|
|
THIS WEEK'S
HEADLINES
NEWS IMPACTING CHILDREN 0-5 AND THEIR FAMILIES
|
|
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...
|
|
Toddlers as young as two are part of Stanford's latest
vaccine trial
|
Toddlers as young as 2 years old are being immunized as part of a vaccine trial out of Stanford.
The trial, part of a larger nationwide analysis on the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccines on infants, toddlers and young children, began Wednesday on a small group of 2- to 5-year olds in the Bay Area. Stanford is the only site on the West Coast to work with children; there are five sites across the country. (SF Gate)
|
|
 |
Brain Tumour Research funds childhood cancer breakthrough
Scientists have found a new way to starve cancerous brain tumor cells of energy in order to prevent further growth.
The findings could see a breakthrough in the way that children with medulloblastoma are treated in future. Medulloblastoma is the most common high-grade brain tumor in children. Survival rate is 70% for those whose tumor has not spread, but it is almost always fatal in cases of recurrent tumor. (BrainTumourResearch)
|
|
|
|
Childhood diet and exercise creates healthier, less anxious adults
Exercise and a healthy diet in childhood leads to adults with bigger brains and lower levels of anxiety, according to new UC Riverside research.
Though diet and exercise are consistently recommended as ways to promote health, this study is the first to examine the long-lasting, combined effects of both factors when they are experienced early in life. (ScienceDaily)
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHILD CARE & EARLY EDUCATION
|
|
Almost two weeks later, child care providers still waiting on relief checks |
Desperate child care providers who look after state-subsidized children are anxiously waiting on a much-needed one-time stipend of $525 per child promised by Gov. Gavin Newsom back in February.
The stipends, which could tally in the thousands for some providers, might mean the difference between staying open or turning out the lights.
So far, child care providers have not gotten a single dollar of that relief. (CalMatters)
|
|
|
How a faulty generalization is sabotaging Early Childhood Policy
A profoundly faulty generalization is sabotaging early childhood policy and jeopardizing the well-being of America’s young children today.
Professor Heckman’s research is widely cited as showing that “investment in high-quality early education yields a 13% return.” However, his research shows no such thing. (Early Learning Nation)
|
|
|
|
Occupational therapy can help kids with developmental delays
The goal of pediatric OT is to enhance development, minimize the potential for developmental delay, and help families to meet the special needs of their infants, toddlers and school-age children.
Children who may be experiencing subtle-to-severe cognitive, social or physical delays will usually begin showing signs of these at any point between the ages of 0-4. (EasternShoreMD)
|
|
|
|
The business case for child care reform |
One of the biggest challenges that families face during this time is the nearly impossible family balancing act of work, school, and child care.
What’s become clear to me, as a businessman and a grandfather, is that we must prioritize access to affordable child care as a critical step in our economic recovery. This may seem low on the list to some, but I came away from the last year with a deeper understanding of how access to child care greatly affects parents’ opportunities for employment. (The Hill)
|
|
How sugary drinks during pregnancy affect childhood obesity |
Childhood obesity is potentially influenced by a large number of factors. One that has been understudied until recently is the prenatal environment.
As researchers have begun exploring the role that this might play, compelling evidence has emerged indicating that there is a meaningful correlation between maternal consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (e.g. soda and sweetened fruit drinks) and childhood obesity and overweight status. (Brookings)
|
|
|
Navigating life after pregnancy loss
Between 10 and 15 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, and it's likely that number is even higher when unknown pregnancies are taken into account.
Yet, despite just how common pregnancy loss is, so many parents and families suffer in silence and don't get the support they need. (NPR)
|
|
|
|
Research shows a mother's fat intake can impact infant infectious disease outcomes
A team of researchers has determined that the type of fats a mother consumes while breastfeeding can have long-term implications on her infant's gut health by impacting an infant's intestinal microbial communities, immune development and disease risk. (EurekAlert)
|
|
|
|
|
For disabled parents, maternity care is a minefield
Today, one in 10 children in the U.S. lives with a disabled parent. This makes households with disabled parents roughly as common as those with disabled children — a statistic at once mathematically self-evident and sociologically inconceivable.
While parents of disabled children are more seen and supported than ever, disabled parents remain marginalized, stigmatized, and invisible. (Center for Health Journalism)
|
|
|
|
Can you get pregnant while you're already pregnant? It's rare, but yes
Imagine finding out you're pregnant, but then learning you're pregnant again just a few weeks later.
Rebecca Roberts, 39, was diagnosed with superfetation, the formation of a fetus while another fetus is already present in the uterus, after the tech at her 12-week ultrasound appointment noticed she was carrying another baby who was less developed. (USA Today)
|
|
|
|
A novel effort to see how poverty affects kids' brains |
It’s well established that growing up in poverty correlates with disparities in educational achievement, health and employment. But an emerging branch of neuroscience asks how poverty affects the developing brain.
Baby’s First Years hopes to address a broader question that is already relevant at the policy level: whether cash aid to parents helps their children’s brains develop in a way that helps them for a lifetime. (New York Times)
|
|
|
This is how I (finally!) got my kids to do chores around the house
Don’t give your child a chore that you’re going to come along and redo after them.
“What you’re teaching them is they’re not valuable,” said one child development expert. “Give them a different chore, or a crucial part of the chore. If they can’t sweep up the broken glass, then you say, ‘OK, you hold the dustpan.’”
“Everything you want your kids to do when they leave your home, they have to learn while they’re in your home.” (Today)
|
|
|
|
Masculine traits linked
to better parenting for some dads
In some men, having traditional masculine characteristics was linked to being better fathers to infants, a new study found. The men in this study combined those stereotypically masculine traits with the belief that they should be nurturing, highly involved fathers.
The researchers were surprised that traits often seen as old-fashioned male stereotypes were linked to more positive parenting behaviors, said the study's lead author. (Newswise)
|
|
|
|
|
Pets play important role in easing children's lonliness & stress during pandemic
More than 83% of parents found that their family pet helped their child feel less lonely during lockdown, with more than three-quarters feeling that day-to-day interactions with their cat or dog reduced their child's stress and anxiety.
Parents agreed their pet supported their child by improving their mood, providing companionship and giving much-needed emotional support. (PRNewswire)
|
|
|
|
Child safety groups ask Facebook to scrap plans for Instagram for kids
An international coalition of public health and child safety advocates urged Facebook executives Thursday to abandon plans to launch a version of Instagram for children under age 13 because its members feared it would put young users at "great risk."
The coalition of 35 organizations and 64 individual experts raised concerns about privacy, screen time, mental health, self-esteem and commercial pressure in a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. (NBC)
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Special thanks to Vecteezy for assistance on graphics
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
