Reduced Eye-Patching for Lazy Eye Less Stressful, Just as Effective

Wearing an eye patch for two hours a day instead of six works just as well at improving eyesight in children with lazy eye (amblyopia), according to a new study. This research, appearing in May’s Archives of Opthalmology, is good news for families with children suffering from the most common cause of visual impairment in childhood.

In the study, children under the age of 7 were put in two groups. The first received two hours of daily eye patching and the second, six hours. After four months, the rate of improvement for both groups was the same. All children performed one hour of “near” work – coloring, reading, tracing, etc. – while wearing the patch. The near work was an important part of the prescribed treatment. The researchers, however, say they are uncertain whether there would be the same amount of improvement without the daily near work.

"Prior to these results, many children with amblyopia had to wear an eye patch during school hours," says Dr. Paul A. Sieving, director of the National Eye Institute, a branch of the National Institutes of Health and the organization that sponsored the study. "For these children, the accompanying social and psychological stigma was very real. Many were stared at and teased by other children, which made them feel different. Now, children can look forward to attending school without the patch. This will make them feel better about themselves."

Amblyopia usually begins in infancy or childhood and is characterized by poor vision in an otherwise healthy eye. The brain learns to favor the other eye for reasons such as crossed or wandering eyes or a significant difference in nearsightedness or farsightedness between the two eyes. (5-27-03)

Food Fight: Mealtime Struggles

Do you have trouble getting your little one to eat what you give them? If so, you’re not alone.

A study commissioned by the Captain Birds Eye company investigated the eating habits of children in the United Kingdom. The research shows that children aren’t afraid to voice their opinions at mealtimes, and that many of them use refusal of foods as a way to assert their independence.

The study reveals that more than 60 percent of children are reluctant to try new foods. More than a third will only eat a few kinds of foods, and that same number will not eat their dinner at night because they are too full from snacks.

Parents themselves may be hindering their child’s blossoming taste buds. More than 90 percent of parents say their children won’t eat any vegetables without being coaxed, according to the study. But getting upset, providing an alternative or offering a bribe of dessert or other favored foods may help fuel the child’s negative attitude toward the meal.

Attitudes toward food are learned early in childhood, explains Dr. Pat Spungin, child psychologist. “When mums offer a sweet or pudding for eating nutritious food they are inadvertently reinforcing the idea that these foods are not very pleasant because they have to be bribed to eat them," says Dr. Spungin. "In turn, mums place the power back in the hands of the child by resorting to these tactics, so invariably mothers are rewarding fussiness.”

Children can be one of two types of eaters – adventurous or cautious – expert nutritionist, Fiona Hunter, has discovered from an analysis of 100 children’s mealtime diaries. Adventurous eaters are more likely to try unusual foods, such as mangoes or curry. However, 90 percent of the children analyzed fall into the cautious eater category. These children had more of a tendency to choose unhealthy foods over more healthy ones.

So what can you do if your child is a cautious eater and you don’t want to use bribery to get him or her to eat what you serve? Get creative. Some methods other parents have tried to get their kids to eat new or healthy foods include using recipes that disguise vegetables or insisting that their child’s favorite hero or celebrity would eat the food. (5-20-03)

Raise Your Kids to Be Respectful Cyber Citizens

With all the time kids are spending online and on the Internet, it might be a good idea to make sure yours know how to be good cyber citizens. www.playitcybersafe.com, that offers tips for parents on ways to talk to their children about respect for creative works online and the importance of using the computer safely and responsibly.

"The Internet can seem like a free-for-all for children,” says Diane Smiroldo, vice president of public affairs for BSA. It is “a place without rules, and this can lead to trouble and sites not recommended for children, as well as illegal behavior like downloading copyrighted works including software, music and games," she says.

According to a study done at St. Louis University about behavioral development, says BSA, the 9 to 12 age range is a “very reasonable” age to try to tackle cyber ethics. Experts say this is the age range when children can begin to understand abstract concepts like privacy rights and can understand the consequences of their actions.

The BSA offers these five tips for parents who want to talk to their children about cyber ethics:

• Be Involved: Know what games and software your children are using and know where they got them. Let kids know that if a friend offers to copy software for them, it may be illegal to do so. Tell them to ask for help if they are unsure.
• Inform Yourself: The Internet has many resources, including BSA’s Web site, where you can go to learn more about intellectual property, copyright and the legal and ethical uses of software.
• Talk About It: Don’t think your children aren’t listening. In conversation, talk about the software and music your children use and who owns the copyright. Define terms like “copyright,” “license agreement” and “software privacy” (if you don’t know these terms, inform yourself first). Show your kids what a copyright symbol looks like, and tell them what it means – that the material is owned by someone and can’t be copied without permission.
• Put Your Foot Down: Establish a family rule that no duplicating of copyrighted software, games or movies is allowed at home or anywhere else.
• Reward Good Behavior: Compliment your kids when they exhibit good cyber behavior. If possible, give them rewards like extra computer time or some other incentive.

