Vulnerability Of Young Children Research Articles

Parental experiences of the impacts of Covid-19 on the care of young children; qualitative interview findings from the Nairobi Early Childcare in Slums (NECS) project.

The Covid-19 pandemic, and societal attempts to control it, have touched almost every aspect of people's lives around the world, albeit in unequal ways. In particular, there is considerable concern about the way that stringent 'lockdowns', as implemented in Kenya and many other countries, affected young children, especially those living in informal settlements. However, to date, there has been little research attempting to unpack and understand how the pandemic has impacted on the care of young children. In-depth telephone interviews were conducted with 21 parents/carers of children aged under five years living in three Nairobi slums between May and September 2021 exploring the ways in which Covid-19, and policies to control the pandemic, impacted on their household and the care of their child/children. The impacts of Covid-19 control measures on the care of children have been widely felt, deep and multiple. The impact of economic hardship has been significant, reportedly undermining food security and access to services including healthcare and childcare. Respondents reported an associated increase in domestic and community violence. Many people relied on help from others; this was most commonly reported to be in the form of variable levels of flexibility from landlords and help from other community members. No direct harms from Covid-19 disease were reported by respondents. The impacts of Covid-19 control measures on the care of young children in informal settlements have been indirect but dramatic. Given the breadth and depth of these reported impacts, and the particular vulnerability of young children, deeper consideration ought to inform decisions about approaches to implementation of stringent disease control measures in future. In addition, these findings imply a need for both short- and long-term policy responses to ameliorate the impacts described.

A brief video-coaching intervention buffers young children's vulnerability to the impact of caregivers’ depressive symptoms: Examination of differential susceptibility

AbstractInformed by the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) and developmental psychopathology frameworks, the current study used cortisol area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCg) as an index of differential sensitivity to context, which was expected to predispose young children with elevated vulnerability to adverse caregiving experiences and adaptive sensitivity to intervention effects. Particularly, the study aimed to determine whether improving caregivers’ responsive parenting through the Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND) intervention would buffer children's biologically embedded vulnerability to caregivers’ depressive symptoms. Data were derived from a randomized controlled trial using pretest–posttest design with low-income families of children aged 4 to 36 months (N = 91). Young children's differential sensitivity was measured using cortisol AUCg during a structured stress paradigm. As hypothesized, children whose cortisol AUCg indicated greater sensitivity to social context exhibited more internalizing and externalizing behaviors in relation to caregivers’ elevated depressive symptoms. Critically, the intervention program was effective in attenuating psychopathology symptoms among the more biologically sensitive children. As proven by rigorous statistical tests, the findings of this study partially supported the differential susceptibility hypotheses, indicating both greater vulnerability to adverse conditions and responsiveness to intervention among children with high levels of cortisol AUCg.

Vulnerability of Young Children with COVID-19: Impacts of ACE2 Expression Patterns and Lung Progenitor Cells on Infants

Background: An increasing number of children with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is being reported, yet the spectrum of disease severity and expression patterns of angiotensin- converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in children at different developmental stages are largely unknow. Methods: We analysed clinical features in a cohort of 173 children with COVID-19 (0-15 yrs.-old) between January 22, 2020 and March 25, 2020. We systematically examined the expression and distribution of ACE2 in different developmental stages of children by using a combination of children’s lung biopsies, pluripotent stem cell-derived lung cells, RNA-sequencing profiles, and ex vivo SARS-CoV-2 pseudoviral infections. Findings: It revealed that infants (1 yrs.-old) are more resistant to lung injury. The expression levels of ACE2 however do not vary by age in children’s lung. ACE2 is notably expressed not only in Alveolar Type II (AT II) cells, but also in SOX9 positive lung progenitor cells detected in both pluripotent stem cell derivatives and infants’ lungs. The ACE2+ SOX9+ cells are readily infected by SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus and the numbers of the double positive cells are significantly decreased in older children. Interpretation: Infants (ACE2 expression in multiple types of lung cells including SOX9 positive progenitor cells, in cooperation with an unestablished immune system, could be risk factors contributing to vulnerability of infants with COVID-19. There is a need to continue monitoring lung development in young children who have recovered from COVID-19 infection. Funding: National Natural Science Grant of China (No 31571407; 31970910); Hong Kong Health and Medical Research Fund (HMRF) (No:06172956), and Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Fund (Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre, Grant No:5001-4001010)Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the respective Institutional Review Board. Written informed consent was obtained from patients and/or guardians before data collected.

Fromm's Humanism and Child Poverty: Neoliberal construction of the ‘have-not’

AbstractChildren are particularly vulnerable to structured inequalities in society. Building on the work of Erich Fromm (1900–1980), this article contends that modern (post)industrial capitalism corrupts the human capacity to operate in the ‘being mode’—that is, in altruistic and compassionate ways. Rather, within the individualistic logic of the ‘having’ mode of existence there are morally empty spaces where children become objectified, separated from caring communities, dominated and measured. The second part of this article will discuss these insights in relation to the significant impact of neoliberal regimes on children's social and physical wellbeing. In particular, it is argued that from the mid-1980s in New Zealand, the restructuring of the welfare state in line with neoliberal ideology has increased the vulnerability of young children to poverty and related issues. The narrow conception of poverty that is integral to the ‘having’ mode of existence merely serves to justify the ruling ideological n...

