Preschool Attendance Research Articles

Health and functioning in the everyday lives of young children with cancer: documenting with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health--Children and Youth (ICF-CY).

Health care focus is shifting for children from surviving childhood cancer to living with it on a daily basis. There is a need to document health and function in the everyday lives of young children with cancer using the multidimensional framework and language of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health--Children and Youth (ICF-CY). The aims of this study were (1) to document health and functioning in the everyday lives of young children with cancer using ICF-CY codes and (2) to identify a comprehensive code set that can aid clinical assessment. Interviews with children diagnosed with cancer and their parents, were transcribed, reviewed for content and coded to the ICF-CY using linking procedures. A comprehensive code set (n = 70) for childhood cancer was identified. The majority of content identified to codes was related to activity and participation describing social relations with family, peers and professionals, preschool attendance and play, as well as issues related to support and independence. The ICF-CY can be used to document the nature and range of characteristics and consequences of cancer experienced by children. The identified comprehensive code set could be helpful to health care professionals, parents and teachers in assessing and supporting young children's health and everyday life through the cancer trajectory. The comprehensive code set could be developed as a clinical assessment tool for those caring for young children with cancer. The universal language of the ICF-CY means that the utility of a clinical assessment tool based on identified codes can have wide reaching effects for the care of young children with cancer.

Physical activity and motor skills in children attending 43 preschools: a cross-sectional study.

BackgroundLittle is known about health characteristics and the physical activity (PA) patterns in children attending preschools. The objective of this study was to describe the gender differences in relation to body mass index (BMI), motor skills (MS) and PA, including PA patterns by the day type and time of day. Additionally, the between-preschool variation in mean PA was estimated using the intraclass correlation.MethodsWe invited 627 children 5–6 years of age attending 43 randomly selected preschools in Odense, Denmark. Aiming and catching MS was assessed using subtests of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (Second Edition) and motor coordination MS was assessed by the Kiphard-Schilling body coordination test, Körperkoordination Test für Kinder. PA was measured using accelerometry. The PA patterns were analysed using mixed models.ResultsNo gender differences in the BMI or norm-referenced MS risk classification, or the average weekly PA level or patterns of PA were observed. However, boys performed better in the aiming and catching score (p < 0.01) and in the motor coordination score (p < 0.05) on average. Girls performed better in the balance subtest (p < 0.001). Relative to the norm-referenced classification of MS, the Danish sample distribution was significantly well for aiming and catching but poorer for the motor coordination test.The total sample and the least active children were most active on weekdays, during preschool time and in the late afternoon at the weekend. However, a relatively larger decrease in PA from preschool to weekday leisure time was observed in children in the lowest PA quartile compared to children in the highest PA quartile. Finally, the preschool accounted for 19% of the total variance in PA, with significant gender differences.ConclusionsResults of this study could provide a valuable reference material for studies monitoring future trends in obesity, MS and PA behaviour in Denmark and other countries.Knowledge about sources of variation in PA among preschool children is scarce and our findings need to be replicated in future studies. A potentially important finding is the large between-preschool variation in PA, indicating that especially girls are very susceptible to the environment offered for PA during preschool attendance.

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Motor Developmental Delays in 3- to 6-Year-Old Preschool Children in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

School entry examinations in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania show a high prevalence of motor developmental delays (13.7%). In this study possible risk factors (RF) were analysed. The study was performed as a cluster-randomised, controlled study in 12 preschools in M-V. The "Dortmund Developmental Screening for Preschools DESK 3-6" was used to detect developmental risks. Parents received a standardised questionnaire. RF were analysed in binary logistic regressions for fine (FM) and gross motor (GM) skills. N=599 children were included in the analysis. RF for FM and GM are irregular utilisation of preschools (FM: OR: 2.63; p=0.009; 95% CI: 1.27-5.45; GM: OR: 2.56; p=0.021; 95% CI: 1.15-5.68) and male sex (FM: OR: 2.97; p<0.001; 95% CI: 1.93-4.57; GM: OR: 1.87; p=0.016; 95% CI: 1.12-3.10). A low parental socioeconomic status is an RF for the development of GM (OR: 3.10; p=0.036; 95% CI: 1.08-8.95). An age-adequate development of FM is a protective factor for GM development (OR: 0.17; p<0.001; 95% CI: 0.10-0.29). Regular preschool attendance is beneficial for motor development. RESULTS confirm the adequacy of the setting preschool for interventions.

