Promote Child Development Research Articles

A qualitative study reporting maternal perceptions of the importance of play for healthy growth and development in the first two years of life

BackgroundIn order for infants and toddlers to meet recommended movement guidelines, their caregivers need to encourage play daily. This study used a qualitative approach to understand how mothers perceive and promote play and physical activity during the first 2 years of life.MethodsMothers with children between 0 and 24 months were recruited from the SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit in Soweto, South Africa. 19 mothers agreed to participate and were grouped into three focus group discussions (FGDs) by age of the child: 0–6-months, 7–14-months, and 15–24-months. Thereafter, 12 mothers (4 from each FGD) were selected for inclusion in in-depth interviews (IDIs). After coding and theme/sub-theme identification had been completed for all IDIs, a process of cross-cutting theme identification and confirmation across FGDs and IDIs was carried out.ResultsThe mothers were (mean ± SD) 27 (6) years old. All mothers had attended secondary school, but only nine had matriculated. Only one mother was married (and lived with the child’s father), and the majority (n = 15) were unemployed. Most children were male (63%) and were aged 11 (7) months. Four main themes emerged: 1) Physical activity as an indicator for health, 2) Promoting play and development, 3) Gender bias in play, and 4) Screen time.ConclusionsThis study showed that developmental attainment was the most important outcome for mothers, and so focussing intervention content on the promotion of child development through movement is advised. Screen time was freely available to children, and we recommend educating mothers on the movement guidelines, with a particular focus on the detrimental effects of screen time in this age group. Mothers reported many barriers to promoting play, and these are essential to consider when designing interventions in this context, in order to allow for equal opportunities for play to be provided to all children.

Understanding Initial and Sustained Engagement of Spanish-Speaking Latina Mothers in the Legacy for Children Program™: A Qualitative Examination of a Group-Based Parenting Program

Culturally congruent parenting programs delivered during early childhood have the potential to support diverse families. Legacy for Children™ ( Legacy ) is a groupbased prevention program designed to promote child development by reinforcing sensitive, responsive mother-child relationships, building maternal self-efficacy, and fostering peer networks of support among mothers living in poverty (Perou et al., 2012). The Legacy program was translated and culturally adapted for Spanishspeaking Latina mothers and their infants with a feasibility trial conducted to determine the cultural congruency of the adaptation. Feasibility results were positive with no previous studies validating the adapted Legacy Spanish program. The current manuscript focuses on understanding factors of engagement of the culturally adapted model. Specifically, we examined the factors that were perceived to have enhanced or hindered both initial and sustained engagement in the adapted Legacy Spanish program for Latina mothers. Individual interviews were conducted with Latina mothers (N=26) who attended the Legacy Spanish program. We used qualitative data analysis to identify broad themes in Latina mothers’ responses. Themes emerged regarding the importance of using home-based recruitment strategies and pairing verbal information with written brochures to foster initial engagement. Sustained engagement themes focused on the provision of support from other Latina mothers in the Legacy group and the relationships with the group leaders. Having group leaders who were perceived as genuine, kind, positive, “good” at teaching, and persistent emerged as themes that facilitated initial and ongoing engagement. Barriers to engagement centered primarily on logistics rather than characteristics of the program itself. Thus, Latina mothers attributed importance to aspects of the curriculum, logistics, and implementation with respect to program engagement. Application of similar engagement strategies could enhance the success of early childhood parenting programs and linkages with early educational programming.

Intersectoral collaboration to promote child development: mapping the relationships

Abstract Integrated and intersectoral interventions early in life have the greatest potential to address social inequities, ensuring better opportunities for access to child development support services. The “Projeto Nascente” (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and Ministry of Health, Brazil) sought to qualify health and other sectors professionals in actions to promote and monitor early child development, in primary health care. One of its focuses was to stimulate the intersectoral actions to promote child development. The research analyzed the intersectoral network in 31 municipalities in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, participating in the 'Projeto Nascente'. A case study with a qualitative approach was developed using document research on the professionals' perception regarding intersectoral networking. The material was ecomaps elaborated by professionals during the training of the “Projeto Nascente”. The ecomaps represented the local intersectoral networks. Initially, 29 ecomaps from eleven municipalities were analyzed. Social Protection, Education, Sports, Culture, churches and non-governmental organizations were cited. Other health services were also included. All ecomaps were represented with the family health team in a central position with the other services around them. In municipalities with more than one ecomap, there was no uniformity neither in the services nor in the quality of the relationships represented. A closer relationship between Education and Social Protection was noticed. However, the quality of the relationships often seemed stressful. Health professionals reported that they invest more energy in relationships than other sectors. Sport and Culture, although less mentioned, seem to be potential partners for new collaborations. The emergence of other health services seems to reflect the fragmentation of the health sector, as well as evidence of the conceptual confusion surrounding intersectoral collaboration. Key messages The identification and mapping of the services networking aimed at promoting child development are essential steps in the process of stimulating and reflecting on intersectoral collaboration. The centrality and self-perceived protagonism of the health professionals may not be the best way to involve and count on the participation of other sectors in intersectoral collaboration.

