is subject to debate. An understanding of gender
constancy is related to the concepts of conservation and appearance-reality
problems discussed in Chapter 9; the child grasps that gender remains the same
despite superficial transformations (e.g., changes in hairstyle and dress).

The earliest age at which children show an understanding of gender constancy
depends on how it is assessed.
5. Explaining Sex-Typed Behavior and Gender-Role Development
 Social learning theorists explain these developments partly in terms of the reward
and punishments that children experience for appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

Cognitive theorists see gender-role learning as one example of children’s emerging
understanding of categories, scripts, and schemas.

Gender schema theory combines elements of cognitive and social learning theory.
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
Psychoanalytic theory emphasizes developmental changes in relationships with
parents. Chodorow’s theory emphasizes the notion that boys separate from their
mothers by emphasizing their contrast with her whereas girls stress how they and the
mother are similar (connectedness).
Social Development: The New World of Peers
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Competence with Peers
1. During the preschool period children begin to interact in a sustained, coordinated way.
Successful entry into a peer group and competence with peers are complex matters.
2. The child who possesses social competence engages and responds to peers with
positive feelings, is of interest to peers, is highly regarded by peers, can take the lead as
well as follow, and is able to sustain the give-and-take of peer interaction.
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Early Friendships
1. By about age 4, children have the capacity to maintain friendships through their own
efforts.
2. Children who are friends behave differently with each other than they do with non-friends,
as they have more frequent positive exchanges; they are more cooperative in problemsolving tasks; they disagree with one another more often; and their conflicts are less
heated, result in fairer solutions, and do not lead to separation.
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The Importance of Peer Relationships
1. The peer group is an important setting because it helps children learn about concepts of
fairness, reciprocity, and cooperation; it helps children learn to manage interpersonal
aggression; it helps children learn about cultural norms and values, such as gender roles;
and experiences with peers can greatly affect a child's self-concept and future
interactions.
2. Increased, successful peer interactions can sometimes help children overcome
developmental problems by enhancing social skills and by building confidence.
Emotional Development
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Young Children's Understanding of Emotion
1. Their understanding and use of emotional words expands rapidly, and preschoolers can
understand complex emotional concepts (e.g., jealousy).
2. By the age of 4, children know that emotions are influenced not only by what happens,
but also by what people expect to happen or think happened. Children of this age have
difficulty, however, distinguishing between real and apparent emotion. Between the ages
of 5 to 8 years they become able to integrate situational cues and visible expressions of
emotion to infer how someone feels.
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The Growth of Emotional Regulation
1. During the preschool years, emotional regulation shows significant improvements. It is
the capacity to control and direct emotional expression, to maintain organized behavior in
the face of strong emotions, and to be guided by emotional experiences.
2. Tolerating Frustration
 The ability to tolerate frustration, to avoid becoming so upset that emotions get out of
control, begins to appear around age 2 and improves through the preschool years.
This improvement is probably due to increased ability to suppress feelings and
expanded strategies for dealing with frustrating situations. It affects relationships with
parents.

Another form of tolerance for frustration is delay of gratification, the ability to forgo
an immediate reward in order to have a better reward later.
3. Showing Flexibility in Emotional Expression
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Social and Emotional Development in Early Childhood

Ego resiliency emerges during early childhood and is marked by the ability to adapt
to the emotional demands of different situations—using self-restraint in some, being
impulsive and expressive in others.
4. Internalizing Standards
 Preschoolers become aware of standards for behavior and the use of those
standards as guides for words and actions. Internalization of these standards into
the self is the bridge from control of the child by others to the child's self-regulation.
Parents help encourage this change in preschool children by changing their
socialization techniques as the preschool period progresses. It involves reasoning
and persuasion.
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The Self-Evaluative Emotions
1. Internalization of standards affects the emotional experiences of a preschooler. The child
can now feel genuine guilt and pride, two emotions that involve evaluating the self
against internalized standards.
Emotional Development, Aggression, and Prosocial Behavior
1. As the capacities for self-management and emotional regulation unfold in children, there
are changes in both aggression (forceful, negative acts directed against others or their
possessions) and prosocial behavior (positive feelings and acts directed toward others
to benefit them).
2. Developmental Changes in Aggression
 Children are not capable of true aggression until they are cognitively advanced
enough to understand the consequences of their actions. Negative behavior toward
peers, often object-centered, appears during toddlerhood. Interpersonal aggression,
including aggression with the sole intent of causing distress, becomes common
during the preschool years.

During the late preschool and early elementary school years, children's overall level
of aggression declines because of a drop in instrumental aggression (use of
physical aggression as a means to get something).

Hostile aggression (aggression aimed solely at hurting someone else) continues but
changes its form during the elementary school years, becoming more verbal and less
physical.
3. The Development of Empathy and Altruism
 The development of empathy (experiencing the emotions of another person) and
altruism (acting unselfishly to aid someone else) parallels that of aggression
because the same cognitive abilities underlie all three behaviors.

During infancy, children show a primitive capacity for empathy. In toddlerhood, they
become able to engage in purposeful helping behaviors. In early childhood, they
become able to take the perspective of others and therefore to respond appropriately
to others' needs.

Preschool children's prosocial behavior is greatly influenced by their parents' style of
caregiving. Parents must clearly state the consequences for the victim, explain to the
child principles and expectations regarding kindness, and convey the entire message
with intensity of feeling about the issues involved.
The Role of Play in Preschool Development
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Play is an important capacity for preschoolers because it is a setting in which skills can be
tried out and roles and feelings can be explored. Children have an intrinsic motivation to play;
play does not need to be taught or reinforced.
Play allows children to be active explorers of their environments, active creators of new
experiences, and active participants in their own development. It is a social workshop—a
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place to try out new roles alone and with other children, which expands the sense of self. It is
also an arena for emotional expression.