Household income and preschool attendance in china.

This article draws upon the literature showing the benefits of high-quality preschools on child well-being to explore the role of household income on preschool attendance for a cohort of 3- to 6-year-olds in China using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, 1991-2006. Analyses are conducted separately for rural (N = 1,791) and urban (N = 633) settings. Estimates from a probit model with rich controls suggest a positive association between household income per capita and preschool attendance in both settings. A household fixed-effects model, conducted only on the rural sample, finds results similar to, although smaller than, those from the probit estimates. Policy recommendations are discussed.

Socioeconomic status, child enrichment factors, and cognitive performance among preschool-age children: Results from the Follow-Up of Growth and Development Experiences study

Lower cognitive performance is associated with poorer health and functioning throughout the lifespan and disproportionately affects children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) populations. Previous studies reporting positive associations between child home enrichment and cognitive performance generally had a limited distribution of SES. We evaluated the associations of SES and child enrichment with cognitive performance in a population with a wide range of SES, particularly whether enrichment attenuates associations with SES. Children were sampled from a case-control study of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) conducted in a public hospital serving a low SES population (final n=198) and a private hospital serving a middle-to-high SES population (final n=253). SES (maternal education and income) and perinatal factors (SGA, maternal smoking and drinking) were obtained from maternal birth interview. Five child home enrichment factors (e.g. books in home) and preschool attendance were obtained from follow-up interview at age 4.5 years. Cognitive performance was assessed with the Differential Ability Scales (DAS), a standardized psychometric test administered at follow-up. SES and enrichment scores were created by combining individual factors. Analyses were adjusted for perinatal factors. Children from the public birth hospital had a significantly lower mean DAS general cognitive ability (GCA) score than children born at the private birth hospital (adjusted mean difference -21.4, 95% CI: -24.0, -18.7); this was substantially attenuated by adjustment for individual SES, child enrichment factors, and preschool attendance (adjusted mean difference -5.1, 95% CI: -9.5, -0.7). Individual-level SES score was associated with DAS score, beyond the general SES effect associated with hospital of birth. Adjustment for preschool attendance and home enrichment score attenuated the association between individual SES score and adjusted mean DAS-GCA among children born at both of the hospitals. The effect of being in the lower compared to the middle tertile of SES score was reduced by approximately a quarter; the effect of being in the upper compared to the middle tertile of SES score was reduced by nearly half, but this comparison was possible only for children born at the private hospital. A child's individual SES was associated with cognitive performance within advantaged and disadvantaged populations. Child enrichment was associated with better cognitive performance and attenuated the SES influence. Health care providers should reinforce guidelines for home enrichment and refer children with delays to early intervention and education, particularly children from disadvantaged populations.

The Relationship Between Twin Language, Twins’ Close Ties, and Social Competence

This study investigated the relationship between twin language, twins' close ties, and social competence in a prospective longitudinal study. We hypothesized that twins whose tie is close would be more likely to develop a twin language, and these twins would be less likely to develop social competence. In addition, we hypothesize that some environmental factors, such as having an older sibling, preschool attendance, zygosity, and sex are also related to twin language, twins' close ties, and social competence. At baseline in 1999 a mailed questionnaire survey was conducted, and a follow-up questionnaire was distributed in 2004 among 958 mothers. As a result, 516 respondents returned the questionnaire (53.9%). In this study, we used 261 twin pairs aged from 6 to 12 years (school-age children) for analysis, excluding those with missing values. In the present study, we found that zygosity and sex were associated with twins' close ties. Having an older sibling and preschool attendance did not affect the twins' close tie, twin language, or social competence. One of the most important findings was that social competence was not affected directly by twins' close tie, but was affected when a twin language was found.

