Parent adoption and implementation of obesity prevention practices through building children's asking skills at family child care homes.

BACKGROUND: Early childhood education programs provide a setting to reach children and parents to modify home environments to prevent obesity. The Healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity and Nutrition Home (HOP'N) Home project was a novel approach that linked Family Child Care Homes (FCCH) to home environments by developing children's asking skills for healthful home environmental change through curricular activities. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of engaging parents in obesity prevention practices through building children's asking skills at FCCH. METHODS: FCCHs (n = 5 settings) and children (n = 25; aged 3-5 years; female = 36 %; non-Hispanic white = 91 %; low socioeconomic status = 28 %; overweight/obese = 52 %) and parents (n = 25) participated in a pre-post cohort design. We assessed children's body mass index and self-report variables at three time points. HOP'N Home included continuous staff training, group time, dramatic play, meal prompts, songs, and home activities. RESULTS: FCCH providers implemented 83%-100% of intervention activities. All parents (100 %) adopted the program, most (87 %) returned completed homework activities to FCCHs, and over 90 % implemented changes in the home. Percent of overweight/obese children decreased from pre-intervention (50 %) to post-intervention (29 %,p = 0.06) and follow-up (38 %,p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to build children's asking skills and pair this strategy with home activities to engage parents to prevent obesity.

Preschool Daily Patterns of Physical Activity Driven by Location and Social Context.

BACKGROUND: Preschool children are recommended to spend at least 15 minutes/hour (25% time) in light-to-vigorous physical activity (total physical activity, TPA). Preschool provider practices, such as whether children are put in small group or whole-group activities, are likely to affect children's TPA levels during preschool. The current study characterized the pattern of physical activity across the preschool day, and examined the relationship of location and social arrangement to TPA. METHODS: Fifteen days from 8 preschool classrooms in 2 preschool centers were video-recorded, and children (N = 73, age = 3-6 years, M = 4.36 ± 0.85, Boys = 47%) wore accelerometers for the duration of the preschool day. We observed contextual variables of time (ie, morning or afternoon), location (ie, indoor or outdoor), and for a subsample, social arrangement (ie, activity centers, small group, whole group). RESULTS: Across the whole day, children spent 69.5 ± 12.4% time sedentary/inactive and 30.5 ± 13.5% time in TPA. Children spent a significantly greater percentage of time in TPA outdoors, compared to indoors (t = 10.00, p < .001), and while in small groups compared to whole groups (t = 3.35, p = .009). CONCLUSION: Children spent approximately 30% of the preschool day in TPA. Providing more time outdoors and restructuring preschool activities from whole group to small group could increase the amount of TPA that children accumulate during preschool.

Toddler activity intensity during indoor free-play: stand and watch.

OBJECTIVE: Movement patterns among toddlers (16-36 months) differ from other early developmental periods; toddlers practice coordination, balance, and control. Toddler care environments may afford repetition of these emerging skills. This study examined intensity and type of movements during free-play indoors in child care among toddlers. METHODS: A convenience sample (n, 41; mean, 26.5 months) was observed for intensity of physical activity (PA), motor activity type, activity context, and teacher prompts in center-based care using a modified version of the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity for Children-Preschool. RESULTS: The most frequent PA intensity level was sedentary with limb movement. No significant gender differences emerged. Standing, sitting/squatting, and walking were the most frequent activity types. Dominant activity contexts included fine motor manipulative, self-care, and onlooking. Logistic regression results indicated that onlooking significantly decreased the odds of moderate to vigorous PA. Teachers offered few prompts to increase PA. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Toddlers demonstrate predominantly sedentary behaviors during free-play. Further observational research across the entire day is warranted to accurately assess intensity and teacher's support for moderate to vigorous PA.

Identification and validity of accelerometer cut-points for toddlers.

The purpose of this study was to derive ActiGraph cut-points for sedentary (SED), light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in toddlers and evaluate their validity in an independent sample. The predictive validity of established preschool cut-points were also evaluated and compared. Twenty-two toddlers (mean age = 2.1 years ± 0.4 years) wore an ActiGraph accelerometer during a videotaped 20-min play period. Videos were subsequently coded for physical activity (PA) intensity using the modified Children's Activity Rating Scale (CARS). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were conducted to determine cut-points. Predictive validity was assessed in an independent sample of 18 toddlers (mean age = 2.3 ± 0.4 years). From the ROC curve analyses, the 15-s count ranges corresponding to SED, LPA, and MVPA were 0-48, 49-418, and >418 counts/15 s, respectively. Classification accuracy was fair for the SED threshold (ROC-AUC = 0.74, 95% confidence interval = 0.71-0.76) and excellent for MVPA threshold (ROC-AUC = 0.90, 95% confidence interval = 0.88-0.92). In the cross-validation sample, the toddler cut-point and established preschool cut-points significantly overestimated time spent in SED and underestimated time in spent in LPA. For MVPA, mean differences between observed and predicted values for the toddler and Pate cut-points were not significantly different from zero. In summary, the ActiGraph accelerometer can provide useful group-level estimates of MVPA in toddlers. The results support the use of the Pate cut-point of 420 counts/15 s for MVPA.

PATH across the generations: older adults' perceptions on the value of intergenerational contact.

Intergenerational programs are suggested as a way to change the attitudes of youth about older adults. However, less is known about older adults' perceptions of the effect of intergenerational experiences on their own well-being and on youth. PATH (Personal Actions To Health) Across the Generations, a state-wide intergenerational program, targets rural adults and local youth in building meaningful relationships. A qualitative analysis of commentary by older adult volunteers suggests that they view their interactions as providing a uniquely supportive relationship for the youth. Adults indicated a heightened sense of well-being from the interactions and also desired a meaningful relationship with the youth. These results suggest that the developmental needs of older adults must be considered with equal weight with those of the youth. Additional directions for research and programming are discussed.

Perceptions of influence on child's competence among fathers in the military context.

This study compared the beliefs of fathers serving in the military with those of a matched sample of civilian fathers on the time spent with their kindergarten child and their perceptions of their influence as well as their spouse's influence on their child's cognitive and emotional competence. Parents are considered prime agents of change during early childhood. However, fathers who serve in the military face challenges unique to this context and reflective of the frequent and intense demands on their time and attention. Results suggest that, in a time of peace, military and civilian fathers share similar perceptions and time reported spent with their child. Mothers were perceived to be equivalent in their influence to the military father.