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.
children
Why Fathers Are Less Likely to Die of Heart Disease
Having children may drain a man’s testosterone, but a large family may also be an indicator of heart health, a new study finds.
Fueled by Growing Painkiller Use, Overdose Deaths and Child Poisonings Are on the Rise
Drug overdose has now overtaken automobile crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., according to an analysis of government data. This is the first time that drugs have killed more people than car wrecks since …
CDC: 115 Kids Died of Flu Last Season, Most Weren’t Vaccinated
Children rarely die of the flu, but the illness can be more severe than parents think — which is why, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Thursday, vaccination is crucial.
How to Talk to Your Kids About 9/11
It can be hard to know how to broach the subject of 9/11 with kids.
‘Maggie Goes on a Diet’: A Kids’ Book About Dieting? Not Without Controversy
Poor Maggie. She’s an overweight 14-year-old character in a children’s book that’s not even due to be released until October, and already she’s stirring up controversy.
Mom with Cancer Loses Custody of Kids
For several months now, Alaina Giordano, a North Carolina mom fighting Stage 4 breast cancer, has been waging an equally tenacious battle with the legal system to keep custody of her children. On Friday, she announced that she had lost.
The Healthland Podcast: Customizing Your Baby, Masturbation, and the Vaccine Wars
Welcome back! This week we debate the ethics of a blood test that can reveal your baby’s sex at just seven weeks of pregnancy. Also: a big new study on how masturbation affects sexual development. Finally, science editor Jeffrey …
The Results Are In: First National Study of Teen Masturbation
Masturbation has long been considered a normal sexual behavior for children, and now the first nationally representative study of the practice finds — er, confirms — that teen boys, more so than girls, do it early and often.
Key to a Well-Adjusted Child: Tailored Parenting?
Parenting advice is often black or white: Be firm and unwavering. Be loving and supportive. But new research shows that a one-size-fits-all approach may not be the best way to handle things. Rather than consistency, a parent’s …
Kids Who Use Facebook Do Worse in School
That Facebook is hugely distracting is hardly stop-the-presses kind of news, but parents might be dismayed to learn that the social-media site can hobble learning and make kids less healthy and more depressed.
The Healthland Podcast: Borderline Personality Disorder, Colon Health and Child Sexuality
This week we discuss the news that an NFL player suffers from the poorly understood psychiatric illness called borderline personality disorder. Also, should you have your colon cleaned? And we talk about the controversy over …
Alas, Gay Marriage Will Yield Gay Divorce. Prenups Are in Order
As gay couples in New York gear up for the first full weekend during which they’re eligible to tie the knot, someone they hope they’ll never run into has a few words of caution: be careful.