July 1st, 2010 tyko
… and they won’t be false to you,” once quipped the late Milton Supman… and it’s never too early to start.
BASIC CHILD DENTAL CARE INFORMATION
FACTSHEET FOR DAY CARE PROVIDERS AND PARENTS CARING FOR AN INFANT’S TEETH
Even though newborns and infants do not have teeth, it is important to take care of their mouth and gums. Follow these tips:
- Use a damp washcloth to wipe your infant’s gums after each meal.
- DO NOT put your infant or young child to bed with a bottle of milk, juice, or sugar water. Use only water for bedtime bottles.
- Begin using a soft toothbrush instead of a washcloth to clean your child’s teeth as soon as his first tooth shows (usually between 5-8 months of age).
- Ask your pediatrician if your infant needs fluoride added to his diet.
THE FIRST TRIP TO THE DENTIST
- Your child’s first visit to the dentist should be between the time the first tooth appears (5-8 months) and the time when all the primary teeth are visible (before 2 1/2 years).
- Many dentists recommend a “trial” visit to expose the child to the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the office before the actual examination.
- Children who are accustomed to having their gums wiped and teeth brushed every day will be more comfortable going to the dentist.
CARING FOR A CHILD’S TEETH
- The child’s teeth and gums should be brushed at least twice each day and especially before bed.
- Take your child to a dentist every 6 months. Let the dentist know if your child thumb sucks or breathes through the mouth.
- Teach your child how to play safe and what to do if a tooth is broken or knocked out.
- When your child gets permanent teeth, he or she should begin flossing each evening before bed.
- When the child reaches the teens, braces or extractions may be needed to prevent long-term problems.
If your child loses an adult (permanent) tooth during a fall or other injury, if you act quickly, you can often save the tooth.
Teach children to brush twice a day.
Source: National Institutes of Health
Posted in Keeping Kids Fit | No Comments »
June 9th, 2010 tyko
BASIC EYE CARE INFORMATION
FACTSHEET FOR DAY CARE PROVIDERS AND PARENTS
These simple Dos & Don’ts are equally important for kids… as well as adults.
DO
- Maintain good posture by sitting upright and using chair and desk of suitable height.
- Place reading materials at least 12 inches from the eyes.
- When you read, lighting should be sufficient, even, and stable.
- Rest your eyes regularly. After reading or using the computer for 30 to 40 minutes, take a break of 3 to 5 minutes or look at distant objects to relax your eyes.
- . When you watch television:
- Switch on the light in the room;
- Keep a distance of 6 times the size of the TV screen;
- TV screen should be at eye level;
- Repair the TV immediately if flashes and blurred images appeared on the screen.
- Wear quality sunglasses with ultraviolet ray protection when out in strong sunlight.
- Wear safety goggles if necessary.
- Pay extra attention when using sharp or pointed objects.
- Always be alert to home safety. Handle chemicals with care to avoid them getting into your eyes and causing injury.
- Follow a balanced diet, including foods that are rich in Vitamin A, such as watermelon, tomato, papaya, carrot, other red and orange fruits and vegetables.
- Sufficient sleep can provide your eyes with a good rest.
- Regular exercise provides opportunities for you to relax and also train the coordination ability of your eyes.
- . Have regular vision tests for early detection and treatment of any vision problems.
- Wear appropriate glasses. Consult an optometrist or ophthalmologist if your glasses are no longer suitable and have them replaced.
- Seek advice from your doctor immediately in case of vision problems, red eyes, or any eye discomfort.
- Check the name, dosage, and expiry date of eye drugs before applying to the eyes.
DON’T
- Cover your eyes with your hair.
- Read under strong lighting.
- Read materials with small print, poor printing quality, reflective papers or very bright colors.
- Read with light shining directly into your eyes.
- Read in moving vehicles.
- Read or watch TV lying down.
- Look directly at strong light.
- Rub your eyes with public towels.
- Swim in contaminated beaches.
- Rub your eyes with your hands.
- Use other people’s eye ointments or buy eye drops over the counter when your eyes feel uncomfortable.
