A study authored by Jean Decety, a psychology/psychiatry professor at the University of Chicago, implies that this may be the case.

Using functional MRI scans on normal kids aged 7 to 12, researchers found the parts of the children’s brains that were activated when shown pictures of people in pain, according to findings published in the current issue of Neuropsychologia.

This seems to suggest that children’s capacity for empathy is hard-wired into their brains, rather than being instilled in them purely through nurturing.

When the children viewed the images of people in pain, their brains showed an increase in activity in the same part of the brain that registers pain inflicted on their own bodies.

I could have told you that my three-year-old has pretty much always shown empathy toward other people when they seem sick or sad or hurting. It doesn’t seem to stop her, however, from inflicting pain on her baby brother. I guess empathy only goes so far!

Posted by Sunshine.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider banning certain food colorings because, according to its studies, these colorings can cause children to display hyperactivity and other behavior problems.

Dyes are used in countless foods and are sometimes used to simulate the color of fruits or vegetables. The additives are particularly prevalent in the cereals, candies, sodas, and snack foods pitched to kids.[…]

The center’s petition asks the FDA to require a warning label on foods with artificial dyes while it mulls the group’s request to ban the dyes outright.

The FDA has repeatedly stated that these food additives are safe for the general public, and notes that its European counterpart holds a similar view.

Thoughts? Do you think the additives in our food could be harming our kids, or is this consumer advocacy group crying wolf?

Posted by Sunshine.

These dummies failed parenting class. Parents who were the victims of a home invasion fled their house - leaving their 8 year old child behind. Incredible.

World class mom. There is a woman in China, an officer, who has been breastfeeding nine babies to keep them alive in the aftermath of the terrible earthquake there. That just warms my heart. While the idea of breastfeeding another persons child may seem strange, the life-or-death circumstances around this situation changes that. I would like to think that I would do the same thing. Kudos to her!!!

Do you agree? A woman in Ohio just was awarded $20 million. She sued her doctor for a delivery room issue. She was told in advance she had a narrow birth canal, and they tried for 13 hours to get the baby out. She ended up with an emergency C-section. The baby was born with some birth defects - mild retardation, vision problems and issues in moving her limbs. They claim the child’s injuries were because her head was squeezed.

Boy, I would have loved to be on the jury for this one. I wonder - what was this mom’s birth plan? Was she dead set against a C-section - did she push them to delay it? Can the doctors prove that the child’s injuries came from her head being squished in the birth canal?

In any case, I think $20 million is a bit excessive. But don’t even get me started with my opinions on our legal system.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 82 young people have died from what is commonly referred to as the “choking game.”

In the game, children use dog leashes or bungee cords wrapped around their necks or other means to temporarily cut blood flow to their head. The goal is a dreamlike, floating-in-space feeling when blood rushes back into the brain.

As many as 20 percent of teens and preteens play the game, sometimes in groups, according to estimates based on a few local studies. But nearly all the deaths were youths who played alone.

I had no idea youths actually did this (does choking sound like your idea of a fun pastime?), and apparently I’m not alone. Many parents are completely oblivious to this fad until unfortunate choking game-related events hit close to home.

CDC officials urged parents to be aware the fad exists, and to watch for possible warning signs like bloodshot eyes, marks on the neck, frequent and severe headaches, disorientation after spending time alone, and ropes, scarves or belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor.

The game is also known by names that include “blackout,” “space monkey” and “pass out.” It intrigues bright kids who like the idea of getting high without drinking or doing drugs, but it’s at least as dangerous.

Now you (and I) know.

Posted by Sunshine.

What a year it has been!

We had some sad times - including the Utah mine disaster, the California fires, and the Virginia Tech shootings.

We also said goodbye to Harry Potter and the Sopranos.

It was not all bad though… 2007 did bring us the iPhone!

We were informed again and again that obesity is ever increasing and it is a serious threat to our future health and our medical system.

And we learned that many toys aren’t safe and it is perhaps time to make a stand to ensure the safety of our children.

Women’s health has made many advances this past year, and I wish all of us wonderful women good health!

On the entertainment side, we bid a sad farewell to Anna Nicole Smith, and we watched with our boxes of popcorn in hand how Lindsay Lohan is seemingly crawling out of her dependency hole, while Britney Spears is diving deeper down.

For sports, we saw Tom Brady pull a nice one out of somewhere to lead the Patriots to a perfect season (that’s for you Supa!), and college football was a rollercoaster ride that has sparked many passionate debates about the BCS system. But many of our favorite athletes fell to scandals - Michael Vick, Floyd Landis, Marion Jones, and a whole lotta baseball players… leaving a lot of wide-eyed kids disappointed by their heroes.