Oferta de programas para el desarrollo integral de la primera infancia: Revisión exploratoria

Objetivo: Describir la oferta programática en primera infancia destinada a favorecer el desarrollo infantil integral en Chile.Método: Se realizó una revisión exploratoria siguiendo el marco metodológico del Joanna Briggs Institute. La búsqueda fue realizada por un investigador y los criterios de inclusión fueron: programas gubernamentales destinados al desarrollo integral en menores de 5 años en Chile. Los datos fueron organizados y sintetizados para describir características del programa y de la o las prestaciones que entrega.Resultados: La búsqueda identificó 2060 documentos y 72 cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Se describen 59 programas vigentes que abarcan la primera infancia, estando principalmente a cargo de los Ministerio de Justicia, Educación, Salud y Desarrollo Social. Los programas están destinados en su mayoría a la promoción e intervención, se encuentran focalizados en población vulnerable, son intersectoriales y utilizan diversas estrategias para su implementación.Conclusión: La oferta programática en Chile para la primera infancia presenta características sugeridas como efectivas para favorecer el desarrollo infantil.

Program offer for the integral development of early childhood in Chile: Scoping review

To describe the program offering designed to promote comprehensive early childhood de velopment in Chile. A scoping review was carried out following the Joanna Briggs Institute's methodological framework. A researcher conducted the review considering as inclusion criteria go vernment programs aimed at the comprehensive development of children under 5 years of age in Chile. The data were organized and synthesized to describe the characteristics of the program and the service(s) it provides. The search identified 2.060 documents and 72 met the inclusion crite ria. 59 current programs are covering early childhood, which are mainly managed by the Ministries of Justice, Education, Health, and Social Development. Most of the programs are aimed at promotion and intervention, focusing on vulnerable populations, are cross-sectoral, and use different strategies for their implementation. The program offering in Chile for early childhood has charac teristics suggested as effective to promote child development.

Lay-worker Delivered Home Visiting Promotes Early Childhood Development and Reduces Violence in Rwanda: A Randomized Pilot

Early child development (ECD) programs are increasingly combined with targeted cash transfers for poor households to break intergenerational poverty. However, few evidence-based, scalable, and sustainable ECD programs that complement cash transfer programs exist in in low- and-middle-income countries. We conducted a cluster-randomized pilot study to assess whether Sugira Muryango, a strengths-based home-visiting intervention to promote child development and prevent violence among children aged 6–36 months, could be delivered by community-based lay workers to poor families participating in Rwanda’s cash-for-work Vision Umurenge Program (VUP). Data collection occurred among 38 families at baseline, endline, and 6 months after the intervention and included child-level (child engagement, caretaking, and health and development), caregiver-level (family unity and mental health) and household-level (water and sanitation practices and family conflict) outcomes. We compared trajectories of Sugira Muryango families vs. families receiving the cash transfer only over time using mixed-effect models. Sugira Muryango children experienced significantly greater ECD engagement than children in control families and marginally significant reductions in exposure to violent disciplinary methods. Sugira Muryango caregivers reported greater shared decision-making between parents and marginally significant improvements in family unity and anxiety. Conflict within intervention households halved between baseline and follow-up. Satisfaction was high. This randomized pilot demonstrates that Sugira Muryango can be delivered by community-based lay workers, improves access to nurturing care and stimulation among children living in poverty, and may reduce intra-family conflict. A large-scale effectiveness study is underway to assess the intervention’s impact on child development and health outcomes.

Promoting family integrated early child development (during first 1000 days) in urban slums of India (fine child 3-3-1000): Study protocol.

