What Do Preschool Teachers and Parents Think about the Influence of Screen-Time Exposure on Children’s Development? Challenges and Opportunities

Children’s exposure to screens has been increasing in recent years and so has the concern about its impact on children’s development. This study aims to analyze preschool teachers’ and parents’ views on the influence of screen-time exposure on children’s development. Semi-structured interviews with preschool teachers (n = 9), as well as data from a previous quantitative study, based on an online questionnaire applied to parents of children in preschool (n = 266) were used for data collection. For this study, eminently of qualitative nature, the following dimensions were analyzed: children’s habits of exposure to screens at home, changes in children’s play habits at school, strategies/methodologies used by preschool teachers, use of technologies at school and children’s language development. The results from the study with parents show that screen-time exposure of children is between 1 h to 2 h of television per day, mostly to watch cartoons. Parents also report that most of the children use vocabulary in other languages at home. Most preschool teachers agreed that children are changing their play habits and mainly their behaviors and attitudes, influenced by screen-time exposure. They believe that language development is also changing, mentioning more language problems in children. Changes in pedagogic strategies and specialized training on educational technology are needed to get closer to children’s interests.

Pengaruh Stunting Terhadap Perkembangan Motorik Halus, Motorik Kasar, Bahasa Dan Personal Sosial Pada Anak Balita Usia 2-5 Tahun Di Desa Madiredo Kecamatan Pujon Kabupaten Malang

Stunting is one of the growth problems that occurs in children due to chronic malnutrition for a long period so that they are shorter and thinner than those at their age. If the children's growth is stunted, then the children’s development process that includes the development of fine motor, gross motor, language and personal-social can also be stunted. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of stunting on the development of fine motor skills, gross motor skills, language and personal-social of children aged 2-5 years in Desa Madiredo, Kecamatan Pujon, Kabupaten Malang. The design of this study was cross sectional. Stunting nutritional status was measured by the z-score of height for age (HAZ), it was obtained <-2 Standard Deviations based on World Health Organization standards, then the z-scores between the median age of WAZ < median age of HAZ < age chronological children were compared. Meanwhile, children’s development was measured using the Denver Development Screening Test II (Denver II). The subjects in this study were children aged 2-5 years in Desa Madiredo (n = 46) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were selected by purposive sampling method. The results of the study implementing the Fisher's Exact Test (α = 0.05) indicated that stunting did not have a significant effect on fine motor development (p value = 0.233) and gross motor (p value = 0.109). Meanwhile, stunting had a significant effect on the language development (p value = 0.022) and personal-social (p value = 0.004). The conclusion of this study was that stunting affected the language and personal-social development of children aged 2-5 years. The suggestion for the community was to pay attention continuously to the growth and development of children well, because both were closely interrelated to improve the quality of human resources. Keywords: Development, Child, Stunting

REVITALIZING THE ROLE OF MOTHERS AS CHILDREN'S FIRST SCHOOL

This study aims to determine the mothers' role in family life in Pacitan Regency, East Java and the ways to revitalize the mother’s role. This is descriptive quantitative research. Data were collected by using a questionnaire of 74 women of childbearing age. This research was conducted in December 2020. In addition, the data were taken from interviews with respondents using a random sample technique. After being collected, the data is described in charts and conclusions drawn. The results showed that the mother has three main roles: fulfilling the children's needs, being a role model, and stimulating children's development. Criteria for fulfilling the children's needs is measured by indicators: mothers cook breakfast for children, pick up children from school, accompany children to play ; 2) Mother as a role model for children; and 3) Mothers provide a stimulus to the children's development seen from the time accompanying their children to study, buy children story books and stationery, time to play gadgets.Keywords: Career Woman, Double Role Mother, Mother’s Role

