Medical professionals need to express their support for child advocacy programs to ensure that medical care is free from coercion and undue influences and is actually in the best interest of the child.
Video games can be a helpful tool for developing children’s fine motor skills, problem-solving abilities, and cooperative play behaviors. However, a growing body of scientific literature suggests that violent video games have a causal relationship with aggressive acts.
It’s no secret that child stars are prone to mental breakdowns and drug addictions as they grow up in Hollywood. Take Mean Girls star Lindsay Lohan, for example, who just got out of rehab for the 6th time and has become the poster girl for “child stars gone wrong.” Or Amanda Bynes, the adorable Nickelodeon funny girl who publicly had a mental breakdown on Twitter and found herself hospitalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia. While the fame and fortune that comes along with being a celebrity seems glamorous (and most certainly can be at times) it’s extremely taxing for a kid who suddenly has to give up his or her childhood to work full-time hours in the “biz” and deal with the pressures of maintaining an image in front of millions of fans. The effects of fame can be detrimental to anyone’s health, let alone a child who has been in the public eye practically since birth.
Most mothers wouldn’t think about dressing up their child as the prostitute in Pretty Woman or as Madonna with cone breasts, but most mothers aren’t pageant moms. Interest in and criticism of child beauty pageants has increased since the popularity of the TLC reality series Toddlers Tiaras, which follows a group of young divas and their attention-hungry moms as they compete. Not only do the mothers dress these little girls up in inappropriate clothing, they cake their faces with make-up, tell them that winning is the only important thing, and treat them like products. Some have even gone as far as injecting their daughters with Botox. The show is both fascinating and disturbing. But what compels mothers to subject their children—who can be as young as 6 months old—to the high-pressure, perfection-driven contests? And what effects might these pageants have on those children?
E-cigarettes, promoted as a way to quit regular cigarettes, may actually be a new route to conventional smoking and nicotine addiction for teenagers, according to a new UC San Francisco study.
In the first analysis of the relationship between e-cigarette use and smoking among adolescents in the United States, UCSF researchers found that adolescents who used the devices were more likely to smoke cigarettes and less likely to quit smoking. The study of nearly 40,000 youth around the country also found that e-cigarette use among middle and high school students doubled between 2011 and 2012, from 3.1 percent to 6.5 percent.
Medical researchers point to developmental factors, specifically the decline of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, as an explanation for why children get less sleep as they become teenagers. But a new study suggests that social ties, including relationships with peers and parents, may be even more responsible for changing sleep patterns among adolescents.
It is well known that exposure to the sun is the key risk factor for developing skin cancer. And while most parents are aware that applying sunscreen to their children is important, many go wrong by not taking the time to choose the most effective sunscreen, or they don’t understand the limitations of sunscreen.
In a study published May 6 in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the researchers found that adolescents who purchased Subway meals consumed nearly as many calories as they did at McDonald’s. Meals from both restaurants are likely to contribute toward overeating and obesity, according to the researchers.
