Health

How to raise a smarter child

The responsibilities that come along with parenthood are endless.

There's feeding, washing and reading the same book about bunnies over and over to a child. Plus, making enough money to provide food, shelter and coveted designer jeans; changing diapers and surviving 100 years of back-talk.

We make those investments in hopes of a big return: A well-adjusted and loving child. Or, even better, a well-adjusted and loving child who also happens to be a genius. See eight tips for raising smarter kids.

Lucky for the ambitious among us (and not so lucky, for the overwhelmed among us), experts believe that parents can help make genius happen even if they aren't rocket scientists themselves.

Though it was once thought that intelligence was completely determined by genetics, it turns out that isn't true. The environment a child is raised in and whom a child is raised by play huge roles in determining how smart and socially adept he or she will be.

According to Dr. 'David Perlmutter', a neurologist in Naples, Fla., and author of 'Raise a Smarter Child by Kindergarten', from birth until age 3, a child has the opportunity to acquire up to 30 I.Q. points.

He says it's up to the parents to ensure their child actually gets those points by following simple advice, such as breastfeeding for at least a year, limiting early television exposure and investing in musical training for young kids.

"Babies are born with 100 billion neurons," he says. "During the first years of life, some are salvaged and the others are left to wither. We call that synaptic pruning."

While these tips make sense, not all doctors advocate them, because they can be unrealistic and make parenting even more complicated. And, of course, there is no way to guarantee that children grow up to be brilliant, charismatic and attractive nor that those traits will bring them happiness.

Dr. 'Jonathan Gitlin', Roberson professor of paediatrics and genetics at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, says parents should turn their focus away from cultivating particular characteristics in their children.

"We need to get away from this notion that if we do x, y, z, our child will be superior," he says, "There are two things that are highly underrated in parenthood nutrients and love."

For competitive parents, it's a happy coincidence that proper nutrition not only helps kids be healthier, but feeds their brains. What should not be overlooked is the nutrition that comes in-utero. After that, Gitlin agrees that breastfeeding is important to administer essential nutrients to a baby, though the same nutrients can be obtained through commercial formulas.

"I advocate breastfeeding because it's wonderful and a great bonding situation for a mother and her child, but there is no scientific data that claims a baby will be smarter if he is breastfed," he says.

Many experts also suggest that while I.Q. levels are important, emotional intelligence, or how a person reacts in social settings, is critical as well.

"We all know those people with high I.Q.s who work in a back room of a business because they don't have the social skills to pull off a team effort," says 'Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek', a professor and psychologist at Temple University in Philadelphia.

"You can't just push the academics and think the emotional skills will just happen."

Her book, 'Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn,' which she co-wrote with child psychologist 'Roberta Golinkoff', a professor at the University of Delaware, highlights that normal, everyday play and activities, such as building a fort or going to the supermarket, are conducive to learning because they are social and meaningful.

(NY Times)

Morning - after pill approved

The Food and Drug Administration finally approved over-the-counter sales of the "morning-after pill."

The approval is only for women ages 18 and older, and the drug will only be sold from behind pharmacy counters, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

New York State Senator, Liz Krueger, urging the passage of a bill that would make emergency contraception available to women of all ages, released a statement yesterday saying, "If the government were serious about reducing unintended pregnancies, they would follow the science and recognize that the medicine is equally as safe for those under the age of 18 as it is for those older. This sends the wrong message about the safety of this product. This is politics trumping science."

In fact, the President of the Center for Reproductive Rights, Nancy Northup, says that her organization filed a lawsuit against the FDA alleging "that the agency never intended to fairly consider the scientific evidence that Plan B is safe and effective for women of all ages and that high-level officials engaged in an intricate cover-up that culminated with today's decision."

According to Krueger, "The New England Journal of Medicine reported that as many as half of all unwanted pregnancies may be prevented with unfettered access to emergency contraception, which does not interrupt, disrupt or harm already existing pregnancies, but instead prevents pregnancy before it has been established."

So, while the FDA's recent decision represents some progress in standing up to the Bush Administration and right-wing extremists, the agency still needs to hear that its job is to take action based on sound science, not paternalistic notions of women's health.

(The Nation)

Mosquito-borne diseases discovered

Two mosquito-borne diseases potentially hazardous to humans - West Nile virus and western equine encephalitis - have been found in chickens in the far eastern Coachella Valley.

Two chickens from the Mecca area tested positive for West Nile, and two other chickens in Oasis tested positive for western equine encephalitis, the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District reported Thursday.

The district uses "sentinel chickens" in strategically placed coops throughout its coverage area, then tests their blood regularly for mosquito-carried diseases.

Preliminary testing of 50 or so mosquitoes trapped in Mecca also preliminarily tested positive for West Nile. District officials now await confirmation of those results.

"Results like these help us pinpoint where we might find larval mosquitoes, or where to direct our adult mosquito control efforts, such as fogging," Vector Control District General Manager Donald Gomsi said.

Mosquitoes most often develop in shallow, stagnant pools of water, district spokesman Robert Mann said.

"If we have a large population of mosquitos in a trap, we know there is a source close by," he said. "We'll go in, try to identify a source and control it."

The public is encouraged to contact the district with information on potential mosquito-breeding areas, Gomsi said.

Many mosquitoes are most active at dusk and dawn. Use repellent and wear long sleeves and pants at those times or consider staying indoors during those hours.

Make sure screens on windows and doors are in good enough condition to keep mosquitoes out. Get rid of mosquito-breeding sites by emptying standing water from flower pots, buckets and barrels.

Change the water in pet dishes and replace the water in bird baths weekly. Drill holes in tire swings so water drains out.

Keep children's wading pools empty and on their sides when they aren't being used.

(The Desert Sun)

Painkillers in pregnancy up defect risk

Women who take certain painkillers early in their pregnancies may be more likely to give birth to babies with congenital defects, particularly heart defects, the results of a new study indicate.

The study referred to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are a large group of drugs used for pain relief. They include aspirin and ibuprofen.

Previous studies have shown that taking NSAIDs towards the end of a pregnancy can cause certain circulatory problems. However potential problems related to taking these drugs early on in pregnancy are less well known.

To better understand the relationship between first trimester use of NSAIDs and congenital birth defects, a team of researchers looked at over 36,000 pregnant women. The researchers determined which women had taken NSAIDs during their first trimester and which had babies diagnosed with a congenital abnormality in the first year of life.

They found that women who had taken NSAIDs were more likely to have had a baby with a congenital abnormality. Cardiac septal defects were particularly common. This kind of defect refers to a hole in the septum (partition) between the left and right valves of the heart.

Furthermore, the proportion of infants with multiple congenital abnormalities was also higher among the mothers who had taken NSAIDs during the first trimester, compared to mothers who had not.

"Our analysis suggests that women who take NSAIDs in the first trimester of pregnancy may be at greater risk of having children with congenital anomalies, particularly those related to cardiac septal closure. This is in accordance with previous findings, but needs to be replicated in other study populations", the Canadian researchers said.

(BBC News)