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Play and Mastery of Conflict
1. Play is the preschool child's foremost tool for dealing with conflict and mastering what is
frightening or painful.
2. Play is also an arena for working through ongoing developmental issues, such as the
power differential between the child and parents.
3. Pretend solutions provide a way for preschoolers to confront a problem actively and are
often precursors of more mature problem-solving strategies.
4. A history of parental support and nurturance can help children to find healthy solutions to
issues and conflicts through play.
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Role Playing
1. Play also provides preschoolers with a chance to try out various social roles. Skill at
social fantasy play in the preschool years is generally an indicator of a preschooler's
overall quality of adjustment and social competence.
2. Cultural factors influence the quantity, form, and themes of young children’s social
fantasy play.
The Parents' Role in Early Childhood Development
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Important Aspects of Parenting in the Preschool Period
1. Along with the basic qualities of parenting such as warmth, emotional responsiveness,
and a sharing of positive feelings with the child, some new qualities in parents also
become important during the preschool years, which help the child with social
competence.
2. The parental qualities which become important include: consistency in the parents'
approach to discipline; agreement between the parents concerning child-rearing
practices; gradually giving the child more responsibility, while still being available to help
if needed; displaying clear roles and values in their own actions; and showing the flexible
self-control they hope to promote in their child.
3. Some of the characteristics of parents who raise well-adjusted preschoolers are summed
up in what Baumrind calls authoritative parenting. These parents are nurturant,
responsive, and supportive, yet they also set firm limits for their children. Their children
generally are energetic, emotionally responsive to peers, curious, and self-reliant.
4. Other parenting styles that Baumrind has identified are not generally associated with
such positive characteristics in children.
 Permissive parenting is when the parents fail to set firm limits or require
appropriately mature behavior. Their children are more likely to be impulsive, low in
self-control, and lacking in self-reliance.

Authoritarian parenting is when parents are unresponsive to children’s wishes and
inflexible and harsh in controlling behavior. This pattern is related to apprehension,
frustration, and passive hostility.
5. Cultural context is important when considering parenting outcomes. Other context issues
with behavioral impact include amount of stress, intensity and distribution of marital
conflict, and divorce.
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Identification with Parents
1. Psychoanalytic theory holds that children strive to be like their parents in actions,
thoughts, and feelings. This process is identification. It influences preschoolers'
development of self by allowing them to internalize control previously provided by
parents, along with parental values and other characteristics.
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2. Identification cannot take place until the child has the cognitive ability to understand
parents' feelings and attitudes.
3. Security of attachment during infancy and toddlerhood is related to a child's openness to
socialization and identification with family norms and values during the preschool years.
4. Committed compliance leads to true internalization. Not aided by coercive measures of
compliance.
The Coherence of Behavior and Development
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The Coherence of the Self
1. By the preschool period, children's behavior reflects a coherent underlying self. Clusters
of characteristics—such as self-esteem, self-control, and empathy—tend to go together
in a logical, consistent way.
2. Parents’ behavior helps explain why certain clusters of characteristics tend to be found
together. Parents can initiate and support opportunities for children to play with others;
self-esteem and self-reliance tend to accompany social competence.
3. Depending on their developmental history, in particular their attachment pattern in
infancy, preschoolers have varying expectations about the social world and varying social
abilities.
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The Coherence of Behavior Over Time
1. There is also logic and coherence as to how the child's behavior develops over time.
Preschoolers with a history of secure attachment in infancy tend to have certain positive
patterns of behavior.
2. Very different, negative behavioral profiles are associated with preschoolers with a
history of anxious/resistant attachment. These children have little capacity for flexible
self-management, have a great need for contact with teachers, show less prosocial
behaviors and are more likely to be targets of bullies.
3. Those with anxious/avoidant attachment are often hostile and aggressive toward others
or emotionally isolated.
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Explaining Developmental Coherence
1. The coherence of young children's behavior over time may be explained by the fact that
many influences on the child, such as the amount of support the child receives from the
parents, continue exerting themselves in much the same ways that they have in the past.
2. Children are increasingly becoming relatively consistent forces in their own development;
they tend to elicit certain reactions from others, and those reactions, in turn, reinforce
how the child tends to think and act.
3. Preschool teachers also respond in ways that reinforce the emerging personalities of
young children. They are warm and accepting with well-managed, self-reliant, and
sociable children. They directly promote the acceptance of these children by peers.
Teachers are quite controlling of children who are timid or impulsive and are more likely
to make allowances (to coddle), thus reinforcing the original pattern.
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Stability and Change in Individual Behavior
1. Personality is a structure that evolves over the early years. Parents strongly influence
their child's personality development, beginning with the attachment relationship in
infancy. This helps to form a base for resiliency and promotes a beginning sense of selfworth and an abiding sense of relatedness to others (Erikson’s basic trust).
2. During the preschool years, parents build upon this base by supporting the child’s
independent initiatives, by promoting self-control, and by maintaining a clear parental
presence through emotional support and demands for appropriate behavior. Thus, they
develop a control system for exerting control over the child.
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3. Although the quality of the control system parents establish predicts the child's behavior
in the preschool period, fundamental change in children is always possible. Change
becomes increasingly difficult, however, as personality stabilizes; assessments of
preschoolers predict later behavior quite well, even up to adolescence and early
adulthood.
4. See the box regarding investing in preschoolers. Children living in economically
disadvantaged environments who participate in preschool intervention programs exhibit a
higher level of self-esteem, more positive attitudes toward education, and a stronger
belief in themselves as able learners. Long-term benefits of early childhood intervention
depend, however, on the quality of the program and the degree of active parental
involvement.
Lecture Topics
The following are lecture topic suggestions to complement Chapter 10 reading material.