We also watched our politicians gear up for the presidential race that has us wondering if we will see the first female President next year. (BTW - this is not an endorsement!)

Over on the boards, we celebrated the births of many future squawkers, we watched our precious ones grow a year older, we supported each other through the sleepless nights, potty training, magic marker mishaps and terrible two’s. And we marvel at the strength of our guy, Mikey. We shared the good times and the bad, laughed and cried and we can’t wait to do more in 2008!

Love to you all and all the best for 2008!

Posted by Meganlux

Miracle Baby: After doctors determined that one of the twins was not growing, Rebecca and Mark Jones of the U.K. had to make the difficult decision to allow doctors to terminate one twin to save the others. Doctors at first tried to sever the umbilical cord to cut off the blood supply to the baby. That procedure didn’t work, so the doctors made a second attempt by cutting the placenta in half. This procedure had the opposite effect - the baby began to grow. In March the babies were born by emergency c-section at 31 weeks, healthy and weighing in at 3 pounds 8 ounces and the miracle baby weighed in at 1 pound 15 ounces. Now 7 months old, both babies are at home and weighing in at 15 pounds and 12 pounds

Drinking while pregnant = nasty kid?: A new study shows that drinking while pregnant seems to be related to conduct problems in the child. Earlier research had linked pre-natal drinking with many problems in offspring, including conduct problems, criminal behavior, attention and impulsivity problems and alcohol disorders. However, this research was in question because it didn’t consider whether certain certain family processes or genetic risk factors could be associated with both maternal drinking and childhood problems. This study was able to show that for each week a mother drank alcohol during pregnancy, the child exhibited an increase in conduct problems. The study, however, showed that other factors related to prenatal alcohol drinking, such as tobacco, illegal drugs and other substances, were more likely causes of attention and impulsivity problems in the offspring rather than alcohol use alone. “the study was able to rule out a host of other explanations for the conduct problems in part because the study included multiple children per mother, which allowed researchers to look at siblings who were exposed differently to alcohol prenatally because their mothers varied their drinking during different pregnancies. The study found that children more frequently exposed to alcohol during pregnancy had more conduct problems than their siblings who were exposed to less prenatal alcohol.”

Pre-eclampsia linked to later heart disease: Two new British studies link the pregnancy condition pre-eclampsia with developing heart disease later in life. The first study finds that women who have had pre-eclampsia during pregnancy have a twofold risk of heart disease, and “women with a history of pre-eclampsia had an almost fourfold risk of high blood pressure and a twofold risk of fatal or non-fatal ischaemic heart disease, stroke and blood clots in later life.” The second study shows that doctors could predict which women were at risk of developing pre-eclampsia based on certain risk factors. Women with high pre-pregnancy blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels had a seven times greater risk of developing pre-eclampsia than those who did not. Overweight or obese women, and women with a family history of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes were also at a greater risk, and those women who took the pill before pregnancy reduced their risk.

Like mother like child: A new study suggests that excess weight in the mother before and during pregnancy may influence a child’s tendency to be fat. Mothers with higher body-mass index before pregnancy and a larger upper-arm circumference later in pregnancy correlated with the child’s height-adjusted fat mass measurements. Likewise, mothers with a lower body-mass index before pregnancy and a smaller upper-arm circumference later in pregnancy correlated to children with less body fat. “Further research is needed to determine if this association is from the effect of a mother’s excess weight prior to pregnancy; the effect of a mother’s lifestyle on that of her child; or a genetic factor passed from mother to child.”

More heavy news: A mother’s body-mass index at the time she becomes pregnant correlates with symptoms like hyperactivity and concentration problems in the child, says a new study. In addition, being overweight before pregnancy and gaining a considerable amount of weight during pregnancy comes with greater risks than being of normal weight and experiencing the same weight gain. “The next step for these scientists is to study whether there is a causal connection between the mothers’ obesity and symptoms in the child and, if so, what this is due to. One plausible explanation is that the risk of complications during pregnancy is greater among overweight women…It is also possible that both the mother’s obesity and the child’s symptoms are the result of genetic factors.”

Consumers International, a global consumer group, has issued its list of 2007’s worst products worldwide. One of the top contenders is Rozerem, a sleeping pill marketed for children by the United States leg of Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

The “back-to-school” advertisements [the company ran], which complied with US law, promoted the sleeping pills to parents without including health warnings for children, Consumers International said.

