Book: Book: Santrock, J. W. (2019). Life-span development (17th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

The Reggio Emilia approach Page 198is an educational program for young children that was developed in the northern Italian city of Reggio Emilia. Children of single parents and children with disabilities have priority in admission; other children are admitted according to a scale of needs. Parents pay on a sliding scale based on income. The children are encouraged to learn by investigating and exploring topics that interest them (Bredekamp, 2017; Follari, 2019). A wide range of stimulating media and materials is available for children to use as they learn music, movement, drawing, painting, sculpting, collages, puppets and disguises, and photography, for example (Bond, 2015). In this program, children often explore topics in a group, which fosters a sense of community, respect for diversity, and a collaborative approach to problem solving. Two co-teachers are present to serve as guides for children. The Reggio Emilia teachers treat each project as an adventure that may be sparked by an adult’s suggestion, a child’s idea, or an event such as a snowfall or something else unexpected. The teachers allow children enough time to think about a topic and craft a project. At the core of the Reggio Emilia approach is the image of children who are competent and have rights, especially the right to receive outstanding care and education. Parent participation is considered essential, and cooperation is a major theme in the schools. Many early childhood education experts believe the Reggio Emilia approach provides a supportive, stimulating context in which children are motivated to explore their world in a competent and confident manner (Feeney, Moravcik, & Nolte, 2019; Morrison, 2017, 2018). A Reggio Emilia classroom in which young children explore topics that interest them. ©Ruby Washington/The New York Times/Redux Pictures topical connections looking back Physical growth in infancy is dramatic. Even though physical growth in early childhood slows, it is not difficult to distinguish young children from infants when you look at them. Most young children lose their “baby fat,” and their legs and trunks become longer. In addition to what you can see with the naked eye, much development also continues below the surface in the brain. In infancy, myelination of axons in the brain paved the way for development of such functions as full visual capacity. Continued myelination in early childhood provides children with much better hand-eye coordination. In terms of cognitive development, you learned that infants make amazing progress in their attentional, memory, concept formation, and language skills. In this chapter, you will discover that these information-processing skills continue to show remarkable advances in early childhood. preview Parents and educators who clearly Page 199understand how young children develop can play an active role in creating programs that foster their natural interest in learning, rather than stifling it. In this chapter we will explore the physical, cognitive, and language changes that typically occur as the toddler develops into the preschooler, and then examine different approaches to early childhood education. 1 Physical Changes LG1 Identify physical changes in early childhood. Body Growth and Change Motor and Perceptual Development Sleep Nutrition and Exercise Illness and Death Recall that an infant’s growth in the first year is rapid and follows cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns. Improvement in fine motor skills—such as being able to turn the pages of a book one at a time—also contributes to the infant’s sense of mastery in the second year. The growth rate continues to slow down in early childhood. If it did not, we would be a species of giants. BODY GROWTH AND CHANGE Growth in height and weight is the obvious physical change that characterizes early childhood. Unseen changes in the brain and nervous system are no less significant, however, in preparing children for advances in cognition and language. Height and Weight The average child grows 2½ inches in height and gains 5 to 10 pounds a year during early childhood. As the preschool child grows older, the percentage of increase in height and weight decreases with each additional year (Goldstone & Reynolds, 2014). Girls are only slightly smaller and lighter than boys during these years, a difference that continues until puberty. During the preschool years, both boys and girls slim down as the trunks of their bodies lengthen. Although their heads are still somewhat large for their bodies, by the end of the preschool years most children have lost their top-heavy look. Body fat also shows a slow, steady decline during the preschool years. The chubby baby often looks much leaner by the end of early childhood. Girls have more fatty tissue than boys; boys have more muscle tissue. Growth patterns vary individually (Kliegman & others, 2016; London & others, 2017). Think back to your preschool years. This was probably the first time you noticed that some children were taller than you, some shorter; some were fatter, some thinner; some were stronger, some weaker. Much of the variation was due to heredity, but environmental experiences were also involved (Bindler & others, 2017). A review of the height and weight of children around the world concluded that the two most important contributors to height differences are ethnic origin and nutrition (Meredith, 1978). Urban, middle-socioeconomic-status, and firstborn children were taller than rural, lower-socioeconomic-status, and later-born children. In the United States, African American children are taller than non-Latino White children. The bodies of 5-year-olds and 2-year-olds are different. Notice that the 5-year-old not only is taller and weighs more, but also has a longer trunk and legs than the 2-year-old. Can you think of some other physical differences between 2- and 5-year-olds? ©Michael Hitoshi/Getty Images Why are some children unusually short? The primary contributing influences are congenital factors (genetic or prenatal problems), growth hormone deficiency, a physical problem that develops in childhood, maternal smoking during pregnancy, or an emotional difficulty (Hay & others, 2017; Krebs & others, 2016). Growth hormone deficiency is the absence or deficiency of growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland to stimulate the body to grow (Krebs & others, 2016). Growth hormone deficiency may occur during infancy or later in childhood (Collin, Whitehead, & Walker, 2016; Grimberg & Allen, 2017). As many as 10,000 to 15,000 U.S. children may have growth hormone deficiency (Stanford University Medical Center, 2012). Without treatment, most children with growth hormone deficiency will not reach a height of five feet. Twice as many boys as girls are treated with growth hormone, likely because there is a greater stigma attached to boys being short. A recent study of children born Page 200small for gestational age or short in stature revealed that five years of growth hormone treatment in childhood was linked to an increase to close to average height (Ross & others, 2015). And one study also revealed that growth hormone treatment of children who were very short in stature was linked to an increase in height as well as improvements in self-esteem and mood (Chaplin & others, 2012). Also, a recent review concluded that accurate assessment of growth hormone deficiency is difficult and that many children diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency re-test normal later in childhood (Murray, Dattani, & Clayton, 2016). The Brain One of the most important physical developments during early childhood is the continuing development of the brain and nervous system (Bell & others, 2018). Although the brain continues to grow in early childhood, it does not grow as rapidly as it did in infancy. By the time children reach 3 years of age, the brain is three-quarters of its adult size. By age 6, the brain has reached about 95 percent of its adult size (Lenroot & Giedd, 2006). Thus, the brain of a 5-year-old is nearly the size it will be when the child reaches adulthood, but as we will see in later chapters, the development that occurs inside the brain continues through the remaining years of childhood and adolescence (Bell, Ross, & Patton, 2018; Cohen & Casey, 2017; Goddings & Mills, 2017). Some of the brain’s interior changes involve increases in dendritic connections as well as myelination, in which nerve cells are covered and insulated with a layer of fat cells (see Figure 1). Myelination has the effect of increasing the speed and efficiency of information traveling through the nervous system. Myelination is important in the development of a number of abilities during childhood (Juraska & Willing, 2017; van Tilborg & others, 2018). For example, myelination in the areas of the brain related to hand-eye coordination is not complete until about 4 years of age. In a recent study, young children with higher cognitive ability showed increased myelination by 3 years of age (Deoni & others, 2016). FIGURE 1 A MYELINATED NERVE FIBER. The myelin sheath, shown in brown, encases the axon (white). This image was produced by an electron microscope that magnified the nerve fiber 12,000 times. What role does myelination play in the brain’s development and children’s cognition? ©Steve Gschmeissner/Science Source Researchers also have discovered that children’s brains undergo dramatic anatomical changes between the ages of 3 and 15 (Bell, Ross, & Patton, 2018; Cohen & Casey, 2017). By repeatedly obtaining brain scans of the same children for up to four years, they have found that children’s brains undergo rapid, distinct spurts of growth. The amount of brain material in some areas can nearly double within as little as a year, followed by a drastic loss of tissue as unneeded cells are purged and the brain continues to reorganize itself. The scientists have discovered that the overall size of the brain does not show dramatic growth in the 3- to 15-year age range. However, what does dramatically change are local patterns within the brain. Researchers have found that in children from 3 to 6 years of age the most rapid growth takes place in the frontal lobe areas involved in planning and organizing new actions, and in maintaining attention to tasks (Carlson, Zelazo, & Faja, 2013). developmental connection Brain Development In middle and late childhood, cortical thickening occurs in the frontal lobes, which may be linked to improvements in language abilities such as reading. Connect to “Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle and Late Childhood.” Recently, researchers have found that contextual factors such as poverty and parenting quality are linked to the development of the brain (Black & others, 2017; Lomanowska & others, 2017; Marshall & others, 2018). In one study, children from the poorest homes had significant maturational lags in their frontal and temporal lobes at 4 years of age, and these lags were associated with lower attainment of school readiness skills (Hair & others, 2015). In another study, higher levels of maternal sensitivity in early childhood were associated with higher total brain volume (Kok & others, 2015). MOTOR AND PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT Most preschool children are more active than they will ever be at any later period in the life span. Let’s explore what this activity involves in young children’s lives, as well as advances in their perceptual skills. Gross Motor Skills The preschool child no longer has to make an effort simply to stay upright and to move around. As children move their legs with more confidence and carry themselves more purposefully, moving around in the environment becomes more automatic (Perry & others, 2018). However, there are large individual differences in young children’s gross motor skills (Kliegman & others, 2016). At 3 years of age, children enjoy simple movements, Page 201such as hopping, jumping, and running back and forth, just for the sheer delight of performing these activities. They take considerable pride in showing how they can run across a room and jump all of 6 inches. The run-and-jump will win no Olympic gold medals, but for the 3-year-old the activity is a source of considerable pride in accomplishment. At 4 years of age, children are still enjoying the same kind of activities, but they have become more adventurous. They scramble over low jungle gyms as they display their athletic prowess. At 5 years of age, children are even more adventuresome than when they were 4. It is not unusual for self-assured 5-year-olds to perform hair-raising stunts on practically any climbing object. Five-year-olds run hard and enjoy races with each other and their parents. How can early childhood educators support young children’s motor development? Young children need to practice skills in order to learn them, so instruction should be followed with ample time for practice (Follari, 2019; Morrison, 2017, 2018). A recent study of 4-year-old girls found that a nine-week motor skills intervention improved the girls’ ball skills (Veldman & others, 2017). There can be long-term negative effects for children who fail to develop basic motor skills (Barnett, Salmon, & Hesketh, 2016; Gorgon, 2018). These children will not be as able to join in group games or participate in sports during their school years and in adulthood. In a recent study, children with a low level of motor competence had a lower motivation for sports participation and had lower global self-worth than their counterparts with a high level of motor competence (Bardid & others, 2018). Another recent study found that higher motor proficiency in preschool was linked to higher levels of physical activity in adolescence (Venetsanou & Kambas, 2017). Fine Motor Skills At 3 years of age, although children have had the ability to pick up the tiniest objects between their thumb and forefinger for some time, they are still somewhat clumsy at it. Three-year-olds can build surprisingly high block towers, placing each block with intense concentration but often not in a completely straight line. When 3-year-olds play with a simple jigsaw puzzle, they are rather rough in placing the pieces. Even when they recognize the hole a piece fits into, they are not very precise in positioning the piece. They often try to force the piece into the hole or pat it vigorously. By 4 years of age, children’s fine motor coordination has improved substantially and become much more precise. Sometimes 4-year-old children have trouble building high towers with blocks because, in their attempts to place each of the blocks perfectly, they may upset those already stacked. By age 5, children’s fine motor coordination has improved further. Hand, arm, and body all move together under better command of the eye. Perceptual Development Changes in children’s perceptual development continue in childhood (Bank & others, 2015). When children are about 4 or 5 years old, their eye muscles usually are developed enough that they can move their eyes efficiently across a series of letters. Many preschool children are farsighted, unable to see close up as well as they can see far away. By the time they enter the first grade, though, most children can focus their eyes and sustain their attention effectively on close-up objects. What are the signs of vision problems in children? They include rubbing the eyes, blinking or squinting excessively, appearing irritable when playing games that require good distance vision, shutting or covering one eye, and tilting the head or thrusting it forward when looking at something. A child who shows any of these behaviors should be examined by an ophthalmologist. After infancy, children’s visual expectations about the physical world continue to develop. In one study, 2- to 4½-year-old children were given a task in which the goal was to find a ball that had been dropped through an opaque tube (Hood, 1995). As shown in Figure 2, if the ball is dropped into the tube at the top left, it will land in the box at the bottom right. However, in this task, most of the 2-year-olds, and even some of the 4-year-olds, persisted in searching in the box directly beneath the dropping point. For them, gravity ruled and they had failed to perceive the end location of the curved tube. FIGURE 2 VISUAL EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE PHYSICAL WORLD. When young children see the ball dropped into the tube, many of them will search for it immediately below the dropping point. Courtesy of Dr. Bruce Hood, University of Bristol In one study 3-year-olds were presented with the same task shown in Figure 2 (Joh, Jaswal, & Keen, 2011). In the group that was told to imagine the various paths the ball might take, the young children were more accurate in predicting where the ball would land. In another recent study, 3-year-olds improved their performance on the ball-dropping task shown in Figure 2 when they were instructed to follow the tube with their eyes to the bottom (Bascandziev & Harris, 2011). Thus, in these two studies, 3-year-olds were able to overcome the gravity bias and their impulsive tendencies when they were given verbal instructions from a knowledgeable adult (Keen, 2011). How do children learn to Page 202deal with situations like that in Figure 2, and how do they come to understand other laws of the physical world? These questions are addressed by studies of cognitive development, which we discuss later in this chapter. SLEEP Getting a good night’s sleep is important for children’s development (Kouros & El-Sheikh, 2017; Paul & Pinto, 2017; Rangan & others, 2018). Experts recommend that young children get 11 to 13 hours of sleep each night (National Sleep Foundation, 2016). Most young children sleep through the night and have one daytime nap. Not only do children need a certain amount of sleep, but also uninterrupted sleep (Owens & Mindell, 2011). However, it sometimes is difficult to get young children to go to sleep as they drag out their bedtime routine. Studies often report that young children don’t get adequate sleep (Palermo, 2014). A recent study of children 36 to 42 months old found that a consistent bedtime routine was associated with more nightly sleep and an increase in nightly sleep minutes across a 6-month period (Staples, Bates, & Petersen, 2015). What characterizes young children’s sleep problems? ©Imagemore/Glow Images Children can experience a number of sleep problems (El-Sheikh, Hinnant, & Philbrook, 2017: Huhdanpaa & others, 2018). These include narcolepsy (extreme daytime sleepiness) (Inocente & others, 2014), insomnia (difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep) (Miano & Peraita-Adrados, 2014), and nightmares (Akinsanya, Marwaha, & Tampi, 2017). One estimate indicates that more than 40 percent of children experience a sleep problem at some point in their development (Boyle & Cropley, 2004). The following research studies indicate links between children’s sleep problems and negative developmental outcomes: developmental connection Sleep What sleep disorder in infancy leads to the most infant deaths and at what age is the infant most at risk for this disorder? Connect to “Physical Development in Infancy.” Sleep problems in early childhood were associated with subsequent attention problems that in some cases persisted into early adolescence (O’Callaghan & others, 2010). In a Chinese study, preschool children who slept seven hours per day or less had a worse school readiness profile (including language/cognitive deficits and emotional immaturity) (Tso & others, 2016). Also in this study, preschool children who used electronic devices three or more hours per day had shortened sleep durations. Preschool children with a longer sleep duration were more likely to have better peer acceptance, social skills, and receptive vocabulary (Vaughn & others, 2015). Short sleep duration in children was linked with being overweight (Hart, Cairns, & Jelalian, 2011). In 2- to 5-year-old children, each additional hour of daily screen time was associated with a decrease in sleep time, less likelihood of sleeping 10 hours or more per night, and later bedtime (Xu & others, 2016). Four-year-old children who had insomnia were characterized by hostile-aggressive and hyperactive-distractible problems (Armstrong & others, 2014). To improve children’s sleep, Mona El-Sheikh (2013) recommends making sure that the bedroom is cool, dark, and comfortable; maintaining consistent bedtimes and wake times; and building positive family relationships. Also, helping the child slow down before bedtime often contributes to less resistance to going to bed. Reading the child a story, playing quietly with the child in the bath, and letting the child sit on the caregiver’s lap while listening to music are quieting activities. NUTRITION AND EXERCISE Eating habits are important aspects of development during early childhood (Blake, Munoz, & Volpe, 2019; Thompson & Manore, 2018; Wardlaw, Smith, & Collene, 2018). What children eat affects their skeletal growth, body shape, and susceptibility to disease. Exercise and physical activity also are very important aspects of young children’s lives (Powers & Dodd, 2017; Powers & Howley, 2018; Walton-Fisette & Wuest, 2018). Overweight Young Children Being overweight has become a serious health problem in early childhood (Donatelle, 2019; Perry & others, 2017). A national study revealed that 45 percent of children’s meals exceed recommendations for saturated and trans fats, which can raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease (Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2008). The same study found that one-third of children’s daily caloric intake comes from restaurants—twice the percentage consumed away from Page 203home in the 1980s. Further, 93 percent of almost 1,500 possible choices at 13 major fast-food chains exceeded 430 calories—one-third of what the National Institute of Medicine recommends that 4- to 8-year-old children consume in a day. Nearly all of the children’s meal options at KFC, Taco Bell, Sonic, Jack in the Box, and Chick-fil-A were too high in calories. One study of U.S. 2- and 3-year-olds found that French fries and other fried potatoes were the vegetable they were most likely to consume (Fox & others, 2010). Young children’s eating behavior is strongly influenced by their caregivers’ behavior (Black & Hurley, 2017; Brown, 2017; Lindsay & others, 2018; Sorte, Daeschel, & Amador, 2017; Tan & Holub, 2015). Young children’s eating behavior improves when caregivers eat with children on a predictable schedule, model choosing nutritious food, make mealtimes pleasant occasions, and engage in certain feeding styles. Distractions from television, family arguments, and competing activities should be minimized so that children can focus on eating. A sensitive/responsive caregiver feeding style, in which the caregiver is nurturant, provides clear information about what is expected, and appropriately responds to children’s cues, is recommended (Black & Hurley, 2017). Forceful and restrictive caregiver behaviors are not recommended (Tylka, Lumeng, & Eneli, 2015). What are some trends in the eating habits and weight of young children? ©Lilian Perez/age fotostock The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) has established categories for obesity, overweight, and at risk of being overweight. These categories are determined by body mass index (BMI), which is computed using a formula that takes into account height and weight. Children and adolescents at or above the 97th percentile are classified as obese, those at the 95th or 96th percentile as overweight, and those from the 85th to the 94th percentile as at risk of being overweight. The percentages of young children who are overweight or at risk of being overweight in the United States have increased dramatically in recent decades, but in the last several years there are indications that fewer preschool children are obese (Wardlaw, Smith, & Collene, 2018). In 2009–2010, 12.1 percent of U.S. 2- to 5-year-olds were classified as obese, compared with 5 percent in 1976–1980 (Ogden & others, 2012). However, in 2013–2014, a substantial drop in the obesity rate of 2- to 5-year-old children occurred in comparison with their counterparts in 2009–2010 (Ogden & others, 2016). In 2013–2014, 9.4 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds were obese compared with 12.1 percent in 2009–2010. It is not clear precisely why this drop occurred, but among the possibilities are families buying lower-calorie foods and the Special Supplementation Program for Women, Infants, and Children (which subsidizes food for women in low-income families) emphasizing reduced consumption of fruit juice, cheese, and eggs and increased consumption of whole fruits and vegetables. In a recent study, 2½-year-olds’ liking for fruits and vegetables was related to their eating more fruits and vegetables at 7 years of age (Fletcher & others, 2018). The risk that overweight children will continue to be overweight when they are older was underscored by a recent U.S. study of nearly 8,000 children (Cunningham, Kramer, & Narayan, 2014). In this study, overweight 5-year-olds were four times more likely to be obese at 14 years of age than their 5-year-old counterparts who began kindergarten at a normal weight. Also, in the study described earlier in which obesity rates were decreasing among preschool children, preschool children who were obese were five times more likely to be overweight or obese as adults (Ogden & others, 2014). One comparison of 34 countries revealed that the United States had the second highest rate of childhood obesity (Janssen & others, 2005). Obesity contributes to a number of health problems in young children (Walker & others, 2015). For example, physicians are now seeing type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes (a condition directly linked with obesity and a low level of fitness) and hypertension in children as young as 5 years of age (Chaturvedi & others, 2014). Many aspects of children’s lives can contribute to becoming overweight or obese (Labayen Goni & others, 2018; Sun & others, 2018). Recently, the following 5-2-1-0 obesity prevention guidelines have been issued for young children: 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 hours or less of screen time, minimum of 1 hour of physical activity, and 0 sugar-sweetened beverages daily (Khalsa & others, 2017). Prevention of obesity in children includes helping children, parents, and teachers see food as a way to satisfy hunger and meet nutritional needs, not as proof of love or as a reward for good behavior (Roberts, Marx, & Musher-Eizenman, 2018; Smith & Collene, 2019). Snack foods should be low in fat, in simple sugars, and in salt, as well as high in fiber. Routine physical activity should be a daily occurrence (Lintu & others, 2016). A recent research study found that viewing as little as 1 hour of television daily was associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI) between kindergarten and the first grade (Peck & others, 2015). A recent intervention study with Page 204children attending Head Start programs found that getting parents involved in such activities as nutrition counseling, becoming more aware of their child’s weight status, and developing healthy lifestyles was effective in lowering children’s rate of obesity, increasing children’s physical activity, reducing children’s TV viewing, and improving children’s eating habits (Davison & others, 2013). Other researchers also are finding that interventions with parents can reduce children’s likelihood of being overweight or obese (Byrne & others, 2018). A recent research review concluded that family-based interventions were often effective in helping obese children lose weight (Kothandan, 2014). How much physical activity should preschool children engage in per day? ©RubberBall Productions/Getty Images Malnutrition in Young Children from Low-Income Families Malnutrition is a problem for many U.S. children, with approximately 11 million preschool children experiencing malnutrition that places their health at risk. Poverty is an especially strong risk factor for malnutrition in young children (Black & others, 2017; Blake, 2017; Schiff, 2019). One of the most common nutritional problems in early childhood is iron deficiency anemia, which results in chronic fatigue. This problem results from the failure to eat adequate amounts of quality meats and dark green vegetables. Young children from low-income families are the most likely to develop iron deficiency anemia (Petry & others, 2017). Exercise Routine physical activity should be a daily occurrence for young children (Innella & others, 2016; Insel & Roth, 2018; Lintu & others, 2016). Too often children are not getting adequate exercise (Dowda & others, 2017; Walton-Fisette & Wuest, 2018). Recently, four expert panels from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States issued physical activity guidelines for young children that were quite similar (Pate & others, 2015). The guidelines recommend that young children get 15 or more minutes of physical activity per hour over a 12-hour period, or about 3 hours per day total. These guidelines reflect an increase from earlier guidelines (National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2002). The child’s life should center around activities, not meals (Powers & Dodd, 2017; Powers & Howley, 2018). developmental connection Health As boys and girls reach and progress through adolescence, they tend to get less exercise. Connect to “Physical and Cognitive Development in Adolescence.” ILLNESS AND DEATH What are the greatest risks to the health of young children in the United States? How pervasive is death among young children around the world? The United States Young children’s active and exploratory nature, coupled with their unawareness of danger in many instances, often puts them in situations in which they are at risk for injuries. In 2015 in the United States, accidents (unintentional injuries) were the leading cause of death in young children, followed by congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Drowning was the most common cause of accidental death in young children, with other causes of accidental death in young children in order involving motor vehicles, homicide, and suffocation. Children’s Safety Children’s safety is influenced not only by Page 205their own skills and safety behaviors but also by aspects of their family and home, school and peers, and community (Naranjo, 2017; Onders & others, 2018; Saunders & others, 2017; Simon-Tov, Peleg, & Baron-Epel, 2018). Figure 3 describes steps that can be taken in each of these contexts to enhance children’s safety and prevent injury (Sleet & Mercy, 2003). Children in poverty have higher rates of accidents, death, and asthma than do children from higher-income families (Hughes & others, 2017; Lin & Seo, 2017). FIGURE 3 CHARACTERISTICS THAT ENHANCE YOUNG CHILDREN’S SAFETY. In each context of a child’s life, steps can be taken to create conditions that improve the child’s safety and reduce the likelihood of injury. How are the contexts listed in the figure related to Bronfenbrenner’s theory (described in the “Introduction” chapter)? Environmental Tobacco Smoke Estimates indicate that approximately 22 percent of children and adolescents in the United States are exposed to tobacco smoke in the home. An increasing number of studies reach the conclusion that children are at risk for health problems when they live in homes in which a parent smokes (Miyahara & others, 2017; Pugmire, Sweeting, & Moore, 2017). Children exposed to tobacco smoke in the home are more likely to develop wheezing symptoms and asthma than are children in nonsmoking families (Hatoun & others, 2018; Merianos, Dixon, & Mahabee-Gittens, 2017; Rosen & others, 2018; Vo & others, 2017). One study found that parental smoking was a risk factor for higher blood pressure in children (Simonetti & others, 2011). Also, a recent study revealed that maternal cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption when children were 5 years of age were linked to onset of smoking in early adolescence (Hayatbakhsh & others, 2013). Further, a recent study revealed that children living in low-income families are more likely to be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke than their counterparts in middle-income families (Kit & others, 2013). And a recent study found that young children who were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke were more likely to engage in antisocial behavior when they were 12 years old (Pagani & others, 2017). The State of Illness and Health of the World’s Children Devastating effects on the health of young children occur in countries where poverty rates are high (UNICEF, 2018). The poor are the majority in nearly one out of every five nations in the world. They often experience hunger, malnutrition, illness, inadequate access to health care, unsafe water, and a lack of protection from harm (Black & others, 2017). In the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of young children who have died because HIV/AIDS was transmitted to them by their parents (UNICEF, 2018). Deaths of young children due to HIV/AIDS especially occur in countries with high rates of poverty and low levels of education (Tomlinson & others, 2016). Many of the deaths of young children around the world could be prevented by reductions in poverty and improvements in nutrition, sanitation, education, and health services (Black & others, 2017; UNICEF, 2018). Many children in impoverished countries die before reaching the age of 5 from dehydration and malnutrition brought about by diarrhea. What are some of the other main causes of death in young children around the world? ©Kent Page/AP Images Page 206 Review Connect Reflect LG1 Identify physical changes in early childhood. Review How does the body grow and change during early childhood? What changes take place in motor and perceptual development during early childhood? What are some problems associated with sleep in young children? What roles do nutrition and exercise play in early childhood? What are some major causes of illness and death among young children in the United States and around the world? Connect In this section you learned that experts recommend that children get 11 to 13 hours of sleep per night during early childhood. How does that compare with what you learned earlier about the sleep patterns of infants? Reflect Your Own Personal Journey of Life What were your eating habits like when you were a young child? In what ways are they similar or different from your current eating habits? Did your early eating habits predict whether or not you have weight problems today? 