Parents Of Preschoolers Research Articles

ŠEIMŲ, AUGINANČIŲ VAIKUS SU AUTIZMO SPEKTRO SUTRIKIMU, GYVENIMO GEROVĖ

Straipsnio tikslas - atskleisti tėvų, auginančių ikimokyklinio ar mokyklinio amžiaus vaiką su autizmo spektro sutrikimu, šeimos gyvenimo gerovės probleminius veiksnius. Tyrime dalyvavo 100 tėvų, auginančių ikimokyklinio ar mokyklinio amžiaus vaiką su autizmo spektro sutrikimu. Naudota nuoseklaus tyrimo strategija taikant anketinę apklausą su uždaro ir atviro tipo klausimais. Anketoje uždaro tipo klausimai skirti ištirti šeimos, auginančios vaiką su autizmo spektro sutrikimu, gyvenimo kokybę (angl. Family quality of life scale), o atviro tipo klausimai – šeimos specialiųjų poreikių tenkinimo ypatumus. Tyrimo duomenų analizė atlikta naudojant Microsoft Office Excel ir SPSS programas. Rezultatai. Auginančios neįgalų ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaiką šeimos narių tarpusavio sąveikai svarbus neįgalaus vaiko auklėjimas (r=0,66), materiali (r=0,53) ir emocinė (r=0,51) šeimos gerovė, o tėvams, auginantiems mokyklinio amžiaus neįgalų vaiką, – auklėjimas (r= 0,53) bei materiali gerovė (r=0,53). Respondentai prastai įvertino paramą, gaunamą iš valstybės, šeimos specialiesiems poreikiams tenkinti. Tik dalį reikalingų jų neįgalaus vaiko raidai paslaugų galėjo įpirkti patys, o kitos dalies paslaugų įpirkti negalėjo dėl šeimos prastos finansinės padėties. Išvados. Visuomenės pastangos tinkamai pasirūpinti šeimos, auginančios neįgalų vaiką, gyvenimo gerove, priklauso nuo gebėjimo sistemiškai atskleisti santykių šeimoje ir socialinių santykių psichosocialinio funkcionavimo ypatumus bei specialistų teikiamos pagalbos šeimai iš formalių ir/ar neformalių struktūrų poreikį ir lūkesčius.

The HEROs Study Year 2: Engaging Families to Promote Healthy Eating And Activity Behaviors in Early Childhood

The objective of the HEROs Study (HEalthy EnviROnments Study) is to develop a companion, technology-based, interactive family intervention to assess the potential amplification of The Food Friends programs to promote healthy lifestyles and weight outcomes for young children in both Head Start and family settings. The project aims to improve family routines and parent-child eating and physical activity (PA) interactions. Research activities will be conducted in 3 phases: formative research; intervention development; and an intervention efficacy study. Year 2 focused on Formative Research. Parents provided input on: preschoolers’ mobile device use (n=191 technology surveys); beliefs and patterns of child mobile device use and feasibility of using mobile devices to deliver preschooler nutrition and PA education (n=29 telephone interviews); family mealtime and PA routines (ecocultural family interviews, EFI, n=16 to date). Additional data will be collected on parental beliefs and practices related to PA (face-to-face interviews); observed maternal and child dietary intake at dinnertime (Remote Food Photography Methodology); and mealtime environment and practices (mini-focus groups). Parents of preschoolers in rural Colorado often use technology and respond favorably to the concept of mobile apps to improve children’s school readiness and to promote physical activity. Parents struggled to envision how apps could improve children’s nutrition and feeding behaviors. The EFIs conducted thus far suggest that parents value ideals for mealtime and PA, but also express high stress levels and desire effective, fun and low pressure strategies to reduce mealtime and PA challenges.

Exploring Mobile Device Use among Preschoolers: A Feasible Intervention Strategy for Rural Families?

