Breastfeeding for longer, cutting out TV and enlisting grandparents to babysit are among the keys to bringing up happy, healthy children, a new Federal Government-funded report shows.

The four-year study measured children’s physical, learning and cognitive development plus social and emotional functioning.

Federal Families, Housing and Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin released the report - Growing Up In Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children - in Sydney today.

The report shows infants aged three to 19 months had higher learning scores if they were cared for by a range of family and friends - including grandparents - rather than just their parents.

Ms Macklin said grandparents were the unsung heroes of the Australian family unit, providing a strong support base for families by lending a hand with day-to-day family life and influencing their grandchildren’s development.

“This new study demonstrates just what a critical role grandparents play in the development of children,” Ms Macklin told reporters at a daycare centre in inner-city Redfern.

Spending time with grandchildren, reading to them, cooking together and taking them shopping were simple interactions which made the difference, she said.

The only option better than getting grandma and grandpa to babysit was for the children to attend early education programs, the report says.

The study began in 2004 and more than 10,000 families agreed to take part.

Also indicated in the study was that mothers were still not breastfeeding exclusively for long enough.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) recommends mothers breastfeed exclusively for at least six months, but while most of the mothers who had taken part in the study had breastfed, they had not done so for long enough, the results showed.

The majority of children had diets that did not meet nutritional guidelines and many preferred less physical activities.

The lack of breastfeeding also positively correlated to incidences of wheezing in infants and a strong prediction for asthma in children aged four to five.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, children who read more - alone or with a parent - and watched less TV tended towards better developmental scores across the board.

“We know from this study how important it is to a child’s development to … spend as much time as possible everyday reading and spending time playing with children,” Ms Macklin said.

The study also showed that six per cent of children studied lived in households that had been forced to skip meals or not pay bills in order to cope with growing financial stress over the past 12 months.

However, while financial stress had an adverse affect on the child’s development, overall income levels did not - meaning children growing up in affluent households were not necessarily better off than those growing up in poorer homes or neighbourhoods.

The Growing Up in Australia report is the first comprehensive national study of Australian children over time, Ms Macklin said.

Source: The Epoch Times
http://tinyurl.com/4m2nu8

England has a new plan for helping children with ADHD: Treat the parents first.

With that, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is giving a big “Whoa, Nelly!” to the recent trend toward increased use of Ritalin in the United Kingdom, saying instead that the first response should be to give parents training on how to handle kids who are inattentive, hyperactive, or impulsive.

What would ADHD treatment look like here if the United States adopted the same national standard? With as many as 10 percent of children here medicated, that’s no small question.

The news about England’s new ADHD treatment standard comes at the same time that a new report says American children are three times more likely to be prescribed stimulant drugs like Ritalin than are children in Europe. American kids probably aren’t more hyper than their European counterparts; indeed, international surveys have shown that there’s ADHD in every corner of the world. There are a lot of reasons for the differences in prescribing among countries, including direct-to-consumer drug advertising, different government restrictions and insurance reimbursements, and most important, cultural beliefs. If an American doctor diagnosed a child with ADHD and recommended counseling, most parents would presume it was for the kid.

“Sometimes, parents make that presumption, but when you’re talking about counseling—behavior management, proper rewards, consistency in parenting—it’s really a parent-focused therapy,” says Andrew Adesman, the chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Schneider Children’s Hospital in New Hyde Park, N.Y., who is active with CHADD, an advocacy organization for people with ADHD. In other words, change the parent’s behavior, and the child’s behavior will change, too. The parent training recommended is not specific to ADHD but rather teaches behavior management skills that could be used with all children: having realistic expectations for a child’s behavior, clearly explaining goals and rules, identifying behavior that’s inappropriate, and following through with sanctions for rule violations and rewards for good behavior.

Earlier this year, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the secrets to raising great kids and learned that we know what works; it’s just that in the heat of the moment, we parents often do the wrong thing. A lot of what works is counterintuitive. Scientists have conclusively proven that nagging doesn’t work, for instance, but we all do it.

Saying that parents of a child with ADHD need training doesn’t mean that the parents are the problem, Adesman says. “But maybe they need to change their approach to the child, or be more realistic. The parents can oftentimes improve the child’s behavior.”

That’s of a piece with the controversial advice from Lawrence Diller, a pediatrician in Walnut Creek, Calif., whose books about children and ADHD include The Last Normal Child. Parents who create and enforce clear rules can often inspire a dramatic turnaround in child behavior, Diller says. The controversy comes because Diller argues that, with some children, discipline can also include spanking.

