Thumb-sucking and nail-biting children less likely to develop allergies, study reveals (11/07/2016)
Children who grow up sucking their thumbs or biting their nails could be less likely to develop allergies, researchers at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at the University of Otago in New Zealand have revealed.
10 reasons children, adults and communities need vitamin N (11/07/2016)
We’ ve come a long way over the past decade, but the journey is far from over. Many of us believe that, while public awareness of the importance of the nature connection has grown, we need to move more quickly toward action on every level...
Three-quarters of toddlers being overfed by parents (05/07/16)
Parents are being warned not to over-feed their children after research found one in 10 regularly serves up adult-sized portions of popular meals.
Portion Sizes for children aged 1-4 years
The amount of food that young children eat varies from day to day and meal to meal. Use our portion size ranges as a guide on how much to offer your 1-4 year olds, then allow children to eat to their appetite. Taller or more active children will eat larger portions than shorter or less active children.
‘Get children playing outdoors’ to improve academic success and reduce obesity (21/06/2016)
Campaigns to promote physical activity and reduce obesity among children should focus more on active outdoor play, according to a study led at the University of Strathclyde.
Let them eat dirt! Our obsession with hygiene is jeopardising our children's health (13/06/2016)
But what if we could prevent early-onset health issues simply by making our kids roll around in the dirt? In her new book Healthy Food, Healthy Gut, Happy Child, Dr Maya Shetreat-Klein advocates a lifestyle centred around contact with the microbes present in soil.
This Is What Screen Time Really Does to Kids' Brains (21/04/2016)
Screen time is an inescapable reality of modern childhood, with kids of every age spending hours upon hours in front of iPads, smartphones and televisions.
These are the countries with the healthiest diets in the world (07/04/16)
As global rates of Type 2 diabetes rise, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has chosen to shine the spotlight on the disease this World Health Day.
Is Preschool Depression Something Parents Should Worry About? (08/02/16)
Interpreting the behaviour of a 3 or 4-year-old may often seem like a lost cause. But if you’re even slightly concerned your pre-schooler is exhibiting signs of depression, you should know that it’s a legitimate problem for some young children. And there’s work being done to combat it.
BBC news. Recovery position 'a must for unconscious children and babies' (26/01/2016)
Doctors are reminding the public that unconscious infants and children should be put in the recovery position.
Independent.ie. Too much stress linked to Alzheimer's, warns new study (25/01/2016)
Evidence from a major review of published research suggests that chronic stress and anxiety damage key brain regions involved in emotional responses, thinking and memory.
The Guardian. Childhood obesity 'an exploding nightmare', says health expert (25/01/2016)
The number of children under five who are overweight or obese has risen to 41 million, from 31 million in 1990, according to figures released by a World Health Organisation commission.
Mail Online. Nine in ten toddlers do too little exercise to stay healthy: Only 9% meet guidelines of at least three hours of activity a day (20/01/2016)
More than nine out of 10 under-fives are not active enough to be healthy, experts have said as they called on the Government to 'embed' exercise in young people's lives.
Psychology Today. Causes of Students’ Emotional Fragility: Five Perspectives (25/11/2015)
The problems that young people face and the distress they feel are not new; nor is the tendency of the older generation to see the younger generation as less gritty than themselves. But there is ample, objective evidence that, in fact, adolescents and young adults are suffering from emotional problems at much higher rates than was true in past decades.
Psychology Today. Declining Student Resilience: A Serious Problem for Colleges (22/09/2015)
College personnel everywhere are struggling with students' increased neediness.
Elsevier SciTech Connect. Sex Differences and Vulnerability: How the Male-Female Divide Affects Health (15/09/15)
An interview with controversial evolutionary psychologist Professor David Geary throws up questions about the role of gender in health and wellbeing. Evolutionary psychologist Professor David Geary focuses on how the practice of sex research has shaped our attitudes towards sexual behaviour and identity.
The Overprotected Kid (April 2014)
A trio of boys tramps along the length of a wooden fence, back and forth, shouting like carnival barkers. “The Land! It opens in half an hour.” Down a path and across a grassy square, 5-year-old Dylan can hear them through the window of his nana’s front room. He tries to figure out what...
Psychology Today. Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD (08/03/2012)
In the United States, at least 9 percent of school-aged children have been diagnosed with ADHD, and are taking pharmaceutical medications. In France, the percentage of kids diagnosed and medicated for ADHD is less than .5 percent. How has the epidemic of ADHD—firmly established in the U.S.—almost completely passed over children in France?
