Israeli Kindergarten Children’s Reactions to Their Parents’ Divorce “Suddenly It Was Quiet Because They Had Stopped fighting”

Although divorce can have significant negative impact on children, a variety of protective factors can increase the likelihood of long-term positive psychological adjustment. • Exposure to high levels of parental conflict is predictive of poor emotional adjustment by the child regardless of the parents' marital status. • Epidemiologic data reveal that custody and parenting arrangements are evolving, with more emphasis on joint custody and access to both parents by the child. • Pediatricians' knowledge of childhood development is essential in providing anticipatory guidance to parents throughout the divorce process and beyond.

Orchestras all over the world have concert programs in various formats for children, including some designed for preschoolers. Presenting concerts to children in kindergartens and schools is a long-standing tradition in Israel. The uniqueness of these programs and their main innovation is the preparatory work and process through which the children are prepared for the concert—which is the culmination of the whole process. This case study focuses on the first 10 years (2005–15) of one of these programs—“Beat”—implemented in Israeli kindergartens. We aim to characterize the development of the various stages of this program, and to describe its integration into kindergarten life. The data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 26 program participants over the years (kindergarten teachers, music teachers in kindergartens, musicians, etc.), as well as documents (concert programs, preparation booklets, etc.) from its collaborating bodies. The main findings show the importance and impact of the cooperation between kindergarten teachers and music teachers during the preparatory stages, making music a part of daily life in kindergarten.

To determine whether the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions among 5-year-old kindergarten children in Israel affected the prevalence of uncorrected myopia. A nationwide community-based study assessed and compared the prevalence of uncorrected myopia in 101,626 kindergarten children, aged 5 years, from 2013 to 2023. The photo-screening was conducted annually across Israeli kindergartens, utilizing PlusOptiX S12, to obtain refractive data. Among the 101,626 kindergarten children, the prevalence of uncorrected myopia increased approximately three-fold following COVID-19 confinement, rising from 3.7 to 12.6%. For over a decade, linear regression analyses consistently indicated that annual myopia odds increased by 1.2 (95% CI 1.19–1.22). In comparing the uncorrected myopia prevalence in the years before and after the COVID-19 pandemic (2018–2019 versus 2023), the risk of myopia in 2023 was 2.72 times higher (Prevalence Odds Ratio; 95% CI 2.47–2.99). The highest prevalence of uncorrected myopia was in 2023 (12.6%), of which 7.84% were mild myopia, 4.61% moderate myopia, and 0.14% severe myopia. The mean spherical equivalent declined from 0.58 D pre-pandemic to 0.26 D in 2023. This research identified an increase in uncorrected myopia prevalence after the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially driven by altered environmental factors and behavioral habits.

ABSTRACTRegulation of time is an important structuring tool of everyday practices in kindergarten. Despite the fundamental importance, investigation of temporal patterns have been underestimated in early childhood education research. The purpose of this article is to illuminate how ideas of childhood and children's cultural formation are embedded in the temporal order in everyday life of children in kindergarten. Concepts and perspectives from cultural historical theory have framed the design of the study and the research question; what cultural formation ideals can be traced in the temporal order of kindergartens in different cultural contexts. Data material has been generated in two kindergartens, one in China, and one in Norway. Observations and time studies have contributed with knowledge about what is going on in the kindergarten and the time aspect of what is going on. Semi-structured focus group interviews with the kindergarten teachers have illuminated why time is regulated as it is in the two kindergartens. The main findings indicate synchronic time and efficiency in the Chinese kindergarten and flexible individualized time in the Norwegian kindergarten. Traces of cultural formation ideals have been identified as the interdependent competitive child in the Chinese kindergarten and the independent vulnerable child in the Norwegian kindergarten.

Developmental differences in children's understanding of marriage, divorce, and remarriage

BackgroundObesity is the most common chronic pediatric disease in westernized, especially low socioeconomic societies. We previously demonstrated the beneficial effects of a randomized prospective school-based health education program for low socioeconomic status Arab-Israeli kindergarten children.MethodsTo examine whether the effects of our program on nutrition and physical activity knowledge and preferences, anthropometric measures, and fitness persisted one year after the end of intervention.We were able to perform the one year follow-up in 203 kindergarten children (59% of our 342 original cohort; 85 control, 118 intervention).ResultsAt one year following the intervention BMI and BMI percentiles approached baseline level in both the intervention (16.4±0.2 kg/m2 and 61.5±2.4%, respectively) and control group participants (16.5±0.2 kg/m2 and 58.5±3.3%, respectively). Yet, a year after the end of the intervention, the decrease in BMI%ile from baseline was significantly greater in the intervention group (-7.8±1.5 vs. -1.9±1.9, p<0.012). Nutritional and physical activity knowledge and preferences, and physical fitness remained significantly elevated in the intervention compared to the control group participants.ConclusionsThe beneficial effects of a kindergarten dietary-physical activity intervention applied by the kindergarten teachers, on nutrition and physical activity knowledge and preferences, fitness, and BMI percentile were evident one year after the end of intervention. This promising program may play a role in health promotion, prevention and treatment of childhood obesity.