The British experts don’t say never use Ritalin. Rather, they say it should be reserved for children with severe ADHD. Studies in the United States have shown that medication improves behavior faster than therapy in the short term. But for many families, parent training or family therapy can be the answer to the often-troubling question on Ritalin—yes or no?

Most health insurance doesn’t provide nearly the same coverage for education and counseling as it does for pill-prescribing, and in some communities, it can be hard to impossible to find good services. Now that the powers in the U.K. have decreed that parent education comes first, that means that insurance will pay for it. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if American families had that same opportunity?

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://tinyurl.com/456dr2

A new research has suggested that authoritarian parenting style may put children at an increased risk of developing an obsessive passion for a favorite hobby.

Children raised by strict parents are often moody, unhappy, fearful, and irritable. Adding more to this, the Canadian researchers warn that haughty parents can turn their kids’ passion for hobbies into unhealthy obsession.

It is widely known that a child’s psychological development is linked to the parenting style with which he or she is raised. Now, a study from the University of Montreal in Canada suggests that when parents are too strict, children will become hooked on their hobbies.

Such children turn into obsessive hobbyists, and even put their interests ahead of school, work, friends or family, the researchers said.

Lead researchers Genevieve Mageau of the University of Montreal and colleagues reached their findings after studying 588 children and adults between the ages of 6 and 38, with interests such as science, dancing, playing the piano, skiing and swimming.

All the participants, who practiced their hobby at different levels - beginner, intermediate and expert, were quizzed about their hobbies and parents by Mageau’s team who used a Likert-type scale to measure their responses.

After evaluating the levels of participants’ passion regarding their hobbies, Mageau and colleagues found that children of pushy parents were more likely to be obsessive about their hobbies.

“The more controlling parents are, the harder it is for the child to have a harmonious passion for their favorite activity,” Mageau said. “Youngsters with a harmonious passion had parents or an entourage that supported them, while those with an obsessive passion were raised in an oppressive environment.”

In the study published in the Journal of Personality, some parents admitted exercising abusive authority over their children and sometimes forced their kids to pursue a hobby against his or her will.

“The child learns that by obeying their parents they will be loved,” Mageau said. “The risk is that as adults they continue to pursue the activity to maintain their self-esteem.”

Parents often wonder what parenting styles could lead to the ‘perfect child,’ one who has good morals, is self motivated and does well in school, and stays away from dangerous activities. The parent-child relationship consists of a combination of behaviors, feelings, and expectations that are unique to a particular parent and a particular child.

Source: TheMedGuru
http://tinyurl.com/3ofxzt

A few years ago, a restaurant owner in Chicago caused an uproar by posting a sign that read:

Children of all ages have to behave and use their indoor voices.

I wouldn’t think anyone needs a sign to state the obvious, but in this age of permissive parenting, they do. Offended mothers mounted a boycott! They were shocked that anyone would dare insinuate their children didn’t have every right to climb onto the counter and start waving salt shakers over their heads.

Their contention? Perhaps it’s a display of their individuality through creative dance, and besides, “it makes little Taylor happy.”

Too often we expect others to do as we say and not as we do. Dinner service in a crowded restaurant is slow, and you snap at the waiter. You’re running out the door when the phone rings; so you grab it and say, “What do you want? I’m busy.” Do you treat friends and strangers with equal consideration?

Even if your manners are generally good, everyone slips from time to time, which gives parents the chance to highlight their own mistakes in front of their children, own up to them, and say how they will change their behavior in the future. If we model good manners, our children will be quick studies.

My own children haven’t always been angels, but when they err I immediately point it out and have them correct their behavior. At times I have made them apologize to the people that might have been bothered by their behavior. Because of that, there are numerous times on airplanes and in restaurants where employees will actually thank my husband and me for having such well-behaved children. I actually think this highlights the plight of manners in our society. I constantly have to correct their manners, and the thought that they are better than most is pretty scary!

While punishing bad behavior is necessary, there should also be a focus on acknowledging good behavior. One waitress came to our table and, in front of our children, detailed the bad behavior and poor manners of children who had been at a nearby table. She then thanked our children for behaving so well.

I think it really made an impact on them to hear it from someone else. They realized that good manners do matter to more people than just their parents! (And what do parents know anyway?) That said, it’s just as important to hear it from Mom and Dad.

E.D. Hill is a FOX News Channel host and author of “I’m Not Your Friend, I’m Your Parent.” She has eight children.

Source: FOXNews
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,429727,00.html

A child health expert says 20 per cent of Australian parents are unfit to raise children because they lack the means or life skills.

Professor Fiona Stanley says many others don’t devote enough time to their children because of job commitments.

The Sunday Telegraph reports Professor Stanley, an adviser to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and former Australian of the Year, has also criticised the government’s paid parental leave policies.

