"I'm not sure whether I will implement it": exploring barriers and facilitators to implementing a digital "healthy eating" resource in early education and care settings - teachers' perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Scaling up effective interventions to promote healthy eating habits in children in real-world settings is a pressing need. The success of implementation hinges crucially on engaging end-users and tailoring interventions to meet their specific needs. Building on our prior evaluation of a digital "healthy eating" resource for early childhood education and care (ECEC) staff; this qualitative study aims to pinpoint the barriers and facilitators that influence the successful implementation of such interventions. METHODS: We conducted twelve semi-structured interviews with ECEC teachers in a Norwegian municipality. Interview participants were later invited to participate in focus groups where two discussions were conducted with five of the participants to reflect on the initial interview findings. Thematic analysis, facilitated by NVivo software, was employed to analyse the data, aiming to identify and summarize teachers' subjective experiences and perspectives. RESULTS: Teachers' perceptions of barriers to the implementation of an upcoming digital "healthy eating" resource included: (1) No established tradition of using digital resources at work; (2) Uncertainty regarding the achievable outcomes of implementation; (3) Perception of the new "healthy eating" resource as cooking-focused and unnecessary; and (4) Hectic everyday life serving as a barrier to the long-term use of a digital resource. Facilitators for implementation included: (1) A user-friendly format; (2) Newsletters featuring seasonal tips inspire and serve as effective reminders; (3) Emphasis on research and legislation; and (4) Structuring the resource as a series and an idea bank. CONCLUSIONS: The findings underscore the essential need for tailored strategies and comprehensive support structures to successfully implement a culturally appropriate digital "healthy eating" resource for ECEC staff, ensuring effectiveness and feasibility. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was not registered in a trial registry as it is not a clinical trial or intervention study but serves as a pilot for the Nutrition Now study, trial identifier ISRCTN10694967 ( https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN10694967 ), registration date: 19/06/2022.

Enhancing core components for a digital "healthy eating" resource in early childhood and care settings: staff's perceptions and needs.

BACKGROUND: In response to the growing need for effective programmes to promote healthy eating habits among children in real-world settings, we conducted a qualitative study. Our aim was to explore the content-related needs of early childhood education and care (ECEC) staff regarding the core components of an upcoming digital "healthy eating" resource. This resource, designed for real-world implementation through the Nutrition Now project, seeks to enhance children's nutrition and health within ECEC settings. METHODS: Twelve individual semi-structured interviews with ECEC staff in a Norwegian municipality were conducted. Subsequently, we conducted two focus group discussions, involving five participants, to encourage reflection on the preliminary findings from the individual interviews. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using Nvivo software. Data from the interviews and focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically to identify and summarise staff's subjective experiences and reasoning. RESULTS: Six themes were identified for the development of the upcoming digital "healthy eating" resource: (1) A comprehensive recipe bank, and menu suggestions, (2) Tips for easy and quick cooking, simple hygiene and allergy management, (3) Age-appropriate food learning ideas, (4) Strategies for mealtime learning and engagement, (5) Alignment with the national ECEC curriculum, and (6) Parent-friendly access and content. CONCLUSIONS: This research provides valuable guidance and informs the adaptation of an expert-led digital "healthy eating" intervention to better suit ECEC staff and the ECEC context, consequently enhancing its feasibility and effectiveness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was not registered in a trial registry as it is not a clinical trial or intervention study but serves as a pilot for the Nutrition Now study, trial identifier ISRCTN10694967 (https//doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN10694967), registration date 19/06/2022.

