parenting Tag

21 Oct

Posted at 12:05h in Autism

Editorial Notice: This post is for general information only and is not specific medical advice. Every autistic child is different, and the right type, setting, and intensity of support should be decided with your child's pediatrician, a developmental specialist, or another qualified professional. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is one of several approaches available, and families may wish to compare options and ask how a program respects their child's preferences, comfort, and communication style. Clinics named or linked in this post are not warranted or endorsed by MedicalResearch.com or Eminent Domains Inc.

Finding autism support often involves referrals, evaluations, insurance questions, and scheduling decisions. A nearby ABA clinic reduces travel demands while giving families a clear place to begin.

Local access also makes regular attendance easier for children who benefit from predictable routines. Families can move through the first steps more efficiently when the clinic provides assessment, planning, caregiver communication, and consistent sessions under one coordinated process.

[caption id="attachment_76708" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Photo by Tatiana Syrikova: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-anonymous-child-getting-brown-stones-from-white-container-at-home-3933101/ Photo by Tatiana Syrikova[/caption]

19 Oct

Posted at 19:51h in Mental Health Research, Pediatrics

Teen Mental Health Notice: If your teen is in immediate danger or may act on thoughts of suicide, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. For crisis support, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line); teens can also reach peers at Teen Line by texting TEEN to 839863. If you are not sure whether your child is safe, contact help immediately. For eating disorder support, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline is 1-866-662-1235. This post is background information only and is not a substitute for evaluation by a qualified mental health professional. Providers linked in this post are not warranted or endorsed by MedicalResearch.com or Eminent Domains Inc.

Family-based treatment is the recommended approach for teens with anorexia nervosa who have an involved caregiver, and family therapy shares the top evidence rating for teen substance use. For depression and suicidal thinking, family therapy has cut symptoms in randomized trials but has not beaten every alternative it was tested against.

For anxiety disorders, the stronger evidence sits with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication. That split matters more than any general verdict. The problem your teen has can decide whether the family is the treatment itself or the support team for a different treatment.

[caption id="attachment_76657" align="aligncenter" width="500"]teenagers-family-therapy Photo by cottonbro studio via Pexels[/caption]

25 Jan

Posted at 11:01h in Sexual Health
The teenage years, marked by a whirlwind of emotions and self-discovery, often introduce teens to the complex world of dating and relationships. As parents, guardians, or mentors, engaging in conversations about these topics is crucial. Open and honest discussions create a foundation for understanding, trust, and responsible decision-making. This guide explores key aspects to consider when talking to teens about dating and relationships, covering everything from sex talk to seeking outside help when needed. Talk About Sex Addressing the topic of sex is a crucial aspect of discussions about dating and relationships. Provide accurate information about the physical and emotional aspects of intimate relationships. Emphasize the importance of consent, safe practices, and the emotional readiness for first time sex and other sexual experiences. Creating an open space for questions allows teens to seek guidance and make informed choices regarding their sexual health.

15 Jun

Posted at 21:09h in Author Interviews, Flu - Influenza, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Vaccine Studies
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_54587" align="alignleft" width="175"]Allison Kempe, MD, MPH Ergen Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Outcomes Research Professor of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine Director of ACCORDS (Adult and Child Consortium for Health Outcomes Research and Delivery Science) University of Colorado School of Medicine | Children’s Hospital Colorado Dr. Kempe[/caption] Allison Kempe, MD, MPH Ergen Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Outcomes Research Professor of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine Director of ACCORDS (Adult and Child Consortium for Health Outcomes Research and Delivery Science) University of Colorado School of Medicine | Children’s Hospital Colorado  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: In 2019 the WHO designated vaccine hesitancy as one of the ten leading threats to global health. Although studies have assessed parental vaccine hesitancy in different localities and estimated vaccine refusals nationally, there is little recent US national data on the prevalence of hesitancy about routine childhood vaccines and national hesitancy rates for influenza vaccine have never been assessed. We used a hesitancy scale developed by the WHO to estimate levels of parental hesitancy for both routine childhood and childhood influenza vaccination 

