Parenting Bulletin - August 2012 Archives

Time with parents is important for teens' well-being (8/31/2012)

This study finds that although parent-teen time when others were also present declined from the early to late teen years, parent-teen time with just the parent and the teen present actually increased in early and middle adolescence -- a finding that contradicts the stereotype of teens growing apart from their parents. The study used home and phone interviews and included over 200 White, middle- and working-class families living in small cities, towns, and rural communities. ...> Full Article

Savvy tots to grown-ups: 'Don't be such a crybaby' (8/30/2012)

Children as young as three apparently can tell the difference between whining and when someone has good reason to be upset, and they will respond with sympathy usually only when it is truly deserved, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. ...> Full Article

Middle-class children: Squeaky wheels in training (8/29/2012)

A study by Indiana University sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco found that working-class and middle-class parents often take very deliberate but different approaches to helping their children with their school experiences. Working-class parents, she found, coached their children on how to avoid problems, often through finding their own solution and by being deferential to authority figures. Middle-class parents were more likely to encourage their kids to ask questions or ask for help. ...> Full Article

Marital separation an alternative to divorce for poor people (8/28/2012)

Married couples who undergo long-term separations appear to be those who can't afford to divorce, a new nationwide study suggests. ...> Full Article

Work has more benefits than just a paycheck for moms (8/27/2012)

Work has perks for moms, says University of Akron sociologist. ...> Full Article

What's best for very low birth weight babies (8/27/2012)

While the health benefits of breast feeding baby are well known, a new study published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Pediatrics finds that, for very low birth weight (VLBW) babies, a small amount of fortification can improve growth rates without sacrificing the benefits associated with mother's milk. ...> Full Article

Children's physical activity levels are not enough to counteract sedentary lifestyles (8/26/2012)

Children who spend more than three-quarters of their time engaging in sedentary behavior, such as watching TV and sitting at computers, have up to nine times poorer motor coordination than their more active peers, reveals a study published in the American Journal of Human Biology. ...> Full Article

High potency and synthetic marijuana pose real dangers in first weeks of pregnancy (8/25/2012)

Writing in the journal Drug Testing and Analysis, American researcher's state the argument that marijuana is a harmless drug is no longer valid due to the emergence of "high potency" marijuana and synthetic marijuana which pose a potential real threat for pregnant women. ...> Full Article

Babies may not have a 'moral compass' after all (8/24/2012)

New research from New Zealand's University of Otago is casting doubt on a landmark US study that suggested infants as young as six months old possess an innate moral compass that allows them to evaluate individuals as "good" or "bad." ...> Full Article

Children's self-control is associated with their body mass index as adults (8/23/2012)

As adults, we know that self-control and delaying gratification are important for making healthful eating choices, portion control, and maintaining a healthy weight. However, exhibiting these skills at a young age actually may affect weight later in life. A new study scheduled for publication in the Journal of Pediatrics finds that delaying gratification longer at four years of age is associated with having a lower body mass index 30 years later. ...> Full Article

For young adults, appearance matters more than health, research suggests (8/22/2012)

Research conducted at the University of Missouri suggests, when it comes to college-age individuals taking care of their bodies, appearance is more important than health. Two professors and a team of undergraduate researchers studied how college-age women view their bodies and how they feel about media messages aimed at women. Based their findings, the team developed an interactive play about body image. ...> Full Article

'Strawberry' birthmarks grow rapidly when babies just weeks old (8/21/2012)

Strawberry-shaped birthmarks called infantile hemangiomas grow rapidly in infants much earlier than previously thought, Mayo Clinic and University of California, San Francisco, researchers found. Their study, published online in the journal Pediatrics, suggests that babies with complication-causing hemangiomas should be immediately referred to dermatologists for further evaluation. ...> Full Article

Divorced couples' co-parenting relationships can improve, researcher says (8/20/2012)

New research conducted at the University of Missouri offers hope for divorced parents and suggests hostile relationships can improve when ex-spouses set aside their differences and focus on their children's needs. ...> Full Article

Few kids use recommended safety restraints in cars (8/19/2012)

Despite the fact that car crashes are the leading cause of death for children older than three years in the US, and send more than 140,000 children to the emergency room each year, new research has found that low proportions of US children are using age-appropriate safety restraints and many are placed at risk by riding in the front seat. The research is published in the September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. ...> Full Article

Children's healthy diets lead to healthier IQ (8/18/2012)

