Teachers' perception on physical activity promotion in kindergarten children in China: a qualitative study connecting social-ecological model.

BACKGROUND: Globally, the majority of kindergarten-aged children face obesity issues and insufficient physical activity (PA) engagement. Regular PA participation can provide various health benefits, including obesity reduction, for kindergarten-aged children. However, limited studies have investigated the factors influencing kindergarten-aged children's PA engagement from the perspective of their teachers. This qualitative study aimed to identify factors that could help promote PA among kindergarten-aged children from teachers' perspectives, including facilitators, barriers, and teachers' recommendations. METHODS: Fifteen kindergarten teachers (age range: 28-50 years; mean age: 38.53 years) with teaching experience ranging from 2 to 31 years (mean: 16.27 years) were recruited from Shanghai municipality, Henan, and Jiangsu provinces in China. One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted via face-to-face (n = 7) or telephone (n = 8) to gather insights into factors influencing PA promotion among kindergarten-aged children. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a constant comparison approach based on grounded theory, which involved open, axial, and selective coding processes. RESULTS: The study revealed mutual theoretical support between themes and the social-ecological model (SEM), as factors identified in the study are distributed at various levels of the SEM. Twelve factors were identified at four levels of the SEM: (1) intrapersonal level (children's personality and skills), (2) interpersonal level (family, peers, and teachers influence), (3) organizational level (school environment and resources, opportunities for kindergarten teachers' training and children's PA, design and organization of PA, and PA that children need), (4) community level (family-school partnerships). CONCLUSION: Various factors at different levels can influence kindergarten-aged children's PA. The study's findings revealed that these factors are distributed across the first four levels of SEM, with the majority being at the organizational level. These multilevel findings are expected to assist in developing and implementing more effective PA interventions for kindergarten-aged children. Future research is warranted to identify strategies for promoting PA among kindergarten-aged children at the policy level of the SEM.

Shared Construction of Social Pretend Play Sequences at the Kindergarten.

Pretend play is usually defined as an activity wherein objects and actions (but also affective expression, at times) are separated from their original meanings. Its developmental appearance is set around the second year of life, and increases dramatically in duration, frequency and quality when play episodes start becoming more complex, both linguistically and interactionally reaching its peak in preschool years. To date, however, little attention has been paid to how social pretend play emerges and develops before the age of three. Our study aims to investigate early spontaneous pretend play interactions between children aged 19 to 28 months attending the same kindergarten. We used micro-analytical coding of video-recorded interactions to explore sequences of interaction where children coordinated their actions to engage in social pretend play with objects. Our analyses showed that co-constructed sequences appeared organised by a turn-alternation structure already at 19 months, and children used embodied and material resources afforded by the sequential organisation of actions to dynamically manage their participation. Although explorative, our results seem in line with previous reports suggesting an early onset of social pretend play developing over a continuum from being predominately an individual activity to progressively becoming a co-constructed endeavour.

Caries Incidence and Its Associated Factors in Hong Kong Kindergarten Children.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate caries incidence and its associate factors among kindergarten children in Hong Kong. METHOD: This 30-month prospective study recruited 3- to 4-year-old children when they started their kindergarten study. A self-administered parental questionnaire survey was used to collect the children's social demographic information and their oral health-related habits. Child's caries experience was recorded using the decayed, missing, and filled tooth (dmft) index and the visible plaque index (VPI) was used to measure their oral hygiene status. A final examination was performed after 30 months when they were in the final year of kindergarten. Data were analysed using the zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression model. RESULTS: This study examined 660 children at baseline and 501 children at the final examination (dropout 24%). At baseline, the caries prevalence among 501 children was 23%, with mean (SD) dmft scores of 0.7 (1.8). At the final examination, caries prevalence increased to 41%, with mean (SD) dmft scores of 1.6 (2.8). The 30-month incidence rate was 34%, and the mean (SD) number of new carious teeth developed was 0.9 (1.7). Lower first molars exhibited the highest caries increment rate (11%), followed by upper second molars (9%) and upper central incisors (9%). ZINB regression analysis revealed associations among caries incidence and family income, baseline dmft, and baseline VPI (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: One third of Hong Kong kindergarten children developed new caries. Low family income, prior caries experience and poor oral hygiene were the significant factors associated with their caries incidence. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Many children developed new caries during their kindergarten years, with their caries experience more than doubling. Preventive measures, including oral health education and reinforcing oral hygiene practice in kindergarten, are essential to reduce their caries incidence, particularly for children with low family income, caries experience and poor oral hygiene.

