Location Of Children Research Articles

An IEEE802.15.4-Based System for Locating Children on Their School Commutes

With the increasing number of crimes and accidents in which children are becoming involved, there is a growing demand for devices to safeguard children's security by detecting their locations on their way to and from school. This paper proposes a system that uses an IEEE802.15.4-standard network to detect children's locations. To overcome the susceptibility of radio interference from nearby wireless LANs, frequency division multiplexing is applied to this IEEE802.15.4-based network, toward improving data acquisition from terminal units. The effectiveness of the system was field-tested with elementary school students who used about 400 IEEE 802.15.4-compliant terminal units. An experiment verified that the use of frequency division multiplexing in an environment where radio interference by wireless LANs is strong allowed the network to double the success rate of information communication from terminal units relative to that without frequency division multiplexing. In the experiment for detecting elementary schoolers' arrival at and departure from school, the terminal detection rate was 99% and the terminal detection rate on the designated school routes was 90%. These results prove the effectiveness of the system in detecting locations.

Geographical patterns in blood lead in relation to industrial emissions and traffic in Swedish children, 1978–2007

BackgroundBlood lead concentrations (B-Pb) were measured in 3 879 Swedish school children during the period 1978–2007. The objective was to study the effect of the proximity to lead sources based on the children's home and school location.MethodsThe children's home address and school location were geocoded and their proximity to a lead smelter and major roads was calculated using geographical information system (GIS) software. All the statistical analyses were carried out using means of generalized log-linear modelling, with natural-logarithm-transformed B-Pb, adjusted for sex, school year, lead-exposing hobby, country of birth and, in the periods 1988–1994 and 1995–2007, parents' smoking habits.ResultsThe GIS analysis revealed that although the emission from the smelter and children's B-Pb levels had decreased considerably since 1978, proximity to the lead smelter continued to affect levels of B-Pb, even in recent years (geometric mean: near smelter: 22.90 μg/l; far from smelter 19.75 μg/l; p = 0.001). The analysis also revealed that proximity to major roads noticeably affected the children's B-Pb levels during the period 1978–1987 (geometric mean near major roads: 44.26 μg/l; far from roads: 38.32 μg/l; p = 0.056), due to the considerable amount of lead in petrol. This effect was, however, not visible after 1987 due to prohibition of lead in petrol.ConclusionThe results show that proximity to the lead smelter still has an impact on the children's B-Pb levels. This is alarming since it could imply that living or working in the vicinity of a former lead source could pose a threat years after reduction of the emission. The analysis also revealed that urban children exposed to lead from traffic were only affected during the early period, when there were considerable amounts of lead in petrol, and that the prohibition of lead in petrol in later years led to reduced levels of lead in the blood of urban children.

Looking Beyond Where Children Die: Determinants and Effects of Planning a Child's Location of Death

While dying at home may be the choice of many, where people die may be less important than argued. We examined factors associated with parental planning of a child's location of death (LOD) and its effects on patterns of care and parent's experience. In a cross-sectional study of 140 parents who lost a child to cancer at one of two tertiary-level U.S. pediatric hospitals, 88 (63%) planned the child's LOD and 97% accomplished their plan. After adjusting for disease and family characteristics, families whose primary oncologist clearly explained treatment options during the child's end of life and who had home care involved were more likely to plan LOD. Planning LOD was associated with more home deaths (72% vs. 8% among those who did not plan, P < 0.001) and fewer hospital admissions (54% vs. 98%, P < 0.001). Parents who planned were more likely to feel very prepared for the child's end of life (33% vs. 12%, P = 0.007) and very comfortable with LOD (84% vs. 40%, P < 0.001), and less likely to have preferred a different LOD (2% vs. 46%, P < 0.001). Among the 73 nonhome deaths, planning was associated with more deaths occurring in the ward than in the intensive care unit or other hospital (92% vs. 33%, P < 0.001), and fewer children being intubated (21% vs. 48%, P = 0.029). Comprehensive physician communication and home care involvement increase the likelihood of planning a child's LOD. Opportunity to plan LOD is associated with outcomes consistent with high-quality palliative care, even among nonhome deaths, and thus may represent a more relevant outcome than actual LOD.

