Study Finds Three Routines Can Cut Kids' Risk of Obesity
Preschoolers, Eating & Nutrition, In The News, Mealtime
Eating dinner as a family can cut the risk of childhood obesity. Credit: timsamoff, Flickr
A national study published online today in the journal Pediatrics suggests that sitting down to dinner on a regular basis, limiting TV time and getting plenty of sleep can dramatically reduce a child's risk for becoming obese.
The study of 8,550 preschoolers found that children are likely to have a lower risk for obesity if they regularly engage in one or more of three specific household routines: eating dinner as a family more than fives times per week, getting at least 10 and a half hours of sleep per night, and limiting weekday television viewing to less than two hours per day.
Four-year-olds living in homes that practiced these three household routines were found to be at 40% lower risk of obesity compared to those in homes with none of these routines. Other studies have linked obesity to these individual behaviors, but this is the first study to link the combination of all three routines with obesity prevalence in a national sample of preschoolers.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16 percent of U.S. children are obese, and childhood obesity rates have tripled since 1980. The CDC reports that obese children are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure; and previous studies have shown that elementary school kids who are obese miss more school days than their normal-weight classmates and are at risk for more negative outcomes, such as drugs, AIDS and teen pregnancy.
My Teenager Hates To Clean His Room!
My 17-year-old is a wonderful boy, great student -- the only issue is his messy room. Is there a way in which we can agree on him tidying up his room that will work on a regular basis? Is this even important or should we just let it go, as all teenagers are messy? When asked to do this, his reply is "I'll get to it," which never happens, then I will get upset, and it's done, and so on. Thanks!
Some of the questions I get these days are about relatively new issues: "My son won't turn off his video games," or "How can I protect my daughter from inappropriate things on the Internet." But your question is an ancient one, addressing an issue that I suspect has plagued parents forever.
Teenagers are messy. Period. Unless they have friends coming over who are worth impressing, most teens don't even see the mess their parents are complaining about. Chances are, the dirty clothes tangled in his sheets or the clutter on his floor don't even register on your son's radar.
For someone to be interested in solving a problem, they first have to have a problem. Right now, other than a nagging mom, your son doesn't have a problem when it comes to his room.
The solution? Give him a problem!
School Asks Cops to Fine Foul-Mouthed Students
Students at a Windsor, Conn., high school caught dropping the F-bomb and using other curse words will soon learn a new four-letter word: fine.
The Windsor High School principal has asked police officers assigned to the building to charge swearing students with creating a public disturbance.
That charge carries a $103 fine.
Principal Russell Sills notified parents about the new practice in a letter sent home last month. The policy went into effect this week.
ParentDish's Top 10 Classic Board Games for Kids
Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Fun & Activities, Toys & Games
You sunk my battleship!
Credit: Amanda M Hatfield, Flickr
Family game nights are a time for everyone to sit together, laugh, learn and play. And the thing about board games is that the classics have managed to remain popular for decades, so not only do you get the opportunity for some serious bonding with your kids, but you get the chance to relive a little bit of your own childhood, as well.
ParentDish rolled the dice and came up with 10 classic games for children. Turn off the TV, pop some corn and clear off the dining room table. It's time to play.
1. Candyland: Making its delicious debut in 1949, this easy-to-play game takes children past Ice Cream Mountains and Chocolate Rivers to the Lollipop Woods and Licorice Lake. First one to the Candy Castle wins. Sweet! For two to four players, ages 4 and up.
2. Clue: OK, we admit it: Even when it's just us grownups hanging out, we still sometimes like to pull out this whodunnit game. Was it Mrs. Peacock in the hall with the rope? Or Mr. Green in the kitchen with the candlestick? Roll the dice to move around the mansion -- and keep notes on your opponents' guesses to win the murder mystery, launched in 1949. For three to six players, ages 9 and up.
