Technology plays an essential role in people's lives. These include smartphones, tablets, iPhones, television and others. In today's cultures, gadgets have become a trend for life and information, ...not just communication. All information and dailies, including shopping, payment and entertainment, are provided on this device. Users of gadgets are very heterogeneous, from older adults to the young child. Unfortunately, gadgets are also popular among children, bringing both positive and negative impacts for children. Excessive use of technology such as gadgets among children will cause a side effect for them. They spend large amounts of time doing these things while ignoring their body posture, screen brightness, and having a very near screen distance from their eyes, affecting their vision and health. Some parents use the gadget as an easy way to calm down their kids when they are in a tantrum. As a result, significant attention is required from socials and communities where children grow and develop, such as parents, caregivers, educators in early childhood education schools, and society as a whole, to reduce the adverse effects of gadgets on children.
Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important human pathogenic bacteria and environmental surfaces play an important role in the spread of the bacterium. Presence of S. aureus on children's ...playgrounds and on toys was described in international studies, however, little is known about the prevalence and characteristics of S. aureus at playgrounds in Europe. In this study, 355 samples were collected from playgrounds from 16 cities in Hungary. Antibiotic susceptibility of the isolates was tested for nine antibiotics. Presence of virulence factors was detected by PCR. Clonal diversity of the isolates was tested by PFGE and MLST. The overall prevalence of S. aureus was 2.81% (10/355) and no MRSA isolates were found. Presence of spa (10), fnbA (10), fnbB (5), icaA (8), cna (7), sea (2), hla (10), hlb (2) and hlg (6) virulence genes were detected. The isolates had diverse PFGE pulsotypes. With MLST, we have detected isolates belonging to ST8 (CC8), ST22 (CC22), ST944 and ST182 (CC182), ST398 (CC398), ST6609 (CC45), ST3029 and ST2816. We have identified a new sequence type, ST6609 of CC45. S. aureus isolates are present on Hungarian playgrounds, especially on plastic surfaces. The isolates were clonally diverse and showed resistance to commonly used antibiotics. These data reinforce the importance of the outdoor environment in the spread for S. aureus in the community.
Synthetic materials, increasingly used for indoor and outdoor surfaces including homes and playgrounds, may contain toxic chemicals. Infants have a higher potential of exposure to chemicals in these ...materials, which may pose a risk to their health.
To understand potential risks related to outdoor surface coverings, based on a review of the literature and regulations, and to assess levels of hazardous chemicals in surface coverings in Israel.
We reviewed the literature and regulations on artificial turf. We tested 46 samples of surfaces for trace metals in synthetic playground surfaces; trace metals, phthalates, and di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT) in synthetic grass, and phthalates, DEHT and formaldehyde in laminate flooring.
Twelve studies reporting high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and varying levels of trace metals in synthetic playground surfaces were identified, as well as five international regulations on lead with maximum acceptable concentrations in the range 40-500 mg/kg. Surface tests showed that 20 out of 30 samples of synthetic playground surfaces exceeded relevant standards for trace metals, of which five had cadmium levels ≥30 mg/kg and four had chromium levels ≥510 mg/kg. In synthetic grass, three out of eight samples exceeded relevant standards, with lead levels ≥1200 mg/kg. In Laminate flooring (n = 8) formaldehyde levels were in the range of 0.7-1.2 mg/m
formaldehyde, and five samples contained ~5% DEHT.
The literature on chemicals in surfaces is limited, but indicates some exceedance of regulatory limits. Trace metals in synthetic playground surfaces and synthetic grass, not regulated in Israel, exceeded relevant international standards in 72% of samples. Laminate flooring, regulated for formaldehyde, did not exceed the 3.5 mg/m
standard, but contained DEHT, a replacement for ortho-substituted phthalates. The results of this preliminary study show that flooring surfaces may be a source of children's exposure to toxic chemicals.
Synthetic surfaces are increasingly being used in, for example, children's playgrounds and sports fields. Exceedances of regulatory limits from other jurisdictions, of heavy metal levels in most outdoor surfaces sampled in Israel indicates the potential for children's exposure. Domestic regulations should be implemented to reduce the risk to children from exposure to these surfaces.
The purpose of the study was to examine outdoor environments to understand whether or not young children had access to play materials and loose parts to enhance their playful experiences. This study ...sought to gather the availability of SAFE and quality play opportunities in early childhood outdoor environments. The study took place in one state of the United States. The study found 75% of outdoor spaces had a playground structure that including a place for children to climb and slide down. The study found 83% of programs had appropriate surfacing materials provided in the outdoor play environment. Loose parts, such as toys, balls, and action figures were also included in the outdoor play and learning environment. The significance of play that this study shows is outdoor environments have an abundant opportunities to support the developmental characteristics of children.
