What is vision's role in driving early word production? To answer this, we assessed parent‐report vocabulary questionnaires administered to congenitally blind children (N = 40, Mean age = 24 months ...R: 7–57 months) and compared the size and contents of their productive vocabulary to those of a large normative sample of sighted children (N = 6574). We found that on average, blind children showed a roughly half‐year vocabulary delay relative to sighted children, amid considerable variability. However, the content of blind and sighted children's vocabulary was statistically indistinguishable in word length, part of speech, semantic category, concreteness, interactiveness, and perceptual modality. At a finer‐grained level, we also found that words’ perceptual properties intersect with children's perceptual abilities. Our findings suggest that while an absence of visual input may initially make vocabulary development more difficult, the content of the early productive vocabulary is largely resilient to differences in perceptual access.
Research Highlights
Infants and toddlers born blind (with no other diagnoses) show a 7.5 month productive vocabulary delay on average, with wide variability.
Across the studied age range (7–57 months), vocabulary delays widened with age.
Blind and sighted children's early vocabularies contain similar distributions of word lengths, parts of speech, semantic categories, and perceptual modalities.
Blind children (but not sighted children) were more likely to say visual words which could also be experienced through other senses.
Abstract
Background
Loneliness in mothers raising children under 3 years of age is a major challenge. The purpose of this study was to identify the individual, family, and community factors ...associated with loneliness among mothers raising children under 3 years of age with social isolation as a mediator.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey was conducted using anonymous self-administered questionnaires. The target population was all 649 mothers of children under 3 years of age visiting a public health center in Yokohama City and eligible for child health examinations between November 2019 and February 2020. The study measures included loneliness (10-item version of the UCLA Loneliness Scale), social isolation (Lubben Social Network Scale LSNS-6), demographic data, individual factors, family factors, and community factors from an ecological systems model. Social isolation was classified based on the LSNS-6 cutoff points. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between loneliness and individual, family, and community factors with social isolation as a mediator.
Results
A total of 531 participants (81.8% response rate) responded, and 492 (75.8% valid response rate) were included in the analysis. Loneliness was significantly higher in the isolated group (n = 171, 34.8%) than in the non-isolated group (n = 321, 65.2%) (mean = 22.3,
SD
= 5.6 and mean = 17.6,
SD
= 4.6, respectively). Factors associated with high loneliness included individual and family factors (a high number of parenting and life concerns β = 0.211,
p
< 0.01, not eating breakfast every day β = 0.087,
p
< 0.05, and fewer partners’ supportive behaviors for household duties and childcare β = − 0.240,
p
< 0.001) and community factors (fewer people to consult about parenting β = − 0.104,
p
< 0.01 and low community commitment β = − 0.122,
p
< 0.05) with social isolation as a mediator.
Conclusion
Referral to a counseling organization to alleviate worries about parenting and the creation of a child-rearing environment to enhance the recognition of the community may be considered. These findings could help develop intervention programs for the prevention or alleviation of loneliness experienced by mothers and prevent the associated health risks among mothers and child outcomes.
This randomized controlled trial compared results obtained after 12 months of nonintensive parent training plus care-as-usual and care-as-usual alone. The training focused on stimulating joint ...attention and language skills and was based on the intervention described by Drew et al. (Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatr 11:266–272,
2002
). Seventy-five toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (65 autism, 10 PDD-NOS, mean age = 34.4 months, SD = 6.2) were enrolled. Analyses were conducted on a final sample of 67 children (lost to follow-up = 8). No significant intervention effects were found for any of the primary (language), secondary (global clinical improvement), or mediating (child engagement, early precursors of social communication, or parental skills) outcome variables, suggesting that the ‘Focus parent training’ was not of additional value to the more general care-as-usual.
► Is lexical access in bilingual toddlers language selective? ► L2 primes phonologically similar to L1 targets facilitated target recognition. ► L2 primes whose L1 translations rhymed with L1 targets ...interfered with target recognition. ► This provides evidence of cross-language phonological and lexical activation.
We examined how words from bilingual toddlers’ second language (L2) primed recognition of related target words in their first language (L1). On critical trials, prime–target word pairs were either (a) phonologically related, with L2 primes overlapped phonologically with L1 target words e.g., slide (L2 prime)–Kleid (L1 target, “dress”), or (b) phonologically related through translation, with L1 translations of L2 primes rhymed with the L1 target words e.g., leg (L2 prime, L1 translation, “Bein”)–Stein (L1 target, “stone”). Evidence of facilitated target recognition in the phonological priming condition suggests language nonselective access but not necessarily lexical access. However, a late interference effect on target recognition in the phonological priming through translation condition provides evidence for language nonselective lexical access: The L2 prime (leg) could influence L1 target recognition (Stein) in this condition only if both the L2 prime (leg) and its L1 translation (“Bein”) were concurrently activated. In addition, age- and gender-matched monolingual toddler controls showed no difference between conditions, providing further evidence that the results with bilingual toddlers were driven by cross-language activation. The current study, therefore, presents the first-ever evidence of cross-talk between the two languages of bilinguals even as they begin to acquire fluency in their second language.
