"Positive discipline" (praising the good) is effective. Even better is to praise the effort. "Focusing on the child's characteristics seems to unintentionally telegraph that his or her ability is fixed." "It means reinforcing to kids that they can do something." Examples of the two ways are: "You kept trying until that puzzle piece fit in there," as opposed to saying: "You're good at that." "Telling kids they're intelligent rather than praising the positive steps they're taking to solve a problem as they play can make them question their intelligence when they encounter something that's harder for them to do." Boys tend to get more process praise than did girls. "These results are cause for concern because they suggest that parents may be inadvertently creating the mindset among girls that traits are fixed, leading to decreased motivation and persistence in the face of challenges and setbacks." The new study is "a nice complement to previous experimental data." "This research has definitely influenced what I do with my own 1-year-old son."
Babies whose efforts are praised become more motivated kids, say Stanford researchers
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Crying is a natural behavior. This study showed that swaddling and physical distraction was more effective than other methods to calm infants. A strategy known as the 5 S's -- swaddling, side or stomach positioning, shushing, swinging, and sucking on a pacifier -- significantly reduced both pain scores and crying. Adding sugar did not help. It was also found that the 5 S's significantly helped to increase infant sleep and to reduce obesity at 1 year of age.
Medical News:%20Physical Comfort Takes Sting Out of Infant Shots - in Pediatrics, Vaccines from MedP
A strategy known as the 5 S's -- swaddling, side or stomach positioning, shushing, swinging, and sucking on a pacifier -- significantly reduced both pain scores and crying, reported John W. Harrington, MD, of the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, Va., and colleagues.
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Prolonged formula feeding may increase the chances for childhood leukemia. "For every month that a child was fed formula, taking into account other feeding practices, we found that the risk for this type of cancer was higher." (by about 16%). "Some of the evidence suggests interaction among diet, normal immune-system development, and levels of insulin-like growth factor." "If a baby is fed only formula, he or she will not be getting any immune factors from the mother, which could be leading to this greater risk." Smoking during pregnancy was also associated with increased childhood leukemia.
source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121017122808.htm
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Higher levels of adversity in childhood doubled the risk of a cerebral infarction (Brain Attack) in adulthood. High levels of emotional neglect almost tripled the risk. "The results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting a link between traumatic childhood experiences and physical illness in adulthood." Researchers say that childhood neglect could lead to poor self-care. The "causal pathways to explain relationships between childhood adverse events and development of nonpsychiatric disease later in life remain uncertain."
Unloved Kids May Be at Risk for Stroke Later
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Most Sudden Infant Deaths are preventable. New mothers should "place the infant on his back in a bare crib, by the mother's bed." (“Back to Sleep”) Once an infant can roll from the back to front and from the front to back position, the infant can remain in the sleep position it assumes. Recommendations include routine immunizations and breast-feeding. Adult mattresses and bedding are softer and can compress inward, suffocating a baby. Avoid over-bundling, covering baby's face, soft bedding, overheating and exposure to tobacco smoke. “Caretakers should not think of avoiding a single risk factor because it’s the constellation of risk factors that matters.”
SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Expansion of Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping.
pediatrics.aappublications.org
Despite a major decrease in the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) since the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its recommendation in 1992 that infants be placed for sleep in a nonprone position, this decline has plateaued in recent
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5 million youths are diagnosed with ADHD, which involves hyperactive behavior, inability to pay attention, and impulsivity. A simple diet low in fats and high in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is one of the best alternatives to drug therapy for ADHD. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplements (found in fish) may be beneficial. Avoiding high sugar foods may be an improvement. Some children may benefit from the elimination of additives, preservatives, colorings and certain food types. Diet may also help if: Children suffer medication reactions or treatment failure, Parents or children want to try dietary modifications or Mineral deficiencies are evident.
Pediatric Study: 'Healthy' Diet Best for ADHD Kids
Fast foods, sodas, and ice cream may be American kids' favorite menu items, but they are also probably the worst for those with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a new literature review
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American mothers are multitasking for 48.3 hours a week, while fathers do 38.9 hours. Mothers not only carry the load, they get judged for it as well. "As the mothers' activities are scrutinized more frequently by outsiders, particularly when it occurs at home or in public view," the authors believe this is why they tend to view such chores as a more negative experience. "Fathers need to help out more." "The goal is to initiate a process that will alter fathers' personal preferences and priorities and eventually lead to more egalitarian norms regarding mothers' and fathers' parenting roles."
Working Mothers Multitask More Than Fathers, And Don\'t Like It
American mothers are multitasking for 48.3 hours each week, compared to 38.9 hours working fathers put in, researchers from Michigan State University reported in American Sociological Review
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Vitamin D may be successful in promoting good fetal brain growth. Children born to mothers with low vitamin D were twice as likely to have significant language problems at ages 5 and 10. Vitamin D has "a signaling role in neuronal differentiation, a regulation role in the metabolism of neurotrophic factors and neurotoxins, and a protective role during brain inflammation." Correct levels of vitamin D may also help and improve the heart and give us many other health benefits. But excessive doses are not advised.
Medical News:Kids' Language Skills Tied to Mom's Vitamin D - in Pediatrics, General Pediatrics from.
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Arsenic in the soil accumulates in brown rice. Baby’s Only Organic Dairy Toddler Formula and Baby’s Only Organic Soy Toddler Formula, both made by Nature’s One, provide arsenic levels that are far above the EPA standard for drinking water. Cereal bars containing rice syrup or other forms of rice gave arsenic levels two to 12 times higher than the allowable limit. In infants, these levels could be toxic. Parents may want to avoid infant formula and cereal bars containing brown rice syrup.
