Beware: Batteries
More than 3,500 reports of button-battery ingestions are reported in the US each year, a dramatic increase from the number of incidents reported just 5 years ago. Nickel-sized batteries are particularly dangerous to children since they can lodge in the esophagus and erode. Any battery ingestion is an emergency.
Rising Pressure
Harvard researchers report that blood pressure is on the rise in American kids. The team compared data from a 1999–2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with results from 1988–1994 and discovered the risk for high blood pressure in 8–13 year-olds had increased 27 percent. Experts say the number of high-sodium, processed foods and drinks in today’s diet may play a role.
Family Focus
Parents’ TV Habits influence those of their children, says an article published in the medical journal, Pediatrics. For every hour parents spend in front of the TV, tube time for kids increases by 23 minutes.
Screen Action
Replacing sedentary video games with active ones resulted in a 3.2-minute per day increase in activity levels and reduced sedentary time for more than 6 minutes, say Australian researchers. The changes are considered significant in light of the increasing amount of time kids spend on electronic gaming devices.
Bedtime Benefits
Young kids with regular bedtimes outperform their peers with inconsistent bedtimes in reading, math, and spatial ability test scores. Researchers also found that the negative consequences of varied bedtimes appears to add up over time.
Punishment Perils
Rewarding positive behavior is often more effective than punishing inappropriate behavior. And, a recent study found that children who were slapped, pushed, grabbed, or shoved by adults were 25 percent more likely to develop arthritis. The risks of cardiovascular disease, obesity, depression, and anxiety were also increased.
