Parents of clinically obese five-year-olds will be sent warning letters under a new government scheme.

The notifications will be part of a tough new stance to tackle rising levels of obesity, following a national initiative to weigh all children in schools.

Ministers including Health Secretary Alan Johnson are preparing to face accusations of stigmatising fat children over the plan but believe it is in the children’s best interest if a problem is formally brought to the attention of their parents.

The Government has made children the focus of its plans to tackle obesity amid fears that the problem is growing into an epidemic.

Regular weighing of primary school children in England and Wales was reintroduced two years ago to identify regional and national trends.

According to the most recent statistics, more than 25 per cent of preschool children are now overweight.

The number of obese children in Britain has doubled since 1982.

More than 80 per cent of obese 10- to 14-year-olds remain obese into adulthood…

Source: This is London, UK
http://tinyurl.com/2q8bt5

Children learn to trust that people can be counted on to respond to them in consistent ways through their interactions with their parents. When a parent is calm and patient in one moment, and angry and accusing like a Halloween monster in the next, it’s very frightening for children. They do not develop that crucial sense of optimism about the world that comes from gentle, predictable responses from the adults in their lives.

Kids blame themselves - “It must be something that I did that made Dad so mad” - and try to figure out how to prevent those harsh responses. They do not understand that the adult’s erratic behavior stems from his or her own inner climate, not from anything the child has done.

That’s why it’s so important for parents to learn to manage their own emotions. It’s easy to unintentionally unload onto your children your rage at the driver who cut you off, or your anger at the boss who belittled you at work today. When you feel impatient and angry at home, take a step back until those feelings subside.

No one manages this perfectly. But even when the day’s events have you pretty ruffled, kids need to be able to count on you to remain kind, unthreatening and in control of your emotions. In other words - be a teddy bear.

Source: Cincinnati Enquirer, OH
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071022/LIFE/710220301/1079

Parents play a critical role in ensuring the emotional and social wellbeing of their children and can help more than they realise, leading Melbourne researchers say.

One-third of Australian children are feeling stressed about their lives, with 20 per cent reporting they feel hopeless at times, according to the ASG Student Social and Emotional Health report released last week.

University of Melbourne researcher Michael Bernard, who co-authored the report with Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) researchers, says parents can do a lot to help children cope with pressures identified in the report, such as bullying, depression and worries about school performance. The report is based on a four-year study of 10,000 students and their teachers from 81 schools nationwide.

Drawing on this data and other educational research, Professor Bernard says parents must strive to have a positive relationship with their child, which means spending time with them, showing affection, listening and not using a negative tone of voice.

Loving your child, Professor Bernard says, is not enough. Parents cannot expect children to learn values such as trustworthiness or social responsibility without discussing them. It is important to talk to children about how to make friends and manage conflict, he says.

Parents must also communicate high but realistic expectations about school work and expected behaviour. They must praise children when they work hard and must consistently enforce consequences for unacceptable behaviour…

Source: The Age, Australia
http://tinyurl.com/2jbmmp

Things are heating up in the cough medicine arena. Several doctors are practically dragging the FDA backwards through the door of finally doing something about the dangerous practice of giving cold and cough medicine to little kids. These over the counter medications have never been shown to work better than placebos (i.e. giving nothing) in the treatment of colds and coughs. Some moms were chatting over on urbanbabies.com about how they were going to give their kids the cold medicines anyway.

Well let me tell you something, Urban Mommies. When something is found to not work, THAT MEANS IT DOESN’T WORK, i.e. has no effect. So giving it to your kids anyway is like child abuse. If you want them to go to sleep, why don’t you just give them Valium, or Jack Daniels (no that is not a real recommendation).

