How parents spent time at home with their preschool-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been seen in more than 120 countries, including Turkey, which took public health measures to reduce the spread of the novel virus. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the Turkish education system, where schools closed indefinitely on March 16, 2020, due to the pandemic. School closures immediately changed the lives of Turkish children and their parents, as children started to spend more time with their families at home during this pandemic. This article addresses how parents spent time with their children at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how their feelings changed during this time. Purposive sampling was used to select 25 parents whose children in preschool education during the spring semester of 2020. This study used qualitative methods, collecting data through a semi-structured interview form. Interviews were conducted over the telephone because of the social distancing guidelines during the pandemic. Results from the interviews show that parents engaged in several different types of activities with their children at home during the pandemic. Parents’ reflections detailed how they noticed behavioral, psychological, socialization, and school-based impacts on their children during the pandemic period. Besides, findings indicate that parents generally experienced negative feelings and effects due to the pandemic. Results are discussed in terms of the effects of the pandemic on the lives of parents and their young children.

Language proficiency analysis of Turkish children from high-income and highly educated families aged 5 in Antalya

In this study, we examine the mother tongue proficiency of pre-school children from high-income and highly educated families in Antalya, Turkey. The study used the Turkish version of the Hamburger Instrument for the Analysis of the Language Level of 5-year olds (HAVAS 5) linguistic-level diagnostic tool that is originally employed to form the basis of individually customized language support programs. The study group of this research was made up of 41 pre-school children (n= 41; 29 boys, 12 girls). Furthermore, a semi-structured interview (SSI) form was developed by the authors and finally conducted with 3 mothers and their husbands (n=6). Our study results show that the majority of the children (33/41) from high-income and highly educated families showed an advanced level of language proficiency especially in the realm of vocabulary acquisition. In particular, the children were observed to be self-confident when using their mother tongue and that they did not hesitate to take initiatives during the HAVAS 5 storytellings. Our qualitative results suggest also that a small group of children who are either introverts or having lower level language proficiency may have a specific trait, condition or characteristic. Based on the data from interviews, emotional atmosphere of the family, parenting styles, speech sound disorder (SSD) or excessive screen-based media use might reasonably be suspected of having some influence on mother tongue proficiency.

Prevalence of Dental Number Anomalies Among A Group of Turkish Children

Summary Background/Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and distribution of congenital dental number anomalies in the permanent dentition among a group of Turkish children in the Inner Aegean Region of Turkey. Material and Methods: A total of 5377 patients aged 7–9 who visited our clinic for the first time between September 2018 and September 2019 were investigated. The children were examined for tooth agenesis and supernumerary teeth using panoramic radiographs taken for various reasons and clinical records reviewed. Dental number anomalies were evaluated according to gender and localization. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS package software program Version 23. Results: For the study, the data of 1987 patients (947 female, 1040 male) were examined. The tooth agenesis was found in 109 patients (5.5%), the supernumerary teeth were found in 24 patients (1.2%). The prevalence of tooth agenesis was 5% in males, 6% in females. There was no statistical difference between genders (p>0.05). The distribution of tooth agenesis according to jaws and sides by gender was not statistically different (p>0.05). The most commonly missing teeth were mandibular left second premolar (37.6% of patients) and mandibular right second premolar (33% of patients). According to types of teeth and gender, molar tooth agenesis was seen more common in females than males (p<0.05), there was no significant difference in other types of teeth by gender. The prevalence of supernumerary teeth were 1.9% in males, 0.4% in females and the difference between genders was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). All the supernumerary teeth were located in the anterior maxilla, and half of them were mesiodens. Conclusions: Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment choice are very important managing complications associated with congenital dental number anomalies and for differential diagnosis of characteristic syndromes.