Parents Daily News Roundup

Thursday, November 1st, 2012

Five Year Olds Are Generous Only When They’re Watched
Children as young as five are generous when others are aware of their actions, but antisocial when sharing with a recipient who can’t see them, according to new research. (via ScienceDaily)

Dentists Offering Cash for Halloween Candy to Benefit Troops
While many children are chowing down on their Halloween candy, dentists are hoping to provide kids with some incentives for trading in their sugary treats—all in a way to help the troops. (via Fox News)

Is Childhood ADHD a Gateway to Smoking in Adulthood?
Children diagnosed with ADHD are twice as likely to pick up smoking than youngsters without the disorder. (via Time)

Breast Milk During The Storm: With Power Gone, Moms Safeguard their Stash
With power out in much of New Jersey and swaths of New York in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, breast-feeding moms have been frantically making arrangements, scouting out freezers and using Facebook to link up those with thawing breast milk with those who have electricity and freezer space to spare. (via Time)

Technology Changing How Students Learn, Teachers Say
There is a widespread belief among teachers that students’ constant use of digital technology is hampering their attention spans and ability to persevere in the face of challenging tasks, according to two new surveys of teachers. (via New York Times)

Many Women Stop Their Asthma Meds While Pregnant
Almost a third of women on asthma control medications stop using them during the first few months of pregnancy, despite advice that a mother’s uncontrolled asthma is more dangerous to the developing fetus than the drugs. (via Reuters)

Parents Daily News Roundup

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012

Key Breast Milk Ingredient Synthesized
Engineers have synthesized a sugar that is one of the key nutrients found in breast milk. (via Science Daily)

Some Children May Need Two Flu Shots
The American Academy of Pediatrics released its new guidelines for children’s influenza vaccines saying that this year some may need two shots depending on their age and when they last received a vaccination. (via CNN)

Mother’s Depression Linked to Children’s Height
According to researchers, children whose mothers were depressed during their first year of life experience stunted growth. (via ABC News)

Increase in Antipsychotic Drug Use in Children
Although the drugs are not approved by the FDA, antipsychotic drug use is being prescribed by more doctors, particularly for children with ADHD. (via Science Daily)

Number of Homeless Children in New York Nears Great Depression Highs
Along with a rise in overall homelessness in New York City, 19,000 children are now living in the city’s homeless shelter system. (The Daily News)

Parents Daily News Roundup

Wednesday, September 5th, 2012

New Study Aims to Prevent Agricultural Deaths in Children
Teens are four times more likely to die on a farm than any other workplace. A new study seeks to prevent tractor related deaths in children. (via ABC News)

Children Protected from App Developers Collecting Information
App developers are hesitant to collect information from children’s apps because of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. (via Washington Post)

Smoking During Pregnancy Increases Child’s Chance of Obesity
Mothers who smoke during pregnancy predispose their infants to choose fatty foods, researchers reported. (via LA Times)

Breast Milk Banks See Increase in Demand
A breast milk bank director says demand for breast milk is up as more hospitals are using donated breast milk for pre-term infants. (via USA Today)

Teen With Down Syndrome Banned from Flight
A 16-year-old boy with Down syndrome was deemed a flight risk by American Airlines and forced to switch to another flight. (via New York Daily News)

Parents Daily News Roundup

Friday, July 27th, 2012

Reclaim Your Wife: How An Ad For A Baby Bottle Went Very Wrong
In fewer than 280 characters, in other words, Bittylab pressed some of the hottest buttons in parenting. First, it stepped in the middle of the breast vs. bottle debate, by suggesting that any bottle — even one filled with expressed breast milk — could take the place of the real thing. Second, it fueled the fight over whether any man who does feel “replaced” by his nursing child is jerk, or simply an average guy.
(via Huffington Post)

Brain Sees Men as Whole, Women as Parts
Women are more likely to be picked apart by the brain and seen as parts rather than a whole, according to research in the European Journal of Social Psychology. Men, on the other hand, are processed as a whole rather than the sum of their parts.
(via MSNBC)

Medicaid Expansion May Lower Death Rates, Study Says
Into the maelstrom of debate over whether Medicaid should cover more people comes a new study by Harvard researchers who found that when states expanded their Medicaid programs and gave more poor people health insurance, fewer people died. (via NY Times)

Big Uptick in Scheduled Births Before Due Dates, Aussie Study Finds
Expectant mothers in Australia are increasingly having their babies’ births scheduled weeks before their due date, according to a new study. (via MSNBC)

Parents Daily News Roundup

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

New Sex Education Standards Released
Young elementary school students should use the proper names for body parts and, by the end of fifth grade, know that sexual orientation is “the romantic attraction of an individual to someone of the same gender or a different gender,” according to new sexual education guidelines released Monday by a coalition of health and education groups.

