In this three-part series, Dr. Laura Justice — executive director of the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy and Schoenbaum Family Center at The Ohio State University — surveys the fragmented landscape of child care in the United States, highlighting its vulnerabilities even in the best of times.

Alphabet knowledge is a basic building block for early reading and writing. Children who learn the forms, names and sounds of letters during early childhood are less likely to experience reading difficulties later in school. See highlights of Crane Center research and find resources for assessing and teaching the alphabet.

This year, we started Tuned In – our Friday morning round-up of policy-related news and analysis. It’s been a labor of love that my colleague Caitlin and I really enjoy providing to you all. In lieu of our regular edition today, here’s a reflection on nine of the best (policy-related) things that happened in 2019, in no particular order.

Last month we rounded up what we thought were the best 9 policy-related trends from 2019. Now, here are five predictions for the coming year from where we sit at our cross-section of early childhood research and policy.

By July 2020, Ohio’s childcare providers who accept publicly funded child care (PFCC) dollars must be star-rated through the state’s quality rating and improvement system, Step Up to Quality. To learn more about these providers’ plans for the future, and to shed light on possible challenges they might be facing, Crane researchers sent out a statewide survey.

The headlines around kids and screen time can be downright scary. One message that most experts will agree on is that moderation is key. If it seems daunting to set limits on something as pervasive as digital media, it’s helpful to remember three basic times when it’s important to do so: mealtime, playtime, and bedtime.

On average, children under 8 spend over 2 hours a day with screen media. Many parents are concerned about their children’s screen time. Research can provide guidance for using media in positive ways, one important takeaways is that children learn more from media when adults are involved and help them understand the material they are encountering.

Crane’s September 2019 research forum hosted Dr. Arya Ansari, Assistant Professor, Human Sciences. Dr. Ansari spoke to attendees about the long term effects of early childhood education.

The transition from preschool to kindergarten presents several unique challenges including heightened anxiety. To make the transition easier, teachers and parents can work collaboratively to support children with these tips.

Self-esteem develops from a young age through experiences that help children feel capable, confident, accepted, and willing to try new things. In order to foster high self-esteem, caregivers can model certain behaviors, praise efforts rather than outcomes, and offer appropriate and achievable challenges.

Although challenging behaviors can occur during any circle time activity, they are most likely to occur during activities that offer little opportunity for children to actively participate. It is important that teachers plan ahead for circle time to engage children and reduce challenging behaviors.

Children form attachments to important adults in their lives; these relationships are important for children’s later social and cognitive skills. It is important for educators to be sensitive to children’s reactions and use multiple strategies to build secure relationships. Similarly, educators need to build strong relationships with parents. We present strategies to support these relationships.