Radio spots for the week of 07/18/10. Broadcast on KKOY, KALN, KKOW, KINZ, and KIND
Topic #1
Self control; can it help our young people keep a healthy weight? A study in the July issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine looked at kids with self control and how likely they were to be overweight. The study which was part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of early Child Care and Youth Development, looked at over 800 kids. The BMI was calculated, when the kids were 10 years and again when they were 15 years old. Both the parent and the classroom teacher completed a questionnaire when the kids were 9 years old, looking at self-control issues. Questions included such things as finishing tasks within a reasonable amount of time, ignoring distractions when doing class work, controlling temper when arguing with other kids, and keeping room and desk neat and clean without having to be reminded. “What?? You say, my 9 year old’s room looks like a tornado hit it… and that’s on a good day!” And yes, most 9 year olds don’t do these things 100% of the time, but most can do these things much of the time, unless there is a mental, physical or emotional issue. And the study showed that the kids with less self control were more likely to be overweight. Self control, or the ability to decide what one will do, can start as young as 1 to 2 years of age, in a child without a condition as listed above. When a child understands requests, like, “Please bring me the ball.”, or “Don’t touch.” and parents are consistent, the child learns how to act and react. So if a child learns about healthy choices, whether it is food choices, exercise choices or how to play with others, then the child may avoid certain problems later in life. How do you teach self control? First, be a good role model, and second, spend time with that kid, and it starts by Giving that kid a hug, I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.
Topic #2
Wow! Summer is ½ over! Now is the time to check in with Jr on everything, including cell phone and computer use. Be aware of cyber-bullying! And the question for the day is; what is an important difference between old fashioned bullying and cyber-bullying? A new study on cyber-bullies and cyber-victims was published in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. It was a study from Finland but showed similar data to other US studies. Of the 2500 teens questioned, more than 7% bullied other teens online, about 5% were victims, and over 5% were both bullies and victims. Just to remind everyone, the definition of cyber-bullying includes aggressive, intentional, repeated acts using mobile phones, computers or other electronic media against victims who cannot easily defend themselves. Up to 1/3 of kids in some studies report they have been victims of some type of bullying behavior. Back to the Finnish study, though. Of the teens that were bullied or were bullies, more were likely to have had emotional, concentration and behavior problems, and have a harder time getting along with others. They also were more likely to have headaches, abdominal pain, sleeping problems and didn’t feel safe at school. The cyber-bullies were more likely to smoke or get drunk. Back to the question of the day: what is an important difference in old fashioned bullying and cyber-bullying? The study found that with cyber-bullying, many kids felt unsafe everywhere. Old fashioned bullying was more likely to occur at a particular place, like school, but not potentially in one’s home, as is seen with cyber-bullying. One positive thing about cyber-bullying, though, is that it does leave a trail. So be sure your child isn’t involved with cyber-bullying on any level. And give that kid a hug. I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.
Topic #3
Car seats have been shown to prevent serious and fatal injuries in youngsters during vehicle crashes by 71%. But there is a surprising number of car seat injuries not related to vehicles. In other words, someone puts the car seat with the bundle of joy somewhere besides in the car, and the said bundle becomes non- joyful. Enter a study analyzing data from the Consumer Product Safety Commissions National Electronic Surveillance System database, and reported in the August issue of the journal, Pediatrics. Between the years of 2003 and 2007, there were almost 44,000 car seat-related injuries resulting in emergency room visits. These injuries did not include traffic accidents and only included children one year and under. Based on their sample of 1900 infants, they found that 85% of injuries were related to falls. Of this number, there were 65% of infants falling out of the car seat. About 15% were caused by the car seat and child falling from an elevated surface. The most common injury, to the tune of 84%, was a head or neck injury. And this makes sense, due to infants having large, heavy heads, and not much neck muscle control. Not surprising, was the finding that 62% occurred in infants younger than 4 months. Boys were injured 54% of the time. And an upsetting 8% of infants were admitted due to the seriousness of these falls. Three deaths occurred. The most common surfaces from which the infants fell included shopping carts, tabletops and countertops. Installing a car seat takes quite a bit of effort, and so the more you take it in and out, the higher the chance you won’t get it back in safely. Find somewhere else for baby to sit outside the car. Moral of the story; read the instructions on your particular car seat, and use it only as recommended. Give that kid a hug, I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.