07 Nov

Posted at 15:41h in Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_52014" align="alignleft" width="133"]Kai Ling Kong, PhD, MS Assistant Professor Division of Behavioral Medicine Department of Pediatrics School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences State University of New York at Buffalo Dr. Kai Ling Kong[/caption] Kai Ling Kong, PhD, MS Assistant Professor Division of Behavioral Medicine Department of Pediatrics School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences State University of New York at Buffalo MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: The deleterious effects that obesity has on an individual’s health and the difficulty of reversing it in adults are well-known, ranging from diabetes and heart disease to cancer. For these reasons, obesity prevention in babies and children in populations at high risk is increasingly seen as a critical way to address the obesity epidemic. However, most studies on factors that contribute to obesity in very young children haven’t focused on the populations most at risk. Now an ongoing longitudinal University at Buffalo study being presented Nov. 5 in Las Vegas at ObesityWeek is among the first to explore how mother-infant behaviors during feeding and active play (non-feeding situations) affect infants and children in families with low socioeconomic status. Infants of mothers exhibiting less warmth during free play interactions when infants were 7 months old were associated with steeper body mass index trajectories while the infants of mothers exhibiting more warmth during these interactions were not.

25 Apr

Posted at 11:45h in Author Interviews, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48790" align="alignleft" width="142"]Fern R. Hauck, MD, MSSpencer P. Bass, MD Twenty-First Century Professor of Family MedicineProfessor of Public Health SciencesDirector, International Family Medicine ClinicUniversity of Virginia Department of Family Medicine Dr. Hauck[/caption] Fern R. Hauck, MD, MS Spencer P. Bass, MD Twenty-First Century Professor of Family Medicine Professor of Public Health Sciences Director, International Family Medicine Clinic University of Virginia Department of Family Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Unintentional suffocation is the leading cause of injury deaths among infants under one year of age in the US. 82% of these deaths are attributed to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed. The Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Case Registry was established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2009 to collect data on sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) to better understand trends and characteristics associated with these deaths. Data from 10 states, which account for about one-third of all US SUID cases, are captured in the Registry. The CDC developed the Case Registry classification system in 2014 to differentiate SUID cases into several groups; explained suffocations with unsafe sleep factors is one of those categories, and the subject of this study. We analyzed infant deaths (children under one year of age) that occurred from 2011-2014 among states participating in the registry at the time of the study (Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Wisconsin). Among the 1812 cases in the Registry from 2011-2014, 250 (14%) were classified as suffocation. The remaining cases were classified as unexplained SUID.

23 Apr

Posted at 20:59h in Author Interviews, CDC, Pediatrics, Sleep Disorders
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_48770" align="alignleft" width="200"]Alexa B. Erck Lambert, MPHDB Consulting Group, Inc, Silver Spring, MarylandCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, Contractor Dr. Erck Lambert[/caption] Alexa B. Erck Lambert, MPH DB Consulting Group, Inc, Silver Spring, Maryland Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Contractor  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Unintentional suffocation is the leading cause of injury death among infants under 1 year old in the US. This study investigates cases in CDC’s SUID Case Registry that were assigned the category of explained suffocation with unsafe sleep factors per CDC’s SUID Case Registry classification system, which was developed to consistently differentiate SUID cases into well-defined categories (including no autopsy or death scene investigation, incomplete case information, no unsafe sleep factors, unsafe sleep factors, possible suffocation with unsafe sleep factors, and explained suffocation with unsafe sleep factors) using standardized criteria and definitions. Cases classified as possible and explained suffocation were assigned one more mechanisms to which the airway obstruction was attributed including soft bedding, wedging, overlay and other – other was excluded from this analysis. Most explained suffocations (69%) were attributed to soft bedding like a blanket or a pillow followed by overlay (19%), and wedging (12%). Although explained suffocation deaths represent a small proportion of all sudden unexpected infant deaths (14%), these losses are particularly tragic because they can be prevented by placing a baby to sleep in a safe environment. 

01 Mar

Posted at 00:47h in Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Sleep Disorders
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_47714" align="alignleft" width="200"]"Baby K - Mother's Kiss" by D.Clow - Maryland is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0 "Baby K - Mother's Kiss" by D.Clow[/caption] Dr. Sakari Lemola Associate Professor Department of Psychology University of Warwick Coventry, UK  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Sufficient sleep of good quality is important for physical and mental health. Therefore, we are studying factors in people’s lives that may affect their sleep. In the present study we examined in particular how the birth of a child affects parents’ sleep. In detail, we used data on sleep of more than 4,600 parents in Germany who had a child between 2008 and 2015. During these years parents reported on their sleep in yearly interviews. We found that the birth of a child had quite drastic short-term effects on new mothers’ sleep, particularly during the first three months after birth. This is not a new finding; previous studies reported similar effects. What is new in the current study is that we compared sleep before pregnancy with sleep until up to 6 years after birth. We were surprised to see that sleep duration and sleep satisfaction were still decreased up to six years after birth. Six years after birth mothers and father still slept around 15-20 minutes less.

