Toddlers Using Tablets: They Engage, Play, and Learn.

Although very young children have unprecedented access to touchscreen devices, there is limited research on how successfully they operate these devices for play and learning. For infants and toddlers, whose cognitive, fine motor, and executive functions are immature, several basic questions are significant: (1) Can they operate a tablet purposefully to achieve a goal? (2) Can they acquire operating skills and learn new information from commercially available apps? (3) Do individual differences in executive functioning predict success in using and learning from the apps? Accordingly, 31 2-year-olds (M = 30.82 month, SD = 2.70; 18 female) were compared with 29 3-year-olds (M = 40.92 month, SD = 4.82; 13 female) using two commercially available apps with different task and skill requirements: (1) a shape matching app performed across 3 days, and (2) a storybook app with performance compared to that on a matched paper storybook. Children also completed (3) the Minnesota Executive Functioning Scale. An adult provided minimal scaffolding throughout. The results showed: (1) toddlers could provide simple goal-directed touch gestures and the manual interactions needed to operate the tablet (2) after controlling for prior experience with shape matching, toddlers' increased success and efficiency, made fewer errors, decreased completion times, and required less scaffolding across trials, (3) they recognized more story content from the e-book and were less distracted than from the paper book, (4) executive functioning contributed unique variance to the outcome measures on both apps, and (5) 3-year-olds outperformed 2-year-olds on all measures. The results are discussed in terms of the potential of interactive devices to support toddlers' learning.

Decreased prevalence of overweight and obesity in the newfoundland and labrador preschool population.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in preschool-aged (42-66 months) children in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2009/10. Second, 2009/10 rates were compared to those reported for 2001/02 and 1988/89 to ascertain whether the previous rising trend had continued, stabilized or decreased while public health prevention and intervention efforts increased. METHODS: Heights and weights of children measured in clinics in 2009/10, 2001/02 and 1988/89 were sampled, representing 29%, 77% and 45% of provincial births in 2005, 1997 and 1984, respectively. Body mass indices were calculated and classified as overweight, obese or neither, using World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts. ANOVA and regression procedures were used to compare cohorts. RESULTS: Combined overweight and obesity was significantly lower in 2009/10 (35.7%) than in 2001/02 (38.9%), (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.76-0.99). Considered separately, both overweight and obesity rates stabilized. Boys were 1.4 times more likely to be overweight or obese than girls in all samples. In 2009/10, combined overweight and obesity was higher in rural areas (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.28-2.18). In three of four public health jurisdictions, prevalence in 2009/10 remained significantly higher than 20 years earlier. In one region, rates returned to 1988/89 levels. CONCLUSION: Progress has been made in stabilizing, even reversing, overweight and obesity in the Newfoundland and Labrador preschool population, however, prevalence rates remain high. Surveillance and intervention efforts must continue. Given the jurisdictional and regional differences found, further research should compare ecological contexts and thus attempt to isolate and identify important contributing factors and effective interventions.

Obesity in a provincial population of Canadian preschool children: differences between 1984 and 1997 birth cohorts.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether trends of increasing overweight and obesity reported for older children and adults are evident in Canadian preschoolers. METHODS: A sample of 3857 preschool-aged children (51.1% boys) in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, born in 1984 and measured in 1987-1989, was selected from government archival records. The sample of 4161 children (50.1% boys), born in 1997 and measured in 2000-2002, was obtained from regional health authority records. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using heights and weights measured by nurses. Overweight and obesity prevalence was estimated according to the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) methods. RESULTS: Combined rates of overweight and obesity were significantly higher in preschoolers born in 1997 (25.6% IOTF and 36.0% CDC) than in 1984 (16.9% IOTF and 25.1% CDC), when levels were already high. There were some differences between sexes and classification systems. CONCLUSION: The relatively rapid rise in overweight and obesity in children as young as 3.5 years, in little more than a decade, underscores the immediate need for monitoring, and implementation of effective interventions. Overweight and obesity in preschool children is not new, but has become increasingly prevalent, and requires population-based strategies.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity in a provincial population of Canadian preschool children.

BACKGROUND: More and more school-aged children in Canada and elsewhere are becoming overweight or obese. Many countries are now reporting a similar trend among preschool children. However, little information is available on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among preschool children in Canada. In addition, available data are based on reported rather than measured heights and weights. We conducted this study to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity, using measured heights and weights, in the 1997 cohort of children aged 3-5 years born in Newfoundland and Labrador. METHODS: We calculated the body mass indices (BMIs) using heights and weights measured by public health nurses during the province-wide Preschool Health Check Program conducted between October 2000 and January 2003. Descriptive data on the children's BMIs and prevalence estimates were generated and analyzed by sex and age with the use of the classification system recommended by the International Obesity Task Force. RESULTS: Data were available for 4161 of the 5428 children born in 1997; boys and girls were equally represented (50.1% and 49.9% respectively). Overall, 25.6% of the preschool children in the cohort were overweight or obese. The rates did not differ significantly by sex or age group. INTERPRETATION: These results indicate that a high proportion of children aged 3-5 years in Newfoundland and Labrador are overweight or obese. It appears that prevention measures should begin before the age of 3 years.