Letterforms for handwriting and reading: print script and sanserifs in early twentieth-century England

This essay is about letterforms and typography in reading books for young children and how they were influenced by the teaching of handwriting in the early decades of the twentieth century. I examine the contributions made by infant teachers to typography and book design and draw particular attention to the print script movement and the gradual introduction of sanserif typefaces in reading books. I suggest that the use of sanserifs in reading books for young children is one of their first appearances for continuous text. Although the influence of print script on the teaching of handwriting may have had some undesirable effects, I suggest that it indirectly contributed to some innovations in book design.

Promoting mother–infant book sharing and infant attention and language development in an impoverished South African population: a pilot study

The low rates of child literacy in South Africa are cause for considerable concern. Research from the developed world shows that parental sharing of picture books with infants and young children is beneficial for child language and cognitive development, as well as literacy skills. We conducted a pilot study to examine whether such benefits might extend to an impoverished community in South Africa, by evaluating the impact of training mothers in book sharing with their 14–18 month old infants. Seventeen mothers received book sharing training; and 13 mothers did not, but instead received a comparison training in toy play. We assessed the mothers’ behavior during both book sharing and toy play before and after training, and we also assessed infant attention and language. Mothers receiving book sharing training engaged well with it, and they also benefited from it; thus, compared to the comparison group mothers, they became more sensitive, more facilitating, and more elaborative with their infants during book sharing, and they also became more sensitive to their infants during toy play. In addition, infants whose mothers received the book sharing training showed greater benefits than the comparison group infants in both their attention and language. Training in book sharing for families living in conditions of marked socio-economic adversity in South Africa has the potential to be of considerable benefit to child developmental progress. A large scale controlled trial is required to confirm this.

Using drama techniques for the teaching of early years science : a case study

This paper investigates the effect of drama techniques when employed to facilitate teaching and learning early years science. The focus is a lesson intervention designed for a group of children aged between four and five years old. A number of different drama techniques, such as teacher in role, hot seating and miming, were employed for the teaching of the water cycle. The techniques were implemented based on their nature and on what they can offer to young children considering their previous experiences. Before the beginning of the intervention, six children were randomly selected from the whole class, who were interviewed, aiming to identify their initial ideas in regards to the water cycle. The same children were interviewed after the end of the intervention in an attempt to identify the ways in which their initial ideas were changed. The results appear to be promising in terms of facilitating children’s scientific understanding and show an improvement in the children’s use of vocabulary in relation to the specific topic.

Exposure to foods’ non-taste sensory properties: a nursery intervention to increase children’s willingness to try fruit and vegetables

Activities that engage young children with the sensory properties of foods are popular with nursery schools, despite the lack of evidence for their efficacy in increasing children's consumption of healthy foods. This study provides the first empirical exploration of the effectiveness of a non-taste sensory activity program in a nursery school setting. Ninety-two children aged between 12 and 36 months were allocated to either an intervention group, who took part in looking, listening, feeling and smelling activities with unusual fruits and vegetables every day for four weeks, or to a non-intervention control group. In a subsequent mealtime taste test, children touched and tasted more of the vegetables to which they had been familiarized in their playtime activities than of a matched set of non-exposed foods. The results demonstrate that hands-on activities with unfamiliar fruits and vegetables can enhance children’s willingness to taste these foods, and confirm the potential for such activities to support healthy eating initiatives.

The aims of early years outdoor education in England: a conceptual and empirical investigation

This paper explores the place of aims in the early years foundation stage outdoor environment in England. Through examining the writing of academics, various themes are identified, and constructed into possible aims. These themes/aims are compared to an empirical study of early years teachers’ attitudes. Data was collected by questionnaire from schools within the University of Reading partnership. There was general agreement between experts and teachers as to the aims. While some respondents were able to explain what the aims of outdoor activity were, a significant number were unable to identify aims; further, a significant number did not distinguish between approach/practice and aims. A lack of understanding and agreement as to what the aims are may indicate teachers are unsure about the purpose of outdoor education for young children. A result of this study is to agree and make explicit the aims for outdoor education in the early years.

