Characteristics Of Child Care Centers Research Articles

Einflussfaktoren der körperlichen Aktivität von Kindern in Kitas: Eine Mehrebenenanalyse mit Querschnittsdaten aus dem Projekt QueB 2

Characteristics of childcare centers influence the daily time spent on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) by children younger than 6 years. The study explores the characteristics of childcare centers and the behavior of staff that influence children's MVPA levels. We used cross-sectional data from 8 childcare centers in the research project QueB 2. MVPA per day was measured with ActiGraph GT3X+accelerometers. Independent variables included were age, sex, staff MVPA levels and 8 items from a self-assessment-checklist for childcare centers. Hierarchical linear regression models were run with SAS. Valid accelerometer data on 126 children (51.59% girls) were available. Girls spent a mean of 33.01, boys of 49.11 min per day in MVPA. Childcare centers accounted for only 1.72% of variance. Indoor space, rules concerning physical activity and staff participating in activities were significantly associated with children's MVPA. Individual variables (age, sex) seem to have a greater influence on children's daily time spent on MVPA than childcare center characteristics and should be taken into account when implementing interventions to promote physical activity.

Childcare Service Centers’ Preferences and Intentions to Use a Web-Based Program to Implement Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Policies and Practices: A Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundOverweight and obesity is a significant public health problem that impacts a large number of children globally. Supporting childcare centers to deliver healthy eating and physical activity-promoting policies and practices is a recommended strategy for obesity prevention, given that such services provide access to a substantial proportion of children during a key developmental period. Electronic Web-based interventions represent a novel way to support childcare service providers to implement such policies and practices.ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess: (1) childcare centers’ current use of technology, (2) factors associated with intention to use electronic Web-based interventions, and (3) Web-based features that managers rated as useful to support staff with implementing healthy eating and physical activity-promoting policies and practices.MethodsA computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) was conducted with service managers from long day care centers and preschools. The CATI assessed the following: (1) childcare center characteristics, (2) childcare centers’ use of electronic devices, (3) intention to use a hypothetical electronic Web-based program—assessed using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with ratings between 1 (strongly disagree) and 7 (strongly agree), and (4) features rated as useful to include in a Web-based program.ResultsOverall, 214 service centers out of 277 (77.3%) consented to participate. All service centers except 2 reported using computers (212/214, 99.1%), whereas 40.2% (86/214) used portable tablets. A total of 71.9% (151/210) of childcare service managers reported a score of 6 or more for intention to use a hypothetical electronic Web-based program. In a multivariable logistic regression analysis, intention to use the program was significantly associated with perceived ease of use (P=.002, odds ratio [OR] 3.9, 95% CI 1.6-9.2) and perceived usefulness (P<.001, OR 28,95% CI 8.0-95.2). Features reported by service managers as useful or very useful for a Web-based program included decision-support tools to support staff with menu planning (117/129, 90.7%), links to relevant resources (212/212, 100%), updated information on guidelines (208/212, 98.1%), and feedback regarding childcare center performance in relation to other childcare centers (212/212, 100%).ConclusionsChildcare service managers reported high intention to use a Web-based program and identified several useful features to support staff to implement healthy eating and physical activity policies and practices. Further descriptive and intervention research examining the development and use of such a program to support childcare centers with the implementation of healthy eating and physical activity-promoting policies and practices is warranted.

Structural relationship among organizational characteristics of child care centers, teacher efficacy, organizational commitment, and teacher burnout

Structural relationship among organizational characteristics of child care centers, teacher efficacy, organizational commitment, and teacher burnout

Attributes of Child Care Centers and Outdoor Play Areas Associated With Preschoolers’ Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior

This study examined characteristics of child care centers associated with preschoolers’ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and sedentary behavior while in child care (MVPA-C, SB-C), and attributes of outdoor play areas associated with the same behaviors during outdoor time (MVPA-O, SB-O). Participants were 89 children (3 -5 years) recruited from 10 child care centers in Brisbane, Australia. Children’s activity was measured by accelerometer over a 3-day period. Center characteristics and outdoor play area attributes were identified through survey and observation. We found that children were mostly sedentary while in child care. Lower child-staff ratios and using indoor play areas for motor activity were associated with more MVPA-C and less SB-C. Fixed play equipment in outdoor areas was conducive to more MVPA-O and less SB-O. This study suggests the possibility of enhancing preschoolers’ activity levels through changing these attributes. Further research with more centers from diverse settings is needed to test these findings.

Structural and Process Features in Three Types of Child Care for Children from High and Low Income Families.

We use observations from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) to compare structural and process characteristics of child care centers, family child care homes (nonrelative care in a home setting) and care by relatives for 2, 3- and 4 ½-year-old children. Type of care differences in structural and caregiver characteristics were consistent across ages: centers had higher child-to-adult ratios and bigger groups; centers had caregivers with better education, more training in early childhood, and less traditional beliefs about child rearing. Children in centers experienced more cognitive stimulation, less frequent language interactions with adults, less frequent negative interactions with adults, and less television viewing than did those in other types of care. In centers and family child care homes compared to relative settings, children engaged in more positive and negative interactions with peers and spent more time in transition and unoccupied. Curvilinear associations were found between structural features of care and family income, particularly for caregiver education and training. In contrast, process measures of caregiving rose monotonically with family income. Children from high-income families experienced more sensitive care, more cognitive stimulation, and fewer negative interactions with adults than did those from low-income families. We interpret the findings by linking the structural features and caregiver training to the cognitive and social processes observed in different types of care. Future research designed to understand the influences of child care on children's behavior might benefit from using this more nuanced description of child care experiences.

Selecting a Child Care Center: What Really Matters to Parents?

Previous research on parents' decision making concerning child care centers has attempted to evaluate the importance of various characteristics of the centers by having parents evaluate them one at a time. In an effort to better understand how parents evaluate centers when they must consider all the characteristics of the center simultaneously as is done in real life, 235 parents who were in the process of finding child care for their children were surveyed. Utilizing conjoint analysis, parents were presented with profiles of child care centers in which eight center characteristics were varied. Parents evaluated all eight characteristics simultaneously and then indicated how likely they were to select each center. Results indicated that the characteristics of child care centers that most significantly affect parents' decision-making vary based on demographic characteristics of the parents. Single mothers attend most strongly to cost in their decision making, while married mothers attend to the child/staff ratio and married fathers give relatively equal attention to four factors; cost, convenience, child/staff ratio and hours of operation. Further differences in parents' decision-making strategies were found based on parents' education and family income. These findings are discussed in light of the importance of developing child care programs which meets the needs of parents as well as children.

Physical and Environmental Factors Affecting Motor Development, Activity Level, and Body Composition of Infants in Child Care Centers

The purpose of this study was to determine if physical characteristics of child care centers are related to motor development, activity levels, and body composition of infants. Characteristics of 14 child care centers were determined including infant:caregiver ratio, level of interaction with caregivers, access to a gross motor room, space per infant, and use of seats, swings, and walkers. Infants' psychomotor development, physical activity levels, and body composition were measured longitudinally at six, nine, and 12 months of age in 48 infants enrolled in the centers. At six months, infant:caregiver ratio and level of interaction were the only characteristics associated with motor development, activity level, or body composition. By 12 months, the physical environment also became a predictor of body composition, with heavier and fatter babies enrolled in centers with less space and no access to a gross motor room. Space seems to be the most important physical characteristic of a child care center that is related to motor development and growth in older infants, whereas infantcaregiver ratio and level of interaction are more important in younger infants.