Duration of face mask exposure matters: evidence from Swiss and Brazilian kindergartners' ability to recognise emotions.

Wearing facial masks became a common practice worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated (1) whether facial masks that cover adult faces affect 4- to 6-year-old children's recognition of emotions in those faces and (2) whether the duration of children's exposure to masks is associated with emotion recognition. We tested children from Switzerland (N = 38) and Brazil (N = 41). Brazil represented longer mask exposure due to a stricter mandate during COVID-19. Children had to choose a face displaying a specific emotion (happy, angry, or sad) when the face wore either no cover, a facial mask, or sunglasses. The longer hours of mask exposure were associated with better emotion recognition. Controlling for the hours of exposure, children were less likely to recognise emotions in partially hideen faces. Moreover, Brazilian children were more accurate in recognising happy faces than Swiss children. Overall, facial masks may negatively impact children's emotion recognition. However, prolonged exposure appears to buffer the lack of facial cues from the nose and mouth. In conclusion, restricting facial cues due to masks may impair kindergarten children's emotion recognition in the short run. However, it may facilitate their broader reading of facial emotional cues in the long run.

Purity or perversion? from taboo to fact: kindergarten teachers' reflections on age-normal sexuality.

Many educators and pedagogues around the world face challenging situations in their everyday work. Being caught off guard when children begin to explore their bodies and show curiosity about body parts and sexual issues is one of the most uncomfortable realities in the work of educating our children and can generate a series of worrying questions, such as, "Is this child* normal? Should I stop him/ her from masturbating? What should I tell him/her?. Although talking to children about body changes and sexual matters may seem strange or embarrassing, providing correct and age-appropriate information is one of the most important things kindergarten employees can do to ensure that children grow up protected, healthy and safe in their bodies. The current study is based on empirical evidence from focus group interviews with 18 kindergarten teachers from four different kindergartens. The aim is to provide a real overview regarding kindergarten employees' experiences when it comes to their work with sexual development in small children. The findings show that sexuality is still a taboo even in western societies, as it is usually linked to abuse or pathological behavior. Additionally, key information about lack of focus on these topics in pedagogical educational programs is provided. Furthermore, the informants highlight the importance of knowledge and resources for them to feel in control and in confidence to face these challenges. Future directions and tips are provided to improve the educational field and ensure a healthy and balanced development which is after all part of all children's rights.

Effects of pre-natal and post-natal exposures to air pollution on onset and recurrence of childhood otitis media.

BACKGROUND: Despite mounting evidence linking outdoor air pollution with otitis media (OM), the role of air pollutant(s) exposure during which critical window(s) on childhood OM remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: We sought to identify the key air pollutant(s) and critical window(s) associated with the onset and recurrent attacks of OM in kindergarten children. METHODS: A combined cross-sectional and retrospective cohort study involving 8689 preschoolers aged 3-6 years was performed in Changsha, China. From 2013-2020, data on air pollutants were collected from ambient air quality monitoring stations in Changsha, and the exposure concentration to each child at their home address was calculated using the inverse distance weighted (IDW) method. The relationship between air pollution and OM in kindergarten children was studied using multiple logistic regression models. RESULTS: Childhood lifetime OM was associated with PM2.5, SO2 and NO2, with ORs (95% CI) of 1.43 (1.19-1.71), 1.18 (1.01-1.37) and 1.18 (1.00-1.39) by per IQR increase in utero exposure and with PM2.5, PM2.5-10 and PM10, with ORs = 1.15 (1.00-1.32), 1.25 (1.13-1.40) and 1.49 (1.28-1.74) for entire post-natal exposure, respectively. The 2nd trimester in utero and the post-natal period, especially the 1st year, were key exposure time windows to PM2.5 and PM10 associated with lifetime OM and the onset of OM. Similarly, the 4th gestational month was a critical window for all pollutants except CO exposure in relation to lifetime OM and OM onset, but not recurrent OM attacks. PM2.5 exposure during the nine gestational months and PM10 exposure during the first three years had cumulative effects on OM development. Our subgroup analysis revealed that certain children were more susceptible to the OM risk posed by air pollution. CONCLUSIONS: Early-life exposure to air pollution, particularly PM2.5 during the middle of gestation and PM10 during the early post-natal period, was associated with childhood OM.

