Tuesday, August 22, 2006
11:37 AM
Another study to file in the Facts Parents Already Knew category: Children glued to the tube are numb to what goes on around them--even painful medical procedures.
Italian researchers have found that kids being stuck with a needle while watching television reported a third less pain as those not watching TV, and more disturbingly, only half the pain as those who were comforted by their mothers.
In other words, the distracting power of cartoons is twice as mind- and body-numbing for children as a parents' soothing touch.
Perhaps we should slap a "For Prescription-Use Only" label on our televisions. Being absorbed in television may even release pain-reducing hormones in children, speculated the study's lead author, Carlo Bellieni, a father of three and a neonatologist and pediatrician. "We have demonstrated the excessive power of television," Bellieni said. "I believe that this power must be controlled and reduced."
It could be that parental comfort has the reverse effect, convincing children that "something must really be bad" if they need to be soothed, said Dr. Brenda McClain, director of pediatric pain management services at Yale University. But no one suggests deserting a child under a needle. "Children who are experiencing pain in health-care settings of course need the supportive presence of a parent to help them cope effectively," the study concludes.
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Cash for Grades
Will you reward your child with money for good grades this year? Or should he or she learn simply for the sheer joy of it?
Cash moves some children to achieve at school, reports AP's Ben Feller. One mom, who gives her 12-year-old $5 per A, compares rewarding good grades to bribing toddlers with M&Ms for potty-training. But a Texas high school teacher, who sees kids who get new cars for their As, finds cash incentives disappointing.
"I try to instill a sense of intrinsic reward in the students," Reagan Hawkins told Feller. "I'd rather see a student want to learn for the sake of learning than learn for the sake of a car."
Adults work for money--and sometimes take lower-paying jobs for the sheer joy of doing what they love. But adults have already built their lives and (should) understand the consequences of less-than-best effort.
Once we start giving letter grades for good performance, we are already giving them a reward beyond learning's intrinsic pleasure. Adding cash value to those grades can make some kids work harder.
The law firm of Crowell & Moring offers cash to top-performers in algebra and history at Sierra Intermediate School in Santa Ana, Calif., where 85 percent of the students qualify for free lunches. Now in its third year, the program shows promising results, writes Crowell & Moring partner Scott Feldman in the L.A. Times.
"Time will tell whether this approach bears fruit," Feldman writes, "but the worst that has happened is that dozens of kids got a pat on the head, and some real money."
What motivates your kids to get good grades? Send your comments to parenting@washingtonpost.com, and I'll share some in next week's newsletter.
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Discussion Transcript: Finding the Best Curriculum for Your Child
From Summer to School: It's Time to Get Your Brain and Body in Shape
Clueless Parents, Part I: Childhood Obesity
Parents can delude themselves about their own children's weight, a Canadian study has found. Only 9 percent of parents think their own kids are overweight or obese--far less than the 26 percent of Canadian children who fall into those categories, according to the government.
In Britain, where back-to-school ads feature overweight models, a professor made headlines by calling for health warnings on labels in extra-large clothes. "Any child with a waist of 36 inches and over should seek medical help urgently," said Mike Lean, Head of Human Nutrition at Glasgow University.
In this country, the number of people who say they find overweight people less attractive has shrunk from 55 percent 20 years ago to 24 percent today, according to the market research firm NPD Group. But other researchers dismissed the results as a sign that people are increasingly worried about sounding politically incorrect, and that biases against overweight people are probably stronger than ever.
The same study bears that out: Obese boys and girls were half as likely to date as normal-weight kids.
Ark. Advances Against Childhood Obesity
No Vacation From Mishaps: Doctors See Rise in Overuse Injuries in Teen Athletes
Campaign Targets Web Crimes Against Kids
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Clueless Parents, Part II: Drugs and Alcohol
Parents can also be delusional when it comes to their teenagers and substance abuse. The vast majority--80 percent--told researchers that neither alcohol nor marijuana is usually available at parties that their teens attend.
Meanwhile, 50 percent of teenagers said they had been at parties where alcohol and drugs were being used.
Only 12 percent of parents see drugs and alcohol as a problem for their children, while 27 percent of teenagers ranked it as their biggest concern. The findings were part of an annual survey done by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse.
The survey found that teens who regularly ate dinner with their families and attended church were less at risk for substance abuse, along with teens who slept more than eight hours a day.
U of Texas-Austin Tops Party School List
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A Whole New Universe
That nine-planet mobile of the solar system may someday be an archaic marvel for your children's children. If the International Astronomical Union decides Thursday to add three new planets, it means redemption for Pluto fans, but overhaul time for toys, textbooks and planetariums around the world.
It'll be about seven years before most schools have textbooks that reflect the addition of Ceres, Charon, and UB313, nicknamed Xena. Lucky for parents, toy makers work much faster: Discovery Channel Store spokeswoman Pamela Rucker predicted new 12-planet toys could be in stores in time for the Christmas season.
Planetariums and museums find the challenge more exciting than difficult, said Susan Reynolds Button, president-elect of the International Planetarium Society. Students will need a new mnemonic to remember the expanded list.
The astronomers could still vote against the new planets. That would be fine with the man who discovered Xena, Michael Brown, who thinks the proposed definition for planets is too broad and amounts to "No Ice Ball Left Behind." By the time his infant daughter is old enough to memorize planets, he complains, there could be hundreds of them.
"When people finally realize the number of planets is going to be much bigger, they'll shake their heads and say 'Astronomers are crazy.'" Brown said. Crazy enough to name a planet after a TV warrior princess?
Too Few Overachievers: Academically Stressed Students Aren't the Country's Norm
Discussion Transcript: Overachieving Students Under Pressure
Prep School: A Cooking Class for the College Set
Lost in an Online Fantasy World: As Virtual Universes Grow, So Do Ranks of the Game-Obsessed
E-Mail Bag: Cartoons in the Produce Aisles
Last week's item about cartoon characters on fresh fruit and vegetables brought mixed e-mail from readers. Some think it will help them persuade their kids to eat healthy foods. Others think it's a clever, insidious way to reach future consumers.
Natasha of Palo Alto, Calif., writes, "Sponge Bob on carrots is a freak of nature--better not to draw the wrong conclusions from this odd convergence of cartoon and produce. Stick to the fundamentals: Advertising to children is no good."
Michele of Ijamsville, Md., is less concerned. "I think it will help a little, as my 5 year old is attracted to cartoon characters," she writes. "However, he is also smart enough now and has been taught that all these cartoon characters are a ploy to get Mom and Dad to buy the product."
"Do 14-year-old boys want to go to school with a Minnie Mouse banana in their lunch?" asks Jim Prevor, who comments on the perishable food industry in his Perishable Pundit blog. Prevor thinks Kroger and Disney should follow their marketing deals with research to see if they work. "Then we could have some real data about what works for selling healthy fresh produce to children and getting them to consume it," he writes. "That would be a truly magical day."
Discussion Transcript: Back-to-School Healthy Eating
Bill Targets State Food Label Warnings
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