ParentDish

What Baby Names Say About the Parents

the editors at Netscape — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

A baby's name says a lot about the parents' values and tastes. Credit: Getty Images

The name parents give to their newborn baby says more about them than it does about their child. A name communicates a wealth of social information, including the parents' tastes and background.

"We're in the middle of a naming revolution," Laura Wattenberg, author of the popular book "The Baby Name Wizard" told LiveScience.com. "Parents are putting a much higher premium on distinctiveness."

Half the babies born in the 1950s were given one of the top 25 most common boys' names or one of the top 50 most common girls' names. Fast forward to today, and you would have to list the 134 most popular boys' names and top 320 girls' names to cover half the babies born in a year.

"If you have 10 guesses to get somebody's name today, there's almost no chance you'll get it," Wattenberg told LiveScience. "But 100 years ago, if you guessed the top 10 names, you'd have a really good chance" of guessing correctly.

These stark changes in naming conventions have come with social implications. "The more diverse naming styles become, the more we are going to read into somebody's name," Wattenberg told LiveScience.com, adding that a baby girl who is born today and is named Mary says a lot more about that child's parents than such a name would have said 50 years ago. And that is true for all other names, too.

A baby's name tells others the parents' values and tastes and often their dreams and ambitions for their child. "Sociologists love names," Wattenberg told LiveScience.com. "They're practically the only case of a choice with broad fashion patterns that there's no commercial influence on. There's no company out there spending millions to convince you Brayden is a perfect name for your son."

What is most different today than 50 years ago? Parents today tend to believe their baby's name should be a unique signifier that separates them from everyone else. "Names never had to be unique. But today, your name is often the first way and sometimes the only way people know you," Wattenberg said, referring to social networking and easy online communication worldwide. It used to be enough to have a unique name in your neighborhood, such as, being the only one named Mary. Now the neighborhood is much bigger, spanning the globe.

But humans still want to fit in with others. "We all want to be different from each other, but our tastes are still as much alike as they ever were," Wattenberg told LiveScience.com. "So the result is we have a thousand tiny variations on a theme. You get Kayden, Brayden, Hayden, Jayden."

Permalink | Email this | Comments

How to Predict If You'll Get Divorced

the editors at Netscape — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:38:00 EST

Filed under: Divorce & Custody, Relationships

Charlie Sheen has filed for divorce from his third wife, Brooke Mueller, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple were married in May 2008 and have two children. Credit: Ethan Miller, Getty Images

How you argue with your spouse can actually predict if you'll have a long marriage or a quickie divorce. While newlyweds who yell or call each other names have a far higher chance of getting divorced, there is one particularly toxic way to argue that can spell an early end to a marriage: One person deals with the conflict constructively, while the other withdraws.

Here's the scenario: A couple begins to argue. The husband calmly discusses the situation, listens to his wife's point of view and tries hard to find out what she is feeling. And then the wife withdraws, stomps out of the room and won't speak to him.

"This pattern seems to have a damaging effect on the longevity of marriage," says lead study author Kira Birditt of the University of Michigan. "Spouses who deal with conflicts constructively may view their partners' habit of withdrawing as a lack of investment in the relationship rather than an attempt to cool down."

The team used data from the Early Years of Marriage Study, which is one of the largest and longest research projects on the patterns of marital conflict. Over a 16-year period, 373 couples were interviewed four times. The interviews began in the first year of marriage, which was 1986 for all of them.

For this study, the University of Michigan researchers examined how both individual behaviors and patterns of behavior between partners affected the likelihood of divorce. They also examined whether behavior changed over time and whether there were racial or gender differences in behavior patterns and outcomes.

The shocking results: Even though 29 percent of husbands and 21 percent of wives reported having no conflicts at all during the first year of marriage in 1986, 46 percent had divorced by year 16 of the study, which was 2002. Interestingly, whether or not couples reported any conflict during the first year of marriage did not affect whether they had divorced by the last year studied.

Overall, husbands reported using more constructive behaviors and fewer destructive behaviors than wives. But over time, wives were less likely to use destructive strategies or withdraw, while husbands' use of these behaviors stayed the same through the years.

