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Reading problems and behavior problems in boys are intertwined

It's been known for more than a decade that children with reading problems, particularly boys, also tend to have behavior problems, and vice versa. The reason behind the connection, however, remained unclear.

16 Feb 2006

Child's popularity may predict good reading skills

How are you first grader's social skills? If his calendar is jammed with play dates and the phone rings off the hook, say a silent thanks -your child's popularity may predict good reading skills by the third grade. That's the finding from a study published in the January/February 2006 issue of the journal Child Development.

16 Feb 2006

Marital conflict and its effects on children

Fighting with your spouse in front of your kids, or even ignoring each other, leads to negative thoughts and distress in your kids about your marriage and family today and even one year later.

16 Feb 2006

Parental conflict may negatively affect children by disrupting their sleep

For years, researchers have known that children who grow up in homes with high levels of conflict tend to have behavior and learning problems. But they didn't know why.

16 Feb 2006

Diagnosing whooping cough in young children

Whooping cough (pertussis) is most easily diagnosed in young children because they develop a characteristic cough - paroxysms of coughing followed by a long inspiration that makes a whooping sound.

16 Feb 2006

More pediatricians should counsel children and their parents about preventing skin cancer

More pediatricians should counsel children and their parents about preventing skin cancer, according to dermatology researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. A review of research literature confirmed that prevention should begin in childhood, yet found that the topic is discussed at less than 1 percent of well-child visits.

16 Feb 2006

Not every stutterer is a problem case: over-reacting can make stuttering worse

If a child often stops in the middle of a sentence and repeats individual sounds or syllables, this does not inevitably mean that the child is a stutterer.

16 Feb 2006

Music therapy helps sick babies

A project led by a researcher from the University of Western Sydney has found that music therapy can help sick babies in intensive care maintain normal behavioural development, making them less irritable, upset and less likely to cry.

14 Feb 2006

Fighting in front of the kids causes them distress about marriage and family life

Researchers in the U.S. say that couples who fight in front of their children or even those who ignore each other, encourage negative thoughts and distress about marriage and family life which is sometimes evident up to a year later.

13 Feb 2006

Herbs popular in treating kids at WIC clinics

Nearly half of the low income, nutritionally-vulnerable Latino children surveyed by Penn State researchers in WIC clinics were treated with herbs by their caregivers for common ills such as diaper rash, colic, teething symptoms, stomachaches, coughs and colds.

12 Feb 2006

Asthmatic children in multi-family housing hit by pollutant byproduct of gas stoves

Children with asthma living in multi-family housing who are exposed to certain levels of indoor nitrogen dioxide, a poisonous pollutant byproduct of gas stoves and unvented heaters, are more likely to experience wheeze, persistent cough, shortness of breath and chest tightness.

12 Feb 2006

National childhood flu-vaccine programs should include evaluation component

If the United States were to launch an annual influenza-vaccination program among the nation's school children, resources also should go to evaluate the program's success in reducing community-wide flu transmission, according to a "Policy Forum" editorial in Science authored by researchers based at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

12 Feb 2006

Physician counseling and computer assessment may improve teen health behaviors

A program that combines advice from a primary care physician with computer assessment, mailings and phone calls may help teens improve some aspects of their diets and physical activity levels, according to a study in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

9 Feb 2006

Bipolar disorder in children

Children with bipolar disorder experience more enduring and rapidly changing symptoms of the disease than adults, according to a study that, for the first time, maps the clinical progression of each of the three sub-types of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.

9 Feb 2006

Low birth weight infants overcome difficulties by adulthood

As young adults, the majority of extremely low birth-weight infants are attaining similar levels of education, employment and independence as normal birth-weight infants, according to a study by researchers at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University in the February 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

9 Feb 2006

Almost two-thirds of California children have dental disease

A study released today by the Dental Health Foundation found that by third grade, almost two-thirds of California children have dental disease, making it the most prevalent children's health problem in the state.

7 Feb 2006

Poverty early in life may set into motion a consistent pattern of antisocial behaviours

Children in low-income families start off with higher levels of antisocial behaviour than children from more advantaged households. And if the home remains poor as the children grow up, antisocial behaviour becomes much worse over time compared to children living in households that are never poor or later move out of poverty, says new University of Alberta research.

7 Feb 2006

Babies fully breastfed for six months less likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses

Babies fully breastfed for six months are less likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses in their first two years than babies fully breastfed for only four months, according to research conducted by investigators at UC Davis Children's Hospital, the University of Rochester and the American Academy of Pediatrics, Center for Child Health Research.

7 Feb 2006

Teens' healthy food choices foiled by early lunch

Penn State researchers have identified three previously unreported factors that foil the efforts of high school students to make healthy food choices - early lunch, school income from soft drink incentives, and parents who bring fast food to the cafeteria for their kids.

7 Feb 2006

Fluoride varnish prevents tooth decay in young children

Fluoride varnish, a dental preventive treatment, reduces the incidence of early childhood tooth decay in combination with dental health counseling for parents, according to a study by investigators at the UCSF School of Dentistry.

7 Feb 2006