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Issue Addressed: Parent‐reported data may provide a practical and cheap way for estimating young children's weight status. This study aims to compare the validity and reliability of parent‐reported height and weight to researcher‐measured data for pre‐school aged children (aged 2‐6 years). Methods: This was a nested study within a cluster randomised controlled trial (October 2016‐April 2017), conducted within 32 Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services across New South Wales, Australia. Parents of children reported on demographics and child height and weight via a survey. For the same child, height and weight data were objectively collected by trained research staff at the service. We calculated mean differences, intra‐class correlations, Bland‐Altman plots, percentage agreement and Cohen's kappa coefficient (>0.8 = "excellent"; 0.61‐0.8 = "good"; 0.41‐0.60 = "moderate"; 0.21 and 0.4 = "fair [weak]"; <0.2 = "poor"). Results: Overall, 89 children were included (mean age: 4.7 years; 59.5% female). The mean difference between parent‐reported and researcher‐measured data were small (BMI z‐score: mean difference −0.01 [95% CI: −0.45 to 0.44]). There was "fair/weak" agreement between parent‐categorised child BMI compared with researcher‐measured data (Cohen's Kappa 0.24 [95% CI: 0.06 to 0.42]). Agreement was poor (Cohen's kappa <0.2) for female children, when reported by fathers or by parents with a BMI > 25 kg/m2. Conclusion: There was "fair/weak" agreement between parent‐reported and measured estimates of child weight status. So What?: Parent's report of weight and height may be a weak indicator of adiposity at the level of individuals however it may be useful for aggregate estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Children born <30 weeks of gestation have more motor impairment than do children born at term (37–42 weeks gestation), but reported outcomes have largely focused on cerebral palsy and developmental coordination disorder. The aim of this study was to compare muscle strength, motor skills, and physical activity (PA) of preschool-aged children born <30 weeks with those born at term. Methods In this cohort study, 123 children born <30 weeks and 128 born at term were assessed. Children were aged ≥4 years, 0 months and <6 years, 0 months' corrected age at the time of the assessment. Outcomes included grip strength (kg), Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2nd edition (MABC-2), Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire, accelerometer-measured PA, and a parent-completed PA diary. Linear regression and mixed effects models were used to examine differences between children born <30 weeks and those born at term. Results Children born <30 weeks had poorer grip strength (preferred hand; mean difference [95% CI] −0.60 kg [−1.04 to −0.15]) and poorer motor competence (Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2nd edition standard score mean difference −2.17 [−3.07 to −1.27]; Little Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire total score mean difference −5.5 [−9.2 to −2.8]) than term-born children. Children born <30 weeks also completed fewer minutes of accelerometer-measured PA (mean difference −41 minutes [−62 to −20]), more minutes of accelerometer-measured stationary behavior (mean difference 33 minutes [12 to 54]), and more minutes of parent-reported screen time (mean difference 21 minutes [10 to 32]) per day. Conclusion Preschool-aged children born <30 weeks had poorer muscle strength, motor skills, and PA levels than term-born children. These findings suggest that preschool-aged children born <30 weeks may benefit from enhanced surveillance and PA promotion to improve life-long health outcomes. Impact In our study, children born <30 weeks had reduced muscle strength and poorer motor skills, participated in less PA, and had more stationary and screen behavior than term-born children. These findings emphasize that awareness of multidomain motor deficits in children born <30 weeks' gestation is needed in clinical practice. Given the associations between higher PA and health benefits and the recognition that PA levels can track from early childhood into adulthood, our study highlights the need for assessment and promotion of PA in preschool-aged children born <30 weeks' gestation. Lay Summary. Preschool-aged children born <30 weeks' gestation have poorer strength, motor skills, and physical activity behaviors than their term-born peers. Clinicians and early childhood educators should recognize that the preschool period is a critical time for the assessment and promotion of PA in children born <30 weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study by Lucinda K. Bell and colleagues which aims to establish the validity of toddler dietary questionnaire (TDQ)-derived dietary risk by establishing the association between risk scores and nutrient intake, weight status, and socio-demographic factors. Topics discussed include assessment of food-group intake, the process of establishing nutrient intake, and the result from linear trend analysis.