- Engage in dangerous activities such as playing darts without safety measures.
Posted in Keeping Kids Fit | No Comments »
June 1st, 2010 tyko
The New York Times reports:
By PAUL VITELLO
Published: May 30, 2010
Every job interview has its awkward moments, but in recent years, the standard interview for men seeking a life in the Roman Catholic priesthood has made the awkward moment a requirement.
Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
The screenings could be “very intrusive,” said Msgr. Stephen Rossetti of Catholic University.
“When was the last time you had sex?” all candidates for the seminary are asked. (The preferred answer: not for three years or more.)
“What kind of sexual experiences have you had?” is another common question. “Do you like pornography?”
Depending on the replies, and the results of standardized psychological tests, the interview may proceed into deeper waters: “Do you like children?” and “Do you like children more than you like people your own age?”
It is part of a soul-baring obstacle course prospective seminarians are forced to run in the aftermath of a sexual abuse crisis that church leaders have decided to confront, in part, by scrubbing their academies of potential molesters, according to church officials and psychologists who screen candidates in New York and the rest of the country.
But many of the questions are also aimed at another, equally sensitive mission: deciding whether gay applicants should be denied admission under complex recent guidelines from the Vatican that do not explicitly bar all gay candidates but would exclude most of them, even some who are celibate.
Scientific studies have found no link between sexual orientation and abuse, and the church is careful to describe its two initiatives as more or less separate. One top adviser to American seminaries characterized them as “two circles that might overlap here and there.”
Still, since the abuse crisis erupted in 2002, curtailing the entry of gay men into the priesthood has become one the church’s highest priorities. And that task has fallen to seminary directors and a cadre of psychologists who say that culling candidates has become an arduous process of testing, interviewing and making decisions — based on social science, church dogma and gut instinct.
“The best way I can put it, it’s not black and white,” said the adviser, the Rev. David Toups, the director of the secretariat of clergy, consecrated life and vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “It’s more like one of those things where it’s hard to define, but ‘I know it when I see it.’ ”
Many church officials have been reluctant to discuss the screening process, and its details differ from diocese to diocese. In the densely populated Diocese of Brooklyn, officials are confident of their results in one respect.
“We have no gay men in our seminary at this time,” said Dr. Robert Palumbo, a psychologist who has screened seminary candidates at the diocese’s Cathedral Seminary Residence in Douglaston, Queens, for 10 years. “I’m pretty sure of it.” Whether that reflects rigorous vetting or the reluctance of gay men to apply, he could not say. “I’m just reporting what is,” he said.
Concern over gay men in the priesthood has simmered in the church for centuries, and has been heightened in recent years by claims from some Catholic scholars that 25 percent to 50 percent of priests in the United States are gay. The church has never conducted its own survey, but other experts have estimated the number to be far smaller.
The sexual abuse scandal has prompted some conservative bishops to lay blame for the crisis on a “homosexual subculture” in the priesthood. While no one has proposed expelling gay priests, the crisis has pitted those traditionalists against other Catholics who attribute the problem to priests, gay and straight, with dysfunctional personalities.
In 2005, the Vatican sidestepped that ideological debate, but seemed to appease conservatives by issuing guidelines that would strictly limit the admission of gay men to Catholic seminaries.
The guidelines, which bolstered existing rules that had been widely unenforced, defined homosexuality in both clear-cut and ambiguous ways: Men who actively “practice homosexuality” should be barred. But seminary rectors were left to discern the meaning of less obvious instructions to reject candidates who “show profoundly deep-rooted homosexual tendencies, or support the so-called gay culture.”
Though some Catholics saw room in that language for admitting celibate gay men, the Vatican followed up in 2008 with a clarification. “It is not enough to be sure that he is capable of abstaining from genital activity,” ruled the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, which issued the initial guidelines. “It is also necessary to evaluate his sexual orientation.”
Some seminary directors were baffled by the word “orientation,” said Thomas G. Plante, a psychologist and the director of the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara University, who screens seminary candidates for several dioceses in California and nationwide.
