Half Of Americans Think Their Kids Are Addicted To Technology

I4U News – Scott Huntington

You want your children to have the same things everyone else has. You don’t want your kid to be the one who doesn’t have the newest devices and gaming systems which are now so commonplace. So we buy the Nintendo DS, the Wii, the Switch and finally, a smartphone. Whatever we get seems outdated months after you learn how to use it. What’s worse is we buy the things, then complain when our children get addicted to them. You might get addicted to them, too. (more)

Children get too much protection and not enough exercise

The Irish Times – Breda O’Brien

Utah has just introduced a so-called free-range parenting law. In other words, it is not illegal to allow children to partake in an unsupervised activity, so long as the child is adequately cared for in other ways. Those activities include letting children “walk, run or bike to and from school, travel to commercial or recreational facilities, play outside and remain at home unattended”. The law does not specify an age but just that the child must have “sufficient age and maturity”. (more)

Spare your babies from salt – and hypertension

IOL – Thabo Molelekwa

Parents should give their babies food with little or no salt to ensure that they don’t grow up with a taste for unhealthy salty food. This is according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSFSA), which warns that excess salt intake is directly associated with raised blood pressure, which can cause strokes and heart attacks. “Healthy eating habits should be reinforced at an early age, during the period that babies and young children are developing their sense of taste and food preferences,” said Professor Pamela Naidoo, CEO Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSFSA). (more)

Diabetes: In Children

FOX 8 – Staff Writer

Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the way the body processes sugar and can present itself in two ways: type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 is an auto-immune disease in which the body is destroying the cells in the pancreas that make insulin and is often diagnosed in children and young adults. While the exact cause of type 1 diabetes is unknown, it is not brought on by diet or nutrition. With Type 2 diabetes, the body still produces insulin but either not enough or doesn’t use it properly. Type 2 is more commonly associated with adults but is becoming more prevalent in children. (more)

A better life: It’s child’s play

Shine – Staff Writer

Health has many broad definitions. All too often people associate the traditional health services within schools as the school nurse, school counsellor or the external services who support through difficult situations. At Dulwich Pudong, we are increasingly finding opportunities to change this approach to integrate a variety of health-focused initiatives and services. Health is seen as an integral element of wellbeing and the PE program reinforces the experiences, attitudes and dispositions that enable students to flourish. (more)