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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 inform, and they do not necessarily reflect First 5 Kern's areas of support 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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BABY FOUND IN DUMPSTER IN LAS VEGAS
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On the eve of Safely Surrendered Baby Awareness Month this February
, a story out of Las Vegas is a sobering reminder of the importance of the law.
The North Las Vegas Police Department is investigating after finding a baby
boy’s body in a dumpster
earlier this week. The law (Nevada has a similar law on the books) allows a mom to surrender a newborn child to any emergency room or fire station in the county, no questions asked, instead of abandoning the child. (News3 Las Vegas)
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CANNABIS USE DURING PREGNANCY CAN IMPACT FETUS GROWTH
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A new study of rats suggests that cannabis use during pregnancy may affect human fetus growth.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis that gives the user the “high” feeling) causes a restriction in fetal growth and a reduction in birth weight of 8 per cent, researchers found. Using a rat model and human placental cells, they mimicked daily cannabis use and also found that it led to a decrease, by more than 20 per cent, of brain and liver growth. (CTV News)
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THE GEOGRAPHY OF HEALTHY CHILDREN
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The Child Opportunity Index 2.0 - published by Brandeis University - found the typical child in Bakersfield experiences a neighborhood with lower child opportunity than the typical child in any other of the top 100 metro areas in the country.
In the neighborhood of the typical child in Bakersfield, 21% of families live in poverty, which means limited economic resources for families to invest in their children’s well-being. Families in Bakersfield have not only fewer economic resources but also less time to spend with their children, and their children's teachers are less experienced in dealing with the challenges that many students face coming from families that live in poverty. You can
read the full report here
.
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WHY MOTHERS' CHOICES ABOUT WORK AND FAMILY FEEL LIKE NO CHOICE AT ALL
“Choice” has become the favorite term in family policy. Yet many parents — particularly women — feel their decisions about work and family are made within such constraints that they have little choice at all.
Very few parents have enough money to choose whether to opt out of paid work entirely. And when politicians talk about parents making choices, it’s really about mothers — rarely is a man asked how he divides his time between work and family. (New York Times)
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RELATIONSHIPS ARE STRENGTHENED BY DADS TAKING LEAVE
Fathers taking parental leave to spend time with their newborn child are 25 percent less likely to see their marriage or relationships end within a few years, says a new study called "Paternity Leave and Relationship Stability" from researchers at Ball State University.
“Results suggest that increasing access to parental leave for fathers – and encouraging fathers to take this leave – may help to increase family stability,” said Richard Petts, the lead author of the study. (Ball State University)
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EARLY CHILDCARE & EDUCATION
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THIS IS YOUR CHILD'S BRAIN ON BOOKS
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R
ecent studies done by the Reading & Literacy Discovery Center of Cincinnati's Children's Hospital. They are the first studies to provide neurobiological evidence for the
potential benefits of reading
and the
potential detriments of screen time
on a preschool child's brain development.
"This is important because the brain is developing the most rapidly in the first five years," said lead author Dr. John Hutton, a pediatrician and clinical researcher at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
"Kids who have more stimulating experiences that organize the brain are at a huge advantage when they get to school," Hutton said. "And it's really harder and harder for kids to catch up if they arrive behind." (CNN)
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PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS DEVELOP EARLY IN INFANTS
They might not yet speak in complete sentences, but 18-month-olds are savvy when it comes to deciding when and how to try.
According to a study from Arizona State University, the University of Washington and University of Toronto that has implications for how people learn, infants do not try things at random or simply mimic what they see adults doing. Instead, they combine information from their own firsthand experience and the experiences of other people to decide whether to persist in trying to solve a problem. (EurekAlert)
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WHY THE "CREATING EARLY CHILDHOOD LEADERS" ACT IS NEEDED
As more young children go into public school settings to get their pre-kindergarten experience, the question of whether or not they are receiving the fundamental early childhood education that is developmentally appropriate is one we should ask. Because a very large swathe of K-5, K-8, K-12 principals who preside over not just kindergarten but also pre-kindergarten classrooms are not always qualified to do so. For example, only nine states in the country require principals to have coursework in early childhood learning and development. (Fatherly)
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12 HEALTHY AND PRACTICAL FOODS FOR 1-YEAR OLDS
By the time they reach 12 months, toddlers need about 1,000 calories and an assortment of vitamins and minerals each day to support proper growth, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. With so much going on, you might be wondering how to best feed your 1-year-old without spending all day in the kitchen or chasing after them. Here are 12 healthy and practical foods for 1-year-olds. (Healthline)
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LET BABIES BE IN CHARGE OF HOW MUCH THEY EAT
How babies are fed is often a topic of hot discussion. It's known that b
abies should be introduced gradually to solid foods
at around six months old
. But in recent years, another question has arisen: should parents be spoon-feeding babies special pureed baby foods or could they just join in
with the family and feed themselves
from the very start? (MedicalXpress)
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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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