Adherence to 24-hour integrated activity guidelines among infants, toddlers and preschool children in Singapore.

This study examined children's adherence to the Singapore Integrated 24-Hour Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood in infants, toddlers and preschoolers aged 0-6 years. A total of 901 caregivers, comprising 219 infants, 379 toddlers, and 303 preschoolers, provided information regarding their children's physical activity (PA), screen viewing time (SVT), and sleep durations on both weekdays and weekends. Meeting the 24-hour integrated activity guidelines was defined as follows: for infants ≥ 30 minutes per day of tummy time or floor-based play; zero SVT; total sleep of 14-17 hours per day for ages 0-3 months, 12-16 hours per day for ages 4-11 months; for toddlers ≥ 180 minutes of total PA per day; zero SVT under 2 years; <1 hour for ages 2 to less than 3 years; and a total sleep of 11-14 hours per day; for preschoolers ≥ 180 minutes of total PA per day; SVT <1 hour per day; total sleep of 10-13 hours per day for those aged 3-5 years, and 10-11 hours per day for 6-year-olds. Chi-squared tests were used to examine the differences in guideline adherence between weekdays and weekends. Compared to weekdays, during weekends there was a higher proportion of toddlers and preschoolers adhering to the PA guidelines (68.9% vs 50.1%; 78.9% vs 55.4%, respectively, p<0.05), and a lower proportion of toddlers adhering to SVT (38.8% vs 21.8%; p = 0.001). There was a declining adherence to all three activity guidelines as age groups progressed from infants (44.7%) to toddlers (15.8%) and then to preschoolers (9.4%). Concurrently, there was a decrease in adherence to SVT recommendations across the age groups, with adherence rates being highest among infants (83.1%), followed by toddlers (15.8%), and preschoolers (9.4%). Decreasing compliance with all three guidelines, coupled with a corresponding decline in adherence to SVT guidelines as children transition from toddlerhood to preschool age, is a cause for concern. This underscores the need for proactive efforts to educate caregivers about reducing or eliminating SVT among infants and young children.

Adherence to the Singapore Integrated 24-Hour Activity Guidelines by Infants and Toddlers and Its Association With Well-Being.

BACKGROUND: This study estimated the prevalence of Singapore infants and toddlers who met the new Singapore Integrated 24-Hour Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood and examined its association with well-being. METHODS: A total of 267 parents of children aged between 0 and 2 years completed an online questionnaire that consists of the Singaporean Children Lifestyle Questionnaire and either the Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) Inventory Infant Scale or the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Well-being of infants was measured through parent responses to PedsQL and that of toddlers was measured through Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Data were benchmarked against age-specific guidelines for physical activity, screen time, and sleep in the Singapore Integrated 24-Hour Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood. RESULTS: A higher percentage of infants (37.3%) than toddlers (20.6%) had met 3 guidelines. In contrast, a lower percentage of infants than toddlers met at least one or did not meet any guidelines (3.8% and 0% for infants vs 22.4% and 1.8% for toddlers, respectively). Infants who met more guidelines had significantly higher parent-reported PedsQL total scale score than infants who met fewer guidelines (P < .05). However, the present study found that the number of guidelines met was not associated to infants' PedsQL scale score and toddlers' total difficulty score (P > .05). CONCLUSION: Adherence to this set of local guidelines should be widely publicized, so parents will have greater awareness and knowledge on cultivating good physical activity, screen time, and sleep habits for their child from a young age.

24 h Activity Guidelines in Children and Adolescents: A Prevalence Survey in Asia-Pacific Cities.

This study aimed to examine the prevalence of adherence to 24 h activity guidelines in children and adolescents from Asia-Pacific cities. In 1139 children aged 5-18 years, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), screen viewing time (SVT), sleep duration, child weight, height, sex, and age were parent-reported. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the number of guidelines met, and prevalence of adherence to activity guidelines by city and child sex. Prevalence of meeting all three 24 h activity guidelines was low across all countries (1.8-10.3%) (p < 0.05). Children from Thiruvananthapuram, India had the highest [10.3% (95% CI: 6.0-17.0)], while those from Tokyo, Japan had the lowest prevalence [1.8% (95% CI: 0.5-7.0)] of meeting all three guidelines. The highest prevalence of meeting individual MVPA, SVT and sleep guidelines was found in India [67.5% (95% CI: 58.8-75.1)], Kelaniya, Sri Lanka [63.2% (95% CI: 58.7-67.4)] and Kowloon, Hong Kong [59.4% (95% CI: 51.1-65.3)], respectively. Overall, a higher prevalence of boys met all three guidelines, compared to girls [5.9% (95% CI: 4.1-8.1) vs. 4.7% (3.1-6.6), p = 0.32]. The prevalence of adhering to all three activity guidelines was low in all five participating cities, with a higher proportion of boys meeting all guidelines.