The early educational environment at five years of age in a European cohort of children born very preterm: challenges and opportunities for research.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood education offers opportunities for stimulation in multiple developmental domains and its positive impact on long-term outcomes and wellbeing for children is well documented. Few studies have explored early education in children born very preterm (VPT; <32 weeks of gestation) who are at higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders and poor educational outcomes than their term-born peers. The purpose of the study is to describe and compare the educational environment of children born VPT in European countries at 5 years of age according to the degree of perinatal risk. METHODS: Data originated from the population-based Screening to Improve Health In very Preterm infants (SHIPS) cohort of children born VPT in 2011/2012 in 19 regions from 11 European countries. Perinatal data were collected from medical records and the 5-year follow-up was conducted using parental questionnaires. Outcomes at 5 years were participation in early education (any, type, intensity of participation) and receipt of special educational support, which were harmonized across countries. RESULTS: Out of 6,759 eligible children, 3,687 (54.6%) were followed up at 5 years (mean gestational age 29.3 weeks). At 5 years, almost all children (98.6%) were in an educational program, but type (preschool/primary), attendance (full-time/part-time) and use and type of school support/services differed by country. In some countries, children with high perinatal risk were more likely to be in full-time education than those with low risk (e.g. Estonia: 97.9% vs. 87.1%), while the inverse pattern was observed elsewhere (e.g. Poland: 78.5% vs. 92.8%). Overall, 22.8% of children received special educational support (country range: 12.4-34.4%) with more support received by children with higher perinatal risk. Large variations between countries remained after adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: There are marked variations in approaches to early education for children born VPT in Europe, raising opportunities to explore its impact on their neurodevelopment and well-being.

Context is key: Parasympathetic regulation in the classroom differentially predicts preschoolers' socially competent behaviors.

Research shows that children's early social competence predicts their later academic and interpersonal success. Accordingly, early childhood education programs increasingly aim to evaluate and support children's social skill development. Despite ample theoretical and empirical work demonstrating the role of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) in supporting neurophysiological processes that underlie social behaviors, no study has explicitly tested whether the assessment of PNS activity in childhood educational settings provides insight into children's social functioning. The current study addresses this gap by examining the influence of context-specific PNS regulation, assessed via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), in predicting preschool children's socially competent behavior toward peers in the classroom. Results showed that: (1) RSA withdrawal (e.g., decreases relative to a baseline task) during unstructured classroom activities predicted children's socially competent behaviors during these unstructured activities but not during structured activities, whereas (2) withdrawal during structured classroom activities predicted children's socially competent behaviors during structured activities. These results indicate that PNS activity makes context-specific contributions to children's social behaviors and highlight the importance of assessing neurophysiological regulation in context.

A systematic review outlining the impact of education on patients and physicians in gastroenterology.

Functional gastrointestinal symptoms (FGIDs) refer to a noticeable change in the body that is reported by the patient as being different from normal. FGIDs can have a significant impact on the patient's quality of life by interfering with daily functioning. The primary objective of the current paper was to identify short-term educational interventions for patients diagnosed with FGIDs and medically unexplained symptoms. This is with the aim of assessing its effectiveness on patient's quality of life and symptom severity. The second objective was to establish the current educational programmes and training opportunities available for physicians working with this subgroup of patients. This is in order to ascertain if these could change negative physician beliefs and attitudes. Databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar were searched from November to February 2018. A total of eight interventions were found which were evaluated using the Behavioural Change Techniques Taxonomy. Short-term educational programmes combining the use of lectures and practical sessions were found to be the most effective in improving patient quality of life and symptom severity. Managing patient exposure through the use of problem-based learning was considered the most effective teaching method for trainee physicians and could help to prevent the internalisation of negative attitudes. Definite conclusions about the effectiveness of patient and physician interventions are difficult to ascertain due to the small number of studies found and the high risk of bias. Future research should focus on providing a more unified approach to the management of this subgroup of patients.

An ecological perspective on early educator well-being at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early educator well-being is increasingly understood as a critical ingredient of high-quality early education and care. The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened educator well-being by exacerbating existing stressors and introducing novel stressors to all aspects of early educators' lives, and early educators have had differential access to resources to cope with these new circumstances. Using survey data collected between April and June 2020 with a sample of 666 early educators in community-based center, family child care, Head Start, and public school prekindergarten programs across Massachusetts, we document the pandemic's initial influence on educators' sense of well-being. Adopting an ecological perspective, we consider educator-, program-, and community-level factors that may be associated with reported changes in well-being. Most educators indicated that their mental and financial well-being had been affected. These changes were not systematically associated with most contextual factors, although there was clear evidence of variability in reported impacts by provider type. These findings underscore the need to support educator well-being, as well as to create policy solutions that meet the heterogeneous needs of this essential workforce.

Managing Disruptions in Early Care & Education: Lessons from COVID-19.

