Discusses the role of "security" or "transition" objects, such as a blanket or stuffed toy, in children's development of self-comfort and autonomy. Notes the influence of parents in the child-object relationship, and discusses children's responses to losing a security object, and the developmental point at which a child will…

The author, born with a severe visual impairment, addresses the tendency of adolescents with visual impairments to try to hide the disability and "pass" as unimpaired with their peers. It is suggested that these adolescents be helped to find a comfortable balance between taking excessive risks and allowing visual impairment or blindness to be an…

Examines young children's responses to and understanding of death. Discusses children's concepts of death; how their grief process differs from that of adults; stages of grief; factors affecting grief responses; acceptance of children's grief response; support for grieving children, especially funeral services and counseling; and preparing and…

Addresses attitudinal and logistical roadblocks to launching social and emotional learning programs. Debunks ideas that such programs are either faddish, ineffective, "New-Age," or detractions from academic learning. Stresses conceptual origins in the work of Daniel Goleman, Howard Gardner, and Robert Sylwester. Notes educators must work…

Interviews Carol Wilson, a teacher of gifted students at Sandpiper Elementary School in Sunrise, Florida. Explains that in Carol's classroom, technology extends the instruction of literacy to include not only reading, writing, speaking, and listening, but also what might be called emotional literacy. Notes that she involves her students in a…

This article summarizes proposed benefits of children's play and critically reviews the empirical evidence which supports or refutes the explanatory model. It concludes with suggestions for future research to explicate more fully the developmental benefits of play for the child. (JD)

Constructivist listening is a tool for empowerment, community building, and educational change. It enables teachers and principals to think of themselves and their schools as centers for learning and change rather than as the target of change efforts for others. It enables people to assume responsibility for their actions and feelings. (Author)

Theory and research on children's emotional development are reviewed, and it is suggested that in mainstreaming children with disabilities, everything possible should be done to make the mainstream a hospitable environment for them, beginning with teacher recognition of responsibility for the classroom's socio-emotional climate. (MSE)

This article demonstrates that the cognitive complexity and personality traits of gifted children create unique experiences and awarenesses that separate them from others. A central feature of children's gifted experience is their moral sensitivity and the asynchronous development of their inner world, which need to be understood and nurtured.…

Investigated contributions to individual differences in preschoolers' identification of basic emotional expressions and situations, emotion language, and self-generated causes for basic emotions. The contribution of socialization predictors to emotion understanding was moderated by gender only for negative emotional responsiveness, and children…

This study comparing 70 gifted children (ages 5-14) with 2 control groups revealed that emotional problems were not the result of gifted ability per se but of other disturbing matters such as others' expectations or family conflict. Academic underachievement was related to self-concept; gifted children's greater sensitivity was usually…

The perception of emotions from facial expression was studied with 68 schizotypal individuals and a control group (n=40). The results did not support the hypotheses that the schizotypal group would display more restricted similarity range in judging emotions, judge emotions as less pleasant, and display less accuracy in labelling emotions. (SW)

Eighty-six female and 52 male college students completed surveys about sexual, emotional-bond, audience, and equality challenges present in their cross-sex friendships. Results indicate that these challenges do exist but that they are not perceived as salient for the majority. (SLD)

Examined nine infants' pretend play with mothers to determine pretend play's impact on children's emerging understanding of emotions so necessary to concepts of self. Found that the combination of talk and enactment characteristic of pretend play may facilitate communication about emotions--particularly fear and anger--that may be considered…

Assessments of temperament, emotion, cognition, and language acquisition were obtained for 200 pairs of 14-month-old twins. Comparisons between the assessment correlations for identical and fraternal twins indicated an influence of genetics on inhibition, activity, temperament, empathy, negative emotion, spatial memory, categorization skills, and…