This project tests a novel, targeted home visitation programme for child development targeted behaviour change during the first 1,000days for families in Delhi urban slums. The first 1,000days have highest brain development potential and is dependent on the available nutrition, health, social and cognitive stimulus. Over 1.3 million children are born annually in the slums of India and are at risk of limited development potential. The children in urban slums at multiplicity of adversities at family, society and environmental levels. No tools are available for the community health functionaries to support the families to promote child development. This cohort study targets provision of behaviour change interventions targeted at three groups (pregnant women, infants and children in year 2) to document the impact on child development. This implementation project delivers nutrition, health and child stimulation integrated services for the families through existing government community health workers and nurses. These workers shall train the families using audio-visual messages in tablets and demonstration kits for practice through quarterly home visits. Data on health, nutrition and child development shall be collected at baseline, midterm and after one year. The data from these participants shall be compared with data from recently delivered women, children aged 13months and 25months without intervention to document the impact. The successful implementation of the project has potential for future integration of the child development components into the existing programme at scale. The learning from this project shall be useful for India and other developing countries. The first 1,000days are critical period in human brain development and cognitive function acquisition potential, which is dependent on the available nutrition, health, social and cognitive stimulus. The development potential in children born and living in the slums, who are exposed to various adversities, can be mitigated through appropriate family-level practices with support from the community health workers and Nurses. This study is documenting the feasibility and impact of home visit linked coaching of families for improving child development status during the first 1,000days in three sums of Delhi, India.

Should families acquire pets to promote child development?

Should families acquire pets to promote child development?

Caregiver Strengths, Attitudes, and Concerns About Reading and Child Development in the Dominican Republic.

Background. Parents’ beliefs about and engagement in reading aloud to young children and other positive parenting practices have been associated with early childhood development (ECD) and later achievement. Aim. This exploratory study sought to assess parental attitudes and self-reported practices regarding ECD in a rural, low-income community in the Dominican Republic with many risk factors for ECD delays, including high rates of poverty, iron-deficiency anemia, and malnutrition. Methods. We used the Parent Reading Belief Inventory and open-ended questions to evaluate parental beliefs regarding reading, self-efficacy in promoting child development, current positive parenting practices, and parents’ concerns about the development of their 0- to 5-year-old children in Consuelo, Dominican Republic. We explored associations between demographic factors and strength of positive parenting beliefs and practices. Results. Overall participants had positive attitudes toward reading and their own importance in promoting their children’s development. Participants with at least some high school education had significantly higher Parent Reading Belief Inventory scores (P = .03) than those with less formal education. Participants reported frequently singing, talking, and playing with their children, but less frequently reading with them. Few participants had access to reading materials for young children. Parental interest in programs to support ECD was high. Parents raised concerns about their children’s behavior, personal and educational attainment, and early literacy. Conclusion. Children whose parents have less formal education may benefit most from interventions to promote beliefs and practices likely to improve ECD. In this community, there is high interest in learning more about ECD.

Inside the classroom door: Understanding early care and education workforce and classroom characteristics experienced by children in subsidized center-based care

The federal child care subsidy program is the nation’s largest public early care and education (ECE) program for low-income children, yet little research has documented the workforce and classroom characteristics that affect children’s experiences in subsidized classrooms. Moreover, no existing study has compared the workforce and classroom characteristics in subsidized classrooms to those in classrooms across the range of alternative center-based settings available to low-income children. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study uses data from the newest national survey of child care available – the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE), collected in 2012 – to describe subsidized classrooms on a broad set of workforce and classroom characteristics. Classrooms serving children with child care subsidies are compared to other classrooms serving low-income children, with a distinction between those that receive other public funds (Head Start or school-based pre-k), and those that do not (non-publicly-funded centers). Consistent with prior research, which finds classrooms serving subsidized children to have lower observed global quality than Head Start or pre-k classrooms, our findings reveal that classrooms serving children receiving subsidies typically have a more disadvantaged workforce and fewer classroom characteristics indicative of higher quality and believed to promote child development. Compared to non-publicly-funded center-based classrooms, classrooms serving subsidized children scored lower on several desirable workforce characteristics such as hourly pay and receipt of coaching, but did not differ on classroom characteristics.

ATTACHMENT STYLE IN CHILDREN WITH CHRONIC DISEASES: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW.