"The problems that cause wives to withdraw or use destructive behaviors early in a marriage may be resolved over time," Birditt said. "Or, relationships and the quality of relationships may be more central to women's lives than they are to men. As a result, over the course of marriage, women may be more likely to recognize that withdrawing from conflict or using destructive strategies is neither effective nor beneficial to the overall well-being and stability of their marriages."

Birditt also found that black couples were more likely to withdraw during conflicts than were white couples, although black couples were less likely to withdraw from conflict over time.

The study findings were published in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Homework Help Tips: 7 Ideas for Getting it Done

the editors at Netscape — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:20:00 EST

Filed under: Tweens, Teens, Education: Big Kids, Education: Tweens, Education: Teens

Let your kids have some play time before they start on their homework. Credit: Getty Images

Homework. Is there any other word that can instantly cause children to groan and parents to wince?

And, too often, homework is a battlefield: Kids fight it, while parents beg, plead, coddle, bribe, command, threaten and sometimes just give up trying to get their children to finish it. But homework doesn't have to be such a huge stress for families.

Dr. Paula Kramer, chair and professor of occupational therapy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, says the best way to handle homework without conflict is to establish a daily routine.

"Homework is a necessary part of childhood, education and a critical aspect of development for future productive behaviors," Kramer says. "By creating a daily schedule, which involves designated time for homework and studying, children will begin to see homework as a responsibility, just like going to work is for parents."

Kramer says parents should follow these seven tips to help avoid arguments over turning off the television and hitting the books:

1. Homework must be done daily. Come to an understanding with your children that homework is a necessity. Teach them that homework is something that has to be done on a daily basis.

2. Set expectations. Communicate with your children's teachers to find out how much time students are expected to devote to homework each night. Discuss this expectation so your children understand the average time they will need to devote to homework each night. Setting expectations and time limits will make them more productive.

3. Allow for active playtime before homework. If your children don't have an after-school activity, such as sports practice or dance class, provide 45 minutes to an hour for them to engage in physical activity before starting their homework. This will help them burn off energy, settle their nervous systems and help focus mentally for their homework tasks.

4. Create a designated area for homework and studying. Depending upon the child, this could mean setting up a desk space in a bedroom away from family members or clearing off the kitchen table within view of the parents. The important thing to remember is to keep the homework locale consistent, quiet and free from distractions.

5. Create charts to track homework progress. The chart will not only set a schedule that visibly shows that homework needs to be done every night, but will also allow your children to track their progress. Rewards can be given for homework completed successfully a few nights in a row.

6. Use positive reinforcement to encourage good homework and study habits. Positive reinforcement should be used to recognize accomplishments. Small rewards should be given for small tasks, such as a gold sticker on the homework chart for completing homework that week. Larger rewards can be given for larger accomplishments. Here's one idea: An "A" on a test earns the privilege of choosing what the family has for dinner on Friday night.

7. Be a role model for your children. School cannot teach them everything. Take an active role in your children's education. Check in on them while they are doing their homework to make sure it is completed properly. Also, suggest and model behaviors that teach important life skills that make tasks more manageable. For example, create flash cards on Monday for a test that will need to be studied for on Thursday or set daily "goals" for the child so a project will be completed ahead of its due date.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Study Shows Women Left Unsatisfied in the Bedroom

the editors at Netscape — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:28:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Sex, Relationships

He doesn't think that you're faking it. Credit: Getty Images

Maybe you're trying to shorten sex time so you don't miss a wince through the baby monitor, or maybe you're too exhausted from the playground and you just want to fall asleep already. Whatever the reason may be, more and more women are faking orgasms and the male-female orgasm gap is growing wider.

In the largest survey on sex in America taken since 1994, researchers from Indiana University's Center for Sexual Health Promotion found that while 85 percent of men said their latest sexual partner reached orgasm, only 64 percent of women said that actually happened.

"There's this massive gap between men's perception and women's reality," study co-author Debby Herbenick told ABC News. "It shows a lack of communication between partners, either by women faking it or by men not asking or noticing if their partner [climaxed]."