Testosterone and Your Marriage

A Penn State study published in the March issue of the Journal of Family Psychology finds that positive or negative communication in your marriage depends on your own testosterone levels (relative to others of your gender) and your spouse’s.

This study – the first one to measure both a husband’s and wife’s testosterone – found, for example, that when a wife has higher testosterone (compared with other women) and her husband has lower testosterone (compared with other men), the wife is a more adaptive social support provider to her husband. In contrast, when both partners have lower testosterone levels, the husband is more positive and less negative when discussing marital issues and is a better support provider.

Researchers videotaped more than 90 couples married an average of 11 months in their living rooms having a conversation about a marital problem. The researchers analyzed the videotaped conversations as well as saliva samples provided by the couples to test their testosterone levels. (5-20-03)

Your Home: A Danger Zone for Children

Researchers of two new studies at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have found that home is the most common location for children to be injured in the United States and that most injuries resulting in a trip to the emergency room for children and adolescents occur at home. It also shows that residential injuries are a leading cause of death for this age group, especially for African Americans.

This study, presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, found the following:

• Between 1985 and 1997, almost 3,000 children and preteens died each year as a result of unintentional injury at home.
• Between 1993 and 1999, children and adolescents under age 20 made four million trips to emergency rooms in the United States.
• Almost one in 10 emergency room visits for a residential injury was for a moderate or severe injury.

Dr. Lanphear’s study shows that nearly 70 percent of deaths in children and adolescents in the United States between 1985 and 1997 were the result of unintentional home injuries. African American children had a death rate that was twice as high as that of white children. Deaths were due, in descending order, to burns or fires, submersions or suffocations, poisonings and falls.

The study also shows that injury rates were greatest for children under 5 and for boys.

The second study found that residential injuries cause nearly 15 percent of all children’s and adolescents’ trips to the emergency room and almost 40 percent of unintentional injury visits between 1993 and 1999. The study shows that falls caused the most home injuries.

"Children's health is inextricably linked with housing," says Dr. Bruce Lanphear, director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Cincinnati Children's. "Unfortunately, despite evidence that residential exposures have a dramatic impact on children's health, housing is largely ignored as a public health problem. Our research is aimed at making housing and the environment safe for children." (5-20-03)

Be True to Your School

If you’re thinking about changing your child’s school, you might want to reconsider. A child who frequently changes schools is more likely to have behavioral health problems than one who doesn’t, according to a new Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center study.

“Transitions can be so disruptive to children that parents need to weigh the potential academic benefit they may get versus the academic, social and emotional impact of making the transition,” says Dr. Mona Mansour, the study’s lead author. The increase in behavioral problems is true for all children, regardless of race, income, maternal education level or any other factor measured in the study.

The Cincinnati Children’s study, presented at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, involved more than 3,200 children between the ages of 5 and 14. The children were considered “school mobile” if they were 5 to 9 years old and attended two or more elementary schools, or 9 to 14 and had attended three or more schools. Their mothers determined behavior problems by answering questions like “he/she is disobedient” and “he/she has trouble getting along with other students” with “often true,” “sometimes true” or “not true.” The responses were then translated into a score, with higher points equaling more behavior problems.

School mobile children had higher scores of behavioral problems than those children who were not school mobile, reports Dr. Mansour. Although the study cannot state that school mobility causes behavioral problems, it does show that the two are definitely linked. The school mobile children were more likely to have non-married mothers, mothers with low-level school involvement and mothers with symptoms of depression. Also, their mothers had lower perceptions of school expectations than mothers of children who did not change schools often.

Many parents move their children from school to school because of financial reasons, residential moves or to find a school that better meets their children’s needs. The latter is especially true if the child already has behavioral problems. But what the parents don’t realize is that by trying to fix their child’s behavior problems, they could be making them worse.

