The meaning of life is in your baby’s brain
MARK SLOAN
Times Colonist
16 Aug 2009

Six-month-old babies are the happiest people on the planet. I look forward to seeing them every day in my pediatric practice.

I’ve often wondered, peering into those wide, unblinking eyes, just what it’s like to be a baby. Now, thanks to Alison Gopnik’s fascinating new book, The Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life, I have a pretty good idea.

Baby brains are different from those of adults. The prefrontal cortex — the centre of such “adult” activities as thinking, planning and inhibiting thoughts that distract us from the task at hand — is much less developed, for example. As a result, babies are more impulsive, less wired for inhibition and, Gopnik suggests, “aware of much more, much more intensely, than we are.”

Salt overload shakes kids’ health
KATHERINE DEDYNA
Times Colonist
15 Aug 2009

The next time you take your children to the doctor for an ear ache or injury, it’s probably a good idea to get their bloodpressure taken, advises Dr. Sheldon Tobe.

As a spokesman for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and father of a 10-year-old daughter, Tobe says there’s more reason than ever to worry about the rising level of hypertension in Canadian children.

Pressure to stay active

Star (Malaysia)
16 Aug 2009

HOW does being inactive affect a young child’s blood pressure?

A study involved 111 children, three to eight years old, who for seven days wore a monitor that measured their activity levels as they went about their normal lives. The children spent an average of five hours a day in activities that required little physical exertion, including 1 1/2 hours of “screen time” (using a computer, playing video games or watching TV or

Doing a stretch
By KATY SIMPSON
Evening Chronicle
13 Aug 2009

KEEPING still and being quiet might not come naturally to most children. But these youngsters mastered the art of balance and meditation during a yoga session at Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead. Yoga is usually used by adults to develop theirflexibility and improve health.

Tag, you’re sick, as medical labels are slapped on to rambunctious kids

The Weekend Australian
15 Aug 2009

WHY am I not surprised to discover the number of Australian schoolchildren diagnosed with psychological or emotional disorders is increasing at a dramatic rate? Because in Australia, as in every Anglo-American society, it is normal to treat the routine troubles of childhood as a mental health issue.

1 in 10 teens has posted nude picture
BY JILL TUCKER San Francisco Chronicle
Seattle Times
11 Aug 2009

From behind their bedroom doors, more than one out of every 10 teenagers has posted a nude or seminude picture of themselves or others online — a “digital tattoo” that could haunt them for the rest of their lives, according to a study released Monday.

Aside from the nudity, the survey found that at least a quarter of the young people polled had posted something they later regretted, made fun of others or created a false identity online.

Got kids? Invest in a bath mat

The Buffalo News
11 Aug 2009

Rubber duckies? Toy boats? Shampoo and soap? It wouldn’t be the kids’ bath time without them. But make sure you add another item to that list: A nonslip mat. Each year, more than 43,000 children in the United States are injured in bathtubs or showers,according to a new study of data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the U.S. Consumer

Kids Need PE, but With Supervision
— Jennifer LaRue Huget
The Washington Post
11 Aug 2009

BRAIN SURGERY SCANDAL STUNNED BY THESE 2
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
New York Daily News
09 Aug 2009

“Is this really a paradigm shift, or a charlatan?” Duncan said. “Neurosurgery is a very big deal and you like to think you don’t do discretionary neurosurgery. . .. You don’t want to take any unnecessary risk.”

Milhorat and Bolognese have declined interview requests because of the dozen suits pending against them, including one from the Bryants.

Requests to interview North Shore University Hospital CEO Michael Dowling were also declined.

“We are going to defend these suits on the science and the evidence and the truth,” said Tony Sola, lawyer for North Shore-LIJ Health System and the doctors.

Buddy up to help ‘vulnerable’ in flu pandemic

Times Colonist
08 Aug 2009

Canada’s public health agency is urging Canadians to identify a “flu buddy” willing to help care for them should they get sick with human swine flu this fall.

The Public Health Agency of Canada told Canwest News Service that Canadians should “talk with family, friends and neighbours and figure out how you might help each other during the H1N1 pandemic.”

“Identify elderly or vulnerable relatives, friends and neighbours who may need your help,” the agency said in a statement to Canwest.

‘Dead’ baby wakes up before funeral
— AFP
Gulf News
09 Aug 2009

Asuncion, Paraguay A premature infant given up for dead was found to have revived when he was taken home for a wake, the boy’s father said. Jose Alvarenga said his son was pronounced dead at 6pm on Thursday, and that the hospital delivered the body to...read more...

Win a book on the challenges of parenting a toddler
Jo u r n a l S t a f f EDMONTON
Edmonton Journal
07 Aug 2009

A new book specifically for Canadians may help parents navigate that tricky time when kids are between one and five years old. Canada’s Toddler Care Book; A Complete Guide from 1 to 5 Years Old (Robert Rose Inc., $34.95) is written by Dr. Jeremy...read more...

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have recognised 27 genes that are associated with Asperger Syndrome and/or autistic traits and/or empathy. The research is published July 16 in the journal Autism Research. This is the first candidate gene study of its kind.

Dr. Russell Schachar, psychiatrist and researcher at Sick Kids, says identifying the genes that contribute in ADHD and OCD will result in improved diagnostic tests and new treaments. This may also give clues why  some children are at-risk and develop the disorders, while others remain symptom-free.