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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate typical Spanish-English speech sound development longitudinally in a group of bilingual preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start Program and to examine the extent to which such development is linked to language proficiency. The study also aimed to identify whether speech development is related cross-linguistically and to improve our understanding of error patterns in this population.Method: Thirty-five bilingual preschool children produced single-word speech samples in Spanish and English both at the beginning of their first and their second year in a Head Start Program. Conversational samples in both languages were also collected at these data points to calculate mean length of utterance in words (MLUw) and thus assess the children's linguistic proficiency. The phonetically transcribed speech samples were compared over time in terms of segmental accuracy measures and error pattern frequencies. Correlation analyses were run to examine the relation between segmental accuracy measures across languages and between speech sound production and MLUw.Results: One-way within-subject analysis of variance revealed significant improvements in accuracy over time in both languages, but not always for cross-linguistically unshared segments, nor for all consonant manner classes. Overall error rates decreased over time in both languages; although, certain error types showed no change. Cross-linguistic interactions were low in both languages. The results also revealed significant cross-linguistic correlations in segmental accuracy between Spanish and English, as well as between MLUw and speech sound production in both languages on a range of measures, with language-specific differences in Year 2 of the Head Start Program, but not in Year 1.Conclusions: This study is the first to document developmental changes in the speech patterns of Spanish-English bilingual preschool children over 1 year. Accuracy rates improved significantly in both languages, suggesting that enhanced exposure to the majority language at school may not impede phonological development in the home language. Bootstrapping effects were particularly pronounced on cross-linguistically shared sounds, which suggests that the same underlying skills are utilized in both languages, whereas language-specific singleton consonants and consonant clusters did not appear to benefit from exposure to the other language. The results also suggest an intricate link between phonological skills and morphosyntactic performance at the early stages of development, but a more complex pattern thereafter with differences that may be based on language-specific phonological properties., The Latino population is the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States, and by 2015, it reached 57 million (United States Census Bureau, 2016). California, home to 15 [...]

Purpose: In this study, the authors sought to determine the prevalence of stuttering in African American (AA) 2- to 5-year-olds as compared with same-age European Americans (EAs). Method: A total [...]

This paper studies the relationship between family food insufficiency and being overweight in a population-based cohort of preschool children (n = 2103) using data from the Longitudinal Study of Child Development in Quebec (1998-2002) (LSCDQ). Family food insufficiency status was derived when children were 1.5 years of age (from birth to 1.5 years) and at 4.5 years of age (from 3.5 to 4.5 years). Children's height and weight were measured at home at 4.5 years. Overweight was defined according to the US CDC sex- and age-specific growth charts and Cole's criteria. Statistical analyses were done with SAS (version 8.2). In multivariate analyses, mean body mass index (BMI) was higher for children from food insufficient families compared to children from food sufficient families, even when important factors associated with BMI, such as child's birth weight, parental BMI, maternal education, and family income sufficiency were considered. We did not report any gender effects in the multivariate analyses. The presence of family food insufficiency at some point during preschool years more than tripled (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.5-7.6) the odds for obesity using the Cole criteria, and doubled (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.6) the odds for overweight at 4.5 years using the CDC growth curves indicator. We observed an interaction between birth weight and family food insufficiency in relation to being overweight at 4.5 years. Low-birth-weight children living in a household that experienced food insufficiency during preschool years are at higher risk of overweight at 4.5 years. Given this important finding, supportive interventions targeting low-income and food insufficient families, including pregnant women, are recommended for preventing overweight and obesity among their children. Keywords: Overweight; Poverty; Preschoolers; Birth cohort; Food insufficiency; Canada; Obesity

Objective To evaluate relations among measures of iron and zinc status, C-reactive protein (CRP), and leukocytes in low-income children participating in the Head Start program. Design Cross-sectional correlational study with samples collected at Head Start centers in May 2003. Subjects/setting Forty-seven children (aged 3 to 5 years) attending Head Start centers in three rural communities. Measures Zinc, ferritin, CRP, and complete blood count were analyzed in nonfasting blood samples. Statistical analyses Correlations were computed among leukocyte levels, CRP levels, and measures of micronutrient status. Children having two abnormal measures (ie, leukocytes and CRP) were compared by univariate analysis of variance with children having zero or one abnormal measure. Results Most (72%) of the children had elevated CRP levels. Four percent were anemic (hemoglobin <11.0 g/dL [<110 g/L]); 11% had low iron stores (serum ferritin [less than or equal to]15 ng/mL [[less than or equal to]33.7 pmol/L]); and 77% had low iron stores when a reference value that accounts for the presence of infection was used (serum ferritin [less than or equal to]30 ng/mL [[less than or equal to]67.4 pmol/L]). Twenty-one percent had low plasma zinc levels. Children with two measures that indicated infection had higher serum ferritin and lower plasma zinc levels than children with zero or one indicator of infection. Conclusions The link between measures of infection and serum ferritin levels suggests low-income preschool children with low iron stores are not identified by the [less than or equal to]15 ng/mL ([less than or equal to]33.7 pmol/L) criterion. The link between zinc and infection suggests possible overestimations of zinc deficiency in low-income children. Thus, in this population, the presence of infection (as indicated by CRP levels and leukocyte counts) should be determined to assess micronutrient status. J Am Diet Assoc. 2006;106:376-382.

