Stress may affect personality traits in offspring.Women who experience repeated stressful events while pregnant are more likely to have children with behavioral problems, a new study suggests. Dr. Monique Robinson, a psychologist at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth, Australia, and the study’s lead author, said that previous research had shown a link between stress during pregnancy and behavior problems in children but that the new study took that further by examining the timing, amount and kinds of stressful events that lead to such problems. She and her colleagues analyzed data from nearly 3,000 pregnant women who reported stressful events at 18 and 34 weeks of pregnancy. Of those women, about 37 percent reported two or more stress events and nearly 8 percent reported six or more. Read more>

Secure bond between mother and baby can have positive effects with social settings.  Having a secure attachment with their mother helps irritable babies respond well to unfamiliar people and situations, a new study finds. It included 84 infants who were followed from birth to age 2. Irritability was assessed within a month of birth and was based on the infants’ reactions to a series of tests, including being undressed and hearing a bell ringing. About one third of the infants were rated highly irritable and two-thirds as moderately irritable. The infants’ attachment to their mothers was assessed at 12 months and was based on their behavior with their mothers. Securely attached infants turned toward their mother when distressed, while insecurely attached infants did not. Read more>    

New popular shoe for kid’s is a growing cause for concern. Doctors blame a new type of shoe for a growing number of injuries among children. The culprit: a fad called heeling that uses sneakers with a wheel on the heel. Known as heeleys, roller shoes, or street gliders, the shoes carry safety risks similar to those for inline skates, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Kids in roller shoes merely shift their body weight backward over the heels so the wheels engage. Suddenly they’re rolling, not walking. Read more>

New study suggests that suicidal teens attempt much younger than previously thought.  About 40 percent of young adults who’ve attempted suicide made their first attempt before high school, which suggests that suicidal thoughts and behavior may begin much younger than previously believed, according to a new study. As part of an ongoing survey, University of Washington researchers asked almost 900 young adults, ages 18 or 19, about their history of suicide attempts. Nearly 9 percent (78) of the participants said they had attempted suicide at some point. Of those, 40 percent said they made their first attempt before they started high school. Rates of attempted suicide jumped at around the sixth grade (about age 12) and peaked around eighth or ninth grade. Of the 39 participants who reported multiple suicide attempts, their first attempt was much earlier (as young as age 9) than those who made a single attempt. Read

Read More »

Misery loves company? I think Satan revels in our misery. What on earth is worse than feeling alone and without hope? Misery can manifest in countless combinations and when it comes a knockin, you better hope you’re not “home alone”. I see “family” as Satan’s chief rival and I am proud of mine. When the chips are down, God always shows up, many times taking the form of our family bonds. Every time I visited my brother during his stay in the hospital he had a lot of company. His wife Patty and their daughters Jordan and Carly were there for the entirety, fighting his misery with their loyalty and affection. Our parents and brother John were there several times. Love is nothing if not loyal. Bringing my family to see my brother in the hospital before and after his heart surgery has had a resounding affect on me. I have been pleased

Read More »