Uncovering placemaking needs with(in) a kindergarten community: a cross-disciplinary approach to participatory design.

Introduction: The design of early childhood education and care facilities faces the double challenge of creating a stimulating environment for young children and a supportive workplace for staff. The existing body of research suggests that placemaking strategies serve both requirements. A promising approach to meet placemaking needs is the participation of future occupants in the building design. Methods: We pursued a participatory design study with the community of an Austrian kindergarten aiming to inform the future building renovation. We combined novel cultural fiction probes methods with conventional inquiry methods to gather information from children and teachers about their experience of the built environment. Using thematic and content analyzes we explored placemaking needs from different epistemic perspectives and converged findings through iterative exchange. Results: Returns of children and teachers were interconnected and complementary. From a design-oriented perspective, children's experience of place was relatable to spatial, temporo-spatial, and acoustic qualities as well as control needs. From a human-centered perspective, teachers' experience of place was relatable to the needs of feeling embedded, protected, enacted, and socially connected. The converged findings revealed dynamic placemaking processes involving the elements of space, time, and control at different levels. Discussion: Cross-disciplinary collaboration and research consolidation brought forth valuable insights on supportive structures for both children and teachers, facilitated timely knowledge transfer, and converted into design solutions that foster enacted placemaking. Albeit general transferability is limited, findings are interpretable within a solid framework of existing theories, concepts and evidence.

Kindergarten Children's Talk About Illustration Techniques in an Almost Wordless Picturebook.

During a classroom-based study that featured wordless and almost wordless picturebooks, instruction and adult mediation communicated to Kindergarten children that elements of visual art, design, and layout are fundamental to meaning-making when transacting with this format of literature. The illustration techniques described by Ray (2010) were used as an analytical lens to analyze the transcripts from the small group interactive sessions of an almost wordless picturebook featured during the research. The descriptive analyses of the transcripts reveal the rich viewing and talking opportunities that can be afforded during children's transactions with almost wordless picturebooks when these selections of literature are situated as aesthetic objects, and when children and adult mediators understand and appreciate how meaning is individually and synergistically represented by elements of visual art, design and layout. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature reviewed, and the theoretical frameworks of social semiotics and sociocultural theory.

Longitudinal association between children's mastery motivation and cognitive school readiness: Executive functioning and social-emotional competence as potential mediators.

This study investigated the direct relationships between kindergarten children's object and social mastery motivation and future cognitive school readiness and the indirect relationships mediated through executive functioning and social-emotional competence in the school context. The participants were 103 Hong Kong kindergarten children (45.6% girls; mean age = 60.4 months) and their teachers. The teachers reported the children's demographic information and object and social mastery motivation at Time 1 (in the middle of the school year). They rated the children's executive functioning, social-emotional competence and cognitive school readiness at Time 2 (at the end of the school year). The results from the path analysis model revealed that the children's object mastery motivation at Time 1, but not their social mastery motivation, directly predicted their cognitive school readiness at Time 2. The indirect relationships between (a) object mastery motivation at Time 1 and cognitive school readiness at Time 2 mediated through executive functioning (indirect effect: ß =.32, SE =.05, p <.001) and (b) social mastery motivation at Time 1 and cognitive school readiness at Time 2 mediated through social-emotional competence (indirect effect: ß =.09, SE =.03, p <.01) were significant. The findings highlight the differential roles of object and social mastery motivation in predicting children's cognitive school readiness and propose children's executive functioning and social-emotional competence as processes mediating the relationships. The results also suggest the desirability of providing kindergarten children with extensive play opportunities and materials to support their mastery motivation and cognitive school readiness.