Teen Misses Exam Because She's Homeless; State Does The Right Thing And Arranges For College
Rosa Bracero and her mother, Rosario, in Brooklyn. Credit: Anthony DelMundo, New York Daily News
However, ParentDish has learned that the 17-year-old will be able to start college next month, although she will still have to take the exam in June to get her high school Regents diploma.
The Bracero family was evicted from their home last week and went to an intake center to try and find a place to stay, according to a report in the New York Daily News. Rosa Bracero, 17, told the center's staff she had to go take her English Regents exam, a standardized test administered in a few states, in order to graduate from Brooklyn's High School for Civil Rights. She was informed that if she left, her family would be denied shelter. So Rosa stayed, missing the exam.
"Given that the State does not allow make-up Regents exams, we will continue to work with this student so that she can take the exam and go to college," wrote Danny Kanner, spokesperson for the New York City Department of Education, in an email to ParentDish on Friday.
Hopping on the helpful bandwagon, Jonathan Burman of the New York State Education Department sent ParentDish a statement as well.
"Working together with the high school's principal, the City's central administration, and Lincoln Technical Institute, we achieved a favorable solution: Lincoln Tech, the college Rosa wants to attend, has accepted her and will permit her to begin taking classes on February 16th," wrote Burman. "She will be able to take the Regents exam in June and will graduate at that time."
FDA Fears Kids Will Like Dissolvable Tobacco
Lawrence Deyton, head of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products,says he's concerned about dissolvable tobacco products. Credit: Jacquelyn Martin, AP
Now the Food and Drug Administration is worried that kids will like dissolvable tobacco, which can be found in products that somewhat resemble breath mints, but contain tobacco and nicotine.
The Associated Press reports that Dr. Lawrence Deyton, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) sent a letter on Feb. 1 to R.J. Reynolds expressing concern "that children and adolescents may find dissolvable tobacco products particularly appealing, given the brightly colored packaging, candy-like appearance and easily concealable size of many of these products."
Super Bowl Furor: Pete Townshend Defends Halftime Act Amid Child Porn Accusations
Pete Townshend of The Who performs at the Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Press Conference yesterday in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. Credit: Jeff Kravitz, FilmMagic
Big Brother May Have Your Baby's DNA
Newborns, Babies, Pregnancy & Birth, Medical Conditions, Development, In The News, Weird But True
Annie Brown, pictured with daughter Isabel, was shocked to learn that her baby's DNA was in the hands of the feds. Credit: Gregg Andersen
Newborns in the United States are regularly screened for various genetic diseases. These tests are mandated by the federal government.
As a result, children's DNA samples are often stored -- sometimes indefinitely.
Some parents are creeped out by the Orwellian image of the government keeping babies' DNA without their parents' knowledge or consent and they're filing lawsuits. Members of the Texas Legislature felt the same chill down their spines last year.
L.A. to Focus More On Protecting Kids, Less On Reuniting Families
Divorce & Custody, Safety, In The News, Childcare, Environment
Angel Montiel was reunited with his parents after they enrolled in parenting classes and agreed to drug testing and other services.
Now his mother is spending 15 years in prison. She pleaded no contest to beating the toddler to death.
Angel is one reason the Department of Children and Family Services in Los Angles County is readjusting its thinking.
The overarching goal of many state and county agencies designed to protect children is to reunite and preserve troubled families.
Not in Los Angeles County. Not anymore.
Boy Scouts Start Recruitment Drive In Latino Communities
Kids 8-11, Teens & tweens, In The News
The Boy Scouts are recruiting Hispanic kids. Credit: Corbis
And if he happens be Hispanic too, gosh, that would be swell.
Scout leaders are specifically looking for Hispanic kids.
"The challenge we have is that there's very little understanding of what Scouting is about in the Hispanic community, at least in the first- and second-generation families," Marcos Nava tells the Denver Post. He heads the Boy Scouts of America's Hispanic Initiatives project in Irving, Texas.
He tells the Post that Denver is part of a national pilot project to recruit Scouts from the Hispanic community.