02 Jan

Posted at 17:30h in Author Interviews, Occupational Health, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46761" align="alignleft" width="149"]Christiane Spitzmueller, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Industrial Organizational Psychology University of Houston Dr. Spitzmueller[/caption] Christiane Spitzmueller, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology Industrial Organizational Psychology University of Houston MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: We generally conduct research on how parents' work experiences affect the health and well-being of family systems. Many families struggle to successfully reconcile work and family demands, and we were wondering what specific work experiences were most likely to relate to negative outcomes for children. We also wanted to know how the impact of parents' stressful work experiences' with the happiness and health of their children could be addressed. Hence the study!

28 Dec

Posted at 22:05h in Author Interviews, JAMA, Pediatrics, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_46736" align="alignleft" width="133"]Dr. Richard E. Tremblay, PhD, Professor Department of Pediatrics and Department of Psychology University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada School of Public Health, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland Dr. Tremblay[/caption] Dr. Richard E. Tremblay, PhD, Professor Department of Pediatrics and Department of Psychology University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada School of Public Health, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?   Response: Adolescent who have frequently use physical aggression are at high risk of school failure, criminal behavior, as well as physical and mental health problems. A major limit to preventive interventions is our ability to trace the developmental trajectories of physical aggression from infancy to adolescence using a uniform source of information.

02 Oct

Posted at 00:37h in Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Sexual Health
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_44945" align="alignleft" width="128"]Laura M. Padilla-Walker, PhD Professor, School of Family Life Associate Dean, College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences Brigham Young University Dr. Padilla-Walker[/caption] Laura M. Padilla-Walker, PhD Professor, School of Family Life Associate Dean, College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences Brigham Young University MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: The current study included approximately 500 teens that we followed for 8 years starting at approximately age 14. In this particular study, we explored how parent-child sex communication regarding sexual safety changed from ages 14-18, and then how this change was associated with children’s sexual outcomes at age 21. Though we would hope and expect that parents would discuss sexual safety with their children at increasing levels as children age, findings from this study suggested low and unchanging levels of parent-child sex communication over time. In other words, parents are talking very little to their children about sexual safety, and how much they talk to children isn’t changing from age 14 to 18. In addition, mothers reported significantly higher levels of sex communication than did children and fathers, suggesting that mothers think they talk about sexuality more than children think they do. Though this is an issue of perception, what the child perceives is generally a more important predictor of positive outcomes. Mothers also reported talking with their sons less than their daughters, though sex communication with sons increased over time and by age 18 mothers reported the same (relatively low) levels of sex communication with both daughters and sons. That being said, initial levels and positive change in parent-child sex communication was associated with safer sex at age 21, suggesting that parents SHOULD talk with their children more and at increasing levels over time, because these factors are associated with positive child outcomes.

09 Aug

Posted at 12:16h in Author Interviews, Education, JAMA, Pediatrics, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_43714" align="alignleft" width="150"]Ian M. Paul, M.D., M.Sc. Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health Sciences Chief, Division of Academic General Pediatrics Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs, Department of Pediatrics Penn State College of Medicine Hershey, PA 17033-0850 Prof. Paul[/caption] Ian M. Paul, M.D., M.Sc. Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health Sciences Chief, Division of Academic General Pediatrics Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs, Department of Pediatrics Penn State College of Medicine Hershey, PA 17033-0850 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: 20-25% of 2-5 year old children are overweight or obese in the US, and these children have increased risk of remaining overweight across the lifecourse. To date, research efforts aimed at preventing early life overweight have had very limited success. In our randomized clinical trial that included 279 mother-child dyads, a responsive parenting intervention that began shortly after birth significantly reduced body mass index z-score compared with controls at age 3 years.