Posted in Keeping Kids Fit | No Comments »
May 18th, 2010 shendl
SPANKING CHILDREN
There is an ongoing debate about whether to spank children. Some believe it is 
never acceptable to spank a child while others believe it is a form of discipline that works or at least there are specific instances in which spanking is warranted. It is sometimes stated that the tendency to spank is different in different cultures. This is most likely true. However, children are children in every culture and while it might be an acceptable practice in some cultures, it nonetheless has the same impact on a child’s psychological development. At the core of the decision to spank is the belief that it is an effective method of changing behavior.
Parents will often spank children in order to exert influence over their behavior when they are doing something wrong, being annoying or getting into danger. Interestingly, there is no evidence to suggest that children learn well when spanked. In fact, there are studies that indicate that the opposite is true. Alternate methods of disciplining children are available to be learned and practiced. One such methodology is Positive Discipline. Here is a link to learn more about it: www.positivediscpline.com
Six Reasons Not to Hit Children
- Teaches Children to Become Spankers: One of the most direct correlations (both anecdotally as well as through research) is that many children who are hit will grow up to be adults who hit. It has been surmised that spanked children often grow up to be bullies and it has been found that one of the most common denominators in gangs is that they have all been hit, spanked or abused in some way. It also teaches that it is appropriate to exert power over people who are younger, smaller or weaker. One mother told me a story of how her 5 year old daughter was hitting her 2 year old daughter. When told to stop, the older daughter said she was just playing Mommy. This is a direct example of children emulating their parents and believing if Mommy or Daddy does it, it must be the right thing to do. This imprinting at a very young age happens at a time of intense learning for children.
- Promotes Anger: Children have a strong sense of fairness and are not well-equipped to understand why they would be treated so unfairly. Spanking is perceived as an unfair way of being treated and generates feelings of anger, embarrassment and humiliation. Sometimes these feelings are not outwardly expressed and may be directed at themselves. Feelings of worthlessness and of deserving to be punished can follow. We also know that children are often strongly attached to parents who abuse them. They protect them in order to maintain the connection to them, even if it is a negative connection. These same children often become involved in relationships as adults that are also abusive, both as the abuser or the one being abused.
- Learning How to Manage Conflict: Spanking gets in the way of children learning how to settle their differences in a safe, humane and satisfying way. When they have been taught to talk about their emotions, they have a much better chance of bringing that understanding into their relationships with others. When spanking is used as the solution, they become focused on the feelings of hurt and anger and perhaps also revenge. They are no longer open to learning from the punishment they are receiving. If they have learned anything at all, it is to be afraid. Children need a safe place to express their frustrations without fear of recrimination, so they are able to learn ways of tolerating and dealing with their feelings.
- Appropriateness of Behavior: I’m sure you are all aware of the “Terrible Twos”. It is a frustrating experience for parents as their manageable 1-year-old starts having tantrums, is no longer quietly taking everything in and is starting to talk a blue streak. It is a challenge to allow children to go through this developmental growth in their lives as it is experienced as intrusive and almost impossible to manage. It is a time when parents try to find anything that will stop the offensive behavior, including spanking. Just as a side note, those terrible twos can sometimes become the trying threes and the fearsome fours. Patience is a virtue!
- Sexual Confusion: It has been suggested that one of the implications of spanking is that at the age most children are spanked, it is when they are in an anal stage of sexual development. Children experience latent sexuality, meaning it is not outwardly expressed, and is a function of normal development. When they are spanked, they have the experience of feeling pain in an area that is also an erogenous zone and is a pleasurable sensation. It can form a connection between pain, humiliation and being aroused.
- Doesn’t Improve Behavior: It bears repeating that spanking does not bring about the change in behavior or attitude in the long run that a parent might intend. It could bring about a brief end to an unwanted behavior, but chances are good the child will repeat the unwanted behavior again in the future. They will learn to be afraid of a parent and/or learn more and better ways to not get caught.