An ounce of prevention or two… providing anticipatory guidance regarding personal space and privacy. A commentary

C. Henry Kempe’s, 1977, C. Anderson Aldrich seminal lecture “Another hidden pediatric problem: the sexual abuse of hildren” was the clarion call awakening pediatricians to the issue of the sexual victimization of children. Almost 40 years ater pediatricians and society at large continue to grapple with how best to reduce the risk of sexual victimization. Although o one denies the reality of sexual abuse of children the topic remains a challenge. While there is no group more vested in the ealth and welfare of children than pediatricians—whose raison de’tre is to assure a child’s healthy development—there has een limited success in addressing the issue of child sexual abuse (CSA) within the context of routine health care. There is a ignificant body of literature, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Studies (ACE’s) that elucidates the potential for long term erious adverse medical and mental health consequences to childhood trauma. This body of literature reinforces the need to mbark on universal prevention by developing new and creative public health strategies to further reduce the vulnerability f children to sexual abuse (Fellitti et al., 1998). National prevention strategies in the United States have focused primarily on offender management and school-based ducation which has garnered a lot of public attention and approval yet child sexual abuse remains a prevalent problem. chool based programs promote disclosure, reduce self blame but remain insufficient to fully address this pervasive public ealth problem. The development of a comprehensive health and safety promotion curriculum for medical professionals ould be complementary to existing school based strategies (Finkelhor, 2009). At present, pediatricians do not hesitate to provide anticipatory guidance regarding back to sleep safety, car and bicycle afety, water and environmental safety, and a myriad of others to their patients; yet, the topic of a child’s right to personal pace and privacy is sub-optimally addressed. While this may be due to the difficult nature of the topic, avoiding discussing he issue of personal space and privacy with children and their caretakers may only further perpetuate the problem of CSA. e must respond to the issue, and embark on an initiative to introduce anticipatory guidance about personal space and rivacy throughout a child’s life in developmentally appropriate ways. I propose that we do so under the euphemism of a hild’s right to “Personal Space and Privacy” (PSP) rather than CSA prevention. The first step is to educate parents and children about the right to PSP, and provide caretakers with age appropriate anguage so they can comfortably talk about the importance of PSP with children throughout childhood. Too many parents till believe that talking to children about stranger danger, registered sex offenders, and the risk of abuse in organized ports, educational institutions, and religious organizations is sufficient for protecting them from sexual victimization. This isconception contributes to the unfortunate reality that children are uneducated about how to recognize and respond to ituations in which their personal space and privacy is invaded by someone who they know and should trust. The heightened vulnerability of young children, due to reasons such as their need for genital/perianal care and bathing ssistance, provides even more reason to educate children early and in a consistent manner about their PSP. In fact, caretakers ay use these opportunities to send context-appropriate anticipatory guidance messages to their children about PSP. If aretakers teach their children about the difference between “okay” and “not okay” touching when providing genital/perianal are and bathing assistance, then children will possess the knowledge to recognize when someone is invading their PSP and

How Do We Change the Way We Do Business for the Health of Our Students?

It is time to focus on the linkage to community for preventive care, case-managed care, and follow-up on referrals and resources. As health care reform continues to inch closer every day, schools have to work smarter, not harder, to make a difference in the lives of every child in each and every classroom. Together we can make a difference. I close with this quote from Edward Schor (2007), author of EPSDT and School Readiness: Well-child care seeks to optimize children's health and development, preparing them for school and life beyond. The child health component of Medicaid, EPSDT, was designed with a similar objective, which is reflected in the EPSDT program's comprehensive benefit package, its preventive standard of care, and its case management functions. Given the vulnerability of young children from low-income families to poor health, poor educational attainment, and low-income lifelong productivity or social dependence, comprehensive well-child care represents a good investment for society. EPSDT plays an essential role helping low-income children be ready for school and life beyond. (p. 427).

"I am too young to die": Children and the Cold War

For many Americans, one of the most enduring images of the Cold War is a little black-and-white cartoon turtle. “Burt,” as he was named by the Federal Civil Defense Administration, rose to iconic status after he starred in a 1951 film telling children that in case of nuclear fallout, the best line of defense was to “duck and cover” (1). Footage of children diving under desks to Burt's happy song epitomizes our early twenty-first century impression of the naiveté of Americans who seemed to believe that such a flimsy maneuver might actually safeguard them from a nuclear attack, let alone the sickening effects of radiation. Our collective historical memory of Burt emphasizes the innocence and vulnerability of young children who are victims of anticommunist panic and the threat of nuclear war. If we let ourselves think broadly about the history of children during the Cold War, however, more...

