The study shows or it suggested that just by being overweight, a child has a very big chance of getting bullied. Although there are many factors that play a role of getting bullied, like gender, face or family related, being overweight is still the main reason. Being overweight or obese trumps all those other factors when it comes to aggressive behavior from other children.

The study found that being overweight increased the risk of being the target of bullying by 63 percent.

“One of the reasons we started this study is that obesity is so much more common today. Now that about half of kids are overweight or obese, it doesn’t make you such an outlier anymore, so we thought maybe kids wouldn’t be bullied for being overweight anymore,” said study author Dr. Julie Lumeng, an assistant research scientist at the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She added that the researchers also hoped they might be able to find some protective factors against being bullied, such as doing well in school.

“What we found, much to our dismay, was that nothing seemed to matter. If you were obese, you were more likely to be bullied, no matter what,” she said.

Results of the study will be published in the June issue of Pediatrics, but were released online May 3.

The study included 821 boys and girls from a nationally representative sample of children selected from 10 sites around the United States. Bullying behaviors were assessed in third, fifth and sixth grades. The youngsters were mostly white, half of them were male and 15 percent were overweight in the third grade.

By sixth grade, teachers reported that 34 percent of the study children had been bullied, and mothers reported that 45 percent of the children had been bullied, while 25 percent of the children themselves said they had been bullied.

Previous research has shown that boys, minorities and children from low-income groups are more likely to be bullied, so the researchers took these factors into account to see if they made a difference. The study authors also considered a child’s social skills and academic achievement in their analysis.

“No matter how much we retested, the findings were very robust. Obese kids are more likely to be bullied,” said Lumeng.

She said that one of the reasons she believes the findings were so consistent is that prejudice against overweight or obese people is “so pervasive that it’s acceptable.” But, she added, “Obesity is really complex. It’s not all about willpower. It’s a brain-based disorder, and I hope that message becomes clearer.”

Dana Rofey, an assistant professor with the Weight Management and Wellness Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, said she wasn’t surprised by the findings. “Bullying is the most common psychosocial complaint that our patients present with,” she said.

“For parents and pediatricians, one of the issues our study raises is that if you’re caring for a child who’s overweight, you need to be alert to this and you might want to gently bring it up with the child. Ask, ‘How are things at school going?’ or ‘Does anyone ever say something that makes you feel bad?’ because this may be an issue that’s difficult for kids to bring up,” said Lumeng.

If your child lets you know that he or she is being bullied, Lumeng said your first response should be to validate your child’s feelings and let them know that it’s not OK for someone to treat them like that.

What to do next can be tricky, agreed both experts.

“Be supportive, and let your child know that you’ll help them. Consult with your child and ask how he or she would like you to get involved,” advised Rofey. Many youngsters may ask their parents to take a hands-off approach, she said. But she recommends setting some guidelines. “Say something like, ‘It seems you have this under control right now, but let’s keep talking and checking in about it.’”

Rofey also recommends teaching your child how to avoid situations that might lead to teasing or bullying, and talking with your child about how to reach out to adults if they need to. Depending on the situation, she said that parents may need to step in and advocate for their children at the school. But, she advised always letting your children know what steps you’ll be taking.

Source:http://health.yahoo.com/news/healthday/bulliestargetobesekids.html

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Toddler tantrum are inevitable part of child’s development. And you cannot avoid it. Just learn how to handle this kind of situation of your kids so it could help them little by little to reduce it and stop the tantrums.

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Image via Wikipedia

Having an extra activity after school is a good thing for any child. These kind of toddler activities are an excellent source for an extra knowledge and fun!. So, having an extracurricular activity for your child is almost a must!

What if your son’s school does not offer any extracurricular activities. You are probably be worried of depriving your child of, like I said before, all that extra knowledge and fun. What should you do?

Most of us parents think that after school activities are always thought in schools. Well, it’s not. After school extracurricular activities need not be taught in a school-like environment by professional teachers in a structured and timely manner.

There is a lot YOU can do to support your child’s academic, physical and social development. Do not be too concerned about formal programs, as many of our children are already over-scheduled.

Obviously, school is top priority for children. They need to go to school, and finish their homework. They should then do their daily reading or writing work etc. This may take about 30-60 minutes. In the course of his daily work, your child may develop certain academic preferences and interests. In that case, you can try and find a program in a college or a community center that will help him and encourage him. In the age of the
Internet, information is really not a rarity. Allow him to use the net to find more information about thing that he likes. Encouraging the child to do independent research to gain in-depth knowledge is something that no
formal program does.