This study aimed to elicit input from Head Start/preschool parents on child mobile device use to inform nutrition and physical activity intervention strategies for families in rural Colorado. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted to explore parental beliefs, opinions and rules regarding child mobile device use (e.g. smartphones, tablets); content, frequency and purpose of child device use; and parental opinions regarding the feasibility of using mobile devices and applications (apps) to deliver nutrition and physical activity education for preschoolers. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and data were content analyzed into categorical responses to research questions. Parents (n=29) were 93% mothers, 38% Hispanic, 41% with high school degree, and 65% low-income. Most parents co-used mobile devices with their preschooler. Parents reported concerns about potential overuse of these devices, yet viewed their child's use as positive for building school-readiness skills. Parents use devices for behavior management and most have specific rules tied to using entertainment-related apps. Using apps to encourage child physical activity was favored by parents, but they found it difficult to envision how apps could improve children's nutrition and feeding behaviors. The idea of children using devices to be ready for a technology-driven world appealed to parents, particularly in balance with traditional play. Parents of preschoolers in rural Colorado respond favorably to the concept of mobile apps to improve children's school readiness and to promote physical activity. Developers of mobile apps will be well served to integrate school readiness skills (e.g. vocabulary, counting, etc.) into app development.

Lessons from implementing mass drug administration for soil transmitted helminths among pre-school aged children during school based deworming program at the Kenyan coast

BackgroundThe 2012 London declaration which committed to “sustaining, expanding and extending drug access programmes to ensure the necessary supply of drugs and other interventions to help control soil-transmitted helminths (STH) by 2020” has seen many countries in Africa roll out mass drug administration (MDA) especially among school age children. In Kenya, however, during the National school-based deworming exercise, pre-school aged children (PSAC) have to access treatment at primary schools as the pre-school teachers are not trained to carry out deworming. With studies being conducted on the effectiveness of MDAs, the experiences of key education stakeholders which could improve the programme by giving best practices, and challenges experienced have not been documented.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional qualitative study using Focus group discussions (FGDs) and Key informant interviews (KIIs). It was conducted in 4 sub-counties with high STH prevalence at the Kenyan coast (Matuga, Malindi, Lunga Lunga and Msambweni) to understand best practices for implementing MDA among PSAC.FGDs categorized by gender were conducted among local community members, whereas KIIs involved pre-school teachers, primary school teachers, community health extension workers (CHEWs) and opinion leaders. Participants were purposefully selected with the saturation model determining the number of interviews and focus groups. Voice data collected was transcribed verbatim then coded and analyzed using ATLAS.Ti version 6.ResultsMajority of the primary school teachers and CHEWs reported that they were satisfied with the method of mobilization used and the training tools. This was however not echoed by the pre-school teachers, parents and chiefs who complained of being left out of the process. Best practices mentioned included timely drug delivery, support from pre-school teachers, and management of side effects. Overcrowding during the drug administration day, complexity of the forms (for instance the ‘S form’) and long distance between schools were mentioned as challenges.ConclusionThere is need to utilize better sensitization methods to include the local administration as well as the parents for better uptake of the drugs. Extending deworming training to pre-school teachers will enhance the national deworming programme.

Teaching Parents About Responsive Feeding Through a Vicarious Learning Video: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization recommend responsive feeding (RF) to promote healthy eating behaviors in early childhood. This project developed and tested a vicarious learning video to teach parents RF practices. A RF vicarious learning video was developed using community-based participatory research methods. Fifty parents of preschoolers were randomly assigned to watch Happier Meals or a control video about education. Knowledge and beliefs about RF practices were measured 1 week before and immediately after intervention. Experimental group participants also completed measures of narrative engagement and video acceptability. Seventy-four percent of the sample was White, 90% had at least a college degree, 96% were married, and 88% made >$50,000/year. RF knowledge increased ( p = .03) and positive beliefs about some unresponsive feeding practices decreased ( ps < .05) more among experimental than control parents. Knowledge and belief changes were associated with video engagement ( ps < .05). Parents perceived Happier Meals as highly relevant, applicable, and informative. Community-based participatory research methods were instrumental in developing this vicarious learning video, with preliminary evidence of effectiveness in teaching parents about RF. Happier Meals is freely available for parents or community health workers to use when working with families to promote healthy eating behaviors in early childhood.

