The purpose of this study was to examine changes in physique and motor skills among young children enrolled in a private kindergarten based in Osaka City (K Kindergarten) from fiscal years 2016 to 2020, including the period when COVID-19 was prevalent. Anthropometric measurements (height and weight) and results from five motor skills activities (25-meter run, standing long jump, tennis ball throw, continuous two-footed jump, and sustained body support) were recorded annually throughout each child’s three-year enrollment period. Longitudinal data collected from 323 children was analysed. K Kindergarten has been assessing motor skills for about 35 years and continued this practice throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020-2022 school years, caregivers conducted research on the theme "physical activity to nurture a rich mind and strong body" and implemented environmental structures for physical activity. Analysis of changes in body size and athletic ability by year of enrollment revealed that children who entered preschool in the 2018 school year, transitioning from middle to upper grades during the COVID-19 pandemic, had significantly higher body weight values compared to other years. The results also indicated that girls were more likely than boys to be affected by activity restrictions and the childcare environment regarding their physique and motor skills during early childhood. Moreover, children who entered preschool in 2019 and 2020 and engaged in a motor play environment showed significantly higher motor skills scores when enrolled in the upper grades. These findings suggest that, despite the various limitations imposed by COVID-19, the inclusion of motor play positively influenced the motor skills of young children.

  There are scattered studies that reveal difficulties for teachers in addressing physical education in special needs schools (intellectual disabilities). However, we did not find anything that clarified the details of the factors and structures that constitute teacher difficulties, or the differences by teacher attributes. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 468 teachers in all national and public special-needs schools (intellectual disabilities) in one prefecture regarding difficulties in their approach to physical education classes, and examined the relationship between teacher attributes and each factor by clarifying the overall trend and structure of teachers' difficulties in physical education classes. The results showed that, as an overall feature, teachers had significant difficulties in "setting and supporting the content of children's instruction," "enhancing physical education classes in each faculty," and "understanding the actual situation of children. In the structure of teachers' difficulties, six factors were extracted: (a) understanding the actual situation of children, setting of teaching goals and contents, (b) learning evaluation and class improvement, (c) team teaching, (d) appropriate support for children, (e) expertise in physical education classes, (f) enhancement of physical education classes. Furthermore, significant logistic regression coefficients were found for five factors, except for factor (c) team teaching, in relation to each factor of the difficulty of working with children in physical education classes in the poor group of support for children in physical education classes. In order to reduce the difficulties of teachers in teaching physical education in special-needs schools (intellectual disabilities), it was suggested that there should be many opportunities to learn physical education from the teacher training stage, and that in-service training should be organized in consideration of the career and position of individual teachers, and that training opportunities related to physical education should be proactively set up.

  In Japanese educational settings, learning activities are conducted using tablets or laptops provided to each student. Excessive use of electronic media negatively impacts physical and mental health. Therefore, efforts have been made to examine the appropriateness of the use of electronic media. However, no previous study has been cited in which an ‘Internet addiction flowchart’ was used to raise children’s awareness of their own Internet addiction tendencies and related sleep and lifestyle activities. Consequently, the effectiveness of such an ‘Internet addiction flowchart’ has not been clarified. This study aimed to examine the impact of health education classes by using an Internet addiction flowchart on junior high school students with respect to their Internet addiction flowchart evaluation, lifestyle activities, and feeling tired. This study targeted 241 first-year junior high school students in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture. An Internet addiction flowchart was used in a lesson on ‘Rest, Sleep, and Health’. The results of the students’ Internet addiction flowchart evaluations before and after class, as well as their sleep, exercise, and use of electronic media habits, were compared with their subjective symptoms of fatigue. The results revealed that the group with improved Internet addiction flowchart evaluations went to bed earlier and slept longer. This indicates that health education classes that use Internet addiction flowcharts may improve sleep condition.

  We conducted a questionnaire survey to understand how parents of children attending nursery schools perceive the nursery school meals and how they make effective use of these meals for meals at home.

