Skip to content

Category: children

Published on Leave a comment on Reading to Infants Helps With Language Development

Study after study shows that reading to young children is beneficial in several ways, and now another study can be added to the list. Positive effects of reading at least 1 book a day to a baby starting at 2 weeks of age can be seen in the baby's language by 9 months of age.

Reading aloud to your child increases the child's vocabulary and speech, but it is also a great way to bond with your child.

The researchers point out that many studies find that: "Ultimately, the age at which parents begin reading to their children correlates with language development and academic achievement."

Each parent in the study was given 20 popular young children's books to read to their baby. A few were definitely above an infant's comprehension level (e.g., Owl Babies by Waddell), while others could be considered by many as first books (e.g., the board book Everywhere Babies).

Science Daily: Daily, consistent parental reading in the first year of life improves infants' language scores

Daily reading improved language development in infants 12 months and younger, according to a recent study by researchers at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. ...continue reading "Reading to Infants Helps With Language Development"

Published on Leave a comment on Six Physicians Swallowed Lego Heads Study

Some research studies are funny. Really funny, as in WTF - did they actually do this? I recently read an entertaining article about one such study (done a few years ago) by six physicians who conducted the study on themselves. Each swallowed a small plastic Lego head and then checked their feces (poo!) to see how long it took to be excreted!

They found that the Lego heads actually passed through the gastrointestinal system quite rapidly and without any problems. (But one never found the Lego piece because he didn't thoroughly check!) The researchers (all pediatric health care professionals in either the UK or Australia) had wonderful descriptions of their results - using such terms as Stool Hardness and Transit (SHAT) and the Found and Retrieved Time (FART).

And yes, it actually has real life relevance. The results were reassuring because children swallow small plastic objects all the time, and the study showed they can pass through the system quickly. In this study the average was less than 2 days (1.7 days) for the Lego head to be excreted.

[NOTE: These results do not apply to children swallowing small (button & lithium coin) batteries - that is an emergency situation requiring immediate medical help!]

The writer Sabrina Imbler at the site Defector wrote an entertaining account of the researchers and their study. Excerpt from the article: An Oral History Of The Time Six Doctors Swallowed Lego Heads To See How Long They’d Take To Poo

In 2018, a question burned in the minds of six pediatric healthcare professionals: How long does it take for a small ingested object to pass through a child's digestive system? Unwilling to ask actual children to experimentally swallow a foreign object, these skilled workers volunteered their own gastrointestinal tracts for science, and published a paper detailing their experiment in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, which went viral in a way that papers published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health usually do not. ...continue reading "Six Physicians Swallowed Lego Heads Study"

Published on Leave a comment on Study Finds That Youngest Children In Class May Just Be Immature and Don’t Need ADHD Drugs

Age at when children first start kindergarten is controversial, with many parents choosing to keep children (especially boys) home an additional year. There is also concern that so many children are diagnosed with ADHD and given prescription medications for it from a young age.

The results of a recent large study suggest that we absolutely should be rethinking when children start school, we should be more flexible about it, and not be so quick to diagnose ADHD in young children. Instead of just looking at a child's age, assess a child's school readiness.

The study found that the youngest children in a class are more likely to be prescribed ADHD medications, which may be unnecessary. It's not ADHD (characterized by concentration difficulties, hyperactivity and impulsivity), it's just immaturity. The youngest children are immature compared to the older children in a class.

Thus the prescriptions for "behavior problems" may be totally unnecessary. These children are overmedicated! The study also found that if the youngest in the class were born prematurely, then it's like a double whammy against them.

By the way, in the United States, one additional problem is that kindergarten has become more like first grade (lots of worksheets and sitting still for long periods). And many schools have eliminated recess totally - time when children can move, play, and get rid of excess energy.

