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This study explored the implications of low-income mothers' entry into post-secondary education (PSE) during their children's first five years of life. Using propensity score matching to analyze data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979, we examined associations between maternal entry into PSE during early childhood and children's short- and long-term (ages 7 and 13, respectively) academic and socioemotional outcomes. We found that mothers' entry into PSE during early childhood had no short-term effects on children. There were, however, long-term positive effects on academic outcomes among children with a coresident father figure, and negative effects on behavior. We also tested explanatory mechanisms and found that maternal PSE entry had positive long-term effects on household income, but income did not mediate effects on long-term child outcomes. Further, maternal PSE had no effects on the home learning environment, mothers' educational expectations for children, maternal presence at home, or family climate. • Maternal PSE entry during early childhood has no short-term effects on children. • Maternal PSE has long-term academic benefits for children with coresident fathers. • Maternal PSE has long-term negative effects on children's behavior. • Maternal PSE has long-term positive effects on household income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the frequent clinical observation that toddlers with less expressive language have more severe temper tantrums. A representative sample of 2001 mothers reported on their toddler's expressive vocabulary and frequency of different temper tantrum behaviors, a prominent feature of irritability and an emergent marker of mental health risk. Results revealed that 12- to 38-month-olds with fewer spoken words demonstrated more severe (frequent and dysregulated) temper tantrums. Toddlers who were late talkers at 24–30 months also had more severe tantrums; their relative risk of having severe tantrums was 1.96 times greater than peers with typical language. These results are the first to show that language and temper tantrums are related, and that this relation is present in the second year of life. These findings point to the importance of assessing both language and mental health risk in order to promote earlier identification and intervention for early childhood disorders. • Expressive language is associated with temper tantrums in 12–38-month-olds. • Late talkers, i.e., children with language delay, have more severe temper tantrums. • Relative risk for severe tantrums is nearly 2x greater for late talkers. • A relation between emergent language and mental health risk is evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]