Throughout 2009, ZERO TO THREE worked to keep individuals informed of important and innovative policy developments happening throughout the country. This past year included many historic ups and downs--new and energetic faces arrived in the White House, Congress, and state governments ready to move this nation forward, and this nation entered an…

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is a federally funded national resource center designed to support early care and education providers address the social-emotional needs of children birth through age 5 years. Recent research has found that an extraordinarily high number of young children are being…

Children may enter group care at very young ages. Developmentally, newborns (from birth to 4 months old) offer unique opportunities and challenges for child care providers. Are child care programs ready? Little information is available on providing group care to children at this critical developmental stage. This article explores the challenges of…

The Fussy Baby Network, a program of the Erikson Institute, partnered with a local church to engage Latino families in a group drop-in program designed to offer parenting education, support, and early intervention services. The group format provides a safe and trusting environment where parents decrease feelings of isolation, offer support to one…

Clinical observation is an essential component of a sensitive and accurate diagnostic assessment. The Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule) is a structured diagnostic tool encompassing three essential features of observation: (1) the use of challenging tasks to elicit behaviors of interest; (2) opportunities to observe behavior in…

Self-control is a skill that children need to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. Brain regions essential to self-control are immature at birth and develop slowly throughout childhood. From ages 3 to 6 years, as these brain regions become more mature, children show improved ability to control impulses, shift their attention flexibly,…

Sleep behavior disorders do not only affect infants' well-being, they also challenge the parents' physical and emotional resources, promote risks for the growing parent-infant relationships, and burden the parents' co-parenting relationship. Sleep-onset and night waking problems are widely spread among otherwise healthy infants, and they tend to…

Sensory Food Aversion is one of the most common feeding disorders during the first 3 years of life, when young children are transitioned to self-feeding, and when issues of autonomy and dependency have to be negotiated between parents and child. In this article, the author discusses "picky eaters" and the importance of distinguishing between…

Gastroesophageal reflux is a common medical problem affecting about 5% of otherwise healthy children. It is extremely common among children with special needs and affects more than half of children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, premature birth, and several other common conditions. The disease is becoming more widely recognized, but children…

Great Expectation and New Beginnings is a prenatal family support program run by the Family, Infant, and Preschool Program (FIPP) in North Carolina. FIPP has developed an evidence-based integrated framework of early childhood intervention and family support that includes three primary components: providing intervention in everyday family…

Multidisciplinary support for families of newborns is critical for their health and safety. This article describes three programs at one urban hospital which were implemented to (a) improve breastfeeding support, (b) enhance practitioners' observation and communication skills, and (c) provide a comprehensive social response to the urgent…

Pregnancy and new parenthood is a time that is life forming for infants as well as parents. Teenagers' own development is challenged by their parental development. This article looks back at 13 years of doula services and lessons from a statewide network of doulas serving teenage parents. The author illustrates how doulas can use an approach that…

Substance abuse creates enormous risks for the developing relationship between mother and infant. Thus, the perinatal period is a critical aspect of addiction treatment. This article highlights the importance of relationships and the reflective supervision that is crucial in the delivery of integrated infant mental health service for pregnant…

When early childhood practitioners are interacting with a mother and her baby, they are focusing, appropriately, on the relationship of the dyad in front of them. However, it is essential to the health and well-being of that family to consider children who may be conceived and born in the future. Research has shown that the well-being of the…

Women are particularly vulnerable in the peripartum period for either developing a mental illness or suffering symptom exacerbation. These illnesses are often experienced covertly, however, and women may not seek out professional help, even though their symptoms may be seriously affecting their well-being and parenting. This article provides an…