Topic 1: Comparison of Sibling and Peer Relationships
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Research Questions: How are children's sibling interactions different from their peer interactions?
How does sibling interaction influence children's social development?
Sibling relationships are similar to peer relationships in some respects, since both are relationships
between children rather than between a child and an adult. There are differences between the two
types of relationships as well, based partly on the inevitable age difference between siblings and
partly on other characteristics of the relationship. For example, interactions between siblings are more
frequent than peer interactions, sibling relationships are more enduring than peer relationships,
siblings have more shared history than most peers do, siblings are more continuously available for
interaction than peers are, and sibling relationships are more intimate than peer relationships.
All of these differences contribute to differences in the nature of interactions in the two types of
relationships and in their potential influence on development.
The child's social world can be thought of as a series of interrelated social systems—the child-parent
system, the child-sibling system, and the child-peer system, for example. Each is likely to be
characterized by different styles of interaction, but what happens in one system is likely to influence
what happens in the others. There are two main ways in which a child's sibling relationship(s) may
influence his or her peer relationships: 1) social skills learned in the sibling relationship may be used
in peer relationships, 2) roles played by a child in the sibling relationship may be carried over intact
into peer relationships or may otherwise influence roles played in peer interaction.
Research Literature:
1. DeHart, G. B. (1999) Conflict and averted conflict in preschoolers’ interactions with siblings and
friends. In W. A. Collings and B. Laursen (Eds.), Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology: Vol.
30. Relationships as developmental contexts: Festschrift in honor of Willard W. Hartup (pp. 281303). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
2. Dunn, J. (1988). The beginnings of social understanding. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
3. Herzberger, S. D., & Hall, J. A. (1993). Consequences of retaliatory aggression against siblings
and peers: Urban minority children's expectations. Child Development, 64, 1773-1785.
4. Katz, L. F., Kramer, L., & Gottman, J. M. (1992). Conflict and emotions in marital, sibling, and
peer relationships. In C. U. Shantz & W. W. Hartup (Eds.), Conflict in child and adolescent
development (pp. 122-149). New York: Cambridge University Press.
5. Miller, N., & Maruyama, J. (1976). Ordinal position and peer popularity. Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, 33, 123-131.
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6. Pepler, D., Corter, C., & Abramovitch, R. (1982). Social relations among children: Comparison of
sibling and peer interaction. In K. H. Rubin & H. S. Ross (Eds.), Peer relationships and social
skills in childhood (pp. 209-227). New York: Springer-Verlag.
7. Stoneman, Z., Brody, G. H., & MacKinnon, C. (1984). Naturalistic observations of children's
activities and roles while playing with their siblings and friends. Child Development, 55, 617-627.
8. Stoneman, Z., & Brody, G. H. (1993). Sibling relations in the family context. In Z. Stoneman & P.
W. Berman (Eds.), The effects of mental retardation, disability, and illness on sibling
relationships: Issues and challenges (pp. 3-30). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
9. Vandell, D. L., & Bailey, M. D. (1992). Conflicts between siblings. In C. U. Shantz & W. W. Hartup
(Eds.), Conflict in child and adolescent development (pp. 242-269). New York: Cambridge
University Press.
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Methods and Results: Sibling interactions differ from peer interactions in two major ways.
1. Intensity of affect, both positive and negative. Dunn (1985) has found that elementary schoolaged children use more emotional terms in describing their siblings than in describing their friends
or other members of their families. During middle childhood, conflict is much more common in
sibling relationships than in peer relationships and also harder to escape from. Because conflict
does not cause sibling relationships to dissolve, children must learn either to resolve or to live
with sibling conflicts. Results from a number of studies suggest that linkages between conflicts in
sibling and peer relationships are complex, however, and vary as a function of the age and age
spacing of the siblings, parental reactions, the emotional climate of the family, the quality of the
friendship relationship, and individual characteristics of the children involved (Dehart, 1999,
Herzberger & Hall, 1993; Katz, Kramer, & Gottman, 1992; Vandell & Bailey, 1992).
2. Complementarity of roles assumed by siblings. Older siblings more often initiate and direct
activities, teach, and behave nurturantly toward younger siblings, while younger siblings more
often imitate their older siblings and do things to maintain interactions. Sibling interactions can be
compared most directly to interactions in mixed-age peer groups. While mixed-age peer
interaction features the same sort of complementary behavior found in sibling interaction, it also
produces much lower rates of both prosocial and agonistic behavior.
 If sibling interaction contributes to a child's development of social skills and social
understanding, it would be expected that children with siblings would be more socially
competent with peers than would only children. The existing research relevant to this
question deals with preschool children. Pepler and her colleagues (Pepler et al., 1982) found
no differences in the play behavior in day-care settings of only children and children with
siblings, but they did find a difference in other children's behavior toward them—more
agonistic and fewer prosocial behaviors were directed toward only children than toward
children with siblings. It may be that there are subtle differences in children's interaction skills
that were not captured by the coding system used in this study. Other observational studies
have found a tendency for children with siblings to exhibit more aggressive and more
prosocial behavior toward peers, suggesting that experience with siblings contributes to the
development of both types of behavior.

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Children's roles in sibling interactions might influence their peer interactions in two different
ways: either the roles might transfer directly to peer interaction or they might produce a
compensatory reaction in which children adopt a role opposite to the one they are
accustomed to in interactions with their siblings. Research results do not clearly favor either
possibility, although there is more evidence of direct transfer. Miller and Maruyama (1976)
found that later-born children were rated by teachers and peers as more popular, sociable,
and friendly than firstborns. They explained these results on the basis of differing roles within
the sibling system—older siblings learn to be assertive and dominant in sibling interaction,
while younger siblings develop such social skills as accommodation, negotiation, and
tolerance.