“No! Don't! Stop!”: Mothers' Words for Impending Danger

SYNOPSIS Objectives. In 2 studies, we aimed to describe the content of mothers’ verbal warnings to their young children and to investigate whether mothers modify their warnings based on the type of dangerous situation and children's age. Study 1. Mothers of 12-, 18-, and 24-month-olds reported in a telephone interview the words and phrases they would use to prevent their children from falling, touching dangerous objects, ingesting poisonous substances, and running away. The words “no,” “don’t,” and “stop” were the most frequent warnings across ages. Mothers also used warnings to elicit their children's attention, regulate children's location, modify children's actions, and to highlight the properties and consequences of specific dangers. The content, diversity and complexity of mothers’ warnings varied with children's age and the type of dangerous situation. Study 2. We observed mothers in the laboratory as they warned their 12 and 18-month-old children not to walk down 50° slopes. As in Study 1, mothers primarily relied on the words “no,” “don’t,” and “stop,” but again used warnings to elicit attention, regulate location, modify actions, and describe the danger. Mothers used more complex and diverse warnings with older versus younger children. Conclusions. Although simple warnings, such as “no,” “don’t,” and “stop” hold privileged status at all ages, mothers express a rich array of warnings that are attuned to children's age and the dangers of the situation.

Development and use of behavior and social interaction software installed on Palm handheld for observation of a child’s social interactions with the environment

In settings in developing countries, children often socialize with multiple socializing agents (peers, siblings, neighbors) apart from their parents, and thus, a measurement of a child's social interactions should be expanded beyond parental interactions. Since the environment plays a role in shaping a child's development, the measurement of child-socializing agents' interactions is important. We developed and used a computerized observational software Behavior and Social Interaction Software (BASIS) with a preloaded coding scheme installed on a handheld Palm device to record complex observations of interactions between children and socializing agents. Using BASIS, social interaction assessments were conducted on 573 preschool children for 1 h in their natural settings. Multiple screens with a set of choices in each screen were designed that included the child's location, broad activity, state, and interactions with child-socializing agents. Data were downloaded onto a computer and systematically analyzed. BASIS, installed on Palm OS (M-125), enabled the recording of the complex interactions of child-socializing agents that could not be recorded with manual forms. Thus, this tool provides an innovative and relatively accurate method for the systematic recording of social interactions in an unrestricted environment.

Improving environmental exposure analysis using cumulative distribution functions and individual geocoding

BackgroundAssessments of environmental exposure and health risks that utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) often make simplifying assumptions when using: (a) one or more discrete buffer distances to define the spatial extent of impacted regions, and (b) aggregated demographic data at the level of census enumeration units to derive the characteristics of the potentially exposed population. A case-study of school children in Orange County, Florida, is used to demonstrate how these limitations can be overcome by the application of cumulative distribution functions (CDFs) and individual geocoded locations. Exposure potential for 159,923 school children was determined at the childrens' home residences and at school locations by determining the distance to the nearest gasoline station, stationary air pollution source, and industrial facility listed in the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI). Errors and biases introduced by the use of discrete buffer distances and data aggregation were examined.ResultsThe use of discrete buffers distances in proximity-based exposure analysis introduced substantial bias in terms of determining the potentially exposed population, and the results are strongly dependent on the choice of buffer distance(s). Comparisons of exposure potential between home and school locations indicated that different buffer distances yield different results and contradictory conclusions. The use of a CDF provided a much more meaningful representation and is not based on the a-priori assumption that any particular distance is more relevant than another. The use of individual geocoded locations also provided a more accurate characterization of the exposed population and allowed for more reliable comparisons among sub-groups. In the comparison of children's home residences and school locations, the use of data aggregated at the census block group and tract level introduced variability as well as bias, leading to incorrect conclusions as to whether exposure potential was higher at school or at home.ConclusionThe use of CDFs in distance-based environmental exposure assessment provides more robust results than the use of discrete buffer distances. Unless specific circumstances warrant the use of discrete buffer distances, their applcation should be discouraged in favor of CDFs. The use of aggregated data at the census tract or block group level introduces substantial bias in environmental exposure assessment, which can be reduced through individual geocoding. The use of aggregation should be minimized when individual-level data are available. Existing GIS analysis techniques are well suited to determine CDFs as well as reliably geocode large datasets, and computational issues do not present a barrier for their more widespread use in environmental exposure and risk assessment.

