Preschool Group Research Articles

Modifiable Early Childhood Risk Factors for Obesity at Age Four Years.

Background: Childhood obesity is associated with an increased risk of adult obesity and related chronic disease. Our aim was to identify modifiable exposures that are independently associated with obesity in the preschool age group. Methods: A prospective cohort study of 5734 children in New Zealand with anthropometric measurements was completed at age 4.5 years. The modifiable exposures of interest, measured at age 9 months and 2 years, were: food security during infancy; and, at age 2 years, screen time; sleep duration; and takeaway food and soft drink intake. The risk of obesity independently associated with each exposure was determined using Binomial and Poisson regression and described using adjusted risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), after controlling for confounding variables including gender, ethnicity, birth weight, and mother's age. The probability of obesity given cumulative exposures to the four risk factors and the population attributable fraction (PAF) were estimated. Results: Lower food security during infancy (<mean study sample score; RR = 1.32; 95% CI : 1.06-1.64) and, at age 2 years, more screen time (>1 hour/day; RR = 1.22; 95% CI : 1.01-1.48), shorter sleep duration (≤11.5 hours/day; RR = 1.30; 95% CI : 1.05-1.61), and weekly to daily consumption of takeaway/soft drink (RR = 1.25, 95% CI : 1.00-1.57) were independently associated with an increased risk of obesity at age 4.5 years. The cumulative PAF for childhood obesity was 42.9%, under an ideal scenario where all risk factors were eliminated. Conclusion: Exposure to modifiable factors by age 2 years is associated with obesity at age 4.5 years. Interventions to prevent childhood obesity need to be effective during infancy.

Symbolic versus non-symbolic training for improving early numeracy in preschoolers at risk of developing difficulties in mathematics

BackgroundChildren’s understanding of symbolic (e.g., Arabic digits) and non-symbolic (e.g., sets of dots) magnitudes plays a key role in their mathematics achievement, but only a few studies directly compared the effects of symbolic and non-symbolic interventions on mathematical abilities. AimsThis longitudinal study compared the impact of symbolic and non-symbolic trainings in a group of preschoolers at risk of developing difficulties in mathematics (RM), analyzing their post-intervention performance both in early math skills (last preschool year) and in mathematics achievement in 1st grade. MethodsEighty-nine RM children and 66 typically developing controls were selected from among 604 preschoolers. RM children were assigned to three intervention conditions: no intervention, symbolic or non-symbolic intervention. ResultsResults showed specific effects on tasks related to the training (e.g., effects of symbolic training on symbolic tasks) and some effects of generalization (e.g., effects of symbolic training on non-symbolic tasks). In 1st grade, children attending the symbolic intervention showed a mathematics achievement profile similar to that of typically developing peers. ConclusionsThese results suggest the importance of training the symbolic processing of numbers at preschool age, allowing at risk children to catch up with their peers before entering formal schooling.

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in children presenting with supracondylar fractures of humerus

The purpose of the current analysis is to evaluate the predominance of vitamin D inadequacy in children with supracondylar fracture of the humerus. This is a cross-sectional study conducted at Dr Ruth K. M. Pfau Civil, Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, from December 2019 to July 2020. Patients aged 18months-18years presenting with supracondylar fractures were included in the study. Patients were divided into four groups based on their age as toddlers (18months to 3years), pre-school age (3-5years), school-age (6 to 11years) and adolescents (11-18years). A total of 227 children presented with upper limb fractures of which 72 (31.7%) were supracondylar. The mean vitamin D level was found to be 32.5±9.1ng/mL. Of the study subjects, low vitamin D levels were found in 34.7% (n=25), adequate in 59.7% (n=43) and ideal in 5.5% (n=4) of patients. The mean vitamin D levels for toddlers were 33.5ng/mL, for preschool children was 27.66ng/mL, for school-age children was 30.4ng/mL and for adolescents was 37ng/mL. Vitamin D deficiency is not only restricted to Pakistan but also other parts of the world, although the reasons may vary in each of those regions. However, vitamin D supplementation in all parts of the globe can prevent a significant number of fractures. This prevalence study showed vitamin D deficiency in 35% of children with supracondylar fractures, with the lowest mean values in the preschool age group.

