The U. S. Department of Labor (DOL) has published a “request for information from the public” on the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). It “invites interested parties having knowledge of, or experience with, the FMLA to submit comments and welcomes any pertinent information that will provide a basis for ascertaining the effectiveness of the […]
As we wend our way through prime toy season, it’s worth remembering that many sound-enabled toys can permanently damage children’s hearing. The Sight & Hearing Association in the U. S. reminds us that “Because of a child’s shorter arm span, toys are often potentially more dangerous to hearing because children hold them closer to their
On the heels of my post about Lunch Lessons, Chef Ann Cooper’s new book on children and food, comes a new study from Penn State researchers looking at the presence of metabolic syndrome in 13-year-old girls. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of traits including insulin resistance and abdominal obesity that is a strong indicator for
Children born in the year 2000 will be the first in our country’s history to die at a younger age than their parents. More than 35 percent of our nation’s children are overwieght, 25 percent are obese, and 14 percent have type 2 diabetes, a condition previously seen primarily in adults. Current research shows that
It’s easy for us as LGBT parents to focus all our political energies on LGBT-specific issues. I’m often guilty of it myself, especially as parenthood has reduced my available bandwidth for anything not related to teddy bears or Thomas the Tank Engine. I just received an invitation, however, from Families USA, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization
A few miscellaneous items of interest: Young infants should not be left alone to sleep in car seats, warn New Zealand researchers. There is a risk of breathing problems, especially for premature infants, even when restrained in a seat appropriate for their age. Women who have epidurals during labor may find it harder to breastfeed,
I’m very pleased to present a special feature today: an interview with Ellen Kahn, Director of the Human Rights Campaign Family Project. Ellen took time from her work at HRC (and her two children) to answer a few questions about the Family Project’s accomplishments in 2006 and what they have in store for 2007 and
Are partnered lesbians less subject to weight gain than straight women? Yesterday’s New York Times Magazine reported on dietary research that showed “women tend to gain weight once they move in with male partners.” Researchers found that “Living with a male seemed to put pressure on females to consume more of the ‘unhealthy’ choices.” This
Young adults who cook their own food tend to have better overall diets than those who don’t, according to an article in December’s Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Among the 18- to 23-year-olds studied, those who were very involved in food preparation were likely to eat more servings of fruits and vegetables, for example.
Yes, according to a new study from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, “Daily consumption of chocolate reduced the chances of miscarriage by a modest 20%.” The research was in fact more serious than that makes it sound, and shed light on the still-mysterious causes of lost pregnancies. The scientists found that women