Development of Physical Activity-Related Parenting Practices Scales for Urban Chinese Parents of Preschoolers: Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Reliability.

Valid instruments of parenting practices related to children's physical activity (PA) are essential to understand how parents affect preschoolers' PA. This study developed and validated a questionnaire of PA-related parenting practices for Chinese-speaking parents of preschoolers in Hong Kong. Parents (n = 394) completed a questionnaire developed using findings from formative qualitative research and literature searches. Test-retest reliability was determined on a subsample (n = 61). Factorial validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Subscale internal consistency was determined. The scale of parenting practices encouraging PA comprised 2 latent factors: Modeling, structure and participatory engagement in PA (23 items), and Provision of appropriate places for child's PA (4 items). The scale of parenting practices discouraging PA scale encompassed 4 latent factors: Safety concern/overprotection (6 items), Psychological/behavioral control (5 items), Promoting inactivity (4 items), and Promoting screen time (2 items). Test-retest reliabilities were moderate to excellent (0.58 to 0.82), and internal subscale reliabilities were acceptable (0.63 to 0.89). We developed a theory-based questionnaire for assessing PA-related parenting practices among Chinese-speaking parents of Hong Kong preschoolers. While some items were context and culture specific, many were similar to those previously found in other populations, indicating a degree of construct generalizability across cultures.

Family Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity, Acculturation and Enculturation, and Parent Beliefs about Child Behavior, Learning Methods, and Parenting Roles

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Relationships between family socioeconomic status and ethnicity, acculturation and enculturation, and parent beliefs about desired child behavior, child learning methods, and parenting roles in children’s learning desired behavior were examined in a study of 207 parents of preschoolers from seven ethnic and cultural groups. Different subgroups of participants were identified from patterns of acculturation and enculturation. Family ethnicity, family SES, and acculturation were differentially related to the parent beliefs whereas enculturation and combinations of acculturation and enculturation were unrelated to beliefs. Findings are discussed in terms of the high degree of specificity in the relationships between the predictor variables and parent beliefs about child behavior, learning methods, and parenting roles. The results are consistent with an individual-oriented concept of culture. Cautions are therefore raised in terms of overgeneralizations about attributing traditional beliefs broadly to families from the same ethnic or cultural group. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Teachers' and parents' perceptions of the role of technology and digital media in developing child culture in the early years

The main purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of preschool teachers and parents on the extent to which technology and digital media (TDM) contribute toward developing child culture in Jordanian early years education. A random sample of (170) preschool teachers and (310) parents of preschoolers participated in the study; 10 teachers and 15 parents were later interviewed. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the researchers developed a 26-item questionnaire covering seven aspects that measure the goals of child culture. Results revealed that teachers and parents considered the contribution of TDM to child culture as relatively high. However, there was a disagreement on the level of child culture aspects among study participants. Moreover, results of the independent t-test showed statistical differences between teachers' and parents' perceptions of the role that TDM play in developing child culture as parents responded more positively to the contributions of TDM than teachers. Within the context of the findings of the study, implications are outlined for expanding the use of TDM in early years education.

Screening Bilingual Preschoolers for Language Difficulties: Utility of Teacher and Parent Reports.

