Child Care Resource Research Articles

Return to work after parenting in thoracic surgery: a call to action.

Women in our modern era are facing considerable challenges in the workplace, particularly in Cardiothoracic Surgery where women are underrepresented in leadership and academic roles. Returning to work after parental leave may potentially uncover or exacerbate existing gender biases within the workplace, with important consequences on professional and personal lives. Our goal was to characterize the experiences and the impact of return-to-work after parenting on Thoracic Surgery careers across Europe. All the participants to the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons Annual Meeting in 2023 were invited to complete this 32-items questionnaire. The Survey was subsequently distributed through the ESTS social media platform from November to January 2024. A descriptive and specific group analysis was performed according to the distribution. There were 152 participants, 92 of whom were female (61.0%) and 66 (43%) were between 31 and 40 years, constituting the most heavily represented age group. More women parents reported their role as the primary care provider of their child (89% vs 34%; P < 0.00001). Moreover, presence of In-Hospital childcare facilities was evaluated as more important by women. Approximately half of the parent-respondents reported breastfeeding (42, 52%), but only 26% (11) of this group indicated having any type of flexible hours for breast-feeding. Compared to men, women more often agreed that parenting might affect their career (81% vs 53%; P = 0.040) and felt less supported by their employers when having children (45% vs 68%; P = 0.37). This survey study identified main challenges to return to surgical work after parental leaves. Lack of structural or system-level support, and limited resources for childcare and breastfeeding were considerably affecting women surgeons. Institutional initiatives for new parents and breast-feeding colleagues are crucial for supporting a diverse workforce and any kind of discrimination derived by parental leaves should not be tolerated.

Identifying the Challenges in the Detection and Protection of Child Victims of Human Trafficking in Spain: A Case Study of the Southern European Border

Despite the improvements in enhanced child protection, there is an increasing concern about the vulnerability and cases of child trafficking in Spain, the southern gateway to Europe from the African continent. Analyzing 23 interviews with professionals in the field, this article identifies the factors that contribute to high levels of child trafficking in Spain. This study identifies three primary results: (1) The dangers of residential childcare as places of recruitment; (2) The southern European and Spanish border as a place of elevated risk for the recruitment of children; (3) The stereotypes regarding child trafficking make invisible male victims, other types of trafficking for non-sexual purposes, domestic trafficking, and individual trafficking. Therefore, it remains imperative to advance a set of policies that: (i) invest in specific residential childcare resources for child victims either alone or with family members; (ii) invest in smaller residential childcare to prevent abuse; (iii) invest in mentoring programs for children previously under state guardianship; (iv) improve the working conditions and the training of residential childcare staff; (v) increase the visibility and diversity of child trafficking while avoiding stereotypes; (vi) improve the regional coordination; (vii) invest in campaigns to inform children about the dangers involved in running away, exploitation and abuse.

Risk Factors for Food Insecurity among Early Childhood Education Providers: Time for a Solution.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated challenges in the child care industry, leading to closures and financial strain. Early care and education (ECE) providers faced reduced income, increased debt, and material hardships such as food insecurity. Using survey data collected through the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC), this study examines the association between food insecurity risk, sociodemographic factors, and pandemic-related service changes among ECE providers in California. The results showed that income, race, and increased food costs were significantly associated with a higher risk of food insecurity among ECE providers. Compared to incomes greater than USD 60,000, those earning USD 40,000-USD 49,999 and USD 50,000-USD 59,999 had higher odds of food insecurity (OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 0.683-1.86; OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 0.623-1.81, respectively). Black (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.21-2.94) and multi-racial respondents (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.1-2.65) had higher odds of food insecurity than white respondents. Lastly, respondents experiencing increased food costs had greater odds of food insecurity (OR: 4.52, 95% CI: 2.74-7.45). These findings suggest the need for policies and interventions aimed at increasing food access among vulnerable ECE providers. Such interventions will better protect them from financial shocks and the risk of food insecurity, and will support their crucial role in healthy child growth and development.

Constructing Child-Friendly Community: The Path of Child-Friendly Construction of Community Childcare Service

With the development of society and the change of family structure, more and more families need childcare services to take care of their children. At present, there are some problems in community childcare services in China, such as insufficient supply of childcare services, low service quality and high price. The construction of child-friendly community is an important way to solve the problems of space, security and inclusiveness. It includes multi-layer platforms such as demand integration, resource landing, service supply, space construction and organization management, absorbs and allocates multiple forces, including government, social organizations, enterprises, voluntary forces, families and individuals, and integrates various resources to meet the differentiated and personalized childcare needs of community members. The establishment of a child-friendly community can improve the use efficiency of community childcare resources, provide a safe, healthy and happy environment for children to grow up, and promote children's all-round development.