Pelvic Width Predicts Hip Joint Center Location In Children

A precise estimate of the locations of the hip joint centers (HJC) is necessary when estimating in-vivo joint reaction forces and moments. Errors in timing and magnitude of hip joint moments have been reported to be up to 25% due to a HJC mislocation error of 30mm (Stagni,2000). While methods exist to predict HJC's based on pelvic width in adults, their applicability to children has not been reported. PURPOSE To determine how accurately MRI measures of pelvic width predict HJC locations in children. METHODS MRI's of the pelvic region were acquired from 10 healthy normal girls (9.6±0.9yrs; 141.0±9.4cm; 37.0±7.1kg; mean ± SD). The T1-weighted images were sampled from the coronal plane at 4mm intervals. Two slices were identified and exported into an imaging program for measurement: 1) the slice through the centers of the femoral heads and 2) the most anterior slice in which the left ASIS was visible. The reference frame was defined as: × = positive anterior, Y = positive left, and Z = positive superior. Fiduciary marks on the MRI's were used to calculate a scaling factor from pixels to SI units (1px = 0.5mm). Pelvic width was defined as the distance between the left and right ASIS. Because the MRI's only contained the two HJC's and the left ASIS, bilateral symmetry about the midpoint between HJC's was assumed in calculating the pelvic width. The displacement from the left ASIS to the left HJC was expressed in each direction as a percentage of the calculated pelvic width. The mean percentages in each direction were then used to predict the left HJC location of each subject. T-tests were used to determine if there were differences between the measured and predicted HJC locations in each direction (p<0.05). RESULTS The location of the left HJC relative to the left ASIS was −21.5±2.9%, −14.5±2.6%, and −32.8±4.9% of the pelvic width (18.1±1.4cm) in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively. The magnitudes of the errors in predicted HJC location based on these percentages were 4.3±2.4mm (p<0.89), 3.5±2.7mm (p<0.89) & 6.8±5.1mm (p<0.91) in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively for a total error of 9.8±4.3mm. CONCLUSION The location of the HJC relative to the ASIS as a percentage of pelvic width in these children was similar to that determined previously for adults. Our results also agree with Bell (1990) and Seidel (1995) in that the pelvic width best predicted the HJC along the axis it is parallel to. While the HJC prediction error was greater in the × and Z directions, the overall magnitude of the errors was quite small. Prediction of HJC location based on pelvic width is thus appropriate in computing the joint kinetics of children. International Society of Biomechanics Dissertation Grant.

Pelvic Width Predicts Hip Joint Center Location In Children

A precise estimate of the locations of the hip joint centers (HJC) is necessary when estimating in-vivo joint reaction forces and moments. Errors in timing and magnitude of hip joint moments have been reported to be up to 25% due to a HJC mislocation error of 30mm (Stagni,2000). While methods exist to predict HJC's based on pelvic width in adults, their applicability to children has not been reported. PURPOSE To determine how accurately MRI measures of pelvic width predict HJC locations in children. METHODS MRI's of the pelvic region were acquired from 10 healthy normal girls (9.6±0.9yrs; 141.0±9.4cm; 37.0±7.1kg; mean ± SD). The T1-weighted images were sampled from the coronal plane at 4mm intervals. Two slices were identified and exported into an imaging program for measurement: 1) the slice through the centers of the femoral heads and 2) the most anterior slice in which the left ASIS was visible. The reference frame was defined as: × = positive anterior, Y = positive left, and Z = positive superior. Fiduciary marks on the MRI's were used to calculate a scaling factor from pixels to SI units (1px = 0.5mm). Pelvic width was defined as the distance between the left and right ASIS. Because the MRI's only contained the two HJC's and the left ASIS, bilateral symmetry about the midpoint between HJC's was assumed in calculating the pelvic width. The displacement from the left ASIS to the left HJC was expressed in each direction as a percentage of the calculated pelvic width. The mean percentages in each direction were then used to predict the left HJC location of each subject. T-tests were used to determine if there were differences between the measured and predicted HJC locations in each direction (p<0.05). RESULTS The location of the left HJC relative to the left ASIS was −21.5±2.9%, −14.5±2.6%, and −32.8±4.9% of the pelvic width (18.1±1.4cm) in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively. The magnitudes of the errors in predicted HJC location based on these percentages were 4.3±2.4mm (p<0.89), 3.5±2.7mm (p<0.89) & 6.8±5.1mm (p<0.91) in the X, Y, and Z directions, respectively for a total error of 9.8±4.3mm. CONCLUSION The location of the HJC relative to the ASIS as a percentage of pelvic width in these children was similar to that determined previously for adults. Our results also agree with Bell (1990) and Seidel (1995) in that the pelvic width best predicted the HJC along the axis it is parallel to. While the HJC prediction error was greater in the × and Z directions, the overall magnitude of the errors was quite small. Prediction of HJC location based on pelvic width is thus appropriate in computing the joint kinetics of children. International Society of Biomechanics Dissertation Grant.