The utility of parent and teacher reports for screening 3 types of bilingual preschoolers (English-first language [L1]/Mandarin-second language[L2], Mandarin-L1/English-L2, or Malay-L1/English-L2) for language difficulty was investigated in Singapore with reference to measures of reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity in an English-medium kindergarten setting. The index tests were teachers' ratings of the English language ability of 5-year-olds (N = 85) on the Bilingual Language Assessment Battery (BLAB): Preschool Teacher Report (Pua, Lee, & Rickard Liow, 2013) and parents' ratings of their child's home language ability (N = 78 English-L1, Mandarin-L1, or Malay-L1) on the BLAB: Preschool Parent Report (Pua, Lee, & Rickard Liow, 2013). The reference standards were objective measures of single-word receptive vocabulary (80 items) and expressive vocabulary (140 items) in the child's L1 and L2, as proxies for language ability. BLAB Teacher Reports for the English receptive and expressive subscales showed concurrent validity for all 3 bilingual groups, as well as generally high sensitivity and specificity. In contrast, BLAB Parent Reports for L1 receptive ability failed to show significant correlations with the objective measures of receptive vocabulary. Subjective teacher ratings may be an effective method of screening bilingual preschoolers for language difficulty, thereby prompting referral to clinicians.

Parents' Attitudes about the Tasks of Preschool Teachers in the Preparation of Children for the Teaching of Initial Writing

ABSTRACTThe preparation of children for the teaching of initial writing is a problem which is, in the system of unique institutional education, addressed by the preschool institution and the school. The open preschool education system includes the engagement of parents in these activities. The aim of this paper was to determine the attitudes of parents about the tasks of preschool teachers in the preparation of children for the teaching of initial writing. The research was conducted by using the descriptive method and a process of inference. A Likert-type descriptive attitude scale was used for the purposes of this research. The research results suggest that it is necessary to achieve a continuous cooperation between preschool teachers and parents in preschool institutions, in terms of informing parents about the children’s possibilities and the tasks of preschool teachers in activities that prepare children for the teaching of initial writing.

Changing the Personal Hygiene Behavior of Preschool by Reading Stories from Contemporary Books

Introduction: Personal hygiene is an action to maintain a hygiene and body health. This condition must be caring by everyone, because various of desease can happen in lack consequence of hygiene. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of health education with contemporary book story on preschool personal hygiene behaviour (knowledge, attitude, action) at RA Perwanida, Mojokerto.Methods: Design use in this study was Quasy Experimental design. The population had taken from RA Perwanida, Mojokerto, in July 2009, whom deal directly with the preschool parents. Total sample was 22 respondents who met B class in RA Perwanida, Mojokerto. They were divided into 2 groups, treatment and control groups. Data were collected by using questionnaire and observation sheet. Data were analyzed by using Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test with significance level of α ≤ 0.05 and Mann Whitney U Test with signi fi cance level ofα ≤ 0.05.Result: Results revealed the presence of effect in treatment and control groups. In treatment group the level of dependence due to preschool knowledge had signi fi cance level of p = 0.002, while that in control group was p = 1.000, to preschool attitude p = 0.034 in treatment, and p = 0.014 in control group, to preschool action p=0.001, and p = 0.317 in control group.Conclusion: It can be concluded that there are significant influence of health education with contemporary book story on preschool personal hygiene behaviour. Further study should measure qualitation of understanding about personal hygiene behaviour for teacher in RA Perwanida, Mojokerto.

Ethnic differences in parental feeding behaviors in UK parents of preschoolers

Childhood obesity is prevalent among ethnic minorities in the UK but little is known about parent feeding practices in these populations. We administered questionnaires assessing parental feeding behaviors and perceptions and concerns relating to child weight to White British (n = 271), South Asian (n = 59), and Black Afro-Caribbean (n = 42) parents of UK 3-5 year-olds. Child BMI z-scores were determined from measured heights and weights. South Asian and Black Afro-Caribbean parents exhibited greater pressure to eat than White British parents. Black Afro-Caribbean parents additionally scored higher on instrumental feeding and lower on monitoring, while South Asian parents scored higher on emotional feeding. Black Afro-Caribbean parents reported the greatest concern about both child overweight and underweight. Ethnic differences were unchanged by controlling for perceptions and concerns relating to child weight, or for actual BMI z, parent education, or household income. Exploratory analyses suggested some evidence for sex differences within ethnic groups. For example, South Asian parents of daughters scored higher than White British parents of daughters on emotional feeding, with no ethnic differences apparent for parents of sons. Our findings support considering variation in parent feeding behaviors and weight-related attitudes by parental ethnicity and child sex when developing obesity interventions.

