Theatre for early years (TEY) has become increasingly popular around the world in the last 30 years but has struggled with legitimation. Scholars have challenged TEY's validity and have declared performance to children aged younger than 3 years to be frivolous or even impossible. However, new models of aesthetic sensitivity and intersubjectivity have become allied with artistic practice, as artists choose to collaborate with developmental specialists. This article provides case studies of recent early years performances and explores how they have been tailored to specific developmental stages throughout early childhood. The authors propose that this comparison of the routes by which contemporary artists combine age appropriateness, accessibility, and aesthetic validity may define two alternative models of current praxis.

The advances of scientific techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging have led to an enormous increase in understanding of the physical, neurological and cognitive developments in infancy. Alongside this, radical new forms of theatre, dance and music have emerged, aimed at this same age group. Many artists now work alongside child psychologists, educators and other infant specialists to design performing arts productions suited to the needs and abilities of the infant audience. This article provides a summary of the development of the five main senses in early infancy in relation to theatre-based productions for babies aged 0-18 months. An exploration into this cross-disciplinary research practice not only demonstrates how performing arts have adapted for the baby audience, but also how they can provide a platform for further research into child development.

Relaxed performances' allow theatre spectators to experience a non-judgmental environment, featuring adjustments to make them more accessible to a range of audiences. The Autism Arts Festival attempted to develop the idea of relaxed performances further to create an entirely autism-friendly festival in Canterbury. The organisers developed a suite of features to make the festival more accessible, and the suite as a whole was effective at increasing the accessibility of the festival. Moreover, discussions with performers indicate that the festival, as an 'autistic space', was conducive of both a sense of community solidarity and engagement with the politics of neurodiversity.

This chapter reports on a study conducted in seven countries in which young children's (aged under 8) digital practices in the home were examined. The study explored family practices with regard to access to and use of technologies, tracing the ways in which families managed risks and opportunities. Seventy families participated in the study and interviews were undertaken with both parents and children, separately and together, in order to address the research aims. This chapter focuses on the data relating to parental mediation of young children's digital practices. Findings indicate that parents used a narrow range of strategies in comparison to parents of older children, primarily because they considered their children too young to be at risk when using technologies. However, children's own reports suggested that some were able to access online sites independently from a young age and would have benefitted from more support and intervention. The implications of the study for future research and practice are considered.