Pediatrics

A study has found children could be inheriting emotional eating patterns from their parents. Emotional eating was defined in the International Journal of Eating Disorders as “eating in response to a range of negative emotions … or to cope with a negative effect”. It occurs even if we aren’t hungry. In adults, emotional eating is […]

When Julie Hawkins’ third child was born, she and her husband thought they had “struck gold”. Unlike her two older siblings, baby Sarah was quiet, laid-back and had no problem sleeping for hours on end. But as their “perfect child” started to grow up, Julie began to notice that something might be wrong. In pictures: […]

Children with ADHD should be placed on special diets to identify foods that may trigger disruptive behaviour before behaviour-changing drugs are considered, Dutch researchers have recommended. Researchers from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands found that significant improvements were found when children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were given a controlled […]

A US study has found that teenagers diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are far more likely to have suicidal tendencies compared to other teens. The University of Maryland research team surveyed 248 young people aged nine to 18 years, of whom half had been diagnosed with ADHD as young children, the UK’s Daily […]

A new Australian study had found that almost half of school-aged children are snacking on sugar- and fat-laden foods after school. The CSIRO Preventative Health Flagship report, commissioned by Unilever Australia, found that almost half of Australian children, aged five to eight, consume biscuits, pastries and cakes in the after-school period, while 17 percent snack […]

My daughter – Jade – is 5 years old and is starting to get invited over for sleepovers by her school-friends. She has a very good circle of friends at school and she desperately wants to spend as much time with them as possible. The problem is that I’m paranoid and maybe a little overprotective. […]

It’s long been known that certain chemicals found in everyday products can be harmful to humans so new research confirming the link between pesticides and ill-health will not come as a shock to many. However, the alarming factor here is that the ill effects can be caused by exposure as early as foetal development, prompting […]

A study from the University of Montreal, published in the Journal of Personality, gives weight to the growing body of evidence suggesting parents do their children a disservice by monitoring their leisure activities too closely — or ‘helicoptering’, as this style of over-zealous parenting has become known as. The study examined the behaviour of both […]

A million-dollar wardrobe, an adult attitude and a diva lifestyle … and she’s only four. Daddy knows his little girl rules the roost but wouldn’t change a thing. She has a wardrobe worth more than most people earn in their lifetime, is used to telling adults what to do, and is rarely challenged about her […]

Western Australia’s Nicky Freeman may hold the secret to eternal youth, but his mum tells John Parrish the secret to happiness is just as important. He’s a 40-year-old who looks and acts like a 10-year-old, but man-child Nicky Freeman could help unlock the secrets of near-eternal youth. Nicky has a virtually unknown condition that sees […]