ABSTRACTObjective: To investigate how attachment style has been studied in children with chronic disease in the scientific literature, and what repercussions this attachment has on this population.Data sources: An integrative review of the literature was carried out from a survey in the LILACS, MEDLINE and SciELO databases, including original national and international publications in Portuguese, Spanish and English from 2007 to 2018, using the descriptors “apego” and “criança” in the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS), and “attachment” and “children” for the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). Sixteen (16 articles) were obtained for the sample analysis.Data synthesis: The chronic diseases found in the research were neurobehavioral disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism, childhood obesity, and chronic migraine. The predominant attachment style was insecurity, which could compromise the biopsychosocial development of the child.Conclusions: The type of attachment between child and primary caregiver may be considered a protective or risk factor for child development. Considering this premise, it is important to equip/inform families based on dialogic educational practices, in which professionals create opportunities and means for families to develop their skills and competencies, and acquire resources which meet the child’s needs. It is important that this professional helps the family to build secure bases for their child with chronic disease, understanding that the main focus for promoting child development is in the family unit.

Understanding parental concerns related to their child's development and factors influencing their decisions to seek help from health care professionals: Results of a qualitative study.

Early identification of children at risk of developmental delay is crucial to promote healthy development. Assessing parental concerns about development is often part of identification processes. However, we currently do not understand well how and why parents become concerned and how and why they access early identification and intervention services. The purpose of this study was to explore parental perceptions about their child's development and the factors influencing their reported professional help-seeking behaviours. This exploratory study was part of a larger study describing child development in children aged 2-5 in a small Canadian city. We conducted semistructured interviews with 16 parents whose children were at risk of developmental delay to examine their perceptions of their child's development, their use of community services promoting development, and their recommendations to optimize those services. Four themes were identified: (a) Vision of child development influencing help-seeking behaviours: Natural or Supported?, (b) Internal and external sources contributing to parents' level of developmental concern, (c) Using internal resources and struggling to access external resources, and (d) Satisfaction with services accessed and recommendations to access more support. Parents' vision of child development along with sources of parental concern appeared to influence the level of concern, enhancing our understanding of how parents become concerned. The level of concern and parents' knowledge and perceived access to resources seemed to influence their decision whether or not to consult health care professionals. Parents provided many suggestions to improve services to promote child development and support families. Results highlight the importance of supporting parents in recognizing if their child is at risk of delay and increasing awareness of available resources. It appears particularly important to ensure that health care professionals and community-based support services are accessible to provide parents with the support they need, especially when they have concerns.

Preparing for Parenthood; Parenting Training Module on six Child Development Aspect in East Jakarta


 The age period of 0-8 years is the most important moment for every human being to develop all the developmental features supported by parents at home and teachers / tutors at the Early Childhood Education Institute (ECE). In parenting, six main aspects must be known and applied by each parent. Lack of education, nutritional knowledge, care and care, and aspects of clean-living habits in the family can have an impact on children's growth and development processes. This study aims to develop a module 6 aspects of child development for parental guidance. This study uses a research and development approach to test the effectiveness of the posttest design. Respondents in this study are parents who have children up to 5 years and early childhood educators. The findings show that from these six main aspects, it seems that parents and ECE tutors do not yet understand the ECE concept. In another perspective, there is still a lack of knowledge about these 6 main aspects which require training and parenting modules to develop the 6 aspects of child development.
 Keywords: Early Childhood Education, Child Development Aspect, Parenting Training Module

The Effects of Family-School Partnership Interventions on Academic and Social-Emotional Functioning: a Meta-Analysis Exploring What Works for Whom

Family-school partnership (FSP) interventions capitalize on connections between families and schools, as parents and teachers jointly promote child development through activities that bridge both settings. The current meta-analysis assessed the effects of FSP interventions on children’s academic and social-emotional competencies. From initial comprehensive search procedures (i.e., online reference databases, hand searches of relevant journals, and cited references) yielding over 19,000 abstracts, our study sample included 77 FSP intervention studies with 438 effect sizes. Studies including the following comprised our final sample: (1) an FSP intervention, (2) school-aged children, (3) academic and/or social-emotional outcomes, (4) a naturalistic setting, and (5) an experimental or quasi-experimental group design. Utilizing robust variance estimation (RVE), results revealed that FSP interventions significantly and positively impacted children’s academic achievement (δ = .25 ) and behaviors (δ = .30), social-behavioral competence (δ = .32), and mental health (δ = .34). Additionally, particular structural (i.e., home-based involvement) and relational (i.e., school to home communication, collaboration, bi-directional communication) components significantly contributed to FSP intervention effects. Mixed-effects meta-regression analyses were used to assess if effects of FSP intervention components were moderated by children’s grade or race/ethnicity. Results indicated that certain FSP intervention components (i.e., bi-directional communication, behavioral support) were more effective for older students. No significant moderation effects were found race/ethnicity, indicating that FSP intervention components were effective across participants. Overall, findings provide further support for the use of FSP interventions to support youth outcomes. Future meta-analyses should include single-case design studies and explore unique combinations of FSP intervention components.

