Search Results (626)

Background/Objectives: Children with severe physical and communication disabilities face many challenges. They have very limited opportunities for upright, hands-free, self-initiated mobility. Current findings in neuroscience and theories on child development suggest that self-initiated mobility can have positive cascading effects on various developmental areas, including language and communication. This study was conducted to examine the current use of hands-free support walkers with children who have severe physical and communication disabilities and use augmentative and alternative communication and to identify the benefits and problems perceived by their parents and professionals from different disciplines. Methods: Online surveys were utilized to collect information from 127 participants, including 31 parents and 96 professionals or paraprofessionals. Results: The participants reported that these children could perform various motor activities in the hands-free support walkers to achieve different goals. Benefits identified by both parents and professionals included providing a way to exercise and stay active, improving motor control, enhancing independence, and bringing enjoyment. Professionals also observed positive impacts on communication, vocalization, use of eye contact, and problem solving. Conclusions: Results suggest that children with severe physical and communication disabilities can benefit from the upright, hands-free, self-initiated mobility provided by hands-free support walkers. Clinical implications and needs for future research are discussed. Full article

Bring them home, keep them home is research based in New South Wales (NSW) Australia, that aims to understand successful and sustainable reunification for Aboriginal families who have children in out-of-home care (OOHC). This research is led by Aboriginal researchers, and partners with Aboriginal organisations. It is informed by the experiences of 20 Aboriginal parents and family members, and more than 200 practitioners and professionals working in child protection and reunification. This paper traces the evolution of Bring them home, keep them home which is now at the forefront of influence for NSW child protection reforms. Using specific examples, it highlights the role of research advocacy and resistance in challenging and disrupting systems in ways that amplify the voices of Aboriginal families and communities and embeds these voices as the foundation for radical innovation for child reunification approaches. The paper shares lessons being learned and insights for Aboriginal-led research with communities in the pursuit of restorative justice, system change, and self-determination. Providing a framework for liberating Aboriginal families from child abduction systems, this paper seeks to offer a truth-telling and practical contribution to the international efforts of Indigenous resistance to child abduction systems. Full article

This study investigates the critical link between child care accessibility and local labor force participation, addressing a gap in current research that often lacks local spatial granularity. While over half of the U.S. population resides in child care deserts, disproportionately affecting rural, low-income, and minority communities, the economic implications for local labor markets remain underexplored. Leveraging Michigan child care license data and Census tract-level demographic and employment characteristics, this research employs a spatial econometric approach to estimate the impact of geographic distance to child care facilities on labor supply using descriptive data. Our findings consistently demonstrate that increased distance to child care is significantly associated with reduced labor force participation. While female labor force participation is lower in areas with constrained access to child care, we also found that households with two parents are also less likely to have full labor force participation when access to child care is constrained. The cost-effective framework used here can be replicated to identify specific communities most impacted by child care-related employment disruptions. The analytical findings can be instrumental in targeting and prioritizing child care policy interventions. Full article

Maternal mental illness significantly impacts caregiving, influencing both mothers and their children. This narrative review examines the challenges faced by mothers with conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, which often disrupt caregiving routines, emotional stability, and social integration. These difficulties can hinder secure attachments and contribute to adverse developmental outcomes in children, including heightened risks of anxiety, depression, behavioral issues, and cognitive impairments. Children of mothers with mental illnesses are 1.8 times more likely to develop emotional or behavioral problems and face a 2.7 times higher risk of suicidal ideation during adolescence. Intergenerational transmission of mental illness is also prevalent, with affected children showing a 2.5 times greater likelihood of developing mental illnesses in adulthood. Effective interventions include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), family-based approaches, and community programs integrating parenting education and mental health resources. These strategies have demonstrated improvements in maternal well-being and child resilience. The review highlights the need for comprehensive policies addressing maternal mental health, early intervention for children, and culturally sensitive support systems to break cycles of intergenerational mental illness. Future research should prioritize evaluating long-term intervention effectiveness and exploring innovative tools like digital mental illnesses solutions to support affected families. Full article

