The Super Mom » Super Informed

Voice Analysis Will Help Identify Autism at an Early Stage

Galina Ozgur — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:00:45 +0000

An automated voice analysis machine called LENA, has been recently developed by researchers in hope to be able to identify autism in children at early stages of their development. After a research which involved 232 children (77 of them were already known to have autism) and required them to use a small device with a mic, specialists claim that certain voice patterns in autistic children can be picked up by this machine. Once the voice recordings are downloaded onto a computer and analyzed by the automated system, there is a way to separate voice patterns of normally developing children from the ones belonging to kids with a language delay. Although they claim that more research is necessary, that the research needs to be conducted involving younger children and that the researching team should have no knowledge of the kids’ condition, LENA is already the new buzz word.

You might want to check Lena Foundation’s website, it’s pretty interesting, but just to give you an idea about what these guys do, here’s their “about us”:

The LENA Foundation develops advanced technology for the early screening, research, and treatment of language delays and disorders in young children. Philanthropists Terrance “Terry” Paul and Judith “Judi” Paul formed the not-for-profit organization through a multimillion-dollar gift. Over a five-year period, the foundation created the LENA (Language ENvironment Analysis) System, the world’s first automatic language collection and analysis tool and the foundation’s principal technology. The foundation employs a team of scientists and engineers skilled in computerized speech and speaker recognition, microelectronics, statistical research, and children’s language acquisition and development; they are dedicated to helping the foundation enhance language development worldwide.

Stopping Bottle Feeding Starts With a Conversation

Galina Ozgur — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:00:49 +0000

This very informative article recently posted on CNN claims a simple, 5-minute talk with parents during their baby’s 9-month checkup can actually help their kid stop bottle-feeding. The results of the new research released on Monday are simply amazing and encouraging, as such an important decision is not always made easily by mothers and is very often put off until a later date.

Dr. Jonathon Maguire of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, in charge of the research, says that it is possible to change the “health trajectory of a child” in just five minutes, and all it takes is an informative motivating talk about the child’s health.

Maguire and his team followed 201 children until the age of 2 and found a 60 % decrease in prolonged bottle use when pediatricians made a point of raising the subject at the 9-month checkup.

The doctors started off giving the children’s parents standard health information during the visit. Half of the parents also had the five-minute conversation about the risks of continued bottle use. These parents were given a sippy cup and step-by-step instructions on how wean the child off the bottle and on to the sippy cup within a week.

(…)The study authors said the 9-month checkup is a good time to schedule this consultation because no routine vaccinations are scheduled, allowing for the time to have a conversation about nutrition in the second and third years of life.

The reason behind this motivation is the effect prolonged use of bottle may have, such as tooth decay and nutritional deficiencies in young children. The longer you wait, the longer it might take to make this transition and the harder it is to correct this behavior, doctors warn.

When a baby latches on to the bottle, breast or sippy cup, the tongue covers and protects the bottom front teeth, resulting in the decay pattern (…) in which the top incisors are decayed and the bottom incisors are not.

This type of decay occurs between 1 and 3 years of age, when a baby’s teeth start coming in. It develops rapidly and can cause severe dental pain and infection, according to the American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

This is why the pediatricians group recommends babies be weaned off the bottle and sippy cups by the time they are 1. Another reason for weaning babies is that they should be getting most calories from solid foods, to ensure proper nutrition.

According to the AAP, by the time a baby is a year old, the toddler needs to eat food from the same four basic groups as adults do: meat, fish, poultry, eggs; dairy products; fruits and vegetables; and cereal grains, potatoes, rice, breads and pasta.

It’s understandable why parents hesitate. Using a bottle is pretty convenient. It doesn’t spill and at a certain point babies start managing to hold it without any help. It also soothes them and helps them sleep.

However, allowing this to happen is not acting in the child’s best interests, and hopefully more doctors will be using educational talks to get this message through.

Toddlers And Pets: Can Peace Be Maintained?

Galina Ozgur — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:00:09 +0000

So you’ve decided to buy a pet and bring it into a household where you’re raising a toddler. You think it might be just so cute to see them play and cuddle together, a pet may teach your kid love and appreciation for animals and in turn your kid will be a perfect companion for the lovely furry. Right?

Well, in fact, unless you already have a pet, bringing one into your home and your toddler’s life might not be such a swell idea.

Puppies and kittens require a lot of attention and love, sometimes more than your toddler. Your task is not only to raise them, but to raise them right, and that might be impossible provided your household has a lively energetic toddler!

“Every family is different,” acknowledges Shelagh MacDonald, program director for the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, “but I don’t think getting a dog is usually the best decision at that point. Toddlers require so much time, and puppies can be almost as demanding as children. And the early stages of a puppy are so important – the time and effort you put into the first two years in training and shaping their behaviour pays off years down the road. It would be a real challenge to train and socialize a puppy at the same time as having a toddler.”

But let’s say you’re in a situation where you actually own a pet and that pet coexists in the same house with your little one. How do you make it work?

