What could we do differently next time? Australian parents’ experiences of the short-term and long-term impacts of home schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background COVID-19 lockdowns have resulted in school closures worldwide, requiring curriculum to be delivered to children remotely (home schooling). Qualitative evidence is needed to provide important context to the positive and negative impacts of home schooling and inform strategies to support caregivers and children as the pandemic continues. This study aimed to explore the experiences of home schooling caregivers at multiple time-points during the pandemic. Methods Data were obtained from a longitudinal survey of a representative Australian sample conducted over 8 waves during 2020 and 2021. Participants who had home schooled at least one child during COVID-19 completed open-ended questions at Wave 4 (May 2020; n = 176), Wave 7 (June 2020; n = 145), and Wave 8 (March 2021; n = 57). Participants were asked to describe what they found positive and challenging about home schooling (Wave 4), what they would do differently if they home schooled their children again (Wave 7), and the longer-term impacts of home schooling on caregivers and children (Wave 8). Results 91% of participants at Wave 4 reported at least one positive and/or negative aspect of home schooling. At Wave 8, 32% and 29% of participants reported no long-term positive or negative impacts of home schooling respectively. Using a qualitative content analysis approach, six themes were developed from the data, encompassing the impacts of home schooling on parents, and the perceived impacts on children. Impacts on parents included connecting with children, managing the work-life-school balance, and the challenge of home schooling when parents are not teachers. Perceived impacts on children included: quieter and safer learning at home, and the negatives of managing schoolwork load and social isolation. At Wave 7, 56 participants (44%) identified at least one thing they would do differently. Conclusions Despite some participants reporting positive experiences associated with home schooling, it remains challenging for many parents and their children. Supports for parents and children engaged in home schooling should provide clear and flexible guidance on how to balance schoolwork with other competing demands, assist parents who lack confidence in supporting their children’s remote learning, and address risks associated with social isolation.

Nudging and boosting children’s restaurant menus for healthier food choice: a blinded quasi-randomized controlled trial in a real life setting

Background Restaurants are ideal settings for implementing food interventions targeted at children. Studies with adults suggest that changes to the physical menu can lead to healthier food choices; online studies with parents indicate that specific menu designs facilitate healthier choices. However, it is unknown whether applying well-established nudging and boosting methods to children’s menus also increases their choice of healthier meals in a real-world restaurant setting. Methods The effects of two versions of a restaurant menu on the frequency of choosing a healthy meal (newly created, healthy target dish) were tested in a blinded quasi-randomized controlled trial. The menu in the control condition contained all dishes (including the healthy target dish) in a standardized format. The intervention menu included nudging (e.g. comic character, fun attractive name for the dish) and boosting elements (e.g. information on low calorie density) next to the healthy target dish. Over five months, the control and intervention menus were switched every two weeks and records were made of how often the healthy target dish was ordered. Results In total, 607 orders were made from the children’s restaurant menu (57% from the intervention menu). During the intervention phase, 4.2% of all ordered dishes from the children’s menu were the healthy target dish, during the control phase, 4.4% of orders were for the target dish (p=.896). Conclusions Contrary to our hypothesis, a modified children’s menu did not lead to a significant increase in the number of orders for a healthy dish compared with a neutral control menu. Importantly, given that parents and children often choose the child’s dish together, particularly boosting methods that focus on social processes and joint decision making could be promising to increase children’s frequency of healthy food choices in restaurants. Trial registration DRKS00027039, registered on 11/22/2021, (Retrospectively registered).

The skin we live in: pigmentation traits and tanning behaviour in British young adults, an observational and genetically-informed study.