Association between Sleep Disturbance with Weight-for-Height and Body Mass Index in Preschoolers

Introduction: Hormonal changes affecting a child's growth occur in deep sleep phase of preschoolers. Nowadays, obesity is still a world health problem. In 2014, Indonesia had three growth problems, one of them was overweight in preschoolers. This study aimed to analyze the association between sleep disturbance with weight-for-height and body mass index (BMI) in preschoolers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study by analyzing the tendency with boxplot charts and the association was measured by Mann-Whitney test and independent t-test. Data of 86 preschoolers aged 3-5 years old were obtained from three kindergartens in Kalijudan, Surabaya from March to September 2018. Z-score values and the categories of weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ) and BMI-for-age Z-score (BAZ) refer to WHO Standards 2006 and sleep disturbances were measured by sleep disturbance scale for children (SDSC) questionnaire. Results: 65.12% of preschoolers had sleep disturbance and 66.28% of them had normal WHZ and BAZ. The average WHZ and BAZ value in preschoolers who had sleep disturbance (M = -0.2730; -0.2207) were higher than preschoolers who had no sleep disturbance (M = -0.6083; -0, 5920). Results from Mann-Whitney test showed the same significance value between WHZ and BAZ, p = 0.226. Independent t-test showed a significance value of p = 0.524 and p = 0.490, meaning that there was no statistically significant association. Conclusion: There was no statistically significant association between sleep disturbance with WHZ and BAZ in preschoolers aged 3-5 years old, however descriptively, the values of WHZ and BAZ in the group of preschoolers who had sleep disturbance tended to be higher.

Developing Creativity In Preparing Children For School Education

The article provides theoretical and practical insights into the preparation of children for school, the orientation of students in the field of innovative creative activities and the formation of creative abilities of children in pre-school education groups.

Pre-school Teachers' Stereotypes and Self-Efficacy are Linked to Perceptions of Behavior Problems in Newly Arrived Refugee Children.

Introduction: Since 2015, increased numbers of refugee families with pre-school-aged children have arrived in Germany. In pre-schools, teachers' professional competence for teaching those children and adapting to their socio-emotional needs has become increasingly important. Previous research linked teachers' stereotypes and cultural beliefs to their self-efficacy and enthusiasm when teaching immigrant children. This study investigated the links between domains of pre-school teachers' professional competence (i.e., negative stereotypes, multicultural beliefs, self-efficacy, and enthusiasm when teaching newly arrived refugee children), and examined whether teachers' professional competence was linked to their perceptions of newly arrived refugee children's behavior problems.Method: In a cross-sectional self-report survey, N = 147 German pre-school teachers reported on their professional competence and completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for a selected refugee child from their pre-school group. We used regression modeling to link teachers' negative stereotypes and multicultural beliefs to their self-efficacy and enthusiasm for teaching refugee children. Next, we examined the links between teachers' beliefs, values, and motivational orientations to their ratings on the SDQ subscales. Last, we linked demographic data on teachers and children to teachers' professional competence and SDQ ratings.Results: Teachers with more negative stereotypes toward newly arrived refugee children and less agreement with multicultural beliefs reported lower self-efficacy and enthusiasm for teaching newly arrived refugee children. Teachers with more negative stereotypes perceived more hyperactivity/inattention and total difficulties. Teachers with higher self-efficacy perceived less hyperactivity/inattention, less total difficulties, and more prosocial behavior. Additionally, teachers who had more experience with refugee children reported more negative stereotypes and higher agreement with multicultural beliefs. Teachers having more overall work experience perceived more total difficulties. Boys were perceived to display more externalizing behavior problems, less prosocial behavior, and more total difficulties. Older children were perceived as displaying more prosocial behavior and children from African countries were perceived as displaying more conduct problems.Discussion: Our findings suggest that pre-school teachers' stereotypes and self-efficacy might be related to perception biases concerning newly arrived refugee children's externalizing behavior problems. Implications for the professional development of pre-school teachers and teacher-informant diagnostics of refugee children's socio-emotional needs are discussed.