2 Cognitive Changes LG2 Describe three views of the cognitive changes that occur in early childhood. Piaget’s Preoperational Stage Vygotsky’s Theory Information Processing The cognitive world of the preschool child is creative, free, and fanciful. Preschool children’s imaginations work overtime, and their mental grasp of the world improves. Our coverage of cognitive development in early childhood focuses on three theories: Piaget’s, Vygotsky’s, and information processing. developmental connection Cognitive Theory Object permanence is an important accomplishment in the sensorimotor stage. Connect to “Cognitive Development in Infancy.” PIAGET’S PREOPERATIONAL STAGE Recall that during Piaget’s first stage of development, the sensorimotor stage, the infant progresses in the ability to organize and coordinate sensations and perceptions with physical movements and actions. The preoperational stage, which lasts from approximately 2 to 7 years of age, is the second Piagetian stage. In this stage, children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings. They form stable concepts and begin to reason. At the same time, the young child’s cognitive world is dominated by egocentrism and magical beliefs. Because Piaget called this stage “preoperational,” it might sound like an unimportant waiting period. Not so. Instead, the label preoperational emphasizes that the child does not yet perform operations, which are reversible mental actions that allow children to do mentally what before they could do only physically. Adding and subtracting numbers mentally are examples of operations. Preoperational thought is the beginning of the ability to reconstruct in thought what has been established in behavior. This developmental stage can be divided into two substages: the symbolic function substage and the intuitive thought substage. The Symbolic Function Substage The symbolic function substage is the first substage of preoperational thought, occurring roughly between the ages of 2 and 4. During this substage, the young child gains the ability to mentally represent an object that is not present. This ability vastly expands the child’s mental world (Callaghan & Corbit, 2015). Young children use scribble designs to represent people, houses, cars, clouds, and so on; they begin to use language and engage in pretend play. However, although young children make distinct progress during this substage, their thought still has important limitations, two of which are egocentrism and animism. Egocentrism is the inability to distinguish Page 207between one’s own perspective and someone else’s perspective. Piaget and Barbel Inhelder (1969) initially studied young children’s egocentrism by devising the three mountains task (see Figure 4). The child walks around the model of the mountains and becomes familiar with what the mountains look like from different perspectives, and she can see that there are different objects on the mountains. The child is then seated on one side of the table on which the mountains are placed. The experimenter moves a doll to different locations around the table, at each location asking the child to select from a series of photos the one photo that most accurately reflects the view that the doll is seeing. Children in the preoperational stage often pick their own view rather than the doll’s view. Preschool children frequently show the ability to take another’s perspective on some tasks but not others. FIGURE 4 THE THREE MOUNTAINS TASK. View 1 shows the child’s perspective from where he or she is sitting. View 2 is an example of one of the photographs the child would be shown, along with other photographs taken from different perspectives. It shows what the mountains look like to a person sitting at spot B. When asked what a view of the mountains looks like from position B, the preoperational child selects a photograph taken from location A, the child’s view at the time. A child who thinks in a preoperational way cannot take the perspective of a person sitting at another spot. Animism, another limitation of preoperational thought, is the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action. A young child might show animism by saying, “That tree pushed the leaf off, and it fell down,” or “The sidewalk made me mad; it made me fall down.” A young child who uses animism fails to distinguish the appropriate occasions for using human and nonhuman perspectives (Opfer & Gelman, 2011). Possibly because young children are not very concerned about reality, their drawings are fanciful and inventive. Suns are blue, skies are yellow, and cars float on clouds in their symbolic, imaginative world. One 3½-year-old looked at a scribble he had just drawn and described it as a pelican kissing a seal (see Figure 5a). The symbolism is simple but strong, like abstractions found in some Page 208modern art. Twentieth-century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso commented, “I used to draw like Raphael but it has taken me a lifetime to draw like young children.” During the elementary school years, a child’s drawings become more realistic, neat, and precise (see Figure 5b) (Winner, 1986). FIGURE 5 THE SYMBOLIC DRAWINGS OF YOUNG CHILDREN. (a) A 3½-year-old’s symbolic drawing. Halfway into his drawing, the 3½-year-old artist said it was a “pelican kissing a seal.” (b) This 11-year-old’s drawing is neater and more realistic but also less inventive. Wolf, D., and Nove, J. “The Symbolic Drawings of Young Children,” Courtesy of D. Wolf and J. Nove. Copyright Dennie Palmer Wolf, Annenberg Institute, Brown University. All rights reserved. Used with permission. The Intuitive Thought Substage The intuitive thought substage is the second substage of preoperational thought, occurring between approximately 4 and 7 years of age. In this substage, children begin to use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to all sorts of questions. Consider 4-year-old Tommy, who is at the beginning of the intuitive thought substage. Although he is starting to develop his own ideas about the world he lives in, his ideas are still simple, and he is not very good at thinking things out. He has difficulty understanding events that he knows are taking place but that he cannot see. His fantasized thoughts bear little resemblance to reality. He cannot yet answer the question “What if?” in any reliable way. For example, he has only a vague idea of what would happen if a car were to hit him. He also has difficulty negotiating traffic because he cannot do the mental calculations necessary to estimate whether an approaching car will hit him when he crosses the road. By the age of 5, children have just about exhausted the adults around them with “why” questions. The child’s questions signal the emergence of interest in reasoning and in figuring out why things are the way they are. Following are some samples of the questions children ask during the questioning period of 4 to 6 years of age (Elkind, 1976): “What makes you grow up?” “Who was the mother when everybody was a baby?” “Why do leaves fall?” “Why does the sun shine?” Piaget called this substage intuitive because young children seem so sure about their knowledge and understanding yet are unaware of how they know what they know. That is, they know something but know it without the use of rational thinking. Centration and the Limits of Preoperational Thought One limitation of preoperational thought is centration, a centering of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others. Centration is most clearly evidenced in young children’s lack of conservation, the awareness that altering an object’s or a substance’s appearance does not change its basic properties. For example, to adults, it is obvious that a certain amount of liquid stays the same, regardless of a container’s shape. But this is not at all obvious to young children. Instead, they are struck by the height of the liquid in the container; they focus on that characteristic to the exclusion of others. The situation that Piaget devised to study conservation is his most famous task. In the conservation task, children are presented with two identical beakers, each filled to the same level with liquid (see Figure 6). They are asked if these beakers have the same amount of liquid, and they usually say yes. Then the liquid from one beaker is poured into a third beaker, which is taller and thinner than the first two. The children are then asked if the amount of liquid in the tall, thin beaker is equal to that which remains in one of Page 209the original beakers. Children who are less than 7 or 8 years old usually say no and justify their answers in terms of the differing height or width of the beakers. Older children usually answer yes and justify their answers appropriately (“If you poured the water back, the amount would still be the same”). FIGURE 6 PIAGET’S CONSERVATION TASK. The beaker test is a well-known Piagetian test to determine whether a child can think operationally—that is, can mentally reverse actions and show conservation of the substance. (a) Two identical beakers are presented to the child. Then the experimenter pours the liquid from B into C, which is taller and thinner than A or B. (b) The child is asked if these beakers (A and C) have the same amount of liquid. The preoperational child says “no.” When asked to point to the beaker that has more liquid, the preoperational child points to the tall, thin beaker. ©Tony Freeman/PhotoEdit In Piaget’s theory, failing the conservation-of-liquid task is a sign that children are at the preoperational stage of cognitive development. The failure demonstrates not only centration but also an inability to mentally reverse actions. For example, in the conservation of matter example shown in Figure 7, preoperational children say that the longer shape has more clay because they assume that “longer is more.” Preoperational children cannot mentally reverse the clay-rolling process to see that the amount of clay is the same in both the shorter ball shape and the longer stick shape. FIGURE 7 SOME DIMENSIONS OF CONSERVATION: NUMBER, MATTER, AND LENGTH. What characteristics of preoperational thought do children demonstrate when they fail these conservation tasks? In addition to failing to conserve volume, preoperational children also fail to conserve number, matter, length, and area. However, children often vary in their performance on different conservation tasks. Thus, a child might be able to conserve volume but not number. A recent fMRI brain-imaging study of conservation of number revealed that advances in a network in the parietal and frontal lobes were linked to 9- and 10-year-olds’ conservation success in comparison with non-conserving 5- and 6-year-olds (Houde & others, 2011). Some developmentalists disagree with Piaget’s estimate of when children’s conservation skills emerge. For example, Rochel Gelman (1969) showed that when the child’s attention to relevant aspects of the conservation task is improved, the child is more likely to conserve. Gelman has also demonstrated that attentional training on one dimension, such as number, improves the preschool child’s performance on another dimension, such as mass. Thus, Gelman argues that conservation appears earlier than Piaget thought and that attention is especially important in explaining conservation. VYGOTSKY’S THEORY Piaget’s theory is a major developmental theory. Another developmental theory that focuses on children’s cognition is Vygotsky’s theory. Like Piaget, Vygotsky (1962) emphasized that children actively construct their knowledge and understanding. In Piaget’s theory, children develop ways of thinking and understanding by their actions and interactions with the physical world. In Vygotsky’s theory, children are more often described as social creatures than in Piaget’s theory (Moura da Costa & Tuleski, 2017; Yu & Hu, 2017). They develop their ways of thinking and understanding primarily through social interaction (Clara, 2017). Their cognitive development depends on the tools provided by society, and their minds are shaped by the cultural context in which they live (Daniels, 2017; Gauvain, 2016; Holzman, 2017; Yasnitsky & Van der Veer, 2016). Page 210 The Zone of Proximal Development Vygotsky’s belief in the role of social influences, especially instruction, in children’s cognitive development is reflected in his concept of the zone of proximal development. Zone of proximal development (ZPD) is Vygotsky’s term for the range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master alone but can be learned with guidance and assistance from adults or more-skilled children. Thus, the lower limit of the ZPD is the level of skill reached by the child working independently. The upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able instructor (see Figure 8). The ZPD captures the child’s cognitive skills that are in the process of maturing and can be accomplished only with the assistance of a more-skilled person (Clara, 2017; Holzman, 2017). Vygotsky (1962) called these the “buds” or “flowers” of development, to distinguish them from the “fruits” of development, which the child already can accomplish independently. FIGURE 8 VYGOTSKY’S ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT. Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development has a lower limit and an upper limit. Tasks in the ZPD are too difficult for the child to perform alone. They require assistance from an adult or a more-skilled child. As children experience the verbal instruction or demonstration, they organize the information in their existing mental structures so that they can eventually perform the skill or task alone. ©Ariel Skelley/Blend Images What are some factors that can influence the effectiveness of the ZPD in children’s learning and development? Researchers have found that the following factors can enhance the ZPD’s effectiveness (Gauvain & Perez, 2015): better emotion regulation, secure attachment, absence of maternal depression, and child compliance. Scaffolding Closely linked to the idea of the ZPD is the concept of scaffolding. Scaffolding means changing the level of support. Over the course of a teaching session, a more-skilled person (a teacher or advanced peer) adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the child’s current performance (Daniels, 2017). When the student is learning a new task, the skilled person may use direct instruction. As the student’s competence increases, less guidance is given. A recent study found that scaffolding techniques that heighten engagement, direct exploration, and facilitate “sense-making,” such as guided play, improved 4- to 5-year-old children’s acquisition of geometric knowledge (Fisher & others, 2013). developmental connection Parenting Scaffolding also is an effective strategy for parents to adopt in interacting with their infants. Connect to “Socioemotional Development in Infancy.” Language and Thought The use of dialogue as a tool for scaffolding is only one example of the important role of language in a child’s development. According to Lev Vygotsky, children use speech not only to communicate socially but also to help them solve tasks. Vygotsky (1962) further believed that young children use language to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior. This use of language for self-regulation is called private speech (Lantolf, 2017). For Piaget, private speech is egocentric and immature, but for Vygotsky it is an important tool of thought during the early childhood years. Vygotsky said that language and thought initially develop independently of each other and then merge. He emphasized that all mental functions have external, or social, origins. Children must use language to communicate with others before they can focus inward on their own thoughts. Children also must communicate externally and use language for a long period of time before they can make the transition from external to internal speech. This transition period occurs between 3 and 7 years of age and involves talking to oneself. After a while, the self-talk becomes second nature to children, and they can act without verbalizing. When they gain this skill, children have internalized their egocentric speech in the form of inner speech, which becomes their thoughts. Vygotsky reasoned that children who use a lot of private speech are more socially competent than those who don’t. He argued that private speech represents an early transition in becoming more socially communicative. In Vygotsky’s view, when young children talk to themselves they are using language to govern their behavior and guide themselves. For example, a child working on a puzzle might say to herself, “Which pieces should I put together first? I’ll try those green ones first. Page 211Now I need some blue ones. No, that blue one doesn’t fit there. I’ll try it over here.” Piaget maintained that self-talk is egocentric and reflects immaturity. However, researchers have found support for Vygotsky’s view that private speech plays a positive role in children’s development (Winsler, Carlton, & Barry, 2000). Teaching Strategies Vygotsky’s theory has been embraced by many teachers and has been successfully applied to education (Adams, 2015; Clara, 2017; Holzman, 2017). Here are some ways Vygotsky’s theory can be incorporated in classrooms: Assess the child’s ZPD. Like Piaget, Vygotsky did not recommend formal, standardized tests as the best way to assess children’s learning. Rather, Vygotsky argued that assessment should focus on determining the child’s zone of proximal development. The skilled helper presents the child with tasks of varying difficulty to determine the best level at which to begin instruction. Use the child’s ZPD in teaching. Teaching should begin toward the zone’s upper limit, so that the child can reach the goal with help and move to a higher level of skill and knowledge. Offer just enough assistance. You might ask, “What can I do to help you?” Or simply observe the child’s intentions and attempts and provide support when it is needed. When the child hesitates, offer encouragement. And encourage the child to practice the skill. You may watch and appreciate the child’s practice or offer support when the child forgets what to do. Use more-skilled peers as teachers. Remember that it is not just adults who are important in helping children learn. Children also benefit from the support and guidance of more-skilled children. Place instruction in a meaningful context. Educators today are moving away from abstract presentations of material; instead, they provide students with opportunities to experience learning in real-world settings. For example, rather than just memorizing math formulas, students work on math problems with real-world implications. Transform the classroom with Vygotskian ideas. What does a Vygotskian classroom look like? The Kamehameha Elementary Education Program (KEEP) in Hawaii is based on Vygotsky’s theory (Tharp, 1994). The ZPD is the key element of instruction in this program. Children might read a story and then interpret its meaning. Many of the learning activities take place in small groups. All children spend at least 20 minutes each morning in a setting called “Center One.” In this context, scaffolding is used to improve children’s literacy skills. The instructor asks questions, responds to students’ queries, and builds on the ideas that students generate. Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934), shown here with his daughter, reasoned that children’s cognitive development is advanced through social interaction with more-skilled individuals embedded in a sociocultural backdrop. How is Vygotsky’s theory different from Piaget’s? Courtesy of James V. Wertsch, Washington University Connecting Development to Life further explores the implications of Vygotsky’s theory for children’s education. Evaluating Vygotsky’s Theory Even though their theories were proposed at about the same time, most of the world learned about Vygotsky’s theory later than they learned about Piaget’s theory. Thus, Vygotsky’s theory has not yet been evaluated as thoroughly. However, Vygotsky’s view of the importance of sociocultural influences on children’s development fits with the current belief that it is important to evaluate the contextual factors in learning (Gauvain, 2016; Holzman, 2017). We already have compared several aspects of Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories, such as Vygotsky’s emphasis on the importance of inner speech in development and Piaget’s view that such speech is immature. Although both theories are constructivist, Vygotsky’s theory takes a social constructivist approach, which emphasizes the social contexts of learning and the construction of knowledge through social interaction (Gauvain, 2016; Holzman, 2017; Yu & Hu, 2017). Page 212 connecting development to life Tools of the Mind Tools of the Mind is an early childhood education curriculum that emphasizes children’s development of self-regulation and the cognitive foundations of literacy. The curriculum was created by Elena Bodrova and Deborah Leong (2007, 2015a, b) and has been implemented in more than 200 classrooms. Most of the children in the Tools of the Mind programs are at risk because of their living circumstances, which in many instances involve poverty and other difficult conditions such as being homeless and having parents with drug problems. Tools of the Mind is grounded in Vygotsky’s (1962) theory with special attention given to cultural tools, development of self-regulation, use of the zone of proximal development, scaffolding, private speech, shared activity, and play as important activity. In a Tools of the Mind classroom, dramatic play has a central role. Teachers guide children in creating themes that are based on the children’s interests, such as treasure hunt, store, hospital, and restaurant. Teachers also incorporate field trips, visitor presentations, videos, and books in the development of children’s play. They help children develop a play plan, which increases the maturity of their play. Play plans describe what the children expect to do in the play period, including the imaginary context, roles, and props to be used. The play plans increase the quality of their play and self-regulation. Scaffolding writing is another important theme in the Tools of the Mind classroom. Teachers guide children in planning their own message by drawing a line to stand for each word the child says. Children then repeat the message, pointing to each line as they say the word. Then, the child writes on the lines, trying to represent each word with some letters or symbols. Figure 9 shows how the scaffolding writing process improved a 5-year-old child’s writing over the course of two months. Research assessments of children’s writing in Tools of the Mind classrooms revealed that they have more advanced writing skills than children in other early childhood programs (Bodrova & Leong, 2007) (see Figure 9). For example, they write more complex messages, use more words, spell more accurately, show better letter recognition, and have a better understanding of the concept of a sentence. FIGURE 9 WRITING PROGRESS OF A 5-YEAR-OLD BOY OVER TWO MONTHS USING THE SCAFFOLDING WRITING PROCESS IN TOOLS OF THE MIND. Leong, Deborah J., & Bodrova, Elena. “Tools of the Mind.” Copyright ©2007 by Deborah J. Leong and Elena Bodrova. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Also, the effectiveness of the Tools of the Mind approach was examined in 29 schools, 79 classrooms, and 759 schools (Blair & Raver, 2014). Positive effects of the Tools of the Mind program were found for the cognitive processes of executive function (improved self-regulation, for example) and attention control. Further, the Tools of the Mind program improved children’s reading, vocabulary, and mathematics performance at the end of kindergarten and into the first grade. The most significant improvements occurred in high-poverty schools. How does the Reggio Emilia approach to education that you read about in the story that opened this chapter compare with the Tools of the Mind approach described here? In moving from Piaget to Vygotsky, the conceptual shift is one from the individual to collaboration, social interaction, and sociocultural activity (Daniels, 2017). The endpoint of cognitive development for Piaget is formal operational Page 213thought. For Vygotsky, the endpoint can differ depending on which skills are considered to be the most important in a particular culture. In Piaget’s theory, children construct knowledge by transforming, organizing, and reorganizing previous knowledge. From Vygotsky’s perspective, children construct knowledge through social interaction. The implication of Piaget’s theory for teaching is that children need support to explore their world and discover knowledge. The main implication of Vygotsky’s theory for teaching is that students need many opportunities to learn with the teacher and more-skilled peers. In both Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories, teachers serve as facilitators and guides, rather than as directors and molders of learning. Figure 10 compares Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories. As indicated in Figure 10, among the factors that Vygotsky emphasized more than Piaget are the sociocultural context, education, and language. FIGURE 10 COMPARISON OF VYGOTSKY’S AND PIAGET’S THEORIES (Left) ©A.R. Lauria/Dr. Michael Cole, Laboratory of Human Cognition, University of California, San Diego; (right) ©Bettmann/Getty Images Criticisms of Vygotsky’s theory also have surfaced. Some critics point out that Vygotsky was not specific enough about age-related changes. Another criticism is that Vygotsky did not adequately describe how changes in socioemotional capabilities contribute to cognitive development (Goncu & Gauvain, 2012). Yet another criticism is that he overemphasized the role of language in thinking. Also, his emphasis on collaboration and guidance has potential pitfalls. Might facilitators be too helpful in some cases, as when a parent becomes overbearing and controlling? Further, some children might become lazy and expect help when they could have done something on their own. INFORMATION PROCESSING Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories provided important ideas about how young children think and how their thinking changes. More recently, the information-processing approach has generated research that illuminates how children process information during the preschool years (Siegler & Braithwaite, 2017). What are the limitations and advances in young children’s ability to pay attention to the environment, to remember, to develop strategies and solve problems, and to understand their own mental processes and those of others? What are some advances in children’s attention in early childhood? ©kiankhoon/Getty Images Attention Recall that attention is defined as the focusing of Page 214mental resources on select information. The child’s ability to pay attention improves significantly during the preschool years (Rothbart & Posner, 2015; Wu & Scerif, 2018). Toddlers wander around, shift attention from one activity to another, and seem to spend little time focusing on any one object or event. By comparison, the preschool child might be observed watching television for a half hour or longer. Young children especially make advances in two aspects of attention—executive attention and sustained attention (Rothbart & Posner, 2015). Executive attention involves action planning, allocating attention to goals, error detection and compensation, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances (McClelland & others, 2017; Schmitt & others, 2017). Sustained attention is focused and extended engagement with an object, task, event, or other aspect of the environment. Sustained attention also is called vigilance (Benitez & others, 2017). Research indicates that although older children and adolescents show increases in vigilance, it is during the preschool years that individuals show the greatest increase in vigilance (Rothbart & Posner, 2015). Mary Rothbart and Maria Gartstein (2008, p. 332) explained why advances in executive and sustained attention are so important in early childhood: The development of the . . . executive attention system supports the rapid increases in effortful control in the toddler and preschool years. Increases in attention are due, in part, to advances in comprehension and language development. As children are better able to understand their environment, this increased appreciation of their surroundings helps them to sustain attention for longer periods of time. In at least two ways, however, the preschool child’s control of attention is still deficient: Salient versus relevant dimensions. Preschool children are likely to pay attention to stimuli that stand out, or are salient, even when those stimuli are not relevant to solving a problem or performing a task. For example, if a flashy, attractive clown presents the directions for solving a problem, preschool children are likely to pay more attention to the clown than to the directions. After the age of 6 or 7, children attend more efficiently to the dimensions of the task that are relevant, such as the directions for solving a problem. This change reflects a shift to cognitive control of attention, so that children behave less impulsively and reflect more. Planfulness. When experimenters ask children to judge whether two complex pictures are the same, preschool children tend to use a haphazard comparison strategy, not examining all of the details before making a judgment. By comparison, elementary-school-age children are more likely to systematically compare the details across the pictures, one detail at a time (Vurpillot, 1968) (see Figure 11). FIGURE 11 THE PLANFULNESS OF ATTENTION. In one study, children were given pairs of houses to examine, like the ones shown here (Vurpillot, 1968). For three pairs of houses, what was in the windows was identical (a). For the other three pairs, the windows had different items in them (b). By filming the reflection in the children’s eyes, researchers could determine what they were looking at, how long they looked, and the sequence of their eye movements. Children under 6 examined only a fragmentary portion of each display and made their judgments on the basis of insufficient information. By contrast, older children scanned the windows in more detailed ways and were more accurate in their judgments of which windows were identical. In Central European countries such as Hungary, kindergarten children participate in exercises designed to improve their attention (Mills & Mills, 2000; Posner & Rothbart, 2007). For example, in one eye-contact exercise, the teacher sits in the center of a circle of children and each child is required to catch the teacher’s eye before being permitted to leave the group. In other exercises created to improve attention, teachers have children participate in stop-go activities during which they have to listen for a specific signal, such as a drumbeat or an exact number of rhythmic beats, before stopping the activity. Computer exercises recently have been developed to improve children’s attention (Jaeggi, Berman, & Jonides, 2009; Rothbart & Posner, 2015). For example, one study revealed that five days of computer exercises that involved learning how to use a joystick, working memory, and conflict resolution skills improved the attention of 4- to 6-year-old children (Rueda, Posner, & Rothbart, 2005). Although not commercially available, further information about computer exercises for improving children’s attention can be found at www.teach-the-brain.org/learn/attention/index. The ability of preschool children to control and sustain their attention is related to a number of positive academic outcomes. For example, a study of more than 1,000 children revealed that their ability to sustain their attention at 54 months of age was linked to their school readiness (which included achievement and language skills) (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2005). In another study, the ability to focus attention better at age 5 was linked to a higher level of school achievement at age 9 (Razza, Martin, & Brooks-Gunn, 2012). Also, a recent study found that preschoolers’ sustained attention was linked to a greater likelihood of completing college by 25 years of age (McClelland & others, 2013). Memory Memory—the retention of information over Page 215time—is a central process in children’s cognitive development. Most of a young infant’s memories are fragile and, for the most part, short-lived—except for the memory of perceptual-motor actions, which can be substantial (Bauer, 2018). Thus, we saw that to understand the infant’s capacity to remember we need to distinguish implicit memory from explicit memory. Explicit memory itself, however, comes in many forms (Radvansky, 2018). One distinction occurs between relatively permanent or long-term memory and short-term memory. Short-Term Memory In short-term memory, individuals retain information for up to 30 seconds if there is no rehearsal of the information. Using rehearsal (repeating information after it has been presented), we can keep information in short-term memory for a much longer period. One method of assessing short-term memory is the memory-span task. You hear a short list of stimuli—usually digits—presented at a rapid pace (one per second, for example). Then you are asked to repeat the digits. Research with the memory-span task suggests that short-term memory increases during early childhood. For example, in one investigation memory span increased from about 2 digits in 2- to 3-year-old children to about 5 digits in 7-year-old children, yet between 7 and 13 years of age memory span increased by only 2 more digits (Dempster, 1981) (see Figure 12). Keep in mind, though, that memory span varies from one individual to another. FIGURE 12 DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN MEMORY SPAN. In one study, from 2 years of age to 7 years of age children’s memory span increased from 2 digits to 5 digits (Dempster, 1981). Between 7 and 13 years of age, memory span had increased on average only another 2 digits, to 7 digits. What factors might contribute to the increase in memory span during childhood? Why does memory span change with age? Rehearsal of information is important; older children rehearse the digits more than younger children do. Speed—especially the speed with which memory items can be identified—and efficiency of processing information are important, too (Schneider, 2011). The speed-of-processing explanation highlights a key point in the information-processing perspective: The speed with which a child processes information is an important aspect