Time to Play in Javanese Preschool Children-An Examination of Screen Time and Playtime before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This comparative-descriptive multi-national research examined the screen time and playtime of preschool children aged 1-6 years before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents reported on the play and screen habits of preschool-aged children on the weekday and weekends using a questionnaire on the lifestyle habits of their children. Results indicated a significant difference in screen time and playtime on the weekday and weekend before the pandemic (screen time: 1.91 ± 2.40 vs. 2.16 ± 2.60 h; playtime: 3.55 ± 2.49 vs. 4.11 ± 2.58 h, both p < 0.05), but during the COVID-19 pandemic, only the weekday-weekend difference in screen time was significantly different (screen time: 2.87 ± 3.15 vs. 3.26 ± 3.18 h, p < 0.05; playtime: 3.25 ± 3.41 vs. 3.48 ± 2.41, p > 0.05). Before- and during-COVID-19 comparisons showed that the average daily screen time increased by 150% from 2.04 h to 3.06 h (p < 0.05), while the average play time decreased by 12.3% (3.83 to 3.36 h, p < 0.05). Based upon international guidelines for movement behaviours of young children, special attention and actions are needed to manage the excessive daily screen time and preserve the average daily playtime of Javanese preschool children. These results present useful benchmarking data for parents, teachers, and health authorities to initiate ameliorative interventions to better balance children's screen time and playtime as Indonesia emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic to a COVID-19 endemic.

Play-Sleep Nexus in Indonesian Preschool Children before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed Indonesians' behaviors and has had an impact on many facets of daily life. People's lives are becoming increasingly dependent on digital technologies, which is a phenomenon with conflicting effects on people's health and happiness. This cross-sectional study focused on one such influence, namely, how the shift from the period before to during COVID-19 has affected children's playtime and sleep duration. As part of a multicenter study, 618 adult caregivers (parents, family members, or babysitters) who visited the kindergarten in question on behalf of preschool children aged 2-5 years (4.04 ± 1.39) were surveyed on the children's play and sleep habits before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, particularly Java Island (before pandemic, N = 309; during pandemic, N = 309). ANOVA was used for a statistical analysis to describe the difference between groups and within time collections. Significant favorable relationships were found between pre-pandemic and post-pandemic playtime and sleeping time on weekdays, weekends, and averaged weekday-weekend (r = 0.437; 0.180 and 0.321, all p < 0.05) were detected. Before the pandemic, children's playtime (4.11 vs. 3.55 h) and sleep duration (10.92 vs. 10.70 h) were significantly greater on the weekend than on the weekday (p < 0.05) but not during the pandemic (playtime: 3.48 vs. 3.45 h and sleep duration: 10.83 vs. 10.80 h; all p > 0.05). The COVID-19 pandemic had no impact on sleep duration or playtime in Javanese preschool children. Efforts should be intensified to promote the value of playtime and sleep duration among children in this age range so that the future of Indonesian children's can be ensured.

Associations between Parent Attitudes and on- and off-Screen Behaviours of Preschool Children in Singapore.

The research aims were to examine the relationships between parent and child digital media use and to describe the characteristics of the top and bottom quartiles of child digital media use in meeting the 24 h integrated guidelines for sleep, physical activity, and sedentary behaviour. Parent-reported on- and off-screen habits and quality of life of children were collected from 1481 parents of preschool children aged 2-5 years in 2019. Significant relationships were detected between parent and child digital media use (weekday, r = 0.274; weekend, r = 0.421, p < 0.05) with no sex difference in daily child digital media use (p > 0.05). Age of first exposure to fixed screens, daily digital media use, and physical play durations were significantly different between heavy (child-TQ) and light (child-BQ) child users of digital media (p < 0.05). Parental perceived importance of child digital media use and parental awareness and practice of guidelines for child digital media use differed significantly between parents of child-TQs and parents of child-BQs (p < 0.05). The number of 24 h movement guidelines met between child-TQs and child-BQs differed (p < 0.05). Parents voiced serious concerns for child digital media use, including addiction (75-76%), poor eyesight (73%), access to inappropriate content (73-74%), a lack of parent-child interaction (65%), poor sleep (49-55%), and a lack of physical activity (55-59%), but these findings did not translate to parental enforcement of the guidelines. Parent education on how to get the best digital media use outcomes for preschool children is recommended.

Associations between Parents' Digital Media Habits, Engagement, Awareness, and Movement Guidelines among Preschool-Age Children: International Ipreschooler Surveillance Study.

The 24-hour movement guidelines (24-h MG) recommend behaviors (physical activity, screen time, sleep) to aid appropriate physical and mental development in early childhood. This research examined parents' digital media habits (DMH), engagement (DME), and awareness (DMA) among parents in relation to their preschool-aged children's 24-h MG in Japan and identified and compared the modifiable determinants of adherence to 24-h MG in urban and rural regions. This cross-sectional study included 867 participants and data were obtained from the International Ipreschooler Surveillance Study Among Asians and OtheRs (IISSAAR). The results revealed that adherence to weekend screen time recommendations and weekday sleep duration were higher in the urban region. The parents' digital media variables that predicted moderate-intensity to vigorous-intensity physical activity among preschool-aged children were parents' DME and DMA in the urban regions and parents' DME in the rural regions. The children's screen time was significantly associated with parents' DMH, DME, and DMA in the urban regions and with parents' DMH and DMA in the rural regions (p < 0.005, p < 0.001, respectively). This study confirmed that parents' DMH, DME, and DMA are strong predictors of adherence to 24-h MG among preschool-aged children living in both rural and urban regions in Japan.