She’s warned that a national campaign is needed to protect the futures of Australian children.

“There are a worrying number of threats to children’s health in today’s society,” Prof Stanley, founder of the Institute for Child Health Research, said.

“If we don’t respond to these challenges, we will be looking at our generation as being the last generation that lives longer than its parents.”

Mental illness, obesity, asthma and substance abuse are the biggest health risks for Australian children, Prof Stanley said.

But cultural changes of the past 30 years are having just as big an impact.

“There have been incredible changes in the workplace, which might have been good for people’s income, but are not good for parenting,” she said.

She said paid parental leave is crucial.

A draft report for the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into paid parental leave will be released tomorrow.

Prof Stanley said up to one in five parents are financially and socially ill-equipped for child-rearing.
“There’s this increasing group of parents who are just not making ends meet,” she said.

“They don’t have the capacity to be a parent.”

Source: The Australian
http://tinyurl.com/4qa4p4

Any sprint coach will stress the importance of a good start. That’s why sprinters focus just as much on the starting blocks as the finish line – for what happens at the outset often determines the outcome.

Such is life.

This is the first lesson, quite literally, that advocates of early childhood development will teach you. The human brain is essentially front-end loaded, according to scientists. The pattern of your life is stamped to a large degree by the stimuli and experiences of early childhood which imprint themselves on the developing brain.

Other kids who come from disadvantaged backgrounds are already losing the race before they darken the doors of a school. By no means are they doomed, but they do face an uphill battle. Research shows that if kids have not caught up in literacy and language skills by Grade 3, chances are they never will. Or if they are experiencing a behavioural or learning impediment, this spells trouble down the road.

One-quarter of Canadian kids up to six years old are in that situation. That’s not just a scary statistic, but a call to action. Not only is this a tragedy for the children who never reach their potential, but also for our society. Underachievement carries a lot of baggage in terms of costly social and health problems.

But that’s not all. It’s also an important economic issue. Increasingly, our prosperity will depend on producing knowledge workers – a fact that is more readily grasped in China than here. Other countries are investing in early childhood development programs – Scandinavians lead the pack – but Canada ranks last among industrialized countries in spending in this area.

Our current crop of political leaders doesn’t get it yet. Prime Minister Stephen Harper foolishly cut the Liberals’ modest funding of such initiatives. And the provincial Tories recently canned a pre-Primary pilot program deemed too expensive to expand provincewide.

But there are signs the business community is paying attention. Last week, former banking executive Charles Coffey made a direct pitch to a primarily business audience at the Halifax Club.

“Of course your universities and colleges need more dollars,” he said. “But I’m just as convinced that at the other end of the educational spectrum, major investments in your early child development programs are sorely needed too. When corporate Canada divides its philanthropy pie for education, why can’t a larger piece be devoted to early childhood development? It’s time to invest in bridging the gap.”

At the moment, early childhood education in Canada consists of a loose patchwork of programs and assistance. Advocates would like to see billions invested in creating a nationwide network of community hubs, preferably centred around schools, that would provide support for parents, child care, social services and activities.

For those who toil in the trenches, this is an investment in human capital we can no longer afford to put off.

“I’ve spent 10 years on the South Shore of Nova Scotia as a supervisor of special education and student services,” Theresa Griffin, Maritime co-ordinator of the Council for Early Child Development, told The Chronicle Herald editorial board last week. “We could tell those kids coming into the system who were going to need support. But you know what? Those kids had to fail. They had to fail badly and repeatedly before we could put any kind of intervention in place for them. And then … the intervention was not tailored to their needs, nor intensive enough, of sufficient dosage, to make a difference.”

That’s a waste of government resources. But it’s also a waste of human resources which our society needs. Without greater emphasis on early childhood development, we might as well be entering the global race without tying our shoelaces first.

Source: TheChronicleHerald.ca
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorial/1081664.html

When it comes to instilling a love of reading, husband and I have done everything right — or so we thought. We read together with the boys during the day and at bedtime. We go to the library regularly as a family. And through the years, the boys have shown their love of books by falling asleep with piles of children’s page turners on their beds.

But when it comes to getting 6-year-old to actually read by himself, well, that’s another matter entirely. Early reading books simply aren’t engaging him. We’ve tried “Little Bear” books with some success. “Frog and Toad” are stories he likes, but not if he has to go it solo. “Amelia Bedelia” makes him laugh, but again … he’s got no desire to pick it up like his Legos, for instance.

And so, we’ve lowered our expectations. A few paragraphs in a Star Wars sticker book … great! Signs on roads and buildings … sure. The Lego catalogue … um, is he actually looking at any of the words? Do the instructions on math worksheets count?

