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Strollerderby
Research shows there's no way to avoid screwing up your kids
Yesterday, I read a report about recent research that showed kids who have a parent on military deployment are more likely to suffer mental health problems. According to the research, children who have experienced a parental deployment, are more likely to exhibit signs of depression, behavioral problems, sleep disorders, anxiety, and stress. The article cited the study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine wherein researchers examined medical records of 307,520 U.S. children, aged 5 to 17, who had at least one parent on active duty in the U.S. Army and had received outpatient care between 2003 and 2006.
As of 2009, 44 percent of active duty military members have children. That’s a lot of kids who could be potentially negatively affected by a parent’s deployment. So, what should these parents do? Should they leave the service? Can you imagine 44 percent less military personnel in the U.S. armed services? Just for fun, let’s say all those parents quit. Then what? The kids could be negatively affected by their parent’s unemployment, or their parent’s depression at leaving a job they love.
Is where you live connected to autism? Could be, researchers say, if there's a lot of pollution.
Utah has high autism rates. Several Utah cities have also been named some of the most polluted in the country. In fact, Salt Lake County has the second-highest amount of toxic chemical releases in the country, according to the EPA’s TRI database. Nearby Tooele is ranked 64th. Additionally, a study released last month shows Utah’s autism rate among 8-year-olds doubled from 2002 to 2008. The latest report shows 1 in 77 have the disorder. Although, in the interest of accuracy, it is up for debate whether autism is on the rise or we’re just getting better at diagnosing it. Similarly, Utah has more children than many other states.
Still, are the two issues related? Could autism and pollution be linked? Continue reading »
That over 1.5 million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2010 is a horrifying statistic. And the fact that many of those diagnosed will be children and young adults is downright depressing. But for a family who would undergo expensive medical procedures to have a child in the first place, a cancer diagnosis seems especially cruel. Continue reading »
Who needs a GPS when you’ve got a baby on board?
If baby rats are any indication, it seems possible that babies might be born with an innate sense of direction, according to LiveScience. Researchers working on a new study found that baby rats are born with a sense of direction — even before they take their first steps. This discovery could be an indication that baby humans are also hardwired with navigation system. Continue reading »
A new study from the Institute for American Values finds that teens and adults conceived using donor sperm will sometimes answer yes to leading questions about feeling confused about their parentage or distressed about not knowing their biological father.
That’s not the headline they’re touting as they promote the upcoming study. Instead they’re pushing the findings that make sperm donation look like a problem. Study authors Karen Clark and Elizabeth Marquardt have an essay in Slate today in which they stress the suffering of kids conceived through sperm donation.
They don’t mention that those same kids are more likely than others to donate sperm, eggs or the use of their wombs, nor do they focus long on recent research that shows lesbian moms do the best job raising their kids.
Sorry, ladies, your conservative agenda is showing.
The announcement that Al and Tipper Gore are splitting up after 40 years rocked the news media. They’ve reminded all of us that no one knows what’s happening inside a marriage except the people living it.
What’s the secret to lasting happiness in marriage? Only you and the person you’re married to can answer that question. The experts on the topic are no better at spotting troubled marriages than the bartender you pour your troubles out to. Which is to say, not good at all.
In a scientific study mentioned in the New York Times this week, pastors, marriage counselors and relationship experts were shown videos of couples talking and fighting. They had to guess which couples later divorced. They got it wrong as often as they got it right.
So you can’t tell by watching people interact with their spouses. What about a peek under the hood? Can brain scans tell us what makes a lasting marriage tick?
After being barred from practicing medicine in Britain earlier this week, Andrew Wakefield vowed to continue his research here in the U.S.
The Chicago Tribune reports that he told a “small, cheering crowd” at a rally in Chicago that he will continue to research the link between autism and vaccines.
This worries me, because he was barred from practicing medicine over unethical research practices.
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