The first thing that a parent will be worried about is that their child may not have the social life. If you are concerned about it, enroll him or her in a club. There are all sorts of clubs available for kids. Or they can visit public libraries or even the theater, if your child is interested. It is not necessary for your child to make
friends with children his own age. A parent-child book club is another interesting option. If you can round up a number of like-minded children and their parents, you may well start your own after-school program… but of course, that is a little leaning on the side of the parent and not on the child.

There are instances that there is no organized group activity. Another good place to check out is your community. Many children love to get involved in social problems. They get their first real taste of suffering, charity and community help from such experiences. Volunteering for clean-up sessions, adult education programs etc could be a real eye-opener for your child. The lessons thus learnt are invaluable.

If physical activity or the lack of it is your major concern, enroll your child for some dancing classes. If organized sports are impossible to get, try to enroll her in a gym. She may find friends there and may take to the treadmill.

Your child does not necessarily have to be a part of an organized group to benefit from after-school ctivities. There are various avenues open in front of you. Roping in the enthusiasm of your children in daily household
activities like cooking, cleaning etc can also provide them with a refreshing extracurricular experience. Moreover, it will improve family ties too.

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In a world that is slowly but surely turning away from books and getting glued to monitors or television screens and like I said before, the internet… the importance of having a passion or developing wants for reading cannot be overlooked. Reading is a habit and should be established when the child is relatively young.

As a parent we are the first person to show our kids the value and importance of reading. We must tell them and make them understand that reading can broaden their mind. What can we do to foster this habit and add reading to their daily activities?

Enroll your child for reading classes

There are many well structured after school reading classes that aim to draw the children to books. They help kids with diction, idioms and phrases. For young children, these classes can be fun with animated characters and pictures. Illustrated picture books, rhymes, silly songs and pretend stories all attract the young child. Use creativity to capture the child’s vivid imagination.

Pique your child’s interest
If your child has a favorite character, pick a series of books that features this character. For my son, it was Spiderman. Thanks to friendly neighborhood spidey, my son latched on to comics fairly early in his childhood.

Build a home-library
A skill like reading cannot be learnt in isolation. Do not leave all the hard work to the after school program. Pick up books that you think your child will like. The Internet is also a rich resource of reading games
that will attract little children to the fine art of reading.

The suggestions listed above pertains only to physical books. There are many other ways to give the kids interest in reading if we are to use the internet. Wikipedia is the number one website for information and for kids to know and acquaint them in Wikipedia and other rich of information website will do wonders in their growing up years.

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I try and blog about my personal experiences too as a parent and at the same time look for other mother and fathers’ experience too regarding the same topic.

As of this writing my 4 year old son is getting scold at a number of times a day. I know it’s normal for a healthy child to be naughty. I feel bad every time I raise my voice to him.

Shouting, humiliation (you’re a bad girl) and spanking don’t teach anything but fear and shame. Try finding opportunities on a daily basis for legitimate praise of her behavior. Don’t call her a good girl for doing something you like anymore than calling her a bad girl for something you don’t like. Comment on her behavior or accomplishment, e.g., “I really appreciated how nicely you picked up your toys. What a big help that was.” Think about the ratio of praising to scolding; change it so it’s always heavily weighted in favor of praising.

You can also offer her choices of behavior that are all acceptable to you but seem to offer her some power in choosing, e.g., “You can stop doing X (a negative behavior) now and we can play Y, or you can talk like a baby until you’re ready to tell me you want to be three again and play Z.” Sometimes just breaking the rhythm of what isn’t working ushers in a chance for both parents and child to create a new, better way of communicating.

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For generations, parents have known that bedtime stories help kids relax and fall asleep more easily. But what they probably didn’t know, specially for first time parents or new parent like myself, is that reading bedtime stories do more good than just relaxing them and putting them to sleep.

What are the other benefits of telling toddlers the stories of Peter Pan, Cinderella and the likes?

Reading to them can help develop reading skills and emotional child development. You will notice that toddlers will not only look at the pictures but may also follow the words that the daddy is reading.

Another important thing to note is that bedtime stories are the last thing your child will hear before falling asleep and will play in the subconscious part of their mind all night.

Reading Bedtime stories may also be considered as a form of hypnosis, in a good way. All kids stories has values and lessons to learn from it. Reading them these kinds of stories and poiting to them the good values that the stories have will retain it and will be a big help in their mental and emotional development years.

During the age of child development, and of course the young age of toddlers are the time when they believe in magic, Wizards, Father Christmas and the Tooth Fairy, you have a golden opportunity to program them for maximum success. You can boost their confidense and build their self esteem.

Perhaps, the best way to understand the importance of bedtime stories is to look back and recall some of your own favourite stories from childhood. I remember when I was young, my mother used to tell this story about a young boy who is mean to his mother. He then was turned to a lizard.

I will never forget that story.. I love my mother and I don’t need to be told of that story but honestly, I think it somehow made me what I am today, the loving son. And I want my sons to have that same feeling towards us, their parents.