Background: Skin cancer incidence has been increasing worldwide, representing a particularly high burden for populations of European ancestry. Outdoor and indoor tanning using ultraviolet radiation (UVR) devices are major risk factors for skin cancer. While tanning behaviours can be modified by targeted interventions to reduce skin cancer rates, there is insufficient evidence on the motivations for tanning preferences and their relationship with pigmentation phenotypes. The present observational and genetically-informed study investigates motives for tanning and the role that pigmentation phenotypes play on outdoor and indoor tanning behaviour in British young adults. Methods: This study included 3722 participants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in South West England. Skin, hair and eye colour features, and tanning ability and preferences were collected using a questionnaire applied when participants were ~25 years of age. Genotypes for 41 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with pigmentation were obtained from a subset of participants who provided a biological sample, and used to estimate the probability of having particular pigmentation traits with the HIrisPlex-S system. Results: Liking to tan and outdoor tanning were strongly influenced by skin, hair and eye pigmentation, and tanning ability. However, the association of these traits with UV indoor tanning was weaker. Conversely, females, participants of lower socioeconomic position, individuals who were unhappy with their pigmentation phenotype during adolescence, and participants who believed that tanning helps prevent sunburn were more likely to have used UVR-based tanning devices. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence to support the implementation of skin cancer preventative interventions that consider individual biological characteristics and motives for undergoing outdoor and indoor tanning.

Sopeutumisvalmennuskursseille osallistuvien lasten vanhempien arvioita hyvinvoinnista, toimintakyvystä ja kurssiodotuksista

Sopeutumisvalmennus on psykososiaalista kuntoutusta, joka tarjoaa tietoa ja tukea sairaudesta tai vammasta, sen hoidosta ja selviytymiskeinoista. Lapset ja nuoret, joilla on pitkäaikaissairaus tai kehityksen häiriöitä, osallistuvat sopeutumisvalmennukseen useimmiten perheenjäsentensä kanssa. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli 1) selvittää vanhempien käsityksiä lasten hyvinvoinnista ja toimintakyvystä, 2) arvioida vanhempien omaa hyvinvointia ja perheiden valtaistumista ja 3) selvittää kurssiodotuksia ja niihin yhteydessä olevia tekijöitä. Tutkimus kohdistui Kelan kuntoutuksena vuosina 2014–15 toteutettuihin diabeteskursseihin, oppimisen tai psyykkisen kehityksen häiriöiden kursseihin sekä moni- ja liikuntavammaisten lasten kursseihin. Lasten vanhemmat vastasivat kurssin alussa lomakekyselyyn (n = 357, vastausprosentti 59 %). Kaikissa kurssiryhmissä useimmat vanhemmat arvioivat lapsen terveydentilan hyväksi tai melko hyväksi. Vanhempien arviot niin omasta kuin lapsenkin hyvinvoinnista erosivat kurssiryhmittäin, mutta myös kurssiryhmien sisällä ilmeni vaihtelua. Vanhemmat, joiden lapsella oli diabetes, arvioivat hyvinvointia myönteisemmin kuin vanhemmat, joiden lapsella oli kehityksellinen häiriö. Vanhempien arviot omasta hyvinvoinnistaan korreloivat melko vahvasti lasta koskeviin hyvinvointiarvioihin. Sopeutumisvalmennukseen liittyvät odotukset ja tuen tarpeet koskivat erityisesti vertaistukea ja virkistäytymistä sekä tiedon saantia sairaudesta ja sen hoidosta ja kuntoutuksesta. Kurssiryhmä, lapsen toimintakyvyn rajoitteet, vanhempien hyvinvointi ja perheiden valtaistuminen olivat yhteydessä perheiden odotuksiin ja tuen tarpeisiin. Tutkimuksen keskeinen tulos koski perheen valtaistumisen ja kurssiodotusten välistä yhteyttä. Tarve ammatilliseen asiantuntijuuteen pohjautuvaan tietoon ja psykososiaaliseen tukeen oli vahvempaa niillä perheillä, joilla valtaistumisen tunne oli heikompaa. Sen sijaan ne perheet, joilla valtaistuminen oli voimakkaampaa, odottivat kursseilta vähemmän asiantuntijan tukea ja enemmän vertaistukea ja virkistäytymistä. Abstract Parents´ evaluations of their children´s wellbeing and functioning and identified expectations for psychosocial rehabilitation Finnish adaptation training represents psychosocial rehabilitation, which aims to offer information and guidance for living with an illness or disability as well as promoting coping skills. Children and adolescents with chronic illnesses or developmental disorders participate adaptation training mostly with their family members. The aim of this study was to 1) examine the parents´ perceptions of their child´s wellbeing and functioning, 2) depict their assessments on their own wellbeing and family empowerment, and 3) investigate their needs and expectations for the adaptation training as well as factors connected with different expectations. The study focused on three courses arranged for children either with diabetes, learning or psychological development disorders or multiple or mobility disabilities. The courses were organized in three rehabilitation centers. The parents answered the questionnaire at the beginning of the course (n=357, response rate 59 %). In all course groups most parents perceived their child’s health fairly good or good. The parents of children with diabetes evaluated their child’s wellbeing more positively than the parents of children with developmental disorders. The parents’ wellbeing correlated positively with the children´s wellbeing. Strongest rehabilitation needs and expectations were related to the domains of peer support and recreation, and information about illness or disability and its treatment. The course group, disability of the child, wellbeing of parents and children, and family empowerment were associated with the expectations and needs factors. The main finding of this study addressed the relationship ofthe family empowerment to the expectation domains. Families with weaker empowerment expressed more expectations and needs for professional information and support. More strongly empowered families expressed less needs for professional support and information but more expectations for peer support and recreation.