5. An Unequal Burden: The Impact of Inadequate Childcare Resource on Surgical Trainees

5. An Unequal Burden: The Impact of Inadequate Childcare Resource on Surgical Trainees

A Call to Action: How Social Work Programs Can Respond to Student Food Insecurity.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated student food insecurity on college campuses and exposed the vulnerability of institutions with no food emergency response. During the COVID-19 pandemic and for years to come, the need for social work to lead efforts on college campuses to address student food insecurity is even greater. The need will continue to be significant for social workers in higher education to support students with basic needs, including resources for food, housing, childcare, and transportation. As has been true after other pandemics and economic downturns, professionally trained social workers are critical to brokering resources for individuals in crisis. This article critically examines the role of social work education in addressing the issue of student food insecurity. Through a conceptual lens, it explores the many dimensions of this problem and highlights vital contributions that social work can make within a higher education setting to alleviate food insecurity, enhance student well-being, and promote equitable opportunities for academic success.

Parenting Competences Among Migrant Families Living at Psychosocial Risk in Spain

The impact of parenting competences on child well-being is well-established. During the last years, parenting support initiatives have increased in several countries, namely in Spain, offering support to promote parents’ childcare resources and competences, particularly for families at psychosocial risk. Recognizing the specificities of different subgroups of families, such as migrant families, allows the development of more tailored and effective interventions in the field of family support. However, there is a gap in the literature about parenting competences in migrant families. This article explores differences and similarities in parenting competences among 492 migrant and non-migrant parents involved in family preservation services in Spain, as well as examines the impact of these competences on children’s well-being. Our findings revealed that migrant and non-migrant vulnerable families face similar needs in terms of parenting competences in domains covered by the existing family support interventions. However, we found a few differences in parenting competences between both populations, as well as in the impact of several parenting competences in children’s well-being. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Hospital Admissions for Abusive Head Trauma Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Several studies have demonstrated a decrease in the occurrence of child abuse in the US since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding has generated concern for missed cases due to the initial lockdowns and lack of childcare resources. Determining the association of the pandemic on hospitalizations for severe forms of abuse is essential to focus preventive efforts. To examine trends in abusive head trauma (AHT) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Retrospective, multicenter, repeated cross-sectional study, conducted January 1, 2016, through April 30, 2022, with data from tertiary care children's hospitals and contributors to the Pediatric Health Information System. Data were obtained for 2380 hospitalizations of children younger than 5 years with International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes for both abuse and head trauma. Monthly hospitalizations were analyzed using interrupted time-series analysis. Hospitalization severity (eg, intensive care unit stay) and clinical characteristics (subdural hemorrhages and retinal hemorrhages) were compared before and after the start of the pandemic. We identified 2380 hospitalizations due to AHT (median age, 140 [IQR, 75.0-325.5] days) from 45 hospitals. The mean (SD) monthly incidence of AHT was 34.3 (5.8) before the COVID-19 pandemic compared with 25.6 (4.2) during COVID-19 (a 25.4% decrease). When the pre-COVID-19 and during COVID-19 periods were compared, there were no significant differences in severity or clinical characteristics. On interrupted time-series analysis, there was a significant decrease in the number of monthly hospitalizations (-8.1; 95% CI, -12.41 to -3.72; P < .001) in the first month of the pandemic. In the subgroup of children younger than 1 year, there was a significant decrease in monthly hospitalizations at the onset of the pandemic (-8.2; 95% CI, -12.02 to -4.43; P < .001) followed by a significant temporal increase across the COVID-19 period (P = .01). The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest there was a significant decrease in monthly hospitalizations for AHT following the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Although there was no corresponding increase in hospitalization severity, the decrease during the pandemic may have been transient, as monthly hospitalizations for children younger than 1 year increased significantly over time during COVID-19, after the initial decrease.

Child Care as a Barrier to Perinatal Health Care in Illinois.