Adequate nutritional intake in the first years of life is crucial for future health. The purpose of this study is to assess the adequacy of nutritional intake in Portuguese toddlers. The EPACI ...Portugal 2012 is a cross‐sectional study of a representative sample of toddlers (n = 2230), aged between 12 and 36 months. Data on diets were collected by trained interviewers. The current analysis included 853 children with full data from 3‐day food diaries completed by parents/caregivers. Intakes of energy, macro‐ and micronutrients were estimated through Statistical Program to Assess Dietary Exposure (SPADE). Nutritional adequacy was evaluated using Dietary Reference Values established by the European Food Safety Authority. A large proportion of children exceeded the recommended energy intake. The median daily protein intake was 4.7 g/kg/day, five times more than that recommended. About 9% and 90% of the children consumed a lower proportion of energy than the lower limit of the Reference Intake range for carbohydrates and fat, respectively. Around a third consumed less fibre and magnesium and 100% less vitamin D than the recommended Adequate Intake (AI). Almost a third consumed less vitamin A than the recommended Average Requirement (AR) and 86% of the children showed excessive sodium consumption. Portuguese toddlers consumed a low proportion of energy from fat, had energy and protein intakes above the recommendations and excessive intakes of sodium, and inadequate intakes of vitamin A. Every child consumed less than the recommended AI for vitamin D.
Mature social evaluations privilege agents’ intentions over the outcomes of their actions, but young children often privilege outcomes over intentions in verbal tasks probing their social ...evaluations. In three experiments (N = 118), we probed the development of intention‐based social evaluation and mental state reasoning using nonverbal methods with 15‐month‐old toddlers. Toddlers viewed scenarios depicting a protagonist who sought to obtain one of two toys, each inside a different box, as two other agents observed. Then, the boxes’ contents were switched in the absence of the protagonist and either in the presence or the absence of the other agents. When the protagonist returned, one agent opened the box containing the protagonist's desired toy (a positive outcome), and the other opened the other box (a neutral outcome). When both agents had observed the toys move to their current locations, the toddlers preferred the agent who opened the box containing the desired toy. In contrast, when the agents had not seen the toys move and therefore should have expected the desired toy's location to be unchanged, the toddlers preferred the agent who opened the box that no longer contained the desired toy. Thus, the toddlers preferred the agent who intended to make the protagonist's desired toy accessible, even when its action, guided by a false belief concerning that toy's location, did not produce a positive outcome. Well before children connect beliefs to social behavior in verbal tasks, toddlers engage in intention‐based evaluations of social agents with false beliefs.
Three experiments probed the development of intention‐based social evaluation in 15‐month‐old toddlers. Across three experiments, toddlers engaged in intention‐based evaluations of social agents with false beliefs.
The present longitudinal study examines the role of caregiver speech in language development, especially syntactic development, using 47 parent–child pairs of diverse SES background from 14 to 46
...months. We assess the diversity (variety) of words and syntactic structures produced by caregivers and children. We use lagged correlations to examine language growth and its relation to caregiver speech. Results show substantial individual differences among children, and indicate that diversity of earlier caregiver speech significantly predicts corresponding diversity in later child speech. For vocabulary, earlier child speech also predicts later caregiver speech, suggesting mutual influence. However, for syntax, earlier child speech does
not significantly predict later caregiver speech, suggesting a causal flow from caregiver to child. Finally, demographic factors, notably SES, are related to language growth, and are, at least partially, mediated by differences in caregiver speech, showing the pervasive influence of caregiver speech on language growth.
Questioning is a core component of formal pedagogy. Parents commonly question children, but do they use questions to teach? This article defines “pedagogical questions” as questions for which the ...questioner already knows the answer and intended to help the questionee learn. Transcripts of parent–child conversations were collected from the CHILDES database to examine the frequency and distribution of pedagogical questions. Analysis of 2,166 questions from 166 mother–child dyads and 64 father–child dyads (child's age between 2 and 6 years) showed that pedagogical questions are commonplace during day‐to‐day parent–child conversations and vary based on child's age, family environment, and historical era. The results serve as a first step toward understanding the role of parent–child questions in facilitating children's learning.
To describe the availability and nutrient composition of U.S. commercially available squeeze pouch infant and toddler foods in 2015.
Data were from information presented on nutrition labels for 703 ...ready-to-serve, pureed food products from 24 major U.S. infant and toddler food brands. We described nutritional components (e.g., calories, fat) and compared them between packaging types (squeeze pouch versus other packaging types) within food categories.
397 (56%) of the analyzed food products were packaged as squeeze pouches. Differences in 13 nutritional components between squeeze pouch versus other packaging types were generally small and varied by food category. Squeeze pouches in the fruits and vegetables, fruit-based, and vegetable-based categories were more likely to contain added sugars than other package types.
In 2015, squeeze pouches were prevalent in the U.S. commercial infant and toddler food market. Nutrient composition differed between squeeze pouches and other packaging types for some macro- and micronutrients. Although it is recommended that infants and toddlers under two years old not consume any added sugars, a specific area of concern may be the inclusion of sources of added sugar in squeeze pouches. Linking this information with children's dietary intake would facilitate understanding how these differences affect overall diet quality.
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