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Background: In developed economies, most children attend Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services before school entry, many from early life and across long days. For this reason, ECEC services present significant potential to provide food environments that positively influence eating behaviours and food preferences with attendant effect on life course trajectories of health and wellbeing. Yet there is evidence that feeding practices that limit optimal ongoing nutrition, such as pressure and restriction, are amplified in ECEC services serving disadvantaged communities. We sought to identify underlying explanatory mechanisms through observation of children's feeding experiences and educator explanations comparing, family‐provided and service‐provided meals. Method: This study used qualitative analyses of educator interviews and observation records from 55 mealtimes in 10 ECEC services: 5 providing food and 5 requiring family food provision. Results: High levels of concern drove educator's controlling feeding practices at mealtimes but presented differently across meal provision modes. In centres that provided food, educators' concern focused on food variety, manifesting in pressure to 'try' foods. In centres requiring family‐provided food, concern focused on nutrition quantity and quality and manifested as control of order of food consumption and pacing of intake to ensure food lasted across the day. Interview data suggested that conflict aversion limited optimal nutrition. In centres providing food, this was seen in menus that prioritized child food preferences. In centres requiring family meal provision, conflict aversion was seen as reticence to discuss lunchbox contents with families. Conclusion: The findings direct attention to public health intervention. Currently, ECEC face significant barriers to realizing their potential to support child nutrition and establish positive life course trajectories of nutrition. To do so requires targeted supports that enable sufficient supply and quality of food in the context of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observational studies comparing child outcomes in early care and education classrooms of differing quality are often confounded by between‐child differences. A within‐child design, tracking children across contexts, can identify the effects of quality with less confounding. An analysis of Australian children (N = 1128, mean age 5 years, 48% female, 2.9% Indigenous, ethnicity data unavailable) tracked across pre‐K, K, and year 1 (2010–2012) was conducted to assess how changes in observed quality (Classroom Assessment Scoring System) were associated with changes in cognitive development (Woodcock–Johnson III). Thresholds of quality were also investigated. Increases in Emotional Support were associated with improved language development (β = 0.54, 95% CI [0.1–0.99], approximating 2.6 weeks development). Results highlight that emotional quality is an integral and potent component of early learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality early care and education (ECE) presents an unparalleled opportunity to avert disadvantage and promote children's development. Mealtimes are essential daily routines, yet are often overlooked in research on ECE quality. This paper crystallises a composite case study of ECE mealtimes in highly disadvantaged communities by combining Departing Radically in Academic Writing (DRAW) methodology with parent surveys, scorings of educator‐child interactions (inCLASS), and field notes. Poverty is perpetuated in these centres: children do not have enough food, and educator‐dictated feeding practices restrict children's opportunities to exercise their agency and learn. Systemic policy action is needed to address poverty in ECE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary This paper describes the longitudinal change in sleep, functional, and behavioural characteristics in a cohort of children with Down syndrome, including the effect of sleep interventions in a subset. A prospective longitudinal cohort study was undertaken in children with Down syndrome aged 3–16 years comparing (1) children referred to a tertiary sleep medicine clinic who received sleep hygiene advice and an additional sleep treatment (DSref_I) with (2) children attending the same clinic who only received sleep hygiene advice (DSref_N) and (3) children recruited from the community who, were not receiving any treatment (DScomm). Data collected included demographic and medical history information, Child Sleep Habits Questionnaire‐Abbreviated (CSHQ‐A), Life‐Habits Questionnaire (Life‐H) and Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) at baseline and then 6‐monthly for a total of 18 months. Any sleep interventions during this time were recorded. A total of 57 children were included (DSref_I, n = 16; DSref_N, n = 25; DScomm, n = 16). At recruitment, the median CSHQ‐A total score was high (>41) in all three subgroups, but highest in the DSref_I subgroup (median [interquartile range] Dsref_I score 58 [53–66] versus DSref_N score 49 [43–53], p = 0.019). Although improved, 80% of participants in the DSref_I subgroup still had a CSHQ‐A total score >41 at the last assessment point. The median total Life‐H and total CBCL scores were not significantly different between groups at baseline and there was no significant time, group, or interaction effect seen through the study. Over an 18‐month period, sleep problems were seen to persist in children with Down syndrome. Treatment resulted in only modest improvements in sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate sleep‐wake behavior and gain insights into perceived impairment (sleep, fatigue, and cognitive function) of athletes competing in two international multi‐day adventure races. Twenty‐four athletes took part across two independent adventure races: Queensland, Australia and Alaska, USA. Individual sleep periods were determined via actigraphy, and racers self‐reported their perceived sleep disturbances, sleep impairment, fatigue and cognitive function. Each of these indices was calculated for pre‐, during‐ and post‐race periods. Sleep was severely restricted during the race period compared to pre‐race (Queensland, 7:46 [0:29] vs. 2:50 [1:01]; Alaska, 7:39 [0:58] vs. 2:45 [2:05]; mean [SD], hh:mm). As a result, there was a large cumulative sleep debt at race completion, which was not ‘reversed’ in the post‐race period (up to 1 week). The deterioration in all four self‐reported scales of perceived impairment during the race period was largely restored in the post‐race period. This is the first study to document objective sleep‐wake behaviors and subjective impairment of adventure racers, in the context of two geographically diverse, multi‐day, international adventure races. Measures of sleep deprivation indicate that sleep debt was extreme and did not recover to pre‐race levels within 1 week following each race. Despite this objective debt continuing, perceived impairment returned to pre‐race levels quickly post‐race. Therefore, further examination of actual and perceived sleep recovery is warranted. Adventure racing presents a unique scenario to examine sleep, performance and recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School closures across Australia in response to COVID‐19 have persisted since 2020, with rising mental health problems in children and adolescents, alongside rising negative family health and socioeconomic outcomes. Further, some children and young people who were already experiencing disadvantage pre‐pandemic may be at heightened risk of poorer educational outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to identify the factors for poorer educational outcomes that may be exacerbated by COVID‐19 amongst disadvantaged school students. Key development stages of disadvantage were identified: young children who started school behind, older students already at risk of disengagement from school and children and young people who have had contact with the child protection system. Five databases were systematically searched, across two search periods. A total of 69 Australian, peer‐reviewed articles, published in 2005–2021, examining risk factors for poor educational outcomes for children attending school met the inclusion criteria and were included in final analyses. Our findings provide evidence of key risk factors that make these populations susceptible to worsening outcomes resulting from the COVID‐19 pandemic, and of the critical importance of ongoing research to guide policy and practice support for these at‐risk groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]