“As an adult, you may even notice that some of the messages in your favourite stories have played out in your life in some instrumental way.” — Exactly!

What becomes clear therefore is the need to be very aware of the suggestions we are giving our children that will have an effect on their adult life. Are you for example through bedtime stories, suggesting to your children that the world is full of opportunity or a scary place?

Here are some other benefits of reading bedtime stories to kids according to the experts:

• Bedtime stories aid in speech and language development
• Bedtime stories help in the development of healthy sleep patterns
• Bedtime stories help children develop listening skills
• Bedtime stories help boost a child’s IQ
• Bedtime stories help calm the crying
• Bedtime stories help children develop a love for books

Do you know of other benefits that reading bedtime stories can do to children? Please share them in the comments below.

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Sean will be celebrating his 2nd birthday this coming February 26, 2010 and Matt will be turning 4 on March 1, 2010. I remember when Matthew was 2 years old, he can recite the whole alphabet and he know each one by heart.

Now, it’s Sean’s turn to learn his alphabet. He’s a little late learner, but that’s alright. We are individuals and we are all unique. Sean can’t even speak yet but he is trying to recite and learn ABCs already. When he sings the alphabet song, he can barely say the words and just hum along with the tune but you can know distinctively that he is singing the alphabet song.

My classic tips in teaching toddler alphabet will be a big help for now on. When Sean can talk, we can start applying the technique we used to teach Matt the Alphabet. But sean is learning in his own pace. I am also very proud of him.

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Matt is turning 4 years old now and his little brother, Sean, will be turning 2. That is why this topic on baby constipation is a little late. Good thing (NOT) that my sons sometimes still suffer constipation which reminded me to browse the web and search for remedies for constipation.. specific for babies and toddlers

(image credit – everything-daddy.com toilet training)

Constipation in Toddlers

Constipation is when the stool gets super hard that it takes extreme amount of effort to get it out there. Or basically it refers to the passage of hard stools (poop, poo). We parents assume that our child is experiencing constipation when there is no bowel movement for 3 or 4 days.

Constipation is a common and frustrating problem in children. Before I search information about it, I thought that my sons could be in a very serious situation.

Causes of Constipation in Toddlers

Constipation is most commonly caused by a diet that is low in fiber. This is true for both adults and children. For toddlers, aside from eating food that is low in fiber, constipation can also be caused by drinking too much milk specially in my case where my 4 year old is still drinking plenty of milk while my 2 year old is still breastfeeding. Breastfeeding or breast milk (in excess) can also cause baby constipation. Another common and obvious cause is not drinking enough water or waiting too long to go to the bathroom.

Cure and Treatment for Constipation

How do treat constipation? What are the popular or effective remedies for it? Let us list some tips, cure and remedies for child constipation below. Since we are talking about toddlers, we will only write natural medicine or remedies that are safe for babies and toddlers.

Let’s list down some of the natural ways or safe ways we can do to help our child and prevent constipation

Foods Rich in Fiber

Since one of the causes of constipation is lack of fiber, or eating food that is low in fiber, one thing we can do is to regularly add a fiber rich foods in their diet.

Let us enumerate some foods, fruits and vegetables that are fiber rich and could cure, treat or even prevent constipation in children.

Here are some foods that are rich in fiber:

• Potato
• Raisins
• Pineapple
• Karo Juice
• Prune or Prune juice
• Beans
• Sweet potatoes
• Peas
• Raw tomatoes
• Corn (or even popcorn!)
• and others…

How much fiber is enough for a 2 or 4 year old? Or is there such a thing as fiber overdose?

Children require (age in years + 5) g of fiber per day up to a maximum of (age in years + 10) g per day.

So a 3 year old needs 8 g and should have no more than 13g of fiber per day.

There is about 2g of fiber in:

* A serving of bread or cereal
* A small fruit
* ½ cup of vegetables
* 1 medium potato

Ensuring your child has enough fiber in the diet will help toddler constipation.

source

Drink Lots of Water and Decrease constipating foods

Constipating foods include milk, yogurt, cheese, cooked carrots, and bananas. Drinking too much milk (your child may only be drinking 2-3 cups a day, but it may be too much for his system to handle) is heavily associated with being constipated. Switching to soy milk has been shown to soften stools. If your child is unable to drink milk, then offer a daily multivitamin or other sources of calcium.

Those are just a few things we can do to help relief them from the pains of constipation. Another thing we can to is to encourage the child to sit on the toilet after meals. Try to add this to their daily routine. Toddlers maybe often reluctant to sit on the toilet if they have already experienced the painful bowel movement, but still try to add it up to the routine.

My wife and I have discussed this and will try to do the suggested tips. I hope you do too if you are in the same situation as we are.