of the child’s cognitive abilities, and there is abundant evidence that the speed with which many cognitive tasks are completed improves dramatically across the childhood years (Rose, Feldman, & Jankowski, 2015). A recent study found that myelination (the process by which the sheath that encases axons helps electrical signals travel faster down the axon) in a number of brain areas was linked to young children’s processing speed (Chevalier & others, 2015). How Accurate Are Young Children’s Long-Term Memories? While toddlers’ short-term memory span increases during the early childhood years, their memory also becomes more accurate. Young children can remember a great deal of information if they are given appropriate cues and prompts (Bruck & Ceci, 2012). Increasingly, young children are even being allowed to testify in court, especially if they are the sole witnesses to abuse, a crime, and so forth (Andrews, Ahern, & Lamb, 2017; Pantell & others, 2018). Several factors can influence the accuracy of a young child’s memory (Bruck & Ceci, 1999): There are age differences in children’s susceptibility to suggestion. Preschoolers are the most suggestible age group in comparison with older children and adults (Lehman & others, 2010). For example, preschool children are more susceptible to believing misleading or incorrect information given after an event (Ghetti & Alexander, 2004). Despite these differences among various age groups, there is still concern about the reaction of older children when they are subjected to suggestive interviews (Ahern, Kowalski, & Lamb, 2018; Peixoto & others, 2017). There are individual differences in susceptibility. Some preschoolers are highly resistant to interviewers’ suggestions, whereas others immediately succumb to the slightest suggestion (Ceci, Hritz, & Royer, 2016). Interviewing techniques can produce substantial distortions in children’s reports about highly salient events. Children are suggestible not just about peripheral details but also about the central aspects of an event (Cederborg & others, 2013). In some cases, children’s false reports can be tinged with sexual connotations. In laboratory studies, young children have made false claims about “silly events” that involved body contact (such as “Did the nurse lick your knee?” or “Did she blow in your ear?”). A significant number of preschool children have falsely reported that someone touched their private parts, kissed them, and hugged them, when these events clearly did not happen in the research. Nonetheless, young children are capable of recalling much that is relevant about an event (Lamb & others, 2015). Young children are more likely to accurately recall information about Page 216an event if the interviewer has a neutral tone, there is limited use of misleading questions, and there is no motivation for the child to make a false report (Principe, Greenhoot, & Ceci, 2014). In sum, whether a young child’s eyewitness testimony is accurate or not may depend on a number of factors such as the type, number, and intensity of the suggestive techniques the child has experienced (Lamb & others, 2015). It appears that the reliability of young children’s reports has as much to do with the skills and motivation of the interviewer as with any natural limitations on young children’s memory (Andrews & Lamb, 2018; Ceci, Hritz, & Royer, 2016). Autobiographical Memory Another aspect of long-term memory that has been extensively studied in research on children’s development is autobiographical memory (Bauer, 2018; Bauer & others, 2017). Autobiographical memory involves memory of significant events and experiences in one’s life. You are engaging in autobiographical memory when you answer questions such as: Who was your first-grade teacher and what was s/he like? What is the most traumatic event that happened to you as a child? During the preschool years, young children’s memories increasingly take on more autobiographical characteristics (Bauer, 2018; Bauer & Larkina, 2016). In some areas, such as remembering a story, a movie, a song, or an interesting event or experience, young children have been shown to have reasonably good memories. From 3 to 5 years of age, they (1) increasingly remember events as occurring at a specific time and location, such as “on my birthday at Chuck E. Cheese’s last year” and (2) include more elements that are rich in detail in their narratives (Bauer, 2013). In one study, children went from including four descriptive items per event at 3½ years of age to 12 such items at 6 years of age (Fivush & Haden, 1997). Executive Function Recently, increasing attention has been given to the development of children’s executive function, an umbrella-like concept that consists of a number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the brain’s prefrontal cortex (Bardikoff & Sabbagh, 2017; Knapp & Morton, 2017; McClelland & others, 2017; Perone, Almy, & Zelazo, 2017). Executive function involves managing one’s thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and self-control (Hoskyn, Iarocci, & Young, 2017; Muller & others, 2017). Earlier in this chapter, we described the recent interest in executive attention, which comes under the umbrella of executive function. In early childhood, executive function especially involves developmental advances in cognitive inhibition (such as inhibiting a strong tendency that is incorrect), cognitive flexibility (such as shifting attention to another item or topic), goal-setting (such as sharing a toy or mastering a skill like catching a ball), and delay of gratification (waiting longer to get a more attractive reward, for example) (Cheng & others, 2018; Groppe & Elsner, 2017; Semenov & Zelazo, 2017). During early childhood, the relatively stimulus-driven toddler is transformed into a child capable of flexible, goal-directed problem solving that characterizes executive function (Zelazo & Muller, 2011). Researchers have found that advances in executive function during the preschool years are linked with math skills, language development, and school readiness (Blair, 2017; Hoskyn, Iarocci, & Young, 2017; Liu & others, 2018; Muller & others, 2017; Schmitt & others, 2017). A recent study revealed that executive function skills predicted mathematical gains in kindergarten (Fuhs & others, 2014). Another recent study of young children also revealed that executive function was associated with emergent literacy and vocabulary development (Becker & others, 2014). And a recent study found that young children who showed delayed development of executive function had a lower level of school readiness (Willoughby & others, 2017). Walter Mischel and his colleagues (Berman & others, 2013; Mischel, 2014; Mischel, Cantor, & Feldman, 1996; Mischel & Moore, 1980; Mischel & others, 2011; Schlam & others, 2013; Zayas, Mischel, & Pandey, 2014) have conducted a number of studies involving delay of gratification among young children. One way they assess delay of gratification is to place a young child alone in a room with an alluring marshmallow that is within their reach. The children are told that they can either ring a bell at any time and eat the marshmallow or wait until the experimenter returns and then get two marshmallows. Among the young children who were able to wait for the experimenter to return, what did they do to help them wait? They engaged in a number of strategies to distract their attention from the marshmallows, including singing songs, picking their noses, or doing other things to keep Page 217from looking at the marshmallows. Mischel and his colleagues labeled these strategies “cool thoughts” (that is, doing non-marshmallow-related thoughts and activities), whereas they said that young children who looked at the marshmallow were engaging in “hot thoughts.” The young children who engaged in cool thoughts were more likely to eat the marshmallow later or wait until the experimenter returned to the room. In longitudinal research, Mischel and his colleagues have found that the preschool children who were able to delay gratification became more academically successful, had higher SAT scores and higher grade point averages at the end of college, and coped more effectively with stress as adolescents and emerging adults (Mischel, 2014). And as adults, they made more money in their career, were more law-abiding, were likely to have a lower body mass index, and were happier than individuals who were unable to delay gratification as preschoolers (Mischel, 2014; Moffitt, 2012; Moffitt & others, 2011; Schlam & others, 2013). Although the ability to delay gratification in preschool was linked to academic success and coping in adolescence and competence in adulthood, Mischel (2014) emphasizes that adolescents and adults can improve their ability to delay gratification. How did Walter Mischel and his colleagues study young children’s delay of gratification? In their research, what later developmental outcomes were linked to the preschoolers’ ability to delay gratification? ©Amy Kiley Photography What are some predictors of young children’s executive function? Parenting practices are linked to children’s development of executive function (Bernier & others, 2015; Cheng & others, 2018). For example, several studies have linked greater use of verbal scaffolding by parents (providing age-appropriate support during cognitive tasks) to children’s more advanced executive function (Bibok, Carpendale, & Muller, 2009; Hammond & others, 2012). A recent study revealed that secure attachment to mothers during the toddler years was linked to a higher level of executive function at 5 to 6 years of age (Bernier & others, 2015). Other predictors of better executive function in children include higher socioeconomic status (Duncan, McClelland, & Acock, 2017); some aspects of language, including vocabulary size, verbal labeling, and bilingualism (Bell, Wolfe, & Adkins, 2007; Bialystok, 2010; Muller & others, 2008; Nesbitt, Farran, & Fuhs, 2015); imagination (generating novel ideas, for example) (White & Carlson, 2016); cultural background (Asian children, especially urban Chinese and Korean children, show better executive function than U.S. children) (Lan & others, 2011; Sabbagh & others, 2006); and fewer sleep problems (Friedman & others, 2009). Some developmental psychologists use their training in areas such as cognitive development to pursue careers in applied areas. To read about the work of Helen Hadani, an individual who has followed this path, see the Connecting with Careers profile. The Child’s Theory of Mind Even young children are curious about the nature of the human mind (Birch & others, 2017; Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b; Oktay-Gur, Schultz, & Rakoczy, 2018; Wellman, 2011, 2015). They have a theory of mind, which refers to awareness of one’s own mental processes and the mental processes of others. Studies of theory of mind view the child as “a thinker who is trying to explain, predict, and understand people’s thoughts, feelings, and utterances” (Harris, 2006, p. 847). Developmental Changes Children’s theory of mind changes as they develop through childhood (Wellman, 2015). Although whether infants have a theory of mind continues to be questioned by some (Rakoczy, 2012), the consensus is that some changes occur quite early in development, as we will see next (Scott & Baillargeon, 2017). From 18 months to 3 years of age, children begin to understand three mental states: Perceptions. By 2 years of age, a child recognizes that another person will see what’s in front of her own eyes instead of what’s in front of the child’s eyes (Lempers, Flavell, & Flavell, 1977), and by 3 years of age, the child realizes that looking leads to knowing what’s inside a container (Pratt & Bryant, 1990). Emotions. The child can distinguish between positive (for example, happy) and negative (for example, sad) emotions. A child might say, “Tommy feels bad.” Desires. All humans have some sort of desires. But when do children begin to recognize that someone else’s desires may differ from their own? Toddlers recognize that if people want something, they will try to get it. For instance, a child might say, “I want my mommy.” Two- to three-year-olds understand the way that desires are related to actions and to simple emotions. For example, they understand that people will search for what they want and that if they obtain it, they are likely to feel happy, but if they don’t, they will keep searching for it and are likely to feel sad or angry (Wellman & Woolley, 1990). Children also refer to desires earlier and more frequently than they refer to cognitive states such as thinking and knowing (Bartsch & Wellman, 1995; Wellman, 2015). Page 218 connecting with careers Helen Hadani, Ph.D., Developmental Psychologist, Toy Designer, and Associate Director of Research for the Center for Childhood Creativity Helen Hadani obtained a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Stanford University. As a graduate student at Stanford, she worked part-time for Hasbro Toys and Apple testing children’s software and other computer products for young children. Her first job after graduate school was with Zowie Intertainment, which was subsequently bought by LEGO. In her work as a toy designer there, Helen conducted experiments and focus groups at different stages of a toy’s development, and she also studied the age-effectiveness of each toy. In Helen’s words, “Even in a toy’s most primitive stage of development . . . you see children’s creativity in responding to challenges, their satisfaction when a problem is solved or simply their delight in having fun” (Schlegel, 2000, p. 50). More recently, she began working with the Bay Area Discovery Museum’s Center for Childhood Creativity (CCC) in Sausalito, California, an education-focused think tank that pioneers new research, thought-leadership, and teacher training programs that advance creative thinking in all children. Helen is currently the Associate Director of Research for the CCC. Helen Hadani has worked as a toy designer and currently holds a museum position that involves thinking of ways to increase children’s creative thinking. Courtesy of Dr. Helen Hadani One of the landmark developments in understanding others’ desires is recognizing that someone else may have different desires from one’s own (Doherty, 2008; Wellman, 2015). Eighteen-month-olds understand that their own food preferences may not match the preferences of others—they will give an adult the food to which she says “Yummy!” even if the food is something that the infants detest (Repacholi & Gopnik, 1997). As they get older, they can verbalize that they themselves do not like something but an adult might (Flavell & others, 1992). Between the ages of 3 and 5, children come to understand that the mind can represent objects and events accurately or inaccurately (Rhodes & Brandone, 2014; Tompkins & others, 2017). The realization that people can have false beliefs—beliefs that are not true—develops in a majority of children by the time they are 5 years old (Wellman, Cross, & Watson, 2001) (see Figure 13). This point is often described as a pivotal one in understanding the mind—recognizing that beliefs are not just mapped directly into the mind from the surrounding world, but that different people can also have different, and sometimes incorrect, beliefs (Gelman, 2009). In a classic false-belief task, young children were shown a Band-Aids box and asked what was inside (Jenkins & Astington, 1996). To the children’s surprise, the box actually contained pencils. When asked what a child who had never seen the box would think was inside, 3-year-olds typically responded, “Pencils.” However, the 4- and 5-year-olds, grinning in anticipation of the false beliefs of other children who had not seen what was inside the box, were more likely to say “Band-Aids.” FIGURE 13 DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN FALSE-BELIEF PERFORMANCE. False-belief performance—the child’s understanding that a person may have a false belief that contradicts reality—dramatically increases from 2½ years of age through the middle of the elementary school years. In a summary of the results of many studies, 2½-year-olds gave incorrect responses about 80 percent of the time (Wellman, Cross, & Watson, 2001). At 3 years, 8 months, they were correct about 50 percent of the time, and after that, they gave increasingly correct responses. In a similar task, children are told a story about Sally and Anne: Sally places a toy in a basket and then leaves the room (see Figure 14). In her absence, Anne takes the toy from the basket and places it in a box. Children are asked where Sally will look for the toy when she returns. The major finding is that 3-year-olds tend to fail false-belief tasks, saying that Sally will look in the box (even though Sally could not have known that the toy had moved to this new location). Four-year-olds and older children tend to perform the task correctly, saying that Sally will have a “false belief”—she will think the object is in the basket, even though that belief is now false. The conclusion from these studies is that children younger than 4 years old do not understand that it is possible to have a false belief. FIGURE 14 THE SALLY AND ANNE FALSE-BELIEF TASK. In the false-belief task, the skit above in which Sally has a basket and Anne has a box is shown to children. Sally places a toy in her basket and then leaves. While Sally is gone and can’t watch, Anne removes the toy from Sally’s basket and places it in her box. Sally then comes back and the children are asked where they think Sally will look for her toy. Children are said to “pass” the false-belief task if they understand that Sally looks in her basket first before realizing the toy isn’t there. It is only beyond the preschool years—at approximately 5 to 7 years of age—that children have a deepening appreciation of the mind itself rather than just an understanding of mental states (Lagattuta & others, 2015). For example, they begin Page 219to recognize that people’s behaviors do not necessarily reflect their thoughts and feelings (Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 1993). Not until middle and late childhood do children see the mind as an active constructor of knowledge or a processing center (Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 1998) and move from understanding that beliefs can be false to realizing that the same event can be open to multiple interpretations (Carpendale & Chandler, 1996). For example, in one study, children saw an ambiguous line drawing (for example, a drawing that could be seen as either a duck or a rabbit); one puppet told the child she believed the drawing was a duck while another puppet told the child he believed the drawing was a rabbit (see Figure 15). Before the age of 7, children said that there was one right answer and that it was not okay for the two puppets to have different opinions. FIGURE 15 AMBIGUOUS LINE DRAWING Although most research on children’s theory of mind focuses on children around or before their preschool years, at 7 years of age and beyond there are important developments in the ability to understand the beliefs and thoughts of others (Apperly, 2012; Miller, 2012). Although it is important to understand that people may have different interpretations, it is also necessary to recognize that some interpretations and beliefs may be evaluated on the basis of the merits of arguments and evidence (Kuhn, Cheney, & Weinstock, 2000). In early adolescence, children begin to understand that people can have ambivalent feelings (Flavell & Miller, 1998). They start to recognize that the same person can feel both happy and sad about the same event. They also engage in more recursive thinking: thinking about what other people are thinking about. Individual Differences and Factors that Influence Theory of Mind As in other developmental research, there are individual differences in the ages when children reach certain milestones in their theory of mind (Birch & others, 2017; Devine & Hughes, 2017). For example, executive function, which describes several functions discussed earlier in this chapter, such as planning and inhibition, that are important for flexible, future-oriented behavior, also is connected to theory of mind development (Benson & Sabbagh, 2017). Children who perform better at such executive function tasks show a better understanding of theory of mind (Benson & Sabbagh, 2017). For example, in one study of 3- to 5-year-old children, earlier development of executive function predicted theory of mind performance, especially on false belief tasks (Doenyas, Yavuz, & Selcuk, 2018). Language development also likely plays a prominent role in the increasingly reflective nature of theory of mind as children go through the early childhood and middle and late childhood years (Meins & others, 2013). Researchers have found that differences in children’s language skills predict performance on theory of mind tasks (Hughes & Devine, 2015). Among other factors that influence children’s theory of mind development are advances in prefrontal cortex functioning (Powers, Chavez, & Heatherton, 2016), engaging in make-believe play (Kavanaugh, 2006), and various aspects of social interaction (Hughes, Devine, & Wang, 2017). Among the social interaction factors that advance children’s theory of mind are being securely attached to parents who engage children in mental state talk (“That’s a good thought you have” or “Can you tell what he’s thinking?”) (Laranjo & others, 2010), having older siblings and friends who engage in mental state talk (Hughes & others, 2010), and living in a higher socioeconomic status family (Devine & Hughes, 2018a). A recent study also found that parental mental state talk advanced preschool children’s theory of mind (Devine & Hughes, 2018b). Further, researchers have found that children who have an advanced theory of mind are more popular with their peers and have better social skills in peer relations (Peterson & others, 2016; Slaughter & others, 2014). Another individual difference in understanding the mind involves autism (Fletcher-Watson & others, 2014; Jones & others, 2018). Researchers have found that children with autism have difficulty developing a theory of mind, especially in relation to understanding others’ beliefs and emotions (Berenguer & others, 2018; Garon, Smith, & Bryson, 2018). A recent study found that theory of mind predicted the severity of autism in children (Hoogenhout & Malcolm-Smith, 2017). Thus, it is not surprising that autistic children have difficulty in interactions with others. Page 220 Review Connect Reflect LG2 Describe three views of the cognitive changes that occur in early childhood. Review What characterizes Piaget’s stage of preoperational thought? What does Vygotsky’s theory suggest about how preschool children construct knowledge? What are some important ways in which information processing changes during early childhood? What characterizes children’s theory of mind? Connect In this section, you learned that children who frequently engage in pretend play perform better on theory of mind tasks. During which substage of Piaget’s preoperational stage do children begin to engage in pretend play? What mental ability does it signify? Reflect Your Own Personal Journey of Life If you were the parent of a 4-year-old child, would you try to train the child to develop conservation skills? Explain. 3 Language Development LG3 Summarize how language develops in early childhood. Understanding Phonology and Morphology Changes in Syntax and Semantics Advances in Pragmatics Young Children’s Literacy Toddlers move rather quickly from producing two-word utterances to creating three-, four-, and five-word combinations. Between 2 and 3 years of age, they begin the transition from saying simple sentences that express a single proposition to saying complex sentences. The greatest poem ever known Is one all poets have outgrown; The poetry, innate, untold, Of being only four years old. —Christopher Morley American Novelist, 20th Century As young children learn the special features of their own language, there are extensive regularities in how they acquire that particular language (Clark, 2017; Litz, Snyder, & Pater, 2017). For example, all children learn the prepositions on and in before other prepositions. Children learning other languages, such as Russian or Chinese, also acquire the particular features of those languages in a consistent order. UNDERSTANDING PHONOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY During the preschool years, most children gradually become more sensitive to the sounds of spoken words and become increasingly capable of producing all the sounds of their language (Goad, 2017; Kelly & others, 2018). By the time children are 3 years of age, they can produce all the vowel sounds and most of the consonant sounds (Menn & Stoel-Gammon, 2009). They recognize the sounds in word combinations such as “Merry go round” before they can produce them. As children move beyond two-word utterances, they demonstrate a knowledge of morphology rules (Clark, 2017; Snyder, 2017). Children begin using the plural and possessive forms of nouns (such as dogs and dog’s). They put appropriate endings on verbs (such as -s when the subject is third-person singular and -ed for the past tense). They use prepositions (such as in and on), articles (such as a and the), and various forms of the verb to be (such as “I was going to the store”). Some of the best evidence for changes in children’s use of morphological rules occurs in their overgeneralization of the rules, as when a preschool child says “foots” instead of “feet,” or “goed” instead of “went.” developmental connection Language The average 2-year-old can speak about 200 words. Connect to “Cognitive Development in Infancy.” In a classic experiment that was designed to study children’s knowledge of morphological rules, such as how to make a plural, Jean Berko (1958) presented preschool children and first-grade children with cards such as the one shown in Figure 16. Children were asked to look at the card while the experimenter read aloud the words on the card. Then the children were asked to supply the missing word. This task might sound easy, but Berko was interested in the children’s ability to apply the appropriate morphological rule—in this case to say “wugs” with the z sound that indicates the plural. FIGURE 16 STIMULI IN BERKO’S STUDY OF YOUNG CHILDREN’S UNDERSTANDING OF MORPHOLOGICAL RULES. In Jean Berko’s (1958) study, young children were presented cards, such as this one with a “wug” on it. Then the children were asked to supply the missing word; in supplying the missing word, they had to say it correctly, too. “Wugs” is the correct response here. Gleason, Jean Berko, “The Child’s Learning of English Morphology,” Word, Vol. 14, 1958, p. 154. Copyright ©1958 by Jean Berko Gleason. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Although the children’s answers were not perfect, they were much better than chance. What makes Berko’s study impressive is that most of the words were made up for the experiment. Thus, the children could Page 221not base their responses on remembering past instances of hearing the words. That they could make the plurals or past tenses of words they had never heard before was proof that they knew the morphological rules. CHANGES IN SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS Preschool children also learn and apply rules of syntax (Clark, 2017; Tieu & others, 2018). They show a growing mastery of complex rules for how words should be ordered (Fletcher & Frizelle, 2017; Kyratzis, 2017; Thornton, 2017). Consider wh- questions, such as “Where is Daddy going?” or “What is that boy doing?” To ask these questions properly, the child must know two important differences between wh- questions and affirmative statements (for instance, “Daddy is going to work” and “That boy is waiting for the school bus”). First, a wh- word must be added at the beginning of the sentence. Second, the auxiliary verb must be inverted—that is, exchanged with the subject of the sentence. Young children learn quite early where to put the wh- word, but they take much longer to learn the auxiliary-inversion rule. Thus, preschool children might ask, “Where Daddy is going?” and “What that boy is doing?” Gains in semantics also characterize early childhood. Vocabulary development is dramatic (Thornton, 2017). Some experts have concluded that between 18 months and 6 years of age, young children learn approximately one new word every waking hour (Gelman & Kalish, 2006). By the time they enter first grade, it is estimated that children know about 14,000 words (Clark, 1993). Why can children learn so many new words so quickly? One possibility is fast mapping, which involves children’s ability to make an initial connection between a word and its referent after only limited exposure to the word (McGregor, 2017; van Hout, 2017). Researchers have found that exposure to words on multiple occasions over several days results in more successful word learning than the same number of exposures in a single day (Childers & Tomasello, 2002). Recent research using eye-tracking found that even 15-month-old infants fast map words (Puccini & Liszkowski, 2012). Also, fast mapping promotes deeper understanding of word meaning, such as learning where the word can apply and its nuances. What are some important aspects of how word learning optimally occurs? Following are six key principles in young children’s vocabulary development (Harris, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2011): Children learn the words they hear most often. They learn the words that they encounter when interacting with parents, teachers, siblings, and peers, as well as words that they hear when books are read aloud to them. They especially benefit from encountering words that they do not know. Children learn words for things and events that interest them. Parents and teachers can direct young children to experience words in contexts that interest the children; playful peer interactions are especially helpful in this regard. Children learn words better in responsive and interactive contexts than in passive contexts. Children who experience turn-taking opportunities, joint focusing experiences, and positive, sensitive socializing contexts with adults encounter the scaffolding necessary for optimal word learning. They learn words less effectively when they are passive learners. Children learn words best in contexts that are meaningful. Young children learn new words more effectively when new words are encountered in integrated contexts rather than as isolated facts. Children learn words best when they access clear information about word meaning. Children whose parents and teachers are sensitive to words the children might not understand and provide support and elaboration with hints about word meaning learn words better than those whose parents and teachers quickly state a new word and don’t monitor whether children understand its meaning. Children learn words best when grammar and vocabulary are considered. Children who experience a large number of words and diversity in verbal stimulation develop a richer vocabulary and better understanding of grammar. In many cases, vocabulary and grammar development are connected. What are some strategies parents can adopt to increase their young children’s vocabulary development? ©Thanasis Zovoilis/Getty Images Page 222 ADVANCES IN PRAGMATICS Changes in pragmatics, the appropriate use of language in different contexts, also characterize young children’s language development (Fujiki & Brinton, 2017). A 6-year-old is simply a much better conversationalist than a 2-year-old is. What are some of the improvements in pragmatics during the preschool years? Young children begin to engage in extended discourse (Akhtar & Herold, 2008). For example, they learn culturally specific rules of conversation and politeness and become sensitive to the need to adapt their speech in different settings. Their developing linguistic skills and increasing ability to take the perspective of others contribute to their generation of more competent narratives. As children get older, they become increasingly able to talk about things that are not here (Grandma’s house, for example) and not now (what happened to them yesterday or might happen tomorrow, for example). A preschool child can tell you what she wants for lunch tomorrow, something that would not have been possible at the two-word stage of language development. Around 4 to 5 years of age, children learn to change their speech style to suit the situation. For example, even 4-year-old children speak to a 2-year-old differently from the way they speak to a same-aged peer; they use shorter sentences with the 2-year-old. They also speak differently to an adult and to a same-aged peer, using more polite and formal language with the adult (Shatz & Gelman, 1973). YOUNG CHILDREN’S LITERACY Concern about the ability of U.S. children to read and write has led to a careful examination of preschool and kindergarten children’s experiences, with the hope that a positive orientation toward reading and writing can be developed early in life (Temple & others, 2018; Tompkins, 2017, 2019). Parents and teachers need to provide young children with a supportive environment for developing literacy skills (Tompkins, 2017, 2019). Children should be active participants and be immersed in a wide range of interesting situations involving listening, talking, writing, and reading (Reutzel & Cooter, 2019; Vukelich & others, 2016). One study revealed that children whose mothers had more education acquired more advanced emergent literacy levels than children whose mothers had less education (Korat, 2009). Another study found that literacy experiences (such as how often the child was read to), the quality of the mother’s engagement with her child (such as attempts to cognitively stimulate the child), and provision of learning materials (such as age-appropriate books) were important home literacy experiences in low-income families that were linked to the children’s language development in positive ways (Rodriguez & others, 2009). Instruction should be built on what children already know about oral language, reading, and writing. Further, early precursors of literacy and academic success include language skills, phonological and syntactic knowledge, letter identification, and conceptual knowledge about print and its conventions and functions (Jalongo, 2014). Also, a recent study found that 60 minutes of physical activity per day in preschool academic contexts improved early literacy (Kirk & Kirk, 2016). Books can be valuable in enhancing children’s communication skills (Reutzel & Cooter, 2019; Temple & others, 2018). What are some strategies for using books effectively with preschool children? Ellen Galinsky (2010) suggests the following strategies: Use books to initiate conversation with young children. Ask them to put themselves in the book characters’ places and imagine what they might be thinking or feeling. Use what and why questions. Ask young children what they think is going to happen next in a story and then to see if it occurs. Encourage children to ask questions about stories. Choose some books that play with language. Creative books on the alphabet, including those with rhymes, often interest young children. The advances in language that take place in early childhood lay the foundation for later development in the elementary school years, as we will discuss in more detail later. What are positive strategies for improving young children’s literacy? ©Ariel Skelley/Blend Images LLC Page 223 Review Connect Reflect LG3 Summarize how language develops in early childhood. Review How do phonology and morphology change during early childhood? What characterizes young children’s understanding of syntax and semantics in early childhood? What advances in pragmatics occur in early childhood? What are some effective ways to guide young children’s literacy? Connect In this section, you learned that children can sometimes overgeneralize the rules for morphology. How is this different from or similar to the concept of overextension as it relates to infants’ speech? Reflect Your Own Personal Journey of Life As a parent, what could you do to improve the likelihood that your child would enter first grade with excellent literacy skills? 