Associations between South African preschoolers’ routine physical activity, self-regulation and psychosocial well-being

Physical activity (PA) is an essential health behaviour with a wide range of benefits, including the potential for a beneficial association with self-regulation and psychosocial well-being. However, evidence for this relationship remains scarce in the preschool age-group and in low-income countries. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between self-regulation and psychosocial well-being on the one hand and objectively measured, free-living PA in 119 preschool children (Mage = 50.7 months, SD = 8.4) on the other from low-income settings in South Africa. PA was objectively measured using accelerometry and teacher-report ratings of self-regulation and psychosocial well-being were collected. Results revealed that time spent in both TPA (B = −0.233, p = 0.005) and MVPA (B = −0.181, p = 0.039) was negatively associated with self-regulation skills. Additionally, time spent in TPA (B = 0.180, p = 0.034) was positively (detrimentally) associated with externalising behaviour problems. This study suggests a negative association between self-regulation as well as externalising behaviour and PA, but also highlights the need for more comprehensive and longitudinal research in low and middle-income countries, taking into consideration the nature and context of free-living PA in these settings in order to better understand these relationships and their potential confounds.

Metropolitan age-specific mortality trends at borough and neighborhood level: The case of Mexico City.

Understanding the spatial and temporal patterns of mortality rates in a highly heterogeneous metropolis, is a matter of public policy interest. In this context, there is no, to the best of our knowledge, previous studies that correlate both spatio-temporal and age-specific mortality rates in Mexico City. Spatio-temporal Kriging modeling was used over five age-specific mortality rates (from the years 2000 to 2016 in Mexico City), to gain both spatial (borough and neighborhood) and temporal (year and trimester) data level description. Mortality age-specific patterns have been modeled using multilevel modeling for longitudinal data. Posterior tests were carried out to compare mortality averages between geo-spatial locations. Mortality correlation extends in all study groups for as long as 12 years and as far as 13.27 km. The highest mortality rate takes place in the Cuauhtémoc borough, the commercial, touristic and cultural core downtown of Mexico City. On the contrary, Tlalpan borough is the one with the lowest mortality rates in all the study groups. Post-productive mortality is the first age-specific cause of death, followed by infant, productive, pre-school and scholar groups. The combinations of spatio-temporal Kriging estimation and time-evolution linear mixed-effect models, allowed us to unveil relevant time and location trends that may be useful for public policy planning in Mexico City.

ВЗАИМОСВЯЗЬ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИК ОБЩЕНИЯ, САМООЦЕНКИ И МЕЖЛИЧНОСТНОГО СТАТУСА У ДЕТЕЙ ДОШКОЛЬНОГО ВОЗРАСТА

Communication, complex multidimensional education, begins its active development directly in preschool age. With the correct and timely development of communication, cognitive processes, emotional-volitional and motivational-need spheres, behavior, and the interpersonal status of the child are formed. The formation of communication skills is possible only with the timely full development of speech. The lower the state of speech, the more difficult it is for the child to organize and implement communication, and vice versa, the higher the level of formation of the communicative act, the more fully expressive speech develops. Difficulties in forming speech and communication affect self-esteem. Self-esteem as a phenomenon develops under the influence of the assessment of others. Self-esteem is the result of one's own activity, communication, behavior, activities, experiences of a preschooler. The inability of a preschooler to implement verbal communication in a peer group leads to deformations in the development of personality and interpersonal interaction, reduces his social status, and leads to his isolation from other members of the team. Summarizing the above, we have set a goal – to study the relationship between indicators of communication, selfesteem and interpersonal status in preschool children. The main research method is the contrast group method. Empirical study was carried out in groups of preschoolers – with normal speech development and with speech disorders («General speech underdevelopment (GSU) level III» according to R. Levina's classification). The results of the study showed that the level of communication formation in the group of preschoolers with speech disorders is lower than inthe group of children with normal speech development. The lag in the formation of communication skills is represented by a number of indicators: «interest in a peer», «sensitivity», «prosocial actions», «means of communication», «active speech». Low self-esteem was found only in the group of children with speech impairments. There were no differences in the level of the sociometric status between children of both groups.