Effects of nutritional supplementation and home visiting on growth and development in young children in Madagascar: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

Evidence from efficacy trials suggests that lipid-based nutrient supplementation (LNS) and home visits can be effective approaches to preventing chronic malnutrition and promoting child development in low-income settings. We tested the integration of these approaches within an existing, large-scale, community-based nutrition programme in Madagascar. We randomly allocated 125 programme sites to five intervention groups: standard-of-care programme with monthly growth monitoring and nutrition education (T0); T0 plus home visits for intensive nutrition counselling through an added community worker (T1); T1 plus LNS for children aged 6-18 months (T2); T2 plus LNS for pregnant or lactating women (T3); or T1 plus fortnightly home visits to promote and encourage early stimulation (T4). Pregnant women (second or third trimester) and infants younger than 12 months were enrolled in the trial. Primary outcomes were child growth (length-for-age and weight-for-length Z scores) and development at age 18-30 months. Analyses were by intention to treat. The trial was registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN14393738. The study enrolled 3738 mothers: 1248 pregnant women (250 women in each of the T0, T1, T2, and T4 intervention groups and 248 in the T3 intervention group) and 2490 children aged 0-11 months (497 children in T0, 500 in T1, 494 in T2, 499 in T3, and 500 in T4) at baseline who were assessed at 1-year and 2-year intervals. There were no main effects of any of the intervention groups on any measure of anthropometry or any of the child development outcomes in the full sample. However, compared with children in the T0 intervention group, the youngest children (<6 months at baseline) in the T2 and T3 intervention groups who were fully exposed to the child LNS dose had higher length-for-age Z scores (a significant effect of 0·210 SD [95% CI -0·004 to 0·424] for T2 and a borderline effect of 0·216 SD [0·043 to 0·389] for T3) and lower stunting prevalence (-9·0% [95% CI -16·7 to -1·2] for T2 and -8·2% [-15·6 to -0·7] for T3); supplementing mothers conferred no additional benefit. LNS for children for a duration of 12 months only benefited growth when it began at an early age, suggesting the need to supplement infants at age 6 months in a very low-income context. The lack of effect of the early stimulation messages and home visits might be due to little take-up of behaviour-change messages and delivery challenges facing community health workers. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development, Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund, World Bank Innovation Grant, Early Learning Partnership Grant, World Bank Research Budget, Japan Nutrition Trust Fund, Power of Nutrition, and the National Nutrition Office of Madagascar.

Interaction between vitamin A supplementation and chronic malnutrition on child development.

200 million pre-school age children are not developing properly. Delays in child development are associated with multiple factors. This study aims to analyze if vitamin A supplementation is associated with improved development and how this effect could be mediated by nutritional status. Population-based study surveyed a representative sample of 8000 households, 1232 children 0-35 months, in the state of Ceará, Brazil. The variables analysed included child developmental status, nutritional determinants and confounding factors. The main effects and interactions were evaluated using Cox regressive models. Vitamin A supplementation showed protective effect to delay in cognitive and motor development modified by interaction with nutritional status. While well-nourished supplemented children presented a 67% lower risk of cognitive delay (adjusted PRR = 0·33 [0·21-0·53]), stunted children had no benefit from supplementation (adjusted PRR = 0·97 [0·39-2·40]). Vitamin A supplementation has a protective effect on child development, but not in stunted children. This suggests that supplementation is effective in promoting child development, especially if associated to a joint effort to improve the nutritional status of children, given the importance of this mediator.