Young children's motor skill performance: relationships with activity types and parent perception of athletic competence.

The aims were to examine the relationship between children's motor skill levels and types of physical activities performed during preschool attendance, and to examine the relationship between motor skill performance and parent perception of athletic competence. Cross-sectional. Participants were 264, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children from 22 preschools. Locomotor and object control skills were assessed with a standardized motor skill protocol. Direct observation (OSRAC-P) was used to record activity types: walk, run, jump/skip, dance, and throw. Parents rated their child's athletic competence. Children were categorized into tertiles for locomotor and object control scores. Mixed models were used to test for differences across motor skill tertiles for each aim. Models controlled for sex, age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, and parent education, with preschool as a random variable. Children in the highest locomotor tertile engaged in more dancing than children in the lowest tertile (p = 0.04). Children in the highest object control tertile engaged in throwing more frequently than children in lower tertiles (p < 0.05). Parents of children in the highest locomotor tertile perceived their children's competence as higher than parents of children in lower tertiles (p < 0.05). Parents of children in the lowest object control tertile perceived their children's competence as significantly lower than parents of children in higher tertiles (p < 0.05). These findings point to the need for policy and practice research to help parents and child care professionals provide opportunities for young children to learn and practice motor skills.

Physical Activity in Children Attending Preschools

To identify correlates of objectively measured moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in children during preschool attendance. This cross-sectional study included data from 426 apparently healthy Danish children (49.5% boys), 5 to 6 years of age enrolled in 42 randomly selected preschools. The percentage of time spent in MVPA (≥ 574 counts/15 second) during preschool attendance was measured using ActiGraph accelerometers over 4.3 preschool days in May and June in 2009. Thirty-seven potential correlates across the child, preschool staff, and preschool environment domains were tested for associations with MVPA. The final multivariate model identified 9 significant correlates of MVPA. Preterm birth, vegetation on the playground, and rainy days were negatively associated with MVPA, whereas child motor coordination, location of preschool building on the playground, gender (boys), percentage afternoon hours, and size of indoor area per child were positively associated with MVPA. The direction of the significant association with the parental mean education level was unclear. We identified a number of new modifiable correlates of MVPA during preschool attendance. The positive association with size of indoor area per child and location of the preschool building on the playground seem important correlates to be targeted in future studies.

Accurately Predicting Future Reading Difficulty for Bilingual Latino Children at Risk for Language Impairment

Sixty-three bilingual Latino children who were at risk for language impairment were administered reading-related measures in English and Spanish (letter identification, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and sentence repetition) and descriptive measures including English language proficiency, language ability, SES, and preschool attendance at kindergarten. At the end of first grade, English word-level reading and reading comprehension were measured. Results indicated that the Spanish predictor measures did not account for significant variance over and above the English predictor measures for any of the first grade outcome measures. Of the descriptive predictor measures, only English language proficiency and language ability were significantly predictive, accounting for unique variance in first grade reading comprehension. Sensitivity ranged from .67 to .86 and specificity ranged from .82 to .93 across the four first grade outcome measures.