Prevalence and Etiology of Pediatric Maxillofacial Fractures in a Group of Yemeni Children and Adolescents

Although maxillofacial fractures are not as common in children as in adults, trauma is still the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population worldwide. The aim of this study was to review the pattern and prevalence of pediatric maxillofacial fractures in a sample of the Yemeni population aged 18 years and below. A retrospective analysis of patient records and radiographs was conducted for the 4 year period between June 2016 and October 2020. A total of 71 patients had 87 fractures divided into three age groups, i.e., preschool group (0 - 6 years), primary school group (7 - 12 years) and teenage group (13 - 18 years). The male to female ratio was 2.38:1 and the highest incidence occurred in the age group 13 to 18 years. The main etiological factor was road traffic accidents (RTA), however, falls were the primary etiology in the preschool age group. We conclude that maxillofacial trauma in pediatric patients is associated mainly with RTA and fall and; the mandible is more affected than other maxillofacial structures with the condyle being the most frequently fractured mandibular site.

Early Childhood Caries and sugar: relationships and suggestions for prevention

ABSTRACT Objective: To show the relation between sugar intake in the infant diet and the presence of early childhood caries in a group of preschoolers. Methods: A retrospective analysis of medical records of patients aged 0 to 6 years attended at the Clinic of Babies from 2010 to 2016, at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. The data analyzed were: patient identification, gender, age, sugar introduction (age and frequency), exclusive breastfeeding, use of a bottle containing sugar, brushing (with or without fluoride) and diagnosis of dental caries through the International Caries Detection and Assessment System. Descriptive analysis showed the characteristics of the sample and comparison analyzes were performed using Fisher and T-Student tests, to verify the relation between individual variables and sugary intake. Results: The average age of the children was 29 months. Of the 86 medical records analyzed, 80.0% of the children ingested sugary foods, and its were part of the eating routine. Only 36 medical records contained information about early childhood caries, in which 86.2% of prevalence was found. There was no statistical difference between sugary diet and other variables (p &gt; 0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest an intense relationship between sugar and early childhood caries. The high frequency of sugar intake is a risk factor for the onset of caries in early childhood, and its insertion in infant feeding may be delayed. Food and hygiene orientation is fundamental in the treatment process as well as family awareness.

Игра «Хорошее поведение»: история и современные тренды

The Good Behavior Game is a behavioral procedure aimed to change the behavior of all members of the student group through an interdependent group contingency. Since the middle of 60s years of XX century the Game is used in primary school and preschool groups, as well as in the secondary and high school, in different cultural contexts and in the context of inclusive education also. In presented paper the following points are reflected: the history of the development of the procedure, typical options for conducting, possible categories of participants, types of the aimed behavior, studies of the effectiveness of the Game usage and the factors influencing it. The paper includes step-by-step description of the one of the possible ways of conducting the procedure. Special attention is paid to the issue of using the Game in groups, which include students with autism. The existing precedents are analyzed. The theoretical perspectives for conducting the Game in such conditions are discussed including methodological base and the match between the procedure and cognitive features, which are often found in people with ASD.

Effects of New Jersey's Abbott preschool program on children's achievement, grade retention, and special education through tenth grade

