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Title: Dialogue education is effective as a method to teach maternal toddler feeding practices Objectives: 1) Measure the effectiveness of one or two workshops using dialogue education to teach healthy toddler feeding practices, specifically a) to allow child self-regulation of satiety, b) to maintain a schedule for meals and snacks and c) to role-model healthy eating when compared to a control group. 2) Measure the effectiveness of dialogue education to teach appropriate stages of growth in order to increase mothers’ ability to know when their children are at a healthy weight compared to a control group 3)Compare baseline maternal toddler feeding practices between low-income Latina mothers participating in Early Head Start (EHS) and Early Migrant/Seasonal Head Start (EMSHS). Methods: Sixty six mothers participating in EHS (n=25 and EMSHS (n=41) completed a 24 item Likert scale (1 to 5 with 1=Never/Not confident/Extremely unlikely, 5=Always/Very confident/Extremely likely) to assess behavior, self-efficacy and intent regarding 3 domains of toddler feeding practice: self-regulation of hunger and satiety, scheduling meals and snacks, and parental role modeling. Mean Likert scores for each question were analyzed by subgroup. A two-part educational intervention was developed to improve these three domains of healthy toddler feeding practices and knowledge of stages of growth. Participants were recruited primarily from EMSHS and were grouped based on level of participation (1 workshop, 2 workshops or control). Results: Objective one:One-way ANOVA analysis showed improvement from baseline to post-intervention for self-regulation (baseline x=3.130 0.499; post-intervention x=3.496 0.603; p=0.030) and role-modeling behavior (baseline x=3.757 ; post-intervention x=4.096 0.581, n=23, p=0.035) for those who participated in one or two workshops. Two-sample t-tests of post-intervention scores between control and a combined intervention group (Group 1 and Group 2) showed that the combined group scored significantly higher in allowing self-regulation behavior (control x=3.036 , n=11; combined intervention group x=3.496 0.603, n=23, p=0.016). Regression showed that intent (p=0.03) and self-efficacy (p Objective two: No significant changes in self-efficacy or knowledge of stages of growth were observed among the three treatment groups. Perceptions of healthy weight did not change significantly from baseline to post-intervention. Objective three: Mothers in EHS and EMSHS groups were similar for the most part in their parental feeding practices. The EMSHS mothers maintained a schedule for meals and snacks more than EHS mothers (EMSHS x=3.323 , n=41, EHS x=2.850 , n=25; p=0.004). The EHS mothers, however, limited sweets more frequently than EMSHS mothers (EMSHS x=3.28 , n=41, EHS x=2.66 , n=25; p=0.024). Levels of self-efficacy and intent were similar for both groups, with EHS mothers scoring higher for confidence in staying calm during stressful meal times (EHS x=3.24 , n=25; EMSHS x=2.56 , n=41; p-value=0.004) and intent to allow self-regulation (EHS x=4.125 , n=8; EMSHS x=3.532 , n=25; p-value=0.068). Early Head Start mothers also identified the importance of exercise in maintaining a healthy weight significantly more than EMSHS mothers (p=0.031). Conclusion: Dialogue education is effective as a method to improve some aspects of authoritative feeding behavior. One workshop was sufficient to observe improvements in self-regulation and role-modeling behavior. No improvements were observed in self-efficacy or knowledge of healthy weights. While similar for the most part, EHS mothers are more authoritative in their feeding practices compared to EMSHS. Keywords: Toddlers, Head Start, Division of Responsibility, Dialogue Education

Thesis (MA (Maatskaplike Werk))--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2004. / Bibliografie ingesluit.

M.Ed. / The socio-political climate in South-Africa has led to an increase in the number of children experiencing anxiety-related symptoms. Children are observant and notice how their parents react and discuss with other adults the violence and uncontrollable crime rate that exists in our society at present. Society generally views childhood as a naturally happy time, free of responsibilities and worries. But the implication that children are somehow protected from the emotional effects of traumatic events is not true. Children are, in fact, as susceptible to trauma as adults. Many children have experienced incredible trauma first hand and these traumatic events can have a negative effect on the child's self concept and future functioning. Mother problem arising from the insecurity of the socio-political climate is that parents tend to feel that they have to take greater safety precautions, thus children are lacking opportunities for developing independence. Other stress aspects are the changes in family structures. One out of every three children will experience divorce, and will have to cope with the stress of reconstituted families. Not only is there stress involved in the process of divorce, but prior to the divorce conditions within the home are unbearable tense and full of conflict. Children in the South - African townships are often left in the care of extended families due to the fact that their parents may be working far from where they live and go to school. Because of the complexities and breakdown of family life, these children are often forced to get on with their lives and growing up on their own, with no or little family support. It is clear that our children of today often find themselves in positions that they are not developmentally and emotionally equipped to handle, and the instinct of survival is often what they rely on. The South African society consists of a set of complex and often polarised systems, each with its own difficulties. The need for intervention and therapy is great, but the resources are limited. Psychotherapy with a professional play therapist is just not a viable solution for many children. Not only is there a limit to the professional resources available, but a lot of parents see it as a waste of time and the financial cost can be crippling. The situational access is another problem that needs to be addressed. Many children are simply not in a physical position to gain access to therapy. It becomes clear every day that in South Africa, the Western view of individualised and specialised play therapy for children is simply not feasible in many instances. The objective of this research project is to describe the therapeutic process in order to establish certain guidelines regarding therapy with traumatized toddlers. The efficiency of this process will also be discussed. The design of this research project compelled a qualitative research strategy, where the researcher in this study is also the therapist. A participating research process is thus of importance in this project. This research project looks at the process and the implications of short term therapy, especially Narrative Therapy with toddlers between the ages of four to seven years. The project describes the therapy process of co-constructing new and preferred narratives with three clients by challenging dominant discourses of violence, death , loss and trauma. The results of the therapeutic process as well as the shortages and recommendations conconclude this research project.