4 Early Childhood Education LG4 Evaluate different approaches to early childhood education. Variations in Early Childhood Education Education for Young Children Who Are Disadvantaged Controversies in Early Childhood Education To the teachers in a Reggio Emilia program (described in the chapter opening), preschool children are active learners who are engaged in exploring the world with their peers, constructing their knowledge of the world in collaboration with their community, and aided but not directed by their teachers. In many ways, the Reggio Emilia approach applies ideas consistent with the views of Piaget and Vygotsky that were discussed earlier in this chapter. Our exploration of early childhood education focuses on variations in programs, education for young children who are disadvantaged, and some controversies in early childhood education. VARIATIONS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Attending preschool is rapidly becoming the norm for U.S. children. There are many variations in the way young children are educated (Bredekamp, 2017; Feeney, Moravcik, & Nolte, 2019; Henniger, 2017). The foundation of early childhood education has been the child-centered kindergarten. The Child-Centered Kindergarten Nurturing is a key aspect of the child-centered kindergarten, which emphasizes the education of the whole child and concern for his or her physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development (Gordon, Williams, & Brown, 2017; Morrison, 2017, 2018). Instruction is organized around the child’s needs, interests, and learning styles. Emphasis is on the process of learning, rather than what is learned (Follari, 2019; Gestwicki, 2017). The child-centered kindergarten honors three principles: (1) each child follows a unique developmental pattern; (2) young children learn best through firsthand experiences with people and materials; and (3) play is extremely important in the child’s total development. Experimenting, exploring, discovering, trying out, restructuring, speaking, and listening are frequent activities in excellent kindergarten programs. Such programs are closely attuned to the developmental status of 4- and 5-year-old children. The Montessori Approach Montessori schools are patterned after the educational philosophy of Maria Montessori (1870–1952), an Italian physician-turned-educator who at the beginning of the twentieth century crafted a revolutionary approach to young children’s education. The Montessori approach is a philosophy of education in which children are given considerable freedom and spontaneity in choosing activities. They are allowed to move from one activity to another as they desire. The teacher acts as a facilitator rather than a director. The teacher shows the child how to perform intellectual Page 224activities, demonstrates interesting ways to explore curriculum materials, and offers help when the child requests it (Bahmaee, Saadatmand, & Yarmohammadian, 2016). “By encouraging children to make decisions from an early age, Montessori programs seek to develop self-regulated problem solvers who can make choices and manage their time effectively” (Hyson, Copple, & Jones, 2006, p. 14). The number of Montessori schools in the United States has expanded dramatically in recent years, from 1 school in 1959 to 355 schools in 1970 and more than 4,000 today. A recent study found that Latino children in low-income communities who began the school year having at-risk pre-academic and behavioral skills benefited from a Montessori public school pre-K program, ending the year scoring above national averages for school readiness (Ansari & Winsler, 2014). Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of the highly successful Internet search engine Google, said that their early years at Montessori schools were a major factor in their success (International Montessori Council, 2006). During an interview with Barbara Walters, they said they learned how to be self-directed and self-starters at Montessori (ABC News, 2005). Montessori experiences encouraged them to think for themselves and allowed them the freedom to develop their own interests. ©James Leynse/Corbis/Getty Images Some developmentalists favor the Montessori approach, but others believe that it neglects children’s socioemotional development. For example, although Montessori fosters independence and the development of cognitive skills, it deemphasizes verbal interaction between the teacher and child and between peers. Montessori’s critics also argue that it restricts imaginative play and that its heavy reliance on self-corrective materials may not adequately allow for creativity and for a variety of learning styles. What are some differences between developmentally appropriate and inappropriate practice? ©Blend Images/Getty Images Developmentally Appropriate and Inappropriate Education Many educators and psychologists conclude that preschool and young elementary school children learn best through active, hands-on teaching methods such as games and dramatic play. They know that children develop at varying rates and that schools need to allow for these individual differences (Gestwicki, 2017; Follari, 2019). They also argue that schools should focus on supporting children’s socioemotional development as well as their cognitive development. Educators refer to this type of schooling as developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), which is based on knowledge of the typical development of children within an age span (age-appropriateness), as well as the uniqueness of the child (individual-appropriateness). DAP emphasizes the importance of creating settings that encourage active learning and reflect children’s interests and capabilities (Beaver, Wyatt, & Jackman, 2018; Bredekamp, 2017; Feeney, Moravcik, & Nolte, 2019). Desired outcomes for DAP include thinking critically, working cooperatively, solving problems, developing self-regulatory skills, and enjoying learning. The emphasis in DAP is on the process of learning rather than its content (Bredekamp, 2017). Do developmentally appropriate educational practices improve young children’s development? Some researchers have found that young children in developmentally appropriate classrooms are likely to have less stress, be more motivated, be more skilled socially, have better work habits, be more creative, have better language skills, and demonstrate better math skills than children in developmentally inappropriate classrooms (Hart & others, 2003). However, not all studies show significant positive benefits for developmentally appropriate education (Hyson, Copple, & Jones, 2006). Among the reasons it is difficult to generalize about research on developmentally appropriate education is that individual programs often vary, and developmentally appropriate education is an evolving concept. Recent changes in the concept have given more attention to sociocultural factors, to the teacher’s active involvement and implementation of systematic intentions, and to the degree to which academic skills should be emphasized and how they should be taught. EDUCATION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN WHO ARE DISADVANTAGED For many years, U.S. children from low-income families did not receive any education before they entered first grade. Often, they began first grade already several steps behind their classmates in their readiness to learn. In the summer of 1965, the federal government began an effort to break the cycle of poverty and substandard education for young children in the United States through Project Head Start. It is a compensatory program designed to provide children from low-income families the opportunity to acquire the skills and experiences important for success in school (Hustedt, Friedman, & Barnett, 2012; Miller, Farkas, & Duncan, 2016; Paschall & Mastergeorge, 2018). After almost half a century, Head Start continues to be the largest federally funded program for U.S. children, with almost 1 million U.S. children enrolled annually (Hagen & Lamb-Parker, 2008). In 2007, 3 percent of Head Start children were 5 years old, 51 percent were 4 years old, 36 percent were 3 years old, and 10 percent were under 3 years of age (Administration for Children & Families, 2008). Early Head Start was established in 1995 to serve children from birth to 3 years of age. In 2007, half of all new funds appropriated for Head Start programs were used for the expansion of Early Head Start (Burgette & others, 2017). Researchers have found positive effects for Early Head Start (Hoffman & Ewen, 2007). A recent study revealed that Early Head Start had a protective effect on risks young children might experience related to parenting stress, language development, and self-control (Ayoub, Vallotton, & Mastergeorge, 2011). Another recent study revealed language benefits for Early Head Start children (Love & others, 2013). Page 225 connecting with careers Yolanda Garcia, Head Start Director and College Dean Yolanda Garcia is the Director of WestEd’s E3 Institute—Excellence in Early Education, a project for the Center for Child and Family Studies. She previously directed the Children’s Services Department, Santa Clara County Office of Education. Her training includes two master’s degrees, one in public policy and child welfare from the University of Chicago and another in education administration from San Jose State University. Garcia has served on many national advisory committees that have resulted in improvements in the staffing of Head Start programs. Most notably, she served on the Head Start Quality Committee that recommended the development of Early Head Start and revised performance standards for Head Start programs. Yolanda went on to obtain a doctorate from the University of San Francisco in 2011 in Leadership and Organizational Development. Currently, she is Dean of Child Development and Teacher Education for the Sonoma County College District in northern California. Yolanda Garcia, Director of WestEd’s E3 Institute, works with a child. Courtesy of Yolanda Garcia Head Start programs are not all created equal. One estimate is that 40 percent of the 1,400 Head Start programs are of questionable quality (Zigler & Styfco, 1994). More attention needs to be given to developing consistently high-quality Head Start programs (Hillemeier & others, 2013). One individual who is strongly motivated to make Head Start a valuable learning experience for young children from disadvantaged backgrounds is Yolanda Garcia. To read about her work, see Connecting with Careers. Evaluations support the positive influence of quality early childhood programs on both the cognitive and social worlds of disadvantaged young children (Bierman & others, 2014; Chor, 2018; McCoy & others, 2016). A national evaluation of Head Start revealed that the program had a positive influence on the language and cognitive development of 3- and 4-year-olds (Puma & others, 2010). However, by the end of the first grade, there were few lasting outcomes. One exception was a larger vocabulary for those who went to Head Start as 4-year-olds and better oral comprehension for those who went to Head Start as 3-year-olds. And two recent studies found that improved parenting engagement and skills were linked to the success of children in Head Start programs (Ansari & Gershoff, 2016; Roggman & others, 2016). One-fourth of Head Start children have mothers who also participated in Head Start. In a multigenerational study, a positive influence on cognitive and socioemotional development (assessed in the third grade) occurred for Head Start children whose mothers had also attended Head Start programs (when compared with Head Start children whose mothers were not in Head Start) (Chor, 2018). This result likely occurred because of improved family resources and home learning environments. One high-quality early childhood education program (although not a Head Start program) is the Perry Preschool program in Ypsilanti, Michigan, a two-year preschool program that includes weekly home visits from program personnel. In analyses of the long-term effects of the program, adults who had been in the Perry Preschool program were compared with a control group of adults from the same background who had not received the enriched early childhood education (Schweinhart & others, 2005; Weikert, 1993). Those who had been in the Perry Preschool program had fewer teen pregnancies and higher rates of high school graduation, and at age 40 the former preschool students were more likely to be employed, own a home, and have a savings account, and less likely to have been arrested than adults in the control group. Page 226 CONTROVERSIES IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Two current controversies in early childhood education involve (1) what the curriculum for early childhood education should be and (2) whether preschool education should be universal in the United States. What is the curriculum controversy in early childhood education? ©Ronnie Kaufman/Corbis/Getty Images Curriculum Controversy A current controversy in early childhood education involves what the curriculum for early childhood education should be (Bredekamp, 2017; Follari, 2019; Gordon, Williams, & Browne, 2017; Morrison, 2018). On one side are those who advocate a child-centered, constructivist approach much like that emphasized by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), along the lines of developmentally appropriate practice. On the other side are those who advocate an academic, direct-instruction approach. In reality, many high-quality early childhood education programs include both academic and constructivist approaches. Many education experts like Lilian Katz (1999), though, worry about academic approaches that place too much pressure on young children to achieve and don’t provide any opportunities to actively construct knowledge. Competent early childhood programs also should focus on cognitive development and socioemotional development, not exclusively on cognitive development (Feeney, Moravcik, & Nolte, 2019; Follari, 2019; Gestwicki, 2017). Universal Preschool Education Another early childhood education controversy focuses on whether preschool education should be instituted for all U.S. 4-year-old children. Publicly funded preschool programs now are present in 42 states and the District of Columbia (National Institute for Early Education Research, 2016). Edward Zigler and his colleagues (2011) have argued that the United States should have universal preschool education. They emphasize that quality preschools prepare children for school readiness and academic success. Zigler and his colleagues (2006) cite research that shows quality preschool programs decrease the likelihood that once children go to elementary and secondary school they will be retained in a grade or drop out of school. They also point to analyses indicating that universal preschool would bring cost savings on the order of billions of dollars because of a diminished need for remedial and justice services (Karoly & Bigelow, 2005). Critics of universal preschool education argue that the gains attributed to preschool and kindergarten education are often overstated. They especially stress that research has not proven that nondisadvantaged children benefit from attending a preschool. Thus, the critics say it is more important to improve preschool education for young children who are disadvantaged than to fund preschool education for all 4-year-old children. Some critics, especially homeschooling advocates, emphasize that young children should be educated by their parents, not by schools. Thus, controversy continues to surround questions about whether universal preschool education should be implemented. Review Connect Reflect LG4 Evaluate different approaches to early childhood education. Review What are some variations in early childhood education? What are the main efforts to educate young children who are disadvantaged? What are two controversies about early childhood education? Connect Earlier we discussed cross-sectional and longitudinal research designs. Which type of research design is the Perry Preschool program? Reflect Your Own Personal Journey of Life What type of early childhood education program would you want your child to attend? Why? Page 227 topical connections looking forward In the next chapter, you will read about the many advances that take place during the socioemotional development of young children. The cognitive advances we discussed in this chapter, combined with the socioemotional experiences young children have in interacting with others, pave the way for social cognitive advances in understanding the self and others. Next, you will read about the continuing changes in children’s physical and cognitive development in middle and late childhood. In terms of physical development, their motor skills become smoother and more coordinated. The development of their brain—especially the prefrontal cortex—provides the foundation for a number of cognitive advances, including the development of learning strategies and reading skills. reach your learning goals Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood 1 Physical Changes LG1 Identify physical changes in early childhood. Body Growth and Change Motor and Perceptual Development Sleep Nutrition and Exercise Illness and Death The average child grows 2½ inches in height and gains 5 to 10 pounds a year during early childhood. Growth patterns vary individually, though. Some of the brain’s interior changes in early childhood are due to myelination. From 3 to 6 years of age, the most rapid growth in the brain occurs in the frontal lobes. Gross motor skills increase dramatically during early childhood. Children become increasingly adventuresome as their gross motor skills improve. Fine motor skills also improve substantially during early childhood. Young children also make advances in perceptual development. Experts recommend that young children get 11 to 13 hours of sleep each night. Most young children sleep through the night and have one daytime nap. Helping the young child slow down before bedtime often leads to less resistance in going to bed. Sleep problems in young children are linked to other problems, such as being overweight and being depressed. Disruptions in sleep in early childhood are related to less optimal adjustment in preschool. Too many young children in the United States are being raised on diets that are too high in fat. The child’s life should be centered on activities, not meals. Other nutritional concerns include malnutrition in early childhood and the inadequate diets of many children living in poverty. Young children are not getting as much exercise as they need. In recent decades, vaccines have virtually eradicated many diseases that once resulted in the deaths of many young children. The disorders still most likely to be fatal for young children in the United States are cancer and cardiovascular disease, but accidents are the leading cause of death in young children. A special concern is the poor health status of many young children in low-income families. There has been a dramatic increase in HIV/AIDS in young children in developing countries in the last decade. 2 Cognitive Changes LG2 Describe three views of the cognitive changes that occur in early childhood. Piaget’s Preoperational Stage Vygotsky’s Theory Information Processing According to Piaget, in the preoperational stage children cannot yet perform operations, which are reversible mental actions, but they begin to represent the world with symbols, to form stable concepts, and to reason. During the symbolic function substage, which occurs between about 2 and 4 years Page 228of age, children begin to mentally represent an object that is not present, but their thought is limited by egocentrism and animism. During the intuitive thought substage, which stretches from about 4 to 7 years of age, children begin to reason and to bombard adults with questions. Thought at this substage is called intuitive because children seem so sure about their knowledge yet are unaware of how they know what they know. Centration and a lack of conservation also characterize the preoperational stage. Vygotsky’s theory represents a social constructivist approach to development. According to Vygotsky, children construct knowledge through social interaction, and they use language not only to communicate with others but also to plan, guide, and monitor their own behavior and to help them solve problems. His theory suggests that adults should assess and use the child’s zone of proximal development (ZPD), which is the range of tasks that are too difficult for children to master alone but that can be learned with the guidance and assistance of adults or more-skilled children. The theory also suggests that adults and peers should teach through scaffolding, which involves changing the level of support over the course of a teaching session, with the more-skilled person adjusting guidance to fit the student’s current performance level. The child’s ability to attend to stimuli dramatically improves during early childhood. Advances in executive attention and sustained attention are especially important in early childhood, but young children still attend to the salient rather than the relevant features of a task. Significant improvement in short-term memory occurs during early childhood. With good prompts, young children’s long-term memories can be accurate, although young children can be led into developing false memories. Advances in executive function, an umbrella-like concept that consists of a number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the prefrontal cortex, occur in early childhood. Executive function involves managing one’s thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and to exercise self-control. Young children express curiosity about the human mind, and this has been studied under the topic of theory of mind. A number of developmental changes characterize children’s theory of mind, including those involved in false beliefs. Individual variations also are involved in theory of mind. For example, autistic children have difficulty developing such a theory. 3 Language Development LG3 Summarize how language develops in early childhood. Understanding Phonology and Morphology Changes in Syntax and Semantics Advances in Pragmatics Young Children’s Literacy Education for Young Children Who Are Disadvantaged Controversies in Early Childhood Education Young children increase their grasp of language’s rule systems. In terms of phonology, most young children become more sensitive to the sounds of spoken language. Berko’s classic experiment demonstrated that young children understand morphological rules. Preschool children learn and apply rules of syntax and of how words should be ordered. In terms of semantics, vocabulary development increases dramatically during early childhood. Young children’s conversational skills improve, they increase their sensitivity to the needs of others in conversation, and they learn to change their speech style to suit the situation. Parents and teachers need to provide young children with a supportive environment in which to develop literacy skills. Children should be active participants and be immersed in a wide range of interesting experiences that involve listening, talking, writing, and reading. 4 Early Childhood Education LG4 Evaluate different approaches to early childhood education. Variations in Early Childhood Education The child-centered kindergarten emphasizes educating the whole child, with particular attention to individual variation, the process of learning, and the importance of play in development. The Montessori approach allows children to choose from a range of activities while teachers serve as facilitators. Developmentally appropriate practice Page 229focuses on the typical patterns of children (age-appropriateness) and the uniqueness of each child (individual-appropriateness). Such practice contrasts with developmentally inappropriate practice, which ignores the concrete, hands-on approach to learning. The U.S. government has tried to break the poverty cycle with programs such as Head Start. The Early Head Start program began in 1995. Model programs have been shown to have positive effects on children who live in poverty. Controversy characterizes early childhood education curricula. On one side are the child-centered, constructivist advocates; on the other are those who advocate an academic, direct-instruction approach. Another controversy focuses on whether preschool education makes a difference, especially for children who are not disadvantaged.

Like many children, Sarah Page 231Newland loves animals. During a trip to the zoo when she was 4 years old, Sarah learned about an animal that was a member of an endangered species and became motivated to help. With her mother’s guidance, she baked lots of cakes and cookies, then sold them on the sidewalk outside her home. She was excited about making $35 from the cake and cookie sales, donating it to the World Wildlife Fund. Several weeks later, the fund wrote back to Sarah requesting more money. Sarah was devastated because she thought she had taken care of the animal problem. Her mother consoled her and told her that the endangered animal problem and many others are so big that it takes ongoing help from many people to solve them. Her mother’s guidance when Sarah was a young child must have worked because by the end of elementary school, Sarah had begun helping out at a child care center and working with her mother to provide meals to the homeless. As Sarah’s mother did, sensitive parents can make a difference in encouraging young children’s sense of morality. Just as parents support and guide their children to become good readers, musicians, or athletes, they also play key roles in young children’s socioemotional development (Source: Kantrowitz, 1991). topical connections looking back During infancy, children’s socioemotional development makes considerable progress as their caregivers (especially their parents) socialize them and they develop more sophisticated ways of initiating social interactions with others. Development of a secure attachment is a key aspect of infant development, and the development of autonomy in the second year of life also signals an important accomplishment. As children move through infancy, it is important for caregivers to guide them in regulating their emotions. Temperament also is a central characteristic of the infant’s profile, and some temperament styles are more adaptive than others. The use of child care has become increasingly common in recent years, and the quality of this care varies considerably. Parents continue to play key roles in children’s development in the early childhood period, but peers begin to play more important roles as well. Page 232 preview In early childhood, children’s emotional lives and personalities develop in significant ways, and their small worlds widen. In addition to the continuing influence of family relationships, peers take on a more significant role in children’s development, and play as well as media and screen time fill the days of many young children’s lives. 1 Emotional and Personality Development LG1 Discuss emotional and personality development in early childhood. The Self Emotional Development Moral Development Gender Many changes characterize young children’s socioemotional development in early childhood. Their developing minds and social experiences produce remarkable advances in the development of their self, emotional maturity, moral understanding, and gender awareness. THE SELF During the second year of life, children make considerable progress in self-recognition. In the early childhood years, young children develop in many ways that enable them to enhance their self-understanding. Initiative Versus Guilt You have read about Erik Erikson’s (1968) eight developmental stages that are encountered during certain time periods in the life span. Erikson’s first two stages—trust versus mistrust, and autonomy versus shame and doubt—describe what he considers to be the main developmental tasks of infancy. Erikson’s psychosocial stage associated with early childhood is initiative versus guilt. By now, children have become convinced that they are persons in their own right; during early childhood, they begin to discover what kind of person they will become. They identify intensely with their parents, who most of the time appear to them to be powerful and beautiful, although often unreasonable, disagreeable, and sometimes even dangerous. During early childhood, children use their perceptual, motor, cognitive, and language skills to make things happen. They have a surplus of energy that permits them to forget failures quickly and to approach new areas that seem desirable—even if dangerous—with undiminished zest and often an increased sense of direction. On their own initiative, then, children at this stage exuberantly move out into a wider social world. The great governor of initiative is conscience. Young children’s initiative and enthusiasm may bring them not only rewards but also guilt, which lowers self-esteem. Self-Understanding and Understanding Others Recent research studies have revealed that young children are more psychologically aware—of themselves and others—than used to be thought (Thompson, 2015). This psychological awareness reflects expanding psychological sophistication. Self-Understanding In Erikson’s portrait of early childhood, the young child clearly has begun to develop self-understanding, which is the representation of self, the substance and content of self-conceptions (Harter, 2012, 2016). Though not the whole of personal identity, self-understanding provides its rational underpinnings. Mainly through interviews, researchers have probed children’s conceptions of many aspects of self-understanding. Early self-understanding involves self-recognition. In early childhood, young children think that the self can be described by material characteristics such as size, shape, and color. They distinguish themselves from others through physical and material attributes. Says 4-year-old Sandra, “I’m different from Jennifer because I have brown hair and she has blond hair.” Says 4-year-old Ralph, “I am different from Hank because I am taller, and I am different from my sister because I have a bicycle.” Physical activities are also a central component of the self in early childhood (Keller, Ford, & Meacham, 1978). For example, preschool children often describe themselves in terms Page 233of activities such as play. In sum, during early childhood, children often provide self-descriptions that involve bodily attributes, material possessions, and physical activities. Although young children mainly describe themselves in terms of concrete, observable features and action tendencies, at about 4 to 5 years of age as they hear others use words describing psychological traits and emotions, they begin to include these in their own self-descriptions (Marsh, Ellis, & Craven, 2002). Thus, in a self-description, a 4-year-old might say, “I’m not scared. I’m always happy.” Young children’s self-descriptions are typically unrealistically positive, as reflected in the comment of this 4-year-old who says he is always happy, which he is not (Harter, 2012). They express this optimism because they don’t yet distinguish between their desired competence and their actual competence, tend to confuse ability and effort (thinking that differences in ability can be changed as easily as can differences in effort), don’t engage in spontaneous social comparison of their abilities with those of others, and tend to compare their present abilities with what they could do at an earlier age (which usually makes their abilities look quite good). This overestimation of their attributes helps to protect young children from negative self-evaluations. However, as in virtually all areas of human development, there are individual variations in young children’s self-conceptions, and there is increasing evidence that some children are vulnerable to negative self-attributions (Thompson, 2015). For example, one study revealed that insecurely attached preschool children whose mothers reported a high level of parenting stress and depressive symptoms had a lower self-concept than other young children in more positive family circumstances (Goodvin & others, 2008). This research indicates that young children’s generally optimistic self-ascriptions do not buffer them from adverse, stressful family conditions (Thompson, 2011). What characterizes young children’s self-understanding? ©Kevin Dodge/Corbis/Getty Images Researchers have found that young children’s ability to understand their own and others’ emotions precedes advances in their theory of mind (Nelson & others, 2013a; O’Brien & others, 2011). These studies indicate that a better basic understanding of emotions in early childhood enables young children to develop a more advanced understanding of others’ perspectives. Understanding Others Young children also make advances in their understanding of others and their capacity to learn from others (Fu & others, 2015; Harter, 2012, 2016; Ma & others, 2018; Landrum, Pflaum & Mills, 2016; Thompson, 2015). Young children’s theory of mind includes understanding that other people have emotions and desires (Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b; Rizzo & Killen, 2018). And, at about 4 to 5 years, children not only start describing themselves in terms of psychological traits, but they also begin to perceive others in terms of psychological traits. Thus, a 4-year-old might say, “My teacher is nice.” As they mature, young children need to develop an understanding that people don’t always give accurate reports of their beliefs (Mills & Elashi, 2014). Researchers have found that even 4-year-olds understand that people may make statements that aren’t true to obtain what they want or to avoid trouble (Lee & others, 2002). For example, one study revealed that 4- and 5-year-olds were increasingly skeptical of another child’s claim to be sick when the children were informed that the child wanted to avoid having to go to camp (Gee & Heyman, 2007). Young children are more psychologically aware of themselves and others than used to be thought. Some children are better than others at understanding people’s feelings and desires—and, to some degree, these individual differences are influenced by conversations caregivers have with young children about feelings and desires. ©Don Hammond/Deisgn Pics Another important aspect of understanding others involves understanding joint commitments. As children approach their third birthday, their collaborative interactions with others increasingly involve obligations to the partner (Tomasello & Hamann, 2012). Young children also learn extensively through observing others’ behavior. For example, a recent study found that young children who observed a peer be rewarded for confessing to cheating on a task were more likely to be more honest in the future themselves (Ma & others, 2018). Both the extensive theory of mind research and the recent research on young children’s social understanding underscore that young children are not as egocentric as Jean Piaget envisioned Page 234(Decety, Meidenbauer, & Cowell, 2018; Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b). Piaget’s concept of egocentrism has become so ingrained in people’s thinking about young children that too often the current research on social awareness in infancy and early childhood has been overlooked. Research increasingly shows that young children are more socially sensitive and perceptive than was previously envisioned, suggesting that parents and teachers can influence children’s development by interacting with them in ways that help them to better understand and navigate the social world (Thompson 2015, 2016). If young children are seeking to better understand various mental and emotional states (intentions, goals, feelings, desires) that underlie people’s actions, then talking with them about these internal states can improve young children’s understanding of them (Thompson, 2015, 2016). However, debate continues to surround the question of whether young children are socially sensitive or basically egocentric (Birch & others, 2017). Ross Thompson (2015, 2016) comes down on the side of viewing young children as socially sensitive, while Susan Harter (2012, 2013, 2016) argues that there is still evidence to support the conclusion that young children are essentially egocentric. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT The young child’s growing awareness of self is linked to the ability to feel an expanding range of emotions. Young children, like adults, experience many emotions during the course of a day. Their emotional development in early childhood allows them to try to make sense of other people’s emotional reactions and to begin to control their own emotions (Blair, 2017; Morris & others, 2018). Expressing Emotions Recall that even young infants experience emotions such as joy and fear, but to experience self-conscious emotions children must be able to refer to themselves and be aware of themselves as distinct from others (Lewis, 2015, 2016). Pride, shame, embarrassment, and guilt are examples of self-conscious emotions. Self-conscious emotions do not appear to develop until self-awareness occurs at approximately 15 to 18 months of age. In a recent study, the broad capacity for self-evaluative emotion was present in the preschool years and was linked to young children’s empathetic concern (Ross, 2017). In this study, young children’s moral pride and pride in response to achievement and resilience to shame were linked to a greater tendency to engage in spontaneous helping. During the early childhood years, emotions such as pride and guilt become more common. They are especially influenced by parents’ responses to children’s behavior. For example, a young child may experience shame when a parent says, “You should feel bad about biting your sister.” One study revealed that young children’s emotional expression was linked to their parents’ own expressive behavior (Nelson & others, 2012). In this study, mothers who expressed a high incidence of positive emotions and a low incidence of negative emotions at home had children who were observed to use more positive emotion words during mother-child interactions than mothers who expressed few positive emotions at home. Understanding Emotions One of the most important advances in emotional development in early childhood is an increased understanding of emotion (Kuhnert & others, 2017; O’Kearney & others, 2107; Perry & Calkins, 2018). During early childhood, young children increasingly understand that certain situations are likely to evoke particular emotions, facial expressions indicate specific emotions, emotions affect behavior, and emotions can be used to influence others’ emotions (Cole & others, 2009). Between 2 and 4 years of age, children considerably increase the number of terms they use to describe emotions. During this time, they are also learning about the causes and consequences of feelings (Denham & others, 2011). A young child expressing the emotion of shame, which occurs when a child evaluates his or her actions as not living up to standards. A child experiencing shame wishes to hide or disappear. Why is shame called a self-conscious emotion? ©James Woodson/Getty Images When they are 4 to 5 years of age, children show an increased ability to reflect on emotions. They also begin to understand that the same event can elicit different feelings in different people. Moreover, they show a growing awareness that they need to manage their emotions to meet social standards. One program that is designed to improve young children’s understanding of emotions is the Emotion-Based Prevention program (EBP) (Izard & others, 2008). This program consists of a teacher-conducted emotions course in the classroom, emotion tutoring and coaching teacher dialogues, and weekly parent messages that reinforce the lessons taught in the classroom. In the classroom component, teachers Page 235ask children to label or demonstrate emotional expressions, share ideas about what causes them to feel the emotions they described, compare expressions of different emotions and their intensities, and draw out or act out emotion expressions for their classmates. Researchers found that EBP was effective in improving Head Start children’s emotion knowledge and that the children who participated in the program showed a decrease in their expression of negative emotions and internalizing behaviors (Finion & others, 2015). Regulating Emotions Emotion regulation is an important aspect of development. Emotion regulation especially plays a key role in children’s ability to manage the demands and conflicts they face in interacting with others (Blair, 2016, 2017; Perry & Calkins, 2018; Eisenberg, Spinrad, & Valiente, 2016). Many researchers consider the growth of emotion regulation in children as fundamental to becoming socially competent (Blair, 2017; Cole & Hollenstein, 2018; Cole, Lougheed, & Ram, 2018; Perry & Calkins, 2018; Thompson, 2015). Emotion regulation can be conceptualized as an important component of self-regulation or of executive function. Recall that executive function is increasingly thought to be a key concept in describing the young child’s higher-level cognitive functioning (Cheng & others, 2018; Liu & others, 2018; Muller & others, 2017; Perry & Calkins, 2018; Schmitt & others, 2017). developmental connection Executive Function In early childhood, executive function especially involves developmental advances in cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, goal-setting, and delay of gratification. Connect to “Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood.” Cybele Raver and her colleagues (Blair, 2017; Blair & Raver, 2012, 2015; Blair, Raver, & Finegood, 2016; Raver & others, 2011, 2012, 2013; Zhai, Raver, & Jones, 2012) have conducted a number of studies that explore the role of emotion regulation in young children’s development. They use various interventions, such as increasing caregiver emotional expressiveness, to improve young children’s emotion regulation and reduce behavior problems in children growing up in poverty conditions. To read in greater detail about one of Cybele Raver’s studies, see Connecting Through Research. Emotion-Coaching and Emotion-Dismissing Parents Parents can play an important role in helping young children regulate their emotions (Bendezu & others, 2018; Morris & others, 2018; Norona & Baker, 2017; Quinones-Camacho & Davis, 2018). Depending on how they talk with their children about emotion, parents can be described as taking an emotion-coaching or an emotion-dismissing approach (Gottman, 2018). The distinction between these approaches is most evident in the way the parent deals with the child’s negative emotions (anger, frustration, sadness, and so on). Emotion-coaching parents monitor their children’s emotions, view their children’s negative emotions as opportunities for teaching, assist them in labeling emotions, and coach them in how to deal effectively with emotions. In contrast, emotion-dismissing parents view their role as to deny, ignore, or change negative emotions. Emotion-coaching parents interact with their children in a less rejecting manner, use more scaffolding and praise, and are more nurturant than are emotion-dismissing parents. Moreover, the children of emotion-coaching parents are better at soothing themselves when they get upset, more effective in regulating their negative affect, focus their attention better, and have fewer behavior problems than the children of emotion-dismissing parents (Gottman, 2018). Researchers have found that fathers’ emotion coaching is related to children’s social competence (Baker, Fenning, & Crnic, 2011) and that mothers’ emotion coaching is linked to less oppositional behavior (Dunsmore, Booker, & Ollendick, 2013). Parents’ knowledge of their children’s emotional world can help them guide their children’s emotional development and teach their children how to cope effectively with problems (Bendezu & others, 2018; Morris & others, 2018). One study found that mothers’ knowledge about what distresses and comforts their children predicted the children’s coping, empathy, and prosocial behavior (Vinik, Almas, & Grusec, 2011). An emotion-coaching parent. What are some differences in emotion-coaching and emotion-dismissing parents? ©Jamie Grill/Getty Images A challenge parents face is that young children typically don’t want to talk about difficult emotional topics, such as being distressed or engaging in negative behaviors. Among the strategies young children use to avoid these conversations is to not talk at all, change the topic, push away, or run away. In one study, young children were more likely to openly discuss difficult emotional circumstances when they were securely attached to their mother and when their mother conversed with them in a way that validated and accepted the child’s views (Thompson & others, 2009). Emotion Regulation and Peer Relations Emotions play a strong role in determining the success of a child’s peer relationships (Smetana & Ball, 2018). Specifically, the ability to modulate one’s emotions is an important skill that benefits children in their relationships with peers. Moody and emotionally negative children are more likely to experience rejection by their peers, whereas emotionally positive children are more popular. A recent study found that young children with higher emotion regulation were more popular with their peers (Nakamichi, 2018). Page 236 connecting through research Caregivers’ Emotional Expressiveness, Children’s Emotion Regulation, and Behavior Problems in Head Start Children A study by Dana McCoy and Cybele Raver (2011) explored links between caregivers’ reports of their positive and negative emotional expressiveness, observations of young children’s emotion regulation, and teachers’ reports of the children’s internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. The participants were 97 mostly African American and Latino children whose mean age was 4 years and 3 months, along with their primary caregivers (90 mothers, 5 fathers, and 2 grandmothers). To assess caregiver expressiveness, caregivers were asked to provide ratings from 1 (never/rarely) to 9 (very frequently) on 7 items that reflect caregiver expressiveness, such as “telling family members how happy you are” and “expressing anger at someone’s carelessness.” Children’s emotion regulation was assessed with (a) the emotion regulation part of the PSRA (preschool self-regulation assessment) in which observers rated young children’s behavior on 4 delay tasks, 3 executive function tasks, and 3 compliance tasks; (b) an assessment report on children’s emotion and emotion regulation; and (c) observations of the children’s real-time emotion regulation related to positive emotion (expressions of happiness, for example) and negative emotion (expressions of anger or irritability, for example). Children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors were rated by their teachers on the extent to which the children had shown such behavioral problems in the last 3 months. The researchers found that a higher level of caregiver negativity and a lower level of children’s emotion regulation independently were linked to more internalizing behavior problems in the young Head Start children. Also, caregivers’ reports of their positive emotional expressiveness were associated with a lower level of young children’s externalizing behavior problems. The findings demonstrate the importance of family emotional climate and young children’s emotion regulation in the development of young children. How might young children’s emotion regulation be linked to caregivers’ expressiveness? ©Najlah Feanny/Corbis The study you just read about was correlational in nature. If you were interested in conducting an experimental study of the effects of caregivers’ emotional expressiveness and children’s emotion regulation on children’s problem behaviors, how would you conduct the study differently? MORAL DEVELOPMENT Moral development involves thoughts, feelings, and behaviors regarding rules and conventions about what people should do in their interactions with other people. Major developmental theories have focused on different aspects of moral development (Gray & Graham, 2018; Hoover & others, 2018; Killen & Dahl, 2018; Narváez, 2017a, b, 2018; Turiel & Gingo, 2017). developmental connection Theories Freud theorized that individuals go through five psychosexual stages. Connect to “Introduction.” Moral Feelings Feelings of anxiety and guilt are central to the account of moral development provided by Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. According to Freud, children attempt to reduce anxiety, avoid punishment, and maintain parental affection by identifying with parents and internalizing their standards of right and wrong, thus forming the superego—the moral element of personality. Freud’s ideas are not backed by research, but guilt certainly can motivate moral behavior. Other emotions, however, also contribute to the child’s moral development, including positive feelings. One important example is empathy, which involves responding to another person’s feelings with an emotion that echoes the other’s feelings (Denham, Bassett, & Wyatt, 2015). Infants have the capacity Page 237for some purely empathic responses, but empathy often requires the ability to discern another’s inner psychological states, which is also known as perspective taking. Learning how to identify a wide range of emotional states in others and to anticipate what kinds of action will improve another person’s emotional state helps to advance children’s moral development (Thompson, 2015). Today, many child developmentalists believe that both positive feelings—such as empathy, sympathy, admiration, and self-esteem—and negative feelings—such as anger, outrage, shame, and guilt—contribute to children’s moral development (Eisenberg, Spinrad, & Morris, 2013; Kim & Kochanska, 2017; Ross, 2017). When these emotions are strongly experienced, they influence children to act in accord with standards of right and wrong. Sympathy—an other-oriented emotional response in which an observer experiences emotions that are similar or identical to what the other person is feeling—often motivates prosocial behavior (Eisenberg, Spinrad, & Knafo-Noam, 2015). In one study, young children’s sympathy predicted whether they would share or not (Ongley & Malti, 2014). Connections between emotions can occur, and these connections may influence children’s development. For example, in a recent study, participants’ guilt proneness combined with their empathy predicted an increase in prosocial behavior (Torstveit, Sutterlin, & Lugo, 2016). Moral Reasoning Interest in how children think about moral issues was stimulated by Piaget (1932), who extensively observed and interviewed children between the ages of 4 and 12. Piaget watched children play marbles to learn how they applied and thought about the game’s rules. He also asked children about ethical issues—theft, lies, punishment, and justice, for example. Piaget concluded that children go through two distinct stages in how they think about morality. From about 4 to 7 years of age, children display heteronomous morality, the first stage of moral development in Piaget’s theory. Children think of justice and rules as unchangeable properties of the world, removed from the control of people. From 7 to 10 years of age, children are in a transition showing some features of the first stage of moral reasoning and some stages of the second stage, autonomous morality. At about 10 years of age and older, children show autonomous morality. They become aware that rules and laws are created by people, and in judging an action they consider the actor’s intentions as well as the consequences. How will this child’s moral thinking about stealing a cookie reflect whether he is in Piaget’s heteronomous or autonomous stage? ©Fuse/Getty Images Because young children are heteronomous moralists, they judge the rightness or goodness of behavior by considering its consequences, not the intentions of the actor. For example, to the heteronomous moralist, breaking 12 cups accidentally is worse than breaking one cup intentionally. As children develop into moral autonomists, intentions become more important than consequences. developmental connection Development Kohlberg’s theory, like Piaget’s, emphasizes that peers play more important roles in children’s moral development than parents do. Connect to “Socioemotional Development in Middle and Late Childhood.” The heteronomous thinker also believes that rules are unchangeable and are handed down by all-powerful authorities. When Piaget suggested to young children that they use new rules in a game of marbles, they resisted. By contrast, older children—moral autonomists—accept change and recognize that rules are merely convenient conventions, subject to change. The heteronomous thinker also believes in immanent justice, the concept that if a rule is broken, punishment will be meted out immediately. The young child believes that a violation is connected automatically to its punishment. Immanent justice also implies that if something unfortunate happens to someone, the person must have transgressed earlier. Older children, who are moral autonomists, recognize that punishment occurs only if someone witnesses the wrongdoing and that even then, punishment is not inevitable. How do these changes in moral reasoning occur? Piaget concluded that the changes come about through the mutual give-and-take of peer relations. In the peer group, where others have power and status similar to the child’s, plans are negotiated and coordinated, and disagreements are reasoned about and eventually settled. Parent-child relations, in which parents have the power and children do not, are less likely to advance moral reasoning, because rules are often handed down in an authoritarian way. Moral Behavior The behavioral and social cognitive approaches initially described early in this edition focus on moral behavior rather than moral reasoning. Advocates of these perspectives hold that the processes of reinforcement, punishment, and imitation explain the development of moral Page 238behavior. When children are rewarded for behavior that is consistent with laws and social conventions, they are likely to repeat that behavior. When models who behave morally are provided, children are likely to adopt their actions. And, when children are punished for immoral behavior, those behaviors are likely to be reduced or eliminated. However, because punishment may have adverse side effects, as discussed later in this chapter, it should be used judiciously and cautiously. developmental connection Theories What are the main themes of Bandura’s social cognitive theory? Connect to the “Introduction” chapter. In the moral behavior view, the situation also influences behavior. More than a half century ago, a comprehensive study of thousands of children in many situations—at home, at school, and at church, for example—found that the totally honest child was virtually nonexistent; so was the child who cheated in all situations (Hartshorne & May, 1928–1930). Behavioral and social cognitive researchers emphasize that what children do in one situation is often only weakly related to what they do in other situations. A child might cheat in class but not in a game; a child might steal a piece of candy when alone but not steal it when others are present. And when children observe people behaving morally, they are likely to imitate their actions (Ma & others, 2018). In one study, 2-year-olds watched a video of an adult engaging in prosocial behavior in response to another person’s distress (Williamson, Donohue, & Tully, 2013). Children who saw the prosocial video were more likely than children who did not see it to imitate the prosocial behavior in response to their own parents’ distress. Social cognitive theorists also stress that the ability to resist temptation is closely tied to the development of self-control. To achieve this self-control, children must learn to delay gratification. According to social cognitive theorists, cognitive factors are important in the child’s development of self-control (Bandura, 2009, 2010a, b, 2012). Conscience Conscience refers to an internal regulation of standards of right and wrong that involves an integration of all three components of moral development we have described so far—moral thought, feeling, and behavior (Kochanska & others, 2010). Reflecting the presence of a conscience in young children, researchers have found that young children are aware of right and wrong, have the capacity to show empathy toward others, experience guilt, indicate discomfort following a transgression, and are sensitive to violating rules (Kochanska & Aksan, 2007; Kochanska & others, 2009). Recent research focuses on the role of guilt in young children’s cooperation. For example, researchers have found that experiencing guilt motivates reparative behavior as early as 2 to 3 years of age and transgressors’ displays of guilt motivate cooperative behavior in 4- to 5-year-olds (Vaish, 2018; Vaish Carpenter, & Tomasello, 2016). A major interest regarding young children’s conscience focuses on children’s relationships with their caregivers (Kochanska & Kim, 2012, 2013). Especially important in this regard is the emergence of young children’s willingness to embrace the values of their parents, an orientation that flows from a positive, close relationship (Kochanska & Aksan, 2007). For example, children who are securely attached are more likely to internalize their parents’ values and rules (Kim & Kochanska, 2017; Kochanska & Kim, 2012, 2013; Thompson, 2014, 2015). What are some aspects of relationships between parents and children that contribute to children’s moral development? ©Tanya Constantine/Getty Images Parenting and Young Children’s Moral Development In Ross Thompson’s (2006, 2009, 2012) view, young children are moral apprentices, striving to understand what is moral. Among the most important aspects of the relationship between parents and children that contribute to children’s moral development are relational quality, parental discipline, proactive strategies, and conversational dialogue. Parent-child relationships introduce children to the mutual obligations of close relationships (Kim & Kochanska, 2017; Kim & others, 2014; Kochanska & Kim, 2012, 2013). Parents’ obligations include engaging in positive caregiving and guiding children to become competent human beings. Children’s obligations include responding appropriately to parents’ initiatives and maintaining a positive relationship with parents. An important parenting strategy involves proactively averting potential misbehavior by children before it takes place (Thompson, 2009). With younger children, being proactive means using diversion, such as distracting their attention or moving them to alternative activities. With older children, being proactive may involve talking with them about values that the parents deem important. Conversations related to moral development can benefit children, regardless of whether they occur as part of a discipline encounter or outside the encounter in the everyday stream of parent-child interaction (Thompson & Newton, 2013). The conversations can be planned or spontaneous and can focus on topics such as past events (for example, a child’s prior misbehavior or positive moral Page 239conduct), shared future events (for example, going somewhere that may involve a temptation and will require positive moral behavior), and immediate events (for example, talking with the child about a sibling’s tantrums). Researchers have found that parents’ talk about emotions is associated with toddlers’ sharing and helping (Brownell & others, 2013). In this study, children who helped and shared more quickly and frequently, especially in tasks that required complex emotional understanding, had parents who more often asked them to label and explain emotions displayed in books. Importantly, it was the parents’ elicitation of emotion talk rather than parents’ own production of emotion labels and explanations that was linked to toddlers’ prosocial behavior. GENDER Gender refers to the characteristics of people as males and females. Gender identity involves a sense of one’s own gender, including knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of being male or female (Brannon, 2017; Martin & others, 2017). One aspect of gender identity involves knowing whether you are a girl or boy, an awareness that most children develop by about 2½ years of age (Blakemore, Berenbaum, & Liben, 2009). Gender roles are sets of expectations that prescribe how females or males should think, act, and feel. During the preschool years, most children increasingly act in ways that match their culture’s gender roles. Gender typing refers to acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role. For example, fighting is more characteristic of a traditional masculine role and crying is more characteristic of a traditional feminine role (Helgeson, 2017). One study revealed that sex-typed behavior (boys playing with cars and girls with jewelry, for example) increased during the preschool years and that children who engaged in the most sex-typed behavior during the preschool years still did so at 8 years of age (Golombok & others, 2008). Biological Influences Biology clearly plays a role in gender development (Lickliter, 2018; Mason & others, 2018). Among the possible biological influences are chromosomes, hormones, and evolution (Li, Kung, & Hines, 2017). Chromosomes and Hormones Biologists have learned a great deal about how sex differences develop. Recall that humans normally have 46 chromosomes arranged in pairs. The 23rd pair consists of a combination of X and Y chromosomes, usually two X chromosomes in a female and an X and a Y in a male. In the first few weeks of gestation, however, female and male embryos look alike. Males start to differ from females when genes on the Y chromosome in the male embryo trigger the development of testes rather than ovaries; the testes secrete copious amounts of the class of hormones known as androgens. Low levels of androgens in the female embryo allow the normal development of female sex organs. Thus, hormones play a key role in the development of sex differences (Li, Kung, & Hines, 2017). The two main classes of sex hormones, estrogens and androgens, are secreted by the gonads (ovaries in females, testes in males). Estrogens, such as estradiol, influence the development of female physical sex characteristics. Androgens, such as testosterone, promote the development of male physical sex characteristics. Sex hormones also can influence children’s socioemotional development. The Evolutionary Psychology View How might physical differences between the sexes give rise to psychological differences between males and females? Evolutionary psychology offers one answer. According to evolutionary psychology, adaptation during human evolution produced psychological differences between males and females (Antfolk, 2018; Buss, 2012, 2015). Because of their differing roles in reproduction, males and females faced differing pressures when the human species was evolving. In particular, because having multiple sexual liaisons improves the likelihood that males will pass on their genes, natural selection favored males who adopted short-term mating strategies (Hoefnagels, 2018; Johnson, 2017). These are strategies that allow a male to win the competition with other males for sexual access to females. Therefore, say evolutionary psychologists, males evolved dispositions that favor violence, competition, and risk taking. In contrast, according to evolutionary psychologists, females’ contributions to the gene pool were improved when they secured resources that ensured that their offspring would survive. As a consequence, Page 240natural selection favored females who devoted effort to parenting and chose successful, ambitious mates who could provide their offspring with resources and protection. Critics of evolutionary psychology argue that its hypotheses are backed by speculations about prehistory, not evidence, and that in any event people are not locked into behavior that was adaptive in the evolutionary past. Critics also claim that the evolutionary view pays little attention to cultural and individual variations in gender differences (Hyde & DeLamater, 2017). Social Influences Many social scientists do not locate the cause of psychological gender differences in biological dispositions. Rather, they argue that these differences reflect social experiences. Explanations for how gender differences come about through experience include both social and cognitive theories. Social Theories of Gender Three main social theories of gender have been proposed—social role theory, psychoanalytic theory, and social cognitive theory. Alice Eagly (2001, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017) proposed social role theory, which states that gender differences result from the contrasting roles of women and men. In most cultures around the world, women have less power and status than men, and they control fewer resources (UNICEF, 2018). Compared with men, women perform more domestic work, spend fewer hours in paid employment, receive lower pay, and are more thinly represented in the highest levels of organizations (Helgeson, 2017). In Eagly’s view, as women adapted to roles with less power and less status in society, they showed more cooperative, less dominant profiles than men. Thus, the social hierarchy and division of labor are important causes of gender differences in power, assertiveness, and nurturing (Eagly & Wood, 2017). First imagine that this is a photograph of a baby girl. What expectations would you have of her? Then imagine that this is a photograph of a baby boy. What expectations would you have of him? ©Kwame Zikomo/Purestock/SuperStock The psychoanalytic theory of gender stems from Freud’s view that the preschool child develops a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent. This is the process known as the Oedipus (for boys) or Electra (for girls) complex. At 5 or 6 years of age, the child renounces this attraction because of anxious feelings. Subsequently, the child identifies with the same-sex parent, unconsciously adopting the same-sex parent’s characteristics. However, developmentalists have observed that gender development does not proceed as Freud proposed. Children become gender-typed much earlier than 5 or 6 years of age, and they become masculine or feminine even when the same-sex parent is not present in the family. The social cognitive approach provides an alternative explanation of how children develop gender-typed behavior. According to the social cognitive theory of gender, children’s gender development occurs through observing and imitating what other people say and do, and through being rewarded and punished for gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate behavior (Bussey & Bandura, 1999). From birth onward, males and females are treated differently from one another. When infants and toddlers show gender-appropriate behavior, adults tend to reward them. Parents often use rewards and punishments to teach their daughters to be feminine (“Karen, you are being a good girl when you play gently with your doll”) and their sons to be masculine (“Keith, a boy as big as you is not supposed to cry”). Parents, however, are only one of many sources through which children learn gender roles (Brown & Stone, 2018). Culture, schools, peers, the media, and other family members also provide gender role models (Chen, Lee, & Chen, 2018; Liben, 2017; Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Lord & others, 2017). For