New playground concepts - favouring natural play characteristics - emerge. The aim of our free play study is to explore the relation between newly established natural playgrounds and the widely ...spread contemporary ones in terms of physical activity levels. The playground features differ in vegetation, topography, size and play equipment. The children's locomotive activity was measured with the StepWatch™ Activity Monitor - a pedometer. Research with known groups of preschool children on urban playgrounds should serve a future transfer of results to institutional play areas. Within this pilot study, results indicate that there is no significant difference in mean locomotive activity during free play on diverse playgrounds. However, results show high variability of activity between the playgrounds in terms of active children and rather sedentary ones. In conclusion, kindergarten environments should be more diverse incorporating elements of nature and contemporary playgrounds to serve all levels of activity.
Background
The extant literature demonstrates that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty interacting and socially connecting with typically developing classmates. ...However, some children with ASD have social outcomes that are consistent with their typically developing counterparts. Little is known about this subgroup of children with ASD. This study examined the stable (unlikely to change) and malleable (changeable) characteristics of socially successful children with ASD.
Methods
This study used baseline data from three intervention studies performed in public schools in the Southwestern United States. A total of 148 elementary‐aged children with ASD in 130 classrooms in 47 public schools participated. Measures of playground peer engagement and social network salience (inclusion in informal peer groups) were obtained.
Results
The results demonstrated that a number of malleable factors significantly predicted playground peer engagement (class size, autism symptom severity, peer connections) and social network salience (autism symptom severity, peer connections, received friendships). In addition, age was the only stable factor that significantly predicted social network salience. Interestingly, two malleable (i.e., peer connections and received friendships) and no stable factors (i.e., age, IQ, sex) predicted overall social success (e.g., high playground peer engagement and social network salience) in children with ASD.
Conclusions
School‐based interventions should address malleable factors such as the number of peer connections and received friendships that predict the best social outcomes for children with ASD.
This article explores shifts and tensions in experiences of nature in relation to folklore as a mediating technology that both reflects and affects experiences of nature in a range of ways. The ...historical material for this analysis is Peter Christen Asbjørnsen’s Norske Huldreeventyr og Folkesagn, first and second collection (1845, 1848), including both the legends themselves and their frame narratives (fictional contexts that Asbjørnsen wrote to frame the legends, and in which the legends were told by fictional characters). In the legends, the relationship between farming communities and surrounding nature is characterized by utility, as well as a tension between familiarity and distrust, whereas the frame narratives emphasize nature as aesthetic experience. Thus, two distinct perspectives coexist, and the legend collections can be interpreted as mediating two cultural contexts: first, as reflecting the concerns of rural agricultural communities, and second, mediating the imagination and perceptions of urban populations toward which Asbjørnsen’s publications were directed. They also contributed to the national Nor wegian identity building of the nineteenth century. The boundaries that were communicated and made alive by the folk legends, were blurred by the familiarizing function these legends came to play in the imagination of the trekker, adding to the aesthetic experience of places that they originally cautioned against. Analyzing this process through the analytical framework of «wilderness as playground», can illuminate how the combination control and «wildness», understood as lack of control, contributed to the development of Norwegian trekking culture, and associated idealizations of nature.
Les espaces urbains ludiques consacrés aux enfants ont fait l’objet de nombreuses réflexions dans le cadre des politiques urbaines, mais aussi en sciences de l’éducation / anthropologie ou, plus ...récemment, dans le cadre de recherches en géographie et sociologie. Pensés pour les enfants, pour leur loisir et leur développement au sein des villes, ils sont souvent perçus comme des lieux de contrôle, de sécurisation ou d’assignation spatiale de l’enfance. À partir d’un corpus d’albums pour enfants parus entre 1967 et 2022, dans différentes aires culturelles, l’article se propose d’étudier les représentations de ces espaces spécifiques à partir de trois perspectives. Il s’intéressera d’abord à la manière dont les créateurs mettent en lien ces espaces et l’environnement urbain dans lequel ils s’inscrivent. Il s’agira également d’observer, au sein de ces fictions en texte et en images, les sociabilités qu’ils rendent possibles ou entravent. Enfin, nous verrons comment les albums en font aussi des lieux de détournement des espaces autres, en convoquant les jeux et l’imagination des enfants eux-mêmes.
Q1 : Comment pourriez-vous définir ce qu’est un « terrain d’aventures » ? Un terrain d’aventures est une sorte de grand terrain de jeu, où l’on peut se déplacer librement. Contrairement aux accueils ...de loisirs ou séjours de vacances, les terrains d’aventures ne sont donc pas des espaces de garde, ce qui signifie que les enfants peuvent entrer et sortir de l’espace à leur guise. L’accueil est gratuit et inconditionnel, et les règles d’utilisation du terrain sont les mêmes pour les enfants et ...
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