Avaliação dos impactos do programa de intervenção Incredible years teacher classroom management (IY TCM)

O professor pode atuar, em sua interação cotidiana, com seu aluno, promovendo suas habilidades sociais e prevenindo seus problemas de comportamento. Nessa direção, foram avaliados os impactos de um programa de intervenção universal em grupo, o Incredible years teacher classroom management. Participaram seis professoras de três escolas de educação infantil. Os instrumentos foram: (a) Inventário de boas práticas (Vale,&#x0D; 2011), (b) Escala de comportamentos sociais de pré-escolares (Merrell, 2002), (c) Questionário de avaliação do workshop (Webster-Stratton, 2012), (d) Questionário de avaliação do programa (Webster-Stratton, 2012) e (e) o programa IY TCM (Webster-Stratton, 2012). Constataram-se diferenças significativas entre pré e pós-teste (p &lt; 0,05) tanto em relação às estratégias de gestão de sala de aula das participantes quanto nas habilidades sociais e problemas de comportamentos das crianças. O programa IY TCM apresentou fortes evidências científicas positivas às professoras da educação infantil ao fortalecer e promover os fatores de proteção ao desenvolvimento infantil.

Spanish Validation of the PICCOLO (Parenting Interactions With Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes).

Background/Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO; Roggman et al., 2013a). This observational measure is composed of 29 items that assess the quality of four domains of parenting interactions that promote child development: affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching.Methods: The sample included 203 mother-child dyads who had been video-recorded playing together. Fifty-six percent of the children were male, and 44% were female, aged from 10 to 47 months. Video-recorded observations were rated using PICCOLO items.Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported that the instrument has four first-order factors corresponding to the hypothesized domains of parenting behaviors, and a second-order factor corresponding to a general factor of positive parenting. Construct validation evidence was compiled by examining the relationship between PICCOLO scores and child age. As expected, teaching domain and total PICCOLO scores were positively correlated with child age. The Spanish PICCOLO also demonstrated good inter-rater reliability (ranging from 0.69 to 0.84) and internal consistency reliability (ranging from 0.59 to 0.88) for the four domain scores and the total parenting score. Concurrent criterion-related validity was examined via correlations between parenting scores and child cognitive, language and motor skills outcomes, measured using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.Conclusion: The Spanish version of the PICCOLO meets the criteria for a reliable and valid observational measurement of parenting interactions with children. The psychometric properties of the instrument make it appropriate for general research purposes, but also for program evaluation of Early Intervention and other parenting-support interventions. This measure, focused on parent strengths, could be used to facilitate family-centered practices in early intervention and other programs that have parenting as an outcome.

Do Extended Family Members Protect Children from Disadvantaged Neighborhoods? Focusing on Behavioral Problems of Children

The developmental–ecological model highlights the contextual environments that influence children’s emotional and behavioral adjustment. No previous research considers neighborhood characteristics when examining the influence of extended family members. This study investigates the characteristics of neighborhoods where extended family households reside, and the confounding and moderating effects of extended family household structure and the neighborhood influences of income and co-ethnic concentration levels. Data come from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Study and the decennial census. The analytical sample includes 1553 children between the ages of 3 and 11 years, clustered in 1191 households in 65 census tracts. This study uses multilevel linear regression modeling. Extended family households are more likely than nuclear families to live in lower-income neighborhoods, but with similar proportions of co-ethnics. Children in extended family households show higher levels of both internalizing and externalizing behaviors compared to children in nuclear families, an effect not explained by their neighborhood environments. Extended family members moderate the neighborhood effects, boosting advantages within co-ethnic concentrated neighborhoods. With a higher proportion of co-ethnics in their neighborhoods, children in extended families show lower levels of externalizing behaviors compared to children in nuclear families. Co-resident extended family members not only predict child internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems but also moderate their neighborhood environments. This study provides policy implications, highlighting the potential of extended members to promote child development.

Promoting Child Development in a Universal Preschool System: A Field Experiment

This study tests an intervention that introduces a structured curriculum for five-year olds into the universal preschool context of Norway. We conduct a field experiment with 691 five-year-olds in 71 preschools and measure treatment impacts on children's development in mathematics, language and executive functioning. Compared to business as usual, the nine-month curriculum intervention has effects on child development at post-intervention and the effects persist one year following the end of the treatment. The effects are entirely driven by the preschool centers identified as low-quality at baseline, suggesting that a structured curriculum can reduce inequality in early childhood learning environments.