According to Jon Scieszka, I’m not alone in having a boy who is not finding reading material that truly engages him. Scieszka, who spent years teaching, is the author of The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and is the Library of Congress’ first national ambassador for children’s books. He’ll be in Washington this Saturday for the National Book Festival on the mall from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

“We’ve had this problem with boys not achieving and reading for a long time,” Scieszka says, noting that although we’re generalizing about boys, there are always exceptions. “For the longest time, you couldn’t even say boys and girls were different. It was taboo in the educational world.” But different they are, biologically and socially, he asserts. Boys need “move time,” which they’re getting less and less of in school these days. “That’s how they’re built,” he says.

The biggest change we can all make in giving boys a love of reading is to expand our definition of reading beyond fiction, Scieszka says. Research shows that boys will read with their friends and want to be readers, but they want it on their terms. “They’d rather read nonfiction or humor, graphic novels, science fiction, action adventure, audio books, or online reading and magazines,” Scieszka says. Much of this reading, boys don’t even think of as reading, he notes. Also key: Include boys in choosing their reading material. Often books that were favorites of mom or teachers (who are mostly female) and librarians (also, mostly female) will feel like “going to the dentist” for boys, Scieszka asserts.

Great new titles are coming out every year, Scieszka says. He recommends Sterling Point Books’ redone autobiographies for older kids and Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggy for younger ones. Other winners in his book: Tony DiTerlizzi’s “Kenny and the Dragon”, “Fog Mound Chronicles” by Susan Schade and Jon Buller, Eoin Colfer’s “Artemis Fowl” books; Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s “Neverland”, Neil Gaiman’s “The Graveyard Book” and Corey Doctorow’s “Little Brother”.

In the graphic novel realm, the publisher First Second has a whole range of graphic novels that appeal to younger guys and older ones. Particularly good is the Robot series for younger readers, Scieszka says. For middle readers, try Jeff Smith’s BONE series. And some boys really like Captain Underpants. Finding graphic novels can be a challenge, Scieszka says, because teachers, librarians and parents need to read through them rather than scan them for age appropriateness. Some publishers are starting to recognize this, though, and are putting age recommendations on the books.

And for nonfiction, Scieszka recommends Timothy Bradley’s “Paleo Bugs” and “Paleo Sharks”.

What reading material — particularly alternative reading — engages your sons?

Source: Washington Post
http://tinyurl.com/3gutut

After a weekend of crawling on the floor with our granddaughter, my wife and I support nature’s decision to give the joys of parenthood to the young and leave the less strenuous or episodic side of childrearing to those of a certain age. Learning that her mom and dad were conflicted about attending a weekend wedding, we leaped at the opportunity to spend quality time with their 11-month-old ball of energy.

We had an amazing weekend; truly enjoyable but physically demanding. After raising three kids of our own and professionally caring for thousands more, we felt well equipped and up to the task. Bearing responsibility for an infant, however, is an enormous undertaking, frequently taken for granted.

Toddlers are perpetual motion machines, requiring nearly constant supervision, stimulation, care, and feeding. They are prone to tears when hungry, thirsty, wet, or bored. They may conveniently fall asleep, allowing their caregivers to do the same, or may demand to be fed, changed, or entertained at inopportune times. As children mature and families evolve, we are inclined to forget the energy, organization, and commitment necessary for successful parenting.

Children grow and develop rapidly over the first year of life. In the few weeks since we last saw our granddaughter, she has become independently mobile and is eating table food. She can pull herself to standing, allowing access to objects on table tops and low shelves. She explores with abandon, rapidly moving from room to room in search of new experiences. Of course increased mobility is fraught with danger, especially in a grandparent’s not-totally-baby-proof home. Small objects present the danger of choking or poisoning, and light plugs and wires are hazardous to kids who like to mouth or chew objects as part of the learning experience. Kitchens can be particularly dangerous if cleaning agents and chemicals are stored within reach of a curious explorer.

Even the most ordinary of events pose hazards. While soft foods that dissolve in the mouth are safe, solid foods can pose real risks for children less than 2 years of age. Objects that remain hard, or may be slippery such as hot dogs, nuts, and raw carrots are particularly dangerous, as are pitted fruits and hard candy. Grandparents should be mindful of the dangers posed to infants by the many over-the-counter and prescription medications found in their homes. As a pediatrician, I have personally cared for children who had serious or fatal experiences with each of these examples.