  The subjects of the survey consisted of 1,090 parents of 4- and 5-year-old children attending public nursery schools in three cities in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. A total of 396 respondents (36.3% response rate) to the survey were included in the analysis. They were divided into three groups according to the parents' interest in nutrition education (Syokuiku): 108 (27.3%) in the "interested" group, 243 (61.4%) in the "somewhat interested" group, and 45 (11.4%) in the "not interested" group. The three groups were compared in terms of their food-related attitudes and behaviors. Compared to the other two groups, the "Interested" group had higher scores for looking at the menu of nursery school meals (p＜0.001), using nursery school meals as a reference for home meals (p＜0.001), and occasionally cooking dishes provided in nursery school meals at home (p＝0.002).

  The most frequent topic of conversation regarding nursery school meals at home was cooking and menu (325 people, 82.1%). Among the 283 respondents who reported using nursery school meals as a reference for meals at home, 202 respondents (71.4%) most frequently referred to cooking. No differences were observed based on the level of interest in nutrition education (Syokuiku). A co-occurrence network was created using the free-response statements of 177 respondents who thought there were changes in themselves or their families due to the child starting to eat nursery school meals. The responses were categorized into three categories: 'Challenge/Improvement of Likes and Dislikes,' 'Reference to Home Meals,' and 'Communication.'

  It was clear that parents recognize the positive impact of nursery school meals on children, such as improving their likes and dislikes and fostering an attitude to try new dishes. Furthermore, it was inferred that the change in the children's attitude towards food and the children's talking about nursery school meals and requesting menus eaten at nursery school meals had effects on the parents. It was considered that, even in households where parents have "somewhat of an interest" or "no interest" in nutrition education (Syokuiku), engaging children in talking about nursery school meals at home could potentially increase parents' interest in food and eating. Furthermore, it was thought that this could lead to improved meals at home.

  This study clarified the relationship between differences in the presentation stimuli (i.e., still images, videos, virtual reality (VR)) used in hazard prediction training and hazard prediction among nursery school students. The study subjects were 93 nursery school students, who were divided into three groups: still image (30 students), video (32 students), and VR (31 students) viewing groups. The grouping was done after measuring the participants’ risk sensitivity using the Risk Sensitivity Scale in advance to ensure no differences among the groups. First, each group viewed the presentation stimuli, and their perception of hazards (A) and sense of presence were measured. To examine memory retention regarding hazard perception, participants were then asked to recall the presentation stimuli one week later, and their perception of hazards (B) was measured. The analysis revealed that the VR viewing group scored significantly higher in hazard perception compared to the other groups, with similar results observed in memory retention. These findings suggest that learning in an environment that closely approximates real-life situations through physical activity may enhance hazard prediction among nursery school students.

  Spontaneous play in the early infantile period is important for the development of motor and sensory systems, but its actual status remains unclear. The present study focused on Japanese infants and aimed to investigate the developmental sequence of rolling over, as well as the subsequent acquirement of a sitting posture when supported by an adult. To examine the developmental process and gross skill acquisition of infants, a questionnaire was administered to 671 Japanese parents. According to the survey results, of the 671 infants, 89.7% (n = 602) started to sit up after rolling over, with rolling over beginning at 4.5 (±1.1) months and sitting up at 5.9 (±1.2) months of age. In contrast, the other 10.3% (69 infants) started to roll over after sitting up, with rolling over and sitting up starting at 6.6 (± 1.2) and 5.2 (± 1.0) months of age, respectively. Infants who acquired a sitting position after turning over were more likely to experience pivoting than those who acquired a sitting position before turning over. The order of acquisition of gross motor development in early infancy was shown to be related to the experience of playing on the floor. Furthermore, the motor development process of infants was seen to be influenced by the efforts of parents and caregivers. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of experiencing spontaneous and varied motor play in infancy to ensure gross motor skill acquisition, thereby enhancing both the physical and mental development of infants.