The relationship between parenting behavior and the personality of kindergarten children.

According to Cloninger's biosocial model of personality touching upon temperament and character, personality development is a lifelong adaptive process that begins in early childhood. Similarly, theories of parenting behavior and attachment predict that associations between personality and parenting behavior should be found in young children. The present study therefore had the goal to investigate, whether associations between parenting behavior and personality in terms of Cloninger's temperament and character dimensions previously found in adolescence and adults can already be observed in kindergarten children. This study assessed personality in a sample of 324 kindergarten children (169 girls/155 boys) aged 3-6 years (M age = 4.59, SD = 0.90). Parents rated their children's temperament and character using the JTCI 3-6 R questionnaire, which has been specifically developed to measure personality dimensions in three to six-year-olds according to Cloninger's model. Character traits (especially Self-Transcendence), which reach mature levels in adults, may not be reliably assessed in three-year-old children. Parenting behavior was documented using the DEAPQ-EL-GS self-report questionnaire measuring the parenting behavior dimensions Responsiveness and Demandingness. Correlation analyses revealed that responsive parenting behavior was positively related to the personality dimensions Reward Dependence, Self-Directedness, and Self-Transcendence. Demanding parenting behavior was positively related to the personality dimension Novelty Seeking, but negatively related to the personality dimensions Persistence, Self-Directedness and Cooperativeness. Although the cross-sectional design of our study prevents unequivocal conclusions about the causal direction of these associations, our results highlight possible differential consequences of responsive vs. demanding parenting behavior for personality development in children in line with theories of parenting behavior and attachment. Our results thus advance earlier work in adolescents and adults, by showing that parenting behavior influences the development of the child's personality according to Cloninger's biosocial model already in three to six-year-olds.

Kindergarten children's reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic: Creating a sense of coherence.

This article examines kindergarten children's experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. It aims to understand the children's thoughts, emotions, and coping strategies regarding the presence of the COVID-19 virus in their daily lives, using the salutogenic approach to study their sense of coherence and promote relevant professional instruction. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were held with 130 five- to six-year-old children with an equal number of boys and girls. All of the children were recruited from kindergartens affiliated with the state's secular education system. Data were structured into three themes: (1) the child's perception of the pandemic as manageable through significant accompanying and absent figures; (2) the child's comprehension of the virus as dangerous, age-differentiating, and contagious; and (3) the child's emotional processing of the pandemic as arousing fear of death and through images, such as "thorny" and "monster." The results demonstrate the young children's sense of coherence, characterized as extrapersonal perception, interpersonal coping, and intrapersonal emotional processing, and the need for greater acknowledgment of child-parent educators' informed interventions that could give children a partial feeling of the adult's awareness of their needs.

First Aid Training for Children in Kindergarten: A Pilot Randomized Control Study.

First aid is a fundamental skill for every human of every age, so training in first aid is necessary at a variety of levels. First aid training in schools is essential, but to date, only short reports have been published on the effectiveness of first aid training in kindergarten. We conducted a pilot randomized controlled study on the impact of first aid training on children in kindergarten. We randomly selected 24 children aged 4-5 years from one kindergarten, who were allocated to either a training group (14 children) or a control group (10 children). The training program consisted of three lessons. An eleven-question questionnaire was administered to the children in the training group one day before, one day after, and two and six months after the training, and once to the those in the control group. Before the training, no significant difference was detected in the score on the questionnaire between the two groups. After the lessons, the children in the training group scored significantly higher on the questionnaire than before the lessons, and than the children in the control group. At two and six months after the training, the scores of the children in the training group had decreased but remained higher than before the training and higher that those of the control group. These preliminary results indicate that kindergarten children may benefit from first aid training, but further studies are needed to verify these observations and to explore ways of maintaining the knowledge acquired in training.