Families face challenging decisions about early care and education (ECE) for their children. Decisions about what is best for each child and family are constrained by family and contextual factors and are prone to disruptions. This study provides a descriptive look at patterns of ECE settings children were in the year prior to kindergarten, beginning in Fall 2019 through Spring 2021, a period during which most ECE arrangements were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and into the 2020-2021 kindergarten year. Analyses of survey (N = 121) and interview (n = 25) data from families whose children entered kindergarten in Fall 2020 revealed multiple and cascading disruptions during this time. Disruptions were nearly universal, and families made continual accommodations as they juggled employment needs and children's ECE needs. Findings from this study have implications for how actual and anticipated disruptions may have a greater influence on families' child care decision-making into the future.

Strengthening Early Childhood Education and Care in a "Childcare Desert".

High-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is an important component of thriving communities. It is central to the socio-emotional and intellectual growth of young children, to the ability of parents to go to work, and to the ability of employers to find and retain workers. Despite this centrality, there is a profound shortage of ECEC in many communities, which has only been made worse by COVID-19. This study took place in rural Kentucky pre-pandemic, where approximately half of all residents lived in "childcare deserts"-a situation facing a growing number of communities. This research demonstrates that while financial factors affect the undersupply of childcare in a single community, there are also additional, more opaque, and under-theorized factors at play. Specifically, we argue that misconceptions around families' ability and willingness to pay for ECEC, what families prioritize in an ECEC setting, and ambiguous terminology result in misunderstandings and miscommunication that, in turn, affect perceived solutions to the problem of the childcare desert. In short, when different stakeholders use different language and assumptions to describe their goals and ideas about ECEC, it is hard to reach community consensus about how to add the high-quality options that families desire and value. Drawing upon survey and interview data collected from parents and childcare providers, as well as local newspaper articles and during community forums, we uncover barriers that may hinder efforts to strengthen ECEC options; notably, many barriers are surmountable. Ultimately, this research points to concrete steps that communities can take to help bolster ECEC and, thus, communities at large.

Medical Home-Head Start Partnership to Promote Early Learning for Low-Income Children.

OBJECTIVE: To improve Early Head Start/Head Start (EHS/HS) screening, referral, and enrollment for children from diverse, low-income communities. METHOD: Using existing resources, we built a pediatric clinic-Head Start partnership. Key steps included (1) screening protocol and tracking system, (2) a community partner as a single point of referral contact, (3) provider education, and (4) monthly outcome reporting. A pre- and post-cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate outcomes, with medical chart review conducted for all wellness visits among children aged 0 to 4 years pre- and postintervention. RESULTS: The preintervention group included 223 patients. The postintervention group included 235 patients. EHS/HS screening improved significantly after the intervention, rising from 8% in the preintervention period to 46% in the postintervention period (odds ratio [OR] 10.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] [5.9, 19.4]). EHS/HS documented referral rates increased from 1% in the preintervention period to 20% in the postintervention period (OR 18.3, 95% CI [5.7, 93.6]). Thirty-two of the 42 patients in the postintervention group referred to EHS/HS were reached to determine enrollment status. Six children (14%) had enrolled in EHS/HS. CONCLUSION: With use of existing resources, a medical home-Head Start partnership can build an integrated system that significantly improves screening and referral rates to early learning programs.

Visuo-spatial abilities are key for young children's verbal number skills.

Children's development of verbal number skills (i.e., counting abilities and knowledge of the number names) presents a milestone in mathematical development. Different factors such as visuo-spatial and verbal abilities have been discussed as contributing to the development of these foundational skills. To understand the cognitive nature of verbal number skills in young children, the current study assessed the relation of preschoolers' verbal and visuo-spatial abilities to their verbal number skills. In total, 141 children aged 5 or 6 years participated in the current study. Verbal number skills were regressed on vocabulary, phonological awareness and visuo-spatial abilities, and verbal and visuo-spatial working memory in a structural equation model. Only visuo-spatial abilities emerged as a significant predictor of verbal number skills in the estimated model. Our results suggest that visuo-spatial abilities contribute to a larger extent to children's verbal number skills than verbal abilities. From a theoretical point of view, these results suggest a visuo-spatial, rather than a verbal, grounding of verbal number skills. These results are potentially informative for the conception of early mathematics assessments and interventions.