example, children also learn about gender by observing the behavior of other adults in the neighborhood and on television (Bugental & Grusec, 2006). As children get older, peers become increasingly important. Let’s take a closer look at the influence of parents and peers. Parental Influences Parents, by action and by example, influence their children’s gender development (Brannon, 2017; Endendijk & others, 2017; Helgeson, 2017; Leaper & Bigler, 2018; Liben, 2017). Both mothers and fathers are psychologically important to their children’s gender development (Leaper, 2015). Cultures around the world, however, tend to give mothers and fathers different roles (Chen, Lee, & Chen, 2018). A research review yielded the following conclusions (Bronstein, 2006): Mothers’ socialization strategies. In many cultures, mothers socialize their daughters to be more obedient and responsible than their sons. They also place more restrictions on daughters’ autonomy. Fathers’ socialization strategies. Fathers show more attention to sons than to daughters, engage in more activities with sons, and put forth more effort to promote sons’ intellectual development. Page 241 What role does gender play in children’s peer relations? (Left) ©altrendo images/Getty Images; (right) ©Cindy Charles/PhotoEdit Thus, according to Bronstein (2006, pp. 269–270), “Despite an increased awareness in the United States and other Western cultures of the detrimental effects of gender stereotyping, many parents continue to foster behaviors and perceptions that are consonant with traditional gender role norms.” Peer Influences Parents provide the earliest discrimination of gender roles, but peers soon join the process of responding to and modeling masculine and feminine behavior (Martin, Fabes, & Hanish, 2018; Rose & Smith, 2018; Zosuls & others, 2016). In fact, peers become so important to gender development that the playground has been called “gender school” (Luria & Herzog, 1985). Peers extensively reward and punish gender behavior (Rubin, Bukowski, & Bowker, 2015). For example, when children play in ways that the culture says are sex-appropriate, their peers tend to reward them. But peers often reject children who act in a manner that is considered more characteristic of the other gender (Handrinos & others, 2012). A little girl who brings a doll to the park may find herself surrounded by new friends; a little boy who does the same thing might be jeered at. However, there is greater pressure for boys to conform to a traditional male role than for girls to conform to a traditional female role (Fagot, Rogers, & Leinbach, 2000). For example, a preschool girl who wants to wear boys’ clothing receives considerably more approval than a boy who wants to wear a dress. The very term “tomboy” implies broad social acceptance of girls’ adopting traditional male behaviors. In a recent study of 9- to 10-year-olds in Great Britain, gender nonconforming boys were at highest risk for peer rejection (Braun & Davidson, 2017). In this study, gender non-conforming girls were preferred more than gender-conforming girls, with children most often citing masculine activities as the reason for this choice. Gender molds important aspects of peer relations (Rose & Smith, 2018). It influences the composition of children’s groups, the size of groups, and interactions within a group (Maccoby, 1998, 2002): Gender composition of children’s groups. Around the age of 3, children already show a preference to spend time with same-sex playmates. From 4 to 12 years of age, this preference for playing in same-sex groups increases, and during the elementary school years children spend a large majority of their free time with children of their own sex (see Figure 1). One study found that when preschool children select a playmate, both the sex of the playmate and the playmate’s level of gender-typed activity are important but sex of the playmate is more important (Martin & others, 2013). FIGURE 1 DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN PERCENTAGE OF TIME SPENT IN SAME-SEX AND MIXED-GROUP SETTINGS. Observations of children show that they are more likely to play in same-sex than mixed-sex groups. This tendency increases between 4 and 6 years of age. Group size. From about 5 years of age onward, boys are more likely to associate together in larger clusters than girls are. Boys are also more likely to participate in organized group games than girls are. In one study, same-sex groups of six children were permitted to use play materials in any way they wished (Benenson, Apostolaris, & Parnass, 1997). Girls were more likely than boys to play in dyads or triads, while boys were more likely to interact in larger groups and seek to attain a group goal. Interaction in same-sex groups. Boys are more likely than girls to engage in rough-and-tumble play, competition, conflict, ego displays, risk taking, and quests for dominance. By contrast, girls are more likely to engage in “collaborative discourse,” in which they talk and act in a more reciprocal manner. Page 242 Cognitive Influences One influential cognitive theory is gender schema theory, which states that gender typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture (Liben & others, 2018; Martin & Cook, 2017; Martin, Fabes, & Hanish, 2018; Miller & others, 2013). A schema is a cognitive structure, a network of associations that guides an individual’s perceptions. A gender schema organizes the world in terms of female and male. Children are internally motivated to perceive the world and to act in accordance with their developing schemas. Bit by bit, children pick up what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture, and develop gender schemas that shape how they perceive the world and what they remember (Conry-Murray, Kim, & Turiel, 2012; Liben, 2017). Children are motivated to act in ways that conform to these gender schemas. Thus, gender schemas fuel gender typing. Review Connect Reflect LG1 Discuss emotional and personality development in early childhood. Review What changes in the self occur during early childhood? What changes take place in emotional development in early childhood? What are some key aspects of moral development in young children? How does gender develop in young children? Connect In the previous section, you read about the influence of parents on children’s gender development. How does this compare with what you learned about parental influences on children’s temperament? Reflect Your Own Personal Journey of Life Imagine that you are the parent of a 4-year-old child. What strategies would you use to increase your child’s understanding of others? 2 Families LG2 Explain how families can influence young children’s development. Parenting Child Maltreatment Sibling Relationships and Birth Order The Changing Family in a Changing Society Attachment to a caregiver is a key social relationship during infancy; however, some experts maintain that secure attachment and other aspects of the infant years have been overdramatized as determinants of life-span development. Social and emotional development is also shaped by other relationships and by temperament, contexts, and social experiences during early childhood and later. In this section, we will discuss social relationships in early childhood beyond attachment. We will explore different types of parenting, sibling relationships, and variations in family structures. Parenting is a very important profession, but no test of fitness for it is ever imposed in the interest of children. —George Bernard Shaw Irish Playwright, 20th Century PARENTING Media accounts sometimes portray parents as unhappy, feeling little joy in caring for their children. However, one study found that parents were more satisfied with their lives than were nonparents, felt relatively better on a daily basis than did nonparents, and had more positive feelings related to caring for their children than toward doing other daily activities (Nelson & others, 2013b). Juggling work and child care can be challenging for families with young children. A survey of American parents found that approximately half of fathers and one-fourth of mothers reported feeling that they weren’t spending enough time with their children (Pew Research, 2013). Nonetheless, this survey found that both mothers and fathers were spending more time with their children than parents did a generation earlier. Good parenting takes time and effort (Hutchings & Williams, 2019; Morris & others, 2018; Serrano-Villar, Huang, & Calzada, 2017). You can’t do it in a minute here and a minute there. You can’t do it with CDs or DVDs. Of course, it’s not just the quantity of time parents spend with children that is important for children’s development—the quality of the parenting Page 243is clearly important (Grusec, 2017; Lindsay & others, 2018; Orth, 2018; Taylor & Workman, 2018). To understand variations in parenting, let’s consider the styles parents use when they interact with their children, how they discipline their children, and the dynamics of coparenting. What are some characteristics of good parenting? ©Andres Rodriguez/Getty Images Baumrind’s Parenting Styles Diana Baumrind (1971, 2012) argues that parents should be neither punitive nor aloof. Rather, they should develop rules for their children and be affectionate with them. She has described four types of parenting styles: Authoritarian parenting is a restrictive, punitive style in which parents exhort the child to follow their directions and respect their work and effort. The authoritarian parent places firm limits and controls on the child and allows little verbal exchange. For example, an authoritarian parent might say, “You will do it my way or else.” Authoritarian parents also might spank the child frequently, enforce rules rigidly but not explain them, and show rage toward the child. Children of authoritarian parents are often unhappy, fearful, and anxious about comparing themselves with others, fail to initiate activity, and have weak communication skills. A recent research review of a large number of studies concluded that authoritarian parenting is linked to a higher level of externalizing problems (acting out, high levels of aggression, for example) (Pinquart, 2017). Also, a recent study of young children found that an authoritarian parenting style, as well as pressuring the child to eat, were linked to increased risk that children would be overweight or obese (Melis Yavuz & Selcuk, 2018). Authoritative parenting encourages children to be independent but still places limits and controls on their actions. Extensive verbal give-and-take is allowed, and parents are warm and nurturing toward the child. An authoritative parent might put his arm around the child in a comforting way and say, “You know you should not have done that. Let’s talk about how you can handle the situation better next time.” Authoritative parents show pleasure and support in response to children’s constructive behavior. They also expect mature, independent, and age-appropriate behavior from their children. Children whose parents are authoritative are often cheerful, self-controlled and self-reliant, and achievement-oriented; they tend to maintain friendly relations with peers, cooperate with adults, and cope well with stress. As was just indicated, authoritative parents do exercise some direction and control over their children. The children of authoritative parents who engage in behavioral or psychological control without being coercive or punitive often show positive developmental outcomes (Baumrind, Larzelere, & Owens, 2010). In a recent study, children of authoritative parents engaged in more prosocial behavior than their counterparts whose parents used the other parenting styles described in this section (Carlo & others, 2018). Also, in a recent research review, authoritative parenting was the most effective parenting style in predicting which children and adolescents would be less likely to be overweight or obese later in their development (Sokol, Qin, & Poti, 2017). Neglectful parenting is a style in which the parent is uninvolved in the child’s life. Children whose parents are neglectful develop the sense that other aspects of the parents’ lives are more important than they are. These children tend to be socially incompetent. Many have poor self-control and don’t handle independence well. They frequently have low self-esteem, are immature, and may be alienated from the family. In adolescence, they may show patterns of truancy and delinquency. In the recent research review of studies described under authoritarian parenting, the review also found that neglectful parenting was associated with a higher level of externalizing problems (Pinquart, 2017). Indulgent parenting is a style in which parents are highly involved with their children but place few demands or controls on them. Such parents let their children do what they want. As a result, the children never learn to control their own behavior and always expect to get their way. Some parents deliberately rear their children in this way because they believe the combination of warm involvement and few restraints will produce a creative, confident child. However, children whose parents are indulgent rarely learn respect for others and have difficulty controlling their behavior. They might be domineering, egocentric, and noncompliant, and have difficulties in peer relations. These four classifications of parenting involve combinations of acceptance and responsiveness on the one hand and demand and control on the other (Maccoby & Martin, 1983). How these dimensions combine Page 244to produce authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and indulgent parenting is shown in Figure 2. FIGURE 2 CLASSIFICATION OF PARENTING STYLES. The four types of parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and neglectful) involve the dimensions of acceptance and responsiveness, on the one hand, and demand and control on the other. For example, authoritative parenting involves being both accepting/responsive and demanding/controlling. ©Steve Debenport/Getty Images Parenting Styles in Context Do the benefits of authoritative parenting transcend the boundaries of ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and household composition? Although occasional exceptions have been found, evidence linking authoritative parenting with competence on the part of the child occurs in research across a wide range of ethnic groups, social strata, cultures, and family structures (Steinberg, 2014). According to Ruth Chao, which type of parenting style do many Asian American parents use? ©Blend Images/SuperStock Nonetheless, researchers have found that in some ethnic groups, aspects of the authoritarian style may be associated with more positive child outcomes than Baumrind predicts (Clarke-Stewart & Parke, 2014; Pinquart & Kauser, 2018). Elements of the authoritarian style may take on different meanings and have different effects depending on the context. For example, Asian American parents often continue aspects of traditional Asian child-rearing practices that have sometimes been described as authoritarian. The parents exert considerable control over their children’s lives. However, Ruth Chao (2001, 2005, 2007; Chao & Otsuki-Clutter, 2011; Chao & Tseng, 2002) argues that the style of parenting used by many Asian American parents is distinct from the domineering control of the authoritarian style. Instead, Chao argues, this type of parental control reflects concern and involvement in their children’s lives and is best conceptualized as a type of training. The high academic achievement of Asian American children may be a consequence of their “training” parents (Stevenson & Zusho, 2002). In research involving Chinese American adolescents and their parents, parental control was endorsed, as were the Confucian parental goals of perseverance, self-discipline in schoolwork, obedience, and sensitiveness to parents’ wishes (Russell, Crockett, & Chao, 2010). An emphasis on requiring respect and obedience is also associated with the authoritarian style, but in Latino child rearing this focus may be positive rather than punitive. Rather than suppressing the child’s development, it may encourage the development of a self and an identity that are embedded in the family and require respect and obedience (Dixon, Graber, & Brooks-Gunn, 2008). In these circumstances, emphasizing respect and obedience may be part of maintaining a harmonious family and important in shaping the child’s identity (Umana-Taylor & others, 2014). Further Thoughts on Parenting Styles Several caveats about parenting styles are in order. First, the parenting styles do not capture the important themes of reciprocal socialization and synchrony. Keep in mind that children socialize parents, just as parents socialize children (Klein & others, 2018). Second, many parents use a combination of techniques rather than a single technique, although one technique may be dominant. Although consistent parenting is usually recommended, the wise parent may sense the importance of being more permissive in certain situations, more authoritarian in others, and more authoritative in yet other circumstances. In addition, parenting styles often are talked about as if both parents have the same style, although this may not be the case. Third, some critics argue that the concept of parenting style is too broad and that more research needs to be conducted to “unpack” parenting styles by studying various components that compose the styles (Grusec, 2011, 2017; Grusec & others). For example, is parental monitoring more important than warmth in predicting child and adolescent outcomes? Fourth, much of the parenting style research has involved mothers, not fathers. In many families, mothers will use one style, fathers another style. Especially in traditional cultures, fathers have an authoritarian style and mothers a more permissive, indulgent style. It has often been said that it is beneficial for parents to engage in a consistent parenting style; however, if fathers are authoritarian and aren’t willing to change, children benefit when mothers use an authoritative style. Punishment For centuries, corporal Page 245(physical) punishment, such as spanking, has been considered a necessary and even desirable method of disciplining children. Use of corporal punishment is legal in every state in America. A national survey of U.S. parents with 3- and 4-year-old children found that 26 percent of parents reported spanking their children frequently, and 67 percent of the parents reported yelling at their children frequently (Regalado & others, 2004). A study of more than 11,000 U.S. parents indicated that 80 percent of the parents reported spanking their children by the time they reached kindergarten (Gershoff & others, 2012). A recent research review concluded that there is widespread approval of corporal punishment by U.S. parents (Chiocca, 2017). A cross-cultural comparison found that individuals in the United States were among those with the most favorable attitudes toward corporal punishment and were the most likely to remember it being used by their parents (Curran & others, 2001) (see Figure 3). Physical punishment is outlawed in 41 countries, with an increasing number of countries banning physical punishment mainly to protect children from abuse and exploitation (Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2014). FIGURE 3 CORPORAL PUNISHMENT IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. A five-point scale was used to assess attitudes toward corporal punishment, with scores closer to 1 indicating an attitude against its use and scores closer to 5 suggesting an attitude favoring its use. Why are studies of corporal punishment correlational studies, and how does that affect their usefulness? developmental connection Family Two recent books examine disciplinary tactics used by Chinese and Chinese American parents—Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom and Tiger Babies Strike Back—and researchers have studied parenting in Chinese and Chinese American families. Connect to “Socioemotional Development in Middle and Late Childhood.” What are some reasons for avoiding spanking or similar harsh punishments? The reasons include the following: When adults punish a child by yelling, screaming, or spanking, they are presenting children with out-of-control models for handling stressful situations. Children may imitate this aggressive, out-of-control behavior. Punishment can instill fear, rage, or avoidance. For example, spanking the child may cause the child to avoid being around the parent and to fear the parent. Punishment tells children what not to do rather than what to do. Children should be given feedback, such as “Why don’t you try this?” Punishment can be abusive. Parents might unintentionally become so angry when they are punishing the child that they injure the child physically or emotionally (Knox, 2010). Most child psychologists recommend handling misbehavior by reasoning with the child, especially explaining the consequences of the child’s actions for others. Time out, in which the child is removed from a setting that offers positive reinforcement, can also be effective. For example, when the child has misbehaved, a parent might take away TV viewing for a specified time. Debate about the effects of punishment on children’s development continues (Deater-Deckard, 2013; Ferguson, 2013; Gershoff, 2013; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Gershoff, Lee, & Durrant, 2017; Grusec & others, 2013; Holden & others, 2017; Knox, 2010; Laible, Thompson, & Froimson, 2015; Lansford & others, 2012). Several longitudinal studies have found that physical punishment of young children is associated with higher levels of aggression later in childhood and adolescence (Berlin & others, 2009; Gershoff & others, 2012; Lansford & others, 2014; Taylor & others, 2010; Thompson & others, 2017). In one longitudinal study, harsh physical punishment in childhood was linked to a higher incidence of intimate partner violence in adulthood (Afifi & others, 2017b). However, a meta-analysis that focused on longitudinal studies revealed that the negative outcomes of punishment on children’s internalizing and externalizing problems were minimal (Ferguson, 2013). A research review of 26 studies also concluded that only severe or predominant use of spanking, not mild spanking, compared unfavorably with alternative discipline practices (Larzelere & Kuhn, 2005). Nonetheless, in a recent meta-analysis, when physical punishment was not abusive it still was linked to detrimental child outcomes (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016). And in a recent Japanese study, occasional spanking at 3 years of age was associated with a higher level of behavioral problems at 5 years of age (Okusono & others, 2017). Some experts (including Diana Baumrind) argue that much of the evidence for the negative effects of physical punishment is based on studies in which parents acted in an abusive manner (Baumrind, Larzelere, & Cowan, 2002). She concludes from her research that when parents use punishment in a calm, reasoned manner (which she says characterized most of the authoritative parents in her studies), children’s development benefits. In sum, she emphasizes that physical punishment does not need to present children with an out-of-control adult who is yelling and screaming, as well as spanking. Thus, in the view of some Page 246experts, it is still difficult to determine whether the effects of physical punishment are harmful to children’s development, although such a view might be distasteful to some individuals (Ferguson, 2013; Grusec & others, 2013). And as with other research on parenting, research on punishment is correlational in nature, making it difficult to discover causal factors. Also, consider the concept of reciprocal socialization, discussed in the chapter on “Socioemotional Development in Infancy,” which emphasizes bidirectional child and parent influences. Researchers have found links between children’s early behavioral problems and parents’ greater use of physical punishment over time (Laible, Thompson, & Froimson, 2015; Sheehan & Watson, 2015). In one research review, Elizabeth Gershoff (2013) concluded that the defenders of spanking have not produced any evidence that spanking produces positive outcomes for children, and she noted that negative outcomes of spanking have been replicated in many studies. Also, one thing that is clear regarding research on punishment of children is that if physical punishment is used, it needs to be mild, infrequent, age-appropriate, and used in the context of a positive parent-child relationship (Grusec, 2011). It is also clear that when physical punishment involves abuse, it can be very harmful to children’s development (Almy & Cicchetti. 2018; Cicchetti, 2017). And an increasing majority of leading experts on parenting conclude that physical punishment has harmful effects on children and should not be used (Afifi & others, 2017a; Gershoff, Lee, & Durrant, 2017; Holden & others, 2017). Coparenting The support that parents provide one another in jointly raising a child is called coparenting. Poor coordination between parents, undermining of the other parent, lack of cooperation and warmth, and disconnection by one parent are conditions that place children at risk for problems (Pruett & others, 2017; Reader, Teti, & Cleveland, 2017). For example, one study revealed that coparenting influenced young children’s effortful control above and beyond maternal and paternal parenting by themselves (Karreman & others, 2008). Another study found that greater father involvement in young children’s play was linked to an increase in supportive coparenting (Jia & Schoppe-Sullivan, 2011). Researchers also have found that unmarried African American parents who were instructed in coparenting techniques during the prenatal period and also one month after the baby was born had higher levels of rapport, communication, and problem-solving skills when the baby was 3 months old (McHale, Salman-Engin, & Coovert, 2015). What characterizes coparenting? ©Shutterstock/ESB Professional Parents who do not spend enough time with their children or who have problems in child rearing can benefit from counseling and therapy. To read about the work of marriage and family counselor Darla Botkin, see Connecting with Careers. CHILD MALTREATMENT Unfortunately, punishment sometimes leads to the abuse of infants and children (Cicchetti, 2017; Doyle & Cicchetti, 2018). In 2013, 679,000 U.S. children were found to be victims of child abuse at least once during that year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Ninety-one percent of these children were abused by one or both parents. Laws in many states now require physicians and teachers to report suspected cases of child abuse, yet many cases go unreported, especially those involving battered infants. Whereas the public and many professionals use the term child abuse to refer to both abuse and neglect, developmentalists increasingly use the term child maltreatment (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Cicchetti & Toth, 2017). This term does not have quite the emotional impact of the term abuse and acknowledges that maltreatment includes diverse conditions. Child maltreatment involves grossly inadequate and destructive aspects of parenting. —Dante Cicchetti Contemporary Developmental Psychologist, University of Minnesota Types of Child Maltreatment The four main types of child maltreatment are physical abuse, child neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse (Jackson, Kissoon, & Greene, 2015; National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect, 2013): Physical abuse is characterized by the infliction of physical injury as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, shaking, or otherwise harming a child. The parent or other person may not have intended to hurt the child; the injury may have resulted from excessive physical punishment (Lo & others, 2017; Smith & others, 2018). Child neglect is characterized by failure to provide for the child’s basic needs (Naughton & others, 2017). Neglect can be physical (abandonment, for example), educational (allowing chronic truancy, for example), or emotional (marked inattention to the child’s needs, for example). Child neglect is by far the most common form of child maltreatment. In every country where relevant data have been collected, neglect occurs up to three times as often as abuse (O’Hara & others, 2018). A recent research review of risk factors for engaging in child neglect found that most risks involved parent factors, including a history of antisocial behavior/criminal offending, having mental/physical problems, and experiencing abuse in their own childhood (Mulder & others, 2018). Sexual abuse includes fondling a child’s genitals, intercourse, incest, rape, sodomy, exhibitionism, and commercial exploitation through prostitution or the production of pornographic materials (Daigneault & others, 2017: Oates, 2018; Prino, Longobardi, & Settanni, 2018). Emotional abuse (psychological/verbal abuse/mental injury) includes acts or omissions by parents or other caregivers that have caused, or could cause, serious behavioral, cognitive, or emotional problems (Hagborg, Tidefors, & Fahlke, 2017). Page 247 connecting with careers Darla Botkin, Marriage and Family Therapist Darla Botkin is a marriage and family therapist who teaches, conducts research, and engages in marriage and family therapy. She is on the faculty of the University of Kentucky. Botkin obtained a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a concentration in special education and then went on to receive a master’s degree in early childhood education. She spent the next six years working with children and their families in a variety of settings, including child care, elementary school, and Head Start. These experiences led Botkin to recognize the interdependence of the developmental settings that children and their parents experience (such as home, school, and work). She returned to graduate school and obtained a Ph.D. in family studies from the University of Tennessee. She then became a faculty member in the Family Studies program at the University of Kentucky. Completing further coursework and clinical training in marriage and family therapy, she became certified as a marriage and family therapist. Botkin’s current interests include working with young children in family therapy, addressing gender and ethnic issues in family therapy, and exploring the role of spirituality in family wellness. Darla Botkin (lower left) conducts a family therapy session. Courtesy of Dr. Darla Botkin For more information about what marriage and family therapists do, see the Careers in Life-Span Development appendix. Although any of these forms of child maltreatment may be found separately, they often occur in combination. Emotional abuse is almost always present when other forms are identified. Eight-year-old Donnique Hein lovingly holds her younger sister, 6-month-old Maria Paschel, after a meal at Laura’s Home, a crisis shelter in Ohio. ©Joshua Gunter/The Plain Dealer/Landov Images The Contexts of Abuse No single factor causes child maltreatment (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Cicchetti & Toth, 2017; Doyle & Cicchetti, 2018). A combination of factors, including the culture, family, and developmental characteristics of the child, likely contribute to child maltreatment. The extensive violence that takes place in American culture, including TV violence, is reflected in the occurrence of violence in the family (Leppakoski, Flinck, & Paavilainen, 2015). The family itself is obviously a key part of the context of abuse (Cicchetti, 2017; McCarroll & others, 2017). Among the family and family-associated characteristics that may contribute to child maltreatment are parenting Page 248stress, substance abuse, social isolation, single parenting, and socioeconomic difficulties (especially poverty) (Doyle & Cicchetti, 2018). The interactions of all family members need to be considered, regardless of who performs the violent acts against the child. For example, even though the father may be the one who physically abuses the child, the behavior of the mother, the child, and siblings also should be evaluated. Were parents who abuse children abused by their own parents? A 30-year longitudinal study found that offspring of parents who engaged in child maltreatment and neglect are at risk for engaging in child neglect and sexual maltreatment themselves (Widom, Czaja, & DuMont, 2015). It is estimated that about one-third of parents who were abused themselves when they were young go on to abuse their own children (Cicchetti & Toth, 2006). Thus, some, but not a majority, of parents are involved in an intergenerational transmission of abuse. Developmental Consequences of Abuse Among the consequences of child maltreatment in childhood and adolescence are poor emotion regulation, attachment problems, problems in peer relations, difficulty in adapting to school, and other psychological problems such as depression and delinquency (Bell & others, 2018; Doyle & Cicchetti, 2018). As shown in Figure 4, maltreated young children in foster care were more likely to show abnormal stress hormone levels than middle-SES young children living with their birth family (Gunnar, Fisher, & The Early Experience, Stress, and Prevention Network, 2006). In this study, the abnormal stress hormone levels were mainly present in the foster children who were neglected, best described as “institutional neglect” (Fisher, 2005). Abuse also may have this effect on young children (Gunnar & others, 2006). A recent study also found that physical abuse was linked to lower levels of cognitive development and school engagement in children (Font & Cage, 2018). Adolescents who experienced abuse or neglect as children are more likely than adolescents who were not maltreated as children to engage in violent romantic relationships, delinquency, sexual risk taking, and substance abuse (Trickett, Negriff, & Peckins, 2011). And a recent study found that exposure to either physical or sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence was linked to an increase in 13- to 18-year-olds’ suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts (Gomez & others, 2017). FIGURE 4 ABNORMAL STRESS HORMONE LEVELS IN YOUNG CHILDREN IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF REARING CONDITIONS Later, during the adult years, individuals who were maltreated as children are more likely to experience physical ailments, mental problems, and sexual problems (Lacelle & others, 2012). In a longitudinal study, people who had experienced abuse and neglect in the first five years of life had higher