Preschool children's vocabulary mainly develops verbal through interaction. Therefore, the technology-enhanced storytelling (TES) activity Jeffy's Journey is developed to support parent–child interaction and vocabulary in preschool children. TES entails shared verbal storytelling supported by a story structure and real-time visual, auditory and textual prompts on a tablet computer. In this exploratory study, we investigated how TES influenced parent–child interaction and vocabulary. An experimental pretest-intervention-posttest design was followed with 44 3-year-old children and their parents in the experimental group and 27 peers in the control group. Results revealed that TES stimulated active child involvement and generated parent–child interaction, yet a great variety in TES characteristics both in time spent and usage of prompts was found among participants. Dyads that spent more time on story phases showed more and higher quality parent–child interaction. The usage of prompts was associated with improved parent–child interaction quality. Finally, an effect of TES was evidenced on children's productive vocabulary knowledge. To conclude, this study demonstrates that TES can be considered as a promising context for fostering parent–child interaction and children's vocabulary development.
The need for excess weight gain prevention in disadvantaged young children is widely recognised. Early Childhood Education and Care teachers are potential key actors in early interventions to prevent overweight and obesity. This study examines the effects of a preschool-based intervention for teachers in promoting healthy eating and physical activity in young children. A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted at 41 preschools in a deprived area of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The intervention consisted of 2 programmes that were applied in succession: A Healthy Start and PLAYgrounds for TODdlers. The study period was 9 months. Primary outcomes were assessed via questionnaires and included teachers’ knowledge, attitude, food/activity-related practices, and level of confidence in promoting healthy behaviours. Secondary outcomes in this study were teachers’ and children’s BMI (z-score), body composition, dietary intake and physical activity level. Intention-to-treat analyses were performed using linear mixed models. In total, 115 teachers and 249 children (mean age 3.0 (0.2) years) were included. A positive effect on teachers’ knowledge about the Dutch dietary guidelines was found after the programme A Healthy Start (difference = 1.38; 1-sided 95% CL = 0.29; p = 0.02). This effect was not sustained at 9 months (difference = 0.34; 1-sided 95% CL = -0.76; p = 0.31). The overall intervention had a positive effect on 3 of the 5 attitude statements regarding a healthy lifestyle (difference ranged from 0.34 to 0.55) and on the practice scale Activity-related-Modelling (difference = 0.16; 1-sided 95% CL = 0.06; p = 0.01). No intervention effects were observed on food-related practice scales and the level of confidence in promoting healthy behaviours. At this stage, no effects were seen on teachers’ and children’s BMI (z-score). This study contributes to the professional development of Early Childhood Education and Care teachers and addresses the call for interventions to prevent overweight/obesity and to minimise health inequalities in young children.
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Background: Early childhood caries is considered one of the most prevalent diseases in childhood, affecting almost half of preschool-age children globally. In the Netherlands, approximately one-third of children aged 5 years already have dental caries, and dental care providers experience problems reaching out to these children. Objective: Within the proposed trial, we aim to test the hypothesis that, compared to children who receive usual care, children who receive the Toddler Oral Health Intervention as add-on care will have a reduced cumulative caries incidence and caries incidence density at the age of 48 months. Methods: This pragmatic, 2-arm, individually randomized controlled trial is being conducted in the Netherlands and has been approved by the Medical Ethics Research Board of University Medical Center Utrecht. Parents with children aged 6 to 12 months attending 1 of the 9 selected well-baby clinics are invited to participate. Only healthy children (ie, not requiring any form of specialized health care) with parents that have sufficient command of the Dutch language and have no plans to move outside the well-baby clinic region are eligible. Both groups receive conventional oral health education in well-baby clinics during regular well-baby clinic visits between the ages of 6 to 48 months. After concealed random allocation of interventions, the intervention group also receives the Toddler Oral Health Intervention from an oral health coach. The Toddler Oral Health Intervention combines behavioral interventions of proven effectiveness in caries prevention. Data are collected at baseline, at 24 months, and at 48 months. The primary study endpoint is cumulative caries incidence for children aged 48 months, and will be analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle. For children aged 48 months, the balance between costs and effects of the Toddler Oral Health Intervention will be evaluated, and for children aged 24 months, the effects of the Toddler Oral Health Intervention on behavioral determinants, alongside cumulative caries incidence, will be compared. Results: The first parent-child dyads were enrolled in June 2017, and recruitment was finished in June 2019. We enrolled 402 parent-child dyads. Conclusions: All follow-up interventions and data collection will be completed by the end of 2022, and the trial results are expected soon thereafter. Results will be shared at international conferences and via peer-reviewed publication.
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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.
