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Nurturing children's health together: A collaboration between early childhood education and care (ECEC) educators and parents on active play and eating well

Four The Kids Research Institute Australia researchers from a diverse range of fields have been named as finalists for the prestigious 2022 Premier’s Science Awards.

Improving nutrition and physical activity is a global health priority. Within Cochrane’s new production model, Thematic Groups (TG) with specialist content and review methods expertise have been established. The purpose of TGs is to support the development and dissemination of high-quality evidence syntheses on priority issues.

The early years is a critical stage to establish optimal nutrition and movement behaviours. Community playgroups are a relaxed environment for parents with a focus on social connection and supporting parents in their role as 'First Teachers'. Playgroups are therefore an opportunistic setting to promote health behaviours in the early years.

With an increasing number of grandparents providing care to their grandchildren, calls have been made for these caregivers to be considered important stakeholders in encouraging children's engagement in health-promoting behaviors, such as physical activity.

Based on the socioecological conceptual model, the physical environment within the home, childcare and neighbourhood domains are key factors that influence preschool children's physical activity; however, the relative importance of each of these domains for preschool children's physical activity is unclear.

A new study has highlighted the positive impact dog ownership has on our mental health.

Childcare services such as preschools and long day care centres have been identified as a key setting to promote physical activity in early childhood as they provide access to large numbers of children for prolonged periods. Yet, specific standards for the type and amount of physical activity children accumulate whilst attending childcare are lacking. The purpose of this study was to derive population-referenced percentile values for children's total movement and energetic play whilst attending early childhood education and care services.

Research suggests there is considerable opportunity to improve children's movement behaviors while they are being cared for by their grandparents. An understanding of the extent to which grandparent practices facilitate children's engagement in physical activity is critical to the development of health interventions targeting grandparent caregivers.

The prevalence estimates of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep (collectively known as movement behaviors) in 3- and 4-year-old children worldwide remains uncertain.