rates of interpersonal problems and lower academic achievement from childhood through their thirties (Raby & others, 2018). Among these interpersonal problems, people who were maltreated as children often have difficulty establishing and maintaining healthy intimate relationships (Dozier, Stovall-McClough, & Albus, 2009). As adults, maltreated children are also at higher risk for violent behavior toward other adults—especially dating partners and marital partners—as well as substance abuse, anxiety, and depression (Miller-Perrin, Perrin, & Kocur, 2009). One study also revealed that adults who had experienced child maltreatment were at increased risk for financial and employment-related difficulties (Zielinski, 2009). An important research agenda is to discover how to prevent child maltreatment or to intervene in children’s lives when they have been maltreated (Almy & Cicchetti, 2018; Cozza & others, 2018; Weiler & Taussig, 2018). In one study of maltreating mothers and their 1-year-olds, two treatments were effective in reducing child maltreatment: (1) home visitation that emphasized improved parenting, coping with stress, and increased support for the mother; and (2) parent-infant psychotherapy that focused on improving maternal-infant attachment (Cicchetti, Toth, & Rogosch, 2005). SIBLING RELATIONSHIPS AND BIRTH ORDER How do developmentalists characterize sibling relationships? How extensively does birth order influence behavior? developmental connection Family Siblings who are psychologically close to each other in adulthood tended to be that way in childhood. Connect to “Socioemotional Development in Middle Adulthood.” Sibling Relationships Approximately 80 percent of American children have one or more siblings—that is, sisters and brothers (Dunn, 2015; Fouts & Bader, 2017). If you grew up with siblings, you probably have abundant memories of aggressive, hostile interchanges. Siblings in the presence of each other when they are 2 to 4 years of age, on average, have a conflict once every 10 minutes and then the conflicts go down somewhat from 5 to 7 years of age (Kramer, 2006). What do parents do when they encounter siblings having a verbal or physical confrontation? One study revealed that they do one of three things: (1) intervene and try to help their children resolve the conflict, (2) admonish or threaten them, or (3) do nothing at all (Kramer & Perozynski, 1999). Of interest is that in families Page 249with two siblings 2 to 5 years of age, the most frequent parental reaction is to do nothing at all. Laurie Kramer (2006), who has conducted a number of research studies on siblings, says that not intervening and letting sibling conflict escalate are not good strategies. She developed a program titled “More Fun with Sisters and Brothers” that teaches 4- to 8-year-old siblings social skills for developing positive interactions (Kramer & Radey, 1997). Among the social skills taught in the program are how to appropriately initiate play, how to accept and refuse invitations to play, how to take another person’s perspective, how to deal with angry feelings, and how to manage conflict. What characterizes children’s sibling relationships? ©RubberBall Productions/Getty Images However, conflict is only one of the many dimensions of sibling relations (McHale, Updegraff, & Whiteman, 2013; Pike & Oliver, 2017). Sibling relations also include helping, sharing, teaching, and playing, and siblings can act as emotional supports and communication partners as well as rivals for parental attention. Do parents usually favor one sibling over others—and if so, does it make a difference in a child’s development? One study of 384 sibling pairs revealed that 65 percent of their mothers and 70 percent of their fathers showed favoritism toward one sibling (Aldercotte, White, & Hughes, 2016; Shebloski, Conger, & Widaman, 2005). When favoritism of one sibling occurred, it was linked to lower self-esteem and sadness in the less-favored sibling. Indeed, equality and fairness are major concerns of siblings’ relationships with each other and how they are treated by their parents (Campione-Barr, 2011; Campione-Barr, Greer, & Kruse, 2013). Judy Dunn (2015), a leading expert on sibling relationships, recently described three important characteristics of sibling relationships: Emotional quality of the relationship. Intense positive and negative emotions are often expressed by siblings toward each other. Many children and adolescents have mixed feelings toward their siblings. Familiarity and intimacy of the relationship. Siblings typically know each other very well, and this intimacy suggests that they can either provide support or tease and undermine each other, depending on the situation. Variation in sibling relationships. Some siblings describe their relationships more positively than others. Thus, there is considerable variation in sibling relationships. We just discussed that many siblings have mixed feelings about each other, but some children and adolescents mainly describe their siblings in warm, affectionate ways, whereas others primarily talk about how irritating and mean a sibling is. Research indicates that a high level of sibling conflict is linked to negative developmental outcomes (Fosco & others, 2012). Birth Order Whether a child has older or younger siblings has been linked to development of certain personality characteristics. For example, one research review concluded that “firstborns are the most intelligent, achieving, and conscientious, while later-borns are the most rebellious, liberal, and agreeable” (Paulhus, 2008, p. 210). Compared with later-born children, firstborn children have also been described as more adult-oriented, helpful, conforming, and self-controlled. However, when such birth-order differences are reported, they often are small. What accounts for differences related to birth order? Proposed explanations usually point to variations in interactions with parents and siblings associated with being in a particular position in the family. In one study, mothers became more negative, coercive, and restraining and played less with the firstborn following the birth of a second child (Dunn & Kendrick, 1982). What is the only child like? The popular conception is that the only child is a “spoiled brat” with such undesirable characteristics as dependency, lack of self-control, and self-centered behavior. But researchers present a more positive portrayal of the only child. Only children often are achievement-oriented and display a desirable personality, especially in comparison with later-borns and children from large families (Falbo & Poston, 1993; Jiao, Ji, & Jing, 1996). A one-child policy has been in place for a number of decades in China. However, in 2016, the Chinese government began allowing two children per family without a financial penalty. In general, though, what have researchers found the only child to be like? ©Image Source/Getty Images So far, our discussion suggests that birth order might be a strong predictor of behavior. However, an increasing number of family researchers stress that when all of the factors that influence behavior are considered, birth order by itself shows limited accuracy in predicting behavior. Think about some of the other important factors beyond birth order in children’s lives that influence their behavior. They include heredity, models of competency or incompetency that parents present to children on a daily basis, peer influences, school influences, socioeconomic factors, sociohistorical Page 250factors, and cultural variations. When someone says firstborns are always like this but last-borns are always like that, the person is making overly simplistic statements that do not adequately take into account the complexity of influences on a child’s development. THE CHANGING FAMILY IN A CHANGING SOCIETY Beyond variations in the number of siblings, the families that children experience differ in many important ways (Hardy, Smeeding, & Ziliak, 2018; Hoffman & others, 2017; Lindsay & others, 2018; Parke, 2017; Patterson & others, 2018). The number of children growing up in single-parent families is staggering. As shown in Figure 5, the United States has one of the highest percentages of single-parent families in the world. Among two-parent families, there are those in which both parents work outside the home, one or both parents had a previous marriage that ended in divorce, or the parents are gay or lesbian. Differences in culture and socioeconomic status (SES) also influence families. How do these variations in families affect children? FIGURE 5 SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES How does work affect parenting? ©Keith Brofsky/Photodisc/Getty Images Working Parents More than one of every two U.S. mothers with a child under the age of 5 is in the labor force; more than two of every three with a child from 6 to 17 years of age is employed. Maternal employment is a part of modern life, but its effects continue to be debated. Most research on parental work has focused on the role of maternal employment on young children’s development (O’Brien & others, 2014). However, the effects of working parents involve the father as well as the mother when such matters as work schedules, work-family stress, and unemployment are considered (Clarke-Stewart & Parke, 2014). For example, a study of almost 3,000 adolescents found a negative association between the father’s, but not the mother’s, unemployment and the adolescents’ health (Bacikova-Sleskova, Benka, & Orosova, 2015). Researchers have found that the nature of parents’ work has more influence on children’s development than whether a parent works outside the home (Han, 2009; O’Brien & others, 2014). And work can produce both positive and negative effects on parenting (Crouter & McHale, 2005). Ann Crouter (2006) described how parents bring their experiences at work into their homes. She concluded that parents who face poor working conditions such as long hours, overtime work, stressful work, and lack of autonomy on the job are likely to be more irritable at home and to engage in less effective parenting than their counterparts with better working conditions. A consistent finding is that children (especially girls) of working mothers engage in less gender stereotyping and have more egalitarian views of gender than children whose mothers are not employed outside the home (Goldberg & Lucas-Thompson, 2008). Children in Divorced Families It is estimated that 40 percent of children born to married parents in the United States will experience their parents’ divorce (Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan, 2002). Let’s examine some important questions about children in divorced families. Are children better adjusted in intact, never-divorced families than in divorced families? Most researchers agree that children from divorced families show poorer adjustment than their counterparts in nondivorced families (Arkes, 2015; Hetherington, 2006; Lansford, 2012, 2013; Robbers & others, 2012; Weaver & Schofield, 2015) (see Figure 6). Those who have experienced multiple divorces are at greater risk. Children in divorced families are more likely than children in nondivorced families to Page 251have academic problems, to show externalized problems (such as acting out and delinquency) and internalized problems (such as anxiety and depression), to be less socially responsible, to have less competent intimate relationships, to drop out of school, to become sexually active at an early age, to take drugs, to associate with antisocial peers, to have low self-esteem, and to be less securely attached as young adults (Lansford, 2012, 2013). In one study, individuals who had experienced their parents’ divorce were more at risk for engaging in a suicide attempt (Alonzo & others, 2014). Nonetheless, keep in mind that a majority of children in divorced families do not have significant adjustment problems (Ahrons, 2007). One study found that 20 years after their parents had divorced when they were children, approximately 80 percent of adults concluded that their parents’ decision to divorce had been a wise one (Ahrons, 2004). FIGURE 6 DIVORCE AND CHILDREN’S EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS. In Hetherington’s research, 25 percent of children from divorced families showed serious emotional problems compared with only 10 percent of children from intact, never-divorced families. However, keep in mind that a substantial majority (75 percent) of the children from divorced families did not show serious emotional problems. As marriage has become a more optional, less permanent institution in contemporary America, children and adolescents are encountering stresses and adaptive challenges associated with their parents’ marital transitions. —E. Mavis Hetherington Contemporary Psychologist, University of Virginia Another study concluded that childhood divorce was linked to an increased number of cohabiting/marital partnerships and negative partner relationships the children had from 16 to 30 years of age (Fergusson, McLeod, & Horwood, 2014). An important point is that the outcomes just described for the life event of childhood divorce were explained by a variety of other factors and social contexts—parental history of illicit drug use, experience of childhood sexual abuse, lower-SES status at the time of the child’s birth, and parental history of criminality. In another recent study, parental divorce, as well as child maltreatment, were linked to suicidal ideation in middle age (Stansfield & others, 2017). Should parents stay together for the sake of the children? Whether parents should stay in an unhappy marriage for the sake of their children is one of the most commonly asked questions about divorce (Hetherington, 2006; Morrison, Fife, & Hertlien, 2017). If the stresses and disruptions in family relationships associated with an unhappy, conflictual marriage that erode the well-being of children are reduced by the move to a divorced, single-parent family, divorce can be advantageous. However, if the diminished resources and increased risks associated with divorce also are accompanied by inept parenting and sustained or increased conflict, not only within the divorced couple but also among the parents, children, and siblings, the best choice for the children would be for an unhappy marriage to be retained (Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan, 2002). It is difficult to determine how these “ifs” will play out when parents either remain together in an acrimonious marriage or become divorced. Note that marital conflict may have negative consequences for children in the context of marriage or divorce (Cummings & others, 2017; Davies, Martin, & Sturge-Apple, 2016). And many of the problems that children from divorced homes experience begin during the predivorce period, a time when parents are often in active conflict with each other. Thus, when children from divorced homes show problems, the problems may not be due only to the divorce but also to the marital conflict that led to it. E. Mark Cummings and his colleagues (Cummings & Miller, 2015; Cummings & others, 2017; Cummings & Valentino, 2015) have proposed emotion security theory, which has its roots in attachment theory and states that children appraise marital conflict in terms of their sense of security and safety in the family. These experts make a distinction between marital conflict that is negative for children (such as hostile emotional displays and destructive conflict tactics) and marital conflict that can be positive for children (such as marital disagreement that involves calmly discussing each person’s perspective and then working together to reach a solution). In a recent study, interparental hostility was a stronger predictor of children’s insecurity and externalizing problems than interparental disengagement and low levels of interparental cooperation (Davies & others, 2016). In another recent study, maladaptive marital conflict (destructive strategies, severity of arguments) when children were 2 years old was associated with an increase in internalizing problems eight years later due to an undermining of attachment security for girls, while negative emotional aftermath of conflict (unresolved, lingering tension) increased both boys’ and girls’ internalizing problems (Brock & Kochanska, 2016). What concerns are involved in deciding whether parents should stay together for the sake of the children or become divorced? ©Image Source/PunchStock/Getty Images How much do family processes matter in divorced families? Family processes matter a great deal (Demby, 2016; Elam & others, 2016; Lansford, 2012; Luecken & others, 2016; Narayan & others, 2015; Warshak, 2014). For example, when divorced parents’ relationship with each other is harmonious and when they use authoritative parenting, the adjustment of children improves (Hetherington, 2006). When the divorced parents can agree on child-rearing strategies and can maintain a cordial relationship with each other, frequent visits by the noncustodial parent usually benefit the child (Fabricius & others, 2010). Following a divorce, father involvement with children drops off more than mother involvement, especially if the children are girls. In one study, children were more likely to have behavior problems if their post-divorce home environment was less supportive and stimulating, their mother was less sensitive and more depressed, and if their household income was Page 252lower (Weaver & Schofield, 2015). Also, a study of divorced families revealed that an intervention focused on improving the mother-child relationship was linked to improvements in relationship quality that increased children’s coping skills over the short term (6 months) and long term (6 years) (Velez & others, 2011). And a longitudinal study revealed that parental divorce experienced before age 7 was linked to a lower level of health through 50 years of age (Thomas & Hognas, 2015). Further, a recent study of noncustodial fathers in divorced families indicated that high father-child involvement and low interparental conflict were linked to positive child outcomes (Flam & others, 2016). Also, a recent research review concluded that coparenting (coparental support, cooperation, and agreement) following divorce was associated with positive child outcomes such as reduced anxiety and depression, as well as higher levels of self-esteem and academic performance (Lamela & Figueiredo, 2016). What factors influence an individual child’s vulnerability to suffering negative consequences from living in a divorced family? Among the factors involved in the child’s risk and vulnerability is the child’s adjustment prior to the divorce, as well as the child’s personality and temperament, gender, and custody situation (Hetherington, 2006). Children whose parents later divorce often show poor adjustment before the breakup (Amato & Booth, 1996). Children who are socially mature and responsible, who show few behavioral problems, and who have an easy temperament are better able to cope with their parents’ divorce. Children with a difficult temperament often have problems coping with their parents’ divorce (Hetherington, 2000). developmental connection Family Early marriage, low educational level, low income, not having a religious affiliation, having parents who are divorced, and having a baby before marriage are factors linked to an increased probability of divorce. Connect to “Socioemotional Development in Early Adulthood.” Earlier studies reported gender differences in response to divorce, with divorce being more negative for boys than girls in mother-custody families. However, more recent studies have shown that gender differences are less pronounced and consistent than was previously believed. Some of the inconsistency may be due to the increase in father custody, joint custody, and increased involvement of noncustodial fathers, especially in their sons’ lives (Ziol-Guest, 2009). Research on whether different types of custodial arrangements are better for children in divorced families has yielded inconsistent results (Parke, 2013). An analysis of studies found that children in joint-custody families were better adjusted than children in sole-custody families (Bauserman, 2002). However, joint custody works best for children when the parents can get along with each other (Clarke-Stewart & Parke, 2014). What role does socioeconomic status play in the lives of children in divorced families? Custodial mothers experience the loss of about one-fourth to one-half of their predivorce income, in comparison with a loss of only one-tenth by custodial fathers. This income loss for divorced mothers is accompanied by increased workloads, high rates of job instability, and residential moves to less desirable neighborhoods with inferior schools (Braver & Lamb, 2013). One study found that children from families with higher incomes before the separation/divorce had fewer internalizing problems (Weaver & Schofield, 2015). In sum, many factors are involved in determining how divorce influences a child’s development (Hetherington, 2006; Lansford, 2012; Warshak, 2014). To read about some strategies for helping children cope with the divorce of their parents, see Connecting Development to Life. Gay and Lesbian Parents Increasingly, gay and lesbian couples are creating families that include children (Farr, 2017; Oakley, Farr, & Scherer, 2017; Patterson, 2013, 2014; Patterson, Farr, & Hastings, 2015). Data indicate that approximately 20 percent of same-sex couples are raising children under the age of 18 in the United States (Gates, 2013). Like heterosexual couples, gay and lesbian parents vary greatly. They may be single or they may have same-gender partners. Many lesbian mothers and gay fathers are noncustodial parents because they lost custody of their children to heterosexual spouses after a divorce. In addition, gays and lesbians are increasingly choosing parenthood through donor insemination or adoption (Simon & others, 2018). Researchers have found that the children conceived through new reproductive technologies—such as in vitro fertilization—are as well adjusted as their counterparts conceived by natural means (Golombok, 2011a, b). Parenthood among lesbians and gays is controversial. Opponents claim that being raised by gay or lesbian parents harms the child’s development. But researchers have found few differences between children growing up with lesbian mothers or gay fathers on the one hand, and children growing up with heterosexual parents on the other (Patterson, Farr, & Hastings, 2015). For example, children growing up in gay or lesbian families are just as popular with their peers, and no differences are found in the adjustment and mental health of children in these families compared with children in heterosexual families (Hyde & DeLamater, 2017). For example, in a recent study, the adjustment of school-aged children adopted during infancy by gay, lesbian, and heterosexual parents showed no differences (Farr, 2017). Rather, children’s behavior patterns and family functioning were predicted by earlier child adjustment issues and parental stress. In another recent study of lesbian and gay adoptive parents, 98 percent of the adoptive parents reported that their children had adjusted well to school (Farr, Oakley, & Ollen, 2016). Another study revealed more positive parenting in adoptive gay father families and fewer child externalizing problems in these families than in heterosexual families (Golombok & others, 2014). Contrary to the once-popular expectation that being raised by a gay or lesbian parent would result in the child growing up to be gay or lesbian, in reality the overwhelming majority of children from gay or lesbian families have a heterosexual orientation (Golombok & Tasker, 2010; Tasker & Golombok, 1997). Page 253 connecting development to life Communicating with Children About Divorce Ellen Galinsky and Judy David (1988) developed a number of guidelines for communicating with children about divorce. Explain the separation. As soon as daily activities in the home make it obvious that one parent is leaving, tell the children. If possible, both parents should be present when children are told about the separation to come. The reasons for the separation are very difficult for young children to understand. No matter what parents tell children, children can find reasons to argue against the separation. It is extremely important for parents to tell the children who will take care of them and to describe the specific arrangements for seeing the other parent. Explain that the separation is not the child’s fault. Young children often believe their parents’ separation or divorce is their own fault. Therefore, it is important to tell children that they are not the cause of the separation. Parents need to repeat this statement a number of times. Explain that it may take time to feel better. Tell young children that it’s normal to not feel good about what is happening and that many other children feel this way when their parents become separated. It is also okay for divorced parents to share some of their emotions with children by saying something like “I’m having a hard time since the separation just like you, but I know it’s going to get better after a while.” Such statements are best kept brief and should not criticize the other parent. Keep the door open for further discussion. Tell your children to come to you anytime they want to talk about the separation. It is healthy for children to express their pent-up emotions in discussions with their parents and to learn that the parents are willing to listen to their feelings and fears. Provide as much continuity as possible. The less children’s worlds are disrupted by the separation, the easier their transition to a single-parent family will be. Thus, parents should maintain the rules already in place as much as possible. Children need parents who care enough not only to give them warmth and nurturance but also to set reasonable limits. Provide support for your children and yourself. After a divorce or separation, parents are as important to children as before the divorce or separation. Divorced parents need to provide children with as much support as possible. Parents function best when other people are available to give them support as adults and as parents. Divorced parents can find people who provide practical help and with whom they can talk about their problems. How does the third guideline above (“Explain that it may take time to feel better”) relate to what you learned earlier in this chapter about emotion coaching? What are the research findings regarding the development and psychological well-being of children raised by gay and lesbian couples? ©2009 JupiterImages Corporation Researchers have compared the incidence of coparenting in adoptive heterosexual, lesbian, and gay couples with preschool-aged children (Farr & Patterson, 2013). Both self-reports and observations found that lesbian and gay couples shared child care more than heterosexual couples, with lesbian couples being more supportive than gay couples. Cultural, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Variations Parenting can be influenced by culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (Nieto & Bode, 2018). Recall from Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory (see the “Introduction” chapter) that a number of social contexts influence the child’s development. In Bronfenbrenner’s theory, culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are classified as part of the macrosystem because they represent broader, societal contexts. Cross-Cultural Studies Different cultures often give different answers to basic questions such as what the father’s role in the family should be, what support systems are available to families, and how children Page 254should be disciplined (Gaskins, 2016). There are important cross-cultural variations in parenting and the value placed on children (Eo & Kim, 2018; Matsumoto & Juang, 2017; Suh & others, 2017). In some cultures, such as rural areas of many countries, authoritarian parenting is widespread (Smetana & Ball, 2018). What are some characteristics of families within different ethnic groups? ©Bill Aron/PhotoEdit Cultural change, brought about by factors such as increasingly frequent international travel, access to the Internet and electronic communications, and economic globalization, is coming to families in many countries around the world. There are trends toward greater family mobility, migration to urban areas, separation as some family members work in cities or countries far from their homes, smaller families, fewer extended-family households, and increased maternal employment (Brown & Larson, 2002). These trends can change the resources that are available to children. For example, when several generations no longer live near each other, children may lose support and guidance from grandparents, aunts, and uncles. On the positive side, smaller families may produce more openness and communication between parents and children. Ethnicity Families within different ethnic groups in the United States differ in their typical size, structure, composition, reliance on kinship networks, and levels of income and education (Gollnick & Chinn, 2017; Nieto & Bode, 2018). Large and extended families are more common among minority groups than among the non-Latino White majority. For example, 19 percent of Latino families have three or more children, compared with 14 percent of African American and 10 percent of White families. African American and Latino children interact more with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more distant relatives than do White children. Single-parent families are more common among African Americans and Latinos than among non-Latino White Americans. In comparison with two-parent households, single parents often have more limited resources of time, money, and energy (Evans, Li, & Sepanski Whipple, 2013). Ethnic minority parents also are less educated and more likely to live in low-income circumstances than their non-Latino White counterparts. Still, many impoverished ethnic minority families manage to find ways to raise competent children (Hurst, 2013; Nieto & Bode, 2018). A major change in families in the last several decades has been the dramatic increase in the immigration of Latino and Asian families into the United States (Bas-Sarmiento & others, 2017; Giuntella, 2017; Koppelman, 2017; Non & others, 2018; Umana-Taylor & Douglass, 2017). Immigrant families often experience stressors uncommon to or less prominent among longtime residents, such as language barriers, dislocations and separations from support networks, the dual struggle to preserve identity and to acculturate, changes in SES status, and health (Anguiano, 2018; Cano & others, 2017; Chaudry & others, 2017; Wang & Palacios, 2017). Further, an increasing number of children are growing up in transnational families, who move back and forth between the United States and Mexico or China (Solheim, Zaid, & Ballard, 2016). In some cases these children are left behind in their home country, and in other cases (especially in China), they are sent back to China to be raised by grandparents during their early childhood years. Such children might benefit from economic remittances but suffer emotionally from prolonged separation from their parents (Mazzucato, 2015). Of course, individual families vary, and how ethnic minority families deal with stress depends on many factors (Anguiano, 2018; Cano & others, 2017; Chaudry & others, 2017; Non & others, 2018). Whether the parents are native-born or immigrants, how long the family has been in this country, and their socioeconomic status and national origin all make a difference (Gangamma & Shipman, 2018; Yoshikawa & others, 2016). The characteristics of the family’s social context also influence its adaptation. What are the attitudes toward the family’s ethnic group within its neighborhood or city? Can the family’s children attend good schools? Are there community groups that welcome people from the family’s ethnic group? Do members of the family’s ethnic group form community groups of their own? Ethnic minority/immigrant children and their parents are expected to move beyond their own cultural background and identify with aspects of the dominant culture. They undergo varying degrees of acculturation, which refers to cultural changes that occur when one culture comes in contact with another. Asian American parents, for example, may feel pressed to modify the traditional training style of parental control discussed earlier as they encounter the more permissive parenting typical of the dominant culture. What are some of the stressors immigrant families experience when they come to the United States? ©J. Emilio Flores/Corbis Researchers have found that many members of families Page 255that have recently immigrated to the United States adopt a bicultural orientation, selecting characteristics of the U.S. culture that help them to survive and advance, while retaining some aspects of their culture of origin (Moro, 2014). In adopting characteristics of the U.S. culture, Latino families are increasingly embracing its emphasis on education (Cooper, 2011). Although their school dropout rates have remained higher than those of other ethnic groups, toward the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century they declined considerably (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). However, while many ethnic/immigrant families adopt a bicultural orientation, parenting in many ethnic minority families also focuses on issues associated with promoting children’s ethnic pride, knowledge of their ethnic group, and awareness of discrimination (Gampe & Daum, 2018; Nieto & Bode, 2018; Umana-Taylor & Douglass, 2017). Socioeconomic Status Low-income families have less access to resources than higher-income families do (Yoshikawa & others, 2017). The differential in access to resources encompasses nutrition, health care, protection from danger, and enriching educational and socialization opportunities such as tutoring and lessons in various activities (Hardy, Smeeding, & Ziliak, 2018). These differences are compounded in low-income families characterized by long-term poverty (Chaudry & others, 2017; Coley & others, 2018). One study found that persistent economic hardship and very early poverty were linked to lower cognitive functioning in children at 5 years of age (Schoon & others, 2012). And in another study, poverty-related adversity in family and school contexts in early childhood was linked to less effective executive function in second- and third-graders (Raver & others, 2013). A longitudinal study found that a multicomponent (school-based educational enrichment and comprehensive family