Discussion Questions: Twins and other multiple births represent sibling relationships that do not
entail an age gap. Compare these special relationships to "typical" sibling relationships and to peer
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relationships. Then speculate about whether twins and other multiple-birth siblings are at an
advantage or disadvantage in comparison with more typical siblings and with only children. Explain
your answers and outline a study that might shed light on these questions. Studies of interaction
between siblings and between peers typically use the method of observation and the coding of
children's behavior. Are there other methods that might be fruitful in addressing research questions
about sibling and peer relationships and the impact of these relationships on children's social and
emotional development?
Topic 2: Boundary Maintenance in Parent-Child Relationships
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Research Questions: How do parents affect social and emotional development during early
childhood? What sort of parent-child relationship best supports children's problem-solving abilities?
There is wide agreement concerning key dimensions of positive parenting in the preschool period.
Emotional support, clear limits, consistent guidance, and maturity demands all have been shown by
research to be important. These various aspects of parenting may be summarized or integrated in
various ways. They are the basis, for example, for Baumrind's concept of the authoritative parent.
Another way of integrating these dimensions is with the construct of boundary maintenance between
parent and child (Sroufe et al., 1985).
The concept of boundary maintenance may be best understood by beginning with a consideration of
what the child needs from the parent at this phase of development. Having achieved some level of
autonomy, the child needs to be encouraged and supported in independent efforts at mastery. At the
same time, having limited problem-solving and reasoning capacities, preschoolers often face tasks
beyond their abilities. They may become impatient, frustrated, and demanding. In dyadic problemsolving situations, therefore, the child needs the parent to maintain a calm and reassuring presence,
as well as to anticipate frustration, offer guidance, and generally help the child remain organized and
on task. Naturally, the child, being immature, will behave in "childish" ways. The parent must sustain
a supportive role. Boundary maintenance refers to the parent staying in the parental role, rather than
abdicating responsibility to the child, treating the child as a partner, or engaging in peer-like behavior.
Research Literature:
1. Jacobvitz, D., & Sroufe, L. A. (1987). The early caregiver-child relationship and attention deficit
disorder with hyperactivity in kindergarten. Child Development, 58, 1488-1495.
2. Sroufe, L. A., Jacobvitz, D., Mangelsdorf, S., DeAngelo, E., & Ward, M. J. (1985). Generational
boundary dissolution between mothers and their preschool children: A relationship systems
approach. Child Development, 56, 317-325.
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Methods and Results:
1. In longitudinal research conducted at the University of Minnesota, boundary maintenance was
assessed by giving parents and preschool children tasks that would tax the child's capacities and
likely lead to some amount of frustration or noncompliance. These tasks, originally created by
Jeanne Block, included a repetitive tower-building task, which quickly led the child to want to do
other things with the blocks; a task of "naming things that have wheels," exceptionally challenging
to physically active 3½-year-olds; and a multidimensional classification task, which research
reviewed in the text showed to be quite challenging to preschoolers. Virtually every child was
heavily taxed by these tasks.
3. In such a situation, boundaries may be violated by the parent in several ways. Parents may
abandon the role of guide and supporter, becoming helpless in the face of the child's difficulties.
Some give in to the child entirely, with the child commanding the parent in a complete reversal of
roles. Others may taunt, tease, or stimulate the child when the child is already overtaxed and
overstimulated by the tasks. In one extreme form, the parent laughs at the child's deliberate
errors, becomes amused at the child's antics, or engages the child in distracting play. Enjoying a
task with a child is fine, but not when the child needs firm guidance and not at the child's
expense. The upshot of this kind of provocative stimulation often is further frustration and
noncompliance by the child and, ultimately, total task failure. These ideas were captured in a
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scale called "Generational Boundary Dissolution." Parents high on this scale behave more like
peers than parents. Those at the low end consistently maintain a supportive parental role.
Interestingly, the latter parents are rated as warmer and more affectionate in this as well as in
other settings.
4. Some parents also violate boundaries by engaging the child in role-inappropriate physical
contact. That is, they touch, hug, and fondle the child in the service of their own needs rather than
the child's. Such behaviors also tend to be quite stimulating when ill-timed and counter to the
child's needs. These behaviors were captured in a scale called "Nonresponsive Physical
Intimacy." Again, it is parents who show little of this behavior who are independently rated as
affectionate. It is the use of the child to meet parental needs (rather than the other way around)
that marks this as another form of parent-child boundary violation.
5. Not only can these two scales be reliably coded, but they are related to earlier assessments of
intrusiveness and "seductive" behavior (Sroufe et al., 1985) and to later manifestations of
hyperactivity in the child (Jacobvitz & Sroufe, 1987). Recently, strong stability of this dimension
from preschool to age 13 has been demonstrated (correlations in the .50s). This is remarkable
not only because of the developmental span covered, but because of transformations in the
manifestation of the pattern. By age 13, the boundary maintenance problem often is seen in child
behavior as well as parent behavior. For example, the child may explicitly attend to parental
needs and feelings, offer reassurance, and otherwise tend to the parent like a spouse or
caregiver.
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Discussion Questions: In designing an intervention to help parents who have problems with
boundary maintenance, what experiences or information would you give them and why? When would
be the best time, in terms of the child's age, to intervene and why? Studies examining the construct of
boundary maintenance tend to rely on techniques of observation in controlled laboratory settings. Are
these studies helped or hindered by the use of laboratory settings and standardized problem-solving
tasks? Besides observation, are there any other techniques that might be useful in this type of
research? Explain your answers.
Topic 3: The Importance of Play
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Background: Children’s play is their work. Vygotsky saw the importance of imaginative or
representational play in terms of his sociocultural theory of development (see the film reference
below). Play is a key component in bringing about a zone of proximal development since children can
act beyond their “average” performance to expand into newer or more complex thoughts—a child
pretending to be a doctor is not the “same child” who everyone is telling to sit quietly and eat his
lunch. Play advances the child within his cognitive realm and to see more reflective thought.