Cross-cultural value mismatch in German day care institutions: Perspectives of migrant parents and day care teachers.

Immigrant parents encounter educational approaches in the host country that differ from what they know and expect from institutional childcare. With our study we would like to contribute to the understanding of these differences. We collected information concerning developmental goals and educational strategies from 151 mothers with children between 0 and 6 years, differing in level of education and ethnic background (German, Turkish, and Russian) and from 36 childcare teachers also of different ethnic origin (German, Turkish, and Russian). Interview and questionnaire data were analysed with qualitative content analysis and inferential statistics. Results indicate that in all childcare teachers prefer autonomy-oriented developmental goals and a constructivist approach to education. More educated German mothers agree widely with the teachers. In contrast, migrant mothers and less-educated German mothers differ significantly from the teacher's perspectives. These mothers prefer developmental goals oriented towards relatedness and a didactic approach to education. They are also more focused on the physical well-being and the bodily integrity of their children. The discrepancies were most striking between childcare teachers and less-educated Turkish and Russian migrant mothers. The results are discussed with respect to the claim of providing equal chances for all children.

Psychodidactic determinants of the development of children of preschool age.

The article analyzes the state and trends of the problem of the development of children of preschool age. As a research task, the authors present the results of questionnaires of parents of preschool-age children. The foreign experience of pre-school education is described. The psychodidactic contradictions and perspectives of the development of preschool-age children are outlined. According to scientists, modern preschool education in the context of globalization changes should be reoriented to the development of the child's personality as the main resource, which determines the progressive movement of society. A modern high-tech world puts the child in front of the child's demands of the level of his education, development and upbringing. Consequently, the study of the psychodidactic determinants of the development of a child of preschool age, which provides a complete psycho-physical and personal development and psychological readiness for studying at school, is relevant. The article analyzes the indicators of the cognitive and extracognitive development of the child, in accordance with the most well-known systems of early education, and determines the factors of influence (determinants) of the mental development of a child of preschool age. For conducting scientific researches, the authors used methods of analysis of normative and scientific literature, statistical, system analysis and generalizations, results of their own empirical studies, materials of questionnaires, method of factor-criterion modeling of spheres of mental development of a child, created on the basis of qualimetric evaluation, etc. It has been established that pre-school education should ensure the harmonious development of the child's personality, his physical and mental health, to form mechanisms for social adaptation and creative implementation in a living environment in the community of children and adults through the creation of early education technologies that include a balanced mix of development cognitive and noncognitive spheres of the child. In order to achieve the tasks, innovative pedagogical technologies such as modern systems of early development are widely used, the main purpose of which, according to their authors, is the development of cognitive, emotional and noncognitive abilities of the child. Having examined the main (most popular) early-developmental systems of skills formation in cognitive and non-cognitive spheres, one can conclude that there is a need for comprehensive (systemic) approaches to the development of a child's early developmental technology, since none of the systems considered alone can provide a harmonious balanced development of preschoolers in cognitive (ability to read, write, read, analyze text, perform creative tasks, etc.) and non-cognitive (social, emotional, ability to play storyline games, with independence, etc.) spheres. After all, if loads are lacking, then mental development stops, and excessive tension and absolute comfort lead to a stop of the development of the psyche, self-awareness, therefore, only a balanced approach will allow to get a positive result.

Assessing the effectiveness of Australian early childhood education and care experiences: study protocol.

