A sobering new study of secondary schools in Britain concluded that homophobic bullying is “almost epidemic.” The School Report study, conducted by the Schools Health Education Unit for LGBT-rights organization Stonewall, found: 65% of young LGB people experience homophobic bullying in Britain’s schools. 97% of gay pupils hear derogatory phrases such as “dyke” or “poof”
Boys with ring fingers longer than their index fingers tend to do better in math, according to a new study by psychologists at the University of Bath. (Thanks, Slashdot.) This would be nothing more than an interesting tidbit that might make me check my son’s hands next time I cut his nails, except that it
If you are as incensed as I am over the recent recall of millions of Thomas the Tank Engine trains, you might want to pop over to MomsRising and sign their petition to tell Congress and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): “Testing children’s products for toxic chemicals must be a priority. No more toxic
This news struck fear into my heart at the thought of having to take away some of my son’s favorite toys: The manufacturer of the popular Thomas & Friends wooden trains is recalling a number of models because of a high level of lead in the surface paint. It recommends you take the trains away
As a someone who turns a disturbing shade of Barbie pink when left in the sun too long, I read with interest of new evidence that “overall sun exposure in childhood, not just burns, is a big key to who later develops deadly skin cancer.” The study, at the University of North Carolina, indicated that
I may be the last person in the country to discover the wonders of a safety can opener, which takes off the top of cans without leaving a sharp rim. It was always a point of pride with me that I used a simple Swing-A-Way opener. The Swing-A-Way was classic. It did the job it
Earth Day 2007 is tomorrow, so I thought I’d start a thread on things we do as parents to protect the environment and save energy. From carpooling to soccer practice to favoring toys with minimal packaging, how do you take care of our planet? How do you teach your children to do so? Where do
Preschoolers are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables when the produce comes from their own garden rather than a supermarket, concludes a study by researchers at Saint Louis University. More specifically, preschool children from rural southeast Missouri were more than twice as likely to eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per
In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, the American Association of Pediatrics has compiled a list of resources to help children cope with this and other disasters. In addition, they include more general information on violence prevention, school safety, and promoting mental health. ParentDish also has links to a few other resources to help
A new study has found that “couples who showed a good marital relationship before the birth [of their child] seemed to do better when dealing with a fussy and uncooperative baby when compared to those couples whose relationship was not as good.” This seems pretty obvious to me, but according to the lead researcher, there