Social rules. Play also advances the child socially as representational play usually proceeds
according to social rules (e.g. feeding and bathing a doll). Much of the play follows sequences of rulebased events which helps the child operate at more advanced levels of communication and activity
(this is related to how scripts help children act less egocentrically in their social interactions). This
encourages a child to better understand social norms as he/she role plays from other’s perspectives
(acting like the parent when playing house—encouraging an early understanding of other’s roles and
perspectives).
Delaying impulses. Also noted is the fact that representational play arrives at about the same time
that the social environment is making more demands upon the child to delay gratification.
Representational play, according to Vygotsky, creates an imaginary situation that permits the child to
deal with unrealizable desires.
Helps to separate thought from actions and objects. Children begin to act upon more internalized
ideas in pretend play, not just the external stimuli of earlier play experiences. The object substitutions
are important in the process of separating thought from actions—these substitutions change the
child’s relation to reality (a stick becomes a rocket). He or she changes the meaning of the external
object to be something else, and this capacity becomes more flexible throughout early childhood.
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Language becomes more richly integrated by play experiences as children introduce new words they
have heard during recent experiences.
Scaffolding children’s make-believe play. Make-believe play is a product of social collaboration and it
is more complex when engaged in with others than when it is done alone. Social make-believe, as
noted by Haight and Miller (1993) is common among 1- to 4-year-olds and accounts for up to 75% of
their total pretend time. Mothers are the principal pretend play partners up to age three; by age four,
other children enter into the pretend play realm, indicating that as competence increases children
have more opportunities to forge play relations with others. Play serves a number of functions, such
as communicating feelings, expressing and working through conflicts, enlivening daily routines, and
teaching lessons. Also noted was the fact that children of imaginative and enthusiastic parents had
children who were quite skilled at preschool pretend play.
Literature:
1. Berk, L. E., (1994). Vygotsky’s theory: the importance of make-believe play. Young Children,
November, 30-39.
2. Connolly, J. A., & Doyle, A. B. (1984). Relations of social fantasy play to social competence in
preschoolers. Developmental Psychology, 20, 797-806.
3. Connolly, J. A., Doyle, A. B., & Rezick, E. (1988). Social pretend play and social interaction in
preschoolers. Journal of Applied Psychology, 9, 301-313.
4. Haight, W. L., & Miller, P. J., (1993). Pretending at home: Early development in a sociocultural
context. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
5. Nicolopoulou, A. (1991). Play, cognitive development, and the social world. In Play and the social
context of development in early care and education. In B. Scales, M. Almy, A. Nicolopoulou, & S.
Ervin-Tripp (Eds.). NY: Teachers College Press.
6. Nourot, P. M., & Van Hoorn, J. L., (1991). Research in review: symbolic play in preschool and
primary settings. Young Children, 46(6), 40-50.
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Discussion Questions: Discuss how imaginative play is related to cognitive advances in the
preschool years. In what ways can you see dramatic play being related to the formation of scripts?
Can you see the relevance of the zone of proximal development regarding play of preschoolers? How
is it related to the need for delay of gratification and the learning of other social rules for behavior?
How can you (the “expert” in the relationship) encourage children to advance their understanding of
the world with imaginary play? Why would this be important?
Classroom Discussion Topics and Activities
1. Children’s Television Act: At the following site is the Children’s Television Act Tool Kit with a great
deal of information about the CTA and how to monitor television directed toward children to see if
there is compliance with the CTA. Have students summarize the main points of the CTA and
comment on its appropriateness to early childhood. Also, have students choose television programs
directed to early childhood-aged children and evaluate these programs. What was positive, from the
perspective of a developmental psychologist, and what was less than positive?
http://www.cme.org/children/kids_tv/index_kids.html.
2. Media and Children: What messages are our young children receiving about gender, race, ethnicity
and social class from media sources? For this task, assign students to watch television (children's
programs and prime time, including commercials) and observe what models and attitudes are
portrayed. The assignment will work best if you discuss with the students ahead of time what kinds of
things to look for, either assigning or working out with them a set of categories for observation
(number of characters of each gender/race/ethnicity/class, vocational and plot roles of characters,
sex-typed behavior in commercials, etc.) and hypotheses for testing. After they have done their
viewing, you can discuss in class what they observed and what effect they think it might have on
children.
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According to an article on media and children at,
http://www.childrennow.org/media/medianow/mnsummer2002.htm, Whites account for 73% of the
prime time population, followed by African Americans (16%), Latinos (4%), Asian/Pacific
Islanders (3%) and Native Americans (.2%).
“It starts at birth and it happens unwittingly, both by society and by parents. We start to give
messages to boys early on that they should emote less, they should express less feeling, and
they should solve their problems through action rather than talk. What we're doing is inculcating
what I call the 'Boy Code.' It comes on very strong about the time of kindergarten, at age four or
five, when they lose their emotional voice, when they are 'strait jacketed' into a narrow band of
masculinity.” Read what the report at http://www.childrennow.org/media/boystomen/reportfinal.html.
“In television shows, male characters were more likely to be shown ‘on the job’ than female
characters: two out of five (41%) male television characters as compared to 28 percent of
females were seen working. In the movies, the gender differences were more striking: men (60%)
were almost twice as likely to be shown on the job as women (35%). Women, on the other hand,
were more likely than men in both television shows and movies to be shown as talking about
romantic relationships: 63 percent of female characters as compared to 49 percent of male
characters in television, and 65 percent of female characters as compared to 38 percent of male
characters in the movies, talked about romance or dating.” Read more in the report at
http://www.childrennow.org/newsroom/news-97/pr-97-4-30.html.
Students also can broaden their scope to explore video games:
 “Most of the top-selling video games (89%) contained violent content, almost half of which
was serious in nature.” More on this at http://www.childrennow.org/media/video-games/2001/.