Stunting among kindergarten children in China in the context of COVID-19: A cross-sectional study.

Background: The impact of COVID-19 has most likely increased the prevalence of stunting. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of stunting among kindergarten children in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Longgang District, Shenzhen, China, and its risk factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify children from 11 sub districts of 481 kindergartens in the Longgang District of Shenzhen City from May to July 2021. In the context of COVID-19, an online survey was conducted to gather demographic information, height, birth information, and lifestyle. The prevalence of stunting was calculated, and the risk factors were analyzed using binary logistic regression with three stepwise models. Results: A total of 118,404 subjects were included from May to July 2021, with a response and questionnaire effective rates of 85.75% and 95.03%, respectively. The prevalence of stunting and severe stunting were 3.3% and 0.8%, respectively. Model 3 showed that risk factors for stunting were male sex [odds ratio (OR) = 1.07], low birth weight (OR = 2.02), insufficient sleep time (OR = 1.08), less food intake than their peers (OR = 1.66), slower eating than their peers (OR = 1.16), accompanied by grandparents alone or non-lineal relatives (reference: parents accompanying) (OR = 1.23, 1.51), and children induced to eat (OR = 1.17). Protective factors included only-child status (OR = 0.66), reported high activity (OR = 0.37, 0.26, 0.23), parents with high education levels (father: OR = 0.87, 0.69; mother: OR = 0.69, 0.58), high monthly income per capita of the family (OR = 0.88, 0.74, 0.68), and allowing children to make food choices (OR = 0.82). Conclusion: The stunting rate of children in kindergartens in Longgang District is 3.3%, close to the level of developed countries but higher than the average level of developed cities in China. The relatively high stunting rate in children under 3 years old in 2021 may be associated with the influence of COVID-19. Appropriate policies should be formulated for individuals and families with children to help children establish good living habits and reduce stunting.

Executive functions in Chinese kindergarten children with early reading problems.

Learning to read Chinese is a complex task that draws on a range of executive function (EF) skills since early development. However, no studies have examined EF as a potential contributing factor to early reading problems among Chinese children. The present longitudinal study identified 48 poor readers and 48 normal readers among a sample of 190 Chinese children at the end of kindergarten. Measures of EF skills (working memory, inhibition control, and cognitive flexibility) and reading outcomes (word reading, sentence reading fluency, and sentence reading comprehension) were administered to the children. The two groups were retrospectively compared on the EF measures after age and nonverbal IQ were considered. Poor readers were found to perform significantly worse than normal readers in all the examined EF skills. Correlation and regression results revealed a relatively different nature of the relationship between EF and reading in poor readers as compared with normal readers. Inhibition control predicted reading outcomes in poor readers only, while cognitive flexibility predicted reading outcomes in normal readers only. Working memory was significantly correlated to word reading in poor readers and to reading comprehension in normal readers. The results are discussed in terms of the special characteristics of the Chinese language.

Prevalence of Sleep Problems and Its Association With Preterm Birth Among Kindergarten Children in a Rural Area of Shanghai, China.

Introduction: Healthy sleep in children is critical for their physical and mental health. Although growing evidence indicates the linkage between preterm birth and neural network that regulates sleep architecture, findings on the association between preterm birth and sleep problems among children are still contradictory. In this study, we aimed to understand the prevalence of sleep problems in children aged 3-6 years and to explore the association between sleep problems and preterm birth among children in Shanghai, China. Methods: We selected 8,586 kindergarten children aged 3-6 years and their mothers in a rural area of Shanghai. Data were collected by questionnaire interview among mothers with informed consent that was signed ahead. Six types of sleep problems (i.e., insufficient sleep, sleepwalk, nightmare, snore, grind teeth, and cry in sleep) were selected in this study. SAS 9.4 was used for data analysis, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In this study, the prevalence of preterm birth was 9.88% (848/8,586), with a higher prevalence in boys (10.62%) than girls (9.01%). The prevalence of sleep problems was 89.81% among kindergarten children, with 62.50% for snore, 50.35% for grind teeth, 49.20% for cry in sleep, 41.18% for nightmare, 11.67% for insufficient sleep, and 4.44% for sleepwalk. The age of children, family income, and mother's education were associated with the prevalence of sleep problems in children. Logistic regression indicated that sleep problems in preterm children were comparable with the full-term children [odds ratio = 1.13, 95% confidence interval (0.89-1.45)]. Conclusion: Sleep problems were prevalent among children aged 3-6 years in the rural area of Shanghai, and preterm birth was not associated with sleep problems in kindergarten children. We recommend that parents should create limit setting in the home, cultivate similar child-rearing attitudes and beliefs among family members, and encourage children to go to bed earlier.

