Findings from research investigating the development of competence in young children are summarized in this pamphlet. Characteristics of the competent 6-year-old, derived from the systematic observation of more than 100 children in various settings over a two-year period, are listed. A study aimed at identifying the kinds of experiences regularly associated with excellent or poor development is described and findings related to the child's attention seeking, service procuring, visual information gathering, language environment, aimless time, intellectual functioning, compliance, imitation, and exploratory experiences are discussed. Three major functions which were found to distinguish parents of competent children from other parents (designing the child's world, consulting with the child, and setting limits) are discussed. The importance of the first three years of life in laying the foundation for the development of competence is discussed and the particularly critical period from 6 to 24 months of age is examined in terms of the development of language, curiosity, aptitude in social relations, and intelligence. Two sources of particular stress in child rearing, the child's negativistic stage which occurs between 14 and 24 months and the spacing of children closer than three years apart, are discussed. Three major obstacles that families face in trying to provide optimum child rearing environments are identified and suggestions for overcoming these obstacles are offered. (JMB)