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The proportion of Aboriginal peoples in a variety of Australian sports are at a much higher levels than their proportion of the overall population in Australia. Given the relative absence of Aboriginal parents in discussions of parenting, and the strong involvement of Aboriginal peoples in sport, the experiences of Aboriginal parents within Junior Rugby League (JRL) were explored in this study. The aim was to consider the key factors impacting the behaviours and emotional reactions of parents with a view to supporting parents in JRL settings. Participants were parents of JRL players (aged 8 to 16 years) in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. As part of a large-scale online survey (N = 1418), 117 Aboriginal parents reported their demographic background, spectator behaviour and emotions, sport-related beliefs and attitudes, child behaviour, parenting, and personal wellbeing. Analyses comparing Aboriginal parents to remaining sample of non-Aboriginal parents revealed that Aboriginal parents identified more highly with rugby league and had a greater investment in the sport than their non-Aboriginal parenting peers. The findings allow further explorations in relation to aspects of connection and kinship, and we argue that JRL may be positioned as a potentially generative site of support for Aboriginal parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue addressed: In Australia, one in four (24.9%) children live with overweight or obesity (OW/OB). Identifying infants at risk of developing childhood OW/OB is a potential preventive pathway, but its acceptability is yet to be investigated in Australia. This study aimed to (1) investigate the acceptability of predicting childhood OW/OB with parents of infants (aged 0‐2 years) and clinicians and (2) explore key language to address stigma and maximise the acceptability of predicting childhood OW/OB in practice. Methods: This was a cross‐sectional and qualitative design, comprising individual semi‐structured interviews. Participants were multidisciplinary paediatric clinicians (n = 18) and parents (n = 13) recruited across public hospitals and health services in Queensland, Australia. Data were analysed under the Framework Method using an inductive, thematic approach. Results: Five main themes were identified: (1) Optimism for prevention and childhood obesity prediction, (2) parent dedication to child's health, (3) adverse parent response to risk for childhood obesity, (4) language and phrasing for discussing weight and risk and (5) clinical delivery. Most participants were supportive of using a childhood OW/OB prediction tool in practice. Parents expressed dedication to their child's health that superseded potential feelings of judgement or blame. When discussing weight in a clinical setting, the use of sensitive (ie, "overweight", "above average", "growth" versus "obesity") and positive, health‐focused language was mostly supported. Conclusions: Multidisciplinary paediatric clinicians and parents generally accept the concept of predicting childhood OW/OB in practice in Queensland, Australia. So what?: Clinicians, public health and health promotion professionals and policymakers can act now to implement sensitive communication strategies concerning weight and obesity risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental pressure to include formalised school-type literacy lessons has been reported as a factor influencing the types of phonics instruction young children encounter in the prior-to-school years. Parents and early childhood teachers support effective phonics instruction through guided play-based learning in the prior-to-school years. Few studies have examined parental beliefs about phonics instruction in early childhood settings. This survey research investigated parental perceptions of phonics instruction and code-related literacy learning in six early childhood services in Queensland, Australia. Drawing on theories about phonics learning as a key predictor for later reading success, and defining parent beliefs about literacy, this study found the majority of parents valued both play-literacy practices and phonics instruction. A one-way ANOVA and descriptive statistics were used to analyse three different independent groups i) early learning centres, ii) long day care and iii) standalone community kindergarten, to identify relationships between the dependent variables. The Likert-scale and open-ended question survey found parents were divided in their reported views on the level of emphasis placed on explicit systematic phonics instruction and commercial phonics program use in the years prior to formal schooling. Parents with children attending school-based early learning centres (children aged three-to twelve) were more likely to place higher importance on phonics and name writing and less likely to view adult-child shared reading as playing an important phonics instructional role, than parents of children in a community based kindergarten (children aged three-to-five) and standalone long day care centres (children aged birth-to-five). Parents with children who attend a community-based kindergarten were less likely to agree that phonics should be the focus of an early childhood literacy program. Most parents reported engaging in phonics practices at home, with many (88%) placing value on their child learning the alphabet-song. Approximately one-quarter of parent respondents reported using commercial phonics programs in the home environment. This study highlights parental expectations placed on early childhood teachers to teach phonics and parental perceptions of play-literacy learning in the early childhood curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]