How does working memory matter in young children's arithmetic skills: The mediating role of basic number processing.

The current study investigated whether and how each component of the working memory model was associated with kindergarten children's arithmetic performance. A total of 103 Chinese kindergarten children were administered tests of the visuospatial sketchpad, the phonological loop, the central executive, and basic number processing (i.e., number line estimation, nonverbal numerosity estimation and numerical magnitude comparison). The results showed that among the three working memory components, the central executive accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in young children's arithmetic performance. In terms of basic number processing, number line estimation and numerical magnitude comparison had significant influences on young children's arithmetic performance. Furthermore, numerical magnitude comparison played a mediating role between the visuospatial sketchpad and early arithmetic skills. These findings highlight the importance of working memory and basic number processing in early arithmetic skills and reveal different pathways through which the three working memory components influence young children's arithmetic performance.

Parents' Education Level and Children's BMI Explain Caries Distribution Among Kindergarten Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Dental caries is a common but preventable, multifactorial disease in children. Among several others, it is influenced by child- and parent-related factors. Aims: To describe knowledge, attitude and practices about oral health among parents of kindergarten children and assess factors influencing caries distribution among the children. Methods: Parents of 290 kindergarten children in AlMadinah, Saudi Arabia, answered questions concerning their oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices. The children underwent an oral clinical examination. Data were collected between February and April 2018. Comparison between groups was done using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: All parents agreed on the importance of fluoride to strengthen teeth, while 91.7% thought that sweets have a negative impact on teeth. Almost all children ate sweets and candies (99%), while most of them used toothbrushes and fluoride to clean their teeth (98%). Only 66% of parents took their children to the dentist. The 2-step cluster analysis revealed that clusters of children with high body mass index (BMI) and those whose parents had only primary education had the highest caries prevalence compared to clusters of children with lower BMI and parents with higher education (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Within the study limits, parents demonstrated good oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices. Kindergarten children had high caries, especially those with high BMI and whose parents had low educational levels.

Establishment of "Smiles": an innovative inclusive program for the promotion of oral health among preschool children.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the planning stage and the first year of "Smiles," an innovative, inclusive oral health promotion program among preschool children, ages 3 to 5, encompassing the enhancement of daily toothbrushing skills, engagement of teaching staff and parents, and integration of a supportive environment of supervised toothbrushing in kindergartens. METHOD AND MATERIALS: The major components of the first year of the program included workshops with the teaching staff, working sessions with the preschool children, and workshops with the parents. Program participation, program cooperation, program satisfaction, and kindergarten teachers, kindergarten parents, and dental hygienists' attitudes towards this component of the program were recorded and evaluated. Minor components of the first year of the program included assimilation and integration of daily supervised toothbrushing in some of the kindergartens. Program participation, kindergarten teachers, kindergarten teachers' assistants, and kindergarten parents' attitudes towards this component of the program were recorded and evaluated. RESULTS: In total, 180 kindergartens, in nine locations across Israel, including 5,311 preschool children, their parents, and teaching staff, took part in the first year of the program. High levels of participation (80% and above), cooperation (9.55 to 9.78) and satisfaction (9.62 to 9.81) were recorded in the first year of the program. Kindergarten teachers, parents, and dental hygienists expressed high levels of support for continuing the program beyond its first year (9.86 to 10.00). Regarding the daily supervised toothbrushing model in the kindergartens, high levels of satisfaction (9.50 to 9.75) and willingness to continue the program (9.50-10.00) were recorded among kindergarten teachers, assistants, and parents. CONCLUSION: The "Smiles" program serves as an example of successful collaboration between many partners and stakeholders from different organizations, sectors, and government ministries, local authorities, kindergarten management and staff, parents, and the most important partners, the preschool children. Its adherence to the basic principles of health promotion, and its professional adjustment to early childhood with positive atmosphere of happiness, joy, and shared warmth, contributed to the success of the program.