This study explored the experiences of Hungarian minority parents of children with severe disabilities from Romania. Examining individual life paths and becoming a parent is difficult in all aspects, but the issue of parental responsibility for raising a child with a severe disability suggests a much more complex approach. Participants were parents (female = 8; male = 3) who were purposively sampled from an urban setting (Bihor area) and whose children attended SEN schools in the same area. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and were thematically analysed. It turned out from the interviews that the challenges parents of children with severe disabilities encounter at home, school, and in society are accumulated emotional stress and exhaustion; however, they also face material challenges. The analysis also revealed that the parents were unsure of what was expected of them in making educational or habilitation–rehabilitation decisions on behalf of their children. The parents’ difficulty with decision-making and their unpreparedness put them under serious stress, often characterized by depressive life stages. The findings reveal the need for ongoing professional development and the establishment of organizational–community networks. Parents of children with disabilities face serious, unresolved challenges that are difficult to overcome. In order to overcome these challenges, we need to develop policies that take the needs of parents into consideration. Full article

Objective: To explore the experiences and self-efficacy of parent-caregivers providing care for a child with a tracheostomy tube. Study Design: Parent-caregivers completed surveys and participated in semi-structured interviews about their experiences learning to care for their child with a tracheostomy tube. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically through coding. Results: Fifteen parent-caregivers participated in the survey, 13 of whom completed an interview. After receiving a tracheostomy, children were hospitalized a median of 6 months prior to discharge home. At the time of our study, children had been home for a median of 3.5 years. Parent-caregivers felt more prepared to perform routine daily care compared to triaging a change in medical status. Parent-caregiver self-efficacy in performing tracheostomy care skills improved with experience at home. Four themes were identified from interviews: new identity formation, enduring education, child and family biopsychosocial support, and establishing normalcy. Parent-caregivers shared that education was more than just acquiring skills; it also involved discovering diverse ways of learning and building confidence in one’s own abilities to fulfill the many types of roles they serve to successfully care for and keep their child safe while supporting their social and emotional needs as parent-caregivers. Conclusions: Parent-caregivers’ reflections on their experiences provide critical insight into their psychosocial needs and challenges in providing care to children with tracheostomies. Further investigation of lived experiences is vital to shaping a community that can support families of medically complex children. Full article

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social media use (SMU) in children diagnosed with major depression (MD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and various psychosocial factors, including familial functioning, parental SMU, and parent-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms. A healthy control group was included for comparison. Methods: The study included 121 children and adolescents aged 10–18 years (36 with MD, 41 with ADHD, and 44 healthy controls). The Social Media Addiction Scale—Short Form (SMDS) was administered to all participants, while mothers completed the McMaster Family Assessment Scale (FAS), the Social Media Addiction Scale—Adult Form (SMAS-AF), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Psychiatric diagnoses were made using the K-SADS-PL DSM-5-T. Correlation and linear regression analyses were used to assess associations among variables. Results: SMU scores were significantly higher in the ADHD group compared to both the depression and control groups. Parental SMU was also higher in the ADHD group. In the depression group, child SMU was significantly associated with internalizing symptoms and impaired family communication. In the ADHD group, child SMU was predicted by poor family problem-solving and communication. Regression analyses showed that internalizing symptoms and family communication predicted SMU in the depression group (R² = 0.335), while family problem-solving and communication predicted SMU in the ADHD group (R² = 0.709). Conclusion: The findings suggest that social media use in children with depression and ADHD is associated with different psychosocial factors. While internalizing symptoms and family communication are more prominent in depressed children, family functioning—particularly problem-solving and communication—plays a larger role in children with ADHD. These results emphasize the need for targeted family-based interventions to mitigate problematic SMU in clinical populations. Full article

