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THIS WEEK'S
HEADLINES
NEWS IMPACTING CHILDREN 0-5 AND THEIR FAMILIES
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Here is a quick look at some headlines from this week impacting the lives of kids 0-5 and their families. The purpose of these stories is simply to share information, and do not necessarily reflect First 5 Kern's areas of support, opinions or efforts towards these issues.
Follow First 5 Kern on social media (@First5Kern) for more kids news, as well as information about our funded programs and initiatives.
Now for the headlines...
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Chemicals in plastics damage babies' brains and must be banned immediately, expert group says |
Synthetic chemicals called phthalates are damaging children's brain development and therefore must be immediately banned from consumer products, according to a group of scientists and health professionals.
Project TENDR, which stands for Targeting Environmental Neuro-Development Risks, is a group of volunteer scientists, health professionals and child advocates working to study and reduce children's exposure to neurotoxic chemicals and pollutants.
"We have enough evidence right now to be concerned about the impact of these chemicals on a child's risk of attention, learning and behavioral disorders." (CNN)
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Air pollution puts
children at higher risk of disease in adulthood
Children exposed to air pollution, such as wildfire smoke and car exhaust, for as little as one day may be doomed to higher rates of heart disease and other ailments in adulthood, according to a new study. (Stanford)
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Toddler sleep habits could explain the association between household poverty and BMI
Establishing a consistent sleep schedule for a toddler can be one of the most challenging aspects of child rearing, but it also may be one of the most important. (News-Medical)
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EARLY CHILDCARE & EDUCATION
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New bill would require California companies pay for
backup child care
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A recent California Assembly proposal, would require companies to pay for backup child care either by directly setting up a system with a licensed provider, compensating qualified providers used by employees when invoices are submitted or reimbursing employees for any backup care costs.
According to Asm. Wendy Carrillo’s office, it is estimated that companies could spend as little as $50 per employee per year through the bill. (CNBC)
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COVID-19 is ravaging U.S. early childhood education, new report finds
Nationwide, in just the first six months of the pandemic last year, the child care industry shrank by 20%, with nearly 200,000 child care workers losing their jobs, reports CSCCE’s latest biennial “Early Childhood Workforce Index.” (Berkeley)
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Financial challenges continue closing child
care providers
Of the 34,000 providers that remain open in California, 77% are losing money. While costs related to operating during COVID-19 and lower enrollment numbers are contributing factors, child care workers have faced economic challenges for years. (PBS)
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Babies born too early likely to face educational and lifelong behavioral setbacks |
A full-term birth is typically between 37 and 42 weeks of pregnancy, but births between 32 and 36 weeks are considered moderate to late preterm births. And those seemingly short few weeks may result in serious education lags and lifelong behavioral impacts.
"Late preterm birth—previously considered unimportant beyond infancy—may be an important neurocognitive risk factor. So, this warrants special screening and intervention from medical providers, early childcare providers, early intervention programs—and schools." (MedicalXpress)
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High blood pressure in pregnancy could affect women's hearts long-term
New research shows that compared to those with normal blood pressure during pregnancy, women who developed blood pressure disorders such as preeclampsia and gestational hypertension had significant differences in heart structure and function a decade after giving birth. (WebMD)
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Data on the COVID vaccine and pregnancy is sparse. These women are changing that.
Caitlynn Ott knew that pregnancy raises a woman’s risk of getting severely ill if she catches the coronavirus. But she did not know whether it was safe for pregnant women to get vaccinated against the virus — because there is hardly any data on the subject yet. (NBC News)
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Your kids aren't too old for picture books, and neither are you |
“My kid has outgrown picture books.”
I hear this often when enthusing about a new picture book and offering to pass one along to a friend. It’s the kind of thing parents will say with a certain amount of pride because of what it implies: My child is now reading independently and no longer requires the crutch of pictures. Just as he once relinquished the binky, he has moved on.
I hear this and I think, “Poor kid,” and also, “Poor parent.” Nobody moves on from picture books. At least, nobody should. (New York Times)
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Is the Western way of raising kids weird? |
"Is he in his own room yet?" is a question new parents often field once they emerge from the haze of life with a newborn. But sleeping apart from our babies is a relatively recent development – and not one that extends around the globe. In other cultures sharing a room, and sometimes a bed, with your baby is the norm.
This isn’t the only aspect of new parenthood that Westerners do differently. From napping on a schedule and sleep training to pushing our children around in strollers, what we might think of as standard parenting practices are often anything but. (BBC)
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Our obsession with happiness is making our kids miserable
The more we teach our kids to stay positive, at the expense of helping them accept occasional difficult feelings, the less we equip them with tools to manage such feelings when life inevitably gets hard. (Washington Post)
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This mom created a coloring book to help kids understand credit
A North Carolina mother inspired by her 4-year old's curiosity about finance created coloring books about credit for her daughter and other kids to understand a life skill even many grown-ups still are trying to figure out. (Romper)
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First 5 Kern was established in 1998 when California voters passed Proposition 10, which levied a 50-cent tax on tobacco products. Revenues generated from the tobacco tax are used to fund local programs in the areas of health and wellness, early childcare and education, and parent education and support services that promote early childhood development for children ages zero to five.
For more information on First 5 Kern and the agencies we support, please visit www.First5Kern.org and follow us on social media.
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Special thanks to Vecteezy for assistance on graphics
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