Tag: parent

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More parents need to enforce shower-before-pool rule

While water parks are great family fun on a hot summer day, a recent study from the University of Michigan has found the few parents enforce the shower-before-pool rules.

Many parents do not understand risk of water infections from pools and water parks or recognize the role showering plays in preventing infections

The university’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital national poll on children’s health asked parents of elementary school kids about their perceptions of water park risks and their opinions about basic water park rules. The sample included families who have taken their children to water parks within the past year.

“While 64 percent of parents feel it is very important for children to not swallow the water at a water park, only 26 percent of parents think it is very important to shower before getting in the water,” says Dr Matthew Davis.

“Parents seem to understand the risk of contaminated water for their kids but few have their kids take the necessary preventive steps to keep everyone healthy.”

A simple shower would reduce the spread of infection and disease in water parks, which affects around 10,000 people each year in the States.

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Hopeful news for infertile couples

Almost three-quarters of couples who seek in vitro fertilization end up with a child within the next ten years, either through IVF or alternative means, according to a study published in the journal Bulletin épidémiologique hebdomadaire (Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin).

Researchers with the national French research institute INSERM recruited 6,507 couples who had first attempted IVF between 2000 and 2002. The researchers then followed up with a survey of these couples between 2008 and 2010.

Of the couples, 70 percent had become parents over the years since they first began trying. Of those, 41 percent were successful with IVF, while 19 percent chose to adopt, 18 percent managed to have a child through natural conception and 11 percent used fertility treatments that had been developed in the intervening years.

Although the path to parenthood is difficult and often heartbreaking for infertile couples, they should not give up hope, the researchers concluded. IVF is important, but it is not the only or final option for couples who are having trouble conceiving.

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Preemie struggles continue into adulthood

Children who are born prematurely can continue to face health and developmental challenges even into adulthood, according to a new study that will be presented to the European Group of Pediatric Work Physiology in September.

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island have been studying a cohort of preemies for 21 years. As these children have grown into adulthood, with the cohort now 23 years old, researchers are discovering new information about the long-term effects of premature birth.

According to the study, adult preemies are at increased risk of lung and respiratory problems, especially for males and those with an extremely low birth weight.

Pre-term birth can also effect other aspects of physical health, growth and neurological development. Premature children are more likely to develop learning disabilities and need additional help in school.

"These findings are important for parents, nurses in the neo-natal intensive care units, teachers and staff in the schools, disability services offices in colleges and primary care providers," explained lead author Mary C. Sullivan.

"By identifying the issues pre-term babies face in childhood, adolescence and through adulthood, we can all be better prepared to take steps to mitigate their effects."

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How to improve work-life balance

People are more likely to blame work than family when a conflict arises between the two, but frustration can be minimized by scheduling things well in advance and avoiding too many surprises, according to a new study published in the journal Group & Organization Management.

Researchers at Indiana University surveyed 269 people about specific work-family conflicts and found that 69 percent blamed work for the various conflicts, while only 22 percent blamed family. Five percent placed the blame on other external factors while only six percent blamed themselves.

The researchers found that the order of events made a big difference in where the blame was placed. If the work event had been scheduled first, people were more likely to blame family and vice versa. The worst offenders included last minute office meetings and surprise visits from relatives.

People may be able to minimize some of the frustration by scheduling events well in advance, both at home and at work, and keeping surprises to a minimum, suggests lead author Dr. Elizabeth M. Poposki.

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Underage users a problem for Facebook

The popularity of social networking sites makes them attractive to children, but it’s also providing them with a new platform for bullying behavior, reports Canada.com.

Facebook’s terms of service require that all users be over the age of 13, but there are concerns that many parents are complicit in allowing their younger children to create accounts.

According to a study by Consumer Reports, 7.5 million of the 20 million U.S. Facebook users are actually under the age of 13 – and five million of these are under the age of ten.

The same study found that at least five million American households have been the victim of some form of abuse through Facebook, including identity theft, virus infections and bullying.

The problem has become so bad in France that education ombudsman Monique Sassier spoke out, reminding parents to stop young children from using the site and urging the minister to sign an agreement with the site to automatically terminate the accounts of underage users, reports Ouest-France.

According to Facebook’s terms of service, they will delete accounts that violate the rules. However, underage children typically register a false birthdate in order to get around the restriction, making them hard to detect.

 

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Two beds are better than one

As many as ten percent of new parents opt to sleep in separate beds every night in order to ensure a decent night’s sleep, reports the the Daily Mail.

Researchers surveyed parents attending a U.K. baby retailer exhibition, collecting responses from 2,000 couples with young children.

