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This paper examines the relationships among the quality and quantity of parent-child shared book reading (SBR) engagements and children's reading and mathematics outcomes in preschool. Additionally, we explore how child and family characteristics predict the quality and quantity of SBR. Quantity was measured using parental reports of the frequency of SBR. Quality was measured by observational protocols evaluating for questioning, vocabulary, and discussion depth. A structural equation model was estimated using data from a nationally representative sample of 700 children living in the United States from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth cohort. Results indicated that the quality of book reading was associated with children's mathematics outcomes, and the quantity was associated with reading outcomes controlling for contextual variables. Socioeconomic status, race or ethnicity, and children's age predicted the quality and quantity of book reading experiences. These findings indicate that frequent exposure to high-quality book reading may positively impact children's mathematics and reading development, but that variation in SBR exists. SBR is a common practice among many parents; helping parents understand the multiple benefits of the practice may further increase the frequency and quality of the engagement. Implications for research and practice are addressed. Highlights This paper describes the relationship between parental book reading practices, mathematics, and reading outcomes., Structural equation models reveal relationships between the quantity of book reading and children's reading outcomes, as well as the quality of book reading and children's mathematics outcomes., High-quality book reading may positively impact academic achievement in multiple domains, but results may vary based on contextual factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort in the United States (N ≈ 10,700), this study examines the relationship between precarious parental work characteristics and families' poverty status during the early childhood years. We focus on four aspects of parental work—occupational prestige, hourly wages, weekly work hours, and nonstandard work schedules—and three dimensions of familial poverty: poverty depth, volatility in family income, and poverty duration. The longitudinal latent class analysis identified five distinct maternal work profiles and three distinct paternal work profiles. Regression results then suggest that children in families whose mothers and fathers held jobs with precarious work characteristics had significantly higher probabilities of experiencing (1) near-poor conditions or falling into poverty, if not deep poverty; (2) volatility in family income; and (3) longer duration of poverty. Results in this study shed new light on the sensitivity of families' economic status to the precarious work conditions that have been on the rise in a society increasingly characterized by income inequality. Highlights: Almost half of the American families with young children were at risk of falling into poverty during the most crucial period of their child's life, before entering kindergarten. Longitudinal latent class analysis using four indicators of parental work was used to identify latent groups of precarious parental work characteristics. Precarious parental work increased the probability of families experiencing poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study conceptualized father involvement as a multidimensional construct-including warmth, control/discipline and home learning stimulation-and examined associations among father involvement across toddlerhood and their sons' cognitive and social emotional development in preschool. Analyses also tested whether these associations were moderated by ethnicity and poverty status. A total of 4240 young boys were included in the study (20% African American, 26% Hispanic and 54% Caucasian). Results showed that paternal warmth and home learning stimulation (at 24-months) positively predicted cognitive and social emotional skills across all three racial groups (at 48-months/preschool). Furthermore, tests of moderation by ethnicity revealed that paternal control/discipline was related to fewer problem behaviors, higher engagement scores, and more advanced math skills only among boys who were African American. Finally, tests of moderation by poverty status showed that paternal warmth had a stronger association with boys' reading skills when they lived above the poverty line. These findings emphasize the importance of culturally sensitive models of child development that examine the influence of fathers from a dyadic perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, were used to examine the relation between father-reported depression, stress, and father involvement in a large, nationally representative sample of African American fathers (N = 784). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that fathers who experienced fewer depressive symptoms participated in more frequent play, caregiving, and home literacy activities with their young children at 24 months. Furthermore, fathers who experienced fewer stressors engaged in more frequent play activities but not caregiving or home literacy. Notably, fathers who engaged in more frequent positive interactions (e.g., laughing and talking calmly) with their child's mother were also more involved in play and caregiving at 24 months. Results were evident even after controlling for a host of sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, findings suggest that healthy psychological functioning coupled with positive mother-father interactions are positive predictors of father involvement among African American fathers with young children. Implications for future research, practice, and policy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]