Medical News:Arsenic Found in Infant Formula, Energy Bars - in Primary Care, Diet & Nutrition from M
Many manufacturers have turned to organic brown rice syrup but in the process may inadvertently have introduced high levels of arsenic into their products.
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Parental age at conception does not affect the child's life expectancy or health. There is no effect of maternal or paternal age on survival for either sons or daughters. There is no link between parental age and subject frailty in old age.
Effect of parental age at birth on the accumulati... [Age Ageing. 2009] - PubMed - NCBI
PubMed comprises more than 21 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.
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Doctors are treating foster children’s behavioral problems with the same powerful drugs ( Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa) given to people with schizophrenia and severe bipolar disorder. Children in foster care receive psychiatric medications at about twice the rate of children outside the system. “We simply don’t have evidence to support this kind of use, especially in young children.” “There’s enormous anguish because everyone knows that this is not what we should be doing for these kids."
Antipsychotic Treatment Among Youth in Foster Care
pediatrics.aappublications.org
Objective: Despite national concerns over high rates of antipsychotic medication use among youth in foster care, concomitant antipsychotic use has not been examined. In this study, concomitant antipsychotic use among Medicaid-enrolled youth in foster care was compared ...
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Acupuncture is safe for children. The results seen in children who are treated with acupuncture at U.C.L.A. “are as good as the results we get in adults.” “Most families found acupuncture pleasant and helpful, even for pain that had been very resistant to standard treatment.” The results support those from adult studies, which have found that acupuncture is safe when performed by appropriately trained practitioners.
The Safety of Pediatric Acupuncture: A Systematic Review
pediatrics.aappublications.org
Context: Acupuncture is increasingly used in children; however, the safety of pediatric acupuncture has yet to be reported from systematic review.
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Obese children who manage to get to a healthy weight before they reach adulthood have the same risk for heart disease and other obesity-related diseases as kids who were never overweight. But 80% of obese children become obese adults, and their risk for heart attacks, stroke, and diabetes is much higher than their normal-weight counterparts.
Medical News: Heavy Kids Aren't Doomed to Heart Disease Risks - in Pediatrics, Obesity from MedPage.
Being heavy in childhood doesn't guarantee an increased risk of heart disease in the long run, provided children lose weight as adults, researchers found.
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Breastfeeding and immunization protect babies against sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) but bumper pads don't. Half of SIDS deaths involved infants placed in nonsupine sleeping positions, and 71% of the deaths involved unsafe sleeping surfaces. Babies should sleep on their backs on a firm crib mattress in the same room as the parents. Side sleeping is unsafe. Supervised awake-time spent on the tummy is recommended.
Medical News: AAP: New SIDS Guideline Says No to Bumper Pads - in Meeting Coverage, AAP from MedPage
BOSTON -- Breastfeeding and immunization protect babies against sudden infant death syndrome but bumper pads don't, according to updated guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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This works. Adenoidectomy doesn't decrease the number of colds and sinus infections in children. Children don't feel better, have shorter infections, or resolve ear complaints better after surgery. Surgery doesn't cut down on otitis media episodes or related office visits, prescriptions, or days with symptoms. "The incidence of upper respiratory infections (naturally) declines with age."
Medical News: Yanking Adenoids Won't Cut Colds in Kids - in Surgery, Otolaryngology from MedPage Tod
Adenoidectomy doesn't decrease the number of colds and sinus infections in young children, according to results of a randomized controlled study.
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Each year 3.3 million babies die in the first four weeks of life - despite the existence of proven, cost-effective interventions that could save these lives. "We know that solutions as simple as keeping newborns warm, clean and properly breastfed can keep them alive." Two thirds of newborn deaths are preventable. America's newborn death rate is equal to that of Croatia or Qatar.
Newborn Death Rate Higher In USA Than 40 Other Countries
The USA is in 41st place worldwide regarding newborn mortality rate, a drop from 29th place in 1990. America's newborn death rate today is equal to that of Croatia, Qatar and the United Arab Emir
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As many as 18% of children are “late talkers”, but most will catch up by the time they enter school. Language delay is not a risk factor for later emotional and behavioral problems. The findings "support a wait-and-see approach to behavioral and speech and language intervention among late talkers with otherwise normal development.
Late Talkers Not at Risk for Behavior Problems Later On
children.webmd.com
Late talkers or children with a limited number of words by age 2 may have some behavioral and emotional issues as toddlers, but these issues will not follow them through their childhood and teen years.
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Violent content on the TV or computer during the day disrupts sleep for preschool children. And it's worse for any TV or computer time in the evening regardless of content, making it hard for children to fall asleep or wake up in the morning and even causing nightmares.
Medical News: Video Violence Keeps Kids Awake - in Pediatrics, General Pediatrics from MedPage Today
Violent content on the TV or computer during the day, or any screen time at all in the evening, disrupts sleep for preschool children, researchers have found.
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Antipsychotics appear to increase body fat and increase the risk of metabolic abnormalities in children and adolescents. These changes are associated with increased cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk. The greatest changes were seen in the youngest children.
Medical News: ADA: Antipsychotics Change Metabolism in Kids - in Meeting Coverage, ADA from MedPage.
SAN DIEGO -- Antipsychotics appear to increase body fat and increase the risk of metabolic abnormalities in children and adolescents, researchers said here.
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