Take some time to think about the times you have either spanked or wanted to spank your child. Were you feeling in control of your actions? Were you looking for some intervention that would be quick and efficient in the short term? Did it relieve your feelings of frustration? Did you feel more in control after the spanking? There are better ways to teach your children than spanking them.
Dr. Shendl Tuchman
Posted in Dr. Tuchman's Offerings, Keeping Kids Fit | No Comments »
April 18th, 2010 tyko
* * * * *
FIT KIDS
With all the media focus on obesity, diabetes and other early childhood health issues, it is natural for parents, teachers and day care providers to have concerns about childrens eating habits and the need for daily physical activity. Most of us are all too familiar with the phrase “Fast Food Nation,” and as eating on the run continues to become the norm in an ever-growing number of families, it is more important than ever to focus on these issues and to provide children with information that will encourage them to make healthy lifestyle choices.
We are fortunate to live in a society where cutting edge health and fitness information is available from a wide variety of sources. However, even as a fitness professional, I sometimes find it frustrating to surf the Internet for legitimate information, and to not get sucked in by celebrity diet and fitness endorsements, TV, and magazines. I recommend the following sources for their ease of use and comprehensive information:
Eat This! Not That! For Kids David Zinczenko & Matt Goulding
Available at www.amazon.com and local bookstores, this fun, fact filled book offers nutrition facts and comparisons for most major fast-food restaurants and supermarket foods that often end up in your kitchen.
www.MyPyramid.gov
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) website features interactive exercise and nutrition information specifically targeted at preschoolers (2-5years) and school-aged children (6-11 years).
www.cdc.gov/growthcharts
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website features the most current height and weight charts for children
www.diabetes.org
The American Diabetes Association website contains these helpful links for families and schools: www.diabetes.org/family-link and www.diabetes.org/safeatschool
When developing fitness and nutrition plans for preschoolers and school-aged children, it is important to focus on the following areas:
HEIGHT & WEIGHT
Both the CDC and USDA recommend keeping a growth chart for your child. While many parents begin doing this when a child starts school, it may be helpful to start the chart when a child is as young as 2. There is no need for concern if a child occasionally falls out of height/weight norms. However, if he develops a pattern of being in the overweight category, this may indicate a susceptibility to weight issues later in life, and it may be necessary to make changes in diet and physical activity in order to avoid future weight issues.
FOOD PREFERENCES
Food preferences are established early on, so it’s important to introduce young children to a variety of fruits and vegetables. However, it is important to remember that most preschoolers go through a picky eater stage that usually subsides by the time they reach school age. If a child refuses to eat on occasion don’t panic; he will eat when he’s hungry. Here are some tips for dealing with picky eaters:
- Let your child help pick out produce at the grocery store.
- Let your child help with simple meal preparation.
- Serve a variety of finger foods that can be dipped into low-fat yogurt or peanut butter.
- Give your child choices at mealtime: would you like carrots or broccoli for dinner?
- Offer your child the same foods everyone else is eating rather than preparing special meals.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Preschoolers should get at least an hour a day of strenuous physical activity such as climbing, swinging, running or jumping combined with moderate activities such and walking or going shopping. Try keeping a daily activity journal for a week and monitor how much time your child spends eating, sleeping, resting, and participating in both moderate and strenuous activities. Kids love music and dance, and a great way to encourage preschoolers to move is planned group play such as one of these activities:
Pick an up tempo song and choreograph a series of 4-8 movements that can be repeated for the length of the song.
- Set up an obstacle course using climbing blocks, canvas tunnels, a small slide and other kid friendly objects.
- Go outside for a game of follow-the leader.
- Play musical chairs.
BE A ROLE MODEL
Children learn by example, so make sure to make exercise part of your daily routine. As with children, exercise should be something you enjoy; if you don’t like plodding along on the treadmill, go for a bike ride, play a team sport, or take a dance class. In addition, many places offer mommy-and-me type classes, where parents and children can play and exercise together.
Try new foods on a regular basis, and refrain from saying you don’t like them. This will teach your child to be a more adventurous eater, and to try a particular food more than once if they aren’t initially sure they like it. Keep in mind that it is best to introduce children to new foods in combination with familiar ones, preferably in small amounts rather than requiring them to eat a full-sized serving.
