Category-based induction is a hallmark of mature cognition; however, little is known about its origins. This study evaluated the hypothesis that category-based induction is related to semantic development. Computational studies suggest that early on there is little differentiation among concepts, but learning and development lead to increased…

The early education field increasingly is recognizing the key role played by young children's executive function (EF) skills, generally defined as the cognitive abilities that consciously support goal-directed behaviors. To provide the field with an overview of research conducted on this topic over the past 15 years, we review research on the…

Background: Despite an increase in international studies examining the experiences of parents with intellectual impairments and their children, few have utilised population-based data. This study investigated the behavioural and cognitive outcomes of 3-year-old US children of mothers with intellectual impairments compared with children of mothers…

Apert syndrome is a rare condition, with a birth prevalence of approximately one in 65,000. This article provides an up-to-date review of the literature on Apert syndrome from a variety of perspectives, ranging from surgical management to personal accounts. The purpose of the review is to provide a holistic description of the syndrome which should…

Early Head Start (EHS) is an evidence-based, federally funded, and community-based program with a two-generation approach to child development for children under age 3 and pregnant women in poverty. The mission of EHS is to support healthy prenatal outcomes; enhance the intellectual, social, and emotional development of infants and toddlers; and…

Updating information in working memory (WM) is a critical executive function responsible both for continuously replacing outdated information with new relevant data and to suppress or inhibit content that is no longer relevant according to task demands. The goal of the present research is twofold: First, we aimed to study updating development in…

Young children tend to judge improbable events to be impossible, yet there is variability across age and across individuals. Our study examined parent-child conversations about impossible and improbable events and links between parents' explanations about those events and children's possibility judgments in a reasoning task. Regression analyses…

In Germany, all-day care and all-day schooling are currently increasing on a large-scale. The extended time children spend in educational institutions could potentially result in limited access to nature experience for children. On the other hand, it could equally create opportunities for informal nature experience if school playgrounds have a…

This article elucidates the unfolding of 3 phases of cognitive development through which typical children move during the first 2 years of life to illuminate the interrelationships among early cognition, communicative intention, and word-learning strategies. The resulting theoretical framework makes clear the developmental prerequisites for social…

Evidence shows that early childhood education leads to the development of cognitive, social and emotional skills at a young age as well as to better school performance later on. It also creates conditions for lifelong learning and better future professional achievement. Furthermore, efforts to ensure quality early childhood education programmes…

This report summarizes research about development during the first 3 years of life. It highlights research in domains that are foundational for later school readiness and success, including: (1) perceptual, motor, and physical development; (2) social and emotional development; (3) approaches to learning; (4) language and communication; and (5)…

Introduction: Although recent research has focused on the effects of maternal eating disorders (EDs) on children, little is known about the effect of maternal EDs on neurobiological outcomes in newborns and infants. This study is the first to investigate neurobehavioural regulation and cognitive development in newborns and infants of mothers with…

Symbolic play is a powerful vehicle for supporting emotional development and communication. It embraces all developmental capacities. This article describes how symbols are formed and how emotional themes are symbolized whereby children reveal their understanding of the world, their feelings and relationships, and how they see themselves in the…

Children's Centres are widespread in England and comprise multi-professional staff teams seeking to work with families with children aged 0-5 years. Although parent-child group music sessions appear frequently in Children's Centre activity programmes, the rationale for their inclusion remains unclear. This article presents the results from phase…

This paper reports findings in relation to one aspect of the "I Go to School" research project carried out in South Australia which tracked children attending integrated pre-school/childcare centres as they made their transition to school. Eight centres participated in the study involving 347 children. In order to measure some of the…