Conference

Centre for Holistic Initiatives for Learning and Development (CHILD), based at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) held its very first Biennial Conference 2022 (CHILDBC) on 26 October to 28 October 2022 in Singapore.

#CHILDBC2022, a hybrid conference, was the first conference of its kind in Singapore focused on translating child development research into policy and practice. It aimed to provide a global platform for early childhood researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to collectively debate and generate creative solutions, and to actively exchange ideas and experiences between and across local, regional and international early childhood communities.

The theme of the conference, ‘Emerging Issues and Advances in Early Childhood: Knowledge + Collaboration = Transformation’ delved into using latest child development research and behavioural and implementation science through collaboration between partners, families, and communities to transform today’s early childhood landscape and enhance outcomes for children and families.

The three-day hybrid conference comprised of keynote sessions, panel discussions, oral presentations, workshops and lightning talks, with opportunities for multi-stakeholder interactions and networking, sharing of international cutting-edge research and best practices across cultures.

The opening ceremony was graced by Guest-of-Honour Mr Masagos Zukifli, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Health. Ms Sun Xueling, Minister of State for Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Social and Family Development, and Ms Rahayu Mahzam, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Ministry of Health and Ministry of Law discussed ways to better support women, parents and families in Singapore to bring to life a future their children deserve, at an intimate fireside chat during the conference. They emphasised that this push for collaboration must recognise and address the differing ways that agencies and actors understand the issues. Agencies have different degrees of maturity in understanding and varying appetites of how much they want to respond to key topics, which affects collaboration.

“We see the importance of coming together… [and] we already are starting to use common language… Everyone is coming on board. How do we make sure that interfaces meaningfully?” said Ms Rahayu Mahzam.

Executive Director of CHILD, Prof Adrian Sandler, a specialist with over 30 years of experience in developmental and behavioural paediatrics, who just joined CHILD earlier 2022, gave an opening speech to kickstart the conference. Interviewed by The Straits Times, “Children are our greatest resource, and the early years present the greatest opportunity to build resilience. The Government is really focused on improving human potential and addressing challenges to well-being, recognising that its people are its No. 1 resource,” he says. “It’s a remarkable opportunity here in Singapore.” Read more here: https://thechild.sg/news/ 

Keynote speaker Prof Phil Fisher from Stanford University Graduate School of Education outlined findings from key pieces of research conducted by the Center on Early Childhood that has profound implications on the way mental health and other support services should be structured to mitigate the impact on development and well-being across the lifespan caused by uncertainty and unpredictability in the early stages of life. In particular, he outlined critical areas of strength and resilience demonstrated by families with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic and how that can inform the design of support services to young families.

In an interview with The Straits Times, he shared his thoughts on the causes of mental health and emphasized on the importance of early intervention. “Issues can arise from early childhood experiences, and early intervention is key to supporting the young through uncertain times. People have to understand that mental health issues are not uncommon, and that they are treatable and don’t represent a defect.” Read more here: https://thechild.sg/news/ 

Developing targeted intervention programmes that aim to improve the health and well-being of children form a key outcome of work at CHILD. An example is the ‘The Appetite Toolbox’, a new programme aimed at cultivating healthy eating behaviours early in life and which may potentially open up new ways of thinking and solutions to tackling obesity and eating behaviours of pre-school children in Singapore.

The programme, a partnership between the A*STAR Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS), CHILD and PCF Sparkletots, is currently being trialled across six childcare centres in Singapore where children and caregivers are provided with tools designed to enhance eating self-regulation skills during preschool.

“Evidence from the GUSTO cohort in Singapore indicates that eating behaviours, such as larger serving sizes, eating faster and eating when not hungry, are associated with increased food intake and the likelihood of developing an unhealthy body weight during the preschool years. Children and adults who are more sensitive to internal hunger and fullness cues are better able to adjust their food intake in response to their needs and are more likely to have a healthy body weight. We have to start building good habits from young in order to set them up for life,” said Dr Keri McCrickerd, Research Scientist at A*STAR’s Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) and Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatrics, NUS Medicine and lead Principal Investigator for the Appetite Toolbox.

The work of CHILD is aligned to the Singapore Government’s Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plans on Human Health and Potential, which aims to realise the full potential of every child through improving prenatal and early childhood development and learning outcomes in schools.

CHILD, whose founding partners include NUS Medicine, Lien Foundation, Centre for Evidence and Implementation (CEI), and A*STAR’s SICS, was established in 2020 with a generous endowment from the Lien Foundation to lead the way in translating critical research to intervention, and to improve the health and developmental outcomes of children in Singapore and beyond. The mission of CHILD also ties in well with the work of Singapore’s Child and Maternal Health and Well-being Task Force to support and help women prepare for motherhood, and help children attain good health and well-being from their early years.

“CHILD was established to maximise the holistic developmental potential of children by reducing the time it takes for research to translate into policy and practice. Global research shows that it takes more than a decade for children to benefit from research evidence, but our children cannot afford to wait that long. I am glad we are taking decisive steps now to close that gap. The inaugural CHILD Biennial Conference provided early childhood stakeholders the platform to discuss challenges and solutions. The next step is for us to implement what works effectively for children and families in Singapore,” said Professor Adrian Sandler, Executive Director of CHILD at NUS Medicine.

“The period from birth to pre-school are critical windows of opportunity to inculcate habits for a lifetime, optimising human potential early in life. The inaugural CHILD Biennial Conference is an important starting point to congregate the best minds in early childhood development, healthcare and education to realise the full potential of every child in Singapore. Children deserve the best start they can get in life. We have to work together now to give them the chance of a successful future,” said Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine, and Chief Clinical Officer at SICS. Professor Chong is also the Lead Principal Investigator for Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) and Singapore Preconception Study of Long-Term Maternal and Child Outcomes (S-PRESTO).

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