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by Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 7/18/09
A Rose by Any Other Name Might Not Smell as Sweet
I feel very lucky to be able to say that I love my name. Everyone's familiar with it. Rarely am I asked how to spell it. And I'm always in good company: Any time I'm in a group of people, there's always at least one other Jennifer.
Declan, a classmate of mine wasn't so fortunate. Each new teacher mispronounced his name, inciting a round of giggles through the room. To make matters worse, the little guy told us all his full name: Declan Blake James Nietzche McCullagh. Fortunately Declan is brilliant and his unusual name hasn't hampered his great success in life!
But it's not always that way. David Kalist, a professor at Shippensburg University found that naming boys unpopular or uncommon first names might make them more likely to become criminals! Kalist also came up with a list of the top ten "bad boy" names. In alpha order, these names are Alec, Ernest, Garland, Ivan, Kareem, Luke, Malcolm, Preston, Tyrell, and Walter.
What's in a bad-
So it turns out parents-
The News that Matters Most to Moms
Active Preschoolers Grow into Leaner Schoolagers
My toddlers have two speeds: Fast and asleep. This is exhausting, but fun. And it turns out, this is also great for their health, not only now but later.
Researchers at the University of Iowa discovered that kids who are active at age five stay lean as they age, even if they don't remain as active later in childhood. The researchers studied the body fat and activity level of 333 kids at ages 5, 8, and 11, using a scanner that accurately measures bone, fat, and muscle tissue, and an accelerometer that measures movement every minute. The kids wore their accelerometers to record their activity level for up to five days, providing much more reliable data than relying on their parents to track minutes of exercise.
The study found that the average 5-year-old got 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day. For every 10 minutes on top of that, kids had one-third of a pound less fat tissue at ages 8 and 11.
Researchers aren’t sure why activity at age five affects the amount of fat a child carries later. But they think it might be possible that the active five-year-olds didn't develop as many fat cells, improved their insulin response, or that something happened metabolically that provided some protection even as they became less active.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that kids get at least 60 minutes of age-appropriate physical activity every day. Because kids’ activity tends to come in short bursts, it can be hard for parents to track. What you can do instead is avoid long periods of sedentary activity—that is longer than one hour. The researchers noted that kids who meet the CDC activity recommendations tend to be kids who spend a fair amount of time outdoors enjoying unstructured play.
The bottom line: Even five-year-olds should be encouraged to be as active as possible because it pays off as they grow older.
by Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 8/12/09
Scientists Warn of Toy Choking Dangers
by Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 9/21/09
What does a three-year-old have in common with the family dog? They are likely to have the same bite force, according to scientists at the University of Leeds.
This is important to know because toddlers and preschoolers are able to bite and chew objects and then inhale or choke on the small pieces. The scientists urge toy makers to review their safety tests and develop a bite-testing standard for toys. Dr. Gary Mountain, senior child health lecturer and deputy head of the university’s School of Healthcare adds that there’s currently no standard to safeguard children when biting and/or chewing toys or play products and breaking off pieces that could then be swallowed or inhaled. Dr Mountain collaborated with colleagues at the Leeds Dental Institute to design an instrument to accurately test the bite force of children aged three to five, which is the age group most likely to mouth bite and chew foreign objects. Their research showed that the force of a child’s bite is affected by poor dental health, weight, and even their ethnicity.
Parents should keep in mind that even though a toy initially isn’t small enough to choke on, if a child is chewing on it, he could break off small pieces and then choke on them. As always, adult supervision is critical.
This is important to know because toddlers and preschoolers are able to bite and chew objects and then inhale or choke on the small pieces. The scientists urge toy makers to review their safety tests and develop a bite-
Parents should keep in mind that even though a toy initially isn’t small enough to choke on, if a child is chewing on it, he could break off small pieces and then choke on them. As always, adult supervision is critical.
Smoke Alarms Don’t Always Wake Kids Up
by Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 9/28/09
BEEP! BEEP!