Relatively few studies provide rigorous estimates of the long-term effects of large-scale public preschool programs, and their findings vary greatly. This study investigates the effects in third through tenth grade of New Jersey's Abbott preschool program which has many of the features and contexts hypothesized to mitigate fadeout. The program was designed and implemented in the context of a Court mandated systemic reform of education and its funding from preschool through high school. We describe in detail the program's features including an extensive, multitiered continuous improvement system. Sample size for analyses ranged from 426 to 785 depending on the grade and assessment. Participants were primarily Black and Hispanic students living in 31 communities with high concentrations of poverty. Inverse weighting by propensity scores was employed with multiple imputation for missing data to estimate effects on achievement, grade retention, and special education. Substantial positive effects were found in language arts and literacy, mathematics, and science on statewide assessments. Effects did not fade after grade 3. Achievement effects appear to be larger for 2-year than 1-year of the preschool program. Grade retention was significantly lower through grade 10. Effects on special education placement were imprecisely estimated but consistent with other findings of reduced special education. Results were robust with respect to alternative methods to control for measured and unmeasured differences between preschool and comparison groups and for missing data. This study adds to the evidence on preschool program features and contexts associated with long-term effects.

Dermatoses na infância: perfil dos pacientes atendidos no mutirão de dermatologia pediátrica

OBJECTIVES: The present study aims to trace a pattern of patients referred to the specialized centers of pediatric dermatology, which were attended in a workforce on 2016. METHODS: It is a retrospective, cross-sectioned, observational and analytical study. Data were collected from the medical records. Children and adolescents from zero to sixteen years of age were included. Provided data were: age, sex, time of disease progression, previous treatments, comorbidities, diagnostic hypotheses, performed conducts, and outcomes. RESULTS: Of the 261 patients, 59% female, 13.8% infants, 31.4% preschoolers, 31.8% school, and 22.9% teenagers. The majority (62.5%) had no comorbidities, and among the 98 who presented some, a predominance of atopic diseases was observed: rhinitis in 22.6% and asthma in 15%. The majority, 63.2%, had already received some type of treatment. Eczematous disorders were the most prevalent (37.2%), followed by infectious ones (21%), benign hyperplasias and neoplasms (15.7%). Atopic dermatitis occurred in 19.9% of patients. Among the infections, viral infections occurred in a greater number (11.8%), mainly in the preschool and school groups. Among the glandular disorders, acne was the most frequent (11.5%), and its highest prevalence was in adolescents. More than a half, 52.5% of the patients were discharged, 32.6% were referred to pediatric dermatology and 9.6% were directed to maintain the follow-up in primary care. CONCLUSION: Eczematous disorders were the most frequent skin diseases, followed by infectious ones and by the group of benign hyperplasias and neoplasms. Among eczemas, atopic dermatitis was the most prevalent.

Dialogue between Moscow teachers and parents about the quality of preschool education

Involvement of parents and teachers into decision making about evaluation criteria allows to establish partnership relations, confidence and awareness in implementation of preschool education programs. Such dialogue is necessary at the stage of transition to new norm, implementation of new national standards. In order to reveal the concepts of teachers and parents about good kindergarten, the research was carried out (anonymous survey using standard toolkit of European Quality Seal international project). The participants were 57 teachers and 284 parents from 26 Moscow schools with full-day preschool groups. The point of view of 18 experts in the field of preschool education was presented additionally. In general, the proposed criteria are important for respondents of all categories. Teachers demonstrate higher mean values in comparison with parents. Teachers and parents often have the same concepts about the value of these or those provisions: participation of parents in learning process as well as fee from parents are not important. Child-adult interaction, child’s well-being and safety are the main priorities. The experts partially agree with teachers and parents concerning the most and the least significant criteria: among the most important, together with well-being, individualization of education and free play time are highlighted. The survey results can provide an objective ground for dialogue between teachers, parents, and authorities both at the level of ECEC service and at municipal, regional, and federal education system levels.

Przygotowanie dzieci do podjęcia nauki w szkole w refleksji początkującego nauczyciela

Preparing children to start school at the reflection of a beginner teacher The article discusses the work of a young teacher who starts his professional career from a grade zero. Teachers are subject to certain restrictions and are required to comply with the legal provisions laid down by statutes. Starting work as a teacher prompts reflection on the choice of methods and forms of work, taking into account the teacher’s obligations set out in legal acts. A teacher working in a kindergarten should prepare children to enter school so that they can master reading and writing skills in the future. Referring to the theory of a reflective teacher, I tried to consider the professional development of a teacher who is looking for the best method of work for him, and thus creates his own method of shaping phonological awareness in children. This method is an original reconstruction of J. Reichen’s reading method. The article presents both the theoretical assumptions of his method and notes from the observation carried out during the introduction of innovations to the preschool group. I also try to answer the question, how does the introduction of innovations affect the professional development of the teacher and the development of children?

