Mental health problems among children in England are rising, with significant wait times and barriers preventing many from accessing timely support. Watch Me Play! (WMP) is a caregiver–child interaction intervention designed to enhance child development and promote mental health resilience through child-led play.

To assess the feasibility of delivering WMP remotely to parents and carers of children aged 0–8 years referred to UK early years and children’s services.

A non-randomised, single-group feasibility design with a mixed-methods process evaluation aimed to recruit 40 families. The study evaluated recruitment, retention, adherence, fidelity and acceptability. Outcomes were collected at baseline and 3 months; we conducted qualitative interviews to examine barriers and facilitators, and we used health economic data estimated intervention costs.

WMP was well-regarded and acceptable to families and service providers. Recruitment involved seven sites and 21 families, with 67% retention at 3 months. Self-reported adherence was 80%. Facilitators included the simplicity of the approach and quick access to support. Barriers included limited staff capacity and practitioner perceptions of readiness in families with complex needs. Hybrid delivery (online and face-to-face sessions) was feasible and acceptable. The average intervention cost was £209 per family.

Findings indicate core feasibility parameters – including acceptability, fidelity, data-collection procedures and delivery across diverse contexts – were met. WMP is a low-cost intervention suited for early years services. Although a full-scale effectiveness trial is not yet warranted, a future randomised feasibility trial is recommended to investigate the acceptability of randomisation and recruitment across a broader range of services.

Studies indicate that alterations in gut microbiota composition (GMC) during the first 1,000 days of life are associated with neurodevelopment and further behavioral development. However, research on the associations between GMC and executive functions (EFs) in childhood is scarce. This study aims to improve the understanding of the biological processes underlying behavioral development by exploring the associations between GMC and EFs early in life.

Study population (n = 373) is part of the longitudinal FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study. GMC was analyzed using infant and toddler stool sample 16S rRNA sequencing and targeted and untargeted metabolomic assays. EF was assessed using the Spin the Pots and Snack Delay tasks at 2.5 years and the Spin the Pots task, Delay of Gratification task, EF Touch battery and BRIEF-2 questionnaire at 5 years.

Alpha diversity in infancy was negatively associated with preschool EF. Additionally, EFs differed between microbial groups based on dominant genera. Bacterial genera abundances were related to some EFs, but no associations were found between microbial metabolites and EF. This study is among the first to investigate associations between GMC and EF in childhood, a crucial developmental stage characterized by significant changes in both the brain and microbiota.

To examine the relationship between children’s adaptive functioning and neighborhood resources – such as school quality, access to healthy food, green spaces, and housing quality – using a large, diverse clinical outpatient sample.

Pediatric outpatients (N = 6,942; age M = 10.44 years; 67.0% male; 50.3% White; 33.9% Medicaid), aged 1-18, who underwent neuropsychological or psychological evaluation were included if their caregiver completed the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, 3rd Edition (ABAS-3) and had a nationally normed Child Opportunity Index (COI) score, a composite measure of 29 geo-coded neighborhood characteristics.

Children from higher-opportunity neighborhoods demonstrated significantly stronger adaptive functioning across conceptual, social, and practical domains. Those in the top 40% of neighborhood advantage exhibited stronger adaptive skills than those in the bottom 60%. Neighborhood resources and family financial resources were associated with greater adaptive skills beyond child age, sex, and racial/ethnic background.

Neighborhood resources are linked to children’s adaptive functioning, possibly due to increased opportunities to practice these skills in safer, more supportive environments. These findings emphasize the importance of considering environmental factors in assessing adaptive skills and highlight the need for public health investments and legislation related to community resources.

Maternal alcohol consumption can adversely affect children’s development, but the impact of paternal drinking is less understood. We aimed to investigate whether maternal or paternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy affected children’s mental health and behavior.

A total of 2,013 parent–child triads from the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood cohort were used. Data on alcohol consumption was obtained from questionnaires during pregnancy and after the child’s birth. Mental health and behavior of children were assessed with Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The associations were tested using linear regression, adjusting for socio-demographic and psychosocial covariates.

Increased maternal alcohol consumption was associated with higher total SDQ scores at ages 7, 11, and 18 years old when the outcomes were reported by mothers, but only at 11 years when reported by children. We did not observe any dose–response relationship, and the effect size did not change during the follow-up. The effects were observed across various domains of SDQ: in the emotional symptoms subscale at age 11, in the conduct problems subscale at ages 7 and 11, and in the hyperactivity/inattention subscale at age 18. Paternal alcohol consumption was not associated with SDQ.

Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy is associated with long-term effects on children’s mental health and behavior, particularly when reported by mothers. No association was found between paternal alcohol consumption, suggesting that the results may stem from biological effects of alcohol or other factors beyond the direct exposure, potentially encompassing broader maternal psychosocial or behavioral characteristics.

Paternal perinatal mental health influences subsequent child development, yet is under-investigated. This study aims to examine the impact of different timings of paternal perinatal anxiety (prenatal-only, postnatal-only, and both pre-and postnatally) on children’s subsequent emotional and behavioral difficulties.

We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children and tested the prospective associations between anxiety in fathers and adverse mental health outcomes in children at 3 years, 6 months and 7 years, 7 months.

Children whose fathers were anxious in the perinatal period were at higher risk of subsequent adverse outcomes, compared to children whose fathers were not anxious perinatally. At 3 years, 6 months, the highest risk group was the one with fathers anxious prenatally-only; compared to children with non-anxious fathers, children in the prenatal-only group were significantly more likely to present mental health difficulties, measured by total problems (unadjOR = 1.82, 95%CI [1.28, 2.53]). At 7 years, 7 months, children exposed to paternal anxiety both pre- and postnatally were at higher risk of any psychiatric disorder (unadjOR = 2.35, 95%CI [1.60, 3.37]) compared to the non-anxious group.

Paternal perinatal anxiety is a risk factor for child adverse outcomes, even after accounting for maternal mental health, child temperament, and sociodemographic factors, and should not be overlooked in research and clinical practice.

Early education and care (ECEC) is part of the everyday life of most children in developed economies, presenting exceptional opportunity to support nutrition and ongoing food preferences. Yet, the degree to which such opportunity is captured in policy-driven assessment and quality ratings of ECEC services is unknown.

Abductive thematic analysis was conducted, guided by key domains of knowledge in nutrition literature and examining identified themes within these domains.

ECEC services (n 38) in Queensland, Australia.

Data were a random sample of field notes pertaining to mealtimes and food provision (n 182) collected as evidence to inform quality ratings during assessment visits to ECEC services.

The field notes mapped to three theory-driven domains: provisions, practices and education. Reflecting policy specification, health, hygiene and safety were a key focus, but food quality and quantity were not. Assessors noted the promotion of child autonomy at mealtimes, yet little evidence pertaining to characteristics of educator-child interactions.

Despite evidence that childhood nutrition is crucial for optimal development and learning, the quality and quantity of food are not directly assessed. Relationships and interactions at mealtimes provide an environment ideal for promoting learning and development, yet the policy guiding inspection and assessment of ECEC services directs focus to a more limited lens of safety, hygiene and promotion of ‘healthy foods’. Our findings identify a narrow conceptualisation of mealtimes focused on ‘health’ as limiting the potential to leverage mealtimes as places to support children’s nutrition and attendant development and learning.