Comment on Babble’s Facebook Page Today + Win!

Attention all Strollerderby lovers! We like you. We really like you. And if you like us, we’d love to know about it! Babble has a Facebook page, where you can read our biggest stories of the day, and have your chance to tell us what you really think about them. In addition to being the first to know about all things Babble, we will be choosing one lucky commenter TOMORROW to win a prize! All you have to do is comment on a story on Babble’s Facebook page before MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, and we’ll choose a winner! This week’s we’re giving the author of the best comments a set of four Maisy Lift-the-Flap books, so be sure to join the conversation! And check back often for more Facebook giveaways!

Smoking Toddler Kicks the Habit

Remember Ardi Rizal, the so-called smoking toddler? The two-year-old Indonesian boy who smoked about 40 cigarettes a day?

Good news! After receiving special therapy, he has managed to kick the nasty habit, a child welfare official told AFP today.

In May, when a video of Rizal smoking went vital on the Internet, it drew international attention to the weak regulation of the tobacco industry in Indonesia.

Six months after his father gave him his first cigarette, the overweight boy was smoking two packs a day. Apparently, if his parents tried to take away his cigarettes, the boy threw violent tantrums. So where is he now? Continue reading »

Girls Are Smarter Than Boys (Or at Least They Think They Are!)

“Anything boys can do, girls can do better,” goes the classic song from “Annie Get Your Gun.”

Girls are smarter than boys too, at least the girls think so. New research suggests that from the age of four, girls believe they are smarter, better behaved, and more hard- working than boys, according to BBC News. Continue reading »

Worried About Dad: Study Says Men With Trouble Sleeping Four Times As Likely To Die

Today in the journal Sleep, researchers report that men who suffer from insomnia are four times as likely to die as men who sleep well. The study looked at 1,741 people with an average age of 50 and followed them for between 10 and 14 years.

They found that men with reported insomnia (verified in a sleep lab) were four times as likely to die during the course of the study. When hypertension or diabetes were added to the picture, the men were seven times as likely to die as the ones who reported no sleep difficulties.

It’s no surprise that sleep affects health–not getting enough zzz’s has been linked to memory loss and other chronic medical conditions.  But the researchers say they were astonished to see such a big difference in mortality rates.

What did the scientists deem as “insomnia”–how many hours of rest did the men need to be considered good sleepers? And what about women? Continue reading »

Do Cars Need Forgotten Kid Alarms?

USA Today reports that at least 41 children have died so far this year in hot cars.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is considering petitioning automakers to include safety belt reminder chimes for all seating positions.  Kids and Cars President Janette Fennell thinks that “these same chimes that sense if people aren’t buckled in should also warn if children are still buckled in cars after they’re locked.”  The Consumer Federation of America and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety agree.

While a chime might help in the case of distracted parents accidentally forgetting their child is in the back seat, what about parents who innocently leave their children in the car on purpose while they run into a store?  It turns out, only 18% of hot car deaths from 1998-2009 were caused by parents who intentionally left their children in the car.  30% were the result of children playing in unattended vehicles (in which case the chime would be ineffective in preventing death) and 51% of the deaths involved children forgotten in cars. Continue reading »

The Bed Bug Mystery: Why They’re Clean, and Why They’re Back

I thought I was safe from bed bugs over here in Los Angeles–when I think of those creepy crawlies, I think New York City.  But no, the epidemic has spread throughout the country.

Six years ago in L.A. County, a local paper recently reported, a pest control company could be expected to respond to about 35 bed bug calls, this year it will be closer to 31,000.

I’m itching as I type.  We don’t have bed bugs in my house–just thinking about them makes my skin tickle.

As fellow blogger Paula Bernstein wrote earlier this summer, the bed bug population in this country has increased by 500 percent in recent years.  And the females can lay up to five eggs per day and 500 in a lifetime.  No wonder the problem gets exponentially worse once bed bugs take hold.

But it turns out that bed bugs aren’t just a pest, they’re a scientific mystery. An article in The New York Times this week reveals that bed bugs are remarkably clean, and they’re back with a vengeance, but no one knows why. Clean? Continue reading »

Should Dads be in the Delivery Room?

In the olden days (say, anytime before 1970), dads-to-be weren’t allowed in the delivery room. Instead, they had to bide their time in the waiting room before they could break out the cigars. Think of Ricky Ricardo and other sitcom dads pacing in the waiting room as their wives did the hard work off-screen.

But times have changed and nowadays, most fathers I know would never agree to miss out on the big event.

I certainly wasn’t planning on going through labor without my husband by my side. After all, it wasn’t just my baby I was having. It was ours and I wanted him to be part of the experience. But I was admittedly, a bit nervous that he would be grossed out by the actual event.

Continue reading »

How Paternity Leave Redefines Manliness

In Sweden, paternity leave is just as important as maternity leave. American Nathan Hegedus describes over on Slate what state supported work leave and fatherhood are like in the country of his wife’s birth and his new homeland.

Hegedus has spent the last 18 months using one famous Swedish product many of us in unpaid parental leave hell would like the Scandinavian country to export: paid paternity leave. After his wife returned to work when their second child turned 18 months old, Hegedus started his 18 months of full-time care-giving to their two kids. He says he, an American, couldn’t imagine what it would be like — what his male peers who were also on leave would be like — when his work leave kicked in.

To his surprise? Hilarity did not ensue. Continue reading »

Body Mass Index Misleading in Children

The body mass index, a calculation based on your height, weight and age, is too simplistic, new research shows. The number can be especially misleading in children and the elderly.

BMI, which health statisticians use to determine whether a person is normal, overweight or obese, can’t make the distinction between lean body mass and fatty tissue. So two people could be the same height and the same weight but have very different amounts of body fat. Or another way to look at it, some adults can weigh the same now as they did 20 years ago, and yet have much fatter waistlines.

Science writer Jane Brody writes about the overused and misunderstood number in the New York Times. Continue reading »

The Creepiest Ultrasound Image Ever

What would you call a handmade item that leans more toward scary and horrific than pretty and pleasing?  The folks at the aptly-named Craftastrophe have a knack for finding such items and they’ve located one that might interest you expectant parents out there. Continue reading »