Family law

The textbook outlines the main issues of the family law course: the concept and subject of family law, the grounds for applying civil legislation and international law to family relations, the exercise and protection of family rights, marital legal relations, the rights and obligations of parents and children, the placement of children left without parental care, the application of family law to relations involving foreign persons and stateless persons, etc. Prepared in accordance with the Federal State Educational Standard of higher Education of the latest generation and the main professional educational program of higher education in the field of training "Jurisprudence". For students of law schools and faculties, graduate students, teachers, researchers and practitioners, bachelors, specialists in the field of family law, as well as all interested readers.

The Feasibility and Challenges of Conducting Online Research to Examine Movement Behavior in Parents and Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The global pandemic of COVID-19 shifted the methodology of this research project. The purpose of this perspective article is to discuss the feasibility and challenges of converting an in-person mixed methods study that examined associations among and beliefs about physical activity, motor competence, and perceived competence to an online format with parents and children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment was conducted through a University research registry, social media, and public listservs. All correspondence with participants was through email and secure platforms. Physical activity was assessed with accelerometers mailed to participants. Motor competence was assessed through participant-filmed trials of motor skills. Perceived competence was assessed with the Self-Perception Profile for Adults and Children delivered on Qualtrics. Semi- structured interviews to examine beliefs were conducted over Zoom. Approximately 200 families expressed interest in the study, 76 parent-child dyads consented and assented, and 61 parent-child dyads completed at least one component of the study. It is feasible to conduct online research that contributes to scientific knowledge and has potential advantages. However, various challenges need to be considered regarding the application of online research. These challenges included recruitment, the data collection process, and data quality. Future research needs to address these challenges by utilizing wide-reaching and diverse recruitment methods, easing participants' burden with technology, and developing motor competence and perceived competence assessments that can be administered online. The way research was conducted changed due to COVID-19 and adapting to and/or integrating online methods is both necessary and feasible, but modifications must be taken into consideration.

Institutional Care and Family Reintegration: The Transition Process in the Voices of Young Brazilians

This article aims to present reflections on the transition from being institutionalised to autonomous life, from the perspective of deinstitutionalised young Brazilians. Five young adults participated in the pilot study. The Piagetian clinical method was used. Through semi-structured interviews, the following were investigated: causes of institutionalisation, preparation for transition, deinstitutionalisation and perspectives of present and future life. The results indicate that there was no effective preparation for transition from the institution to the family and/or independent life. Biological families have difficulties in achieving (re) integration and overcoming conflicts between parents and children. In conclusion, when leaving institutions, some young people manage to build their own arrangements for a new life trajectory, while others return to contexts of risk and life on the street. Public policies to assist these young people should be prioritised.