BackgroundGlobally, the majority of kindergarten-aged children face obesity issues and insufficient physical activity (PA) engagement. Regular PA participation can provide various health benefits, including obesity reduction, for kindergarten-aged children. However, limited studies have investigated the factors influencing kindergarten-aged children’s PA engagement from the perspective of their teachers. This qualitative study aimed to identify factors that could help promote PA among kindergarten-aged children from teachers’ perspectives, including facilitators, barriers, and teachers’ recommendations.MethodsFifteen kindergarten teachers (age range: 28–50 years; mean age: 38.53 years) with teaching experience ranging from 2 to 31 years (mean: 16.27 years) were recruited from Shanghai municipality, Henan, and Jiangsu provinces in China. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted via face-to-face (n = 7) or telephone (n = 8) to gather insights into factors influencing PA promotion among kindergarten-aged children. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a constant comparison approach based on grounded theory, which involved open, axial, and selective coding processes.ResultsThe study revealed mutual theoretical support between themes and the social-ecological model (SEM), as factors identified in the study are distributed at various levels of the SEM. Twelve factors were identified at four levels of the SEM: (1) intrapersonal level (children’s personality and skills), (2) interpersonal level (family, peers, and teachers influence), (3) organizational level (school environment and resources, opportunities for kindergarten teachers’ training and children’s PA, design and organization of PA, and PA that children need), (4) community level (family-school partnerships).ConclusionVarious factors at different levels can influence kindergarten-aged children’s PA. The study’s findings revealed that these factors are distributed across the first four levels of SEM, with the majority being at the organizational level. These multilevel findings are expected to assist in developing and implementing more effective PA interventions for kindergarten-aged children. Future research is warranted to identify strategies for promoting PA among kindergarten-aged children at the policy level of the SEM.

The current study is an examination of how parental marital satisfaction and divorce relates to sibling relationships in emerging adulthood. Participants were 116 men and 189 women between the ages of 19 and 33. Participants were administered questionnaires regarding their parental marital satisfaction and divorce, sibling closeness, sibling communication, and sibling support. Results indicated that individuals from non-divorced families were closer to their siblings, communicated more with their siblings, and received greater levels of support from their siblings compared with individuals from divorced families. Additionally, perceived parental marital satisfaction was found to be a significant predictor of total sibling communication, closeness, and support. Finally, perceived parental marital satisfaction was found to mediate the relationship between parental divorce and total sibling support and between parental divorce and total sibling closeness.

Participatory learning was previously found to increase seat belt use by children. However, cross‐cultural generalizability, effects of intervention beyond enhancing awareness, and risk factors for nonuse of seat belts, were not addressed. This study examined the effects of such an intervention on seat belt use, and addressed these issues in an Israeli kindergarten. One week, and 1 day before the intervention, 29 and 20%, respectively, of children were fastened by parents. Significant increases were seen 1 day (71%) and 1 month after the intervention (65%). The intervention's effects generalize to an Israeli sample, are not merely due to enhancing awareness, and maintain over time. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 31: 315–319, 2003.

The importance of outdoor learning to support children’s learning and development has been recognized by research and policy. It carries the potential for social interactions, and authentic, informal, and playful learning. It fosters curiosity and creativity and develops the ability to deal with uncertain and risky situations. The Israeli Ministry of Education encourages a variety of outdoor learning activities, in and near the preschool yard. During the COVID-19 crisis, learning in outdoor spaces became even more important for children, staff, and parents. The aim of this research is to understand early childhood education teachers’ perceptions of what shapes the outdoor practices in Israeli preschools. This study was based on a mixed-methods methodology, as it included qualitative (semi-structured interviews) and quantitative components (survey-questionnaire). Participants were 85 ECE teachers: 75 teachers participated in survey-questionnaire and 10 teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data analysis was performed using an inductive approach, which is based on an interpretive content analysis that is prevalent in the grounded theory paradigm. The results showed that most of the preschool teachers acknowledged the great importance of outdoor learning to a variety of learning areas. The teachers considered outdoor learning as providing a meaningfully “high contribution” to social-emotional and scientific learning, and for motor, cognitive and linguistic development. According to the teachers’ perceptions, parents, preschool staff, the municipal authorities, and the Ministry of Education all serve as influential factors for outdoor learning. In addition, the findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the ways of working in outdoor spaces.