Background/Objectives: Intergenerational care plays a significant role in shaping household dietary quality and human capital development in China. Influenced by the legacy of the one-child policy, the care provided in these families often prioritizes child-focused practices. This study examines how intergenerational care influences schoolchildren’s sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. Methods: This study utilizes data from the 2014–2015 China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) to investigate the impact of intergenerational care on schoolchildren’s dietary behaviors, with a focus on sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. We apply both ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and the ordered logit model to estimate the impacts, and we use the instrumental variables approach to address potential endogeneity. Results: Schoolchildren from only-child families report greater SSB consumption, while those from multi-child families consume less. Intergenerational care is linked to more digital media exposure, more pocket money, and less parental supervision. These findings withstand rigorous validation through multiple robustness checks, including sample restriction strategies and propensity score matching (PSM) analysis. The effect is especially pronounced among boys, schoolchildren from families with higher parental education levels, and schoolchildren attending schools without formal nutrition education programs. Conclusions: The result indicates that intergenerational care significantly increases SSB consumption among schoolchildren from only-child families. Community nutrition and school health education programs can reduce schoolchildren’s SSB consumption, thereby lowering risks of obesity and other public health concerns. Full article

Discipline is a significant predictor of parent–child attachment and relationship quality across the lifespan. Yet, much of the research on Black families’ disciplinary strategies uses a deficit and myopic lens that focuses on punitive punishment styles (e.g., spanking or taking away privileges). In the current exploratory qualitative study, we used an intergenerational narrative lens and thematic analysis to explore semi-structured interview data from 31 Black mothers (25–60 years, M_age = 46) in the United States around their mothers’ disciplinary practices during their childhood. We explored the connections that Black adult daughters made between their childhood disciplinary practices and their current disciplinary practices with their children, as well as their current relationships with their mothers. Adult daughters varied widely in their retrospective accounts of their mothers’ disciplinary strategies, which we categorized into three themes: (a) punitive, (b) logical, and (c) natural. We also identified three themes around how their mothers’ practices informed their current disciplinary practices with their own children: namely, (d) continuity, (e) mix, and (f) shift. Finally, we identified three themes around the current nature of their mother–daughter relationships: (g) strained, (h) progressing, and (i) healthy. The results highlighted the personal and cultural factors that informed Black women’s disciplinary strategies across two generations of mothers and revealed that when adult daughters shifted away from what they experienced during childhood—it was often towards less punitive strategies. Our exploratory findings also pointed to patterns regarding the extent to which Black adult daughters felt connected, validated, and supported by their mothers. The findings lend insight into Black mother–daughter relationship dynamics, particularly around the importance of communication patterns and emotional connection in the culture of discipline within families. Full article

Background: The provision of education, health, and social care for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England has long been criticised for its inequities and chronic underfunding. These systemic issues were further exacerbated by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying restrictions, which disrupted essential services and resulted in widespread unmet needs and infringements on the rights of many children with SEND. This study aimed to use a three-phase consensus-building approach with 1353 participants across five stakeholder groups to collaboratively develop evidence-informed priorities for policy and practice. The priorities sought to help address the longstanding disparities and respond to the intensified challenges brought about by the pandemic. Methods: A total of 55 children with SEND (aged 5–16), 893 parents/carers, and 307 professionals working in SEND-related services participated in the first phase through online surveys. This was followed by semi-structured interviews with four children and young people, ten parents/carers, and 15 professionals, allowing for deeper exploration of lived experiences and priorities. The data were analysed, synthesised, and structured into five overarching areas of priority. These were subsequently discussed and refined in a series of activity-based group workshops involving 20 children with SEND, 11 parents/carers, and 38 professionals. Results and Conclusions: The consensus-building process led to the identification of key priorities for both pandemic response and longer-term recovery, highlighting the responsibilities of central Government and statutory services to consider and meet the needs of children with SEND. These priorities are framed within a children’s rights context and considered against the rights and duties set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Priorities include protecting and promoting children with SEND’s rights to (1) play, socialise, and be part of a community, (2) receive support for their social and emotional wellbeing and mental health, (3) feel safe, belong, and learn in school, (4) “access health and social care services and therapies”, and (5) receive support for their parents/carers and families. Together, they highlight the urgent need for structural reform to ensure that children with SEND receive the support they are entitled to—not only in times of crisis but as a matter of routine practice and policy. Full article

