Helena Duch

Association of Screen Time Use and Language Development in Hispanic Toddlers A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Study

This study examined the association between screen media use, media content, and language development among 119 Hispanic infants and toddlers. Children and their caregivers were recruited through an urban, Early Head Start program. Duration and content of screen media exposure was measured through a 24-hour recall questionnaire, and language development was measured at baseline and at 1-year follow up. Children in the sample spent an average of 3.29 hours engaged with screen media (median 2.5 hours per day). In both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, children who watched over 2 hours of television per day had increased odds of low communication scores. Whereas child-directed media was associated with low language scores, adult-directed media was not. Our findings support the mounting literature on the deleterious impacts of screen media in toddler’s language development. Guidance and alternatives to screen media use should be available to families in pediatric practices and early childhood centers.

Strengthening Families in Head Start: The Impact of a Parent Education Programme on the Emotional Well-Being of Latino Families.

This study explores the impact of a Head Start add‐on programme, a matrix of services for parents which provides educational and vocational supports, on maternal depression and children’s behaviour in Latino families. We hypothesise that after having completed training, parents who participated in the add‐on programme would have lower levels of reported depression than parents receiving Head Start services alone. It was also hypothesised that decreased levels of reported depression would be related to increases in children’s social skills and reductions in their behaviour problems. Fifty Latino children from a local Head Start programme and their primary caregivers participated in the study. Results indicate that intervention group mothers had significantly lower levels of reported depression when compared to mothers who received regular services. Children’s social skills appeared to increase and their behaviour problems decrease, regardless of whether their parents were involved in self‐sufficiency promoting activities in the programme.

The role of cognitive stimulation at home in low-income preschoolers' nutrition, physical activity and body mass index.

BackgroundEarly childhood obesity disproportionately affects children of low socioeconomic status. Children attending Head Start are reported to have an obesity rate of 17.9%.This longitudinal study aimed to understand the relationship between cognitive stimulation at home and intake of junk food, physical activity and body size, for a nationally representative sample of 3- and 4-year old children entering Head Start.MethodsWe used The Family and Child Experiences Survey 2006. Cognitive stimulation at home was measured for 1905 children at preschool entry using items from the Home Observation Measurement of the Environment Short Form. Junk food consumption and physical activity were obtained from parent interviews at kindergarten entry. BMI z scores were based on CDC national standards. We analyzed the association between early cognitive stimulation and junk food consumption, physical activity and BMI, using multinomial and binary logistic regression on a weighted sample.ResultsChildren who received moderate levels of cognitive stimulation at home had a 1.5 increase in the likelihood of consuming low amounts of junk food compared to children from low cognitive stimulation environments. Children who received moderate and high levels of cognitive stimulation were two and three times, respectively, more likely to be physically active than those in low cognitive stimulation homes. No direct relationship was identified between cognitive stimulation and BMI.ConclusionPrevention and treatment efforts to address early childhood obesity may consider strategies that support parents in providing cognitively stimulating home environments. Existing evidence-based programs can guide intervention in pediatric primary care.

Parent Involvement in the Getting Ready for School Intervention Is Associated With Changes in School Readiness Skills

The role of parent involvement in school readiness interventions is not well-understood. The Getting Ready for School (GRS) intervention is a novel program that has both home and school components and aims to improve early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills in preschool children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. In this study, we first examined associations between family characteristics and different indices of parent involvement in the GRS intervention. We then examined associations between parent involvement and change in childrens school readiness skills over time. Participants were 133 preschool children attending Head Start and their parents who participated in the GRS intervention during the academic year 2014–2015. Parent involvement was operationalized as attendance to GRS events at the school, time spent at home doing GRS activities, and usage of digital program materials, which included a set of videos to support the implementation of parent-child activities at home. Although few family characteristics were significantly associated with parent involvement indices, there was a tendency for some markers of higher socioeconomic status to be linked with greater parent involvement. In addition, greater parent involvement in the GRS intervention was significantly associated with greater gains in childrens early literacy, math, and self-regulatory skills. These findings suggest that parent involvement in comprehensive early interventions could be beneficial in terms of improving school readiness for preschoolers from disadvantaged families.

Cultural Considerations in Integrated Early Childhood Behavioral Health

Parenting practices of young children are influenced, in part, by a family’s cultural and ethnic heritage. The rapidly changing and diverse population of families in the United States calls for integrated early childhood specialists to be sensitive and aware of the needs of these families. This chapter explores cultural differences in the context of three common referrals in early childhood, which include helping parents navigate behavior problems, feeding/nutrition issues, and sleeping difficulties. Using examples from research and real-life clinical scenarios, this chapter highlights how integrated early childhood specialists can be mindful of cultural influences on parenting practices in their work with families of diverse backgrounds, and describes clinical strategies to help establish strong bonds with culturally diverse families. Lastly, this chapter highlights the importance of being aware of one’s own personal biases and opinions when helping parents incorporate evidence-based parenting techniques in a culturally informed and respectful way.

Cumulative Risk, the Mother-Child Relationship, and Social-Emotional Competence in Latino Head Start Children.

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Supportive mother–child interactions promote the development of social-emotional competence. Poverty and other associated psychosocial risk factors have a negative impact on mother–child interaction. In spite of Latino children being disproportionately represented among children living in poverty, research on mother–child interactions among economically disadvantaged Latino families remains scarce and results are mixed. The current study used an ecological approach to examine the relationship between maternal cumulative risk, child developmental delay, observed and self-reported quality of the mother–child relationship, time spent in Head Start, and teachers’ and parents’ ratings of social-emotional competence among 106 Latino Head Start children and their mothers. Cumulative risk showed a negative association with observed maternal supportiveness and self-reported quality of the mother–child relationship. Cumulative risk had negative and positive indirect effects, respectively, on child social competence and problem behavior through perceived quality of the mother–child relationship. This association only occurred when parent ratings of child behavior were used. Time spent in Head Start moderated the association between observed maternal supportiveness and social competence. Practice or Policy: Implications for providers and researchers attempting to improve social-emotional competence in disadvantaged Latino children by enhancing positive and supportive parenting practice are discussed.