Effectiveness of a Parent Health Report in Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Preschoolers and Kindergarteners

ObjectiveTo determine the effectiveness of a parent health report on fruit and vegetable consumption among preschoolers and kindergarteners. DesignPre-post open design trial and a randomized controlled trial. SettingA university-sponsored preschool and kindergarten. ParticipantsA total of 63 parents of preschool and kindergarten students participated in the pre-post open design trial and 65 parents participated in the randomized controlled trial. InterventionParents in intervention groups were given a parent health report providing information about their child's fruit and vegetable intake as well as recommendations for how to increase their child's fruit and vegetable consumption. Main Outcome MeasureChange in fruit and vegetable consumption. AnalysisLatent growth curve modeling with Bayesian estimation. ResultsVegetable consumption increased by 0.3 servings/d in the open trial and 0.65 servings/d in the randomized trial. Fruit consumption did not increase significantly in either study. Conclusions and ImplicationsResults from both an open trial and a randomized controlled trial suggested that the parent health report may be a beneficial tool to increase vegetable consumption in preschoolers and kindergarteners. Increases in vegetable consumption can lead to the establishment of lifelong habits of healthy vegetable intake and decrease risk for chronic diseases.

The effectiveness of the Incredible Years pre-school parenting programme in the United Kingdom: a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

ABSTRACTThe prognosis for children with early-onset conduct disorder is poor. Conduct disorder also has a social cost for families and communities, and an economic cost for society through the increased use of health, education, social, legal and detention services. In this study, the Incredible Years (IY) BASIC programme was delivered to parents of pre-school children at risk of developing a conduct disorder and evaluated by pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Participants were parents of 161 children (110 intervention, 51 control) aged between 36 and 59 months (mean age 44 months, 63% boys) and scoring over the clinical cut-off on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). At follow-up (six months post-baseline), the intent-to-treat analysis showed a mean between group difference in favour of IY on the SDQ total difficulties score of 2.23 (p < 0.05, effect size: 0.50). IY was also superior to control on the Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory (p < 0.05, effect size: 0.37) and on the Arnold and O’Leary parenting scale (p < 0.01, effect size: 0.43). This study confirms the effectiveness of IY in a public system delivered with fidelity by regular children’s centre staff, supporting findings from a similar trial in Wales. These results support the wider roll-out of IY to similar children.

Pilot and feasibility study of a parenting intervention delivered by parent peers

ABSTRACTPreventive parenting interventions delivered by parent peer specialists may be a viable alternative to professional-led interventions and offer an advantage of increasing access in medically underserved areas. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a 10-session, peer specialist-delivered preventive parenting intervention (Smart and Secure Children) for child disruptive behavior. The intervention was evaluated among a small sample of parents (N = 15) of preschoolers (2–5 years) residing in medically underserved communities. Pediatricians referred families to the intervention, which was delivered in primary care practices within medically underserved communities. To determine feasibility, we calculated percentages of pediatricians who referred parents to the intervention, parent peer specialists who completed 40-h interventionist and leadership training, and the average number of sessions attended by parents. Enrolled parents completed questionnaires assessing child disruptive behavior, parenting stress and parenting competence at pre- and post-intervention. Descriptive statistics demonstrated the majority of pediatricians within the clinics referred families, and all parent peer specialists completed training to deliver the intervention. On average, 60% of sessions were attended by parents. Pairwise t-tests showed pre-to-post-intervention improvements in number of child disruptive behaviors perceived as a problem by parents, parenting stress and parenting competence. No significant change was found in parent-reported frequency of child disruptive behaviors. Results suggests adequate feasibility of the Smart and Secure Children Intervention, and that it holds promise for improving parenting stress and competence, and decreasing the number of child behaviors that are perceived as a problem by parents. Future directions for research are discussed.