No single factor can predict a child’s future health, and while there are nutrition and fitness ranges that are considered healthy, there is not one template that is appropriate for every child. Be aware of your child’s eating patterns and activity levels, and consult your pediatrician if you have any concerns about your child’s development. Remember that nutrition and fitness should be fun, and that by encouraging your child to try new foods and activities, and to play an active role in making positive lifestyle choices, you are setting the foundation for him to live a fit and healthy life.
Liz Lloyd is a native Californian, and graduate of U.C., Irvine. Before becoming an ACE-certified Personal Trainer, she worked in the financial industry as a Business/Disaster Recovery Plan Administrator. Her interests include Flying Trapeze, aerial hoop, rock climbing, cooking, reading and foreign films.
Elizabeth Lloyd
physfit1@live.com
(916) 838-0935
Posted in Keeping Kids Fit | No Comments »
March 19th, 2010 tyko
… and I believe in my heart of hearts that Pope Benedict XVI [unfairly nicknamed, "Ratzi the Nazi"] would never cover up such atrocities. Far be it. If anything, the former Hitler Youth was “only following orders.” Now, presumably, the Pope takes orders from…
But, just to be on the safe side, however [where there's smoke, often times there's fire], I would highly recommend never leaving your child alone with any one you won’t trust beyond doubt, and no alone time with any man in a dress, or an “outfit.” It’s akin to having Col. Sanders babysit your chickens. After all, thousands of rotten eggs, do ruin the barrel.
I’ll even take it one step farther [or further, if you prefer]. In light of what we’ve learned about the wide spread practice of [shall I say?] “questionable frolicking” at the Roman Catholic Church, parents should be held complicit if their child is abused by a Clergy-person… Don’t shoot the messenger, knowledge is power. With that in mind, here’s yet another story:
The head of new task-force set up to deal with sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests in the Pope’s former archdiocese in Germany said the group had been overwhelmed by a “tsunami” of claims.
By Nick Squires in Rome Published: 4:59PM GMT 19 Mar 2010
New reports have emerged almost daily of sex abuse cases involving Catholic clergy in several European countries. The spreading controversy threatens to overshadow a letter the Pope is expected to release on Saturday about the scandals that wracked Ireland. Fresh claims emerged that Benedict XVI failed to do enough to safeguard children from paedophile priests when, as Joseph Ratzinger, he was the archbishop of Munich from 1977 to 1982. “It’s like a tsunami,” said Elke Huemmeler, the head of the diocese’s newly established Task Force on Sexual Abuse Prevention, the first of its kind in the German Catholic Church. The body, which started work yesterday, will review about 120 cases of alleged sexual abuse – among the 300 reported across Germany since January. Around 100 of the claims involve a boarding school run by Benedictine monks at Ettal, in the foothills of the Alps in southern Bavaria. “It is all really terrible, but we are going to listen to everything,” said Mrs Huemmeler. A pastoral letter from the Pope to the people of Ireland, addressing the paedophile priest scandal that has shocked Irish Catholics. The most damaging revelation that Pope Benedict has yet is faced is that he allowed a priest accused of molesting an 11-year-old boy to be moved from another diocese in order to undergo “therapy” in 1980. The priest, Peter Hullermann, 62, was later released back into the community and was convicted of child sex abuse and given an 18 month suspended sentence in 1986. The Vatican has insisted that by that time the future Pope had moved to Rome to take up a new appointment, but a member of the diocese said that he and colleagues should have been informed by him that Hullermann was an offender. “We should have known,” said Erwin Wild, the then spokesman of the diocese’s council of priests. The psychiatrist who treated Hullermann said the Church ignored repeated warnings that the cleric should not be allowed to have any dealings with minors. “I said, for God’s sake, he desperately has to be kept away from working with children,” Dr Werner Huth told the New York Times. Despite his conviction, Father Hullermann was allowed to resume his pastoral duties and was only suspended from his duties this week. The sex abuse scandal, which has also swept through the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland, reached Italy this week. The bishop of Bolzano, in northern Italy, asked forgiveness from the growing number of people in his diocese who have come forward in the last 10 days saying they were abused in religious institutions in the 1960s. Bishop Karl Golser, whose diocese is in a largely German-speaking province on the border with Austria, expressed his “sincere regret” to the victims and said he would forward abuse claims to Italian prosecutors.