Children fed healthy diets in early age may have a slightly higher IQ, while those on heavier junk food diets may have a slightly reduced IQ, according to new research from the University of Adelaide. ...> Full Article

Why do infants get sick so often? (8/17/2012)

Babies can get sick often, but parents shouldn't take the blame. A University of Michigan Health System study shows essential immune cells that help fight infections don't develop until adulthood. ...> Full Article

Iron, vitamins could affect physical fitness in adolescents (8/16/2012)

Research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology has found that adolescents' blood levels of various micronutrients are correlated with how well they performed in certain physical fitness tests. Though these results don't prove causality, they suggest a new relationship between different measures of adolescent health. ...> Full Article

Yoga proves to reduce depression in pregnant women, boost maternal bonding (8/16/2012)

Can prenatal yoga treat depression? ...> Full Article

Preschool children who can pay attention more likely to finish college (8/15/2012)

Young children who are able to pay attention and persist on a task have a 50 percent greater chance of completing college, according to a new study at Oregon State University.Tracking a group of 430 preschool-age children, the study gives compelling evidence that social and behavioral skills, such as paying attention, following directions and completing a task may be even more crucial than academic abilities. ...> Full Article

Natural birth -- but not C-section -- triggers brain-boosting proteins (8/15/2012)

Vaginal birth triggers the expression of a protein in the brains of newborns that improves brain development and function in adulthood, according to a new study by Yale School of Medicine researchers, who also found that this protein expression is impaired in the brains of offspring delivered by cesarean section. ...> Full Article

Parents get physical with unruly kids, study finds (8/14/2012)

Parents get physical with their misbehaving children in public much more than they show in laboratory experiments and acknowledge in surveys, according to one of the first real-world studies of caregiver discipline. ...> Full Article

Boys appear to be more vulnerable than girls to the insecticide chlorpyrifos (8/14/2012)

A new study is the first to find a difference between how boys and girls respond to prenatal exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health found that, at age seven, boys had greater difficulty with working memory, a key component of IQ, than girls with similar exposures. ...> Full Article

'Unhealthy' changes in gut microbes benefit pregnant women (8/13/2012)

The composition of microbes in the gut changes dramatically during pregnancy, according to a study published by Cell Press in the August 3rd issue of the journal Cell. Although these changes are associated with metabolic disease under most circumstances, they could be beneficial in pregnant women. ...> Full Article

A diet high in choline during pregnancy may mean less stress for baby (8/12/2012)

New research from Cornell University indicates that pregnant women who increase choline intake in the third trimester of pregnancy may reduce the risk of the baby developing metabolic and chronic stress-related diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes later in life. The results, published in the latest edition of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, suggest that choline, a nutrient found in high quantities in eggs, may help protect against the effects of a mother's stress during pregnancy. ...> Full Article

Adolescents' personalities and coping habits affect social behaviors, researcher says (8/11/2012)

A new study by a University of Missouri human development expert describes how adolescents' developing personalities and coping habits affect their behaviors toward others. ...> Full Article

Parents can increase children's activity by increasing their own (8/10/2012)

New research at National Jewish Health shows that, when parents increase their daily activity, their children increase theirs as well. ...> Full Article

Speaking multiple languages can influence children's emotional development (8/10/2012)

On "I Love Lucy," Ricky Ricardo was known for switching into rapid-fire Spanish whenever he was upset, even though Lucy had no idea what he was saying. These scenes were comedy gold, but they also provided a relatable portrayal of code-switching, or switching back and forth between languages. Code-switching is common in multilingual homes and happens often in emotional situations. In a new article, psychological scientists examine how code-switching might influence children's emotional development. ...> Full Article

Sleep affects potency of vaccines (8/8/2012)

As moms have always known, a good night's sleep is crucial to good health -- and now a new study led by a UCSF researcher shows that poor sleep can reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. ...> Full Article

Boys' impulsiveness may result in better math ability, say MU researchers (8/1/2012)

In a University of Missouri study, girls and boys started grade school with different approaches to solving arithmetic problems, with girls favoring a slow and accurate approach and boys a faster but more error prone approach. Girls' approach gave them an early advantage, but by the end of sixth grade boys had surpassed the girls. The MU study found that boys showed more preference for solving arithmetic problems by reciting an answer from memory, whereas girls were more likely to compute the answer by counting. ...> Full Article