Table of Contents

1 Front Matter; 2 Report Contents; 3 I Setting the Stage; 4 1 Introduction; 5 2 Rethinking Nature and Nurture; 6 3 The Challenge of Studying Culture; 7 4 Making Causal Connections; 8 II The Nature and Tasks of Early Development; 9 5 Acquiring Self-Regulation; 10 6 Communicating and Learning; 11 7 Making Friends and Getting Along with Peers; 12 8 The Developing Brain; 13 III The Context for Early Development; 14 9 Nurturing Relationships; 15 10 Family Resources; 16 11 Growing Up in Child Care; 17 12 Neighborhood and Community; 18 13 Promoting Healthy Development Through Intervention; 19 IV Knowledge into Action; 20 14 Conclusions and Recommendations; 21 References; 22 A Related Reports from the National Academies; 23 B Defining and Estimating Causal Effects; 24 C Technologies for Studying the Developing Human Brain; 25 D Biographical Sketches; 26 Index

About the Author

Jack P. Shonkoff and Deborah A. Phillips, Editors; Committee on Integrating the Science of Early Childhood Development, Board on Children, Youth, and Families