 “Female characters were severely underrepresented in video games, accounting for only
16% of all characters. Male characters were most likely to be portrayed as competitors
(47%), while female characters were most likely to be portrayed as props or bystanders
(50%).” More on this at http://www.childrennow.org/media/video-games/2001/ and related
information at http://www.childrennow.org/newsroom/news-03/cam-ra-01-02-03.htm.
 “White characters were the majority in the video game population (56%) and were the only
human characters in children's games. There were no Latino characters or Native American
male characters in any of the games. Nearly all heroes were white while African Americans
and Latinos were typically athletes and Asian/Pacific Islanders were usually wrestlers or
fighters. African American characters were the least likely to show harm when they were
victimized (61%), while nearly all Latino victims demonstrated harm and pain (83%).” More on
these issues at http://www.childrennow.org/media/video-games/2001/
3. A Review of The Spirited Child. Temperament represents a widely studied area of children’s
socioemotional development. This activity invites students to review The Spirited Child, a popular
press book written for parents of children of difficult or “spirited” temperaments. It was published in
1991 by author May Sheedy Kurcinka. Students should write a review of the book. Also, it would be
interesting to have a class discussion of this topic, especially if students can “identify” with the spirited
child. Find out how their lives may have been different if their own parents had read this book.
4. Predictors of At-Risk Behaviors: At http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVOL10N1/Earlychild.html
there is an article titled “Early Childhood Behavior and Temperament Predict Later Substance Use,”
and researchers have found that “by the first grade, or earlier, children show temperament and
behavior traits that are powerful indicators of their inclination to use and abuse drugs in their teenage
and adult years. Researchers have identified not only common childhood risk factors and behaviors
that predict drug abuse potential but also protective factors that shield some children from influences
to use drugs.” Results show factors that predict a first-grader's subsequent use of substances:
shyness, aggressiveness, rebelliousness, and gender. External risk factors: substance use among
peers, drug use by parents, and troubles with the police. Protective factors: achievement in school or
after-school activities and close family ties. Researchers are designing drug abuse prevention and
intervention strategies based on findings made over 20 or more years.” Have students read the article
and comment on the relevance of this article for parenting or educating of children.
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5. Four Children: From the vignettes about Malcolm, Mikey, Maggie, and Meryl at the beginning of the
early childhood section of the text, have your students find evidence of social-emotional development.
Have them note evidence of the presence of gender role development, competence with peers, early
friendships, toleration of frustration, self-evaluative emotions, internalization, prosocial behavior, role
playing, identification with parents, self-concept and self-esteem development, and parenting issues
What does emotional development offer the child in his/her interactions with the world? What kinds of
parenting changes are necessary to enhance social-emotional development during these years? And,
are the three families working toward successful navigation of these tasks?
6. Reflection on Parenting Styles: Have your students think about the types of parenting that their
parents used to raise them and that they remember their best friends’ parents using. How would they
classify their parents’ parenting style? Was it the same for both parents? What about the classification
for friends’ parents? How did these styles impact behavior and the development of prosocial or
aggressive behaviors? Have them relate these style-developmental outcome issues with the concept
of the internal working model. In other words, did the parenting style(s) experienced impact their
expectations in relationships (the long-reaching attachment issues)? Do they at times “hear” their own
parents’ voices and see their own parents’ actions in their own behaviors? Have them comment on
how they feel about that. How can people become more effective parents? What will your students do
to try to be nurturing yet structured parents? How can you relate the concept of resilience to
childhood outcomes?
7. Interview with a Preschooler: If students have preschool-aged family members with whom they could
conduct an interview, have them investigate the following: what does the child understand about
his/her self-concept? Have the child describe him/herself. Have the students note how perceptionbound these descriptions are—do these descriptions spill over into actual physical demonstrations? Is
the child listing behaviors or traits (category labels). The child is not likely to be able to address trait
labels yet as classification skills are limited. Is the child’s self-esteem appearing to be quite high?
Have students consider that self-esteem is a social construction, and to have “true” self-esteem one
needs to be able to compare self to others, which preschoolers are not as skilled at yet (e.g., more
likely to have centration on own behaviors). Is there egocentric speech in their discussions? Use
scaffolding to bring out the child’s self-description if at first the child is hesitant. Bring the selfdescription and analysis to class for discussion.
 If time and energy allow, have the students explore what knowledge their “subjects” have about
script-based activity. Have students ask, “what do you do when you ___________” questions (go
to McDonald’s, go to bed, go to a birthday party, go to preschool/kindergarten).
8. Parenting, Discipline and Values: The material in Chapter 10 on parents' role in early child
development and on the growth of self-management during the preschool years provides a good
opportunity for a discussion of issues related to child discipline and instilling values in children.
Possible questions for discussion include: What can parents do to prevent misbehavior in their
children? What discipline techniques would you recommend to parents who have an immediate goal
of changing ongoing undesirable behavior in a child (for example, neglecting chores, teasing a
sibling, keeping a messy room)? How would you recommend parents respond to a particular instance
of misbehavior (for example, breaking a window, taking something that doesn't belong to them)?
What can parents do to help their children develop a particular set of values and moral standards?
 Have students look at parenting books and magazines for discussions on how to discipline young
children. Do they like the techniques discussed? What suggestions do they have?
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Comment on the article by William Kirkpatrick (1993) on “The Moral Power of Good Stories” from
Why Johnny Can’t Tell Right from Wrong: Moral Literacy and the Case for Character Education.
In this article is a list of books for children and adolescents, with a synopsis of each. Have
students look at this list and comment on which of these books they read in childhood (or had
read to them). Do they remember the moral of the story? Have them comment on whether they
believe these cultural stories can give us power or resolve to struggle through difficult situations,
or the power to see issues more clearly.
