Night Terrors linked to infant’s temperament? Researchers have found that some preschoolers may be more vulnerable to having nightmares, and it could be linked to their temperament as infants showing even as young as 5 months old. More anxious or difficult children appear to be more prone to these nightmares.

In this study, “bad dreams” as early as the age of 2 1/2 were predicted by signs of anxiety at the ages of 5 months and 17 months, explained Nielsen, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal. It goes on to explain that as a child grows older, some “minor traumas”, such as the first days of school, can subsequently trigger these nightmares again.

You are what you eat. Even children who are overweight, yet not technically obese, are at increased risk for serious heart problems as they get older. To me, what it comes down to is not only the child’s weight, but WHAT they eat that is important. We have seen as adults that there are adults who are not overweight that have serious heart issues as well. It is tempting to feed children empty, fat-filled calories. Especially with all the packaged and pre-prepared junk food out there - and it is impossible not to notice with all of the advertising campaigns these days. But getting down to food basics and feeding children fresh foods filled with vitamins and all the “good” things they need to grow healthy is an essential building block for a child’s future.

FTC cautions movie marketing to young children. The FTC is asking the Motion Picture Association of America to reconsider their advertising recommendations for some PG13 movies. This was brought to their attention after merchandise for the somewhat violent Transformers movie was marketed to children even as young as 2 years old. This includes restaurant advertising (children’s meals toys). I tend to agree with their recommendation - parents can do their best to protect their children from more mature themed toys and such, but it sure can be difficult when these days advertisers are very clever in their abilities to keep their products right in front of our faces everywhere we turn. I am seeing a constant theme in today’s post…

Moms-to-be swap birthing classes for the internet. Gone are the days when expecting women went to their Lamaze classes (often dragging reluctant daddy’s along). Studies show that these days women are looking to the internet and television shows to prepare themselves for childbirth. Only 56% of expecting women went to a class (9% for subsequent births), while 68% of pregnant women watched pregnancy related TV shows.

Reasons for the decline include the ease and availability of information online with today’s busy schedules, as well as women who opt for epidurals or C-sections feel it is not as necessary to attend classes and do not want to be pressured of made to feel guilty for their birth choices.

Disney bans kids… from its nicest restaurant. The post Victoria & Albert’s restaurant at Disney’s Florida resort has decided to ban children under 10 years old so that adults can enjoy a sophisticated dining experience. This is not the first time they have done this - they also ban unaccompanied kids from places in their Pleasure Island resort and some nightclubs. Don’t worry, there are still 97 other restaurants where you can grab a bite to eat with the kiddos.

More celeb expecting news. Jack Black and his wife, Tanya, are expecting their third child. (and just to slightly tangent, does anyone else whose family member got a Guitar Heroes III game for Christmas think that Tenacious D’s song The Metal is kind of addictive?)

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

OK, nostalgic types: Volumes 1 and 2 of “Sesame Street: Old School”, a new DVD series, are now available for purchase. Volume 1 includes segments from the 1969-74 seasons, and Volume 2 covers 1974-79.

Interestingly, the DVDs come with the following warning: “These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.”

Wha?

OK I do remember some fairly trippy animated sequences from early Sesame Street episodes. Remember the kid on the bike who gets lost and winds up somehow in the world of Yellow Submarine? But even though it’s a kinda creepy little piece, it teaches a valuable lesson about how to find your way home if you wander astray (these days we pretty much expect kids to stay chained to us so there’s little chance they need to know how to “get unlost” before they hit their twenties, but still…).

My husband and I have been having fun for a while now combing through the old Sesame clips on You Tube and offering them up for our kids’ amusement, and even more so for our own. So the news of the release of these DVDs gives me an excuse to be a little self-indulgent (actually, I have an additional excuse, revealed below). For what it’s worth, here are some of the old Sesame Street clips we’ve been watching most around here (making no guarantees, content can be removed from YouTube without warning) :

Fat-cat-sat-hat. Classic Sesame nonsense that teaches rhyme and…well, I’m not sure what the point is otherwise. My husband suggests it’s exploring an historic cultural battle between beatniks and hippies.

Jellyman Kelly: This one we watch more for my benefit than the kids’, as I will always have a thing for James Taylor.

