High-quality early care and education for low-income families: Toddlers' cognitive and emotional functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

High-quality early care and education (ECE) programs are associated with positive outcomes, especially for children from low-income families. During the initial COVID-19 pandemic lockdown many of these families faced an abrupt halt to ECE. Here, we examined how toddlers from economically disadvantaged backgrounds enrolled in high-quality ECE programs in the United States during the 2020 pandemic (n = 48) fared on cognitive and socioemotional outcomes compared to a 2019 pre-pandemic cohort (n = 94) and a pandemic 2021 cohort (n = 132).

Optimizing health services for young children in poverty: enhanced collaboration between Early Head Start and pediatric health care.

Given the importance of health to educational outcomes, and education to concurrent and future health, cross-systems approaches, such as the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) framework, seek to enhance services typically in K-12 settings. A major gap exists in cross-systems links with early care and education serving children birth to age 5. Both pediatric health systems and early family and child support programs, such as Early Head Start (EHS) and Head Start (HS), seek to promote and optimize the health and wellbeing of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and their families.

Resilience: supporting children's self-regulation in infant and toddler classrooms.

Introduction: Resilience is a process that develops as a complex transaction as children experience and shape their social-ecological contexts. The dynamic development of self-regulation is an aspect of resilience that has received increased attention as a key mechanism predicting a variety of important short- and long-term outcomes. The current study examined how the self-regulation skills of infants and toddlers in a classroom could potentially shape classroom interactions and quality which, in turn, could potentially shape the development of self-regulation skills of the individual infants and toddlers enrolled in the classroom across an early childhood program year.

A deeper dive, a wider pool: Preschool benefits sustain to first grade on a broader set of outcomes.

The current study provides new evidence on the sustained benefits of preschool attendance on a broader range of skills-both academic and executive functioning (EF)-than many prior studies have examined. Using propensity score methods, we predicted children's (N = 920, M age at 1st = 6.5 years) literacy, language, math, and EF skills in kindergarten and again at first-grade (2020-2021) based on whether they had attended public preschool (school-based pre-k; Head Start) versus no preschool.

Predictors of Overweight and Obesity in Early Care and Education Teachers during COVID-19.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine individual, sociocultural, policy, and economic predictors of overweight/obesity in early care and education (ECE) teachers to identify modifiable opportunities to enhance the health of this critical workforce. ECE teachers (n = 1434) in the U.S.

Relationships between proximity to grocery stores and Oklahoma Early Care and Education classroom nutrition practices.

The study purpose was to determine associations between proximity to grocery stores and Early Care and Education programs' (i.e., ECEs) classroom nutrition practices and barriers, by ECE context (Head Start, community-based childcare [CBC], and family child care homes [FCCHs]).

When does 1 + 1 not equal 2? The relative advantage of public school-based pre-k versus head start for low-income children's kindergarten cognitive and self-regulatory skills.

Decades of research suggest that both Head Start and public pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs boost low-income preschoolers' kindergarten skills. What is not yet well understood is whether there are relative advantages of transitioning from Head Start after 1 year into a school-based public pre-k program for the year immediately before kindergarten for children's developing cognitive and self-regulation skills. This is an important question, because in many communities Head Start and school-based pre-k programs provide competing early education options for low-income 4-year-olds, leaving policymakers, educators, and parents wondering which pathway best promotes the mix of skills predictive of success in elementary school.

Food Waste, Preference, and Cost: Perceived Barriers and Self-Reported Food Service Best Practices in Family Child Care Homes.

Family Child Care Homes (FCCHs) are a setting where providers care for children at their own residence. FCCHs face unique challenges and children may not always receive optimal nutrition and have higher risk of obesity compared to other programs. The objective of this study was to determine differences in food service best practices scores between FCCHs who did/did not perceive barriers to serving healthy meals.

Both sides of the screen: Predictors of parents' and teachers' depression and food insecurity during COVID-19-related distance learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented strains on both parents and teachers, both of whose mental and financial hardships have serious implications for young children's wellbeing. We drew on an existing cohort study of families with low incomes in Tulsa, OK when children were in their Spring of first grade in 2020. We surveyed parents and teachers - children's caregivers on both sides of the screen during distance learning - before and after the COVID-19 pandemic hit and schools were closed.

Associations between Community Built Environments with Early Care and Education Classroom Physical Activity Practices and Barriers.