Adult:Child Differences in the Intraspecies Uncertainty Factor: A Case Study Using Lead

Adults and children differ in their susceptibility to the toxic effects of lead. Lead was therefore used as a case study to evaluate intraspecies differences by comparing the adult and child minimal Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Level (LOAEL) or the No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL), allowing an evaluation of the ten-fold intraspecies uncertainty factor (UF). The lead intakes (in µg/kg/d) necessary to achieve target blood lead (PbB) levels reflecting the minimal LOAEL or NOAEL were determined using biokinetic slope factors (BKSFs), which relate lead uptake to PbB levels. The analyses assumed chronic, low-level oral exposure to lead, and the response of a typical adult and child. Child analyses used a target geometric mean (GM) PbB of 4.6 µg/dL (95% of population <10 µg/dL), resulting in lead intakes of 1.9 µg/kg/day (assuming 100% soluble lead) and 4.9 µg/kg/day (assuming 25% soluble lead and 75 % soil lead). Adult analyses assumed intake of 100 % soluble lead, and used target GM PbB levels of 4.2 µg/dL (95% of population <11.1 µg/dL) and 11.4 µg/dL (95% of population <30 µg/dL), resulting in lead intakes of 1.9 µg/kg/day and 5.1 µg/kg/day, respectively. The results indicate that despite the greater vulnerability of young children to the effects of lead as compared to adults, the minimal LOAEL or NOAEL for lead is remarkably similar between children and adults. In this case, the application of a tenfold intraspecies uncertainty factor to adjust the adult minimal LOAEL or NOAEL for a child would be unnecessary, despite the well-established vulnerability of children to lead.

CHILDREN SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD: THE PRODUCTION AND TRANSGRESSION OF ADULTS' PUBLIC SPACE

In the 1980s and 1990s, North America and Europe have experienced a rising tide of concern about the behavior and well-being of children. On the one hand, there is increased popular concern about young children's vulnerability to stranger-dangers in space. On the other hand, adults also appear to be concerned about the violence and unruliness of older children in places. This paper uses these contradictory concerns to explore how space is being produced as a space that is naturally or normally an adult space. It also examines the way that this normality is being disrupted by teenagers, who are provoking anxieties among adults concerning their continued ability to regulate the activities of the young and therefore maintain their spatial hegemony. In doing so, the paper questions the extent to which public is an appropriate term to describe the streets and the suburbs, if their maintenance requires the exclusion or marginalization of young people. It also explores the paradoxica...

Errors in young children's decisions about traffic gaps: experiments with roadside simulations.

Young children's vulnerability as pedestrians has often been attributed to deficiencies in their decision making about vehicle approach times. Some studies have found a preponderance of risky decisions below the age of eight years. In contrast, studies using a closer simulation of road crossing, known as the pretend road, have found a preponderance of overcautious decisions in young children: traffic gaps of adequate size were frequently rejected (missed opportunities). However, the pretend road has potentially distorting characteristics which may account for this divergent pattern of findings. The experiments reported below show that new simulations that eradicate distortions nevertheless validate the pattern of results produced with the pretend road. Differences between adults and young children were pronounced for missed opportunities, but not for risky decisions. Subsidiary analyses suggest that the risky decisions of the youngest children may have arisen through lapses in attention, rather than deficits in timing. These findings run contrary to the view that attributes young children's pedestrian vulnerability to perceptuo-motor deficiency.

Young Children's Vulnerability to Self-Blame and Helplessness: Relationship to Beliefs about Goodness

Young Children's Vulnerability to Self-Blame and Helplessness: Relationship to Beliefs about Goodness

Young Children's Vulnerability to Self-Blame and Helplessness: Relationship to Beliefs about Goodness

Motivational helplessness, linked to conceptions of intelligence, has been well documented in older children. While some researchers have reported that children just starting school are motivationally invulnerable, others have found evidence of helplessness when these children encounter failure. The present study seeks to determine whether the reactions associated with helplessness can be identified in a new context, that of criticism, and whether any such responses are related to the child's conceptions of goodness. Subjects were 107 5- and 6-year-old children who enacted achievement situations in which teacher criticism was presented. The 39% of children whose own assessments were undermined by criticism exhibited the affect, task choices, and nonconstructive problem-solving strategies characteristic of helplessness. They were also more likely to make global negative self-judgments following criticism, including negative judgments of their goodness. Finally, these children were more likely to endorse stable and global beliefs about goodness.

Speed, education and children as pedestrians: a cognitive change approach to a potentially dangerous naive concept

Previous studies have indicated that children, in the pedestrian accident‐prone age range of 4‐9 years, hold a range of naive concepts of speed, which could be a possible causal factor in determining young children's vulnerability when interacting with traffic. This research reports an attempt to bring about conceptual change in children's concept of speed via the teaching of the science of speed. The course incorporated elements of an integrated educational experience and was specifically designed to involve the minimum of teacher preparation and the maximum of hands‐on experiences. The results indicate that it may indeed be possible to modify naive conceptions via teaching that targets particular concepts.