Evaluation of Relations Between Specific Antecedent Stimuli and Self-Injury During Functional Analysis Conditions

We evaluated the influence of child location on the occurrence of self-injurious behavior (SIB) during functional analyses conducted in home settings. An initial functional analysis conducted with 2 children who had developmental disabilities showed undifferentiated patterns of SIB. Analyses of behavior during free play suggested that the child's location was an active variable for self-injury. Both children showed a decrease in self-injury when they were placed next to their parent versus being placed in a wheelchair or on the floor. A second functional analysis was conducted with child and parent on a couch. Results showed low percentages of self-injury during free play, but high percentages during other test conditions. Functional communication training programs for each child resulted in decreases in self-injury.

Modernity, Traditionality, and Junior High School Attainment in Turkey

This study focuses on the impact of modernityand traditionality on junior high schoolattainment of children in Turkey. Using thenationwide Turkish Family Structure Survey, theprimary objectives are to determine whetherjunior high school attainment varies by region,city size, and by family background. Based ona sample of 2025 16 year-old adolescents, weprovide the first multivariate, nationwideanalysis of the factors associated with juniorhigh school attainment of children in Turkey. The results of the multivariate logisticregression analysis show significant variationin children's junior high school attainment byfamily background, region and urban location,which are factors that help explain persistentgender inequality in education.

Farm children's exposure to herbicides: comparison of biomonitoring and questionnaire data.

Pesticide exposure has been associated with various childhood cancers. However, most studies rely on questionnaires, with few using biologic measures of dose. This study was designed to measure herbicide exposure directly in children of farm applicators, and to compare these results with exposure imputed from questionnaire information. Two consecutive 24-hour urine samples were collected from 92 children of Ontario farm applicators who used the herbicides 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) or MCPA (4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid) for the first time during 1996. The farm applicator completed questionnaires describing his pesticide-handling practices as well as the child's location during the various stages of handling these pesticides. Approximately 30% of the children on farms using these herbicides had detectable concentrations in their urine, with maximum values of 100 microg/L for 2,4-D and 45 microg/L for MCPA. Children with higher levels were more likely to be boys and to have parents who also had higher mean urinary concentrations. The sensitivity and specificity of a simple indicator of use were 47% and 72%, respectively, for 2,4-D, and 91% and 30%, respectively, for MCPA, using the biomonitoring data as the gold standard. Information on living on a farm, or on living on a farm where a specific pesticide is used, is not enough to classify children's exposures. Given this potential for misclassification, we urge incorporation of biomonitoring studies in subsets of children at least to estimate the extent of misclassification.

Asthma and allergic rhinitis in Quebec children.

The Health and Social Survey of Quebec Children and Youth, conducted on representative samples of children nine, 13 and 16 years of age, provided data on the prevalence and determinants of asthma and allergic rhinitis in Quebec. To determine the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis among children in the province of Quebec and to identify the determinants of these pathologies. Three groups of more than 1100 children aged nine, 13 and 16 years were recruited. Respiratory symptoms were documented using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire. Questions enquiring about family income, smoking, degree of urbanization of the child's school's location and various variables related to indoor air were also included. The comparisons of proportions were done using the chi2 test. The prevalence rates for reported history of asthma varied from 14% to 15% depending on the age group. The prevalence of wheezing in the past year was 7% to 8%. Asthma was the primary cause of the limitation of activities due to a health problem in nine- and 13-year-old Quebecers, and the second most common cause in 16-year-old Quebecers. The prevalence of rhinitis, rhinoconjunctivitis and reported history of hay fever increased with age, reaching 28.0%, 15.9% and 21.1%, respectively, in the 16-year-old group. The prevalence of asthma and wheezing was associated with family history and allergies, and inversely related to family income. The prevalence of childhood asthma is high in the province of Quebec. It is a major cause of the limitation of activities due to a health problem for young Quebecers. A family history of asthma and an atopic predisposition are important determinants in the development of asthma in Quebec.