Dr. Mansour recommends that health care providers talk more with parents about the impact of school changes on children. School districts, also, should consider the potential outcomes of school changes when they formulate their policies. Programs designed to reduce excessive school changes for children may have a positive impact on some children’s behavioral problems. (5-13-03)

Wheezing and Daycare Attendance

A study in the American Thoracic Society’s May 2003 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that daycare attendance in the first year of life is associated with an increase in wheezing in the first six years of life among children born to mothers who suffer from asthma. Recurrent wheezing at age 6 was defined in the study as two or more episodes of wheezing during the previous year.

Seven associates out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass., studied 453 children birth to 6 years old who had a parent with a history of hay fever, allergies or asthma. The infants were recruited for the study between September 1994 and August 1996. The researchers gathered their information through telephone questionnaires conducted with the primary caregivers of the infants.

The researchers found that the relationship between daycare attendance in the first year of life and wheezing in the first six years of life is significantly greater if a child’s mother has asthma. Children without a maternal history of asthma who attend daycare in early life show a decreased risk of wheezing and asthma by age 6. There was no significant finding for children with a paternal history of asthma.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to show maternal history may influence the relation between daycare attendance in early life and childhood asthma," says Dr. Juan Celedón, one of the authors of the study.

Previous studies in this area have shown protective effects of daycare attendance in the development of asthma in young children. But the researchers of this study claim that the increased risk of respiratory tract infections in children is one reason for the earlier, contradictory findings. (5-13-03)

Prevent Dog Bites With These Tips From PETA

There’s no such thing as “child-proofing” a dog, but heeding vital precautions goes a long way in preventing dog bite-related injuries and fatalities, says PETA. During National Dog Bite Prevention Week (May 18-24), PETA is offering advice on raising non-aggressive pups.

The following tips, says PETA, can improve dogs’ lives and save kids’ lives:

• Spay or neuter. “Intact” dogs are three times more likely to bite. Call 1-800-248-SPAY for low-cost spay/neuter programs in your area.
• If Buster’s a “backyard dog,” bring him inside. The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association reports that 17 percent of dogs involved in fatal attacks on humans between 1979 and 1998 were restrained on their owners’ property at the time of the attack.
• Never, ever sentence a dog to life on a chain. (It’s illegal in several communities and restricted in others.) Not only could your dog hang or choke on his chain, he’s a sitting duck for abusers, thieves, wildlife and animals running at large. More than a fourth of fatal dog attacks are by chained dogs.
• Give your dog plenty of exercise and social contact – frequent games of fetch, walks, lots of toys and “play dates” in the dog park can help prevent him from becoming overly defensive of his “territory.”
• Enroll your dog in a humane obedience class. If he’s been banished to the outdoors because of behavioral problems, training can help (while chaining will only make problems worse).

For more tips on raising a safe and happy dog, visit HelpingAnimals.com. (5-06-03)

Homeopathy Not Effective in Treating Asthma

Does homeopathy really work? Not to help children who have asthma, according to a new study in the journal Thorax.

Researchers studied more than 90 children ages 5 to 15 who had mild to moderate asthma, which was treated in the usual way with reliever or preventer inhalers. Classically trained homeopaths, who had been in practice for at least 10 years, also provided homeopathic remedies for the children in up to six sessions over the course of a year. Half the children were given dummy remedies (placebo) instead of homeopathy. Neither the children nor the practitioners knew who would receive which remedy.

Researchers found no evidence that homeopathy had any measurable impact on quality of life. The severity of symptoms lessened among children taking homeopathic remedies, but not to any extent that was significantly greater than placebo.

Homeopathic remedies are used by an estimated 15 percent of children with asthma in the United Kingdom, according to the authors. (5-6-03)

Report Finds Children, Senior Citizens Likely to be Victims in Fatal Crashes Involving Pedestrians

Nearly one in five pedestrians killed on America's roadways is the victim of a hit-and-run crash, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The report, NHTSA's most recent analysis of pedestrian fatalities, indicates that young children, as well as seniors, are especially likely to be the victims of fatal crashes involving pedestrians. More than a fifth of all children ages 5 to 9 killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians, and the age group with the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities are those 70 and over.

Almost 175,000 pedestrians died on U.S. roadways between 1975 and 2001, according to the report. Pedestrian fatalities now account for about 12 percent of all deaths related to motor vehicle crashes in the country.

Alcohol plays a significant role in deadly pedestrian crashes. Alcohol involvement among pedestrians in such crashes is 37 percent; for drivers, it is 18 percent.

The new NHTSA report analyzes the incidence of pedestrian fatalities in single vehicle crashes, which accounted for more than 90 percent of all pedestrian fatalities. The report focuses on pedestrian fatalities between 1998 and 2001.

