Recovery from stunting and cognitive outcomes in young children: evidence from the South African Birth to Twenty Cohort Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Casale ◽  
C. Desmond
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Young Children ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Cognitive Tests ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Urban South

In this study we analyse the implications for cognitive function of recovery from stunting in early childhood. More specifically, we test whether children who met the definition for stunted at age 2, but not at age 5, perform better in cognitive tests than children who remain stunted over this period. The sample is drawn from the Birth to Twenty Cohort Study, a prospective data set of children born in 1990 in urban South Africa. The measure of cognitive function that we use is based on the Revised Denver Prescreening Developmental Questionnaire implemented when the children were age 5. We employ multivariate regression in the analysis to control for child-specific characteristics, socio-economic status, the home environment and caregiver inputs. We find that recovery from stunting is not uncommon among young children in our sample. However, children who recover from stunting by age 5 still perform significantly worse on cognitive tests than children who do not experience early malnutrition, and almost as poorly as children who remain stunted. These findings suggest that the timing of nutritional inputs in the early years is key in a child’s cognitive development, with implications for school readiness and achievement.

Association of perinatal factors and school performance in primary school Chilean children

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Villarroel ◽  
L. Karzulovic ◽  
J. Manzi ◽  
J. G. Eriksson ◽  
F. Mardones
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
School Performance ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Prenatal Growth ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

The associations between school performance and cognitive abilities with birth characteristics have mostly been studied without taking into consideration the effects of gestational age (GA). Our aim was to study the association between prenatal growth and cognitive function in term-born Chilean school children. A cohort of over 200,000 term-born fourth graders who took the regular national test for school performance was studied. Outcome parameters were language and mathematics test scores in relation to prenatal growth. A total of 256,040 subjects took the test and 220,940 were included in the final study sample. Prenatal growth was modestly, but significantly, associated with school performance. Adjusted β coefficients for 1 cm increase in birth length were 1.28 and 0.77 for mathematics and language, respectively; the corresponding values for 100 g increase in birth weight were 0.59 and 0.34, respectively. Increased GA was associated with lower test scores. Adjusted β coefficients for the birth measurements generally had a lower strength of association than those of socio-economic factors. However, the confounders most strongly associated with educational achievements were socio-economic factors, known to be associated with birth size. Lower socio-economic status is known to negatively influence both prenatal growth and cognitive function, supporting the overall importance of prenatal growth in relation to cognitive outcomes.

Trends, goals and outcomes for children and families using early powered mobility in a charitable loan scheme

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 138-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Evans ◽  
Rae Baines
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Data Set ◽  
Review Form ◽  
Outcomes For Children

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore a large data set compiled by a UK charity loan scheme to identify trends and paint a practice-based picture of how young children use early years powered mobility (EYPM). Design/methodology/approach Statistical analysis was used to investigate a database of 90 children, ranging in age from 15 to 72 months who completed use of an EYPM device (the Wizzybug, or WB) between April 2011 and December 2015. Goals were set and reviewed, and thematic analysis was used to understand families’ insights into their children’s use of EYPM, using a free-text review form. Findings Children’s mean age when joining this free loan scheme was 39.6 months. The later the child started using a Wizzybug, the less likely they were to achieve their goals. A theme of happiness and enjoyment emerged as important for both child and family. The child’s independence translated to independence for the whole family. Research limitations/implications The database was operational and incomplete. Lack of a standardised outcome measure was disadvantageous. Practical implications Challenges of translating research knowledge into practice are highlighted, supporting the need for more rigorous and standardised outcome measures. Earlier identification of children’s readiness for EYPM is required alongside research and recognition of the holistic benefits of EYPM for all the family. Originality/value This research profited from a large data set of young children with long-term access to powered mobility at home.

scholarly journals Protecting and extending Froebelian principles in practice: Exploring the importance of learning through play

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Hoskins ◽  
Sue Smedley
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Approaches To Learning ◽  
Daily Practice ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Academic Pressure ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Learning Through Play ◽  
And Training

The current early years emphasis on ensuring young children achieve ‘school readiness’ has contributed to a context of academic pressure in early years settings in England. The debated term ‘school readiness’ is vaguely expressed in England’s early years curriculum as ‘Children reaching a good level of development in the prime areas of literacy and mathematics’. Opportunities for play, self-directed and adult initiated, are impacted by the academic pressures created by the English government’s demands for young children to achieve school readiness, which can dominate and determine the activities on offer in early years settings. The possibility to enact Froebelian approaches to learning, through child-initiated play, are further marginalized by the current early years policy agenda. A key issue relates to Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills), who judge settings primarily in relation to the quality of the academic environment provided and successful academic and developmental outcomes achieved by all children. In our recent research project, we sought to understand how much capacity early years practitioners perceived they had to enact Froebelian principles in their daily practice and the importance they attached to Froebel’s notion of learning through play. We interviewed 33 early years practitioners in six settings, working with preschool children aged between 2 and 4 years, about their understanding of Froebel’s concept of learning through play; the space, physical and temporal, they had to encourage and enable play; and the challenges of supporting children to learn through play. We explored the participants’ theoretical understandings of Froebel’s work and ideas in their education and training pathways. Our data highlight that many practitioners followed Froebel’s approach, but did not overtly name and identify their practice as Froebelian.

Diet in the early years of life influences cognitive outcomes at 10 years: a prospective cohort study

2013 ◽  
Vol 102 (12) ◽  
pp. 1165-1173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anett Nyaradi ◽  
Jianghong Li ◽  
Siobhan Hickling ◽  
Andrew JO Whitehouse ◽  
Jonathan K Foster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Prospective Cohort Study ◽  
Prospective Cohort ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Early Years

Properties of child-directed speech in bilingual parents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yezhou Li ◽  
Luca Onnis
Keyword(s):  
School Readiness ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Adaptive Strategies ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Bilingual Language Development ◽  
Grammatical Structures

Abstract How parents talk to young children matters to language and cognitive development. In the early years the quantity, quality, and diversity inherent in language from parents in the home predict differences in vocabulary knowledge, school readiness, and later academic achievement. However, most of what is known about child-directed speech (CDS) comes from studies of monolingual parents, and little is known about features of speech from bilingual parents. Here, we asked whether degree of bilingualism assessed within a single parent might be positively associated with CDS features that are known to facilitate children’s lexical and grammatical structures across languages – parental partial repetitions. During unscripted narrations (n = 91) of a picture book to their toddlers in English, mothers who reported being more bilingually balanced used a higher proportion of self-repetitions (both single words and 2-word combinations) within a brief time-frame. At the same time, more bilingual mothers preserved the same degree of lexical diversity as more monolingual mothers. The results obtained even accounting for differences in socio-economic status. These findings are discussed in terms of adaptive strategies that bilingual parents may consciously or unconsciously adopt in bilingual language development

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