Here’s a
link to the rest of the article.
Protect your children. Keep them out of harm’s way [harm pictured bellow]. 
Posted in Child Care News, Keeping Kids Fit | 1 Comment »
March 5th, 2010 tyko
This is a growing trend [as is people holding their dogs while strolling down the street, for that matter]. I can only think of but 73 reasons why not to walk your child on a leash.
Posted in Keeping Kids Fit | No Comments »
March 1st, 2010 shendl
SPANKING CHILDREN 
There is an ongoing debate about whether to spank children. Some believe it is never acceptable to spank a child while others believe it is a form of discipline that works or at least there are specific instances in which spanking is warranted. It is sometimes stated that the tendency to spank is different in different cultures. This is most likely true. However, children are children in every culture and while it might be an acceptable practice in some cultures, it nonetheless has the same impact on a child’s psychological development. At the core of the decision to spank is the belief that it is an effective method of changing behavior.
Parents will often spank children in order to exert influence over their behavior when they are doing something wrong, being annoying or getting into danger. Interestingly, there is no evidence to suggest that children learn well when spanked. In fact, there are studies that indicate that the opposite is true. Alternate methods of disciplining children are available to be learned and practiced. One such methodology is Positive Discipline. Here is a link to learn more about it: www.positivediscpline.com
Six Reasons Not to Hit Children
1. Teaches Children to Become Spankers: One of the most direct correlations (both anecdotally as well as through research) is that many children who are hit will grow up to be adults who hit. It has been surmised that spanked children often grow up to be bullies and it has been found that one of the most common denominators in gangs is that they have all been hit, spanked or abused in some way. It also teaches that it is appropriate to exert power over people who are younger, smaller or weaker. One mother told me a story of how her 5 year old daughter was hitting her 2 year old daughter. When told to stop, the older daughter said she was just playing Mommy. This is a direct example of children emulating their parents and believing if Mommy or Daddy does it, it must be the right thing to do. This imprinting at a very young age happens at a time of intense learning for children.
2. Promotes Anger: Children have a strong sense of fairness and are not well-equipped to understand why they would be treated so unfairly. Spanking is perceived as an unfair way of being treated and generates feelings of anger, embarrassment and humiliation. Sometimes these feelings are not outwardly expressed and may be directed at themselves. Feelings of worthlessness and of deserving to be punished can follow. We also know that children are often strongly attached to parents who abuse them. They protect them in order to maintain the connection to them, even if it is a negative connection. These same children often become involved in relationships as adults that are also abusive, both as the abuser or the one being abused.
3. Learning How to Manage Conflict: Spanking gets in the way of children learning how to settle their differences in a safe, humane and satisfying way. When they have been taught to talk about their emotions, they have a much better chance of bringing that understanding into their relationships with others. When spanking is used as the solution, they become focused on the feelings of hurt and anger and perhaps also revenge. They are no longer open to learning from the punishment they are receiving. If they have learned anything at all, it is to be afraid. Children need a safe place to express their frustrations without fear of recrimination, so they are able to learn ways of tolerating and dealing with their feelings.
4. Appropriateness of Behavior: I’m sure you are all aware of the “Terrible Twos”. It is a frustrating experience for parents as their manageable 1-year-old starts having tantrums, is no longer quietly taking everything in and is starting to talk a blue streak. It is a challenge to allow children to go through this developmental growth in their lives as it is experienced as intrusive and almost impossible to manage. It is a time when parents try to find anything that will stop the offensive behavior, including spanking. Just as a side note, those terrible twos can sometimes become the trying threes and the fearsome fours. Patience is a virtue!