Post‐infant linear growth is associated with cognitive achievement of 8y‐olds in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam

Resource allocations for nutrition programs are often based on the assumption that opportunities for long‐term physical and cognitive development close after 2 y. However, cognitive deficits from linear growth failure may be reversible. We used data from Young Lives which includes ~8000 children at 1, 5 and 8 y of age in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam. We used regression analysis to examine associations between post‐infancy improvement in height not predicted by prior length (unpredicted growth) and cognitive achievement at 8 y. HAZ at 1 y was associated with higher cognitive achievement for all 4 countries and with schooling outcomes (except preschool attendance in Vietnam). In adjusted models, unpredicted change in HAZ from 1 to 8 y was significantly associated with higher scores on standardized tests of math in Ethiopia and India (coefficients of .504 and .509, respectively) and vocabulary (in Ethiopia, India and Peru, 3.079, 2.020, .930, respectively) and appropriate age for grade (.821, .848, .834 and .812 in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam). We believe this to be the first study to examine the relationship between post‐infancy unpredicted growth and medium‐term child development outcomes. Our results reinforce the gains from addressing nutritional insults not only during infancy but throughout childhood.

The impact of vouchers on preschool attendance and elementary school readiness: A randomized controlled trial in rural China

Although preschool has been shown to improve children's school readiness in many developing countries, preschool attendance in poor rural areas of China is still low. The high cost of preschool is often regarded as a major barrier to attendance. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of a one-year voucher/CCT intervention on preschool attendance and school readiness. To do so, we conducted a randomized controlled trial among 150 young children in a poor, rural county in China. Our analysis shows that the intervention, consisting of a tuition waiver and a cash transfer conditional on attendance, raised attendance by 20 percentage points (or by 35%). However, the intervention did not have measurable impact on children's school readiness. We believe that poor quality of preschool education in rural China (in terms of both teaching and facilities) contributes to our findings.

Preschool attendance and school-age profiles: A revision

Data collected from the Uruguayan household survey (ENHA) of year 2006 is used to provide more evidence and revision on the longer-term impact of pre-primary education on subsequent school attendance and accumulated years of education. In order to control for unobserved individual or household characteristics that may affect both the participation in a preschool program and the later educational attainment, we instrumented preschool attendance with average attendance rates by age in each locality. Previous research found a positive effect both on school attendance and accumulated years of education, and this effect magnify as children grow up. But, till 2006 survey, there’s no accurate data available to calculate properly the accumulated years of education a child should have and so the causality between preschool and the outcome accumulated years of education was only approximated. Thus, a major contribution of this paper is that for the first time, ENHA makes possible to work with real data on school grade repetitions (estimate accurately the possible lag in children education) and we find results which are different to previous findings. In sum, though preschool impacts positively on subsequent school attendance, preschool seems not to have an increasing impact on years of education as children grow up if we take into account new data on grade repetition. Also this paper broaden the scope of previous research adding data on rural areas and taking into account also children who do not live with both biological parents. Spreading out preschool education seems to be a successful policy option in a country with large drop-out rates but to cope with school grade repetition new options should be studied.

What makes a difference: Early Head Start evaluation findings in a developmental context.

The federal Early Head Start (EHS) program began in 1995, and a randomized trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of 17 EHS programs. In all, 3,001 low-income families (35% African American, 24% Hispanic, and 37% White) with a pregnant women or an infant under the age of 12 months were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group (with 91% of the treatment group receiving some services). Data were collected when the children were about 1, 2, and 3 years of age, and at age 5 (2 years after leaving EHS). Research questions examined (1) impacts of EHS at ages 2 and 3 (when services were being offered) and at age 5, and (2) contributions of early education experiences across children's first 5 years of life. Child outcomes included cognition, language, attention, behavior problems, and health; maternal outcomes included parenting, mental health, and employment. Overall impact analyses at ages 2 and 3 indicated that EHS benefited children and families: impacts were seen in all domains, with effect sizes of significant impacts ranging from .10 to .20. At age 5, EHS children had better attention and approaches toward learning as well as fewer behavior problems than the control group, although they did not differ on early school achievement. Subgroup analyses indicated that cognitive impacts were sustained 2 years after the program ended for African American children and language impacts for Hispanic children who spoke Spanish. Some significant family benefits were seen at age 5. Mediated analyses identified which child and family impacts at ages 2 and 3 contributed to the child impacts at age 5 (most relevant were earlier treatment effects on child cognition and on engagement with the parent). Growth curve analyses were also conducted. Although fewer than half the children enrolled in center-based preschool programs between ages 3 and 4, almost 90% participated in the year preceding kindergarten. A higher percentage of EHS than control children were enrolled. Nonexperimental analyses suggested that formal program participation enhanced children's readiness for school while also increasing parent-reported aggression. At age 5, those children and families who experienced EHS followed by formal programs fared best overall. However, the benefits of the two experiences were associated with outcomes in different ways. Benefits in language, behavior, and parenting were associated primarily with EHS; benefits in early school achievement were associated primarily with preschool attendance.