Within a multi-state Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network addressing the social determinants of health during 2017-2020, the Illinois Department of Public Health led an exploratory project to understand how the availability of child care affects maternal health care utilization. The project assessed whether lack of child care was a barrier to perinatal health care utilization and gathered information on health facility practices, resources, and policies related to child care DESCRIPTION: TWe surveyed (1) birthing hospitals (n = 98), (2) federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) (n = 40), and (3) a convenience sample of postpartum persons (n = 60). Each group reported that child care concerns negatively affect health care utilization (66% of birthing hospitals, 50% of FQHCs, and 32% of postpartum persons). Among postpartum persons, the most common reported reason for missing a visit due to child care issues was "not feeling comfortable leaving my child(ren) in the care of others" (22%). The most common child care resource reported by facilities was "staff watching children" (53% of birthing hospitals, 75% of FQHCs); however, most did not have formal child care policies or dedicated space for children. Fewer than half of FQHCs (43%) discussed child care at the first prenatal visit. The project prompted the Illinois Title V program to add a child care-related strategy to their 2021-2025 Action Plan, providing opportunity for further examination of practices and policies that could be implemented to reduce child care barriers to perinatal care. Systematically addressing child care in health care settings may improve health care utilization among birthing/postpartum persons.

Disparities in the Distribution of Social Programs for Expectant and Parenting Teens (EPTS) in Washington DC - A Review

Background: Although the teen birth rate declined to a low record in 2017 of 18.8 births per 1000 females ages 15-19, compared to other developed countries, it is still high [3,4]. Teen pregnancy can cause emotional, psychological and educational challenges, as well as affect the life and opportunities of young mothers and their children. Access to quality social services, plays an important role in supporting the health and well-being of adolescents and promoting health equity. Some teens face barriers in accessing these services. Geographically, Washington DC has eight wards, with significant disparities in socioeconomic conditions and population health. Aim: The objective of this study is to explore the distribution of community programs for Expectant and Parenting Teens in Washington DC by wards. Materials and Methods: We conducted computerized searches of PubMed, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, CINAHL, and Cochrane Reviews to identify programs in Washington DC that provide services to adolescent parents, published in English from 1990 to December 2022. Search terms include: Washington DC, Ward, Teen parents, Social services, Community program. We identified and compiled locations of social service providers by wards across Washington DC, using findhelp directory (findhelp.org). Results: We identified 34 programs located in the different wards in Washington, District of Columbia. We identified 10 major interventions. These can be categorized into 10 domains of need involving (a) pregnancy and parenting support and services, (b) adoption resources, (c) housing resources for teen parents in foster care, (d) housing resources for teen parents not in foster care, (e) health care resources for young families, (f) education resources, (g) public benefits, (h) childcare resources, (i) early learning resources and (j) resources for fathers. There is a disparity in Program providers and interventions/services by wards in Washington DC.

Feasibility trial of child care as a therapeutic intervention.

e24196 Background: The incidence rate of cancer among young adults (ages 20-44) has steadily increased over the past decade. Among them, approximately 18% are parents within two years of initial diagnosis. Work as part of our Young Women Surviving support group identified childcare support as an unmet need. We therefore sought to determine the impact of childcare provision on the timeliness of care among young women undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Methods: We conducted a pilot feasibility study that enrolled a convenience sample inclusive of parents with histologically confirmed invasive breast or gynecologic cancer receiving system chemotherapy and were caring for children 16 years or younger. Following consent, funds were reimbursed for costs related to their preferred childcare resource, including for travel and infusion time. Therapy assessments and an abridged version of the NCCN Distress Thermometer (score ranging from 0-10 with 0 indicating no distress) were administered at each infusion appointment. Feasibility was measured by acceptance of childcare services by &gt; 25% of patients identified as eligible. Results: This study was offered to 26 eligible patients, of which 23 enrolled (88.5%) and 20 have follow-up data. Among study volunteers, 80% were white, 15% were black; Five percent identified as Hispanic or Latino. The median age was 39 years old (range, 31 to 79). The majority of patients (85%) had breast malignancy, while the remaining 15% had gynecological cancers. The median number of treatment events for which babysitting services were paid for were 6 (range, 2-18). Of 19 patients with distress scores, 4 (21%) reported childcare as a stress for them. The median distress score decreased over time, from 5 at first treatment event to a median score of 3 at the eighth event. All participants who completed end of study surveys (16 patients) reported they “agree” or “strongly agree” with the statements “I would participate in child care again” and “Babysitting allowed you to get to your treatment on time.” Over the duration of study, 95% of this cohort did not have any delays in their cancer-directed therapy due to childcare. Conclusions: This is early evidence to suggest providing childcare to patients who are also undergoing chemotherapy is feasible and may be beneficial in improving impact on cancer outcomes and psychological distress. Further studies should include a comparator arm to better clarify the significant of this supportive measure. It is important to continue investigating the impact of supportive services on the quality of life and of care for this unique cohort.