Do you have any other suggestions in relieving the kids from constipation? Share them here if you want. Thanks!

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Here are 5 things that you must be aware of with regards to your baby’s health and safety. These 5 Must Do’s came from expert pediatricians interviewed by CNN (see credit link below).

• Not Waking (and Feeding) the Baby Every 4 hours – Every new parent should take note of this advise and put it on the top of their ‘Parenting Tip’ list. You should feed your baby every four hours regardless if it’s daytime or night time. Remember, sleepless nights are to be expected for caring that sweet little angel. Don’t be glad when you’re baby sleeps all night long and flaunt, “‘The first night home from the hospital she slept all the way through the night!’” Dr. ance Goodman, a pediatrician in Boca Raton, Florida will tell you “She’s not supposed to be doing that!’ “Our pediatricians’ advise: Parents need to wake up their babies to eat every four hours. With a few rare exceptions, newborns should not sleep through the night for the first two weeks of life.Why do we need to wake up babies for their milk or feeding time? Babies who go too long without eating could become dehydrated. Plus, sleeping eight hours at a stretch might be a sign of severe jaundice. Sleeping all night could also mean that the baby is week, lethargic and can’t arouse himself to feed. This should be checked by a Pediatrician.So when is it OK to let your baby sleep through the night? “At the two-week checkup, if your baby is gaining weight and sleeping through the night, hallelujah! Go enjoy it!” says Dr. Ari Brown, author of “Baby 411″ and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Not Feeding When Hungry – Reading the first fact may and could confuse a new parent. If the baby is crying and hungry, the mother errr.. parent should feed him. The ‘feed the baby every four hour’ is a schedule but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feed the baby if he’s hungry after 2 hours from feeding him.Pediatricians say new parents sometimes make the mistake of wanting baby to eat on a strict schedule. The doctors say as long as a newborn is eating at least every four hours, they should keep whatever schedule they want.”A baby is smarter than any grown-up,” says Dr. Robin Madden, a pediatrician in Silver Spring, Maryland. “Whether breast-fed or bottle-fed, they know when they’re hungry and they know when they’re full.”
• Taking Baby to Crowded Places – Don’t do it. Do not take a baby in too crowded places, specially public places. Who knows how many, or what kinds of germs are all flying around the area.Exposing a baby to lots of germy people is a problem for two reasons. One, he could get a life-threatening bacterial infection. Two, even if he gets a fever from a virus (which is less dangerous), doctors will still have to hospitalize him to make sure it’s not something more serious.
• Don’t Confine Baby at Home – Again this may sound conflicting on the previous tip or advise, but there is also a bad thing in confining your baby in the house for a long period of time. Like they say, everything in excess is bad for you.How much is too much?According to the expert Pediatrician, it is a mistake to stay home 24-7 for six weeks with your newborn. They recommend parents to take their newborns for walks outside. They also tell them if they need to take the baby to the grocery store, to pick a time when it will be less crowded.
• Trust Your Inner Voice – This means trusting your motherly (or fatherly) instincts. A book about new fathers-to-be (The New Father’s Panic Book by Gene Williams) mention there that there is such a thing as  motherly instincts that shows even before the baby is born. One such example is the ‘nesting’ stage of pregnancy.Pediatricians said too many new parents don’t trust their inner voice. It’s all about listening to yourself and trusting yourself.

I hope that this advises for new parents and parents expecting to have a baby.

To to wrap things up, here are three more mistakes parents of newborns make, according to our experts :

• They put their babies to sleep on their sides or stomachs.

• They don’t vaccinate their babies even though the pediatric academy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and virtually every scientific organization recommends it.

• They don’t bring a baby with a fever to see the pediatrician. Any newborn with a fever needs to be evaluated by a doctor

Hope this article helps those parents that are looking for answers, tips and advises. If there’s something on your mind, please do put it the comments below.

Source

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Toddlers usually are self-centered and energetic. Although most toddlers or children are curious about everything, and can’t wait until the next exciting event or fascinating experience, most of them only has an attention span of maybe 5, 10 minutes.

Kids easily get bored and always looking for something new to do. If you need to introduce a new activity for toddler or to amuse them for a couple of more hours, here are 10 ways of amusing toddlers

• Pen, Crayons and Papers
• Playdough
• Baths and Bath toys
• Sandbox
• Field trips
• Educational DVD, Cartoons etc.
• Play Tent / Play House
• Road Trip
• Playground
• Yutube!

Most of the activity listed above are taken from the personal experiences of yours truly.  For kids of 4 and 2 years old, the sure hit way of amusing my kids is the internet, that is kidzui and yuotube and and stumbleupon. Playdoh is also a regular toy.

What are you ways of entertaining your children?

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