EFFECT OF TWO WARNING SIGNS ON ADULT SUPERVISION AND RISKY ACTIVITIES BY CHILDREN IN GROCERY SHOPPING CARTS

398 children, 1 to 6 years of age, and the adults accompanying them in two supermarkets were exposed to one of four treatments. Two experimental treatments featured variations on a warning sign, prompting adults to prevent their children from standing while in the cart seat and basket portions of shopping carts. The two control treatments exposed the adults to advertisements rather than warning signs. No effect was observed of either warning on standing while in cart seats, standing while in baskets, climbing on carts, or standing on the ends or sides of carts; nor was any effect noted on three measures of adult supervision. This lack of effect is attributed to adults' perceptions of the low risk of serious injury to children in carts, their familiarity with carts, the costliness of ensuring compliance with the warnings, and the lack of natural contingencies supporting the prompts. Risky activities by children were related to the child's location in the cart, child's sex, and adult supervision.

Are quality of family life and disease severity related in childhood atopic dermatitis?

Atopic dermatitis (AD) can be traumatizing to family life. Little is known about the relationship between quality of life in AD and disease severity. To document family quality of life and relate this to severity of AD in children, for a 6-month period from a given point in time. These data are part of a longitudinal study conducted in two parts of the UK to investigate risk factors for AD severity and its impact on quality of life. and methods Thetargetedpopulation comprised children with AD aged 5-10 years in a primary-care setting. The general practitioners identified potential subjects and the UK diagnostic criteria for AD were used to verify the diagnosis. Both the children and their parents were interviewed. Eczema severity was assessed using a modified form of the SCORAD (SCORe Atopic Dermatitis) Index (SCORAD-D) from which parents' score of itching and sleep loss were excluded. The quality of family life was quantified by the Dermatitis Family Impact (DFI) questionnaire. These two parameters were evaluated on two occasions 6 months apart. Multiple regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the quality of family life and the severity of the AD in the children, at a specific point in time and over the following 6-month period. Of the 116 children attending the first visit, mean age 8 years, 106 attended the second visit (91%) and were included in the analysis. Quality of family life was shown to be significantly affected in 48 (45%) cases at the first visit and 38 (36%) cases at the second visit. The initial means of the DFI and SCORAD-D were 2.4 and 8.2, respectively. Six months later the mean final DFI and SCORAD-D were 1.9 and 7.7, respectively. Using multiple regression on the first and second visits, each unit increase in SCORAD-D was associated with 0.21 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.06-0.37 P = 0.008] and 0.37 (95% CI 0.15-0.59, P = 0.001) units increase in quality of family life, respectively. This relationship remained significant even after adjustment for potential confounders (black skin, social class, sex, child's age, family size and location) each unit increase in SCORAD-D led to a 0.25 unit (95% CI 0.11-0.4, P = 0.001) and 0.23 unit (95% CI 0.05-0.42, P = 0.014) increase in DFI on the first and second visits, respectively. Changes in the DFI scores were significantly related to changes in the SCORAD-D scores (regression coefficient; 0.17 (95% CI 0.06-0.29, P = 0.002). We show that quality of family life is related to the severity of AD in children. This confirms the importance of parental assessment of the impact of the disease in the management of AD, because the disease affects the entire family. Also, these results show the response of DFI to change predictably with disease severity. This may imply that the DFI questionnaire could be used as an extra measure of outcome in everyday clinical practice as well as in research studies.

Geography of the Family

We study the residential choice of siblings who are altruistic towards their parents. The firstborn child's location choice influences the behavior of the second-born child and can shift some of the burden of providing care for the parents from one child to the other. These strategic considerations lead to an equilibrium location pattern with firstborn children locating further away from their parents than second-born children. We also analyze the location choices empirically using German data. These data confirm our theoretical predictions.

Bedsharing, temperament, and sleep disturbance in early childhood.