Categorization of Community Types Based on Childcare Resource Supply for Infants and Toddlers

The aim of this study was to identify community-level childcare infrastructure for infants and toddlers and to use the data to categorize community types using K-Means cluster analysis with spatial constraints. Seven indicators of childcare resource supply were used for the purpose of categorization and the results revealed six types of community cluster. Communities in the Type 1 cluster provided sufficient parks, libraries, and kindergartens, but lacked pediatric facilities and private education institutions. This cluster comprised small cities and rural areas in Gangwon-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, and Jeollabuk-do. The Type 2 cluster had numerous pediatric facilities and childcare centers, but lacked other childcare infrastructure. This comprised small and medium-sized cities in Gyeonggi-do, some areas in Chungcheongnam-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, and Gangwon-do bordering Gyeonggi-do. The Type 3 cluster comprised Busan, Daegu, and Gyeongsangnam-do, but had insufficient childcare infrastructure as a whole. Type 4 had the largest number of childcare centers, libraries, and private education institutions and comprised Jeollabuk-do, areas near Gwangju, and Jeju-do. Type 5, consisting of Seoul, Incheon and the southern part of Gyeonggi-do had many pediatric facilities and certified childcare centers, but lacked other childcare infrastructure. Type 6, being the rural areas and islands in Jeollanam-do, had sufficient kindergartens, but other infrastructure was insufficient. These results are expected to provide local government with policy implications in terms of relieving the childcare burden on residents with infants and toddlers.

“You can't hide your children anywhere”: Perceptions of organizational support for work‐life during the pandemic among academic couples who parent

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic has refocused higher education on issues of work‐life conflict among faculty members with children. This study draws from interviews with 13 heterosexual couples (26 participants) who were employed as faculty members and who cared for at least one child during the pandemic. Using the theory of perceived organizational support, we considered how institutional actions shaped the extent to which academic couples who parent felt supported in managing pandemic‐related work‐life conflict. We found centralized mechanisms for sharing concerns, innovative childcare resources, and flexibility and transparent communication enhanced participants' sense of organizational support, while inaction and unsystematic institutional responses undermined perceptions of organizational support. Our findings are consistent with past work on the relationship between organizational policies and resources and perceptions of organizational support, but also suggest alternative strategies for institutions that want to enhance perceived and real support for academic couples who parent.

Working parents’ right to childcare in Chile

AbstractObjectiveThis article examines Chilean working parents’ perceptions about the right to childcare, care needs, and the future of this right.BackgroundThere is widespread debate about working parents’ care strategies and their capacity to reconcile work and family. Latin American studies have concentrated on welfare regimens, social protection policies, and flexibility in the labor market. However, few studies have explored how workers exercise their right to childcare and its consequences for the work–life dilemma.MethodsData were collected in 29 semistructured interviews with couples and eight discussion groups with working parents. A total of 109 people participated, 56 men and 53 women.ResultsThe findings show the ambivalent nature of working parents’ right to childcare, with limited time and benefits, and the need to extend it to all workers in the future.ConclusionExercising the right to childcare is transitory due to its short duration, and partially because it is meant for working parents who have their social security payments up to date. Both characteristics are partly due to the weakness of the institutional mechanisms that guarantee the right to childcare. Support for the extension of this right by those interviewed clashes with general distrust toward making use of the right.ImplicationsThe findings suggest that State resources for childcare are insufficient without education rights. Education as a prolongation of care is a future demand of working parents with children beyond the pre‐school stage.

Universal Child Care as a Policy to Prevent Child Maltreatment.

Universal Child Care as a Policy to Prevent Child Maltreatment.