Most Toddler Vaccines Not Linked to Blood Disease
Although the MMR vaccine has been linked to a heightened risk of a rare blood disorder, other childhood vaccines do not appear to be, researchers reported Monday.

Mom’s Dying Wish: Breast Milk for Her Baby. How Nursing Moms Teamed Up to Provide It
Renee Noble, 42, gave birth to baby Violet on Nov. 17; she died on Dec. 15. In that shared span of one month, Noble, a mother of five from Chatham, N.Y., made a wish: that Violet be nourished by breast milk.

Breastfeeding Mom Takes on Facebook Nudity Policy
Facebook and breastfeeding activists are engaged in a battle over the posting of photographs that show mothers feeding their babies.

School Puts Troubled Kids in ‘Scream Room’
Parents, many of whom have children at Farm Hill Elementary School in Middletown, Conn., are outraged about the way the school is dealing with misbehaving students.

Parents Daily News Roundup

Monday, November 14th, 2011

Breast-Milk Shortage Hits Milk Banks; Tiniest Babies at Risk
Got milk? Human milk banks are experiencing an unprecedented breast-milk shortage, forcing them to turn away babies in need.

Doctors See Surge in Newborns Hooked on Mothers’ Pain Pills
Medical authorities are witnessing explosive growth in the number of newborn babies hooked on prescription painkillers, innocent victims of their mothers’ addictions.

Is Daylight Savings Time Making Kids Fat?
UK researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University College London reveal that not changing the clocks could give children more daylight time to play outside, which is crucial in fighting obesity.

Online Bullying Rampant Among Teens, Survey Finds
Twenty-five percent of teens on social media sites have had an experience that resulted in a face-to-face argument or confrontation with someone, according to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, the Family Online Safety Institute and Cable in the Classroom.

Babies Put on Transplant List Before Birth Get Hearts Faster
Unborn babies diagnosed with severe heart problems who are put on the heart transplant list before birth get new hearts more quickly than babies listed after birth, according to a new study.

Parents Daily News Roundup

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

School Lunch Proposals Set Off a Dispute
A proposal to cut back on potatoes and sodium in the federal school lunch program is being met by fierce resistance from agricultural and food service interests.

Surgeons Separate California Conjoined Twins
Twin 2-year-old girls who were joined at the chest and abdomen were separated Tuesday during a lengthy, complex procedure at Stanford University’s children’s hospital.

In Trimming School Budgets, More Officials Turn to a Four-Day Week
Pressed for dollars, a growing number of public schools are doing what many educators once considered unimaginable: eliminating an entire school day each week.

Fewer U.S. Babies Being Born Early, Report Says
When it comes to babies being carried to full term, the United States is improving, according to the most recent March of Dimes report card.

Report Slams Makers of Sugary Drinks for Targeting Kids
A new report claims that the makers of sugar-laden drinks such as sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks and fruit drinks take direct aim at children, particularly black and Hispanic kids, in their marketing campaigns.

Donated Breast Milk for Needy Babies Runs Low
Milk does the body good, but milk banks around the country are running low on the goods.

Parents Daily News Roundup

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011

‘The Lion King 3D’ Claims Box-Office Crown with $29.3 Million
Nostalgia wins again! Disney’s “The Lion King 3D,” a technologically enhanced re-release of the 1994 animated classic, tore up the competition at the box office this weekend, earning an estimated $29.3 million — more than the other three newcomers combined.

Learning to See: How Vision Sharpens
Babies are born nearly blind. You may think that your newborn is gazing into your eyes, but what she actually sees is a vaguely face-shaped blur, associated with loving sounds and possibly milk.

Neighbors Save Baby Boy with Infant CPR
An Auburn mother bottle-feeding her baby boy suddenly realizes he’s blue and not breathing. Fortunately her neighbors knew what to do.

Can Fatty Acids in Breast Milk or Formula Make Kids Smarter?
Whether they’re fed by bottle or breast, babies seem to turn out smarter when nourished with healthy fatty acids found in breast milk and some formulas, two new studies indicate.

Lack of Sleep Hurts Kids’ Academic Performance: Study
Inadequate sleep and the absence of a good bedtime routine take a toll on the school performance of primary school children, research shows.

Norfolk Family Sues Starbucks
A Norfolk family is suing Starbucks after they say their 5-year-old daughter found a camera in a store bathroom.