The primary source for young children's vocabulary development is parent-child interaction. How parent-child interaction influences vocabulary depends on the child's functioning and the family context. Although research shows the effect of the family context on vocabulary (e.g., reading activities at home, parental education), the role of a child's functioning has received less attention. Children's executive functioning (EF) influences how linguistic input is processed and their social functioning (SF) is important for maintaining social interaction. The aim of the present study was to investigate the additional contributions of children's EF and SF to vocabulary. EF, SF and family contextual factors were measured in 223 Dutch preschool children. EF and SF strongly predicted children's vocabulary in addition to their age, linguistic diversity at home and parental education. EF and SF are therefore important factors to take into account when investigating vocabulary and vocabulary interventions in preschool children.
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BackgroundInterventions to prevent overweight and obesity in toddlers are needed to minimize health inequalities, especially in migration and lower socio-economic groups. Preschools are identified as important environments for interventions to prevent overweight and obesity. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) teachers in preschools are potential key actors in promoting healthy eating and physical activity. This paper describes the research design of a Dutch preschool-based intervention for ECEC teachers in promoting healthy eating and physical activity in toddlers.MethodsPreSchool@HealthyWeight concerns a cluster randomized controlled trial on preschools in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, Netherlands. This city district is characterised by inhabitants with a migration background and low socio-economic status. Forty-one preschools, with 115 ECEC teachers and 249 toddlers/parents, were randomly allocated to an intervention or control group. An intervention for teachers will be carried out on intervention locations and consists of modified versions of 2 existing programs: ‘A Healthy Start’ and ‘PLAYgrounds’. In ‘A Healthy Start’, ECEC teachers learn to provide a healthy and active environment for toddlers. The ‘PLAYgrounds for Toddlers’ program, coaches ECEC teachers to stimulate physical activity in the playgrounds of preschools. PreSchool@HealthyWeight aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention after 9 months. Primary outcomes are the teachers’ knowledge, attitude and practices concerning healthy eating and physical activity, and consequently the level of confidence of ECEC teachers in promoting healthy eating and physical activity in toddlers. Secondary outcomes include the Body Mass Index, body composition, dietary intake and physical activity level of teachers and toddlers. In addition, the activating role of ECEC teachers and the physical activity of toddlers on the playgrounds will be evaluated. Lastly, the knowledge, attitude and practices of parents concerning healthy eating and physical activity will be assessed.DiscussionIt is hypothesized that this preschool-based intervention for ECEC teachers improves the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding healthy eating and physical activity, and consequently the level of confidence of ECEC teachers in promoting healthy eating and physical activity of toddlers. The intervention addresses the call for early intervention to prevent overweight and obesity and to minimize health inequalities.Trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register (NTR): NL5850. Date registered: August 26, 2016.
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Abstract: There is growing evidence for the beneficial effects of starting oral health prevention early in life. Preventing dental caries in very young children requires considerable investment from parents. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to explore parents’ willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to invest in time (WTIT) for primary oral health prevention in preschool children and describe whether these are related to the parents’ demographic, socio-economic and behavioural characteristics. In a convenience sample of parents of preschool children aged six months to four years (n = 142), data were collected with questionnaires. On average, parents were willing to pay EUR15.84 per month, invest time for 1.9 dental visits per year, and spend 2.4 min per day brushing their child’s teeth. A higher education level of the mother and having a child older than two were associated with a higher WTIT in brushing minutes per day (p = 0.03). In addition, parents who brushed their child’s teeth more frequently were also more willing to invest in brushing minutes (p < 0.01) and money (p < 0.01). Findings emphasise the importance of early oral health interventions and the need to increase awareness of primary prevention’s importance in maintaining healthy teeth and reducing possibly oral health inequalities.
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In de voorschool worden pedagogisch medewerkers (PMers) steeds vaker geconfronteerd met overgewicht bij kinderen van 2,5 tot 4 jaar. De PMer is getraind in het ondersteunen van de ontwikkeling en opvoeding van het kind. PMers zijn niet opgeleid voor leefstijladvisering. Ongezonde voeding en inactiviteit zijn de belangrijkste oorzaken van overgewicht. Overgewicht komt op jonge leeftijd al meer voor bij lagere sociaaleconomische en etnische groepen. De gezondheidsverschillen nemen hierdoor toe. PMers geven aan dat zij zich niet bekwaam voelen om verantwoordelijk te zijn voor de gezonde keuzes op de voorschool als ook in de advisering naar ouders toe. De centrale vragen in dit project zijn: Wat heeft de PMer in de voorschool nodig in kennis, vaardigheden en attitude om het handelingsrepertoire tav leefstijladvisering aan alle kinderen van 2,5 tot 4 jaar en ouders met diverse sociaaleconomische en cultureel-etnische achtergronden te professionaliseren. Wat is het effect van het handelen van de PMer op de gezonde (gewichts)ontwikkeling van het kind? Het onderzoek is een gerichte interventiestudie met voor- en nametingen bij PMers, kinderen en ouders. De interventie wordt bij een deel van de PMers uitgevoerd en vergeleken met een controlegroep. Bij kinderen worden fysieke- en gedragsmetingen uitgevoerd. Eindpunten zijn het vertrouwen in leefstijladvisering door PMers en ontwikkelingstrends in gewicht bij kinderen. Fases van het projectplan: I. nulmeting en interventie bij PMers; II. nulmeting bij kinderen en interventie door PMers; III. effectmeting interventie bij PMers en kinderen; IV. ontwikkeling competentieprofiel leefstijladvisering voor PMers. Het PS@HW consortium olv de Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Impuls Kinderopvang, Brancheorganisatie Kinderopvang Amsterdam, Nederlands Jeugdinstituut, RIVM Centrum voor Gezond Leven, VU medisch centrum, HvA-Speerpunt Urban Vitality en Sarphati Amsterdam pakt dit op. Dit project beoogt het ontwikkelen van de HBO competentie leefstijladvisering voor PMers van de voorscholen die kinderen bereiken met een achterstand, voor een gezonde (gewichts)ontwikkeling en het terugdringen van gezondheidsverschillen.