Availability of child care resources for patients undergoing cancer treatment at NCI-designated cancer centers.

e13508 Background: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that approximately one-quarter of adults with cancer are parents to children less than 18 years. Further, it is estimated that 2.85 million minor children in the United States have a parent undergoing cancer treatment. Previous studies have demonstrated that parents with cancer experience significant stress and disruptions to familial life following a cancer diagnosis. In a study of women with breast, gynecologic cancer and other cancers undergoing cancer therapy, 48.7% of women endorsed needing help with childcare and 64.1% needing help with household management. Despite this evidence supporting both a need for childcare among patients with cancer, data regarding the availability of on-site childcare programs and resources at NCI-designated cancer centers is limited. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to assess the availability of childcare resources for parents who are undergoing cancer treatment at NCI-Designated Cancer Centers. Methods: The availability of childcare resources for parents undergoing cancer treatment at all 51 NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers and 13 NCI-designated cancer was assessed in January 2021 and February 2021. Childcare resources were assessed via online search and telephone calls. Specifically, centers were queried regarding availability of daycare programs for children of patients undergoing treatment and whether resources were available to assist patients in need of childcare. Descriptive statistics were performed. Results: In total, only 1/64 (1.6%) of NCI-designated cancer centers currently offer childcare resources for patients undergoing cancer treatment. This center offers childcare for children ages 2–8, free of charge with multiple outpatient locations. One additional institution previously provided patients with access to daycare, but has closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, only 1/64 (1.6%) NCI-designated cancer center offers financial assistance grants to aid patients to subsidizing childcare costs during cancer treatment. Conclusions: Institution sponsored options for childcare for patients undergoing cancer treatments are highly limited, even in the best resourced cancer care settings. The COVID-19 pandemic has limited options further, and many hospitals now restrict visitors under the age of 18. Patient grants or institutionally sponsored childcare provider networks may represent an avenue for supporting parents who are facing a cancer diagnosis. Supporting families of patients with cancer has great potential to impact quality of life, economic and psychological stress.

A cross-sectional investigation of psychosocial stress factors in German families with children aged 0–3 years during the COVID-19 pandemic: initial results of the CoronabaBY study

BackgroundPsychosocial stress during the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing particularly in parents. Although being specifically vulnerable to negative environmental exposures, research on psychosocial stress factors in infants’ and toddlers’ families during the pandemic is so far sparse. The CoronabaBY study investigates the perceived pandemic burden, parenting stress and parent and child mental health problems in families with children aged 0–3 years in Bavaria, Southern Germany. Further, the relationships between these psychosocial stressors are examined and sociodemographic characteristics that may be predictive of these factors will be explored.MethodsParticipants were cross-sectionally surveyed via smartphone app. Standardized questionnaires on perceived pandemic burden, parenting stress, parental symptoms of depression and anxiety, infants’ crying, sleeping and feeding problems or toddlers’ emotional and behavioral problems were applied.ResultsN = 991 parents (Mage = 33.7 years, SD = 4.5; 93.7% mothers, 91.5% born in Germany) with infants (n = 554; Mage = 5.9 months, SD = 3.0) or toddlers (n = 435; Mage = 25.9 months, SD = 6.5) participated in the first half-year of 2021. Sixty-five percent of the parents perceived a high pandemic burden, 37.7% experienced parenting stress and 24.1% showed affective symptoms (anxiety: 30.1%, depression: 18.5%). Feeding problems, crying/ sleeping problems and multiple regulatory problems were found in 34.8%, 26.2% and 13.5% of the infants, respectively. Amongst toddlers, 8.5% showed noticeable behavior and emotional problems. Children`s mental health problems correlated moderately with parenting stress and parental affective symptoms and weakly with perceived pandemic burden. A lower financial status, higher parental education and increasing child age were significant but weak predictors for higher parenting stress, affective symptoms and higher psychological problems in children.ConclusionsA majority of the surveyed families with infants and toddlers experience the pandemic as stressful. The main challenges are parental affective symptoms and limited resources for childcare due to parenting stress. Overall, infants and toddlers show similar levels of mental health problems when being compared to pre-pandemic studies, but staggered detrimental effects on children`s mental health might occur if the stressful conditions persist. This is already indicated by correlations between parental and child psychosocial stress factors.