With the rise of digital twin technology, the application of digital twin technology to industrial automation provides a new direction for the digital transformation of the global smart manufacturing industry. In order to further improve production efficiency, as well as realize enterprise digital empowerment, this paper takes a welding robot arm as the research object and constructs a welding robot arm digital twin system. Using three-dimensional modeling technology and model rendering, the welding robot arm digital twin simulation environment was built. Parent–child hierarchy and particle effects were used to truly restore the movement characteristics of the robot arm and the welding effect, with the help of TCP communication and Bluetooth communication to realize data transmission between the virtual segment and the physical end. A variety of UI components were used to design the human–machine interaction interface of the digital twin system, ultimately realizing the data-driven digital twin system. Finally, according to the digital twin maturity model constructed by Prof. Tao Fei’s team, the system was scored using five dimensions and 19 evaluation factors. After testing the system, we found that the combination of digital twin technology and automation is feasible and achieves the expected results. Full article

Adequate and diverse diets are essential for children’s physical and cognitive development, yet food insecurity and malnutrition continue to threaten this fundamental right, which remains a pressing concern in many resource-poor settings. This study investigated food and nutrition security in Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres in Makhanda, South Africa, through a community-based participatory research approach. Using a mixed-methods approach combining questionnaire interviews, focus group discussions, direct observations, and community asset mapping across eight ECD centres enrolling 307 children aged 0–5 years, the study engaged ECD facilitators and analysed dietary practices across these centres. Results indicated that financial constraints severely affect the quality and diversity of food provided at the centres, thus undermining the ability to provide nutritionally adequate meals. The average amount spent on food per child per month at the centres was R90 ± R25 (South African Rand). Although three meals were generally offered daily, cost-driven dietary substitutions with cheaper, less diverse alternatives, often at the expense of nutritional value, were common. Despite guidance from Department of Health dieticians, financial limitations contributed to suboptimal feeding practices, with diets dominated by grains and starchy foods, with limited access to and rare consumption of protein-rich foods, dairy, and vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables. ECD facilitators noted insufficient parental contributions and low engagement in supporting centre operations and child nutrition provision, indicating a gap in awareness and limited nutrition knowledge regarding optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. The findings emphasise the need for sustainable, multi-level and community-led interventions, including food gardening, creating ECD centre food banks, parental nutrition education programmes, and enhanced financial literacy among ECD facilitators. Strengthening local food systems and establishing collaborative partnerships with communities and policymakers are essential to improve the nutritional environment in ECD settings. Similarly, enhanced government support mechanisms and policy-level reforms are critical to ensure that children in resource-poor areas receive adequate nutrition. Future research should focus on scalable, locally anchored models for sustainable child nutrition interventions that are contextually grounded, community-driven, and should strengthen the resilience of ECD centres in South Africa. Full article

Introduction: Nonbinary individuals who do not identify as exclusively male or female often face unique emotional challenges due to societal cisheteronormativity and limited recognition of their identities. While existing research has primarily focused on anxiety, depression, and pathways to parenthood among nonbinary people, little attention has been paid to their comprehensive emotional experiences as parents. This study aims to explore the emotional universe of two nonbinary parents from Spain and the United States. Design: Hermeneutic study. Materials and Methods: We implemented purposive sampling, conducted semi-structured virtual interviews, and followed Ricoeur’s theory of interpretation for data analysis. We used the Universe of Emotions affective taxonomy as a starting category in this analysis. Our sample consisted of a 32-year-old white Spanish nurse (she/they/them), assigned female at birth and parent of two one-year-old toddlers, and a 34-year-old white North American physiotherapist (he/they/them) assigned female at birth and parent of a ten-year-old child. Results: Through its four themes (A story of misunderstanding: “What are you, a combat helicopter?”; Clearly, you don’t fit, so…; But (a new) family is there; No monster here: I’m, at the core, a human being), this study reveals the complex emotional journey experienced by two nonbinary parents. Conclusions: Central to this journey are three key emotions: strangeness, belonging, and acceptance. The participants describe an initial stage marked by body and social dysphoria, confusion, and rejection, followed by a transformative process in which parenthood becomes a catalyst for emotional and identity integration. This transition—from alienation to connection—reflects a broader movement from dehumanization to humanization, where the experience of parenting fosters emotional resilience, social recognition, and a renewed sense of self. Implications for the profession and/or patient care: Analyzing their emotions (both negative and positive ones), we obtained robust insights into these parents’ personal and social contexts. Therefore, we can facilitate understanding of the emotional complexity of nonbinary parents by the trans and cisgender communities. Through this understanding, nurses and the organizations they work for can improve their competence in their holistic care. Acceptance from nonbinary parents’ social contexts, of which nursing is a part, is a critical factor in their health and emotional wellbeing. Full article