From Medical Xpress: Study suggests the youngest children in class are being overmedicated for ADHD

Christine Strand Bachmann has led a study that includes all Norwegian children born between 1989 and 1998, a total of 488,000 people. ...continue reading "Study Finds That Youngest Children In Class May Just Be Immature and Don’t Need ADHD Drugs"

Published on Leave a comment on Leave Your Shoes At The Door

It has been known for years that wearing your shoes indoors means that everything that is on the ground outdoors will be tracked into the home. Pesticides, heavy metals, lead, animal feces, and everything else out there.

Babies crawling around the floor (and also putting things into the mouth) get an extra heavy dose of "contaminants" that were tracked in. We all absorb contaminants through our skin, ingest (the mouth), or breathe them in.

All these contaminants become part of our indoor air quality. Our indoor air is not just the outside contaminants that made their way in, but there is also shedding of skin and cloth fibers from us and pets, as well as outgassing and breakdown (the dust) of whatever is in the home. We can't get rid of all contaminants, but we can really lower our exposure to them by not wearing our shoes indoors.

Bottom line: Take your shoes off at the door.

A nice discussion of this issue is in an article written by Professors M.P. Taylor and G. Filippelli earlier this year. Some excerpts from The Conversation: Wearing shoes in the house is just plain gross. The verdict from scientists who study indoor contaminants

You probably clean your shoes if you step in something muddy or disgusting (please pick up after your dog!). But when you get home, do you always de-shoe at the door?  ...continue reading "Leave Your Shoes At The Door"

Published on Leave a comment on Commonly Used Fungicide Detected In Pregnant Women and Children
Credit: Wikipedia

Another study with concerning results for children and pregnant women has been published. This time researchers found a commonly used fungicide in a majority of children and all pregnant women studied. Some children had chronic exposure. A small study, but still...

The fungicide is azoxystrobin, and is commonly used on crops (e.g., cereals, grapevines, potatoes, fruits, nuts, and vegetable crops), lawns, and in mildew and mold-resistant wallboard used in home construction. The fungicide migrates out of the wallboard (sheetrock) and is found in house dust. Thus, humans can have chronic exposure to it.

And yes, this fungicide has worrisome health effects in animal studies - for example, toxic to embryos, neurotoxicity, brain inflammation. Studies in pregnant mice found that the fungicide went from the mother to the developing babies by crossing the placenta and then entered the developing brain. Much is unknown and studies need to be done!

The problem is that in the USA chemicals are easily approved by the government for use, and it is up to consumers and researchers later to prove harm. But typically that is not enough to get any changes and the chemicals in question keep on being produced and used and causing harm.

What to do? Eat organically grown food. The fungicide is not allowed on organic crops. Don't use pesticides on your lawn. If renovating or constructing a home - avoid mold and mildew-resistant wallboard brands.

From Medical Xpress: Scientists detect common fungicide in pregnant women and children

For the first time, UNC-Chapel Hill researchers have measured the concentration of a biomarker of the commonly used fungicide azoxystrobin (AZ) in the urine of pregnant women and children ranging from 40–84 months of age. They also documented maternal transfer of AZ to mouse embryos and weaning-age mice.  ...continue reading "Commonly Used Fungicide Detected In Pregnant Women and Children"

Published on Leave a comment on Early Exposure to Foods Reduces Risk of Developing Food Allergies

Well, it looks like the medical advice for avoiding food allergies in children has come full circle. For decades health professionals said for babies to avoid eating problem foods (e.g., eggs, dairy, peanuts) if parents have food allergies. But..it turned out that following this advice did not prevent food allergies.

Results of studies in the past decade changed medical views regarding food allergies. Now the advice is: Early exposure (in the first year of life) to foods such as eggs, milk, peanut butter, and wheat is preventive - don't avoid.

A recent well done Scandinavian study confirmed that this advice is good for all young children, not just those with a family history of food allergies. Starting at 3 months of age, infants who regularly ate tiny amounts of foods (wheat, eggs, cow's milk, peanuts) had a lower chance of food allergies by 3 years of age.