And what is worse than the fact that you pay good money for something that doesn’t work, these things can actually kill you kids. There have been at least 54 deaths in children taking decongestants, and 69 deaths with antihistamines. Why are these drugs bad? Some of them contain ingredients like ephedrine, which can stimulate the cardiac system, and others are sedating. Others have multiple ingredients, or two different medications may have the same ingredients, so that parents may be overdosing their kids. So when you put little junior down for that nap he may not get up again. Giving decongestants to toddlers is felt to be particularly risky…

Source: Huffington Post, NY
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/doug-bremner/if-you-love-your-children_b_69283.html

Sex — such a simple word that becomes impossible to say when faced with an inquisitive child. It’s time to beat the blushes and inform your children about the ‘S’ word “There was a culture growing up of sex being dirty and taboo”

‘Adolescence is a period of rapid changes. Between the ages of 12 and 17, for example, a parent ages as much as 20 years.”

This unknown author was obviously aware of the challenges that raising teenagers can present.

There’s the hair dye, first dates, piercings, tantrums, sleepovers, and discos to deal with. But despite all these, many parents still rate talking to their children about sex as one of the most daunting tasks they’ll undertake.

Over the years, the birds and the bees, the baby-carrying stork, encyclopaedias and even the virgin birth have all been employed in an attempt to avoid the “the talk”. And even today, despite more liberal attitudes towards sex, there are still many who find discussing puberty, sex and relationships with their children difficult.

Recent findings from the Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships suggest that attitudes are changing. As many as 92pc of people think that young people should get sex education and 80pc believe it should be provided at home.

But despite this, only 21pc of men and 38pc of women under 25 have received sex education at home.

And while relationship and sexuality education is provided in schools, as part of the Social, Personal and Health Education curriculum, it’s widely recognised that this isn’t enough.

Studies have shown that when parents speak to their children about sex, it increases the likelihood that the young person will wait until after 17 before having sex (the average age losing one’s virginity is now 17). It also increases the likelihood that the young person will use contraception…

Source: Irish Independent, Ireland
http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/parenting/so-lets-talk-about–sex-1200897.html

Last week our Government announced that it plans on placing pregnancy-health warnings on bottles saying that alcohol is dangerous. We are following Britain, France, Chile and the US in this.

It is unclear if these admonishments will be extended to breast-feeding also, even though it should be, since alcohol is excreted in breast milk…

The impact of alcohol is not confined to the early months of pregnancy but continue up to birth and beyond, since the brain continues to develop after delivery as new language and physical skills are acquired…

The inclusion of these warnings is clearly a good thing, yet some women may ignore them, claiming that these refer only to those who consume large quantities.

The problem is that there is no evidence concerning low levels of intake, and so the advice has to be to err on the side of caution. This view is reiterated by the World Health organisation who states that there is no safe level of alcohol in pregnancy…

While we have no data from Ireland, a recent study from Britain indicated that 61pc of women did not reduce their alcohol intake at all during pregnancy…

While versed in other health matters, the Irish public has little information on or knowledge of the effects of alcohol on unborn or newborn infants…

Source: Irish Independent, Ireland
http://tinyurl.com/3anu2y

Could my son be accused of sexual harassment? He’s a good boy. He likes watching “Thomas the Tank Engine” on television and playing “Simon Says.” Like many 3-year-olds, he’s very affectionate. Unfortunately, hugging his teacher may get him suspended from nursery school.

I doubt that it will happen to my son. But the frightening fact is that it could. I recently learned that children nationwide, some of preschool age, have been suspended from school or taken to jail after being accused of sexual harassment. In their zeal to avoid lawsuits, educators seem to be ignoring important information, such as whether the accused child intended to commit a crime or even knows how to pronounce the word “harassment.”

Sex education tends to be controversial, partly because parents have such varying and often strongly held beliefs about how, when and even if the topic should be introduced to their children. But if schools have the authority to brand a 3-year-old a sex offender, they also have the responsibility to provide parents with clear guidelines about appropriate physical conduct.

It’s great that we are more aware than ever about sexual harassment in schools. But it is a terrible mistake to permanently label children who are barely out of diapers…

Schools, however, now appear to be holding even young children to adult standards of responsibility and liability. To me, some cases seem clear-cut. If an 11-year-old boy touches a 4-year-old girl’s genitals and asks her to perform a sex act, his intent is apparent. But the motivations of two 4-year-olds caught “playing doctor” are less clear; it’s probably natural curiosity, not abuse…

Sexual harassment is serious business, and educators should not shirk their duty to ensure that schools are safe environments. But each school district should develop a clear, widely publicized policy that explains what sexual harassment is, gives examples of unacceptable conduct and clearly describes how discipline will be administered…

Source: Washington Post, United States
http://tinyurl.com/2ljneq

Early language development is the foundation to reading. That is why Dr. Bill Bolander, assistant superintendent of South Madison Community Schools, is excited about the implementation of a new reading intervention program, Fast ForWord, that will actually build the learning capacity of a child’s brain.