Temperament was explored as a factor in both night-waking and bedsharing in preschool-aged children. Bedsharers and solitary sleepers were categorized based on the frequency of current bedsharing. MANOVA was used to examine associations among temperament and sleep measures. Two preschools affiliated with a rural university in the Northeast United States. Participants. 67 children between 2.4-5.6 years of age from two University-affiliated preschools were studied. Child temperament was rated by parents and teachers using the Carey Temperament Scale and compared to night-waking, current sleep habits, and the circumstances in which bedsharing occurred Parents and preschool teachers completed the Carey Temperament Scale for 3-7 year olds. Parents also scored the Sleep Habits Inventory and the Sleeping Arrangements Inventory, which provided a current and retrospective history of the child's sleep location and sleep patterns. Parents' ratings showed that bedsharers have less regular bedtimes; difficulty with sleep onset; more night-waking; and seek out the parents following awakening during the night. Temperamentally, bedsharers were found to be more intense and exhibit less adaptability and rhythmicity. However, teachers' temperament ratings did not predict bedsharing and were not concordant with parental ratings. These findings suggest that bedsharing at preschool age is a complex phenomenon related to parents' ratings of child temperament, sleep habits, and disturbances such as night waking. Implications for the clinical assessment of sleep disorders are discussed.

Locating Self in the World: Elementary school children in Japan, Macau and Hong Kong

In the so-called 'global age', the issue of how children learn to locate themselves in the world is an important one. Working from a foundation of theories related to globalisation, identity development and citizenship education, this paper describes the findings of a research project which explored elementary school children's geographical and affective location of the self in Japan, Macau and Hong Kong. Analysis and discussion of Japanese education policy is then presented in an attempt to explain the finding that Japanese children are far less likely than their counterparts in Hong Kong and Macau to locate themselves in an international sphere.

Effects of traffic management and transport mode on the exposure of schoolchildren to carbon monoxide

The exposure to CO of schoolchildren was assessed in the town of Northampton, UK, both by direct measurement and by GIS-based activity modelling. Personal measurement of CO showed that exposures when travelling by car were significantly greater than those when walking, although journey times by car were shorter. However, journey exposures had little effect on maximum 8h mean CO exposures. CO concentration fields in the study area were modelled from current traffic flows, and those expected under different traffic management scenarios. These fields were then used, in combination with children's home and school location, and their activity profiles, to simulate frequency distributions of exposure for different transport modes and traffic management scenarios. The results show a large variability in the effect of traffic management interventions, depending on the child's home and school location.

Social care of children born to HIV-infected mothers in Europe

Children of HIV-infected women are likely to be profoundly affected by their mothers' infection, regardless of their own infection status and their number will increase with the spread of infection among women in Europe. This article describes the family circumstances and social care of 1,123 children born to HIV-infected women enrolled in the European Collaborative Study and followed prospectively from birth. Most mothers were white, married or cohabiting, asymptomatic and had a history of drug use, with 45% currently using injecting drugs at the time of enrolment. Seventy percent of children were cared for by their mothers and/or fathers consistently in their first four years of life, but by age eight an estimated 60% will have lived away from their parents (i.e. with foster or adoptive parents, other relatives or in an institution). Whether or not a child was infected did not influence the likelihood of living in alternative care. Maternal injecting drug use, single parenthood and health status were the major reasons necessitating alternative care. The type of alternative care varied according to maternal characteristics, child's age and geographic location. The mothers of 98 children had died and average age at maternal death was four years.

Using longitudinal data to understand children's activity patterns in an exposure context: Data from the Kanawha county health study

An important component of assessing the levels, the sources, and the health effects of children's exposure to air pollution is understanding how and where members of this sensitive population spend their time. There are, however, few data bases that allow the documentation of the day-to-day nature of children's activities. Of particular concern is whether the one-day snapshots provided by time/activity diaries typically used in exposure studies represent the actual temporal and spatial extent of children's activities. As part of a community health study, longitudinal data on children's time/activity patterns were recently collected. A respiratory health status and gender stratified sample of 90 children kept daily diaries over two-week periods during both the summer and the fall. This paper first presents baseline information of children's activity patterns: the sample distribution of time spent in each of five microenvironments (travel, outdoor, at school, at home, and inside other locations) and the daily temporal pattern of activities. The consistent patterns of children on school days suggest that for most days we can accurately predict children's locations by time of day. The second part of the analysis shows that there is both high child-to-child variation in the average time spent in each microenvironment, even after controlling for gender and respiratory health status, and strong temporal variability in activity patterns within a child over time, even after controlling for school days versus nonschool days.