02 Aug

Posted at 23:48h in Author Interviews, Genetic Research, OBGYNE, PLoS

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Rosalind John Head of Biomedicine Division, Professor School of Biosciences Cardiff University Cardiff UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: I have been studying a really remarkable family of genes called “imprinted genes” for the last 20 years. For most genes, we inherit two working copies...

23 Jun

Posted at 21:20h in Author Interviews, Education, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “siblings” by Britt Reints is licensed under CC BY 2.0Xiaoran Sun Department of Human Development and Family Studies The Pennsylvania State University University Park, PA 16802.   MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: College graduation has significant implications for adult life outcomes including for employment, family formation, and health (IOM & NRC, 2015). Investigating how sibling differences in college graduation emerge sheds light on why children growing up in the same family sometimes follow diverging paths in adulthood. Our study also responds to the call by researchers interested in policy and practice to conduct longitudinal research investigating the role of early family socialization processes in educational attainment (Pettit, Davis-Kean, & Magnuson, 2009). Despite siblings’ important role in child and adolescent development, previous research has focused on parenting and on the academic outcomes of individual children in the family. Further, although sibling experiences, including their relationship characteristics and parental differential treatment, have been linked to sibling similarities and differences in domains such as risky behaviors (Slomkowski, Rende, Novak, Lloyd-Richardson, & Raymond, 2005), to date, there has been very little research on the role of sibling experiences in positive development, such as academic achievement.  

17 May

Posted at 12:37h in Author Interviews, Education, Exercise - Fitness, Pediatrics, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Sharon Wheeler PhD [caption id="attachment_41749" align="alignleft" width="200"]Dr Sharon Wheeler PhD Lecturer in Sport, Physical Activity and Health Department of Sport and Physical Activity Faculty of Arts and Sciences Edge Hill University Lancashire Dr. Wheeler[/caption] Lecturer in Sport, Physical Activity and Health Department of Sport and Physical Activity Faculty of Arts and Sciences Edge Hill University Lancashire MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: It is well-known that family background and parents’ investment in their children has a big impact on a number of outcomes, including how well people do at school, the jobs they get, and how they spend their leisure time. It is also known that it is middle-class parents who tend to work particularly hard to make sure their children get on in life. This research starts to question whether parents’ investment in their children’s organised activities is having the desired impact. Parents initiate and facilitate their children’s participation in organised activities as it shows that they are a ‘good’ parent and they hope such activities will benefit their children in both short-term (keeping fit and healthy, developing friendship groups) and long-term ways (getting jobs, having lots of opportunities in the future). The reality, which has been highlighted in this research, is that while children might experience some of these benefits, a busy organised activity schedule can put considerable strain on parents’ resources and families’ relationships, as well as potentially harm children’s development and well-being.

14 May

Posted at 19:48h in Accidents & Violence, Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Crime Scene _MG_4847” by thierry ehrmann is licensed under CC BY 2.0Daniel Romer, PhD Research Director Annenberg Public Policy Center and Director of its Adolescent Communication Institute (ACI) University of Pennsylvania MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: We have been studying the steady increase in gun violence that has been occurring in popular PG-13 movies since the new rating was adopted in 1984.  It has recently even surpassed the amount of gun violence in R-rated movies.  Since these movies are open to the public at any age, we are concerned that they promote the use of guns and potentially socialize youth to believe that using guns to defend oneself is an appropriate way to handle threats and other conflicts. We knew that the rating requires the omission of graphic consequences, such as blood and suffering, that can make the violence more acceptable.  But we also wondered whether the motivation for the violence might make a difference as well.  Many of the characters in PG-13 movies are seen as heroic (e.g., Bruce Willis and Liam Neeson).  Could that also be a factor that makes such films more acceptable to parents despite their concerns about their children seeing so much violence in the movies.  So, we conducted this experiment to see if parents are less upset by justified violence in PG-13 style movies. 