The Prevalence of Insufficient Sleep and Bedtime Delay Among Kindergarten Children Aged 3 to 6 Years in a Rural Area of Shanghai: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction: Sleep deprivation in children is a global public health problem that affects the physical and mental development of children. Bedtime delay induced by longer screen time and heavy study load is a common cause of sleep deprivation in children. However, the prevalence of insufficient sleep and bedtime delay and related influencing factors among kindergarten children is limited in Shanghai, China. Methods: In 2018, we selected 8,586 children aged 3 to 6 years and their parents in Songjiang District, Shanghai. Data was collected among parents by face-to-face questionnaire interview with signed informed consent. We defined insufficient sleep as those who slept for < 10 h in children aged 3-5 years or 9 h in children aged 6 years within 24 h, and we define bedtime delay as children with bedtime after 21:00. SAS 9.1.3 software was used to calculate the prevalence of bedtime delay and insufficient sleep, and logistic regression was used to explore potential influencing factors. Results: The prevalence of insufficient sleep and bedtime delay among children aged 3 to 6 years was 11.67 and 56.85%, respectively. The prevalence of insufficient sleep among boys was slightly higher than among girls [odds ratio (OR) = 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04-1.35]. With the increase of the age of children, the prevalence of insufficient sleep increased gradually (P < 0.05). The prevalence of insufficient sleep was higher among the only child in the family (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.02-1.36) and those with longer hours of TV watching (OR = 109, 95% CI: 1.02-1.16). Meanwhile, the prevalence of bedtime delay was also higher among the only child in the family (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.06-1.79), among those with parents accompanying for sleep (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.10-1.34), and those with longer TV watching time (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.07-1.18). Conclusions: Insufficient sleep and bedtime delay were prevalent in Chinese children aged 3 to 6 years, especially in boys and older children. TV watching as well as parents accompanying for sleep were associated with insufficient sleep and bedtime delay. We recommend that parents should limit the screen time of children, advocate earlier bedtime and later morning wake-up among children, as well as make their children sleep in separate beds or rooms in younger age.

Early Numeracy and Literacy Skills Among Monolingual and Bilingual Kindergarten Children.

Early numeracy and literacy skills are all the knowledge that children acquire spontaneously and independently before entering school and beginning formal learning. This knowledge is essential and forms the basis for the acquisition of reading and arithmetic in school. A bilingual child is a child who is fluent in two languages, as opposed to a monolingual child who is exposed to only one language. Bilingualism has been found to affect verbal and mathematical abilities in children, but only a few studies have focused on the early numeracy and literacy skills of preschoolers. This study examined the connection between early numeracy and literacy skills and among monolingual children as compared to bilingual children in preschool. Three hundred and two children aged 5-6years old were recruited from 74 kindergartens. Participants were divided into two groups: 151 monolingual children who spoke and were exposed to only one language (Hebrew) and 151 bilingual children who spoke and were exposed to two languages (the bilingual children spoke different languages). Monolingual children performed better than the bilingual children in most of the literacy tasks, except for phonological awareness, in which no differences were found between the groups. In addition, in the early numeracy tasks, a difference was found only in the task, which included linguistic knowledge, number knowledge, and counting tasks, in which the monolingual children performed better. Furthermore, stronger correlations were found between the early numeracy and literacy skills among the monolingual group compared to the bilingual group. The study findings stress the importance of strengthening linguistic abilities, such as vocabulary expansion in kindergarten among populations in which more than one language is spoken. Supporting these abilities can reduce the gap between bilingual children and their monolingual classmates before entering school.