services) preschool to third grade intervention with low-income minority children in Chicago was effective in increasing their rate of high school graduation, as well as their undergraduate and graduate school success (Reynolds, Qu, & Temple, 2018). In the United States and most Western cultures, differences have been found in child rearing among families with different socioeconomic statuses (SES) (Hoff, Laursen, & Tardif, 2002, p. 246): “Lower-SES parents (1) are more concerned that their children conform to society’s expectations, (2) create a home atmosphere in which it is clear that parents have authority over children,” (3) use physical punishment more in disciplining their children, and (4) are more directive and less conversational with their children. “Higher-SES parents (1) are more concerned with developing children’s initiative” and delay of gratification, “(2) create a home atmosphere in which children are more nearly equal participants and in which rules are discussed as opposed to being laid down” in an authoritarian manner, (3) are less likely to use physical punishment, and (4) “are less directive and more conversational” with their children. How might socioeconomic status and poverty be linked to parenting and young children’s development? ©Jens Kalaene/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images Review Connect Reflect LG2 Explain how families can influence young children’s development. Review What are the four main parenting styles, and what aspects of parenting are linked with young children’s development? What are the types and consequences of child maltreatment? How are sibling relationships and birth order related to young children’s development? How is young children’s development affected by having two wage-earning parents, having divorced parents, having gay or lesbian parents, and being part of a particular cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic group? Connect Fathers are most often the perpetrators in shaken baby syndrome. Given what you learned in this chapter, which family interactions would a researcher or marriage and family therapist be likely to explore in such a case of child maltreatment? Reflect Your Own Personal Journey of Life Which style or styles of parenting did your mother and father use in rearing you? What effects do you think their parenting styles have had on your development? Page 256 3 Peer Relations, Play, and Media/Screen Time LG3 Describe the roles of peers, play, and media/screen time in young children’s development. Peer Relations Play Media/Screen Time The family is a very important social context for children’s development. However, children’s development also is strongly influenced by what goes on in other social contexts, such as in peer groups and when children are playing or spending time with the media, computers, and other electronic devices (Bukowski, Laursen, & Rubin, 2018; Rose & Smith, 2018). What are some characteristics of peer relations in early childhood? ©Ariel Skelley/Blend Images LLC PEER RELATIONS As children grow older, they spend an increasing amount of time with their peers—children of about the same age or maturity level. Peer Group Functions What are the functions of a child’s peer group? One of its most important functions is to provide a source of information and comparison about the world outside the family. Children receive feedback about their abilities from their peer group. Children evaluate what they do in terms of whether it is better than, as good as, or worse than what other children do. It is hard to make these judgments at home because siblings are usually older or younger. Good peer relations promote normal socioemotional development (Bukowski, Laursen, & Rubin, 2018; Prinstein & others, 2018). Special concerns in peer relations focus on children who are withdrawn or aggressive (Coplan & others, 2018; Rubin & Barstead, 2018). Withdrawn children who are rejected by peers or are victimized and feel lonely are at risk for depression (Rubin & others, 2018). Children who are aggressive with their peers are at risk for a number of problems, including delinquency and dropping out of school (Nesi & others, 2017; Vitaro, Boivin, & Poulin, 2018). Developmental Changes Recall from our discussion of gender that, by about the age of 3, children already prefer to spend time with same-sex rather than opposite-sex playmates, and this preference increases in early childhood. During these same years the frequency of peer interaction, both positive and negative, picks up considerably (Cillessen & Bukowski, 2018). Many preschool children spend considerable time in peer interaction conversing with playmates about such matters as “negotiating roles and rules in play, arguing, and agreeing” (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). And during early childhood children’s interactions with peers become more coordinated and involve longer turns and sequences (Coplan & Arbeau, 2009). Friends In early childhood, children distinguish between friends and nonfriends (Howes, 2009). For most young children, a friend is someone to play with. Young preschool children are more likely than older children to have friends who are of a different gender and ethnicity (Howes, 2009). developmental connection Peers Children’s peer relations have been classified in terms of five peer statuses. Connect to “Socioemotional Development in Middle and Late Childhood.” The Connected Worlds of Parent-Child and Peer Relations Parents may influence their children’s peer relations in many ways, both directly and indirectly (Booth-Laforce & Groh, 2018). Parents affect such relations through their interactions with their children, how they manage their children’s lives, and the opportunities they provide to their children (Brown & Bakken, 2011). For example, one study found that when mothers coached their preschool daughters about the negative aspects of peer conflicts involving relational aggression (harming someone by manipulating a relationship), the daughters engaged in lower rates of relational aggression (Werner & others, 2014). Basic lifestyle decisions by parents—their choices of neighborhoods, churches, schools, and their own friends—largely determine the pool from which their children select possible friends. These choices in turn affect which children their children meet, their purpose in interacting, and eventually which children become their friends. Researchers also have found that children’s peer relations are linked to attachment security and parents’ marital quality (Booth-LaForce & Groh, 2018). Early attachments to caregivers provide a connection to children’s peer relations not only by creating a secure base from which children can explore social relationships beyond the family but also by conveying a working model of relationships Page 257(Hartup, 2009). Researchers have found that when mothers coach their preschool daughters about the negative aspects of peer conflicts involving relational aggression (harming someone by manipulating a relationship), the daughters engage in lower rates of relational aggression (Werner & others, 2014). How are parent-child and peer relationships connected? (Left) ©iStockphoto.com/monkeybusinessimages; (right) ©kali9/Getty Images Do these results indicate that children’s peer relations always are wedded to parent-child relationships? Although parent-child relationships influence children’s subsequent peer relations, children also learn other modes of relating through their relationships with peers. For example, rough-and-tumble play occurs mainly with other children, not in parent-child interaction. In times of stress, children often turn to parents rather than peers for support. In parent-child relationships, children learn how to relate to authority figures. With their peers, children are likely to interact on a much more equal basis and to learn a mode of relating based on mutual influence. We will have much more to say about peer relations later. PLAY An extensive amount of peer interaction during childhood involves play, but social play is only one type of play. Play is a pleasurable activity in which children engage for its own sake, and its functions and forms vary (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2014). Let us play, for it is yet day And we cannot go to sleep; Besides, in the sky the little birds fly And the hills are all covered with sheep. —William Blake English Poet, 19th Century Play’s Functions Play is an important aspect of children’s development (Bergen, 2015; Clark, 2016; Johnson & others, 2015; Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Theorists have focused on different aspects of play and highlighted a long list of functions (Henricks, 2015a, b). According to Freud and Erikson, play helps children master anxieties and conflicts (Demanchick, 2015). Because tensions are relieved in play, children can cope more effectively with life’s problems. Play permits children to work off excess physical energy and to release pent-up tensions. Therapists use play therapy both to allow children to work off frustrations and to analyze children’s conflicts and ways of coping with them. Children may feel less threatened and be more likely to express their true feelings in the context of play (Clark, 2015, 2016; Demanchick, 2015). Play also is an important context for cognitive development (Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Both Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky concluded that play is a child’s work. Piaget (1962) maintained that play advances children’s cognitive development. At the same time, he said, children’s cognitive development constrains the way they play. Play permits children to practice their competencies and acquired skills in a relaxed, pleasurable way (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2014). Piaget thought that cognitive structures need to be exercised, and play provides the perfect setting for this exercise (DeLisi, 2015). Vygotsky (1962) also considered play to be an excellent setting for cognitive development. He was especially interested in the symbolic and make-believe aspects of play, as when a child substitutes a stick for a horse and rides the stick as if it were a horse. For young children, the imaginary situation is real (Bodrova & Leong, 2015). Parents should encourage such imaginary play, because it advances the child’s cognitive development, especially creative thought. developmental connection Sociocultural Cognitive Theory Vygotsky emphasized that children develop their ways of thinking and understanding mainly through social interaction. Connect to “Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood.” Daniel Berlyne (1960) described play as exciting and pleasurable in itself because it satisfies our exploratory drive. This drive involves curiosity and a desire for information about something new or unusual. Play encourages exploratory behavior by offering children the possibilities of novelty, complexity, uncertainty, surprise, and incongruity. More recently, play has been described Page 258as an important context for the development of language and communication skills (Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Language and communication skills may be enhanced through discussions and negotiations regarding roles and rules in play as young children practice various words and phrases. These types of social interactions during play can benefit young children’s literacy skills (Bredekamp, 2017). Play is a central focus of the child-centered kindergarten and is thought to be an essential aspect of early childhood education (Feeney, Moravcik, & Nolte, 2019; Follari, 2019; Henniger, 2017; Morrison, 2018). A preschool “superhero” at play. ©Dann Tardif/Corbis/Getty Images Types of Play The contemporary perspective on play emphasizes both the cognitive and the social aspects of play (Loizou, 2017; Sim & Xu, 2017). Among the most widely studied types of children’s play today are sensorimotor and practice play, pretense/symbolic play, social play, constructive play, and games. Sensorimotor and Practice Play Sensorimotor play is behavior by infants that lets them derive pleasure from exercising their sensorimotor schemes. The development of sensorimotor play follows Piaget’s description of sensorimotor thought. Infants initially engage in exploratory and playful visual and motor transactions in the second quarter of the first year of life. At about 9 months of age, infants begin to select novel objects for exploration and play, especially responsive objects such as toys that make noise or bounce. Practice play involves the repetition of behavior when new skills are being learned or when physical or mental mastery and coordination of skills are required for games or sports. Sensorimotor play, which often involves practice play, is primarily confined to infancy, whereas practice play can be engaged in throughout life. During the preschool years, children often engage in practice play. Pretense/Symbolic Play Pretense/symbolic play occurs when the child transforms the physical environment into a symbol (Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Between 9 and 30 months of age, children increase their use of objects in symbolic play. They learn to transform objects—substituting them for other objects and acting toward them as if they were those other objects. For example, a preschool child treats a table as if it were a car and says, “I’m fixing the car,” as he grabs a leg of the table. Many experts on play consider the preschool years the “golden age” of symbolic/pretense play that is dramatic or sociodramatic in nature. This type of make-believe play often appears at about 18 months of age and reaches a peak at 4 to 5 years of age, then gradually declines. And that park grew up with me; that small world widened as I learned its secrets and boundaries, as I discovered new refuges in its woods and jungles: hidden homes and lairs for the multitudes of imagination, for cowboys and Indians. . . . I used to dawdle on half holidays along the bent and Devon-facing seashore, hoping for gold watches or the skull of a sheep or a message in a bottle to be washed up with the tide. —Dylan Thomas Welsh Poet, 20th Century Some child psychologists conclude that pretend play is an important aspect of young children’s development and often reflects advances in their cognitive development, especially as an indication of symbolic understanding (Edmiston, 2017; Hakkarainen, Bredikyte, & Safarov, 2017; Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). For example, Catherine Garvey (2000) and Angeline Lillard (2006) emphasize that hidden in young children’s pretend play narratives are remarkable capacities for role-taking, balancing of social roles, metacognition (thinking about thinking), testing of the reality-pretense distinction, and numerous nonegocentric capacities that reveal the remarkable cognitive skills of young children. A major accomplishment in early childhood is the development of children’s ability to share their pretend play with peers (Coplan & Arbeau, 2009). And researchers have found that pretend play contributes to young children’s self-regulation, mainly because of the self-monitoring and social sensitivity that is required in creating and enacting a sociodramatic narrative in cooperation with other children (Diamond & others, 2007). Social Play Social play involves interaction with peers. Social play increases dramatically during the preschool years. For many children, social play is the main context for young children’s social interactions with peers (Solovieva & Quintanar, 2017). Constructive Play Constructive play combines sensorimotor/practice play with symbolic representation. It occurs when children engage in the self-regulated creation of a product or a solution. Constructive play increases in the preschool years as symbolic play increases and sensorimotor play decreases. It also becomes a frequent form of play in the elementary school years, both within and outside of the classroom. Games Games are activities that children engage in for pleasure and that have rules. Often they involve competition. Preschool children may begin to participate in social games that involve simple rules of reciprocity and turn taking. However, games take on a much stronger role in the lives of elementary school children. In one study, the highest incidence of game playing occurred between 10 Page 259and 12 years of age (Eiferman, 1971). After age 12, games decline in popularity (Bergen, 1988). What characterizes social play? ©fotostorm/Getty Images Trends in Play Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta Golinkoff, and Dorothy Singer (Hirsh-Pasek & others, 2009; Singer, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006) are concerned about the small amount of time for free play that young children have today, reporting that it has declined considerably in recent decades. They especially are worried about young children’s playtime being restricted at home and school so they can spend more time on academic subjects. They also point out that many schools have eliminated recess. And it is not just the declining time for free play that bothers them. They underscore that learning in playful contexts captivates children’s minds in ways that enhance their cognitive and socioemotional development—Singer, Golinkoff, and Hirsh-Pasek’s (2006) first book on play was titled Play = Learning. Among the cognitive benefits of play they described are skills in the following areas: creativity; abstract thinking; imagination; attention, concentration, and persistence; problem-solving; social cognition, empathy, and perspective taking; language; and mastery of new concepts. Among the socioemotional experiences and development they believe play promotes are enjoyment, relaxation, and self-expression; cooperation, sharing, and turn-taking; anxiety reduction; and self-confidence. With so many positive cognitive and socioemotional outcomes of play, clearly it is important that we find more time for play in young children’s lives (Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). What are some of the benefits of play for children, according to Hirsh-Pasek and her colleagues? ©ONOKY-Photononstop/Alamy Stock Photo MEDIA/SCREEN TIME Few developments in society in the second half of the twentieth century had a greater impact on children than television (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Maloy & others, 2017). Television continues to have a strong influence on children’s development, but children’s use of other media and information/communication devices has led to the use of the term screen time to describe the amount of time individuals spend with television, DVDs, computers, video games, and hand-held electronic devices such as smartphones (Gebremariam & others, 2017; Goh & others, 2016; Li & others, 2017). A national survey found that there was a dramatic increase in young children’s use of mobile devices in just two years from 2011 to 2013 (Common Sense Media, 2013). In this survey, playing games was children’s most common activity on mobile devices, followed by using apps, watching videos, and watching TV shows or movies. Despite the move to mobile devices, television is still the elephant in young children’s media life, with 2- to 4-year-old children watching TV approximately 2 to 4 hours per day (Common Sense Media, 2013). In the U.S. national survey, 50 percent of children’s screen time was spent in front of TV sets Page 260(Common Sense Media, 2013). Compared with their counterparts in other developed countries, children in the United States watch television for considerably longer periods. The American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) recommends that 2- to 5-year olds watch no more than one hour of TV a day. The Academy also recommends that they only should be exposed to high-quality programs, such as Sesame Street and other PBS shows for young children. What are some concerns about the increase in children’s media and screen time? ©Miguel Sanz/Getty Images Some types of TV shows are linked to positive outcomes for children. For example, a meta-analysis of studies in 14 countries found that watching the TV show Sesame Street produced positive outcomes in three areas: cognitive skills, learning about the world, and social reasoning and attitudes toward outgroups (Mares & Pan, 2013). However, too much screen time can have a negative influence on children by making them passive learners, distracting them from doing homework, teaching them stereotypes, providing them with violent models of aggression, and presenting them with unrealistic views of the world (Calvert, 2015; Picherot & others, 2018). Among other concerns about young children having so much screen time are decreased time spent in play, less time interacting with peers, higher rates of aggression, decreased physical activity, lower cognitive development, poor sleep habits, and increased risk of being overweight or obese (Berglind & others, 2018). One research review concluded that greater amounts of screen time (mostly involving TV viewing) were associated with a lower level of cognitive development in early childhood (Carson & others, 2015). Also, a recent study of preschool children found that each additional hour of screen time was linked to less nightly sleep, later bedtimes, and reduced likelihood of sleeping 10 or more hours per night (Xu & others, 2016). Further, researchers have found that a high level of TV viewing is linked to a greater incidence of obesity in children and adolescents (Berglind & others, 2018). For example, a recent study of 2- to 6-year-olds found that increased TV viewing time on weekends was associated with a higher risk of being overweight or obese (Kondolot & others, 2017). Indeed, viewing as little as one hour of television daily was associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI) between kindergarten and the first grade (Peck & others, 2015). A higher degree of parental monitoring of children’s media use was linked to a number of positive outcomes in children’s lives (more sleep, better school performance, less aggressive behavior, and more prosocial behavior) (Gentile & others, 2014). Researchers also have found that parental reductions in their own screen time were associated with decreased screen time for their children (Sanders, Parent, & Forehand, 2018; Xu, Wen, & Rissel, 2014). Effects of Television on Children’s Aggression The extent to which children are exposed to violence and aggression on television raises special concerns (Calvert, 2015). For example, Saturday morning cartoon shows average more than 25 violent acts per hour. One study revealed that spending increased time viewing TV violence, video game violence, and music video violence was independently associated with a higher level of physical aggression in children (Coker & others, 2015). Also, in one experiment, preschool children were randomly assigned to one of two groups: One group watched television shows taken directly from violent Saturday morning cartoons on 11 days; the second group watched television cartoon shows with all of the violence removed (Steur, Applefield, & Smith, 1971). The children were then observed during play at their preschool. The preschool children who had seen the TV cartoon shows with violence kicked, choked, and pushed their playmates more than did the preschool children who had watched nonviolent TV cartoon shows. Because the children were randomly assigned to the two conditions (TV cartoons with violence versus nonviolent TV cartoons), we can conclude that exposure to TV violence caused the increased aggression in the children in this investigation. In addition to television violence, there is increased concern about children who play violent video games, especially those that are highly realistic (DeWall & others, 2013). Research reviews have concluded that playing violent video games is linked to aggression in both males and females (Gentile, 2011). Effects of Television on Children’s Prosocial Behavior Television can have a positive influence on children’s development by presenting motivating educational programs, providing information about the world beyond their immediate environment, and displaying models of prosocial behavior (Maloy & others, 2017). A recent meta-analysis found that children’s exposure to prosocial media is linked to higher levels of prosocial behavior and empathetic concern (Coyne & others, 2018). For example, researchers have found that when children watch positive social interchanges on the TV show Sesame Street, they subsequently are likely to imitate these positive social behaviors (Truglio & Kotler, 2014). Page 261 Review Connect Reflect LG3 Describe the roles of peers, play, and media/screen time in young children’s development. Review How do peers affect young children’s development? What are some theories and types of play? How does television influence young children’s development? Connect Earlier in this chapter, you learned about Laurie Kramer’s program for teaching siblings social skills to develop positive interactions. Do you think her recommendations would be relevant or irrelevant to peer relationships? Why? Reflect Your Own Personal Journey of Life What guidelines would you adopt for your own children’s television viewing? topical connections looking forward The middle and late childhood years bring further changes in children’s socioemotional development. Development of self-understanding and understanding of others becomes more sophisticated, emotional understanding improves, and moral reasoning advances. Children now spend less time with parents, but parents continue to play very important roles in children’s lives, especially in guiding their academic achievement and managing their opportunities. Peer status and friendship become more important in children’s peer relations, and school takes on a stronger academic focus. reach your learning goals Socioemotional Development in Early Childhood 1 Emotional and Personality Development LG1 Discuss emotional and personality development in early childhood. The Self Emotional Development Moral Development Gender In Erikson’s theory, early childhood is a period when development involves resolving the conflict of initiative versus guilt. The toddler’s rudimentary self-understanding develops into the preschooler’s representation of the self in terms of body parts, material possessions, and physical activities. At about 4 to 5 years of age, children also begin to use trait-like self-descriptions. Young children display more sophisticated self-understanding and understanding of others than was previously thought. Advances in young children’s emotional development involve expressing emotions, understanding emotions, and regulating emotions. Young children’s range of emotions expands during early childhood as they increasingly experience self-conscious emotions such as pride, shame, and guilt. Between 2 and 4 years old, children use an increasing number of terms to describe emotion and learn more about the causes and consequences of feelings. At 4 to 5 years of age, children show an increased ability to reflect on emotions and understand that a single event can elicit different emotions in different people. They also show a growing awareness of the need to manage emotions to meet social standards. Emotion-coaching parents have children who engage in more effective self-regulation of their emotions than do emotion-dismissing parents. Emotion regulation plays an important role in successful peer relations. Moral development involves thoughts, Page 262feelings, and behaviors regarding rules and conventions about what people should do in their interactions with others. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory emphasizes the importance of feelings in the development of the superego, the moral branch of personality. Positive emotions, such as empathy, also contribute to the child’s moral development. Piaget analyzed moral reasoning and concluded that children from about 4 to 7 years of age display heteronomous morality, judging behavior by its consequences; then, at about 10 years of age and older, they develop autonomous morality. According to behavioral and social cognitive theorists, moral behavior develops as a result of reinforcement, punishment, and imitation, and there is considerable situational variability in moral behavior. Conscience refers to an internal regulation of standards of right and wrong that involves an integration of moral thought, feeling, and behavior. Young children’s conscience emerges out of relationships with parents. Parents influence young children’s moral development through the quality of parent-child relationships, by being proactive in helping children avert misbehavior, and by engaging children in conversational dialogue about moral issues. Gender refers to the social and psychological dimensions of being male or female. Gender identity is acquired by 2½ years of age for most children. A gender role is a set of expectations that prescribes how females or males should think, act, and feel. Gender typing refers to the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role. Biological influences on gender development include chromosomes and hormones. However, biology does not completely dictate destiny in gender development; children’s socialization experiences matter a great deal. Social role theory, psychoanalytic theory, and social cognitive theory emphasize various aspects of social experiences in the development of gender characteristics. Parents influence children’s gender development, and peers are especially adept at rewarding gender-appropriate behavior. Gender schema theory emphasizes the role of cognition in gender development. 2 Families LG2 Explain how families can influence young children’s development. Parenting Child Maltreatment Sibling Relationships and Birth Order The Changing Family in a Changing Society Authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and indulgent are four main parenting styles. Authoritative parenting is the most widely used style around the world and is the style most often associated with children’s social competence. However, ethnic variations in parenting styles suggest that in Asian American families, some aspects of control may benefit children. Physical punishment is widely used by U.S. parents, but some experts conclude that there are a number of reasons it should not be used with children. However, there currently is controversy about the effects of physical punishment on children, with few studies making a distinction between abusive and mild physical punishment. Coparenting has positive effects on children’s development. Child maltreatment may take the form of physical abuse, child neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. Child maltreatment places the child at risk for academic, emotional, and social problems. Adults who suffered child maltreatment are also vulnerable to a range of problems. Siblings interact with each other in positive and negative ways. Birth order is related in certain ways to personality characteristics—for example, firstborns are more adult-oriented and self-controlled than later-born children. Only children often are achievement-oriented. By itself, however, birth order is not a good predictor of behavior. In general, having both parents employed full-time outside the home has not been shown to have negative effects on children. However, the nature of parents’ work can affect their parenting quality. Divorce can have negative effects on children’s adjustment, but so can an acrimonious relationship between parents who stay together for their children’s sake. If divorced parents develop a harmonious relationship and practice authoritative parenting, children’s adjustment improves. Researchers have found few differences between children growing up in gay or lesbian families and children growing up in heterosexual families. Cultures vary on a number Page 263of issues regarding families. African American and Latino children are more likely than White American children to live in single-parent families and larger families and to have extended family connections. Low-income families have less access to resources than higher-income families do. Lower-SES parents create a home atmosphere with more parental authority and greater use of physical punishment, while higher-SES parents are more concerned about developing children’s initiative and ability to delay gratification. 3 Peer Relations, Play, and Media/Screen Time LG3 Describe the roles of peers, play, and media/screen time in young children’s development. Peer Relations Play Media/Screen Time Peers are powerful socialization agents. Peers provide a source of information and comparison about the world outside the family. In early childhood, children distinguish between friends and nonfriends, with a friend often described as someone to play with. Parent-child and peer relationships are often connected. Parents influence their children’s peer relations by how they manage children’s lives and the opportunities they provide for interacting with peers. Rough-and-tumble play is more likely to occur in peer relations, whereas in times of stress children often turn to parents rather than peers for support. Play’s functions include affiliation with peers, tension release, advances in cognitive development, exploration, and provision of a safe haven. The contemporary perspective on play emphasizes both the cognitive and the social aspects of play. Among the most widely studied types of children’s play are sensorimotor play, practice play, pretense/symbolic play, social play, constructive play, and games. There is concern about the decreasing number of hours children spend in free play and in recess at school. Because play is a powerful positive context for the development of children’s cognitive and socioemotional skills, it is important that we find more time for play in children’s lives. Young children watch 2 to 4 hours of TV per day on average, but experts recommend that they watch 1 hour or less. Young children increasingly are spending time with other media and information/communication devices such as computers, DVDs, video games, and iPhones, which has given rise to the term screen time. Screen time can have both negative influences (such as turning children into passive learners, presenting them with aggressive models, and decreasing time spent with peers and in play and physical activity) and positive influences (such as providing models of prosocial behavior) on children’s development. Both watching TV violence and playing violent video games have been linked to children’s aggressive behavior. Watching prosocial behavior on TV can teach children positive social skills.