The relationship between preschool education attendance and school performance and potential for improvement of preschool education in Serbia

Based on the data of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2003 and 2009, we look at the relationship between preschool attendance and school performance, taking into account socio-economic characteristics of a family and a household. The effect of preschool education on student achievement is measured through the 15-year-old pupils' scholastic performance in reading, mathematics and scientific literacy evaluated through PISA. We find that for male pupils the positive effect of preschool attendance on school performance disappears once we control for the factors of socio-economic background. In the sample of female pupils, the positive effect of preschool attendance on school performance remains significant even after we control for the factors of socio-economic background. Based on the PISA data results and the large nationally representative surveys (MICS, LSMS), we conclude that there are different possibilities for improvement of preschool education in Serbia, considered from the perspective of coverage and equity, quality of offered services, as well as a number of children per educator, and the total governmental resources earmarked for preschool education. This is important because improvement of preschool education contributes to the positive development of a relationship between preschool education and long-term education outcomes.

Preschool attendance as a factor in the motor skill development of children

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the motor skills of children who had already attended one year of preschool or had just begun their education.MethodsA total of 286 five- and six-year-old children were recruited from different preschools (eight preschools and three primary school preschool programs) in Gdańsk, Poland. A test battery was designed based on the children’s preschool physical education curriculum and the motor skills that should be acquired at this age. The analyzed motor tasks included: 1) walking on a balance bench, 2) crawling on an inclined balance bench, 3) running then jumping over an obstacle with one leg, 4) catching and throwing a ball over an obstacle, 5) throwing a ball against the wall and catching it, 6) climbing on a gymnastic ladder, 7) jumproping. The children were tested twice in test-retest conditions, at the beginning and end of the school year.ResultsThe children showed the lowest level of skills in throwing, catching, and bouncing a ball against the wall and jumproping.ConclusionsNo significant differences were identified as to children’s physical abilities or between the 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds either beginning or continuing preschool.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among children exposed to secondhand smoke: A logistic regression analysis of secondary data

BackgroundA growing body of literature examines the association of postnatal secondhand smoke exposure with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, but the findings are mixed. ObjectiveWe compare prevalence of ADHD in children aged 4–15 years who were exposed to postnatal secondhand smoke with prevalence in those who were not exposed, and examine the association of postnatal secondhand smoke exposure with ADHD using both reported and cotinine-measured secondhand smoke exposure. Design and settingWe analyze secondary data from the 1999–2004 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. ParticipantsAnalyses using reported secondhand smoke exposure and cotinine-measured exposure included 6283 and 6033 children aged 4–15 respectively, including 419 and 404 children who either had a reported physician diagnosis of ADHD or were taking stimulant medications. MethodsThe association of secondhand smoke exposure with ADHD was examined by two multiple logistic regression models that differ in the secondhand smoke measurement used. ResultsAfter controlling for maternal smoking during pregnancy, gender, age, race/ethnicity, preschool attendance, health insurance coverage, and exposure to lead, children with reported secondhand smoke exposure at home were more likely to have ADHD (adjusted odds ratio=1.5, 95% confidence interval: 1.1-2.0) than those who were not exposed. After controlling for these covariates, children with detectable cotinine levels were more likely to have ADHD (adjusted odds ratio=1.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.3-2.5) than those with non-detectable levels. ConclusionsOur findings suggest that secondhand smoke exposure in children is strongly associated with ADHD independent of other risk factors and this association is robust using both measurements of secondhand smoke exposure. Further research is needed to understand the mechanism underlying this association. Nurses and other healthcare professionals can play an important role in encouraging parents to quit smoking to reduce children's exposure to secondhand smoke and their risk of ADHD.

