The Use of Infant Confinement Equipment in Community-Based Child Care Centers: An Analysis of Centers Participating in a Statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System.

Objectives Although infants increasingly spend time in community-based child care centers, little attention has been paid to their physical activity experiences while in group care. In particular, the use of devices to restrict infant mobility, such as bouncy seats, high chairs, cribs, and stationary activity centers, has received little attention in the physical activity literature. The current study examines the presence and use of these confinement devices in infant classrooms.

EARLY HEAD START FAMILIES' EXPERIENCES WITH STRESS: UNDERSTANDING VARIATIONS WITHIN A HIGH-RISK, LOW-INCOME SAMPLE.

The federal Early Head Start program provides a relevant context to examine families' experiences with stress since participants qualify on the basis of poverty and risk. Building on previous research that has shown variations in demographic and economic risks even among qualifying families, we examined possible variations in families' perceptions of stress. Family, parent, and child data were collected to measure stressors and risk across a variety of domains in families' everyday lives, primarily from self-report measures, but also including assay results from child cortisol samples.