First of all, it’s helpful to know that both, the child and the pet may get hurt. Toddlers are curious and unaware of certain signals dogs or cats may give out, while cats or dogs are often taken aback by clumsy gestures and sudden grabbing. So here’s a few things you should take into attention in order to install peace:

Rule 1: Supervise

Whatever it is they do, always watch them play or interact.

Rule 2: Seek professional assistance

If your dog is impatient and demonstrates aggression towards your child, hire a dog trainer

Rule 3: Educate

Teach your toddler to be nice to the doggie or kittie, show them how to be gentle and how to pat a dog or cat the right way.

Rule 4: Praise

Praise your dog and cat for being patient and your child – for following the rules

Rule 5: Do cat manicures

If you own a cat, try to make sure you trim their claws once in a while to minimize the damage (they do occasionally scratch, it’s in their nature)

Rule 6:Ensure healthy living

Vaccinate your pets regularly

Early Education: More Paperwork And Less Time With The Kids?

Galina Ozgur — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:30:05 +0000

I have recently come across this article on the BBC News website telling about how the British government is planning a careful review of guidance for nurseries. Brits seem to be concerned with the current learning standards for the under-fives.

Education professionals back up the concerns saying the framework introduced to nurseries across the country is “too rigid“, difficult and might lead them to a “tick-box” approach. They also doubt the positive effects of such an intensive program considering educators spend more and more time filling out reports, and less time working with kids.

Early learning goals are as follows:

Writes own name
Uses pencil effectively
Orders numbers one to 10
Develops mathematical ideas
Retells narratives
Reads familiar words

Well-known children’s authors including Michael Morpurgo and Philip Pullman were among those who campaigned for the scrapping of milestones , such as requiring five-year-olds to be able to write their own name and use punctuation.

And some educationalists argued the framework could harm children’s development and restrict parents’ freedom of choice in childcare and education.

Ministers say they want to focus on getting children ready for school and raising the results of those from poor homes.

While different countries employ different education practices, it’s fair to observe a certain similarity in how early education systems in developed countries are applying more and more pressure on the under-fives – something my generation never experienced. Hopefully, whoever conducts the research and submits the results, will also be able to show us, the parents, the right way to educating our kids AND keeping them happy.

Parents Oblivious to Overweight Kids

Galina Ozgur — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:35:12 +0000

Here’s a very disturbing yet very true fact about parents: they don’t always see what needs to be seen and don’t always take action when it needs to be taken. A very good example of this is the situation described in the July issue of Newsweek magazine. The article is a call for attention, so there’s nothing vague about the headline: Parents Oblivious to Overweight Kids.

It’s a touchy subject, and it’s obvious not everyone will go and admit their child is overweight. What is worse, not everyone would go as far as admitting it AND trying to do something about it. This is not some silly “size 0″ propaganda. No, a skinny child is not always a healthy child, and it’s true that many scores of years ago being overweight was a sign of wealth, but unless we want to be living in the times were gout was as common as a sore throat, we should be taking action, and admitting you have a problem is already one step to healing, right?

Having been overweight throughout my childhood years and well into my teenage years as well, I can’t help but notice a pattern some parents take to when it comes to justifying their children’s eating habits. Neither my mother, nor my grandparents who helped her babysit, ever refused me anything. My father, the only one in the family who recognized the problem and actually made us visit a dietician, was pronounced the official enemy who was trying to “ruin the kid’s body image” and self-esteem. To my mother I wasn’t an obese child. To her I was slightly plump and a bit bigger than average, and her misconceptions went as far as her trying to get me admitted to a ballet school.

These memories were brought on to me by this passage:

Why are Americans getting fatter? As we reported (…), there are a host of factors, from the ubiquity of high-fat, mega-calorie foods to lack of exercise and too much TV. But another, more complicated, trigger appears to be at work as well: grave misperceptions about weight.

This is especially true of parents who mistakenly believe their kids are leaner than they are. A new poll included in the report finds that the majority of Americans believe that childhood obesity is a “significant and growing challenge for the country,” and yet 84 percent say their children are at a healthy weight—despite national stats showing that nearly one third of children and teens are overweight (their body mass index, or BMI, falls between the 85th and 95th percentile for their age and sex) or obese (at or above the 95th percentile). Americans understand there’s a problem; they just don’t think their kids are a part of it. The consequences are dire. “We’re in danger of raising the first generation of children who could live sicker and die younger than the generation before them,” says Dr. James Marks, RWJF’s senior vice president.

Skewed weight perception is a well-known phenomenon in the research world. In one study, only one third of parents of overweight kids recognized their child’s weight status accurately and few were worried that it might be a problem. In another, 60 percent of parents of overweight children inaccurately identified their child as healthy weight or even underweight.

So here’s something to think about. If you care about your children and want to make sure they live a happy and healthy life, start taking responsibility and recognizing the problem as early as you can. Better still, try avoiding the problem and feeding your kid a healthy diet by setting a good example. Try keeping up old traditions in your family and gather at the dinner table (no TV). Encourage sports and remember that fruit and veggies are crucial for a good healthy diet. Check your child’s BMI by using calculators available online, such as this one http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx . If your child keeps gaining weight, see a doctor. Obesity may stem from auto-immune diseases, hormonal causes and some other factors that only a medical professional can detect.

