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Kids who attend playgroup do better at school

New research by The Kids Research Institute Australia has found children who attend playgroups achieve better early primary school outcomes.

Playgroup Week celebrates importance of early childhood intervention

National Playgroup Week, the annual event run by Playgroup Australia, will take place across the country from 20 March to 27 March.

Child development census shows most kids are on track

The national report released today from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) shows that in 2015, most children in Australia were on track.

Early Years Strategic Priority – Scoping and Mapping of the South Australian Early Years System

Yasmin Harman-Smith BA, BHlthSc(Hons), PhD Head, Early Years Systems Evidence; Head, Tenders Support Unit Yasmin.harman-smith@thekids.org.au Head,

Evaluation of the Learning+ Pilot Program

Yasmin Harman-Smith BA, BHlthSc(Hons), PhD Head, Early Years Systems Evidence; Head, Tenders Support Unit Yasmin.harman-smith@thekids.org.au Head,

Innovative Playful Learning Approaches to Improve Children’s Readiness for Primary Education in Uzbekistan

The Government of Uzbekistan has committed to reforming preschool education, prioritising upskilling teachers to use international best practice.

Powerful promotions: An investigation of the teen-directed marketing power of outdoor food advertisements located near schools in Australia

Adolescents are heavily exposed to unhealthy outdoor food advertisements near schools, however, the marketing power of these advertisements among adolescents has not yet been explored. This study aimed to investigate the teen-directed marketing features present and quantify the overall marketing power of outdoor food advertisements located near schools to explore any differences by content (ie, alcohol, discretionary, core and miscellaneous foods) school type (ie, primary, secondary, K-12) and area-level socio-economic status (SES; ie, low vs high).

Prevalence of breakfast skipping among children and adolescents: a cross-sectional population level study

Interventions to promote breakfast consumption are a popular strategy to address early life inequalities. It is important to understand the epidemiology of children and adolescents who skip breakfast so that interventions and policy can be appropriately considered.

The built environment and early childhood development: qualitative evidence from disadvantaged Australian communities

This paper explores neighborhood-built environment features related to ‘better than expected’ and ‘as expected’ early childhood development outcomes (ECD) in 14 Australian disadvantaged communities. This paper draws from mixed methods data collected in the Kids in Communities Study–an Australian investigation of community effects on ECD–in communities across five states and territories.

Gender differences in time allocation contribute to differences in developmental outcomes in children and adolescents

Using over 50 thousand time-use diaries from two cohorts of children, we document significant gender differences in time allocation in the first 16 years in life. Relative to males, females spend more time on personal care, chores and educational activities and less time on physical and media related activities. These gender gaps in time allocation appear at very young ages and widen overtime.