While intended to be comforting and enjoyable, baby’s bath time can be dangerous, as well. Check to see that the water heater or boiler is not set too hot, since children can be scalded by temperatures over 120 degrees. Never leave children alone in the tub, since, aside from a potential drowning or aspiration, their skin is thinner than that of an adult and playing with a faucet can cause severe burns. Medical histories all too frequently report that parents or caretakers, distracted by the phone, have returned to bath-time catastrophes.

To us, parenting is the world’s most important, complex and difficult job; one for which there is little or no training or realistic preparation. Our short caretaking experience reminded us of just how much energy our daughter-in-law and son invest in parenting our grandchild. Our hats are off to them and to all the other parents and caregivers attentively caring for their families’ most precious treasures. (…)

Source: Gloucester Daily Times
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/pulife/local_story_269164437.html

Headaches around the topic of children and sleep tend to be par for the course when you’re a parent. Everything from enforcing bedtimes and pre-sleep routines to making sure they sleep through the night is enough to overwhelm any parent.

The Better Sleep Council Canada offers these tips to ease the sleep stresses:

Set a good example. Kids learn by example. Parents should establish proper, consistent sleep habits themselves as a model for their children.

Regularly check what you and your kids are sleeping on. While mattresses should generally be replaced every eight to 10 years, a child’s mattress may need to be replaced sooner than that. Your child’s body is growing and changing quickly; a mattress that was beneficial just a few years ago may not big or comfortable enough now.

Set and adhere to a steady sleep routine. Going to bed and waking at the same time will help your child realize that all of us, regardless of age, have bedtimes that we should stick to.

Make your bed. Show pride in maintaining an ordered bedroom that is a relaxing retreat.

Be patient. Don’t be discouraged if it takes a few weeks for your kids to entirely embrace their new sleep routine. Good sleep habits are formed over time. Consistency and commitment to your sleep and health are vital.

Source: Canada.com
http://tinyurl.com/4yfr4m

The class was working peacefully. It was the first lesson of the morning and everyone was a little bleary-eyed.

Joe Smith, I notice was doodling on a text book. ‘Come on Joe. That’s enough of that. Get on with your work please.’

I was new to teaching and trying to be firm but fair. The next minute, Joe grabbed his neighbour’s pencil case and threw it across the floor. When I remonstrated him he told me to ‘f*** off’.

At the end of the lesson I asked him to stay behind. Demanding an apology, I told him I’d be phoning home as well as reporting his behaviour to the head.

Joe simply shrugged. ‘It’s not my fault. I’m ill. I’ve got ADHD. I can’t help it.’

This was the first time I’d heard of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and I actually laughed. Appalling behaviour an illness? I’d never heard anything so ludicrous.

Now, I can honestly say I don’t think there’s a single class I teach without at least one and often two or three children being medicated with this very powerful class B drug.

Ritalin has unpleasant side effects - including sleeplessness and nausea - and the penalty for selling it illegally is a maximum of 14 years’ imprisonment.

If the answer to these questions is yes, then according to the ‘experts’, the child might well have ADHD. Alternatively, they may simply be a typical boy.

Added to the list of symptoms are, in my experience, extreme rudeness and a dislike of being asked to wear school uniform.

If asked several times to stop talking over me, children with the ‘illness’ generally swear at me.

When I phone their home, their parents react with the uniform comment: ‘He can’t help it. He’s got ADHD.’

Unsurprisingly, an increasing number of doctors and psychiatrists are expressing the fear that children are being labelled with a mental illness and given drugs for behaviour that in the past would simply have been labelled ‘very naughty.’

And anecdotally, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that schools are pressurising parents to put children who cause mayhem on Ritalin.

As a teacher, I’m secretly relieved when I hear that a particularly difficult child, one who won’t do any work, who chats and texts through the lesson, who sneers and swears at staff without a second thought, has been prescribed Ritalin.

The drug isn’t known as the ‘chemical cosh’ for nothing. If I’m honest, though, I don’t believe that these children are ill. I think they come from insecure, unstable backgrounds where the concept of a bedtime is as fanciful as the fairy tales they’ve never been read.

Of course, having an active, boisterous seven-year-old child is hard work. But it seems to me that far too many mums and dads are happy to have their children labelled with a psychiatric condition and drugged - even if the existence of the disorder is hotly disputed by the experts.

Youngsters might be turned into wide-eyed, slow-witted zombies, but at least they’re not running amok in the playground and inconveniencing their parents by getting suspended.

Ritalin, like Valium, has become mother’s little helper. It relieves parents of the responsibility of actually having to discipline their children. But as a society, we may pay a very high price indeed for drugging a generation of our children.

* Frances Childs is a teacher in a comprehensive school in the South of England.

Source: Daily Mail
http://tinyurl.com/4aqr7v