Last night at 2:30 am, our smoke alarm went off. I vaulted out of bed and ran, heart pounding, to my son Austin’s room. I snatched up Austin (2), and then screamed “Tyler” as I whirled around and headed to his room.
On the way, I practically ran into my husband, Mike, who was in the hallway. At that instant I realized that the alarm had stopped sounding. Thank God.
I put Austin back in bed and checked on Tyler. Mike and I did a careful search of the house and found nothing wrong. We don’t know what caused the alarm to go off; perhaps a spider crawled inside.
But one of the scariest parts of this was that neither Austin nor Tyler (4) woke up. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, up to 85% of kids don’t wake up to smoke alarms because they sleep so deeply and the alarms aren’t loud enough. Safety experts are working to develop different types of alarms, such as those with flashing lights and different sounds. In the meantime, parents should be aware that the alarms might not wake kids up.
Also be sure to check your smoke alarm batteries once a month and replace their batteries once a year. Make a fire escape plan and practice it with your family.
Last night at 2:30 am, our smoke alarm went off. I vaulted out of bed and ran, heart pounding, to my son Austin’s room. I snatched up Austin (2), and then screamed “Tyler” as I whirled around and headed to his room.
On the way, I practically ran into my husband, Mike, who was in the hallway. At that instant I realized that the alarm had stopped sounding. Thank God.
I put Austin back in bed and checked on Tyler. Mike and I did a careful search of the house and found nothing wrong. We don’t know what caused the alarm to go off; perhaps a spider crawled inside.
But one of the scariest parts of this was that neither Austin nor Tyler (4) woke up. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, up to 85% of kids don’t wake up to smoke alarms because they sleep so deeply and the alarms aren’t loud enough. Safety experts are working to develop different types of alarms, such as those with flashing lights and different sounds. In the meantime, parents should be aware that the alarms might not wake kids up.
Also be sure to check your smoke alarm batteries once a month and replace their batteries once a year. Make a fire escape plan and practice it with your family.
Physically Active Kids Do Better in School
By Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 9/30/09
A new study found that physically fit kids scored better on standardized math and English tests than their less fit peers.
Results of the study show that there is a significant relationship between students’ academic achievement and physical fitness. The odds of passing both standardized math and English tests increased as the number of fitness tests passed increased, even when controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status.
The researchers encourage families to make time for physical activity because it has far-reaching benefits–for health and also for academic success.
The researchers encourage families to make time for physical activity because it has far-
Spanking Found to Have Negative Effects
By Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 10/6/09
A new study that looks at how low-income parents discipline young children has found that spanking one-year-olds leads to more aggressive behaviors and less sophisticated cognitive development in the next two years. In addition, one-year-olds' fussiness predicted spanking and verbal punishment at ages one, two, and three.
"Our findings clearly indicate that spanking affects children's development," according to Lisa J. Berlin, the study's lead author. Specifically, children who were spanked more often at one behaved more aggressively when they were two and had lower scores on tests measuring thinking skills when they were three.
On the flip side, the study also found that verbal punishment is not associated with more aggressive behaviors. And in fact when verbal punishment was accompanied by emotional support from moms, the children did better on the tests of cognitive ability.
Moms Tend to Follow Grandmoms’ Parenting Styles
By Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 10/9/09
According to a new study at Ohio State University that looked at parenting practices, mothers tend to follow the same practices as their moms did. On the other hand, dads don't seem to use their moms as parenting role models, at least for some practices.
The researchers looked at how often parents in the 1990s spanked, read to, and showed affection to their children, and compared that to how these parents were treated by their own mothers.
The researchers were surprised that moms seem to learn a lot about parenting role from their own mothers, but dads don't follow their mothers as much. The researchers think that perhaps fathers might have been more influenced by their dads rather than their moms, but the surveys used by the study didn't examine their fathers' behavior.
The scientists also found major changes in parenting between the two generations. In particular, today’s parents read more and show more affection tot heir children and spank less. Nearly three times more mothers in the second generation reported reading daily to their children compared to their parents.