The influence of community-built environments on physical activity (PA) support in Early Childhood Education settings (ECEs) is unknown. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine associations between community PA environments and ECE classroom PA practices. We included licensed Oklahoma ECE directors serving 3-to-5-year-old children.

Caregiver-infant and toddler interactions during diapering: Caregiver responsiveness and child well-being and involvement.

The findings of this empirical research provide new information about the importance of caregiver interactions during care routines, specifically diaper changing, in supporting infant and toddler involvement and well-being. This correlational study involved observations of 144 separate diapering cycles by 31 caregivers with 74 infants and toddlers in 30 infant and toddler classrooms in a U.S.

The Educare intervention: Outcomes at age 3.

The effectiveness of Educare, a center-based early education program, in improving child outcomes at age 3 was evaluated in a randomized clinical trial. Educare programs serve children from birth to age 5 and are designed to reduce the achievement gap between children from low-income families and their more advantaged peers. This study began following 239 children from low-income families who were randomly assigned as infants (<19 months) to Educare or a business-as-usual control group.

Peer effects on low-income children's learning and development.

Using data from a large study of 78 high-quality Head Start classrooms in 12 sites across the U.S., this study examined whether peers' receptive vocabulary skills and teacher-reported social-emotional (S-E) functioning (i.

Health Care Provider's Role in Obesity Prevention and Healthy Development of Young American Indian Children.

Introduction: Health care providers (HCPs) serving American Indian (AI) populations are critical stakeholders in promoting healthy weight-related behaviors of young AI children. The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of how HCP perceive their role in the healthy development of young AI children, and how they envision working with early care and education teachers and parents to enhance children's health.

Method: Twenty HCP that serve young AI children in Oklahoma participated in individual interviews.

Early Care and Education Teacher's Role in Obesity Prevention and Healthy Development of Young American Indian Children.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how stakeholders, specifically early care and education (ECE) teachers, perceive their role in the development of young American Indian children, and envision working with health care providers and parents in order to enhance children's health.

Methodology: Twenty tribally affiliated ECE teachers from Oklahoma participated in interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted, and three main themes, each with two to three subthemes, emerged.

Staff Food-Related Behaviors and Children's Tastes of Food Groups during Lunch at Child Care in Oklahoma.

Background: Young children should consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods to support growth, while limiting added fat and sugar. A majority of children between the ages of 3 and 5 years attend child care in the United States, which makes this environment and the child-care staff influential at meals.

Objective: The aim was to determine the association between best-practice food-related behaviors and young children's tastes of fruit, vegetable, low-fat dairy, and high-fat/high-sugar foods at child care.

Child and Parenting Outcomes After 1 Year of Educare.

Educare is a birth to age 5 early education program designed to reduce the achievement gap between children from low-income families and their more economically advantaged peers through high-quality center-based programming and strong school-family partnerships. This study randomly assigned 239 children (< 19 months) from low-income families to Educare or a business-as-usual control group. Assessments tracked children 1 year after randomization.

Tribally Affiliated Child-Care Center Environment and Obesogenic Behaviors in Young Children.

Background: Child-care centers are an integral part of life for many families with young children. American Indian children are at elevated health risk because of higher levels of obesity and associated health behaviors.

Objective: Our aim was to assess the child-care environment and children's physical activity (PA) and dietary intake in young children attending tribally affiliated child care.

Obesogenic environments in tribally-affiliated childcare centers and corresponding obesity rates in preschool children.

Background: Determine the relationship between obesogenic characteristics of childcare and child adiposity in tribally-affiliated centers in Oklahoma.

Methods: The two-day Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation (EPAO) included a total environment (TE), nutrition (N), and physical activity (PA) score and took place in 11 centers across Oklahoma. Eighty-two preschool children (3-5 years) participated.

Macronutrient and micronutrient intakes of children in Oklahoma child-care centres, USA.

Objective: To determine macronutrients and micronutrients in foods served to and consumed by children at child-care centres in Oklahoma, USA and compare them with Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI).

Design: Observed lunch nutrients compared with one-third of the age-based DRI (for 1-3 years-olds and 4-8-year-olds). Settings Oklahoma child-care centres (n 25), USA.

What's for lunch? An analysis of lunch menus in 83 urban and rural Oklahoma child-care centers providing all-day care to preschool children.

Background: More than half of 3- to 6-year-old children attend child-care centers. Dietary intakes of children attending child-care centers tend to fall short of Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs).

Objective: Our aim was to examine macro-/micronutrient content of child-care center menus, compare menus to one third of DRIs, and determine menu differences by population density.