That's just one small data point from a survey of 5,865 people about the sex lives of everyone from 14-year-old kids to married couples in their 90s that filled a whopping 130 pages in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Fun facts to know and tell about sex in America:

o. The researchers tallied 41 different combinations of sexual acts, encompassing vaginal and anal intercourse, oral sex and partnered masturbation.

o. Men are more likely to achieve orgasm during vaginal intercourse.

o. Women are more likely to reach orgasm when they engage in a variety of acts, including oral sex.

o. One-third of women experienced genital pain during their most recent sex, compared to 5 percent of men.

o. When it comes to safe sex, teenagers are more conscientious about using condoms than baby boomers. Among boys ages 14 to 17 who are having sexual intercourse, 79 percent use condoms, compared to 25 percent for all men in the survey.

o. Rates of condom usage among black and Hispanic men were significantly higher than for whites, suggesting that HIV-AIDS awareness programs are making headway.

o. Men over 50 are the least likely to use a condom. Although this age group is more likely to be married than men in their teens and 20s, they are also more willing to have multiple sexual partners, which raises the risk for disease.

o. Although only 8 percent of adult men identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, 15 percent of men have had sex with another man.

o. Among teen boys, 2 percent of 14-year-olds said they had sex in the past year, compared with 40 percent of 17-year-olds.

o. 60 percent of men under 70 masturbated at least once in the past month; that number declines to 30 percent for men over 70.

o. Almost 50 percent of women in their 20s said they masturbated alone in the past month, but this number declined slowly to 20 percent for women in their 60s.

o. About 40 percent of men and women report having had anal sex, and that number is even higher for men and women in their 20s and 30s.

The study was funded by Church & Dwight Co., the manufacturer of Trojan condoms. Although questions about condom usage figured prominently in the study, the researchers insisted to The Associated Press that the integrity of their findings was not affected by the corporate tie.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Top 10 Most Beautiful College Campuses

the editors at Netscape — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 16:41:00 EST

Filed under: Tweens, Teens, In The News, Tween Culture, Teen Culture, Health & Safety: Tweens, Development: Tweens, Social & Emotional Growth: Tweens, Behavior: Tweens, Nutrition: Tweens, Education: Tweens, Activities: Tweens, Gear Guides: Tweens, Research Reveals: Tweens, Expert Advice: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens, Development: Teens, Social & Emotional Growth: Teens, Behavior: Teens, Nutrition: Teens, Education: Teens, Activities: Teens, Gear Guides: Teens, Research Reveals: Teens, Expert Advice: Teens

Oxford University is no. 2 on the list. Credit: Corbis

Hey, parents -- as your high schoolers start sending in their college applications, it's time to think about academics, athletics and, in our opinion, aesthetics. After all, don't you want to spend Parents' Weekend strolling beautifully manicured quads and admiring striking Gothic architecture?

With its stone walls that date to the 11th century, Oxford University in England is spectacularly beautiful, while Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, located on the former site of the Qing Dynasty's royal gardens, provides students with a breathtaking walk between classes.

But the most beautiful campus in the entire world is in the United States. Ohio to be exact. Kenyon College in Gambier was named the No. 1 most beautiful campus by a panel of architects and campus designers interviewed by Forbes magazine.

The top 10 most beautiful college campuses in the world:

1. Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio
The pastoral setting of this tiny liberal arts college boasts sweeping trees, vast expanses of green and classic Gothic architecture. Most beautiful of all is The Middle Path, a 10-foot-wide trail that is not only the campus' central walkway, but also a village green.

2. Oxford University in Oxford, England
A labyrinth of quads, cloisters and archways evoke a centuries-old sense of elegance and tradition. The 11th-century stone walls enclose the spectacular campus that Notre Dame architecture professor David Mayernik calls "an architectural wonderland."

3. Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey
The imposing old gray stone buildings, many of which are covered in ivy, intersect with footpaths, archways and plazas that were designed to inspire spontaneous discussion and learning.

