This E.D. TAB presents findings about children's biological fathers from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a nationally representative study of young children, their families, and their early care and education environments. The need to better understand the role that fathers play in promotingtheir children's health and education has been recognized and the ECLS-B has been viewed as an important tool to examine specific roles fathers play in children's development and well-being.
The ECLS-B is one of the first nationally representative studies of children…
This study explored the role that fathers play in the language development of their children. Families were two-parent and middle social economic status. All families spoke English in the home. Children had been in child care since, on average, three months of age. Findings show that children, whose fathers' vocabularies were more varied when they were two, had greater language skills at age three. Mothers' vocabularies did not have a significant impact on children's language skills. Data indicate that parents' levels of education had a significant impact on children's language abilities. In…
Young children are not physically fit just because they are young. Head Start programs can make a major contribution to promoting good health and strong bodies for children by intentionally integrating appropriate physical activity and wise nutrition choices into their daily routines. A deliberate and "active start" in Head Start can improve children's physical, mental and social development - all of which are critical to school readiness. Through greater intentionality, we can increase children's protective factors against chronic disease and obesity across their entire lifespan, and build a…
This chapter identifies developmental factors associated with positive fathering among 179 young, high-risk fathers who made a better than expected adjustment to parenthood. Results found that despite significant individual and social disadvantages, these fathers developed relational capacities associated with positive parenting. These capacities include a growth-oriented perspective on the co-parenting relationship, a commitment to shared responsibility for taking care of the co-parenting relationship, and a willingness to empathize with their co-parenting partners. Case studies illustrate…
This InfoSheet includes 10 steps for involving fathers in the early literacy development of their children. (Author abstract modified)