Review Finds No Autism-Vaccine Link
By Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 10/19/09
A new review of published studies shows that there isn’t convincing scientific evidence supporting a relationship between vaccines and autism.
Experts don’t know what causes autism, although they have considered various possible associations, including vaccinations. Childhood vaccinations are given as early as possible to assure that infants are protected against those diseases that occur in early childhood. This time period often coincides with the time period that autism might be suspected or diagnosed–before age 3.
A British paper published about 10 years ago seemingly made the claim that receipt of the MMR vaccine was associated with autism. In response to this concern in the U.S., the CDC and NIH examined vaccine safety issues and after performing an in-depth review of the relevant literature, rejected a causal relationship between the MMR vaccine and autism. Eventually most of the authors of the original British paper also asked to retract the interpretation of their findings.
Concerns have also been raised about thimerosal, which is a preservative in multidose vaccines that was removed from routine vaccines in 2001 in the US and in 1992 in Denmark and Sweden. Despite the removal in Denmark and Sweden, autism rates have continued to increase there. Other studies have failed to find a link as well.
Finally, in February of this year the U.S. Court of Federal claims found that the MMR vaccine and thimerosal containing vaccines were not causal factors in the development of autism.
Experts don’t know what causes autism, although they have considered various possible associations, including vaccinations. Childhood vaccinations are given as early as possible to assure that infants are protected against those diseases that occur in early childhood. This time period often coincides with the time period that autism might be suspected or diagnosed–before age 3.
A British paper published about 10 years ago seemingly made the claim that receipt of the MMR vaccine was associated with autism. In response to this concern in the U.S., the CDC and NIH examined vaccine safety issues and after performing an in-
Concerns have also been raised about thimerosal, which is a preservative in multidose vaccines that was removed from routine vaccines in 2001 in the US and in 1992 in Denmark and Sweden. Despite the removal in Denmark and Sweden, autism rates have continued to increase there. Other studies have failed to find a link as well.
Finally, in February of this year the U.S. Court of Federal claims found that the MMR vaccine and thimerosal containing vaccines were not causal factors in the development of autism.
Anxious Moms Have Smaller Babies
A new study published in the journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology found that moms-to-be with more severe and chronic anxiety during pregnancy are more likely to have smaller babies.
The researchers studied a sample of low-income women, half of whom were African American and the other half Caucasian. The group already had well-known risk factors such as alcohol and cigarette use. However, the authors showed that the mom's anxiety during pregnancy impacts the baby’s birth even over and beyond factors such as drug use, education, and race.
The most crucial time they found was during the third trimester. In the first and second trimesters, the effects of anxiety were significant only among the women with severe anxiety.
Women who are severely anxious during much of their pregnancy should be considered for anxiety-reducing interventions, the researchers concluded.
By Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 11/1/09
By Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 11/6/09
November is the March of Dimes National Prematurity Awareness Month. According to the March of Dimes, worldwide more than 1 million preemies die each year.
It’s critical that moms-to-be know the signs of preterm labor, which include contractions every 10 minutes or more often, change in vaginal discharge, pelvic pressure, a low dull backache, and menstrual-like cramps.
Women at the highest risk of premature birth are those who have had a premature birth before, those carrying more than one baby, and those with certain uterine or cervical abnormalities.
MarchOfDimes.com is a great resource for moms to use to have a healthy, full-term pregnancy. .
Premature Birth Awareness Month
Pain Meds Decrease Flu Shot’s Effectiveness
By Jennifer Bright Reich, posted 11/7/09
Along time ago, I read that it was helpful to give kids a dose of Tylenol or ibuprofen before they got shots, such as for flu or even now the H1N1. Turns out, that wasn’t good advice.
Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center discovered that giving many common pain killers– including Advil, Tylenol, and aspirin–at the time of a shot, might decrease the effect of the shot and even have a negative effect on the immune system. These drugs seem to dilute the production of necessary antibodies to protect against illness.
So this means that a little pain (the shot) means more gain (better protection).