For the complete report, log on to the agency's Web site at the agency's website at: www.nhtsa.gov. (4-29-03)

Treating Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease May Reduce Need for Asthma Medications in Children

Children who suffer from both asthma and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) may require fewer asthma medications after receiving anti-GERD treatment, says a study published in the April issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). The study found that medically or surgically treating GERD in children with asthma reduced the need for total asthma medications by more than half.

The study, conducted at West Jefferson Medical Center, is the first of its kind to evaluate the effect of anti-GERD treatment using acid suppressing drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) on the requirement for asthma medications in older children with persistent moderate asthma.

During 12 months of observation, all patients in the study (ages 5 to 11) with GERD receiving anti- GERD treatment showed a more than 50 percent reduction in total asthma medications used, and specifically, a more than 50 percent reduction in bronchodilator use. In addition, 89 percent of patients with GERD required no treatment with inhaled corticosteroids, and no patients required use of leukotriene antagonists during the final six months of observation. Patients receiving no anti-GERD treatment showed no change in the use of total asthma medications.

"Children with persistent asthma often take the maximum amount of medications to maintain their asthma, yet they still end up in the emergency room on a regular basis," says Dr. Vikram Khoshoo, pediatric gastroenterologist at West Jefferson Medical Center, New Orleans, La "With anti-GERD treatments such as PPIs, we may help to lighten our patients' asthma regimens and eventually reduce the number of emergency room visits and school days missed." (4-29-03)

Take a Break From the Tube During TV-Turnoff Week

Are your kids too tuned into the tube? Or for that matter – are you? If so, take a break during the annual TV-Turnoff Week 2003 (April 21-27), sponsored by nonprofit group, TV-Turnoff Network. The organization encourages children and adults to watch much less television in order to promote healthier lives and communities.

According to TV-Turnoff Network, a recent a recent Harris poll found more than 90 percent of Americans admit they have soft addictions – seemingly harmless habits like over-eating, compulsive shopping, watching too much TV or surfing the Internet for hours that take our time, zap our energy and keep us from creating a more meaningful life. The poll also found that more than a third said they watch too much TV, and more than half reported too much TV watching in children.

Soft addiction expert Judith Wright has teamed up with TV-Turnoff Week 2003 to encourage millions of children and adults to take a seven-day break from the television and rediscover that life can be more fun, rewarding and even relaxing when we do more and watch less. For many, the Week will become the springboard to making lasting change in their lives: watching less television, choosing what they watch more selectively and engaging in more screen-free activities.

"Families of school-age children that limit TV time report that their children achieve higher grades and social success," says Wright. "They also experience more family closeness, greater creativity and more interactive play at all levels of family involvement." Wright is the author of There Must Be More Than This: Finding More Life, Love, and Meaning By Overcoming Your Soft Addictions (Broadway, 2003).

During TV-Turnoff Week 2002 an estimated 6.4 million people took part in the event in more than 16,000 organized Turnoffs. The lengthy list of supporting organizations for 2003 includes a number of major groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, National Education Association, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and many others.

For more information, log on to www.tvturnoff.org or www.theremustbemore.com. (4-22-03)

Parents Not as Likely to Discuss Children's Anxiety With Doctor

A new study finds that parents are less likely to talk with their family doctor about social anxiety disorders in their children than other issues such as attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder or depression.

The study, presented at the Anxiety Disorders Association of America's 23rd annual meeting, looked at 190 families with children between the ages of 8 to 17.

Researchers found that less than a third of parents who had a child with social anxiety disorder had discussed their child's symptoms with a pediatrician. In contrast, 67 percent parents of children with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and half of parents of children with major depression had disclosed these issues with their pediatricians.

"Despite the signs of social anxiety disorder, many children remain undiagnosed for reasons including lack of communication between parent and pediatrician, time constraints of primary care visits, discomfort discussing psychosocial concerns and limited recognition of anxiety problems," says Denise A. Chavira, PhD, department of psychiatry at University of California at San Diego. "Recognizing and providing appropriate treatment recommendations for social anxiety disorders during primary care visits can have important short- and long-term implications."

Social anxiety disorder is particularly prevalent and debilitating in adolescence. Adolescents with social anxiety disorder have few friends, demonstrate disturbances in school function, experience difficulties with intimate relationships and report elevated alcohol use. Research suggests significant stability of this disorder into adulthood, as well as long-term negative consequences including increased risk for suicide attempts, alcohol abuse, difficulty working, incomplete educational attainment and depression.

The Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) is the only national, non-profit membership organization dedicated to informing the public, health care professionals and legislators that anxiety disorders are real, serious and treatable. The ADAA promotes the early diagnosis, treatment and cure of anxiety disorders and is committed to improving the lives of the people who suffer from them. (4-15-03)

Single Parenthood Increases Risk of Hospitalization, Early Death in Parents, Children

A new study has found that being a single parent increases the risk of hospitalization and early death in mothers, fathers and children.

For a dissertation at Umeå University in Sweden, a researcher traced illness and mortality among about 700,000 mothers and fathers and nearly a million children during the 1990s.

The results indicate that single parenthood entails greater risks of serious ill health (requiring hospital care) and early mortality among mothers, fathers and children. Single mothers showed greater risks when compared with cohabitating mothers. Single fathers, with custody of their children, also had heightened mortality risks, but it was above all single fathers who did not live with their children and single men without children who showed the highest mortality risks.

The greatest rise in risk among both men and women was found in cases of mental illness, suicide and substance abuse. Growing up in a single-parent household seems to mean more than twice the risk of mental illness, suicide/attempted suicide and substance abuse, according to the study, and it was also associated with a lower level of education as an adult.

The researcher attributes some of the increased risk to the fact that single parents have poorer economic and social conditions on average and that a greater share of people with weak health are included in the group. (4-8-03)

Warm Weather May Mean More Emergency Room Trips

Warm, sunny weather drives up the numbers of children requiring emergency care finds a study in Emergency Medicine Journal.

In a study of a children's hospital in Scotland over three months, researchers found that warm, sunny weather consistently drove up the numbers of children requiring emergency care for injuries all three months. Weekends, public and school holidays made no difference.

On average, the authors noted that attendances for emergency treatment were 30 percent higher between April and September than in the winter months. In the winter, medical conditions tended to predominate. (4-01-03)

Sports Medicine Organization Warns Against Use of Ephedra

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is cautioning parents, coaches and youth sports governing organizations to be aware of the hazards of the use ephedra, the herbal supplement recently implicated in the death of Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect Steve Bechler, among youth.

The consumption of ephedra, also known as "ma huang," leads to increases in metabolism and in heart rate, according to ACSM. People who exercise and/or train for competition in sporting events are exposed to risk because ephedra may impair the body's ability to cool itself, thereby increasing the potential for heat-related illness during exercise, says the organization.

"Young people don't sweat as much as adults, so they don't have the same ability to naturally adjust their body temperatures while exercising," says ACSM President Edward T. Howley, Ph.D., FACSM. "ACSM is particularly concerned that products containing ephedra are so readily available to children and adolescents who may not be aware of these dangers."

Howley also notes young athletes often use ephedra for weight loss or to enhance athletic performance and are placing a greater emphasis on peak performance at an earlier age. "There are many factors which may negatively influence a young athlete's decision to use products containing ephedra," he says. "It is critical that we stress more appropriate methods of increasing physical fitness and gaining the competitive advantages they seek."

ACSM joins other concerned organizations that have publicly cautioned against the use of ephedra. Concern centers on increased risk of heart irregularities, disturbances of the central nervous system, gastrointestinal problems and stroke. Although some athletes may consume ephedra in an attempt to improve their athletic performance and reach physical goals, says the ACSM, the risks far outweigh any potential benefits. (4-01-03)

Get Kids Reading This Summer

Summer is coming and that means your kids get their much-awaited break from school. But is that good for their brains?

According to Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the nation's oldest and largest children's and family literacy organization, experts agree that children who read during the summer gain reading skills, while those who do not often experience learning losses.

To help entice kids to keep their brains working this summer, RIF offers the following tips:

Reading Tips for Parents:

• Combine activities with books: Encourage kids to read books about the activities they get involved in over the summer.
• Visit the library: Help your child get their very own library card.
• Lead by example: Show your kids how much fun you have reading!
• Talk it up: Talk with your kids about what you read – it shows them reading is an exciting, important part of your life.
• Help kids find time to read: When planning summer activities with children, remember to allow for time to read.
• Relax the rules for summer: Let summer be a time when children can read what, when and how they please.
• Have plenty of reading material around: Along with the usual storybooks, be sure to have newspapers, magazines and informational material on hand that might spark the interest of your young readers.
• Use books to break the boredom: Get books that teach kids how to make or do something interesting this summer.
• Read aloud with kids: Take your children to see a local storyteller or, better yet, be one yourself!