Answer:This chapter responds to the first part of the committee's charge—to identify core parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices that are associated with positive parent-child interactions and the healthy development of children ages birth to 8. The chapter also describes findings from research regarding how core parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices may differ by specific characteristics of children and parents, as well as by context. The chapter begins by defining desired outcomes for children that appear frequently in the research literature and inform efforts by agencies at the federal, state, and local levels to promote child health and well-being. It then reviews the knowledge, attitudes, and practices identified in the literature as core—those most strongly associated with healthy child development—drawing primarily on correlational and experimental studies. This is followed by brief discussion of the family system as a key source of additional determinants of parenting. The chapter concludes with a summary. The core knowledge, attitudes, and practices identified in this chapter serve as a foundation, along with contextual factors that affect parenting, for the committee's review of the effectiveness of strategies for strengthening parenting capacity in subsequent chapters of this report.
Step-by-step explanation:
Child Development and Early Learning
The domains of child development and early learning are discussed in different terms and categorized in different ways in the various fields and disciplines that are involved in research, practice, and policy related to children from birth through age 8. To organize the discussion in this report, the committee elected to use the approach and overarching terms depicted in Figure 4-1. The committee does not intend to present this as a single best set of terms or a single best categorical organization. Indeed, it is essential to recognize that the domains shown in Figure 4-1 are not easily separable and that a case can be made for multiple different categorizations. For example, different disciplines and researchers have categorized different general cognitive processes under the categorical term “executive function.” General cognitive processes also relate to learning competencies such as persistence and engagement. Similarly, self-regulation has both cognitive and emotional dimensions. It is sometimes categorized as a part of executive function, as a part of socioemotional competence, or as a part of learning competencies. Attention and memory could be considered a part of general cognitive processes, as embedded within executive function, or linked to learning competencies related to persistence. Mental health is closely linked to socioemotional competence, but is also inseparable from health.
The challenge of cleanly separating these concepts highlights a key attribute of all of these domains, which is that they do not develop or operate in isolation. Each enables and mutually supports learning and development in the others. Therefore, the importance of the interactions among the domains is emphasized throughout this chapter. For example, socioemotional
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2015. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation. Washington, DC: