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Strollerderby
Save everyone some heartache and don't upload this on Facebook.
If you’re one of those Facebook users who posts a picture a day of your awesome kids and family, know this: you’re bringing your most loyal FB friends (and “friends”) down. The more friends see pictures on Facebook, the more they believe your life is better than theirs and that life is not fair.
And all you thought your were doing was showing them the baby’s new tooth!
A study from Utah Valley University found that the more time spent on Facebook, the more we’re exposed to other people’s carefully culled, marvelously cute, upbeat and cheerful photos, leaving us with the impression that our life is kind of boring and that we never get to have any fun. Continue reading »
Child care helps depressed moms' kids.
The old saying “If mom isn’t happy, nobody’s happy” is true. Mom sets the tone for the household. So what if mom is sad all the time? According to a new study, about a quarter of the moms with 18 month-olds and one in five mothers of 3-year-olds show signs of depression.
Experts say children often show the signs of their parents’ distress. Some act out by being hyperactive and overly aggressive, others internalize the feeling, take on their mother’s depression and sadness by becoming withdrawn. In fact, children of moms who experience ongoing or recurring depression are twice as likely to act out and four times as likely to be sad or depressed themselves. Click here to learn how to know if your child is depressed.
Often, these are moms who are at home with young ones full-time. They don’t take their children to day care because they believe it’s their job to watch them. Why waste money on child care when I’m home full-time, seems to be the consensus in many homes. But a new study says spending just a few hours a week in day care, especially if mom’s prone to depression, will help protects kids from developing behavioral and psychological problems. Continue reading »
Me, at home with my daughter, Violet
For the past decade I’ve worked as a producer in local television news. I’ve covered a lot of amazing stories during my career including the kidnapping and unbelievable return of Elizabeth Smart, the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, and some pretty high profile murder cases.
I loved it. I was never bored. And then I had a child and I hated it. The guilt over not spending more time with my daughter was crippling. She bonded more with her dad than with me and I felt left out. I determined that it would not be the same with my second child.
I gave birth to Henry a little over two months ago and was able to quit my job to become a freelance writer while on maternity leave. I am now a stay-at-home-mom who works from home. Guess what? The guilt is the same. I feel guilty I’m not entertaining the kids enough or that they may be watching too much TV.
The whole experience made me wonder: are working moms more prone to depression than those who stay at home?
I have an answer.
A new study finds that women who give birth in the fall and winter are more likely to experience postpartum depression
Could longer, darker days be a trigger for postpartum depression? Yes, according to the results of a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Women who give birth in the fall and winter months are more prone to experience severe baby blues.
A group in Sweden at Uppsala University asserts that the amount of daylight in the seasons affect chemical pathways in the brain that are related to depression.
More than 2,000 women who gave birth over a 1-year period were studied, and out of every 100 mothers, between 6 and 15 reportedly complained of postpartum depression symptoms according to the amount of time that had passed since they gave birth and the season in which they did it.
A new study finds depressed moms respond differently to their crying babies than nondepressed moms
The sound of a crying baby can be enough to break the heart of any parent, but moms suffering from depression react differently to it than healthy moms.
A new study in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience reveals the brain scans of depressed moms were “muted” compared to nondepressed moms in regard to how each react to their crying babies.
The brain scans of healthy moms revealed “activation” in areas connected to the processing of reward and motivation, but the brains of those suffering from depression showed no such response.
ADHD can lead to depression
Children with ADHD face more challenges than sitting still in class. They are also at significant risk for depression.
New research from the University of Chicago and the University of Pittsburgh found that kids with ADHD are 4 to 6 times more likely than their peers to suffer depression as adolescents. They are also a greater risk for suicide attempts, though no one in the study committed suicide (thankfully!).
The researchers hope this study will be a wake-up call for parents to pay even more attention to their children’s early behavioral and learning issues, and get help when it’s needed.
Childhood is supposed to be the happiest time of our lives. Through the rose-tinted glasses of memory, most of us look back fondly on our early years as a time of simplicity, contentment and joy. Sure, maybe some bad things happened to us. But we were basically happy.
Children laugh many times more frequently than adults do. Little ones especially bubble over with giggles at the slightest provocation.
What about kids who aren’t happy? Can depression emerge early in childhood? Even in preschool?
An increasing number of psychiatrists and social scientists are saying yes. Preschool depression isn’t an accepted DSM diagnoses yet, but it may be on its way. In the meantime, cutting edge researchers and doctors are treating kids as young as 3 for depression.
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