‘As soon as they can hold a glass, they begin taking alcohol’: a qualitative study on early childhood substance use in Mbale District, Uganda

BackgroundGlobally, substance use is a leading contributor to the burden of disease among young people, with far reaching social, economic and health effects. Following a finding of harmful alcohol use among 5-8-year-old children in Mbale District, Uganda, this study aims to investigate community members’ views on early childhood substance use among children below the age of 10 years.MethodsIn 2016, we conducted eight focus group discussions with 48 parents and 26 key informant interviews with teachers, health workers, alcohol distributors, traditional healers, religious leaders, community leaders and youth workers. We used thematic content analysis. Four participants and two research assistants reviewed and confirmed the findings.ResultsAlcohol in everyday life: ‘Even children on laps taste alcohol’: Almost all participants confirmed the existence of and concern for substance use before age 10. They described a context where substance use was widespread in the community, especially intake of local alcoholic brews. Children would access substances in the home or buy it themselves. Those living in poor neighbourhoods or slums and children of brewers were described as particularly exposed.Using substances to cope: ‘We don’t want them to drink’: Participants explained that some used substances to cope with a lack of food and resources for childcare, as well as traumatic experiences. This made children in deprived families and street-connected children especially vulnerable to substance use. Participants believed this was a result of seeing no alternative solution.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the context and conditions of childhood substance use before age 10 in Mbale District, Uganda. The study shows that community members attributed early childhood substance use to a social context of widespread use in the community, which was exacerbated by conditions of material and emotional deprivation. These social determinants for this practice deserve public health attention and intervention.

Women’s Empowerment to Improve Nutritional Status in Children: A Systematic Review

Women's empowerment considered vital in child nutrition and being considered important throughout the first 1000 days of life. Inadequate access to food and child feeding practices are the root causes of nutritional problems in children. Mothers play an essential role in parenting, particularly when it comes to child feeding. However, there are no systematic review available in regarding the correlation between women's empowerment and child nutrition. The aims of this study is to review the correlation between women's empowerment and nutritional status in children, more research should use a longitudinal study design to conduct pathway and lifecycle analysis in appropriate populations to clarify the relationship between women's empowerment and nutritional status in children.&#x0D; We included English materials published between Science Direct, Pubmed, Research Gate and Google Scholar was used to find studies related to women's empowerment and children's nutritional status between 2016- 2021. 1025 studies were generated using tittle and abstract. We scanned the whole text of 538 of them, as well as 25 other research that the authors were aware of. Only 8 papers met our criteria for inclusion. Within three categories of empowerment, information was extracted and synthesized: resources, agency, and achievement. Accessing and distributing resources for household childcare is a challenge. Agency is a process of women's empowerment that includes mobility, decision-making, authority, motivation, skill, knowledge, and mother's role, all of which can help mothers improve their children's nutrition. The well-being of family members, nutritional status, and anthropometric rise as age progresses are all benefits of women's empowerment.&#x0D; Women's empowerment was found to be connected with nutritional status WAZ, HAZ, WHZ, and child anthropometry in general, however the data were inconsistent. These inconsistencies were most likely caused by population features, situations, or methods/ conceptualizations of women's empowerment, as well as the specific domains researched. This study also found that different categories of women's empowerment may have varied relationships with child nutrition. Future study should focus on harmonizing definitions of women's empowerment, as well as determining which essential dimensions it should contain and how it should be quantified. In order to determine which policies and programs enhance women's empowerment and, as a result, foster child nutritional well-being, rigorous evaluation work is also required.&#x0D;

Parental Working Hours and Children's Sedentary Time: A Cross-sectional Analysis of the J-SHINE.

BackgroundSedentary behaviors are prevalent among children and can have a detrimental effect on their health. Little is known about the influence of parental time on children’s sedentary behavior. This study examined the association between parental working hours and children’s sedentary time.MethodsCross-sectional data were drawn from the Japanese Study on Stratification, Health, Income, and Neighborhood (J-SHINE) in 2010 and 2011. Participants were 886 children aged 7–18 years and their parents. The primary outcome was self-reported sedentary time after school that comprised screen time and non-screen time. The main explanatory variable was parental working hours. We used multiple regression analysis adjusting for sociodemographic factors.ResultsChildren’s mean sedentary time was 222 (standard deviation [SD], 123) min/day; 144 (SD, 108) min/day screen time and 78 (SD, 65) min/day non-screen time. Children whose mothers worked ≥20 hours/week had 28 (95% CI, 9 to 48) min/day longer sedentary time than children of homemakers (240 min/day vs 214 min/day). The longer maternal working hours, the longer sedentary time (P for trend <0.01). In contrast, children whose fathers worked ≥48 hours/week had 82 (95% CI, −156 to −7) min/day shorter sedentary time than children of non-working fathers (179 min/day vs 264 min/day). When limited to children whose fathers worked, there was no statistically significant association between children’s sedentary time and paternal working hours.ConclusionsChildren with mothers who work long hours or fathers not working tend to sit more. Supplementing the shortages in resources for childcare may be necessary among those families.