Parents provide most of the support needed for children with cerebral palsy (CP) to increase the child’s participation and independence. Understanding the experiences of parents caring for children with CP is essential for developing effective family programs and services. The current knowledge about parents’ experiences in CP is based on studies in Western countries, with little known about this phenomenon in Arab countries like Saudi Arabia. This study aimed to understand the unique experiences and support needs of Saudi parents caring for children with CP from a social-ecological perspective. We conducted a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study involving 12 semi-structured interviews with mothers and fathers of children with different types of CP. We analyzed the data using a reflexive thematic approach, following six distinct phases. Participants’ narratives revealed a complex caregiving journey marked by both challenges and rewards. Support from Saudi nuclear and extended family members was considered important; however, many parents expressed a need for additional physical and financial assistance from their families. Parents reported feeling stressed and experiencing challenges in accessing and navigating educational and healthcare services. Our findings highlight that Islamic values play a crucial role in the experiences of Saudi parents. These values foster a sense of collectivism, highlighting the importance of family support and community involvement, which can affect the Saudi caregiving environment. Parents remain an essential yet often invisible part of the Saudi caregiving system. Without adequate support, parents are at risk of experiencing social, financial, academic, physical, and mental health challenges, which may affect their overall family well-being. Future work may need to consider spiritual and gender roles when developing programs or services to support Saudi parents of children with CP. Full article

Purpose: Assess mental health professionals’ attitudes regarding the timing and characteristics of therapeutic interventions for children whose parents have incurable cancer, and whether professionals would use artificial intelligence (AI) in these interventions. Methods: Professionals were surveyed about their therapeutic approaches to caring for children when parents have incurable cancer under different scenarios. Data from N = 294 (69% male, 72% white, 26% Latine, 56% rural or underserved communities) physicians, psychologists, social workers, hospital chaplains, community health workers, and others were analyzed. Attitudes surrounding the timing and characteristics of interventions across the parent’s cancer journey were compared, including how professionals believed interventions should attend to dimensions of the child or family, and if, how, and when AI technology could be introduced. Results: Across 10 dimensions of childhood, (1) the child’s premorbid exposure to traumatic events, (2) a surviving parent’s presence, and (3) the child’s age were important factors to consider when making mental health care decisions in this context. The professionals reported being more likely to introduce therapeutic resources as early as possible in the parent’s illness (i.e., upon diagnosis). Regarding the use of AI, 87% foresaw its role in supporting children’s mental health. While 93.2% agreed that a grieving child could be helped by interacting with an AI-generated likeness of the deceased parent, when AI’s use was contextualized in providing support for a child who lost a parent to cancer, only 49% believed AI was appropriate. The participants were conflicted over when AI could be first introduced, either upon a parent’s illness diagnosis (19.4%), during a parent’s treatment (19.0%), or as part of a parent’s hospice care (12.6%). None believed it to be appropriate following the loss of the parent to cancer. Conclusions: AI is increasingly present in children’s daily lives and quickly infiltrating health care with widely accessible mental health chatbots. Concerns about privacy, the accuracy of information, and the anthropomorphism of AI tools by children give professionals pause before introducing such technology. Proceeding with great caution is urged until more is known about the impact of AI on children’s mental health, grief, and psychological well-being in the context of parental cancer. Full article