Child differential sensitivity to parental self-efficacy improvement

This study investigates the hypothesis of a child differential sensitivity to parenting improvement. One hundred and fourteen parents of preschoolers participated in two parenting micro-trials aiming to increase parental self-efficacy in view of improving child behavior. The first micro-trial took place in a short-term laboratory experiment; the other was an eight-week parenting group intervention, both focusing on altering parental cognition. Differential effects of parental self-efficacy improvement on child’s positive and negative behaviors, depending on child temperament, were compared at post-test between control and experimental groups. Both observation and questionnaires were used to measure child behavior as well as regression and Regions of Significance analyses. Child differential sensitivity was found both in the laboratory experiment and in the parenting intervention for the temperamental trait of negative emotionality but not for the temperamental trait of activity. However, this sensitivity was in an unexpected direction. Highly emotional children benefited less from this parental cognitive improvement than children low on emotionality. These results may be explained by the specific cognitive nature of these two parenting micro-trials.

Perception of Child Weight and Feeding Styles in Parents of Chinese-American Preschoolers.

Parent perception of weight and feeding styles are associated with obesity in other racial groups but have not been explored in-depth in Chinese-American preschoolers. Cross-sectional survey of 253 Chinese-American parents with preschoolers was performed in a community clinic. Regression analysis was used to assess relationships between parental perception of weight and feeding styles. Parent under-perception of weight was common but more likely in boys than girls (χ2 = 4.91, p = 0.03). Pressuring was also greater in boys [adjusted mean difference (95% CI) 0.24 (0.004, 0.49)]. In girls, pressuring was lower for children perceived as overweight [adjusted mean difference in CFQ scores -0.75 (-1.27, -0.23)]; in boys, pressuring was high regardless of perceived child weight. Weight perceptions and feeding styles related to childhood obesity in other groups were identified in Chinese-American families. Parent under-perception of child weight and pressure to eat were more common in boys. These factors should be addressed in Chinese-American preschooler obesity prevention programs.

‘Educate a Woman and You Educate a Generation’

This essay discusses the geographies of learning and the vital creative cultural space of the public library. Discussion attends to how public libraries have facilitated emancipatory spaces for learning, highlighting the importance of the public library both in its employment of and the cultural opportunities it has afforded women. Based on verbatim records, a creatively written account of a pre-school parent’s book club shows how individual librarians and library users have come together to ‘stage’ a book club held within a public library. It records the vital enrichment of collective book reading to a group of people who may otherwise get forgotten in discussions of cultural need, and serves as a reminder of how public libraries are able to facilitate the habit of reading enriching the lives of those involved and who witness such an act.

Parental Views of Promoting Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Overweight Preschoolers and School-Aged Children

Given the importance of parental influence on children’s eating habits, we explored perceptions of parents of overweight (body mass index–for-age percentile ≥85%) preschoolers (3-5 years) and overweight school-aged children (6-12 years) regarding challenges in promoting fruit and vegetable intake and how they and other family members influence their overweight children’s dietary habits. Focus groups were conducted with 13 parents of overweight preschoolers and 14 parents of overweight school-aged children. Codes and themes were developed by inductive data analysis. Four common themes were identified: short shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables prohibiting parents from purchasing, children’s taste changes in fruits and vegetables, parents having the primary influence on children’s dietary intake, and wanting fruits and vegetables “ready to go.” Parents of school-aged children were more concerned about their children’s weight, and extended family members negatively influenced children’s dietary intake compared with parents of preschoolers. Our findings provide valuable insight for nutrition/health educators when developing family-based interventions for weight management.

Supplemental Material for A Qualitative Examination of Contributing Factors and Treatment Considerations for Pediatric Obesity Among Parents of Rural Preschoolers

Supplemental Material for A Qualitative Examination of Contributing Factors and Treatment Considerations for Pediatric Obesity Among Parents of Rural Preschoolers