Internships in kindergartens as a resource for development of practices with different quality levels

Professional development of teachers is recognized worldwide as an important condition for high quality education. According to experimental data, pre-service and in-service training programs of preschool teachers are not always efficient, their interrelation with provisions for quality development in kindergartens is inconsistent. Developing potential of internship as a form of professional growth reduces deficiencies of programs focused on achievements of the kindergarten, on teaching technics without discussion of their worthiness and preschool values, perfunctory discussion, rigidity, organizational disadvantage. The authors discuss the criteria of effective internship. Programs work both to give specific knowledge and master pedagogical techniques, and, at the same time, to develop reflection. Programs support participants to adopt the cycle of pedagogical action. This research is aimed at selection of best practices of preschool education and analysis of their potential in internship. The research participants are Moscow teachers of 50 preschool groups. The groups, ready for internships, demonstrate significantly higher quality of education than the joint sample; however, they experience the lack of competences in work with adults and in development of their reflection. The internship programs elaborated by teachers from high quality groups show some deficiencies, namely, different topics interfere in one short-term program, the main focus is on object-spatial environment but not on interaction, participants’ outcomes are not embodied in any product. Best practices are interested in their own development as well as new sources of motivation. The authors have proposed internship to become a resource of development both for organizers and participants. Each position solves its own problems.

The concept of personnel training for the management of preschool group resources as the basis of the intersectoral two-profile Bachelor’s degree program

The concept of personnel training for the management of preschool group resources as the basis of the intersectoral two-profile Bachelor’s degree program

Клиническая характеристика острых средних отитов и мастоидитов у детей

Objectves. To study the prevalence of acuta otitis media and mastoiditis in children according to data from the pediatric otolaryngology department of state budgetary health care institution “Regional Clinical Hospital No 2”. Tyumen city. Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of the case histories of children who were hospitalized in the period from 2009 to 2017, the prevalence of various forms of otitis media and mastoiditis was studied. Results and discussion. The article analyzes the prevalence of clinical forms of otitis and mastoiditis in children. The number of children with otitis was 33% (4984 /15,087), of wich 68% with nonperforated form, 32% with perforated form, 6% complicated forms. Boys are more often sick, the younger and preschool age groups of children is the main risk group (85%) for the development of otitis media and mastoiditis. Conclusions. The high prevalence of otitis media and mastoiditis, their steady growth testifies to the urgency of the problem in pediatric practice.

Effects of television viewing on preschoolers-a cross sectional Indian population-based study

Background: Television (TV) viewing creates tremendous influence on daily life; hence concerns have been raised on viewers, especially in preschool age group children. An existing literature has documented significant correlation between TV viewing and various behavior related problems among the other age groups. This study attempted to assess TV viewing habits in preschool children.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out over a period of 2 years at the tertiary health care center and a total of 500 children between 2 to 5 years of age, visiting the center, were included. Pre-validated 32 item questionnaire was used to collect data regarding television viewing habits from parents/guardians. TV viewing &gt;2 hours was considered as excessive as per American academy of pediatrics (AAP) recommendation. Data analysis was done in SPSS version 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and statistical differences were computed by ‘chi-square test’ and ‘paired t test’. Results: There was statistically significant association between TV viewing and subject’s behavior. ‘Becoming angry on switching off TV’ was the most protuberant behaviour; followed by ‘imitating TV characters’ among the subjects. In addition to these effects on food habits, sleep pattern and play activity were also noted with excessive TV viewing group.Conclusions: The current study reported a negative influence of TV viewing on behavior, sleep patterns, food habits and play activities of preschool age children. Parents should implement multipronged strategy like scheduling TV watching duration, limiting child’s total screen time, supervising and guiding child’s TV viewing activities to make better use of television for their children.