Maternal Depressive Symptoms in the First Year after Childbirth Predict Long-Term Developmental Risks in Sons and Daughters.

Under-diagnosed and thus under-treated, maternal depression remains the most common complication of childbearing. Varying symptoms suggest persistence up to more than a decade following childbirth. This implies distinct vulnerabilities for the physical and emotional care of children. Using a prospective-longitudinal sex-stratified birth cohort of 2120 infants, we examined the relationship between early maternal depression symptoms and subsequent child psycho-social and relational characteristics. Mothers self-reported the severity and frequency of depressive symptoms 5 months after childbirth. Parents, teachers, and target participants reported on child mental health and relationships with adults, from kindergarten to tenth grade. A series of least-squares regressions were estimated, while controlling for pre-existing/concurrent child and family confounds. Both sons and daughters of mothers with more depressive symptoms were at risk of experiencing greater psycho-social impairment, classroom rule defiance, difficult relationships with teachers, less enjoyable mealtimes (age 6 years) and sleep, and coercive or inconsistent parenting practices in childhood and adolescence. For boys, these prospective associations were mostly consistent through ages 12 and 15 years. Girls also experienced more problematic interactions through to age 15 years. This study provides observations of distinct long-term vulnerabilities for sons and daughters in association with early maternal distress at important transitional periods of development in early, middle, and later childhood.

Family Meal Environment Differentially Conditions the Prospective Association between Early Childhood Screen Time and Key Social Relationships in Adolescent Girls.

Background: Despite screen time recommendations, children are increasingly spending time on electronic devices, rendering it an important risk factor for subsequent social and developmental outcomes. Sharing meals could offer a way to promote psychosocial development. This study examines the interaction between family meal environment and early childhood screen time on key adolescent social relationships. Methods: Participants are 1455 millennial children (49% boys) from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development birth cohort. Parents reported on child screen use at ages 2 and 6 years and family meal environment quality at age 6 years. Parents and children reported on parent-child relationships and peer victimization experiences, respectively, at age 13 years. Sex-stratified multiple regression estimated the direct association between screen time trends, family meal environment quality, and their interaction on later social relationship outcomes. Results: For girls, when preschool screen time increased, sharing family meals in high-quality environments was associated with more positive and less conflictual relationships with their mothers, whereas meals shared in low- and moderate-quality environments were associated with fewer instances of victimization by their peers. Non-linear associations were not significant for boys. Conclusion: Capitalizing on family meal environment represents a simple/cost-efficient activity that can compensate for some long-term risks associated with increased screen use, above and beyond pre-existing and concurrent individual and family characteristics. Public health initiatives may benefit from considering family meals as a complementary intervention strategy to screen use guidelines.

Prospective Associations between Maternal Depressive Symptoms during Early Infancy and Growth Deficiency from Childhood to Adolescence.

Maternal health represents an important predictor of child development; yet it often goes unnoticed during pediatric visits. Previous work suggests that mental state affects parenting. The relationship between infant exposure to maternal depressive symptoms suggests conflicting findings on physical growth. Body mass index (BMI) has not been rigorously examined across development. Using a prospective-longitudinal birth cohort of 2120 infants (50.7% boys), we estimated the prospective relationship between symptoms of maternal depressive symptoms at 5 months postpartum and later BMI in typically developing children. We hypothesized that maternal depressive symptom severity would predict later BMI through to adolescence. Mothers self-reported depressive symptoms at 5 months. Child BMI was measured by a trained research assistant at ages 6, 8, 10, 13, and 15 years. We estimated a series of sex-stratified regressions in which BMI was linearly regressed on maternal symptoms, while controlling for potential pre-existing/concurrent individual and family confounding factors. Boys born to mothers with more severe depressive symptoms at age 5 months had a significantly lower BMI than other boys at subsequent ages. There were no such associations observed for girls. Maternal depressive symptoms were prospectively associated with later BMI for sons and not daughters, predicting risk of faltering in growth through to adolescence. Health practitioners should routinely assess maternal psychological functioning during pediatric visits to optimize parent and child flourishment.

Associations Between Kindergarten Participation in Organized Physical Activity and Subsequent Healthy Body Weight and Leg Strength by the End of Second Grade.

BACKGROUND: Childhood sport helps children develop growth and maturation, while simultaneously offering self-regulation, motor, and social skills training. This study aims to estimate the influence of sport participation at age 6 years on indicators of health at age 8 years, using a prospective longitudinal birth cohort design. METHODS: Participants were 1492 children aged 6-8 years from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. Lower muscular power was measured with the standing long jump test. Girth used the children's waist circumference in centimeters. Body mass index was computed from child height and weight. We regressed these directly measured health indicators at age 8 years on parent-reported physical activity at age 6 years using linear Ordinary Least Squares regression. RESULTS: Boys who participated in more physical activity at age 6 years had better lower muscular power (b = 2.368; 95% CI, 0.341 to 4.395) and higher body mass index (b = 0.340; 95% CI, 0.055 to 0.626). No significant results were found for girls. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that physical activity in kindergarten has a positive impact on muscular power by the end of the second grade in boys. This supports the pertinence of implementing physical activity to a routine early in life to help children improve their general health.

Early school-age family meal characteristics matter for the later development of boys and girls.

Objective: Sharing a meal together offers an innovative approach to study the family environment. How often families eat together may not capture the distinct experience for sons and daughters. Instead, studying family meal characteristics might be more enlightening. This study aims to examine the prospective associations between family meal environment quality at age 6 years and later well-being at age 12 years in 734 boys and 758 girls. Method: Participants are from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development birth cohort. When children were aged 6 years, parents reported on their family meal environment experience. At age 12 years, child outcomes included parent-reported healthy lifestyle habits, teacher-reported academic achievement, and self-reported social adjustment. The relationship between early family meal environment quality and later child outcomes were analyzed using multivariate linear regressions. Results: For girls, better family meal environment quality at age 6 years predicted an earlier bedtime, a lower consumption of soft drinks and sweet snacks, more classroom engagement, and fewer behavior problems at age 12 years. For boys, better family meal environment quality at age 6 years predicted an earlier bedtime and less anxiety and more prosocial behaviour at age 12 years. These significant relationships were adjusted for a multitude of child/family characteristics. Conclusion: From a population-health perspective, our findings suggest that family meals represent a cost-efficient, effective protective factor that likely has long-term influences on bio-psycho-social development. Information campaigns that promote family meals as a health intervention could optimize the well-being of boys and girls.