Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

This book is the first to offer a comprehensive overview of Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI), which are evidence-based interventions that integrate both behavioral and developmental approaches in the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Early childhood education is a new & priority of European trends education and a means of increasing the quality of the life. This study aims to provide an analysis of the kindergartens in nature experiences, where children's lives are conducted in close contact with nature and the outdoor activities in any season and in any weather are an important part of the daily program. These outdoor activities have a significant contribution to social and emotional development of the preschoolers. The concept of kindergartens in nature is an innovative educational concept in which the education for sustainable management and environment has an integrated approach. These activities contribute to the social and emotional development of preschoolers.

Supported by the principles of developmental psychology and applied behavior analysis, ESDM's intensive teaching interventions are delivered within play-based, relationship-focused routines. The manual provides structured, hands-on strategies for working with very young children in individual and group settings to promote development in such key domains as imitation; communication; social, cognitive, and motor skills; adaptive behavior; and play. --from publisher description

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

The goal of this book is to assist families and caregivers in the early intervention, care, and development of the toddler and to be instrumental in reaching the child's potential. By drawing attention to the ways in which some children with disabilities have been excluded from public education, these families and caregivers become aware of the importance of understanding the law, its content, and its implications. It is also important to be aware of the laws that have been tested through litigation. The author provides a comprehensive yet easily understandable background on these laws and includes basic insight into various examples. Main topics include: (1) Federal legislation and state compliance, child find and screening, evaluation, determination of eligibility, the IFSP, service delivery, and reimbursement of the early intervention process; (2) co-treatment and assisted intervention, counseling, limiting services, the efficacy of early intervention; (3) professional responses, consumer satisfaction, and knowledge of risk versus at-risk challenges; and (4) socioeconomic and cultural diversity and how professionals view each other as team members, including their comments. Personal experiences are provided which serve to make a point and/or bring levity to sometimes grave situations. These experiences contribute to the subjective opinions and research findings that promote the efficacy of early intervention. In addition, this book explores the benefits and success of animal assisted intervention. The primary audience for the book includes parents, educators, social workers, and others who work with toddlers who have special needs and challenges.