Kiss the clean-plate club goodbye. Not only is it bad form, in light of rising childhood obesity rates, to nag your kids to finish their food, but new research shows it’s also bound to backfire and create the dreaded Picky Eater.
Parenting
Don’t Call My Kid Fat! Parents Want Doctors to Talk About ‘Unhealthy Weight’
One in three American kids is overweight or obese, but don’t tell their parents that. New research in the journal Pediatrics finds that Mom and Dad recoil when doctors describe their children as “fat” or “obese.” They would …
Is It Weird to Breast-Feed a 3-Year-Old? Mayim Bialik Doesn’t Think So
Breast is best, experts agree, but what about for kids who are old enough to walk, talk and attend preschool — like Fred, the 3-year-old son of actress Mayim Bialik, who blogged earlier this month about the process of gradually …
Fewer Hospitals Hand Out Free Formula to New Moms
It’s long been a staple of new motherhood — the diaper discharge bag, a carry-all stuffed with free formula samples that hospitals bequeath to women leaving the hospital. Who doesn’t love free swag?
Playing Favorites: Why Mom Likes You (or One of Your Siblings) Best
There aren’t a lot of ironclad rules of family life, but here’s one: No matter how much your parents deny it — and here’s betting they deny it a lot — they have a favorite child. And if you’re a parent, so do you.
Is All That Texting Turning Young Adults Into Social Robots?
I don’t text. There, I’ve said it. It takes too long for my fumbling thumbs to tap out a legible message. I’d rather call or email. Fortunately, I’m not 15 years younger, or I might have skewed the results of a survey from the …
Preemies Face Higher Risk of Death in Early Adulthood
It’s not surprising that premature babies are less likely to survive compared to full-term infants, but what is groundbreaking news is that years after their birth, they stand a 38% increased risk of dying in young adulthood, …
Is 10 Minutes Enough for a Well-Child Visit With the Pediatrician?
Parents, especially brand-new ones, are full of questions. How long should baby sleep? When should he start rolling over, sitting up, cooing? What about naps — when and how often? It would be nice to spend a leisurely hour with …
In Pittsburgh, Public Art Doubles as a Sanctuary for Breast-Feeding Moms
If you’re a nursing mother being made to feel uncomfortable for breast-feeding your baby in public, you might want to consider moving to Pittsburgh. On Sept. 17, that city will unveil a mobile sanctuary for breast-feeding moms. …
Back Off, Mom. Parents Who Hover Impede Kids’ Activity
Parents, if you want your kids to get more exercise, you’d be wise to get out of their way.
A Florida Judge Says It’s O.K. for Pediatricians to Ask About Guns
Gunshot wounds account for one in 25 admissions to pediatric trauma centers in the U.S., which is why Florida pediatricians recoiled when a precedent-setting law went into effect in June, making the state the first in the country …
Remote Controls Aren’t Toys: Lithium Batteries Prove Deadly to Kids
For something so small, the quarter-sized remote control battery that 1-year-old Emmett Rauch swallowed a year ago has caused big problems. Emmett has spent 19 weeks in a hospital ICU. He’s had 14 surgeries and been subjected …
Why Fathers Have Lower Levels of Testosterone
Fathers may not want to hear that their testosterone levels are dropping, but new research bears that out, finding that the male hormone plummets in men after they have children — most dramatically in dads who really involve …