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Objective: Adverse effects of sleep disruption are identified in parents who live with a child with Down Syndrome (DS), yet there is no research on siblings' experiences. This study addresses this knowledge gap., Design: A qualitative research study using semi-structured interviews to understand the experiences of siblings of a child with DS and sleep difficulties from the perspectives of parents and siblings., Participants: Eleven siblings aged 5-15 years old, and 11 parents, from 8 families with a child with DS in Australia., Methods: Semi-structured sibling interviews explored what it was like to have a sibling with DS and sleep difficulties; the participant's own sleep; how their sleep affected how they felt during the day; how sleep impacted their family; and advice that they would give to other siblings. Parent interviews included similar topics; here we report on excerpts in which parents reference siblings. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis., Results: Siblings and parents acknowledge sleep disruption for siblings; yet sleep disruption is normalized, viewed with acceptance and inevitability. Siblings report adverse effects from sleep disruption, view sleep in a relational way, and cope with sleep disruption. Parents can underestimate siblings' sleep disruption and are uncertain whether siblings' symptoms result from sleep disruption or other causes., Conclusions: Siblings of a child with DS experience sleep disruption and may be at risk of developing long-term health problems without focused support., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have declared no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

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]

Qualitative researchers can discard data that are unsaturated or unrelated to research questions, but what do we do when these data affect us, or 'haunt' us, 'long after collecting "it"' (Taylor 2013, 691)? In this paper, we draw upon Sara Ahmed to guide our engagement with 'discarded data': young children's gendered accounts of violence that unexpectedly arose during interviews about rest-time and relaxation in childcare. We show what it feels like to be affected by children's accounts throughout the non-linear and zig-zagged 'data analysis' processes. Applying Ahmed's conceptualisation of power as 'directionality', we critique the power of qualitative research conventions to define our focus as researchers and pay attention to what children raise: how they are directed towards gendered futures. We find that, in children's accounts of violence, boys have more agency than girls as they participate in – and respond to – violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services have the potential to influence or disrupt sleep patterns given that ECEC attendance coincides with the normative transition towards napping cessation. Objective: In light of the evidence that sleep patterns in early childhood are foundational to lifelong health, this study investigated parent–educator communication about children's 24-h sleep cycles. Communication is critical in ensuring regularity and responsiveness to children's sleep behaviours, yet knowledge about if and how this happens is limited. We sought to address this gap. Method: This study draws upon survey data, both numeric and text, from 116 parents and 39 educators across 25 ECEC services in Brisbane, Australia. The type and regularity of communication strategies between ECEC educators and parents were analysed to establish frequency and demographic patterning. Qualitative analyses investigated the content of sleep-related communication between educators and parents. Results: Most educators and parents reported discussing children's sleep through in-person communication at pick-up and drop-off times. Qualitative analysis of the content of parent–educator communication identified three key themes: sleep quantity, quality and practices. Communication focused primarily on the quantity of children's sleep while attending ECEC settings, and communication about sleep quality and home practices were less frequent. Educators communicated more sleep-related information with parents than parents did with educators. Conclusions: This study highlights the need for frequent, bi-directional parent–educator communication. Providing practices which support regularity of sleep across home and ECEC settings and responding to the developmental transition toward napping cessation promotes children's sleep health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Young children have sensory-rich conceptualisations and experiences of relaxation. • Children's relaxation accounts contrast from the dominant medicalised discourses. • Children must be afforded agency to choose where, when, and how they relax. • Carers and educators should consult with children about relaxation preferences. Relaxation is constructed as a health issue, often as a counter to stress. Such constructions serve to medicalise relaxation as a physiological or psychological treatment for stressful experiences. Yet, children's experiences and understandings of relaxation are not well documented and may differ from these prevailing adult conceptualisations. Situated within the sociology of childhood paradigm, this study investigated: How do young children attending childcare experience relaxation? Informed by a child-centric methodology, in 2018, we conducted drawing-prompted group interviews with 46 child participants aged three to five years old recruited from six childcare services in Brisbane, Australia. Children were asked about what it means to relax and what they did to relax. We found that children clearly articulated their relaxation experiences and conceptualised relaxation as sensory-rich experiences that centred on feelings of cosiness, comfortableness, and air temperature. Places and play were key to shaping children's relaxation experiences: common places for relaxation were in nature or at home, and various types of play were central. Recommendations for improving care practices include engaging children in conversations about their relaxation preferences, and affording children agency to choose experiences that are relaxing when in childcare settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]