Facebook Could Become Adults Only

In Australia, there are ways to force Facebook to give parents access to their kids' profiles, and this has been discussed by state and federal attorneys-general in a meeting that will also examine an 18+ Facebook age limit.

The idea was first proposed by a South Australian Family First MP, Dennis Hood, and is being championed by South Australian Attorney-General John Rau. Rau argued that giving parents assistance to supervise their children on Facebook would help protect against online predators and limit access to unsuitable material.

Facebook's terms of use currently requires users to be aged at least 13 but there is no proof of age requirement and kids regularly lie to gain access.

At their meeting today, the country's top lawmakers will consider requiring proof of age checks and even raising the age limit to 18, federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland confirmed.

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The Dark Side of Perfectionism Revealed

Perfectionists, by definition, strive for the best, trying to ace exams, be meticulous at their jobs, and raise perfect children. So one might assume this drive for the ideal translates over to their health as well, with perfectionist being models for physical and mental well-being.

But new research is revealing the trait can bring both profits and perils.

Though perfection is an impossible goal, striving for it can be a boon for one's health, causing one to stick to exercise programs to a tee, say, or follow a strict regimen for treating chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes. But the same lofty goals can mean added mental pressure when mistakes are made and the resistance to asking for help from others in fear of revealing one's true, imperfect self.

In fact studies show the personality trait of perfectionism is linked to poor physical health and an increased risk of death.

Unbalanced Diets Can Harm Your Child

All of us with an interest in healthy eating can safely say that at the moment, we're facing a health information overload. Which is not necessarily a bad thing – on the contrary, especially since important information connected to various innovations and new research in the field of dieting and healthy eating can now become readily available to a large number of people in a very short time span.

However, there's a downside to this: sometimes, there's too much information to choose from, and we all run the risk of not knowing which sources to trust and which to regard with a certain amount of suspicion. When it comes to making dietary choices for our children, such an information overload can have serious consequences.

The fact is, when it comes to feeding young children, a high intake of fresh fruits and vegetables can actually prove harmful rather than beneficial. Doctors report a growing number of cases in which parents put their young children on unbalanced vegetarian, vegan or raw food diets and unknowingly deprived them of the healthy nutrients found in fish, meat and dairy products, which led to weakness, lack of appetite and energy as well as loss of bone and muscle mass.

A recent study that looked at various types of nursery foods concluded that many nurseries are actually feeding toddlers a diet that is extremely high in fruit and vegetables and too low in calories and fats, putting them at risk of developing nutritional deficiencies. Even more worryingly, some parents are also doing the same thing.

"There's so much health information that parents are confused," says Daily Mail nutritionist Jane Clarke. "They think it's best to take what they think are "bad things" out of their child's diet, but often denying children meat, milk or wheat can do more harm than good." We all need a constant supply of energy to fuel our lives and children in particular always need to be alert in order to learn new things every day and lead healthy lives, enjoy sports and running around outside with their friends.

Forcing a child to go on a dairy-free route early in his life, for example, also means parents must offer him an alternative source of calcium or risk everything from bad teeth to poor bone growth and osteoporosis. An excess of red meat may not be a good idea, but if parents decide to remove it from their children's diets, they must also replace the vital iron that children get from eating it. Iron is essential for physical growth and the development of our brains.

On the whole, placing too many restrictions on children's diets is not a very good option. "An American study found that restricting children's access to snacks leads to more snacking later in life. It's particularly true of young girls. By making sweets and crisps taboo, they become all the more attractive," one pediatric health and exercise specialist recommends. Be careful: don't treat children like adults and don't assume they need the same type of restrictive diets. If in doubt, consult a specialist and you'll be sure to get the right answer.

Successful Breast-Feeding

SATURDAY, Nov. 3 (HealthDay News) -- More American women are choosing to breast-feed. That's the good news.

The discouraging news is that the percentage of women breast-feeding still falls short of national objectives, often because they experience problems or difficulties that are easily overcome, according to lactation experts.

Seventy-four percent of women who gave birth in 2004 initiated breast-feeding, up from 70.9 percent of women who delivered babies in 2000, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But that was still a bit short of the objectives set by the federal government's Healthy People 2010 initiative, which had hoped to have 75 percent of new mothers breast-feeding in 2004.

The number of women who were breast-feeding exclusively was even smaller. Just 30.5 percent of the women who delivered babies in 2004 breast-fed exclusively through age 3 months of age, although the national objective was 60 percent.

So, why aren't more women breast-feeding and for longer periods? Experts say that even new mothers who know all about the benefits of breast-feeding for their baby -- including protection from lower respiratory and middle-ear infections as well as a reduction in the risk of childhood obesity -- can get discouraged and give up.

Some of the most common reasons cited for stopping breast-feeding include sore or cracked nipples, not producing enough milk, a baby having difficulty feeding, or the perception that the baby wasn't satisfied by breast milk.

But breast-feeding also provides the mother with benefits. It helps speed the recovery of her body after birth, and recent studies have suggested that breast-feeding may lower a woman's risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

Here are some experts' best tips on succeeding with breast-feeding -- even if you're a beginner:

* Don't assume breast-feeding is "innate."

"Breast-feeding is not instinctive," said Katy Lebbing, a board certified lactation consultant in Villa Park, Ill., and a leader for La Leche League International, which promotes breast-feeding. "That's a myth. It's kind of like thinking all men can fix all cars."