ABCDEF…Cookie Monster: This one always cracks my two-year-old up.

Swamp Mushy Muddy: Oscar and two decidedly odd backup singers deliver an ode to a smelly watering hole.

Pinball Counting: Someone spliced a few of these together for a nice long, groovy sequence.

Ernie Counts Sheep: It’s hard to choose a favorite Ernie and Bert, but this one probably gets the most mileage at our house.

Superstition: Stevie Wonder performs, one kid dances like a maniac. Fantastic.

Grover Big Hamburger: We love all the “Grover the Waiter” skits, of course. Poor Mr. Blue Headed Guy! One hopes he eventually gets something to eat.

Captain Vegetable: A new superhero emerges from somewhere in New Jersey. It’s a later skit, but I remember it fondly from when I was babysitting my niece and nephew. (To give you an idea of my age, I still consider Telly to be a “new” character.)

What’s the Name of that Song? This is probably our favorite - the original cast harmonizing sweetly. They’re so young! And there’s Mr. Hooper! (I think my husband likes this one in particular because it has Maria in a midriff-baring top.)

As for why I “get” to be so self-indulgent today: This is my last day as blog editor and regular contributer here at MomSquawk! I’ll likely remain an occasional blogger (it’s hard to shut me up completely).

Much thanks to Michelle and Damon for the opportunity to mind the shop - it’s been a fantastic learning opportunity, and a whole lot of fun. Much love to my fellow MomSquawk bloggers, our readers, and all the great folks who link to us and tuck us into their blogrolls.

Here’s a final plug from me: If you enjoy the company of curious, funny, and generous fellow mothers, sign on with the MomSquawk community. You won’t regret it.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Posted by MommaSteph.

Just in time for the upcoming holiday shopping season, the group TRUCE (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment) has released its Toy Action Guide. Here, an excerpt that underscores their general outlook on play:

Play is essential to children’s healthy development and learning. Children use play to actively construct knowledge, meet social/emotional needs, and acquire life skills. The content of their play comes from their own experiences. Because of the pervasive influence of the electronic media — TV, movies, videos, DVDs, computers video games — children spend more time sitting in front of a screen and less time playing creatively with each other. These changes in today’s childhood are undermining play.

Toys of value enhance children’s natural ability to engage in imaginative, meaningful play by allowing them to try out their own ideas and solve their own problems. However, many toys rob children of opportunities to use their own imaginations, creativity, and problem solving skills. These types of toys are often linked to popular media images and programs.

Their advice is pretty straightforward: Choose toys that give children opportunities for dramatic play (such as a doctor’s kit), manipulative play (blocks, puzzles), and creative play (instruments, art supplies), as well as board games and toys that encourage healthy physical play. The guide includes specific toy recommendations.

What to avoid, according to TRUCE? Toys that make violence central to play (action toys with weapons marketed to little kids), “sexy” toys (such as Bratz), and toys that lure little kids into the world of PG-13 movies or that tie toddler icons to older kid toys (such as Tickle Me Elmo Barbie, who wears an Elmo T-shirt and carries around a mini Elmo doll).

Also in the cross-hairs: “Educational” toys (such as LeapFrog’s My First Computer), traditionally creative toys that are geared away from open-ended play and toward violence (such as the Lego Exo-Force sets), and toys that make kids dependent on screens for play (such as Jammin’ Gym Class from V-Tech).

The idea of preserving open-ended play was brought home to me the other day when we had a playdate and the most coveted “toy” was a cardboard tube from an empty paper towel roll. And why not? It served as a trumpet, a telescope, a rolling-thing, and a rocket ship, in the span of minutes. Santa may just bring a sackful.

Posted by MommaSteph.

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.

TV and Hypertension: A new study published in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds an association between television viewing and hypertension in children. TV viewing time has already been associated with obesity. Data was gathered regarding 546 subjects, aged 4 to 17 years, who were evaluated for obesity at pediatric subspecialty weight management clinics in San Diego CA, San Francisco CA, and Dayton, OH, from 2003 to 2005. Children and their parent(s) were given a written questionnaire, which was used to estimate the average daily time spent watching TV, and then a physician verbally reviewed and confirmed the time estimate. The height and weight of the children were measured to determine a Body Mass Index (BMI) and their blood pressures were recorded.