“This case demonstrates the lengths to which some drug companies will go to increase sales of their products, how direct to consumer advertising can promote irrational drug use, and how weak regulation can foster irresponsible corporate behaviour.”

Kellogg’s also got a bad product award because so many of its food products use cartoon characters and other gimmicks to draw kids to them, despite the unhealthily high levels of sugar and salt in many of these items.

Other recipients include Coca-Cola (for Dasani, its water of not-so-exotic origins) and Mattel, for its massive problems with lead in its toys.

“These multi-billion dollar companies are global brands with a responsibility to be honest, accountable and responsible,” the group’s director general Richard Lloyd said.

“In highlighting their shortcomings, Consumers International and its 220 member organisations are holding corporations to account and demanding businesses take social responsibility seriously.”

Well, here’s to hoping, anyway.

Posted by Sunshining.

Magnet Toy Recall: The CPSC is recalling game pieces sold with Cars backpacks - a red plastic car, a blue plastic car, and two red and black plastic disks that have “GAS,” “OIL” and “SERVICE” printed in red letters on them. Small magnets inside the pieces can become detached and pose aspiration and intestinal hazards. The backpacks were sold at Target stores nationwide during 2007 for about $13. Consumers may call the Cars Backpack Recall hotline toll-free at (877) 848-4070 for information on returning the cars and getting a replacement Cars wallet.

California Fires and Pregnancy, Babies: The March of Dimes issued a press release urging pregnant women and families with babies in Southern California to take special precautions in light of the wildfires raging throughout the area. “Expectant mothers and babies are at increased risk during disasters and we are doing all we can to provide information to help keep moms and babies healthy,” said Dani Montague, State Director of the March of Dimes California Chapter. “The entire country learned hard lessons from Hurricane Katrina.” Pregnant women and caretakers of babies are warned to stay indoors or to use masks to protect them/their babies from smoke and pollutants generated by the fires. Also from the release:

Special information for Pregnant Women:
— Bring copies of medical records, including prenatal medical records
and contact information for your health care provider
— Immediately notify shelter of your pregnancy and get information about
the location of hospitals in the area
— Ensure you have plenty of water and high-protein snacks
— Bring with you any medications, including prenatal vitamins and
prescriptions
— Do all you can to reduce stress — stress is a major factor in preterm
labor
— Learn the signs of preterm labor and contact shelter officials
immediately if you experience any of the following:
- Contractions every 10 minutes of more
- Leaking vaginal fluid or bleeding
- Feeling that baby is pushing down
- Low, dull backache
- Abdominal cramps

Special information for Families with Infants:
– Bring copies of baby’s medical records and contact information for
health care providers
– Pack a large supply of diapers (approximately 70 diapers per week for
newborns)
– Bring plenty of ready-to-serve formula - never use water treated with
iodine or chlorine tablets to prepare powdered formula.
– Shelters can be loud, bring pacifiers and any other items that may
soothe baby
– Stress can affect a woman’s milk supply if breastfeeding. Even if
breastfeeding, have on-hand ready-to-serve formula

For more information, visit the California chapter of the March of Dimes.

King Middle School in Portland, Maine, plans to offer birth control - and I don’t mean just condoms and a wish-you-well - to its students, who are usually in the 11-13 age range.

Students would need parental permission to use the city-run health center in the school, but they wouldn’t have to tell them they were seeking birth control.

Naturally, this decision has caused quite a firestorm. (See what MomSquawkers think here - register and weigh in!)

Defenders of the decision say the notion that young children can now easily get birth-control pills is flat wrong.

“They don’t just have a giant punch bowl full of pills,” [Portland School Committee member Robert O’Brien] said. The birth control will be given out only after extensive counseling, and no prepubescent children will get it, he claims.

Also, the school notes, condoms have been offered since 2000, but students were referred elsewhere for other birth control options. Students often did not follow up on that, so having birth control available at the school’s health center would ensure that those who need such protection would be more likely to get it.

Opponents of the measure say that children as young as 11 could manipulate the system to acquire birth control. Even Maine Governor John Baldacci has expressed concerns.

“I appreciate local officials trying to address a need in a medically appropriate way, but these are children,” he said in an interview with the AP. “An appropriate balance must be struck addressing the troubling situation that a small number of students find themselves in and recognizing the important role that parents and other family should play.”

What do you think? Is offering birth control to middle school students simply protecting our kids from pregnancies/STDs at an earlier age, or is the school making birth control too accessible too soon? Squawk back and share your thoughts!

Posted by Sunshining.