You can find the full text of the article at http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/01/parents-oblivious-to-overweight-kids.html.

Over 2 Million Cribs Recalled

Galina Ozgur — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:48:51 +0000

More than 2 million cribs from seven companies were recalled Thursday June 24th amid concerns that babies can suffocate, become trapped or fall from the cribs – Time magazine reports. While no deaths were associated with the cribs, apparently there have been reported cases of entrapment (16 to be exact), and in one of the cases a child was found unconscious and had to be taken to a hospital. The companies involved in the recall were Evenflo, Delta Enterprises Corp., Child Craft, Jardine Enterprises, LaJobi, Million Dollar Baby and Simmons Juvenile Products Inc.

Drop-sides have increasingly come under scrutiny, with several warnings from the CPSC in the last year that the cribs can be deadly. CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has pledged to ban their manufacture and sale by year’s end.

CPSC urged parents to stop using the cribs and contact the manufacturers for repair kits to immobilize the drop-side or information to make the cribs more secure.

“This new recall announcement is part of a larger effort by CPSC to clean up the marketplace from many of these unsafe cribs,” said Tenenbaum. “Most of these recalled cribs have dangerous drop-sides, while the Delta crib can pose a danger to babies if the mattress support is installed incorrectly.”

Kids Who Eat What They Watch

Galina Ozgur — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:42:44 +0000

Here’s a very interesting twist on the “blame the TV” story posted in the NY Times. In case someone is wondering why their kid sees broccoli as their worst enemy, try watching TV commercials through your kid’s eyes. While no one advertises broccoli, junk food products and various foods loaded with sugar have pretty good representation on television.

“Most of the food ads that children and teens see on TV are for foods that nutritionists, watchdog groups and government agencies argue should be consumed either in moderation, occasionally or in small portions,” the group found. “Of the 8,854 food ads reviewed in the study, there were no ads for fruits or vegetables targeted at children or teens.”

In case you are wondering, several studies have demonstrated that television ads do indeed have an effect — and not a good effect — on what children eat, and how much. In one study of 548 students at five public schools near Boston, published in 2006 in The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, researchers found that for each additional hour of television viewing, the children consumed an additional 167 calories, especially the calorie-dense, low-nutrient foods frequently advertised on television.

It’s sad there seems to be no apparent solution to this, unless speaking your mind to a TV or movie producer as suggested in the article counts as something more than venting your frustration.

Children’s Product Recall: Shrek Drinking Glasses

Karlynn Johnston — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:50:11 +0000

This recall involves the “Shrek Forever After” 16-ounce collectable drinking glasses distributed by McDonald’s Restaurants of Canada. The glasses come in four designs depicting the following characters: Shrek, Fiona, Puss n’ Boots, and Donkey.

Approximately 1.4 million of the recalled glasses were sold exclusively at McDonald’s restaurants across Canada.

For more information, consumers may contact McDonald’s Canada at 1-877-495-5502 or by visiting the McDonald’s website or Consumer Product Safety.

Tv For Toddlers Linked to Later Problems

Karlynn Johnston — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:43:51 +0000

This was an interesting article for the simple fact that this study actually took into consideration the education of the children’s mothers, single parent status and other factors that might contribute to the outcome.

As always, the amount of time that toddlers watch television per week astonishes me and the fact that it keeps going up by the time children are 5 has me shaking my head. By five children should absolutely be able to entertain themselves sufficiently that the tv doesn’t need to be on that much for those “parenting breaks”. And I am certainly a supporter of those breaks, but in moderation. The television has admittedly saved my sanity time and time again.

I just have a hard time understanding it because most days our tv doesn’t even go on and the kids actually go for days without it at a time. When is there time? We go to school first thing in the morning and then by the time we are all home at 4, it’s time for home reading, then supper, then clean up, then finishing any leftover reading,bath, bedtime stories, bedtime…we honestly couldn’t fit TV into our evening schedule if we wanted. We aren’t even in the massive homework stage yet!

As always, the study shows how harmful it is to plug your toddlers into the television too much because you pay for it later.

Johnson & Johnson Recalls 11 Children’s Medications

Karlynn Johnston — Sat, 01 May 2010 14:37:08 +0000

Well, the odds that someone has these in their cupboard is pretty high, so read the list and make sure that you don’t have any of the products listed.

Customers should stop using the recalled products immediately and contact the company at 1-888-222-6036 or go to www.jnjcanada.com for more information.

The affected products in Canada are:

• Infant’s Motrin Suspension Drops Dye-Free, 30ml (DIN 02238626)

• Infant’s Motrin Suspension Drops Dye-Free, 15ml (DIN 02238626)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Dye-Free, 120ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension, 120ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Grape, 120ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Grape, 30ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Bubblegum, 120ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension Tropical Punch, 120ml (DIN 02242365)

• Infant’s Motrin Suspension for Fever due to Colds/Flu, 30ml (DIN 02238626)

• Children’s Motrin Suspension for Fever due to Colds/Flu, 120ml (DIN 02242365)

• Children’s Tylenol Cough & Runny Nose Suspension, 100ml (DIN 02292122)