Iceland has a strong tradition of universal public early childhood education and care (ECEC) services for children. The traditional pedagogy is founded on play-based learning with the holistic view of the development of the child is central to practice. With increased interest in education following the 2008 financial crisis, there are signs that playschool teachers are under pressure to produce 'school-ready' children by moving towards primary school teaching methods. This article considers the issue of schoolification in Iceland and its relevance to the tradition of play-based learning. It concludes that, although the majority of playschools adhere to the traditional playbased pedagogy, practitioners must be alert to the influence of schoolification on children's preschool experiences.

Objectives: During the last decades, fish and milk consumption has decreased considerably in Iceland, especially among adolescents. As these food items are important dietary iodine (I) sources, the aim of the study was to assess the iodine status and dietary pattern of adolescent girls in a population changing from a high to lower consumption of milk and fish. Subjects/Methods: Subjects were randomly selected adolescent girls (16-20 years old, n ¼ 112). A validated Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was used to evaluate food consumption and compare it with food-based dietary guidelines for milk and dairy products (2-3 portions/day) and fish (X2 times/week). Urine samples were collected for measuring urinary iodine (U-I) and creatinine (Cr) and blood samples for measuring serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). Results: Milk and dairy products provided 43% and fish provided 24% of the total dietary I. More than 65% of the girls consumed fish less than twice a week, and 40% consumed less than two portions of milk and dairy products per day. The median U-I concentration was 200 mg/l and the U-I/Cr ratio 138 mg I/g Cr. High intake of milk was associated with higher urinary iodine concentration, but fish intake was not found to be directly associated with urinary iodine concentration. Conclusions: Iodine status of Icelandic adolescent girls is within the optimal range defined by the World Health Organization. It is important to monitor both iodine status and the iodine concentration of important sources of iodine, as both dietary habits and composition of food might change with time.

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