Associations between Preschool Teachers' Food-Based Learning Frequency, Level of Personal Priority and Identified Resources and Challenges: A Needs Assessment.

Food-based learning (FBL) is the use of food as a teaching tool in the classroom, which can expose children to healthy foods to improve preference and consumption. However, more research is needed on the use and perception of FBL in the Head Start (HS) preschool classroom. In an online survey, we explored associations between North Carolina HS teachers' (n = 168) experiences (e.g., resources, challenges, needs, and preferences) with FBL, how frequently teachers implemented it, and how much they prioritized it. We used frequencies and chi-square tests of independence to assess associations between study variables. Teachers reported using FBL regularly with access to FBL resources (e.g., books and center play materials) and experiencing challenges (e.g., lack of funding and material resources). Teachers partnered with parents and farmers markets and expressed a need for additional FBL professional development. Our needs assessment findings revealed specific resources, challenges, and perceptions significantly associated with how often teachers used FBL and their priority level. Additional research should investigate how to alleviate FBL challenges and strategies to create policy and environmental changes that facilitate early FBL.

Why do parents use screen media with toddlers? The role of child temperament and parenting stress in early screen use.

Considering child characteristics may be an important piece to understanding parental decision-making for children's screen use. The current cross-sectional study examined the mediating role of maternal parenting stress in the relation of child temperament to young children's screen use. Recognizing the multidimensional aspects of temperament, three mediated pathways for three temperament domains (i.e., negative affectivity, surgency, and effortful control) were tested. Mothers of toddlers, 18-36 months (N = 296), completed an online survey, reporting on child temperament, total parenting stress, and child screen use. The results showed that mother-child dynamics were related to toddlers' screen use. Toddlers' negative affectivity and effortful control were each associated with toddlers' screen use through maternal parenting stress. Higher negative affectivity was associated with higher maternal parenting stress, which in turn, was related to greater screen use in toddlers. Toddlers' lower effortful control was related to higher maternal parenting stress, which in turn, was associated with greater screen use. Toddlers' surgency was not related to either maternal parenting stress or toddlers' screen use. The findings from this study contribute to an understanding of media-related parenting in toddlerhood and may help with the development of strategies for supporting healthy media habits in families with young children.