Pre-Primary Sources

Em Clark, from Liberating Childhood, is on to talk about reading research-- who can do it (everyone!), why it's important, and how to get started. Get started at liberatingchildhood.org!   Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd 

If you spend time with young children, invariably you will at some point get into conversations about screen time-- the detriments, maybe some benefits, and definitely some judgements, no matter where you land. In this episode, Bethany and I discuss our own experiences with digital media as educators and parents, and some perhaps surprising information that may influence how we're looking at the harms of screen time.    Did you know you can support the hosting costs of The Early Childhood Nerdwork on Patreon, and get Discord access to talk nerdy with like-minded folks too? https://patreon.com/EarlyChildhoodNerdworkbyThatEarlyChildhoodNerd  Sources AAP COUNCIL ON COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA. Media and Young Minds. Pediatrics. 2016;138(5):e20162591 Chu, C., Paatsch, L., Kervin, L., & Edwards, S. (2024). Digital Play in the Early Years: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction. doi.org/10.1016/j.ijcci.2024.100652 Common Sense Media. (2025). The 2025 Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Zero to Eight. The 2025 Common Sense Census: Media Use by Kids Zero to Eight. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-2025-common-sense-census-media-use-by-kids-zero-to-eight Flint, T. K., & Adams, M. S. (2024). Of Ladles and Laptops: Exploring Preschool Children's Digital Play. Early Childhood Education Journal, 52, 1001-1010. doi.org/10.1007/s10643-023-01485-9 Gray, P. (2013). Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. Basic Books. Hayes, N., White, S. L.J., Berthelsen, D., Burley, J., & Cliff, D. (2025). Longitudinal associations between child, parenting, home and neighborhood factors and children's screen time through 4 to 7 years of age. BMC Public Health, 25. doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22866-2 Hornstrup Jespersen, Malene, Albris, Kristoffer, Willadsen, Helene (2025) Deconstructing screen time: The connections between digital use, dissatisfaction, and disconnection, Computers in Human Behavior Reports, Volume 18, 100655, ISSN 2451-9588, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100655. Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2017). A Large-Scale Test of the Goldilocks Hypothesis: Quantifying the Relations Between Digital-Screen Use and the Mental Well-Being of Adolescents: Quantifying the Relations Between Digital-Screen Use and the Mental Well-Being of Adolescents. Psychological Science, 28(2), 204-215. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616678438 (Original work published 2017) Putnick, D.L., Trinh, MH., Sundaram, R. et al. Displacement of peer play by screen time: associations with toddler development. Pediatr Res 93, 1425–1431 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-022-02261-y Pew Research Center (2025) How parents manage screen time for kids  Schwartz, S., Kraft, H., Maurer, T., Lange, S., Schemmer, J., Fischbach, T., Emgenbroich, A., Monks, S., Hubermann, M., & Martin, D. (2025). Screen Time, Nature, and Development: Baseline of the Randomized Controlled Study "Screen-free till 3". Developmental Science. doi.org/10.1111/desc.133578 Williams, Ericka and Radesky, Jenny S. (2025) The 5Cs approach to digital media: Empowering families and professionals to foster healthy screen use for young children International Journal of Birth and Parenting Education

We're back with Tiffany Pearsall! In part one, we talked about creativity; but a lot of the information out there is really about coloring pages and mental health. Where does using this research fit in with ethical practice in early childhood settings? What are our responsibilities and professional scope of practice? And of course, where do coloring pages fit in a setting that wants to offer children the opportunity to create freely?

Dr. Denisha Jones, of Defending the Early Years (DEY) and I discuss the 2024 publication from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine called A New Vision for High-Quality Preschool Curriculum; in particular, we look at Chapter 4: Developing High-Quality, Equitable Preschool Curricula, and discuss what real commitment to equitable education looks like, and who should be developing the curriculum for it. Hint: page 129 of this report says, "Curriculum development requires broad and deep knowledge, experience, and expertise. Therefore, it is important to ask who develops curricula for preschool currently and who would ideally. Preschool teachers cannot be expected to create curriculum resources independently (Ball & Cohen, 1996; National Academies, 2020, 2022); in addition to expertise, the task  requires substantial time and teamwork." We disagree. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. A New Vision for High-Quality Preschool Curriculum. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/27429. As with all episodes of Pre-Primary Sources, my opinions are my own and do not reflect those of any other organization with which I may be associated.

In the enormous child care care ecosystem conversation, there is an idea that one to one care, like a nanny, parent, or grandparent, is ideal until a child is three years old, at which point they are able to "benefit" from being in a group with other children. We look at this claim, the idea that group care is either not beneficial or actively detrimental, and talk about what quality of care really comes down to.   Sources: Eckstein-Madry, T, Piskernik, B., Ahnert, L. Attachment and stress regulation in socioeconomically disadvantaged children: Can public childcare compensate? DOI: 10.1002/imhj.21878 Bernier, A., Cote, S. M., Theriault, R. L., Leclerc, G. On executive functioning and childcare: The moderating role of parent–child interactions DOI: 10.1111/desc.13534 Barry, K. M. Early childcare arrangements and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms: an individual participant data meta-analysis of six prospective birth cohorts in Europe https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.101036 Nystad, K. Change in toddlers’ cortisol activity during a year in childcare. Associations with childcare quality, child temperament, well-being and maternal education https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2022.2048371 Fukkink, R. Is childcare good or bad for children’s socio-emotional development? Context matters https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.101044  

While there isn't often a hard and fast rule, coloring pages are often looked at as "busy work" or as having no place in a child led classroom, with beliefs about the potential for negative impact on children's creativity and discovery. Why would a child want to learn to draw independently if we have pages already made with all of the pictures they could want to draw! Surprisingly, there's very limited research on coloring pages and their impact on creativity... or anything else for young children.    References: Creative and Mental Growth (Third Edition) Viktor Lowenfeld Nurturing Creativity: An Essential Mindset for Young Children’s Learning by Rebecca Isbell and Sonia Akiko Yoshizawa Coloring-Book-Type Experiences and Children's Divergent Pictorial Production* N. ASHLEY RANDALL, JR.; THOMAS W. DRAPER   Music from: Audio File URL: https://pixabay.com/music/upbeat-retro-electronica-284413/

The Reggio Emilia approach values the idea of the teacher as researcher; program director Alexandra Dutton, of Old Firehouse School, has nearly 20 years of experience supporting educators in their role as researcher of their own group of children.    Find Fireside Chats on the Young Mind wherever you get your podcasts!

Before we talk about specific research in early childhood, I wanted to talk about the history of the institution of science-- how it has served to both expand human knowledge and block out those it has deemed "unfit" to be in its halls, how unintentional bias and purposeful bigotry have made and maintained their way in, and how modern scholars can work to expand the canon of what we know and how we know it. Lizz talks with Dr. Bee, a professor of sociology, about bias, science, and what it means to be a radical scholar. 

Coming soon: Pre-Primary Sources!