4. Scripps College in Claremont, California
The campus of this women's college, which was founded in the 1920s, was constructed with a clear artistic connection between the buildings and landscape. The Mission Revival-inspired architecture is enhanced with rows of liquid amber trees, as well as tulip trees, sycamores, almond and orange trees and rare shrubs.

5. Stanford University in Palo Alto, California
Despite extensive growth, Stanford has stayed true to its architectural roots, managing to blend very modern and high-tech elements with the timeless aesthetics of the campus' early California Mission Revival architecture. Most notable is the dramatic entrance via Palm Drive.

6. Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland
Trinity is often compared to Oxford--except it's a gentler campus on a more human scale. The most celebrated building is the Old Library, founded by Queen Elizabeth in 1592. The famous Book of Kells is kept here under lock and key.

7. Tsinghua University in Beijing, China
Founded in 1925, Tsinghua's beauty comes naturally. It is located on the former site of the Qing Dynasty's royal gardens. The campus also features artificial ponds with stone benches and floating lotus blossoms.

8. United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Leave the Gothic look to Kenyon and Princeton. The Air Force Academy is a masterpiece of American Modernism, says Kevin Lippert, publisher of the Princeton Architectural Press. Many of the buildings are clad in aluminum to give the look and feel of the skin of airplanes.

9. University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy
This is the oldest university in the Western world and appears to be embedded in Bologna, a beautiful city that dates to before the Roman Empire.

10. University of California, Santa Cruz, California
Located on the site of a former ranch that overlooks the Pacific with panoramic ocean views, the campus has open meadows and redwood forests. The architecture is tucked into the natural landscape. The favorite place to study? Outside!

(Source: Forbes magazine)

Permalink | Email this | Comments

What's the Worst Time of Day to Have a Baby?

the editors at Netscape — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: News, In The News, Weird But True, Delivery, Research Reveals: Babies, New In Pop Culture

Are babies born at night at greater risk of dying? Credit: Sam Yeh, AFP/Getty Images

It's not as if an expectant mother can control when her baby is born, but the time of day a woman gives birth can actually influence her chances of a smooth delivery, according to Dutch researchers.

Specifically, babies who are born at night in hospitals have a higher risk of dying than babies who are born during the day.

Led by Dr. Eric Steegers, the team from Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam tracked more than 700,000 births at hospitals in the Netherlands from 2000 to 2006 and found that newborns who were born at night were more likely to die or be admitted to neonatal intensive care than babies born during the day.

And the risk isn't small. Infants who were born either in the evening (between 6 p.m. and midnight) or overnight into early morning (between midnight and 8 a.m.) were 32 percent to 47 percent more likely to die than those who were born during the day.

Continue reading What's the Worst Time of Day to Have a Baby?

Permalink | Email this | Comments

What Teachers Wish Parents Knew

the editors at Netscape — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 09:22:00 EST

Filed under: Behavior: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Behavior: Big Kids, Education: Big Kids, Expert Advice: Big Kids, Behavior: Tweens, Education: Tweens, Expert Advice: Tweens, Behavior: Teens, Education: Teens, Expert Advice: Teens

The most effective way parents can help their children do their best in school is to offer continual support and encouragement of learning.

But how can you specifically put this into action? Dr. Diane Sekeres, assistant professor of education at The University of Alabama, offers six ways parents can do just that:

1. Pay attention every day to the information that comes home in your child's backpack. If anything needs to be returned or forms need to be completed, be sure to do that promptly.

2. Check daily to make sure your child has completed the assignments. Make sure homework and other assignments are in the backpack so they are handed in on time.

3. Work with your child to plan ahead for projects so they can be done well without the stress of too-little time. This will help your child learn to organize time and tasks.

4. Offer occasional encouragement to your child's teacher, letting him or her know what you've noticed about your child's learning and growth. Do what you can to help the lines of communication stay open between you and the teacher.

5. If your child tells you something that happened in the classroom that concerns you, first check with the teacher for information before you register a complaint.