Mothers who choose to breast-feed need education and support, agreed Karen Bonuck, associate professor of family and social medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, who has published studies on breast-feeding practices.

* Get help -- early.

Ask your health-care provider for information about breast-feeding early in your pregnancy, Bonuck advised women. Don't wait until you're six months or more along, she said. Too many other activities -- baby showers, getting the nursery ready, thinking about names -- take your attention during those final months of pregnancy.

* Take a breast-feeding class.

Ask your doctor if your hospital has one. Or see a lactation consultant -- you can ask your doctor or the La Leche League for a referral. You should make these preparations before you'll be ready to breast-feed, Lebbing and Bonuck advised.

Just a few sessions with a lactation consultant can pay off, Bonuck said. "You will understand the normal physiology of how the milk is produced," she said. The consultant, working with a doll, can help women practice the best positions to breast-feed and get comfortable with the concept.

* Be sure the hospital personnel know you want to breast-feed.

"Make your wishes known," Bonuck said. "Some [hospitals] have cards that say, 'Breast-feed only.' " That reduces the risk of confusion and your baby mistakenly getting a bottle of formula, Bonuck said. She also advises mothers-to-be to tell the hospital staff about other preferences, such as no pacifiers.

* Breast-feed as soon as your baby is born.

Breast-feeding immediately after birth -- even before the baby is cleaned up -- is preferable, Bonuck said. "Bring an advocate with you," she suggested. This person will help to make sure your wishes are carried out.

* Keep the baby with you as much as possible while in the hospital.

"Make your wishes known," Bonuck advised. She prefers keeping the baby in the mother's room, not in the nursery, because it gives mother and baby a chance to practice breast-feeding. "It's not a spa," she said of the hospital stay.

* Get help once you return home.

Enlist the support of family members or friends once you are back home, Lebbing advised. "You need someone to cook and help around the house, especially in the first month," she said. If you have other children, get some child-care help. Relieving some of the stress of a newborn can help new moms focus on the important task of breast-feeding, Bonuck and Lebbing said.

To learn more about breast-feeding, visit La Leche League International

Source @ Forbes

TV Violence May Spur Aggression in Boys

Preschool boys exposed to violent television -- even cartoons -- are more likely to become aggressive later in life, researchers warn.

Their findings don't definitively prove that TV makes children act up, and girls seemed entirely unaffected by violent fare, according to the researchers. But the link does appear solid in the case of boys, said study lead author Dr. Dimitri Christakis, professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington, Seattle.

"If parents are really interested in their kids' behavior, they have to be very selective and thoughtful about what their children watch," Christakis said. "That requires a fair amount of education on their part. They can't think, 'It's a cartoon, and it's harmless.' They have to be more thoughtful."

A number of studies have linked violence on television to aggression among children, but the new research is unusual, because it looked at the effects of television watching on kids between the ages of 2 and 5, Christakis said.

Working with University of Washington colleague Frederick Zimmerman, Christakis reviewed data from a study of 8,000 U.S. families. They focused on the television habits of preschoolers -- 184 boys and 146 girls. The researchers then checked up on reports of the youngsters' behavior when they reached 7 and 10 years of age.

The findings are published in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Christakis' team found that for each hour a day spent watching violent TV during the preschool years, boys were three times more likely to develop behavioral problems at age 7.

It's possible that boys with aggressive tendencies may simply prefer watching violent television in the first place, of course. But the study used information about the children's early behaviors to help control for that, Christakis said.

Violence on television did not seem to have any effect on the behavior of girls. Also, watching non-violent programs didn't appear to make boys or girls more aggressive later in life, the team found.

"Parents need to know what really does constitute aggression-laden programming," Christakis said. "It's not just what parents think."

Indeed, the study suggests that trouble may lurk in cartoon programming as seemingly innocuous as Power Rangers and the animated Spiderman series, he said. Conceivably, he added, even old Warner Brothers' classics, such as the Wile E. Coyote-Road Runner series, could spell trouble.

"Kids in the 2- to 5-year-old age range don't understand the difference between cartoon and real violence," Christakis explained," particularly how it shows aggression without consequence. It sends the wrong message."

Not all children, of course, will become more aggressive by simply watching such cartoons, he said, but their risk for such behavior will grow.

L. Rowell Huesmann, director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the University of Michigan, said the study is "very well done," even though it does not prove that TV violence causes aggression.

"While the bad behavior being predicted is still behavior in childhood, society should be concerned about this effect, because the more aggressive child tends to grow up to be the more aggressive adult," he said. "So, if TV violence is increasing the aggression of preschoolers, it is likely to increase how aggressive they will be later in life as well."

Another expert agreed.

"For children who are first learning how to properly behave, exposure to aggressive and violent behavior featured on many programs and cartoons is counterproductive," Alan Hilfer, director of psychology at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City, said in a statement. "Parents must seek to create curious, intelligent and socially skilled children -- not children whose answer to a situation is a physical or aggressive response."

But that can be a tall order for stressed out moms and dads, he added. According to Hilfer, "Even new parents are aware of the shortcomings of TV, but television has long been, and continues to be, the quintessential baby sitter when parents are overwhelmed."

Source @ Forbes