Temperamental inhibition has been identified as a key risk factor for childhood anxiety and internalizing problems. An efficacious early prevention programme for shy/inhibited children has been developed; however, accurate, efficient and acceptable screening is needed to support wider implementation. We explore community screening options in the context of a trial implementing the Cool Little Kids prevention programme for anxiety disorders. In comparison to the Australian Temperament Project's inhibition scale, we examine the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire's (SDQ) ability to screen for inhibited preschool children. Parents of 6307 children aged 3 to 6 years enrolled in preschool programmes from eight socio-economically diverse districts in Melbourne, Australia, first completed the measures of inhibition and SDQ. Parents with inhibited children then enrolled in the Cool Little Kids randomized trial ( n = 545). Of these, 88% provided feedback about inhibition screening. Parents allocated to the intervention also provided feedback on the Cool Little Kids parenting programme. Results demonstrated that parents of preschool children (i) find inhibition screening acceptable, (ii) take up this parenting programme and (iii) report favourable feedback. The SDQ emotional symptoms subscale demonstrated acceptable sensitivity but insufficient specificity to identify inhibited preschool children. Presenting parents with a brief, validated inhibition scale could be a low-cost option for identifying inhibited preschool children in the community to offer early anxiety prevention. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The role of neuroimaging in children presenting with new-onset seizure is poorly defined. This study evaluates the incidence of abnormal CT findings in children admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with new-onset seizure and examines potential clinical variables associated with abnormal head CT findings. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 89 previously asymptomatic children admitted to Sydney Children's Hospital (Sydney, Australia) PICU between November 2005 and September 2009 with new-onset seizure was undertaken. Demographic data, clinical details and head CT findings were abstracted from medical records. The clinical significance and the impact of CT findings on acute management decisions was analysed. Clinical variables associated with abnormal clinically significant CT results were examined. Results: A total of 71/89 patients underwent head CT. Of the children who underwent head CT ( n= 71), clinically significant CT results were found in 19.7% of patients and head CT findings resulted in a change in acute management in 7% of patients. Children without fever were more than twice as likely to have a positive CT scan ( P= 0.049); however, a substantial proportion (6/45) of febrile children also had abnormal scans. Focal seizures were not predictive of abnormal CT results. There was a significant relationship between abnormal CT and multiple seizures ( P < 0.02), and age less than 24 months ( P < 0.049). Conclusion: In this highly selected group head CT findings are frequently abnormal and might change acute management. Children admitted to the PICU with first presentation of seizure who have multiple seizures and/or are aged <2 years should have immediate CT or MRI scanning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: When children aged 0-4 years are analysed together as a group for poisoning risk, important differences for smaller age intervals by medicinal and non-medicinal substances are masked. These differences have been attributed to child developmental stages but no studies have been conducted that examine the predictive value of child developmental stage for poisoning by substance type, using 3-month age intervals as a proxy for developmental stage and adjusting for the effect of sex, socio-economic status and remoteness of residence., Methods: A population-based dataset of unintentional poisoning hospitalizations in children aged 0-4 years was used to predict the type of substance ingested. Associations between the type of substance and age, sex, socio-economic status and remoteness of residence were measured using multivariate logistic regression., Results: Children aged 12-17 months had significantly higher odds of experiencing a non-medicinal poisoning while children aged 24-41 months had significantly higher odds of experiencing a medicinal poisoning. Males and children from more disadvantaged and outer regional areas had higher odds of experiencing a non-medicinal poisoning., Conclusions: Children aged 0-4 years differ in their stage of development and as a consequence, vary significantly in their ability to access their environment. Our results clearly show that odds of poisoning by medicinal substances compared with non-medicinal substances change as children age. This study provides evidence that child development predicts the type of substance accessed and ingested., (© 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)