18 Jan

Posted at 15:35h in Author Interviews, Education, Pediatrics
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: “Reading” by Kate Ter Haar is licensed under CC BY 2.0Dr. Jon Quach, PhD Postdoctoral research fellow Royal Childrens Hospital's Centre for Community Child Health Murdoch Children’s Research Institute  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: The reading practices of mothers and fathers was assessed in 405 families in Melbourne when children were 2, and child had their language and literacy skills assessed when they were 4 years old. We found fathers reading practices were associated with better language outcomes 2 years later, even after accounting for mothers reading and key family demographics 

09 Aug

Posted at 19:59h in Author Interviews, Psychological Science, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mirkka Danielsbacka PhD, D.Soc.Sci Senior researcher University of Turku MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Relations between family generations are widely studied in disciplines such as family sociology and demography. However, relations between in-laws are often neglected in family studies of contemporary societies. Especially conflicts have been surprisingly little investigated. We were especially interested in how parenthood is associated with relations to in-laws in a contemporary Western society. Using nationally representative survey data from Finland with over 1,200 respondents, we studied conflicts that spouses reported having with their own parents and their in-laws. Overall, Finns more often reported having had any conflict with their own parents than with their in-laws. Compared to childless couples, couples with children were as likely to report conflicts with their own parents. However, couples with children were more likely to report conflicts with their parents-in-law. Our results took into account how frequently family members were in contact with each other and how emotionally close they felt, as well as other sociodemographic factors.

24 Jun

Posted at 14:20h in Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_35589" align="alignleft" width="200"]Michelle S. Wong PhD Department of Health Policy and Management Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Baltimore, Maryland Dr. Wong[/caption] Michelle S. Wong PhD Department of Health Policy and Management Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Baltimore, Maryland MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: As background, there haven't been many studies on how fathers might influence overweight or obesity in their children. Unsurprisingly most of the research has focused on the mothers' influence. Existing studies on fathers have focused on the relationship between their parenting practices (e.g., discipline), as well as feeding and physical activity behaviors, with child overweight or obesity. A few studies found that some father feeding practices were related to higher child BMI, but we don’t know whether fathers’ general caregiving matters.

20 Feb

Posted at 03:12h in Author Interviews, Pediatrics, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_32213" align="alignleft" width="149"]James K. Rilling, PhD Professor, Anthropology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Emory University School of Medicine Dr. James Rilling[/caption] James K. Rilling, PhD Professor, Anthropology, Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Emory University School of Medicine MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: It has been known for a long time that female mammals experience hormonal changes during pregnancy that prepare them to care for their offspring. More recently, it has been shown that some mammalian males, including humans, can also experience hormonal changes that prepare them to care for their offspring. For example, oxytocin levels can increase in human fathers and studies have shown that oxytocin facilitates paternal physical stimulation, play and emotional synchrony with their children. We examined the effects of intranasal oxytocin on brain function in human fathers. We found that intranasal oxytocin increased activation in brain areas involved with reward and empathy when human fathers viewed pictures of their children, but not unknown children.

22 Nov

Posted at 23:07h in Author Interviews, BMJ, Pediatrics, Social Issues
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: [caption id="attachment_29918" align="alignleft" width="200"]Charles Opondo, BPharm MSc PhD. Researcher in Statistics and Epidemiology National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit Nuffield Department of Population Health University of Oxford Oxford Dr. Charles Opondo[/caption] Charles Opondo, BPharm MSc PhD. Researcher in Statistics and Epidemiology National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit Nuffield Department of Population Health University of Oxford Oxford MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Our study measured fathers’ involvement in their child’s upbringing in infancy by looking at their emotional response to their child (e.g. feeling confident with the child, making a strong bond with the child), how involved they were in childcare (e.g. changing nappies, playing, night feeding, and also general care tasks around the house such as meal preparation) and their feelings of being a secure in their role as a parent (e.g. feeling included by mother in childcare, not feeling inexperienced with children). We found that the children of fathers who scored highly in terms of their emotional response and feeling like a secure parent were less likely to have symptoms of behavioural problems when they were 9 or 11 years. However, fathers being more involved in direct childcare did not seem to affect the child’s risk of having later behavioural problems.

04 Aug

Posted at 09:43h in Author Interviews
MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Elina Einiö PhD Postdoctoral Researcher Population Research Unit, Department of Social Research University of Helsinki Finland Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Some previous studies have shown that young fatherhood is associated with poorer health and higher later-life mortality. It was unclear whether the association is credible, in the sense that mortality and young fatherhood just appear to be associated because both are determined by family related social and genetic characteristics. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Response: Men who had their first child before age 22 or at ages 22-24 had a higher risk of dying early in middle age than their brothers who had their first child at the average age of 25-26 years. These findings suggest a causal effect of young fatherhood on midlife mortality.