Only .9% of these children developed food allergies, while 2.3% to 3% of children not getting early exposure to foods developed egg, dairy, or peanut allergies.

Also, in this study some infants had their skin rubbed with skin emollients, bath additives and facial cream from 2 weeks to 8 months, 4 times per week, and more of them developed food allergies - whether also avoiding foods or not. [My comment: Why would anyone think that would help with food allergies? It sounds irritating! And it perhaps/probably messed with their skin microbiome.]

New advice: Infants should have early exposure to potentially problem foods, starting as early as 3 months, to lower their risk of developing food allergies. Delaying the introduction of these foods actually increases the risk of food allergies. (By the way, the same advice also holds true for avoiding pet allergies - exposure to furry pets in the first year of life is important.)

From Medical Xpress: Early food introduction can reduce risk of food allergy in children

Infants who were given a taste of peanut, milk, wheat and egg from the age of three months had a lower risk of developing a food allergy at the age of three years than controls, reports a study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Oslo in Norway published in The Lancet. ...continue reading "Early Exposure to Foods Reduces Risk of Developing Food Allergies"

Published on Leave a comment on CDC Finds The Pesticide Glyphosate In Most Children

We all get exposed to pesticides to varying degrees - whether from our water, foods we eat, inhaling them, or absorbing them through our skin (e.g., walking or playing on pesticide treated lawns). Unfortunately, studies show our exposure to the pesticide glyphosate (found in Roundup) is increasing each year.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) does biomonitoring of persons in the US to see what chemicals we are being exposed to by measuring levels in the blood and urine of both adults and children. They recently released the finding that about 80% of us have glyphosate residues. Even worse, about 87 percent of the 650 children they tested had detectable levels of glyphosate in their urine.

Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide (it kills vegetation) in the US and the world. Nearly 300 million pounds of the pesticide are applied each year in the United States, with greater than 88.6 pounds per square mile in the US midwest (according to the USGS). Glyphosate residues have been found in all sorts of foods, honey and grain cereals.

What is it doing to us? It has been linked to a number of human health effects, such as cancer, endocrine (hormone) disruption, liver and kidney damage, preterm birth, and even having a negative effect on our gut microbiome - by killing off certain important species of gut microbes. There is much we still don't know about chronic exposure to low levels of the pesticide.

A 2017 study following adults over the age of 50 from 1993 to 2016, residing in Southern California, found that the percentage of adults with glyphosate residues in urine went from 12% to 70% during that time. And now the CDC reports an even higher rate. Much of this increase is due to genetically modified crops (crops that are Roundup resistant) and also to the increase in "preharvest" applications on regular crops.

What can you do? Eat as much organically grown food as possible. This is because organic farmers are NOT allowed to use glyphosate. And don't use Roundup or other glyphosate products on your property.

What EWG (Environmental Working Group) has to say about glyphosate: CDC finds toxic weedkiller in 87 percent of children tested

From Medical Xpress: Weed killer glyphosate found in most Americans' urine

More than 80% of Americans have a widely used herbicide lurking in their urine, a new government study suggests. ...continue reading "CDC Finds The Pesticide Glyphosate In Most Children"

Published on Leave a comment on Youngest Children in a Class Are At Increased Risk of ADHD Diagnosis and Medication

Another recent study gave support to what has been known for decades - the youngest children in a class, especially boys, are most likely to be diagnosed and treated medically for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or other behavioral problems.

Of course the youngest children in a class are - it's called immaturity. In a class there can be a 12 months age difference between the oldest and youngest children. Younger, more immature children have a harder time sitting still and focusing for hours, plus all those worksheets.... No wonder they are at increased risk for ADHD diagnoses and having to take medications.

The large study conducted in Scotland in Wales found that flexibility in when a child starts school helps lower the risk of an ADHD diagnosis. And if necessary, a child should stay back a year (repeat the school year)

Another thing to keep in mind -  it's especially hard for active children when recesses are eliminated, as so many schools are now doing.

