What Parents Need to Know Now

Whether it’s Chocolate Cheerios advertising that it “may reduce the risk of heart disease”, Juicy Juice claiming it aids “brain development” or Nestle’s Drumsticks showcasing it has “0g Trans Fat” but leaving out that eating them may actually help make you fat – the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is fed up with false and misleading claims on food labels.

The FDA has sent out a group of letters warning companies about their misleading advertising practices. The commissioner of food and drugs, Margaret Hamburg, M.D., stated on the FDA’s website, “Today, ready access to reliable information about the calorie and nutrient content of food is even more important, given the prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases in the United States.”

The FDA sent out 17 letters in total addressing the questionable labeling on 22 food products. You can view a list of all of these products on the FDA’s website.

By Kristin Cantu with permission from Children's Hospital Boston.

Part 1

 “A baby is born with a need to be loved – and never outgrows it”                                                       ~Frank A. Clark

I just read a new research study and cannot wait to share it with EVERYONE!  It is thrilling to me every time we have additional scientific research demonstrating how important love and nurturing is to the brain….. and how important those early months after birth are!     

Those of you that know me or follow my work already know the intense passion I have for making early brain development common knowledge.  And it continues to baffle me why this is not yet information that every parent, grandparent, educator, medical professional, social worker, community leader, policy maker, business leader, and voter knows! Every adult needs to know the impact the experiences in the early years has on the developing brain.  Science has been demonstrating this to us for years.  Now economists are revealing how cost beneficial it is for us to know this—and to do something about it!

The primary focus of the awareness I want to create is the understanding of the dramatic and impactful difference loving a baby makes on the physical development of the brain.  This research clearly shows the powerful influence that results from positive early care giving experiences.

Hot dogs, popcorn, gum, candy, marshmallows—These may seem like fun delicious foods to most people, but to young children under the age of 3 they are potential choking hazards that can even lead to death. These foods are about the size of a young child’s airway and can cause a blockage which can be fatal if the child can’t breathe.

Choking from food, coins or small toys is a leading cause of death and disability in children 3 years or younger. The American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement this month on the prevention of choking among children. They recommend that food manufacturers should design foods to avoid choking risks in young children. They also recommend routine choking-prevention counseling to parents of young children.

Children are at increased risk from choking because of several factors.

Myopia, or nearsightedness, a vision condition in which close objects are seen clearly, but objects farther away appear blurred, is extremely prevalent in our society and appears to be on the rise. A recent article estimated the prevalence of myopia in people aged 12 to 54 increased from 25 percent in the years in the early 1970s,  to 41.6 percent in the years 1999 to 2004.

Now, a new study suggests that treating myopia early with bifocal lenses—glasses that use two corrective powers in each lens–instead of single-vision lenses may slow progression of the eye condition in children.

Many factors are felt to contribute to myopia, most important being genetic factors.  Children who are myopic generally have parents who are myopic.However, environmental factors are possible contributors and attempts are being made to alter these to slow the progression of myopia.

One consideration is if computers or reading are causes of the increased incidence of myopia. As a possible explanation for this, we consider if prolonged focus (accommodation) changes the length of the eye.  This theory serves as the basis for a recent study published in Archives of Ophthalmology.

The study recruited Chinese-Canadian children from age 8 to 13 with mild to moderate myopia. The patients were selected if they had evidence of a mild increase in myopia during the year prior to enrollment.

The children were randomized to one of three treatment groups: single vision lenses (standard treatment), or to one of two types of bifocal lenses. Adding a bifocal to their myopic correction theoretically decreases the amount of focusing necessary to see clearly up close.