Child Development

Featured Activity

Over the past forty years, the U.S. government has invested in a comprehensive effort to offer supplemental services to young children (three to five years old) and their families through the Head Start program. The Board on Children, Youth, and Families (in collaboration with the Center for Education) assembled a committee to review and provide guidance to Congress on appropriate outcomes and assessments for young children in head start programs. For more information about the committee, please visit the project webpage: Committee on the Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children.

Featured Reports

Concerns about the theory, quality, and rigor of methods and measures in studies of the impact of media technologies on child health and development have emerged in recent Academy studies. In response to these concerns, members of the Board on Children, Youth, and Families sought to organize a planning discussion to explore the strengths and limitations of the methods and measures of interactions between media influences and child and adolescent health and development. A workshop was held in March 2006, and from this workshop a summary report was produced, Studying Media Effects on Children and Youth: Improving Methods and Measures, Workshop Summary.

As children spend an increasing portion of their day outside the home, it has become even more important that they are consistently exposed to positive and productive experiences, especially during their formative years. High-quality care is no longer a plus it s a must. With the goal of making daily caregiving easier and more enjoyable, the National Academies and the McCormick Tribune Foundation have partnered to produce a useful and informative booklet. Concentrating specifically on infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, Who Are These People?: A Guide for Child Care Professionals provides information and inspiration to everyone who interacts with young children on a regular basis. Based on key findings described in two recent reports on early childhood development and education from The National Academies From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development and Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers, this guide offers helpful suggestions and practical guidance to child care providers, educators, and even interested parents.