The new semester has begun, and KIT wishes all the children, parents, and teachers a rewarding and enjoyable term ahead. In August, KIT published its first popular science book, “Knowing Kids, Knowing Taiwan.” We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the parents and teachers of young children across Taiwan for their long-term participation in the KIT project. The valuable data they have provided has allowed us to create a comprehensive picture of the development and environment of Taiwanese children.

In this edition, we cover a range of interesting topics, including a brief overview of the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC), a large-scale research study that began in the late 1990s, along with some KIT findings related to children's executive function. We also feature a special interview with Prof. Tsung-Hau Jen from the Science Education Center at NTNU and a book review of “Le Petit Camion de Papa”, a storybook written and illustrated by Mori Chiang about a father’s old truck and the special bond it creates with his child.

Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC)
The Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC) is a large-scale health study in Denmark that has been tracking over 100,000 newborns across the country, born between 1996 and 2003, starting from their mothers' pregnancies. The project has been running for nearly 30 years, involving researchers from various Danish universities and hospitals. Its primary funding comes from the Danish National Research Foundation, an independent national research institution, with additional long-term sponsorship from multiple foundations. Its biobank is sustained by two other organizations.

Governments in Nordic countries register individuals' healthcare, disease records, and census data, which serve as key sources for linking personal and family data necessary for long-term tracking studies. With the support of government-gathered data, the DNBC project aims to identify correlations between early-life health conditions and the development of various diseases, ultimately achieving goals in disease prevention and control. Data collection for the project begins at the 12th week of the mother's pregnancy, with maternal blood sampled and umbilical cord blood obtained at the time of the baby's birth. The timeline is as follows:

(1) Ages 6 and 18 months: Surveys focus on diet, development, and vaccination in infancy.

(2) Age 7 years: Responses are elicited from parents regarding their child's physical and health status, childcare, motor and language development, dietary habits, physical activities, medical records, disease history, and emotional and personality issues.

(3) Age 11 years: The survey respondents include both parents and the child, covering aspects such as family information, school performance, health and growth, personal habits (exercise, diet, phone use, listening to music, use of headphones), and other sensitive topics. 

(4) Age 14 years (adolescence): The survey focuses on dietary and exercise habits, time spent watching TV, and the use of electronic devices.

(5) Age 18 years: Information gathered includes employment, family details, interpersonal relationships, and well-being. It also covers smoking and alcohol use, gambling, sleep patterns, self-harm and suicide, emotional issues, personality traits, drug use, mental health issues, eating disorders, sexual experiences, musculoskeletal problems, depression, psoriasis, hearing impairment, asthma, negative life experiences, body image, and more.

The DNBC points out that, over the past decade, studies in Europe and the United States have increasingly observed a connection between the earlier onset of secondary sexual characteristics in adolescence and the development of cardiovascular diseases, obesity, cancer, and other conditions in adulthood. As a result, a sub-project focusing on puberty is being conducted, using samples from individuals born between 2000 and 2003 within the main DNBC study. A short survey is administered every six months until the participants reach the age of 15, collecting data on height, weight, body hair growth, changes in breasts and genitals, voice changes, occurrence and age of first ejaculation, onset and age of menarche, as well as skin changes (such as acne).

For more information about the DNBC, please visit the official website at https://www.dnbc.dk/

Highlight of KIT Findings
Executive function refers to high-level cognitive abilities that are responsible for monitoring and regulating our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Children with strong executive function are better able to exhibit appropriate behaviors in various situations, switch between mental states, and successfully complete tasks in scenarios requiring adherence to complex instructions. Additionally, children with stronger executive function tend to perform better across different areas of learning.

Executive function is managed by the prefrontal cortex (as shown in Figure 1). In the brain, the prefrontal cortex takes the longest time to mature, with a developmental period lasting several decades. However, it is particularly plastic during early childhood. Although the KIT data does not include brain data and cannot provide insights into brain development, we can infer the extent of a child's prefrontal cortex maturity based on their behavior. There are six items related to executive function for children aged 3 to 5 in the KIT database, as follows:

1. The child knows that his/her behaviors may influence others.

2. When being reminded, the child slows down what he/she is doing and does the activity better.

3. The child plays or participates in puzzle game(s) or activities.

4. When being asked, the child puts the toy or used object back to where it is usually placed.

5. In a public place, when you ask the child to lower his/her voice, he/she follows the instruction immediately and stays that way for at least several minutes.

6. At home, when you say “no”, the child stops running or jumping immediately and stays that way for at least several minutes.

The average scores of these six items serve as indicators of children's executive function development. Figure 2 presents the development profiles of Taiwanese children at ages 3, 4, and 5, with higher scores indicating better performance (2.96, 3.20, and 3.41, respectively). It is evident that executive function performance improves with age.

About Prof. Tsung-Hau Jen
Prof. Tsung-Hau Jen serves at the Science Education Center at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU). Since 2005, he has participated in and led several large-scale integrated projects funded by the National Science Council and the Ministry of Education, including the Science Education Research Database (Phases II to IV) and the Twelve-Year Basic Education Program – A Longitudinal Study on Taiwan Assessment of Student Achievement (TASA-L) (I), among others.

Professor Jen's research interests primarily lie in the areas of learning assessment, measurement and statistics, and large-scale achievement studies. In addition, he has extensive experience in building large databases. His expertise in learning assessment and large-scale achievement studies is expected to make a significant contribution to the KIT project by developing tools to assess adolescent learning effectiveness and addressing related topics. Prof. Jen's research overview is available at https://scholar.google.com.tw/citations?user=QOJcuHIAAAAJ&hl=zh-TW.

Book Review
“Le Petit Camion de Papa,” written and illustrated by Mori Chiang, is a heartwarming story that highlights themes of love, family, and responsibility. Through the various adventures and challenges they face together while using the truck, the story describes the special bond between the father and his child, using the small truck as a symbol of their shared experiences. Its French version is available on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/2355581800), and readers can find its Chinese version on Books.com.tw (https://www.books.com.tw/products/0010896161). Click https://youtu.be/DRodAFDXpFQ to listen.