BACKGROUND: In Australia, 61.5 % of children aged 3-4 attend Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) programs. Children's experiences within these programs vary widely and impact directly on educational wellbeing and social development. Research has shown that higher quality programs enhance children's learning and developmental outcomes, foster social participation and have long-lasting effects on their productivity as adults. Quality matters, yet we do not know what components of ECEC result in a quality program. Effective Early Educational Experiences (E4Kids) is a 5-year longitudinal study designed to identify and assess the impact of mainstream ECEC programs and program components on children's learning, development, social inclusion and well-being. E4Kids sets out to measure quality ECEC; identify components that add value and positively impact children's outcomes; evaluate the effects of child, family, community and environment characteristics on programs; and provide evidence on how best to invest in ECEC. METHODS/DESIGN: E4Kids follows a sample of 2,494 children who have experienced a variety of approved care programs (long day care, kindergarten, family day care and occasional care), as well as 157 children who have not accessed such programs. Children are tracked to the first point of National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing at Year 3. The study presents a multi-level design in which ECEC programs were sampled from two states - Queensland and Victoria - then randomly sampled from two greater metropolitan regions and two regional and remote locations. Parents, centre directors, educators and carers complete questionnaires to provide information on demographics and children's progress. Data collected also include the make-up and organisation of ECEC programs and schools children attended. The quality of adult-child interactions is directly assessed using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) and direct testing of children's cognitive abilities and achievements is undertaken over 3 years and linked with NAPLAN scores. DISCUSSION: Findings from the E4Kids study have the potential to influence the quality of ECEC available in Australia by providing up-to-date evidence on the impact of ECEC programs and program components to inform future policy decisions and research.

Body art education: the earlier, the better.

Using the major format identified for successful prevention and intervention work, five "W" questions: what, why, whom, where, and who, plus one: how, this article first summarizes the current body art literature. Then, educational strategies specifically regarding the topic of tattoos and body piercing are presented for school nurses. These strategies can be used to create applicable, realistic information for young students before they are faced with decisions related to body art. The school nurse might be the first and only credible source of information the students receive related to body art in an education/health environment. Curriculum emphasis is on the decision making leading up to the action, and the major purposes, rather than on the markings or jewelry associated with procurement. Reducing decisional conflict while promoting positive development in the areas of empowerment, self-esteem, and maturing can help achieve stronger informed decision making.

Early Education Suspension and Expulsion: Newly Released AAP Policy Guidelines.

Childcare and early educational programs provide children with the opportunities to learn and develop social skills prior to being introduced into the academic system. Suspension and expulsion from childcare and early education programs occur in high numbers and can cause life-long detrimental effects for children. Federal and state legislation has made advances over the years, but further development and implementation of universal policies are needed in order to reduce the number of young children being suspended and expelled. Pediatric nurse practitioners have a unique role in screening, identifying, and intervening when children are at risk or have experienced exclusionary discipline tracts.

Application of indirect observation within mixed methods to contrast the results obtained through direct observation: a discussion with observed Pikler educators.

Introduction: This work arises from a previous research, "Pikler educators early in the morning" carried out in the Emmi Pikler Nursery School in Budapest through Systematic Observation. In it, Piklerian choreographies were found in observed educators' behavior during the studied three daily activities: feeding breakfast, dressing to go to the garden and free play accompanying. All of them share certain Piklerian principles, which are synthesized in three central keys: the stability of the educator's behavior, her strategic and intentional positioning, and an active emotional control. Objectives: This study aims to contrast this synthesis of results by means of an in-depth interview with the two observed educators, and to apply the methodological approach of indirect observation within mixed methods for its analysis. The objective is to confirm whether the three central keys are recognized as their own and to look for new theoretical-practical elements within the studied educational approach. Materials and methods: We applied an in-depth interview and analyzed it following the guidelines of indirect observation. The participants were the two educators previously observed, a translator from the Pikler team, and the three observers, authors of this work. An ad hoc observation instrument was elaborated, and the three macro-stages QUAL-QUAL-QUAL proposed within mixed methods were rigorously followed. Results: Lag sequential analysis was used to conduct data analyses. We deepened in prospective lags and obtained the response pattern underlying the interview. Then, we performed a concurrence analysis to investigate the relationship between the central keys obtained in our original research and Piklerian ideas. Conclusion: In-depth interview within mixed methods has been a novel and generous tool leading us to substantial and methodological contributions, despite the simplicity of performed analyses. Interviewed educators' response pattern is a faithful reflection of the Piklerian modus operandi. The study of concurrences shows that Piklerian education is something natural, integrated in its professionals, with the exception of emotional control, which still requires permanent reflection.

Multilingual children with hearing loss: Factors contributing to language use at home and in early education.