The aim of this study was to develop a Gestalt programme for parents of toddlers to empower them to contribute to the optimal development of their toddlers. Intervention research (Thomas & Rothman) as phase model was used as method for this study. During the first phase the managers or heads of three day-care centres were used to gain access to parents of toddlers. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire with the objective to explore their attitude towards aspects such as communication with their toddlers, emotions of their toddlers and their disciplinary style. The questionnaire was also used to determine their needs with regard to the education of their toddlers. During the second phase a literature study was undertaken to explore the development of the toddler and the dynamics of the Gestalt approach. The Gestalt approach was used as cornerstone for the programme because of its holistic approach to the interaction between persons and the environment on all levels. This study concludes at Phase 4 by designing a prototype Gestalt programme for parents of toddlers. / Social Work / M. Diac (Play Therapy)

Playing with toys as a means of environmental engagement has long been considered important in early child development (Messer, Rachford, McCarthy, & Yarrow, 1987; Wolery & Werts, 1994). However, children with highly significant disabilities often engage in toy play less frequently than their peers without disabilities (Blasco, Bailey, & Burchinal, 1993; Langley, 1985) and frequently need specialized support to promote toy play (Ivory & McCollum, 1999; Langley, 1985). Preference assessment technology was used to identify preferred sensory attributes. Those sensory attributes were embedded into a toy previously identified as nonpreferred based on selection and amount of toy play. Differences were noted in caregiver opinion of sensory preference when compared to a sensory attribute preference assessment. The initial paired-item presentation consisted of a rotation of 4 toys from the natural environment using a child-directed approach, which consisted of choice, prompting, and praise for completion of functional toy play. An additional condition added the child's preferred sensory attribute to a nonpreferred toy using the above-mentioned procedures. Results indicated that the addition of a preferred sensory attribute increased selection of that toy with 2 of 3 children, and resulted in increased independent functional toy play for all 3 children.

We explored the role that exogenous and endogenous competitors for attention play in infants’ abilities to encode and retain information over a 6‐month period. Sixty‐six children visited the laboratory at 15 months, and 32 returned for a second visit at 21 months. Children observed models of conventional‐ relation and enabling‐relation action sequences. Half the children were distracted by a “Mister Monkey” mechanical toy during the conventional‐relation sequence, while the other half was distracted during the enabling‐relation sequence. The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire indexed endogenous factors at both ages. Immediate postmodel production of target actions indexed encoding efficiency, and 6‐month production of target actions indexed long‐term recall. The exogenous distracter impacted encoding efficiency (i.e., immediate recall), but not long‐term recall. Endogenous factors (i.e., temperament) were primarily associated with long‐term recall. Of special interest was our finding that endogenous factors, especially surgency, moderated the effect of the exogenous distracter. It appears that when learning conventional‐relation sequences in the presence of exogenous distracters, surgency mobilizes attentional resources toward the learning objective; however, when learning enabling‐relation sequences under the same conditions, surgency either boosts the saliency of the distracters or boosts children’s susceptibility to them.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

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Employing a quasi-experimental design, this pilot study on teacher practices with toddlers during social conflicts was conducted in the southeastern USA. Four child-care classrooms, teachers (n = 8) and children (n = 51) were assessed with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System – Toddler [CLASS-Toddler; La Paro, K., Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2011). Classroom Assessment Scoring System – Toddler (CLASS). Baltimore, MD: Brookes], an author-developed problem-solving measure, a measure of child temperament and teacher interviews. Teachers in intervention classrooms were provided professional development in three areas: (a) teacher self-regulation and stress management, (b) child self-regulation of emotions and behaviours, and (c) social problem solving. For intervention classrooms, results showed growth in several CLASS dimensions including positive climate, teacher sensitivity, and classroom guidance, while the problem-solving measure revealed an unanticipated increase in problems. Additional research is needed on toddler social problem-solving skills and supportive teacher practices. Further refinement of the problem-solving measure and delineation of specific professional development intervention components that indicate positive classroom change is needed.