In the News: ... .... ...

Here are a few more articles that I thought was interesting, but had not the time to post til now... It may not be the latest news but news still worth reading.

"The rise of A.D.H.D. diagnoses and prescriptions for stimulants over the years coincided with a remarkably successful two-decade campaign by pharmaceutical companies to publicize the syndrome and promote the pills to doctors, educators and parents. With the children’s market booming, the industry is now employing similar marketing techniques as it focuses on adult A.D.H.D., which could become even more profitable. “The numbers make it look like an epidemic. Well, it’s not. It’s preposterous,” Dr. Conners, a psychologist and professor emeritus at Duke University, said in a subsequent interview. “This is a concoction to justify the giving out of medication at unprecedented and unjustifiable levels.” – No surprise here, just as with the HPV and other vaccines, their mandated use translates into huge profits for the pharmaceuticals. It is astonishing to think that there are attempts currently underway to make the HPV vaccine mandatory for our children. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease and active use of condoms and limiting sex partners can keep one safe. One does not need yet another vaccine."

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/health/the-selling-of-attention-deficit-disorder.html?_r=0&smid=fb-share



In other words, dangerous criminals don’t turn violent. They just stay that way.
These findings have been replicated in multiple large studies by several researchers on several continents.
“It’s highly reliable,” said Brad J. Bushman, a psychology professor at Ohio State University and an expert on child violence, who noted that toddlers use physical aggression even more than people in violent youth gangs do. “Thank God toddlers don’t carry weapons.”
 
--> Lina<3 is going through her 'terrible twos' presently but I am so happy it is not to the extent of hitting, kicking, biting, or pushing. She is just whiny and obstinate.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/16/terrible-twos-who-stay-terrible/?smid=fb-share&_r=0




"Choking is the fourth-leading cause of unintentional deaths in children under age 5; every five days, at least one child dies after choking on food.

Few parents of newborns are taught how to prevent choking and what to do if it occurs. Yet infants and toddlers routinely explore the world with their mouths, and anything they may find lying about can become a choking hazard."

--> This is exactly why I always encouraged Lina<3  to chew her food by showing her how fun chewing can be with a lot of sound effects, and actually making sure that she is chewing her food. Lina<3 is encouraged not to stuff her mouth. Daddy or I are always right there when she eats.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/16/keeping-little-breaths-flowing/?smid=fb-share



"The Chinese culture in the United States has a very unique food scene, and if you're a kid who has grown up in a Chinese household, you know that things were kind of different for you growing up. Most families incorporate American traditions with longstanding Chinese ones to create a very interesting hybrid of customs."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/12/chinese-food-kids_n_4426898.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

"...always lying belly up can delay motor development, because a baby gets less of a chance to work the muscles in his upper body. Lack of tummy time can not only affect how long it takes for your little one to master such basic skills as lifting his head and turning over, it may also have an impact on sitting up and crawling.

The solution? Flip your baby over when he's awake and you're there to help. "The position promotes trunk stability, limb coordination, and head control," explains Henry Shapiro, M.D., medical director of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at All Children's Hospital, in St. Petersburg, Florida. That's not all: Spending time on his belly encourages your baby to practice reaching and pivoting, skills that are often the precursors to crawling." 

--> I believe that tummy time started at birth.

http://www.parents.com/baby/development/physical/putting-baby-on-belly/



"Researchers believe that the taste preferences that develop at crucial periods in infancy have lasting effects for life. In fact, changing food preferences beyond toddlerhood appears to be extremely difficult.

“What’s really interesting about children is, the preferences they form during the first years of life actually predict what they’ll eat later,” said Julie Mennella, a biopsychologist and researcher at the Monell Center"

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/opinion/bad-eating-habits-start-in-the-womb.html?smid=fb-share



"Basically from birth, (all) babies will look more at the eye part of faces," says Jones. But at about 4 to 6 weeks, he says the attention to eyes decreases, then in typical babies picks up again at 2 months. Jones found, "in the first 6 months of life we're seeing a decline in the amount of looking at other people's eyes in children who later are diagnosed with autism."

The research suggests that a baby's initial eye contact ability may be an almost a reflex-like behavior, but then there may be a second phase of development that depends on different brain and gene systems which lead to social interaction, Jones says. That's where a typically developing child's development may differ from a child with autism.

The study authors conclude that "the observation of this decline in eye fixation - rather than outright absence - offers a promising opportunity for early intervention."

http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/11/06/study-signs-of-autism-may-show-up-as-early-as-first-month/