Understanding the relationship between children's cultural and linguistic diversity and child, caregiver, and environmental characteristics is important to ensure appropriate educational expectations and provisions. As part of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study, children's caregivers and educators completed questionnaires on demographic characteristics, including the communication mode (oral, manual, or mixed) and languages used in home and early educational environments. This article reports an exploratory analysis to examine factors associated with language use and communication mode of children at 3 years of age. A Chi Square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) analysis was performed on data from 406 children to examine factors influencing communication mode and oral language use. The factor that most influenced children's communication mode at home was the communication mode used by their female caregiver. Children's communication mode in their early education environment was most related to the communication mode they used at home, and then related to the presence of additional needs in the children, female caregivers' level of education and the male caregivers' use of languages other than English (LOTEs). A second exploratory CHAID analysis of data for children from multilingual families (n = 106) indicated that female caregivers' use of English at home significantly influenced whether children used a LOTE at home. Finally, the use of a LOTE at home was associated with the use of a LOTE in the early education environment. These findings serve as an initial description of the factors that were associated with the communication mode and language use of children with hearing loss.

Exploring early educator burnout and process quality in a statewide sample.

Building on literature linking educators' psychosocial well-being to early education and care quality, this study analyzed early educators' (N = 648) reports of burnout across a range of group-based care types in one state and examined the relation of burnout to setting quality. Confirmatory factor analysis showed the burnout measure, a self-reported emotional exhaustion scale, had a one-factor structure and adequate internal consistency among educators working in a range of early education and care settings. Measured by the scale, educators on average reported infrequent feelings of burnout. There were small but statistically significant differences in burnout scores by setting type, with Head Start educators on average reporting modestly more frequent burnout symptoms than educators in community-based centers (ß=0.29,b = 0.30, SE = 0.13, p = 0.014) or family childcare settings (ß=0.57,b = 0.60, SE = 0.14, p < 0.001). Only one significant association was observed between educators' self-reported burnout scores and setting quality after accounting for educator and setting characteristics: a negative association with child involvement (ß =  - 0.09,b = -0.04, SE = 0.02, p = 0.03). These findings contribute to the field's understanding of burnout as a component of educator well-being and provide initial insight about targeting supports to improve educator well-being.

Supporting second language acquisition of bilingual preschool children through professionalization of caregivers in specialized preschool programs.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of a training program on language support strategies and dialogic reading for caregivers working in specialized preschool programs. These programs serve children without a regular childcare place who grow up with one or more languages other than German as the environmental language. Recent studies investigating the development of children attending these programs found only moderate improvements in German receptive language skills, while language support quality of the programs was rated as average. We assessed receptive second language competencies in vocabulary and grammar of n = 48 children and language support competencies of n = 15 caregivers using an interventional pre-posttest design. Receptive vocabulary skills of children supported by trained caregivers (intervention group) were compared to children supported by untrained caregivers (control group, n = 43). We found that both children's and caregivers' competencies increased from pre- to posttest, whereas the control group's receptive vocabulary skills did not increase noticeably. The caregivers' language support competencies influenced the increase of children's receptive grammar but not vocabulary skills. The comparison between the intervention group and control group consistently showed no effect of group membership on children's receptive vocabulary acquisition over time. Since the control group data came from a secondary analysis, only receptive vocabulary skills could be compared. The preliminary results of our study suggest that a caregivers' training on language support strategies and dialogic reading in everyday educational situations support bilingual children's grammar acquisition.

A Pragmatic Turn in the Study of Early Executive Functions by Object Use and Gestures. A Case Study from 8 to 17 Months of Age at a Nursery School.

The two first years of life are critical in the development of Executive Functions (EF). However, very little is known about their early manifestations, how they develop, how they relate to other psychological constructions or the status of other people's influence in this early development. The study of EFs has been carried out through standardised tasks, but some authors question their ecological validity and suggest an approach involving everyday situations and the challenges that children set for themselves. In this article we first review these issues in relation to the first manifestations of EFs. We secondly present a longitudinal case study at nursery school of a child between the ages of 8 and 17 months, considering the challenges and the means he employed in order to resolve them. We found that, from 8 months of age, the child gave himself challenges in relation to the functional uses of objects and instruments. He regulated his own behavior both through object and instrument uses and private gestures. He also involved the teacher at 17 months. This finding suggests that (1) the material world is particularly important in these early manifestations of EF, (2) teachers' interventions are essential. Implications of the findings for early years education are discussed.