Quality of pre-school children's pretend play and subsequent development of semantic organization and narrative re-telling skills

Purpose: This study investigated if the quality of pre-school children's pretend play predicted their semantic organization and narrative re-telling ability when they were in early primary school. It was hypothesized that the elaborateness of a child's play and the child's use of symbols in play were predictors of their semantic organization and narrative re-tell scores of the School Age Oral Language Assessment. Method: Forty-eight children were assessed using the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment when they were aged 4-5 years. Three-to-five years after this assessment their semantic organization and narrative re-telling skills were assessed. Results: Results indicate that the elaborateness of a child's play and their ability to use symbols was predictive of semantic organization skills. Use of symbols in play was the strongest play predictor of narrative re-telling skills. The quality of a pre-school child's ability to elaborate complex sequences in pretend play and use symbols predicted up to 20% of a child's semantic organization and narrative re-telling skills up to 5 years later. Conclusions: The study provides evidence that the quality of pretend play in 4-5 year olds is important for semantic organization and narrative re-telling abilities in the school-aged child.

A Cross-Cultural Evaluation of the Personal Wellbeing Index – School Children in Samples of Australian and Portuguese Adolescents

The practice of comparing nations on subjective wellbeing (SWB) is becoming commonplace, with many countries ranked by economists and social scientists alike according to average levels of SWB based on survey responses. Such large, multi-national population surveys have the potential to generate insights into the causes and correlates of SWB within different cultural groups, as well as inform policy regarding how to improve the wellbeing of citizens. At the heart of these large-scale research endeavors are SWB measures that function equivalently between the various participating cultural groups. For this reason, it is concerning that their remains a paucity of research that supports measurement equivalence for many SWB instruments commonly employed. Thus, it remains unclear whether variations in SWB across cultures reflect true differences, or whether these differences reflect measurement biases (e.g., response bias inherent within a particular cultural group). The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric equivalence of the Personal Wellbeing Index–School Children (PWI-SC) in convenience samples of Australian and Portuguese adolescents using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis. Participants comprising the Australian sample were 1104 Victorian high-school students aged between 12 and 19 years (M = 14.42, SD = 1.63). Participants comprising the Portuguese sample were 573 high-school students living in Portugal aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.32, SD = 1.72). The results demonstrated strict factorial invariance between both versions of the PWI-SC, suggesting that this scale measures the same underlying construct in both samples. Moreover, these findings provide preliminary support for quantitative comparisons between Australian and Portuguese adolescents on the SWB variable as valid.

A parent-based intervention to promote healthy eating and active behaviours in pre-school children: evaluation of the MEND 2-4 randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of studies evaluating targeted obesity prevention interventions in pre-school children. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of a parent-based obesity prevention intervention for pre-schoolers - MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition … Do It!) 2-4 on child diet, eating habits, physical activity/sedentary behaviours, and body mass index (BMI). METHODS: Parent-child dyads attended 10 weekly 90-min workshops relating to nutrition, physical activity and behaviours, including guided active play and healthy snack time. Assessments were conducted at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 6 and 12 months post-intervention; child intake of vegetables, fruit, beverages, processed snack foods, fussiness, satiety responsiveness, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and neophobia were assessed via parent proxy report. Parent and child height and weight were measured. RESULTS: Two hundred one parent-child dyads were randomized to intervention (n = 104) and control (n = 97). Baseline mean child age was 2.7 (standard deviation [SD] 0.6) years, and child BMI-for-age z-score (World Health Organization) was 0.66 (SD 0.88). We found significant positive group effects for vegetable (P = 0.01) and snack food (P = 0.03) intake, and satiety responsiveness (P = 0.047) immediately post-intervention. At 12 months follow-up, intervention children exhibited less neophobia (P = 0.03) than controls. CONCLUSION: Future research should focus on additional strategies to support parents to continue positive behaviour change. ACTRN12610000200088.

Effects of a specialist-led, school physical education program on bone mass, structure and strength in primary school children: a 4-year cluster randomised controlled trial