The Effect of Mental Health Problems on Children’s Ability to Discriminate Amongst Thoughts, Feelings and Behaviours

Many young children appear to have skills sufficient to engage in basic elements of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Previous research has, however, typically used children from non-clinical populations. It is important to assess children with mental health problems on cognitive skills relevant to CBT and to compare their performance to children who are not identified as having mental health difficulties. In this study 193 6 and 7 year old children were assessed using a thought–feeling–behaviour discrimination task [Quakley et al. Behav. Res. Therapy 42 (2004) 343] and a brief IQ test (the WASI). Children were assigned to groups (at risk, borderline, low risk) according to ratings of their mental health made by their teachers and parents on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [Goodman, J. Am. Acad. Child Adolescent Psych. 40 (2001) 1337]. After controlling for IQ, children ‘at risk’ of mental health problems performed significantly less well than children with a ‘low risk’ of mental health problems. Before receiving CBT, children’s meta-cognitive development should be assessed and additional help provided to those with meta-cognitive difficulties.

Genetics and hyperlipidaemia

Hannah is a 30 year old single mother with two young children. She is of Chinese descent and moved to the UK six years ago; she has a good level of English. Recently her mother suffered a heart attack, which prompted Hannah’s first visit to the general practitioner (GP). Meanwhile Hannah performed a predictive genetic test independently through an online company, which showed an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD); she has the ɛ4 variant of the APOE gene. The company has recommended a daily supplement and dietary changes. Blood tests showed raised blood lipids and her GP referred Hannah to a dietitian for lifestyle management. Hannah is very concerned and anxious about her health.

Hospital-acquired human bocavirus in infants

Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a respiratory pathogen that affects young children. We screened 511 nasopharyngeal aspirates for hospital-acquired HBoV from infants hospitalised with respiratory infection from January to December 2008. Among 55 children with HBoV infection, 10 cases were hospital-acquired. Compared with the community-acquired cases, coinfection with other respiratory viruses in these patients was uncommon. HBoV should be considered for inclusion in screening protocols for nosocomial childhood respiratory infections, especially in intensive care units. (C) 2010 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Epidemiology and Genetic Variability of Human Metapneumovirus During a 4-Year-Long Study in Southeastern Brazil

Epidemiological and molecular characteristics of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) were compared with human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) in infants and young children admitted for acute lower respiratory tract infections in a prospective study during four consecutive years in subtropical Brazil. GeneScan polymerase chain assays (GeneScan RT-PCR) were used to detect hMPV and hRSV in nasopharyngeal aspirates of 1,670 children during January 2003 to December 2006. hMPV and hRSV were detected, respectively, in 191 (11.4%) and in 702 (42%) of the children admitted with acute lower respiratory tract infections at the Sao Paulo University Hospital. Sequencing data of the hMPV F gene revealed that two groups of the virus, each divided into two subgroups, co-circulated during three consecutive years. It was also shown that a clear dominance of genotype B1 occurred during the years 2004 and 2005, followed by genotype A2 during 2006. J. Med. Virol. 81:915-921,2009. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Anhörigperspektivet utifrån föräldrars erfarenheter då barnet har diabetes typ 1 : En litteraturöversikt

Bakgrund: Den största delen av behandlingen vid diabetes typ 1 är egenvård. När ett barn insjuknar i diabetes är det föräldrarna som huvudsakligen ansvarar för egenvården. Detta kan vara både psykiskt och fysiskt påfrestande. Det behövs mer kunskap om föräldrars upplevelser och deras erfarenheter av att vårda ett barn med diabetes. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att belysa anhörigperspektivet utifrån föräldrars erfarenheter då barnet har diabetes typ 1 samt hur sjuksköterskan kan ge stöd till anhöriga. Metod: En litteraturöversikt. Resultat: Resultatet visar att egenvården skiljer sig mellan små barn och ungdomar, att föräldrar upplever känslor av oro och stress när deras barn fått diagnosen och att sjuksköterskan kan hjälpa och öka sin förståelse genom att stödja. Slutsats: Författarna kan dra slutsatsen att ökad kunskap och förståelse om egenvård vid diabetes typ 1 hos barn, kan bidra till en hjälp för sjuksköterskor att ge föräldrarna ett bra stöd och bemötande i vården.