387 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Colostrum and Cognitive Development in Breastfed Children of the Eden Mother-Child Cohort Study

Background and AimsEpidemiological studies suggest that breastfeeding could be beneficial for child cognitive development, but pathways involved remain to be elucidated. We aimed to investigate the potential role of breast...

Does an early childhood intervention affect cardiometabolic risk in adulthood? Evidence from a longitudinal study of preschool attendance in South Australia

There is an expectation that a positive social, cognitive and behavioural trajectory from early childhood developmental interventions will lead to improved population health and reduced health inequalities. However, there is limited direct evidence for this. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of participation in the South Australian Kindergarten Union preschool programme on adult cardiovascular biomedical risk factors. Kindergarten Union preschools delivered high-quality, comprehensive services to children aged 2-4 years and their families, including education, parenting and health services. Retrospective population-based cohort study. The effect of attendance at a Kindergarten Union preschool on a range of cardiometabolic risk factors was assessed using data from the North West Adelaide Health Study 1999-2007. The study sample was taken from participants in the 2007 survey (n = 1064, 44.8% attended preschool) who lived in South Australia as children and were born during the years 1937-1969. Preschool attendance had a beneficial effect on hypertension in adulthood [prevalence ratio 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.69-0.97] and an indication of benefit on hypercholesterolaemia (prevalence ratio 0.86, 95% CI 0.71-1.05), but had no effect on dyslipidaemia, central obesity, high fasting blood glucose or metabolic syndrome. This study found that preschool attendance was associated with reduced risk of hypertension in adulthood, but no effect was seen for the other cardiometabolic factors. These findings may reflect differing causal pathways and trajectories of these risk factors from childhood to adulthood, but confirmation from other studies is required.

Gene-by-preschool interaction on the development of early externalizing problems.

Preschool involves an array of new social experiences that may impact the development of early externalizing behavior problems over the transition to grade school. Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of over 600 pairs of US twins, we tested whether the genetic and environmental influences on externalizing problems differed between children who did versus did not attend preschool. At age 4, the genetic and environmental etiology of externalizing did not differ by preschool attendance. In contrast, by age 5 years (kindergarten age), the genetic and environmental etiology of externalizing significantly differed by preschool attendance. Among children who did not attend preschool, externalizing at age 5 was predominantly due to environmental influences (52% shared environment, 34% non-shared environment) rather than genetic differences (13%), whereas among children who had attended preschool, externalizing at age 5 was primarily due to genes (67%), and shared environmental influences were negligible (0%). These interactions represented the differential longitudinal persistence of genes and environments that contributed to externalizing at age 4. Sensitivity analyses ruled out confounding due to early mental ability, socioeconomic status, minority status, child age, and prior history of childcare. These results indicate that preschool enrollment is associated with increased genetic and decreased shared environmental influences on the development of early externalizing behavior problems.

Using hierarchical linear models to test differences in Swedish results from OECD’s PISA 2003: Integrated and subject-specific science education

The possible effects of different organisations of the science curriculum in schools participating in PISA 2003 are tested with a hierarchical linear model (HLM) of two levels. The analysis is based on science results. Swedish schools are free to choose how they organise the science curriculum. They may choose to work subject-specifically (with Biology, Chemistry and Physics), integrated (with Science) or to mix these two. In this study, all three ways of organising science classes in compulsory school are present to some degree. None of the different ways of organising science education displayed statistically significant better student results in scientific literacy as measured in PISA 2003. The HLM model used variables of gender, country of birth, home language, preschool attendance, an economic, social and cultural index as well as the teaching organisation.