6. Come visit the classroom! Take a day when you can eat lunch with your child, volunteer to help out or teach the children about something you know well.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Colleges Ranked: Hardest, Easiest and Party-ist

the editors at Netscape — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:35:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Teen Culture, Education: Teens, Research Reveals: Teens

Credit: Getty Images

Princeton Review's Best 373 Colleges: 2011 Edition is out and here are the latest rankings:

When it comes to college, the one that has the best classroom experience is Mount Holyoke College, followed by Reed College, Stanford University, West Point and Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.

Students buckle down and study the most at these difficult schools: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Reed College, Harvey Mudd College, California Institute of Technology and Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering.

If you want a school where the students (almost) never study, here's your list: University of North Dakota, University of Central Florida, University of Mississippi, SUNY-Albany and West Virginia University.

Party! They know how to party hearty at the University of Georgia, Ohio University-Athens, Penn State University, West Virginia University and the University of Mississippi.

What makes the Princeton Review unique -- and controversial -- is that it relies on the survey results of college students. No administrators. No professors. No parents. Only student opinions are solicited.

Continue reading Colleges Ranked: Hardest, Easiest and Party-ist

Permalink | Email this | Comments

15 Old Wives' Tales Doctors Believe

the editors at Netscape — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:22:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, Nutrition: Health, Medical Conditions, Development/Milestones: Babies, Weird But True, Home Remedies, Research Reveals: Babies, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Research Reveals: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health

Doctors say that tales are false. Credit: Getty Images

How many pediatricians believe old wives' tales?

When asked if 15 old wives' tales were true or false, only 17 percent of the board-certified pediatricians surveyed said all of them were indeed false.

That is the finding of a study of 1,000 board-certified American pediatricians in primary care practice that was conducted by Dr. Andrew Adesman of the Children's Medical Center of New York and author of "BabyFacts: The Truth About Your Child From Newborn Through Preschool." (Adesman sent the questionnaire to 5,000 pediatricians and 1,000 responded.)

The good news is that these are all relatively benign old wives' tales and won't actually harm a child. But holding fast to facts that are false won't help a child who really needs medical care. Adesman found that pediatricians who practiced in urban settings and never had children of their own were most likely to believe the old wives' tales.

All 15 of these old wives' tales are false. Did you think any of them were true?

o. 17 percent said vitamin C helps ward off colds.

o. 16 percent said eating carrots will improve a child's vision.

o. 15 percent said children should not swim until 30 minutes after eating.

Continue reading 15 Old Wives' Tales Doctors Believe

Permalink | Email this | Comments

America's Favorite TV Dads

the editors at Netscape — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:51:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Media

Cliff Huxtable is still our favorite TV dad. Credit: AP

Whether it was having time for horsing around or solving teenage issues with a few words of wisdom, television dads have triggered this thought in all of us: "Wow, why isn't my dad like that?" According to a 2009 Harris Poll, Bill Cosby's character, Dr. Cliff Huxtable, takes top honors. Read on for the complete list.

Top 15 favorite TV dads:

1. Cliff Huxtable of "The Cosby Show"

2. Ward Cleaver of "Leave It to Beaver"

3. Jim Anderson of "Father Knows Best"

4. Andy Taylor of "The Andy Griffith Show"

5. Ozzie Nelson of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet"

6. Mike Brady of "The Brady Bunch"

7. Howard "Mr. C" Cunningham of "Happy Days"

8. "Pa" Charles Ingalls of "Little House on the Prairie"

9. Ben Cartwright of "Bonanza"

10. Tim Taylor of "Home Improvement"

11. Danny Tanner of "Full House"

12. Archie Bunker of "All in the Family"

13. Steve Douglas of "My Three Sons"

14. Homer Simpson of "The Simpsons" and Al Bundy of "Married with Children" (tie)

Fun facts to know and tell:

o. Those age 64 and older preferred Jim Anderson of "Father Knows Best" as their favorite.

o. Only one television dad on the list is currently on prime-time television: Homer Simpson.

o. Of the top 15 television dads, seven of them are from shows that originally aired in the 1950s or 1960s, while two were set in the 1950s or earlier.

How does your dad or your child's dad measure up?

Permalink | Email this | Comments