Investigators determined that TV time was positively correlated with the severity of obesity. After controlling for race, site, and BMI score, both the severity of obesity and daily TV time were significant independent predictors of the presence of hypertension. Children watching 2 to 4 hours of TV had 2.5 times the odds of hypertension compared with children watching 0 to <2 hours. The odds of hypertension for children watching 4 or more hours of TV were 3.3 times greater than for children watching 0 to <2 hours of TV.

Autism Screening: The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that all children be screened for autism spectrum disorder twice before age two. “If you recognize it earlier, you get them into treatment earlier,” said Dr. Scott Myers, a pediatrician who specializes in neurodevelopment and who helped write two clinical reports designed to help pediatricians identify and manage autism.

“Kids who start (treatment) earlier do better in the long run,” Myers said in a telephone interview.

Preemie Medical Miracle: The current issue of the journal Fetal Diagnosis shares the story of a one-year-old who was operated on in utero after her mother’s membranes broke in her 22nd week of pregnancy. During the surgery, a balloon was inserted into the baby’s developing lungs that kept the fluid in there from draining away. The build up of pressure stimulated lung growth. The baby was born at 33 weeks, and was able to go home with her parents two weeks before her due date.

Some of the images are disturbing, which is the point, of course.

What’s your take on Dove’s “Real Beauty” and “Self-Esteem” campaigns? Sincere? Clever marketing by Unilever? Both?

Posted by MommaSteph.

Sesame Street has a refreshing new show opener, aimed at helping preschoolers build their vocabularies. Murray, a recently introduced monster character, interviews folks in the “real world” about the “Word on the Street”. The chosen word then pops up throughout the show so kids can hear it used in different contexts. Celebrity guests like Ellen Degeneres and Kelly Rippa help reinforce the new word.

The “Word on the Street” segment has included, among others, “windy”, “frustrated”, “disappear”, and my favorite so far, “pumpernickel”. The interviews are with folks of all ages, being themselves; it’s nice to see regular people just talking about the words we use every day.

I’m digging Murray Monster as a character, too. It took me a little while to get used to him as he exploded onto the screen off and on in the last couple seasons (if you’ve seen him, you know what I mean - he’s really enthusiastic). But who can resist him? Look at that smile! And his exuberance just seems to heartfelt, and not at all cloying, like Elmo’s, or freaky, like that odd elephant character’s. Murray gives me hope that the folks at Sesame Street have not lost their touch, despite the distressing - and ongoing - fairy debacle.

We’ve been trying to remember to use the Word on the Street throughout the day here, and my three-year-old fills his dad in at dinnertime. It’s a nice little literacy builder.

Thanks, and keep up the good work, Murray!

Posted by MommaSteph.

Browse any major bookstore and you will find dozens of titles on how to help your child do X better (eat, sleep, behave…) or how to parent your child with regard to Y and Z. At first, it seems like a good thing to have all of these books and advice columns and television shows on parenting. As a first time mom, I certainly pored over my fair share of articles and books on everything from sleep to discipline. I didn’t know what I was doing; surely all of these experts could help me make the right choices!

Perhaps they can for some things; however, there is a disturbing theory that all of this parenting advice actually undermines our ability to parent our children. Are we losing confidence in our own parental instincts and knowledge in the face of dozens of popular methods for doing everything from potty training to stimulating our children’s creativity? Are we facing increased pressures, not only on ourselves as parents (to do things an expected way), but on our children because of popular parenting techniques/the parenting expert boom?

Psychologist Tanya Byron thinks so.

“I’m not saying all the books out there are bad, we’ve just got to restore parents’ confidence in their own ability rather than tell them what to do.[…]Parenting is not a job with a series of techniques that we do to our children,” she says.

She is also fully aware that often there are no definitive answers when it comes to youngsters and says that is what makes being a parent so exciting.

“I don’t know what a perfect parent is or what a perfect child is but I suspect both would be extremely dull,” she says. “Life is about challenge and emotion, it’s about the reality of living.”

Maybe we all ought to trust ourselves a bit more and look to the “pros” a little bit less - after all, aren’t we the real experts when it comes to our own children?

Posted by Sunshining.