Play is very paramount in the growth and development of children as it promotes the holistic development of children. The purpose of the study was to explore the contribution of play activities to the social development of kindergarten children in the Nanton District. The specific objectives that guided the study were; to explore how the use of play materials contribute to kindergarten children’s social development, to explore how time allocation for play in kindergarten schools promotes social development of children. The study employed the qualitative research approach using the interpretivist paradigm. The researcher adopted the case study design of qualitative research. The target population of the study was Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Fifty (2350) pupils. The accessible population was Two Hundred (200) pupils. The sample size was Thirty (30) pupils and twenty (20) teachers. The purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the subjects for the study. Semi-structured interview was used to gather information from respondents. Also, observational checklist was used to gather information to triangulate with the interview data. The data was manually analysed thematically. The results were interpreted using inductive reasoning to draw meanings from the data collected. The findings were that; play materials contribute to kindergarten children’s social development. It was also established that adequate time allocated for play activities promote kindergarten children social development. The study concludes that, play activities contribute significantly to the social development of kindergarten children. The researcher recommends that the District Education Directorate of Nanton, Non-Governmental Organisations and other stakeholders should provide kindergarten schools with enough, varieties, and developmentally appropriate play materials to facilitate the social development of kindergarten pupils. Also, the Ministry of Education with Ghana Education Service and National Council for Curriculum and Assessment should allocate more time for play activities on the kindergarten timetable to give the pupils more chance to engage in play activities regularly.

Parents’ marital status, psychological counseling and dishonest kindergarten children: An experimental study

This phenomenological study investigates the positive and negative meaningful experiences of Estonian and Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers, and similarities and differences of their experiences at the onset of COVID-19, using semi-structured interviews. The analysis revealed that teachers had similar positive experiences concerning the importance of colleagues, digital collaboration with parents, and the challenges of activities. Similar negative experiences were manifested in the teachers’ own feelings and difficulties with the parents of children in kindergarten. In terms of differences, compared to Finnish teachers, the Estonian teachers perceived cooperation with children’s and parents at home as positive. Their negative experiences were related to increased workload and fear of financial loss. For the Finnish teachers, working with children in kindergarten was a source of strength and motivation, while cooperation with the management was seen as negative. The research results highlight aspects that require the cooperation of ECEC professionals and decision-makers during crises.

This research aims to explore the mechanism of making sense number patterns at home, because of local pandemic COVID-19 outbreaks during the enforcing of the conditional motion control order (CMCO). The new mechanism framework is based on the blending of Skemp's understanding property, Tall’s idea of compression, and Chin's supportive and problematic conceptions framework. The researchers employed a qualitative case analysis study design, and a purposive sampling method was used to obtain a sample of one kindergarten child and one parent. Data were gathered in semi-structured parent interviews, direct observations, and analysis of documents such as worksheets and journal entries were performed to gain a comprehensive picture of a child’s making sense of number patterns. Results demonstrate that the mechanism was potential successful for helping the kindergarten child in making sense the number patterns. The child was able to make sense and recognise various number patterns at the end of this study.

This article describes the process of developing a play kit to help kindergarten children acquire literacy. Studies show that play is an essential, significant, universal and experiential activity shared by all people. On the face of it, play is a simple and trivial activity, although understanding that play has a significant positive effect both on childrens functioning in the here and now and on their future development leads to a theoretical and profound research-based approach to the subject of play. This article presents the findings of a qualitative research carried out as part of a mixed method ongoing doctoral research whose aim is to investigate the contribution of an educational intervention program for kindergarten children to develop cognitive and emotional skills in preparation for the transition to Grade I. The qualitative research relied on semi-structured interviews with kindergarten teachers who participated in the aforementioned intervention program and observations of kindergarten teachers work in a kindergarten with about 140 children. Eight themes emerged from content analysis: expectation of the program, attitudes toward the role of kindergartens in the transition to First Grade, the nature of the transition, partners in kindergarten teachers work, emotional readiness, cognitive readiness, means of implementation, and the image of kindergarten graduates. These themes served as principles for structuring a play kit to develop literacy among kindergarten children approaching transition to First Grade.