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9. Origins of Gender Differences: Give the class a list of gender differences (see text for a table of some
of these differences) for which there is clear research evidence and ask them to come up with a
possible social/environmental and a possible evolutionary/biological explanation for each one.
Emphasize that they do not necessarily have to believe that the two explanations they suggest are
the "right" explanations. Discuss the explanations proposed and point out that the existence of a clear
gender difference implies nothing about the source of the difference. If time permits, discuss how a
researcher could go about deciding which explanation is most likely to be correct for a given
difference.
10. Self-Regulation Task: If you have access to a video camera and a room with a one-way observation
mirror, you can demonstrate age and individual differences in self-control with an adaptation of the
task used by C.B. Kopp, J.B. Krakow, and B.E. Vaughn (1983), The antecedents of self-regulation in
young handicapped children. In M. Perlmutter (Ed.), Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology (Vol.
17). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. This task can be done with children from 18 months through about age 7.
With the video camera hidden behind the one-way mirror, put the child in the room with his/her
parent, show the child an attractive toy, say "Oh, I have to go get something," and leave the child in
the room with the parent, telling the child not to touch the toy until you come back. The parent should
be instructed ahead of time not to physically prevent the child from touching the toy, but to verbally
tell her/him "No, we have to wait." After 2 minutes, stick your head back into the room and ask the
child's parent to come out for a minute, leaving the child in the room alone. Remind the child not to
touch the toy until you get back. Wait until the child touches the toy (or 3 minutes, whichever comes
first) and then return. After you return, let the child play with the toy for a few minutes. Discussion of
the results can center on age-related and individual differences in avoidance of the toy and in
strategies used to foster self-control, as well as the role played by the parent for children of various
ages.
11. Toy Store Visit: Assign students to visit a toy store and examine the toys being marketed for
preschool-aged children. Then have them give either a written or an oral report on such issues as the
following: (a) the kinds, variety, and quality of toys available for this age group; (b) the possible
cognitive effects of the toys they found—do they match the cognitive abilities typical of preschool
children? Do they provide cognitive stimulation or other opportunities for cognitive development?
(c) the possible social effects of the toys they found—what values do they seem to convey? To what
extent and in what ways are they gender-typed? What kinds of play and social interaction would they
encourage? (d) What recommendations would they make to parents who are shopping for toys for
preschool children? What changes would they like to see toy manufacturers and retailers make in
their products or the way they are marketed? (This activity would also be appropriate in connection
with the toddler and middle childhood social development chapters.)
12. Observation: Assign students to observe preschoolers' play behavior in a nursery school or day-care
setting. Have them choose one or several target children to watch for a specified time period. They
can then record such factors as the proportion of time their targets spent playing alone, with one other
child, and in a group of children; the type of play (sociodramatic, rough-and-tumble, formal games,
etc.); the materials used; and the content of the play (e.g., specific roles played). This assignment is
particularly interesting if the class has previously observed toddlers and can contrast the behavior of
the two age groups. (If a nursery school or day care is not readily available for observation by your
students, videotapes of typical free-play sessions in a local preschool setting could be made either in
class or in out-of-class lab sessions and used for this assignment.)
Films, Videos, and Internet Resources
Films and Videos:
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Brothers and Sisters: Love and Hate (1994, 20 min., Insight Media). This video explores the complex
interactions between siblings. It discusses what behavior patterns one can expect from the first child
upon arrival of the second and addresses the challenges of living together that the child will face.
Brothers and Sisters: Sibling Relationships (1997, 55 min., Films for the Humanities and Sciences).
Having analyzed thousands of people from history, Frank Sulloway—MIT professor and author of
Birth Order Study and the best-selling Born to Rebel—concluded that birth order has more of an
effect on personality than gender, race, nationality, or social class. This probing documentary, based
on Brothers and Sisters by Joan Sauers, explores the emotional dynamics of the sibling bond. Set in
Australia, groups of siblings divulge their love-hate feelings for each other as Dr. Sulloway comments
on topics including siblicide in nature, competition, characteristic birth order differences, and
environmental influences. For balance, an only child describes his experiences as well.
Emerging Personality (1994, 30 min., Insight Media). This program surveys the components of
personality and the influences that shape it. Four major theories of personality development are
discussed: Freud, Erikson, social-learning, and Mahler.
Emotional Intelligence: The Key to Social Skills (1997, 29 min., Films for the Humanities and
Sciences). There was a time when parents were expected to teach their children social skills, such as
how to listen, share, and be kind. Today, that job, and the nurturing of the emotional intelligence
necessary to learn those skills, has been turned over to schools. This program from The Doctor Is In
looks at innovative teaching techniques that are helping students to develop emotional intelligence
and the social skills that will help them lead happier lives. Psychologist Daniel Goleman discusses the
nature of emotional intelligence and how it develops; child psychologist Maurice Elias explains the
concept of emotional literacy. A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center production.
Family Influences (1992, 30 min., Insight Media). Defines parenting styles and their influence on
children. Also deals with family background influences, birth order controversies, nontraditional
families, and the effects of divorce.
Family Stress: The Child’s Perspective (1992, 30 min., Insight Media). Examines social and economic
forces that influence family life, especially concerning divorce.
Gender: The Enduring Paradox (1991, 56 min.). Explores the ever-changing role of gender in
American society, from the formation of gender roles in early childhood to the socially constructed
roles of masculinity and femininity experienced throughout life. Segments look at the women's
movement, fathers who nurture their children, and cross-cultural differences between the sexes.
How Boys and Girls Differ: the First Six Years (2002, 20 min. Insight Media). This video discusses the
developmental differences between boys and girls, looking at cognitive, social, emotional, and
physical growth in the early years of development. It explores what these differences mean for
parents and caregivers and addresses gender stereotypes.