Struggling with daily life and enduring pain : a qualitative study of women's experiences with pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy

Background. Few studies have investigated the experiences of living with pelvic girdle pain (PGP) and its impact on pregnant women’s lives. To address this gap in knowledge, this study investigates the experiences of women living with PGP during pregnancy. Methods. A purposive sample, of nine pregnant women with diagnosed PGP, were interviewed about their experiences. Interviews were recorded, transcribed to text and analysed using a Grounded Theory approach. Results. The core category that evolved from the analysis of experiences of living with PGP in pregnancy was “struggling with daily life and enduring pain”. Three properties addressing the actions caused by PGP were identified: i) grasping the incomprehensible; ii) balancing support and dependence and iii) managing the losses. These experiences expressed by the informants constitute a basis for the consequences of PGP: iv) enduring pain; v) being a burden; vi) calculating the risks and the experiences of the informants as vii) abdicating as a mother. Finally, the informants’ experiences of the consequences regarding the current pregnancy and any potential future pregnancies is presented in viii) paying the price and reconsidering the future. A conceptual model of the actions and consequences experienced by the pregnant informants living with PGP is presented. Conclusions. PGP during pregnancy greatly affects the informant’s experiences of her pregnancy, her roles in relationships, and her social context. For informants with young children, PGP negatively affects the role of being a mother, a situation that further strains the experience. As the constant pain disturbs most aspects of the lives of the informants, improvements in the treatment of PGP is of importance as to increase the quality of life. This pregnancy-related condition is prevalent and must be considered a major public health concern during pregnancy.

Baby, it`s you : international capital discovers the under threes

Well-established international entertainment firms such as Disney and Fisher-Price are joining new start-up firms such as Baby Einstein to create a 'Baby' market of products (including toys, games and videos) specifically targeted at children aged 0-3 years. Despite its novelty, the 'Baby' market mirrors older markets that these firms have created around other demographic groups (e.g. older children, adolescents and adults) - it redefines its target demographic group around specific commodities and promotes its redefinition as 'common sense'. The 'Baby' firms redefine babies solely as early learners whose potential to learn can be released by these firms' brand-name 'educational' or 'developmental' products. Many adults buy these products because they accept the firms' redefinition of babies, but other adults ignore the firms' promotional messages and buy the products to give themselves some time apart from their babies. The 'Baby' market is significant for children and adults because it changes young children's relationships with adults and because it subordinates local cultural differences to a children's culture that purports to be 'global' but has, in reality, extremely narrow foundations in class, race and gender.

The social validity of interventions for promoting preschool childrens peer interactions

This analogue study investigated the social validity of classroom interventions designed to promote peer interactions in young children. The influences of child characteristics and diagnostic labels on social validity ratings were examined, as were the relationships among three components of social validity. Forty-two preschool teachers completed a 15-item social validity scale that yielded scores pertaining to intervention goals, procedures and effects. Participants rated three types of intervention, which varied according to individuals targeted and intensity of programming procedures, with reference to one of three case descriptions of children with social interaction problems. Half the participants were provided with the child’s diagnostic label. Results indicated that social validity is affected by interactions between intervention methods and child characteristics. The inclusion of diagnostic labels in the case descriptions had no effect on social validity ratings. Strong positive relationships were found among the components of social validity. Implications for the use of empirically validated interventions in inclusive preschools are discussed.