They Say: Moms Have Only 9 Recipes

As if British food doesn’t have a bad enough rap. A new survey says British mothers use a mixture of just nine recipes to feed their families.

And on behalf of my male colleagues here at Strollerderby and my own father: who says it’s up to Mom to cook dinner anyway? Continue reading »

They Say - Arguments Are All Mom’s Fault

A survey of 3,000 British families found that arguments break out among family members about three times a day — adding up to four solid days of arguing a year.

That’s it?  Four days?  I might have guessed a little higher.

The survey also found that most arguments are “caused” by moms.

Continue reading »

They Say: Chocolate Milk Might Just be Good For You

I swear to God my daughter didn’t beg me to write this story: A new study shows that chocolate milk can reduce inflammation.
A small study done in Barcelona had 47 volunteers age 55 and older who were at risk for heart disease drink skim milk mixed with a sachet of soluble cocoa powder for four weeks, then switch to drinking plain skim milk. Researchers found that they had reduced markers for inflammation and higher levels of HDL “good” cholesterol after the chcolate milk regimen.
The high levels Continue reading »

School Books Move Over for Comic Books

If a host of academic experts have their way, comic books could push traditional books out of the way in elementary and middle school libraries.

But wait, comics are dumbed down versions of books, right? Not so fast. Continue reading »

They Say: Designer Duds Bad for Baby

Parents who dress their kids in expensive clothes are being blamed for hampering the kids’ ability to develop through play. The designer duds, researchers say, are bad for baby.

The study also looked at kids sent to daycare centers dressed in clothing inappropriate for the weather or events planned (no coats during the winter months or flip flops which are hard to run in). Continue reading »

They Say: Pregnant? Pucker Up for a Little Extra Immunity

They say a kiss is just a kiss, that is unless you happen to be pregnant. Then a kiss could actually mean a little extra immunity for you and your baby.

Continue reading »

They Say: Teen Parents are Rich Kids Too

There’s a popular myth out there about pregnant teens: they’re disadvantaged youth who come from poor families. Oh yeah, and more likely than not, they haven’t seen their real Dad in a long, long time.

A nice pat way to explain how teens end up pregnant. Except it isn’t true.

A new study proves that the myth of the poor girl getting knocked up because she doesn’t have a strong male role model at home and mom is off working two jobs to make ends meet is just that - a myth. Continue reading »

They Say: Bones Can Predict High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is generally considered an adult disorder, and it’s more common among older adults than that.

But there are kids that have it, and a new study may point the way to identifying kids at risk of that and other cardiovascular problems.

A study done in Poland of 108 children found that children with high blood pressure had advanced maturation of their bones. While children without high blood pressure had bones that were within four months of their chronological age, children with it had bones that were an average of two years older than their chronological age.

Less than half of the kids who didn’t have high blood pressure showed advanced bone maturation, but nearly all of the kids with it also had “old bones.”

This isn’t the same as early onset of puberty — it shows that the actual process of the body maturing is accelerated. Researchers think that while it’s unlikely the process can be reversed, dietary modification and exercise can help blunt its effects.

They Say: Kids Still Not Getting Enough Fruits and Veggies

Remember a few years ago when that study came out that French fries were the favored vegetable of toddlers and preschoolers, and, in fact, were sometimes the only vegetable kids get in a day?

Well, that study has been updated, and the news is better, but not great. The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study, or FITS, found that while kids still don’t get enough fruits and vegetables, there’s some good news as well. Continue reading »

They Say: Kids Need More Vitamin D

Vitamin D is used by the human body in a lot of ways, but the most important is that it facilitates the absorption of calcium into the bloodstream.  Without it, you end up with thin, brittle bones.  The best source of vitamin D, of course, is direct sunlight; our skin produces the vitamin naturally.  As our society became more industrialized and kids wound up in classrooms rather than in cornfields, vitamin D was added to milk and other dairy products.  It turns out, however, that that may not have been enough.
Continue reading »