The early years of childhood represent a critical time frame in emotional development. This qualitative study sought to elucidate the impact of parental relationships and parents' emotional intelligence on young children's development of emotional intelligence capacity, as well as changes in this development when a dyadic clinical intervention was…

Toddlerhood is a period of intensive and rapid socio-emotional development. The effects of different types of childcare settings on child development have been widely studied, but the results have often been contradictory. The aim of this study was to compare social competence and socio-emotional problems in two-year-old children (n = 1104; girls…

Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to attribute mental states and feelings to others, and to understand that those mental states and feelings affect their behaviour. It is one of three core developmental tasks for children in preschool years, along with emotion self-regulation and relationships with parents and family members. Given there are…

The preschool age is an important period in the development of children's emotional abilities. The face and body are both vital carriers of emotional information and adults readily match the emotional cues coming from these two modalities. However, it is unknown whether preschoolers have this ability or not. In the current study, 36 preschoolers…

Whether spanking is detrimental for social-emotional (SE) development remains controversial, mostly due to disputes around the internal and external validity of existing evidence. This study examined the effect of spanking on the SE development of Bhutanese children, using a national, longitudinal sample (N = 1377; M[subscript age] = 50.5 months…

There is a substantial body of evidence which indicates that early childhood programmes have a positive effect on children's school readiness, academic achievement, and social and emotional development. Indeed, these benefits can last into adulthood. Based on this evidence base, many countries that strive to build their early childhood education…

The present study examined the mediating role of self-regulation in the relationship between preschool children's anxiety and life skills. Children's anxiety, self-regulation, and life skills were assessed using the "Children's Anxiety Scale-Mothers' Form," "The Self-Regulation Skills Scale for Children aged 4 to 6 (Mothers'…

The family unit exerts a crucial influence on early childhood development across all domains: physical, cognitive, and emotional and social. Prior research consistently underscores the significant role of parental involvement in shaping early childhood developmental trajectories. However, in numerous countries, particularly within developing…

Background/purpose. This study investigates "manjujai," a traditional Minangkabau parenting practice, as a culturally embedded method of early childhood care and education. The research aims to uncover the meaning and function of "manjujai"--specifically its role in transmitting cultural values, historical narratives, and…

Gender differences in early childhood development are under-researched in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where almost 90% of the world's young children live. This study examines the direction, magnitude, and variation of gender similarities and differences in 3- and 4-year-olds' early childhood development in 71 low- and middle-income…

This paper reports on the findings of a natural experiment based on a sample of 1123 children aged 4-8 from the provinces of Punjab in Pakistan, and Gujarat in India. It looks at the impact of attendance (or not) in early schooling on the cognitive and social-emotional development of young children. The role of school attendance was assessed over…

The learning and developmental losses from preprimary program closures due to COVID-19 may be unprecedented. These disruptions early in life can be long-lasting. Although there is evidence about the effects of school closures on older children, there is scarce evidence on such losses for children in their early years. This article is among the…

Parental emotion socialization is crucial to children's development, yet emotion-focused parenting programs are scarce in non-Western contexts. In this study, we developed a four-week emotion-focused parenting program based on the principles of emotion coaching for Chinese families with preschool-aged children. This program integrated parent group…

Children with a significant cognitive and motor developmental delay (SDD) are vulnerable for the development of (future) behavioral and mental health problems. To support children within this target group, knowledge on their social-emotional development is necessary. Therefore, in this paper, an explorative assessment of the changes in the…

Cultural learning environments and gender roles play a key role in shaping children's development, particularly regarding their social and emotional skills. However, most work on this topic relies on methods that overlook lived experiences and assume high participant literacy, which may not apply to Majority World contexts. To address these…