The Idea of Gender (1995, 60 min., Insight Media). James Sheehan lectures on the evolution of
gender in Europe and America over the past 200 years.
In the Land of Giants (1991, 57 min., Ambrose Video), Childhood Series, video 4. Urie
Bronfenbrenner characterizes the family as “the most efficient means for making human beings
human.” This program examines models of behavior and codes of discipline used to mold children to
a culturally desirable social image.
On Television: Teach the Children (1992, 56 min.). Uses clips from Saturday morning cartoons, sitcoms, and music videos with commentary by critics, scholars, and network executives to explore the
values television communicates to children and the role models it provides. Asserts that the primary
message of television ads, product-based cartoons, and stress on consumption is "you are what you
buy." Concludes with practical examples for parents, teachers, and parent-teacher groups.
Play: A Vygotskian Approach (1996, 25 min., Insight Media). Lev Vygotsky observed that play was an
arena in which children could begin to master their own behavior. This program shows four-year-old
children at play and examines Vygotsky’s developmental theories, as well as those of Freud, Erikson,
and Piaget. It also discusses ways to foster high-level play in early childhood settings.
Play and Imagination (1992, 30 min., Insight Media). By tracing the developmental course of play and
imagination from infancy through adolescence, this program shows how play enhances social-
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emotional and cognitive skills. Footage of Mexican and American mothers playing with their children
illuminates cultural differences in play. The program also considers the roles of toys and television in
shaping imagination.
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Preschool Social Development (1992, 30 min., Insight Media). This program examines how children
between 3 and 6 develop a sense of self, gaining greater self-control and self-reliance.
The Promise of Play: The Heart of the Matter (2000, 58 min., Insight Media). Demonstrating the role
of play as a source of community healing, this video shows how diverse communities use celebration
to forge healthy bonds. Focusing on the use of play to foster individual inner strength and confidence,
it features play specialist Fred Donaldson play-wrestling with special-needs children, as well as a
group of volunteer clowns led by Patch Adams indulging in play, silliness, and healing in an El
Salvador orphanage.
Resiliency: Beating the Odds (1998, 19 min., Insight Media). Featuring the personal stories of teens
and adults who have proven their resiliency, this video focuses on the four major resiliency skills that
enable people to survive dangerous situations or adverse periods in their lives. It discusses the
importance of adult support, anchor beliefs, action experiences, and an attitude of hope.
Sex Roles: Charting the Complexity of Development (1992, 60 min., Insight Media). Beginning with a
look at the cultural ramification of sex roles and the myths associated with them, this program
examines three theories of socialization: Freudian, social-learning, and cognitive-developmental. It
analyzes how each theory views the nature vs. nurture controversy. It explores the impact of sex-role
stereotypes on the developing child.
Significant Event Childhood Trauma (2002, 17 min., Insight Media). Such significant events as
parental divorce, violence, natural disasters, and the death of a parent or sibling can cause trauma in
the life of a child. Updated to include footage from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, this video
discusses the typical effects of trauma (the alarm state, re-experiencing, emotional memory,
avoidance, and dissociation) and effective intervention techniques, including openness and honesty,
nurturance, and frank discussion of details.
The Spanking Controversy (2000, 17 min., Insight Media). Addressing spanking as a disciplinary
measure, this video presents the opinions of parents and development specialists. Maintaining that
the efficacy of any form of discipline lies in understanding what children are ready to learn, it explains
that spanking often works in the short term, but can have negative long-term effects.
The World Is a Dangerous Place: Images of the Enemy on Children's Television (1989, 13 min.).
Explores the political socialization offered by television cartoons, particularly those portraying enemy
characters. Based on viewing of more than 150 episodes of popular war cartoons that present
negative stereotypical images of enemies and show violence as a means of conflict resolution.
Experts talk about the impact of the viewing experience and explain the risks of ignoring what the
shows teach children about other nations.
A-V Resource List Information:
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List of providers for most of the videos listed above:
1. Ambrose Video at www.ambrosevideo.com or 800-526-4663
2. Davidson Films at www.davidsonfilms.com or 888-437-4200.
3. Films for the Humanities and Sciences at www.films.com or 800-257-5126.
4. Insight Media at www.insight-media.com or 212-721-6316.
5. Public Broadcasting Service at 1-800-949-8670 or www.shop.pbs.org
5. Yale University Films at 203-432-0148.
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Additional Internet Resource Options for Chapter 10:
http://www.mhhe.com/dehart5
A variety of teaching tools for this textbook are available from the Web site for McGraw-Hill.
http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_112.asp
Article on “Bimbos and Rambos: The Cognitive Basis of Gender Stereotypes.”
http://www.parentsoup.com
Parent Soup features a variety of information on parenting children of all ages. Helpful features include
the bulletin boards and discussion groups.
http://www.esrnational.org
Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR) helps educators create safe, caring, respectful, and productive
learning environments. We also help educators work with young people to develop the social skills,
emotional competencies, and qualities of character they need to succeed in school and become
contributing members of their communities.
http://www.kidshealth.org
Kids Health. This site, from Nemours Foundation, offers extensive articles on childhood illness and health
issues, and provides information to parents, children, and even professionals. The articles are well-written
and annotated.
http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR898
"Investing in Our Children: What We Know and Don't Know About the Costs and Benefits of Early
Childhood Interventions." An independent cost-benefit analysis published by the Rand Corporation on the
impact of early childhood intervention on child health and development, educational attainment, and
economic well-being.
http://ericps.ed.uiuc.edu/npin/
National Parent Information Network. This is a gold mine of annotated, categorized information, culled
from the massive repository of ERIC, the federally funded Educational Resource Information Center. The
NPIN offers news, book reviews, a Parents AskERIC feature, discussions, and so on. Emphasis is on
professional as well as parental aspects of child development. It contains links to other parent resources.
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