According to the survey, one in ten couples said that they began sleeping separately after the birth of their child, while more than a third said that they slept apart at least occasionally. Only 60 percent of the respondents shared a bed every night.

With many mothers re-entering the workforce after childbirth, both parents need a good night’s sleep in order to function the next day. The survey found that 25 percent of mothers had taken an over-the-counter sleep aid at some point during their child’s infancy, with one in eight continuing to take them for at least 18 months.

Today’s fathers are stepping forward to pick up the slack, with as many as 60 percent saying that they get up if they hear the baby crying, and one third of the couples taking turns looking after the child during the night.

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How to talk to kids about food

Family doctor, Michelle May, warns parents about their choice of words when it comes to talking to their kids about food. A medical expert for the non-profit weight-loss support group TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), Dr May offers some tips on how to equip kids with a healthy attitude towards food, reports Medical News Today.

Some well-intended parents and grandparents can cause eating problems in children. She recommends, for example, we should avoid saying "You’re a good eater" as a child wants to please his parents may begin to overeat and gain weight, and instead say something like, “You must have been really hungry,” or “I love spending time with you while we have dinner.”

Conversely, don’t tell a child he’s a “picky eater.” Children have their own tastes. Do not force children to eat or cater to their tastes, instead suggest they try a bite, and ask, “I wonder if you like this big kid food yet?”

The common refrain, "Eat all your vegetables (or dinner) or no dessert" is discouraged. Children will pick up on the idea that certain foods must be yucky and dessert is their reward. It may also encourage children to overeat, so May recommends saying something like, “Save room for dessert.”

In a society where food is abundant, it’s important for children to learn healthy attitudes towards eating.

 

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Want your children to be more active? Join them

More than one third of children do not participate in an organized physical activity outside of school-mandated physical education, according to a new study reported by Medical News Today.

An industry survey – conducted by a company that makes toys for outdoor play – asked 2,000 U.K. parents about their children’s physical activity levels.

"These findings are particularly shocking because while two-thirds of children are participating in sports outside of school, this still means millions aren’t," explained Guy Orr, head of product development at Mookie Toys.

Two-thirds of the parents admitted their children would be more interested in playing sports if the family were to play together, but according to the study findings, most families only do so about two to three times a month.

"Most importantly, sport should be made to be fun – children will want to get involved more if their parents are doing it with them," noted Orr.

"And this doesn’t mean that parents will need to create a punishing fitness regime for the family. By just incorporating a few family activities into your daily lifestyle… [it] can really help to get children enthusiastic about sport."

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Inconvenient or not, children need more exercise

Young children are not getting enough exercise and it may be due to the fact that parents find it more affordable and convenient to have them spend time watching television or playing online, reports Canada.com.

The American YMCA conducted a survey of 1,600  parents with children between 5 and 10 years old. More than half the children — 58 percent — spent less than four days a week playing outside.

"There are many small things that make it very difficult for families to get an hour of physical activity a day," said Dr. Matt Longjohn with the YMCA. "Among the factors you could blame are technology, time and money."

The survey also found that many parents were cutting back on their children’s extracurricular activities due to financial constraints in these tight times.

Despite these challenges, Dr. Longjohn remains hopeful that things can change and parents will make their children’s health a priority. 

“Getting 60 minutes of exercise doesn’t have to just come from sports or things that cost money,” he said. “It could be taking a walk, or choosing to walk up stairs instead of taking an elevator, for example. It doesn’t have to be organized.

“Parents need to get creative on setting limits on screen time. That means putting their family into environments that create those opportunities for physical activity.”

 

 

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Sleep like a baby: nature versus nurture

Environmental factors and decisions made by parents are the most important aspects in determining how well an infant sleeps, both at night and during naptime, although genetics cannot be overlooked either, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers in Italy worked with 127 sets of identical twins and 187 sets of fraternal (non-identical) twins, all 18 months old. In both groups, each pair of twins was assumed to share the same sleeping environment. Identical twins also have the exact same genes, while fraternal twins share only about half of their genetic makeup.

By comparing the two groups, researchers found that environmental factors were almost entirely responsible for determining whether a child slept in his own bed or with his parents. Genetic factors did play more of a role in how well a child slept through the night, but this was also largely dependent on their environment.

"Most sleep disturbances during early childhood are explained by common shared environmental factors, and behavioral interventions adopted by parents and focused on modifying sleep behavior could contribute to solving sleep disturbances in this age group," conclude the researchers. "However, the influence of genetic factors should not be underestimated."