From Medical Xpress: Youngest children within their school year are more likely to be treated for ADHD, says new study

New research involving experts from the University of Nottingham shows that children younger than their classmates within a school year are more likely to be treated for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), suggesting immaturity may influence diagnosis. ...continue reading "Youngest Children in a Class Are At Increased Risk of ADHD Diagnosis and Medication"

Published on Leave a comment on Waterproof “Green” Children’s Products May Contain Harmful PFAS
Waterproof jacket Credit: Wikipedia

Uh-oh... A recent study found that even if a water- or stain-resistant children's product is labeled as "green" and "non-toxic", that label may be false. Silent Spring Institute researchers found that odds are good that the product contains persistent harmful PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Precisely the opposite of what the "green" or "non-toxic" label promises.

PFAS are a group of toxic chemicals used in many consumer and industrial products. They are known to be endocrine (hormone) disruptors, and exposure to these chemicals has been linked to health problems such as certain types of cancer, reproductive harm (e.g., poorer semen quality), and birth defects, lowered sex and growth hormones in children, thyroid disease, immune effects, and liver and kidney damage.

Almost all of us have PFAS in our bodies (at varying levels). It's very hard to avoid them totally, but you should try to minimize exposure. They are found in a variety of consumer products such as firefighting foam, non-stick cookware, cosmetics, and materials that protect against grease, oil, and water (e.g., stain-resistant carpeting and fabrics, food packaging, and water-repellent clothing).

What can you do? If possible, avoid products that are water and stain proof or leak-proof, especially if children will be using the product. (For ex., can look for physical barriers instead of a chemical coating). Also, avoid products labeled with a trademark for water or stain resistance. PFAS don't have to be mentioned on labels, so it's buyer beware.

From Environmental Health News: “Green” children's products not always PFAS-free, warns new study

PFAS are finding their way into “green” and “nontoxic” products, especially waterproof products marketed toward children and adolescents, according to new research.

The researchers tested 93 items marketed to or often used by children and adolescents, including clothing, face masks, mattress protectors, rugs, sheets, and upholstery. They detected fluorine, a PFAS indicator, in 54 of the 93 products. The 54 products shown to contain fluorine were then tested for specific PFAS chemicals. ...continue reading "Waterproof “Green” Children’s Products May Contain Harmful PFAS"

Published on Leave a comment on Antibiotics Alter Gut Microbes In Young Infants

Many studies show that antibiotics disrupt the gut microbiome (intestinal microbial community of bacteria, viruses, fungi) in adults, but what about infants? A recent study found alterations in the gut microbes of young babies from a single course of antibiotics, with an increase in fungal species. And 6 weeks later the gut microbial community still wasn't back to normal. Yikes.

Antibiotics can be life-saving, but they must be used carefully - only when needed. As research shows, when some microbes are killed off by antibiotics, then other microbes (e.g. fungi such as Candida) that are resistant to the antibiotics increase (multiply) and move into the vacated spaces. There are no empty spaces in the gut.

Babies normally have a variety of fungal species in the gut already at a very young age - and this community of fungi is called the gut mycobiota or mycobiome. The Univ. of Helsinki researchers concluded that normally bacteria control fungi numbers in the gut - there is balance of all sorts of microbes (bacteria, viruses, fungi). But if you kill off bacteria (with antibiotics), then fungi numbers increase - an example of an imbalance in the gut microbial community or dysbiosis.

From Science Daily: A single course of antibiotics affects the gut microbiota of infants

A study recently completed at the University of Helsinki revealed that the fungal microbiota in the gut is more abundant and diverse in children treated with antibiotics compared with the control group even six weeks following the start of the antibiotic course. In light of the findings, a reduction in the number of gut bacteria as a result of antibiotic therapy reduces competition for space and leaves more room for fungi to multiply. ...continue reading "Antibiotics Alter Gut Microbes In Young Infants"