“Learning language is an early test of our brain’s learning system,” Bolander told a group of parents of first-graders recently. “Kids need to hear sounds early and need plenty of stimuli in the form of reading and being talked to.

“The more you talk to your kids and read to them, the more they are exposed to a variety of vocabulary and the better this oral language foundation becomes. It is very important that this goes on,” he stressed.

Bolander explained that children differ in their language experience. He cited a four-year study conducted in the homes of professional, working-class and welfare families, which resulted in a huge gap in their oral language bases. Researching everything that went on in the houses — speaking, interactions with children and reading — the study concluded that children in homes of professional parents heard about 45 million words during their first four years, while children of welfare families heard only about 13 million words.

“I can’t overemphasize the importance of talking and reading to your children,” said Bolander…

Bolander noted that a child with low oral language skills entering kindergarten will on average only have the reading skills of a 10- or 11-year-old by the time he or she reaches age 13. By contrast, kids who have high oral language skills when they enter kindergarten will have the reading skills of a 15- or 16-year-old by the time he or she is age 13.

“It is no fault of the child if they are behind,” said Bolander. “They are trying their very best. They just had a weak foundation to start with. What we are trying to do is bridge some of that gap.” …

Source: Anderson Herald Bulletin, IN
http://tinyurl.com/2nvyko

All of a child’s early years are preparation for school.

Loving and protective care, good nutrition, gentle guidance, preventive health care, opportunity for lots of physical activity, opportunity to explore a safe and interesting environment — all make it possible for a child to become an active learner.

Daily reading to children from infancy on is one of the most important things parents can do to build literacy and prepare children to learn to read easily.

Hearing adults speak to them and read to them is the most effective way for small children to acquire vocabulary, listening and language skills.

If I could assign every parent of a preschooler a single educational task, it would be to read to his or her child every day, from infancy on!

Success depends on literacy

Success in school depends on literacy, which is why all good preschool programs make language development a very high priority.Parents reading to children has been a very successful aspect of the Cabarrus County More at Four prekindergarten program. Every child takes a folder home daily with a book for the parent to read and a log for the parent to sign. Some parents have read hundreds of books to their children by the end of the school year.

A daily reading program helps all preschool children…

Source: Charlotte Observer, NC
http://www.charlotte.com/496/story/327904.html

Her name is Alyssa Chan, and this 13-year-old from Olivenhain seems to know her stuff.

An eighth-grader at The Rhoades School in Encinitas, Alyssa will be one of 40 middle school students and the only one from San Diego County to compete in the final round of a national science fair sponsored by the Discovery Channel.

The finalists were chosen to attend the competition, which starts tomorrow in Washington, D.C., from an initial pool of 7,000 regional science fair winners…

Alyssa’s project seeks to push back the frontiers of understanding of one of today’s most vexing health issues for older Americans – Alzheimer’s, a debilitating brain disease that affects 4.5 million Americans. The cause and cure remain mysteries…

The Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge officially starts tomorrow at the Smithsonian Institution. After a series of challenges, the competition concludes Wednesday with presentation of “America’s Top Young Scientist,” which comes with a $20,000 scholarship…

Alyssa believes science is infectious.

“I think a lot of times I make a lot of other kids excited about science,” she said. “I can explain things to them, and this competition is about finding a good science communicator.”

Interest in science runs in her family. Her 16-year-old sister, Rebecca, competed in the challenge three years ago and both her mother and her father, Ming Fai Chan, are chemists. Alyssa began watching videos of brain functions as a young child and hopes to pursue a career in neuroscience or neurosurgery…

Source: San Diego Union Tribune, United States
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20071020-9999-1mi20science.html