This 4-year cluster randomised controlled trial of 365 boys and 362 girls (mean age 8.1 ± 0.3 years) from grade 2 in 29 primary schools investigated the effects of a specialist-taught physical education (PE) program on bone strength and body composition. All children received 150 min/week of common practice (CP) PE from general classroom teachers but in 13 schools 100 min/week of CP PE was replaced by specialized-led PE (SPE) by teachers who emphasized more vigorous exercise/games combined with static and dynamic postural activities involving muscle strength. Outcome measures assessed in grades 2, 4, and 6 included: total body bone mineral content (BMC), lean mass (LM) and fat mass (FM) by DXA, and radius and tibia (4% and 66% sites) bone structure, volumetric density and strength, and muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) by pQCT. After 4-years, gains in total body BMC, FM and muscle CSA were similar between the groups in both sexes, but girls in the SPE group experienced a greater gain in total body LM [mean (95%CI), 1.0kg (0.2, 1.9)]. Compared to CP, girls in the SPE group also had greater gains in cortical area (CoA) and cortical thickness (CoTh) at the mid-tibia [CoA, 5.0% (0.2, 1.9); CoTh 7.5% (2.4, 12.6)] and mid-radius [CoA, 9.3% (3.5, 15.1); CoTh 14.4% (6.1, 22.7)], while SPE boys had a 5.2% (0.4, 10.0) greater gain in mid-tibia CoTh. These benefits were due to reduced endocortical expansion. There were no significant benefits of SPE on total bone area, cortical density or bone strength at the mid-shaft sites, nor any appreciable effects at the distal skeletal sites. This study indicates that a specialist-led school-based PE program improves cortical bone structure, due to reduced endocortical expansion. This finding challenges the notion that periosteal apposition is the predominant response of bone to loading during the pre- and early-pubertal period. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Sleep duration and risk of obesity among a sample of Victorian school children

BACKGROUND: Insufficient sleep is potentially an important modifiable risk factor for obesity and poor physical activity and sedentary behaviours among children. However, inconsistencies across studies highlight the need for more objective measures. This paper examines the relationship between sleep duration and objectively measured physical activity, sedentary time and weight status, among a sample of Victorian Primary School children.

METHODS: A sub-sample of 298 grades four (n = 157) and six (n = 132) Victorian primary school children (aged 9.2-13.2 years) with complete accelerometry and anthropometry data, from 39 schools, were taken from a pilot study of a larger state based cluster randomized control trial in 2013. Data comprised: researcher measured height and weight; accelerometry derived physical activity and sedentary time; and self-reported sleep duration and hypothesised confounding factors (e.g. age, gender and environmental factors).

RESULTS: Compared with sufficient sleepers (67 %), those with insufficient sleep (<10 hrs/day) were significantly more likely to be overweight (OR 1.97, 95 % CI:1.11-3.48) or obese (OR 2.43, 95 % CI:1.26-4.71). No association between sleep and objectively measured physical activity levels or sedentary time was found.

CONCLUSION: The strong positive relationship between weight status and sleep deprivation merits further research though PA and sedentary time do not seem to be involved in the relationship. Strategies to improve sleep duration may help obesity prevention initiatives in the future.

Backpacks and school children's obesity: challenges for public health and ergonomics

This descriptive study of cross sectional has focused on analyzing the school material weight transported by students associated with children and adolescents overweight in primary and secondary schools. Participants 339 students of both genders, aged 10-19 years. 243 students carrying and average load of 12.65% of his body weight. 53 students were overweight with a BMI of 20,00 to 35,6. 20 overweight students carrying backpacks more than 10% of his body weight. 21% of the students rated complained of back and shoulder pain. This data is very important in the preventive aspects for the individuals studied, as well as others with the same anthropometric characteristics and the same demand.

Physical fitness and associations with anthropometric measurements in 7 to 15-year-old school children

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Candida spp. biotypes in the oral cavity of school children from different socioeconomic categories in Piracicaba - SP, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Muscular, functional and orthodontic changes in pre school children with enlarged adenoids and tonsils

Introduction: Hypertrophy of the adenoids and palatine tonsils is the second most frequent cause of upper respiratory obstruction and, consequently, mouth breathing in children. Prolonged mouth breathing leads to muscular and postural alterations which, in turn, cause dentosketetal changes. Objective: the aim of this study was to determine muscular, functional and dentoskeletal alterations in children aged 3-6 years. Materials and methods: Seventy-three children, including 44 with tonsil hypertrophy and 29 controls, were submitted to otorhinolaryngologic, speech pathologic and orthodontic assessment. Results: Otorhinolaryngologic evaluation revealed a higher incidence of nasal obstruction, snoring, mouth breathing, apneas, nocturnal hypersalivation, itchy nose, repeated tonsillitis and bruxism in children with tonsils hypertrophy. Speech pathologic assessment showed a higher incidence of open lip and lower tongue position, and of hypotonia of the upper and lower lips, tongue and buccinator muscle in these children, accompanied by important impairment in mastication and deglutition. Orthodontic evaluation demonstrated a higher incidence of lower mandible position in relation to the cranial base, a reduction in lower posterior facial height, transverse atresia of the palate, and a dolicofacial pattern. Conclusion: Postural and functional alterations anticipate dentoskeletal changes, except for the facial pattern. Postural alterations and the skeletal pattern seem to play an important role in infant dentofacial growth. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.