The Early Prelinguistic Skills in Iranian Infants and Toddlers

Objectives: The prelinguistic skills which pave the way for language development have always been an area of research in the Speech Therapy field. Although studying these skills is important, there is a study gap among Persian children. Therefore, this study explored prelinguistic skills among a sample of Persian-speaking children aged 6 to 24 months and made a comparison between different age groups. We also studied the effects of gender and family history of speech-language disorders on children’s prelinguistic abilities. Methods: In the present study, 277 mothers of Iranian Persian-speaking children aged 6 to 24 months were asked to fill a research-made checklist that evaluated the prelinguistic skills of their children. This study was cross-sectional and was conducted in Tehran City, Iran, in 2021. Children’s abilities in different age groups were compared using the analysis of variance (ANOVA), Scheffe test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and the post-hoc test. The differences between the total scores of the two genders were also determined using the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Comparing the prelinguistic skills in different age groups indicated a statistically significant increase in the scores as children grow up. Children with a positive family history of speech-language disorders scored lower on the checklist than the others (91.03±17.37). Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences between the two genders in developing gesture, vocalization, first words, social interaction, imitation, and play; girls had higher scores. Conclusion: Based on the studies conducted in different countries, prelinguistic skills develop as children grow up; these skills facilitate language acquisition and other social skills. The present study also demonstrated the development of these skills alongside children’s development. This similarity between Persian-speaking children and other children from different cultures and languages, as well as better performance in children with a negative family history of speech-language impairments, confirm the role of genetic factors in children’s development. Moreover, the differences in the development of some prelinguistic skills between girls and boys reveal the impact of various factors, such as social factors, on prelinguistic skills development.

Childcare and Children’s Development: Features of Effective Programs

Governments around the world are increasingly investing resources for young children, and universal provision of early childhood education and care (ECEC) has become widespread. Children’s development is affected by the investments they receive both within and outside the household. A simple theoretical framework predicts that the provision of public childcare will improve children’s development if it offers more stimulation than the care it replaces. Generally, carefully designed studies show that the provision of early childcare is beneficial, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is in line with expectations that the alternative care experienced by children from less affluent, less educated, and immigrant backgrounds is likely to be of lower quality. Interestingly, however, studies show that the children who would benefit the most are least likely to receive care, providing a challenge for policy makers. Some programs, such as the $5-per-day childcare in Quebec, have negative effects and therefore may be of poor quality. However, comparing results across programs that vary in several dimensions makes it difficult to separate out the ingredients that are most important for success. Studies that focus on identifying the factors in ECEC that lead to the greatest benefit indicate that some standard measures such as staff qualifications are weakly linked to children’s outcomes, whereas larger staff–child ratios and researcher-measured process quality are beneficial. Spending more time in high-quality childcare from around age 3 has proved to be beneficial, whereas the effect of an increase in childcare for younger children is particularly sensitive to each program’s features and context.

MENINGKATKAN SINERGI ORANG TUA DAN GURU DALAM PROGRAM DETEKSI PERKEMBANGAN ANAK

Changes that occur in the child's growth and development phase are the result of the maturation process and the learning process. There needs to be a harmonious synergy between parents and teachers to optimize children's development, psychological and physical functions of children. There are children's problems, including: independence, difficulty adapting, temper tantrums, lack of discipline, indulgence, so a program is needed to provide solutions to these problems. This community service provides solutions through the Child Development Detection Program, Counseling and Parenting in 3 kindergarten school locations in Jember. The method used is a qualitative approach. The data were collected through observation, interviews and documentation, then analyzed descriptively. The results of the data indicate the achievement of the program. Community service is able to bridge the perceptions of parents and teachers so that synergies and effective communication are established in order to optimize children's development.

An Inclusive Early Childhood Intervention Program for Children With Disabilities: Possible Effects on Children and Nursery Teachers

Inclusive early childhood intervention provides opportunities for children with disabilities to receive education with typically developing children. The present study examined the effects of the AI-AI STEP Program, which is designed to help nursery teachers learn the methods of inclusive early childhood intervention for children with disabilities. This study involved 37 managers of 37 nursery schools in Japan, 48 nursery teachers, and 48 children with disabilities. The school managers, who had previously learned about the program through a seminar we offered, provided the nursery teachers with guidance on the program. The guidance provided to the nursery teachers consisted of combined structured explanations with a manual and on-the-job training. The program was performed for 6 months, and changes in the children's development and behavior and the school nursery teachers' self-efficacy and state-trait anxiety, were examined before and after using the program. Multivariate analysis was used to assess factors that had an effect on the children's developmental gains through the program. The developmental quotient of children significantly improved. In addition, “emotional symptoms” and “peer problems” on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire subscale markedly improved. The self-efficacy of nursery teachers significantly improved, and state anxiety decreased. There was a significant relationship between the improvement of the children's development quotient and a lower development quotient at baseline. The provision of inclusive early childhood intervention using the program promoted the children's development, and improved their behavior. Furthermore, it had a positive effect on the nursery teachers.