Characteristics of the physical childcare environment are associated with children’s sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) levels. This study examines whether these associations are moderated by child characteristics. A total of 152 1- to 3-year-old children from 22 Dutch childcare centers participated in the study. Trained research assistants observed the physical childcare environment, using the Environment and Policy Assessment Observation (EPAO) protocol. Child characteristics (age, gender, temperament and weight status) were assessed using parental questionnaires. Child SB and PA was assessed using Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers. Linear regression analyses including interaction terms were used to examine moderation of associations between the childcare environment and child SB and PA. Natural elements and portable outdoor equipment were associated with less SB and more PA. In addition, older children, boys and heavier children were less sedentary and more active, while more use of childcare and an anxious temperament were associated with more SB. There were various interactions between environmental factors and child characteristics. Specific physical elements (e.g., natural elements) were especially beneficial for vulnerable children (i.e., anxious, overactive, depressive/withdrawn, overweight). The current study shows the importance of the physical childcare environment in lowering SB and promoting PA in very young children in general, and vulnerable children specifically. Moderation by child characteristics shows the urgency of shaping childcare centers that promote PA in all children, increasing equity in PA promotion in childcare.
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In this paper, we examine to what degree children of 3–4 years old engage with a task and with a social robot during a second-language tutoring lesson. We specifically investigated whether children’s task engagement and robot engagement were influenced by three different feedback types by the robot: adult-like feedback, peer-like feedback and no feedback. Additionally, we investigated the relation between children’s eye gaze fixations and their task engagement and robot engagement. Fifty-eight Dutch children participated in an English counting task with a social robot and physical blocks. We found that, overall, children in the three conditions showed similar task engagement and robot engagement; however, within each condition, they showed large individual differences. Additionally, regression analyses revealed that there is a relation between children’s eye-gaze direction and engagement. Our findings showed that although eye gaze plays a significant role in measuring engagement and can be used to model children’s task engagement and robot engagement, it does not account for the full concept and engagement still comprises more than just eye gaze.
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In dit artikel wordt ingegaan op vroege voorspellers van selectieve aandacht en woordenschat bij peuters uit achterstandsgezinnen. Vooral het niveau van ontwikkeling bij de eerste meting is voorspellend voor de groei die kinderen doormaken.
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This study investigated a seven sessions interaction between a peer-tutor robot and Dutch preschoolers (5 years old) during which the children learned English. We examined whether children’s engagement differed when interacting with a tablet and a robot using iconic gestures, with a tablet and a robot using no iconic gestures and with only a tablet. Two engagement types were annotated (task engagement and robot engagement) using a novel coding scheme based on an existing coding scheme used in kindergartens. The findings revealed that children’s task engagement dropped over time in all three conditions, consistent with the novelty effect. However, there were no differences between the different conditions for task engagement. Interestingly, robot engagement showed a difference between conditions. Children were more robot engaged when interacting with a robot using iconic gestures than without iconic gestures. Finally, when comparing children’s word knowledge with their engagement, we found that both task engagement and robot engagement were positively correlated with children’s word retention.
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The (pre)school environment is an important setting to improve children’s health. Especially, the (pre)school playground provides a major opportunity to intervene. This review presents an overview of the existing evidence on the value of both school and preschool playgrounds on children’s health in terms of physical activity, cognitive and social outcomes. In addition, we aimed to identify which playground characteristics are the strongest correlates of beneficial effects and for which subgroups of children effects are most distinct. In total, 13 experimental and 17 observational studies have been summarized of which 10 (77%) and 16 (94%) demonstrated moderate to high methodological quality, respectively. Nearly all experimental studies (n = 11) evaluated intervention effects on time spent in different levels of physical activity during recess. Research on the effects of (pre)school playgrounds on cognitive and social outcomes is scarce (n = 2). The experimental studies generated moderate evidence for an effect of the provision of play equipment, inconclusive evidence for an effect of the use of playground markings, allocating play space and for multi-component interventions, and no evidence for an effect of decreasing playground density, the promotion of physical activity by staff and increasing recess duration on children’s health. In line with this, observational studies showed positive associations between play equipment and children’s physical activity level. In contrast to experimental studies, significant associations were also found between children’s physical activity and a decreased playground density and increased recess duration. To confirm the findings of this review, researchers are advised to conduct more experimental studies with a randomized controlled design and to incorporate the assessment of implementation strategies and process evaluations to reveal which intervention strategies and playground characteristics are most effective. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-11-59 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.
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Bijeenkomst van het living lab Beweegtoppers waarin resultaten gedeeld werden met het publiek. Resultaten bestonden uit een poster met geleerde lessen (en een 18weeks beweegprogramma voor kleuters en een 18weeks beweegprogramma voor kleuters; zie andere output)
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Objective: Motor competence development from early to middle childhood is accompanied by great variance. This course can be influenced by many factors in the ecosystem. The objective of this study was to examine which individual characteristics are associated with an undesirable motor competence development during the transition from early to middle childhood. Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted between February 2020 and May 2022. Actual and perceived motor competence and the potential determinants physical activity enjoyment, weight status, and organized sports participation of children (49% boys) aged 4–6 years old at T0 (N = 721) were measured at two points in time, separated by a two-year interval. Associations between potential determinants and AMC, including interactions with time, were analyzed using linear mixed-effect regression models with continuous motor quotient scores as outcome variables. Results: Overweight, obesity, and lack of organized sports participation were associated with lower motor quotient scores over time. Multivariate analyses showed that associations of weight status (overweight and obesity) and sports participation with motor quotient scores remained significant after adjustment for variations in perceived motor competence and physical activity enjoyment. Conclusions: Excessive body weight and lack of sports participation from early childhood are associated with an increased risk of an undesirable motor competence development over time.
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Objectives: The development of children’s motor competence (MC) from early to middle childhood can follow different courses. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to describe and quantify the prevalence of patterns of MC development from early to middle childhood and to identify undesirable patterns. Design: The study used a longitudinal design. Data were collected in three consecutive years, between February 2020 (T0) and May 2022 (T2). Methods: A total of 1128 typically developing Dutch children (50.2% male) between 4 and 6 years old at baseline (M = 5.35 ± 0.69 years) participated in this study. MC was measured with the Athletic Skills Track and converted into Motor Quotient (MQ) scores. To convert all individual MQ scores into meaningful patterns of MC development, changes in MQ categories were analyzed between the different timepoints. Results: A total of 11 different developmental patterns were found. When grouping the different patterns, five undesirable patterns were found with 18.2% of the children, showing an undesirable pattern of MC development between T0 and T2. The patterns of motor development of the other children showed a normal or fluctuating course. Conclusions: There is a lot of variation in MC in early and middle childhood. A substantial percentage of young children showed undesirable MC developmental patterns emphasizing the need for early and targeted interventions.
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This study evaluated the Toddler Oral Health Intervention (TOHI) for preventing early childhood caries (ECC) by 48 months. TOHI, an add-on to standard care in well-baby clinics (WBCs), aims to reduce ECC incidence and severity.
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