We report here cognitive and academic outcome measures at ages 12 and 16for approximately 80% of a sample of 205 children who had been randomly assigned to 2programs for developmentally delayed preschoolers, Direct Instruction (DI) and Mediated Learning (ML). There were no main effect differences between programs, but there were aptitude-by-treatment interactions similar to those found earlier: initially lower functioning students benefited more from the ML program, whereas initially higher functioning students benefited more from the DI program. Multiple regression analyses suggested that lower scores on cognitive and academic achievement measures are associated with greater experience in special education, even controlling for preschool period ability measures, gender, and ethnicity. The challenges of interpreting this result are discussed., Belief in the lasting effects of early intervention is the cornerstone of early childhood education of children with disabilities. Rarely is this belief tested, however. Research on special education preschool [...]

Objective: To assess the accuracy of parents as reporters of both their own and their 2- to 5-year-old children's fruit and vegetable intake. Design: Observational study with a 1-meal intake assessment by an independent observer, followed by a telephone survey to determine the previous day's consumption using a 29-item fruit,juice, and vegetable food frequency questionnaire. Setting: Two separate meal assessments in communitybased settings. Participants: A convenience sample of 61 parent-child dyads from Eastern Missouri was recruited from a school health fair and the Parents as Teachers program. The mean age of the parents was 31.1 years, and 91% were female.The mean age for children was 39.0 months, and 60% were female. Variables Measured: Parent and child fruit and vegetable intake. Analysis: Interobserver agreement using a kappa statistic. Results: Parents accurately reported their children's intake on most fruits and vegetables (kappa = 0.59-0.61). Parents were the least accurate in recalling the consumption of raisins from oatmeal cookies (kappa = 0.05) and 100% juice (kappa = 0.17). Conclusions and Implications: Parents can serve as accurate proxies to report fruit and vegetable consumption by their preschoolers on a food frequency questionnaire used to determine intake for the previous day. This can be a helpful evaluation method for research involving young children. KEY WORDS: parent proxy, dietary assessment, preschool children

Objective. To explore the relationship of spanking frequency before age 2 with behavior problems near time of entry into school. Methods. Children who were younger than 2 years were followed up ~4 years later, after they had entered school. The likelihood of significant behavior problems at follow-up was estimated in multivariate analyses that controlled for baseline spanking frequency and other characteristics. Participants were mothers from a large-scale national study and their children. Statistical analysis included an ethnically diverse sample of 1966 children aged 0 to 23 months at baseline. Two dichotomous indicators of behavior problems were used. The first indicated that maternal rating of child behavior problems exceeded a threshold. The second indicated that a mother met with a school administrator to discuss her child&apos;s behavior problems. Results. White non-Hispanic children who were spanked more frequently before age 2 were substantially more likely to have behavior problems after entry into school, controlling for other factors. For Hispanic and black children, associations between spanking frequency and behavior problems were not statistically significant and were not consistent across outcome measures. Conclusion. Among white non-Hispanic children but not among black and Hispanic children, spanking frequency before age 2 is significantly and positively associated with child behavior problems at school age. These findings are consistent with those reported in studies of children older than 2 years but extend these findings to children who are spanked beginning at a relatively early age. Pediatrics 2004;113:1321-1330; spanking, physical punishment, behavior problems, parenting. ABBREVIATIONS. NLSY-MC, National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Mother Child Sample; BPI, Behavior Problems Index; ME, marginal effect., In the United States, spanking is 1 of the most widely used practices for disciplining preschool-aged children. Approximately 94% of 3- and 4-year-old children have been spanked at least once [...]

Experiments on the effects of self-instruction in preschool children on performing general sorting tasks reveal that preschool children perform sorting tasks correctly when the experimenter asks them to self instruct, that is, asks them what they are looking for. However, these children cannot perform the sorting tasks based on the visual discrimination of what the objects have in common.

The purpose of the current research was to determine if mothers of preschool-aged children enrolled in Head Start perceived their children's weight status accurately. Participants included 281 mothers who were primarily African American (84%), with a mean age of 27.4 years. Mothers were asked to describe their children's weight status as underweight, normal weight, close to being overweight, or overweight. Children's measured height and weight were obtained from Head Start records, and each child's body mass index (BMI, kg/[m.sup.2]) was calculated. Children's weight status was classified as underweight, normal weight, at risk of overweight, or overweight based on current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) criteria using BMI-for-age percentiles. A chi-square test of independence comparing maternal perception of children's weight status with children's actual weight classification was significant [/2 (N = 281, df = 9) = 52.16, P < .001]. Standardized residuals were then analyzed. Results indicated that underestimation of children's weight status by mothers was prevalent. Fifty-six children were classified as overweight based on CDC criteria; of these, only 2 (3.6%) were perceived as overweight by their mothers. Of the 236 mothers who perceived their children to be of normal weight, 41 (17.4%) had children who were classified as at risk of overweight and 42 (17.8%) had children who were classified as overweight based on CDC criteria. Interventions to increase maternal awareness of childhood overweight and its potential consequences are warranted in this population. Funded by the USDA Southern Rural Development Center.