5. Sexual Confusion: It has been suggested that one of the implications of spanking is that at the age most children are spanked, it is when they are in an anal stage of sexual development. Children experience latent sexuality, meaning it is not outwardly expressed, and is a function of normal development. When they are spanked, they have the experience of feeling pain in an area that is also an erogenous zone and is a pleasurable sensation. It can form a connection between pain, humiliation and being aroused.
6. Doesn’t Improve Behavior: It bears repeating that spanking does not bring about the change in behavior or attitude in the long run that a parent might intend. It could bring about a brief end to an unwanted behavior, but chances are good the child will repeat the unwanted behavior again in the future. They will learn to be afraid of a parent and/or learn more and better ways to not get caught.
Take some time to think about the times you have either spanked or wanted to spank your child. Were you feeling in control of your actions? Were you looking for some intervention that would be quick and efficient in the short term? Did it relieve your feelings of frustration? Did you feel more in control after the spanking? There are better ways to teach your children than spanking them.
Dr. Shendl Tuchman
Shendl Tuchman, Psy.D.
2 Crow Canyon Court, Suite 200, San Ramon, CA 94583
phone: 925.201.3435
3120 Telegraph Ave., Suite 9, Berkeley, CA 94705
phone: 510.595.5525
fax: 510.496.2712
dr.tuchman@earthlink.net
Posted in Dr. Tuchman's Offerings, Keeping Kids Fit | Comments Off
February 15th, 2010 tyko
|
Grandparents who care for children ‘boost obesity risk’
|
|
By Emma Wilkinson
Health reporter, BBC News
|
Grandma doesn’t always know best when it comes to diet
|
Young children who are regularly looked after by their grandparents have an increased risk of being overweight, an extensive British study has suggested.
Analysis of 12,000 three-year olds suggested the risk was 34% higher if grandparents cared for them full time.
Children who went to nursery or had a childminder had no increased risk of weight problems, the International Journal of Obesity reported.
Nearly a quarter of preschool children in the UK are overweight or obese.
The researchers said very little research had been done on the influence of childcare on weight.
Yet childcare may have an effect on weight through diet and physical activity.
The study used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, which looked at the health of children aged between nine months and three years old, who had been born in the UK between 2000 and 2001.
The results showed that those looked after by grandparents part-time had a 15% higher risk of being overweight for their age compared with those solely looked after by their parents.
Those who were cared for by their grandparents full-time had a 34% increased risk of being overweight, the University College London team found.
Further analysis taking into account the child’s socio-economic background, found the increased risk was only apparent in children from the most advantaged groups – whose mothers had a managerial or professional job, had a degree, or lived with their partner.
There was also an increased risk of being overweight associated with other informal care provided by relatives or friends but only if that was full-time.
‘Best alternative’
The researchers said it was well-recognised that parents value care provided by grandparents and consider it to be the best alternative to full-time parent care.
They said the issue was about providing informal carers, such as grandparents, with better information and support around diet and exercise.
A recent announcement to provide grandparents with National Insurance credits for caring for grandchildren under the age of 13 years for at least 20 hours a week from 2011, “provides a potential opportunity for such health promotion”, they advised.
Study leader Professor Catherine Law said this study, which was backed by other work done in the US, did not look at why grandparent care was associated with being overweight but that indulgence of children and lack of physical exercise were two possible explanations.
“One of the ways forward would be to talk to small groups of grandparents to see the challenges they face.
“Some of the things that might help would be educating the population in general about healthy lifestyles but also things like avoiding food as a reward and suggestions for building activities into daily life.”
A Department of Health spokesman said: “We know that obesity is a very complex issue with a wide range of factors involved.
“The latest figures show that child obesity levels are the lowest reported since 2001. However, there’s no doubt that levels of obesity in this country, as in the rest of the developed world, are far too high.
“That’s why we’re investing time, energy and money into preventing people from becoming obese in the first place.
|
 |
Posted in Grandparenting, Keeping Kids Fit | No Comments »
We know that obesity is a very complex issue with a wide range of factors involved 