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Although 3-year-olds in the United States may attend prekindergarten prior to formal school entry in kindergarten, few investigations focus on the socioemotional foundations of classroom learning at age 3 and their relationship to later achievement. This study examined the relationship between age 3 readiness for group-based learning, modeled as the latent constructs, effortful control and social communication, and age 5 classroom adjustment and pre-academic outcomes. Data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project in the United States ( n = 797) included observations, direct assessment, and examiner and teacher report. Children’s effortful control predicted classroom adjustment and their social communication predicted pre-academic outcomes. Readiness for group-based learning provides a way to describe key constructs of early skill development and a framework to support children’s classroom learning. Implications include promoting parents’ and educators’ capacities to support early developmental foundations for later adjustment and learning by fostering infants’ and toddlers’ effortful control and social communication. Efforts to support these skills simultaneously across diverse experiences in the home and classroom by focusing on children’s individual needs may prove advantageous.

This study examined the effects of destructive and constructive interparental conflict on unsupportive parental emotion socialization behaviors (N = 166 parents of toddlers). Both mothers and fathe...

Objective To ascertain maternal expectations and experiences with mealtimes and feeding of toddlers among low-income African American mothers in two mid- to large-size cities in the United States. Design Qualitative focus group study. Setting Two Early Head Start programme sites in a Midwestern state which serve low income families. Method Twenty-seven low-income African American mothers took part in two focus groups which were conducted by a facilitator, according to a semi-structured topic guide. Focus group data were supplemented with demographic family data. Results Four major themes emerged: (1) maternal perceptions of healthy toddlers, (2) maternal food choices for toddlers, (3) maternal expectations about toddler autonomy and self-regulation of feeding, and (4) mealtime context and interaction. Conclusions and implications Data provided examples of maternal expectations and experiences, suggesting the development of healthy feeding patterns among some toddlers and provided evidence of less healthy feeding patterns in others. Evidence of less healthy feeding patterns included limiting toddler autonomy and food regulation, and misinterpretation of normative toddler behaviours. Because parenting practices and perceptions have been reported to contribute to social and environmental influences of obesity, this research could aid development of culturally sensitive nutrition education interventions.