PAXALLES

Rapid Prototyping Creates Model of Unborn Child for Parents

Stunning new technology allows parents to hold a life-size model of their unborn child from UK Daily Mail reports that in a process called prototyping a model of an unborn child can be created.

Brazilian student Jorge Lopes has pioneered the conversion of data from ultrasound and MRI scans into life-size plaster models of living embryos using a method called rapid prototyping.

'It’s amazing to see the faces of the mothers. They can see the full scale of their baby, really understand the size of it,' said Dr Lopes.

'The technology can be also be used as an emotional tool for parents whose foetus might be deformed or need treatment,' added Hilary French, who heads the School of Architecture and Design Products. 

Rise in Nature Deficit Disorder Inspires Children and Nature Network

Does your child have Nature Deficit Disorder? from UK Telegraph reports that the latest syndrome to be affecting our children now is Nature Deficit Disorder - due to children's separation from natural surroundings in urban areas - and also their proclivities to pursue indoor interests promoted in our digital age.

Next month the pressure to give our children more access to nature will intensify further with the UK publication of Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. A huge bestseller in Louv's native US, the book caused a mini revolution when it was first published in 2005, leading to the forming of the international Children and Nature Network, campaigning to reconnect with the outdoor world.

A former journalist, Louv coined the phrase "nature deficit disorder", arguing that children suffer physically and mentally from lack of contact with nature and pointing out that today's generation are the first to be raised without "meaningful contact with the natural world".

Kay Phillips With Laura Ingraham on "Birds & Bees Text Line"

Laura Ingraham hosted Kay Phillips on her organization's effort to teach teens about sex via the "Birds and Bees Text Line."

Phillips said that in North Carolina students in middle school get a comprehensive sex education.  She said that for a while only abstinance education was taught for a while.  She said that she is a very conservative, Christian owman and is concerned about North Carolina being the ninth in the nation in teen pregnancies.  Thus she set up the texting service to guide teenagers.  She said that the ages are between 12 to 19, in her estimation, however, it is anonymous. 

Phillips said that the questions are answered by her staff, most of whom are trained in public health or social work.  She said that unfortunately, too many of the children don't have parents to talk to and they refer children to their parents, health department and/or churches. 

Want to talk about sex? Send a Text from ABC News

Baroness Susan Greenfield With Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Baroness Susan Greenfield, British neuroscientist & member of the House of Lords, on her study finding that social-networking sites harm the developing minds of children.

Greenfield said there is so much evidence about how the environment influences one's brain, meaning the brain has plasticity.  She therefore posits that the upswing in the use of the digital media and this will inevitably have an effect on the growing brains of children, especially.  She wants studies to be conducted to see if the rise in ADHD is linked to these collective experiences.  She also said that the sense of narrative is skewed when one is engaged in fantasy worlds online - and that when a person reads a book or is engaged in another cognitive experience, the brain seems to be enhanced and not infantilized.  She also noted that watching television used to be more of a collective, interactive experience and now today it is a solitary experience with the multiple televisions in homes.  Ingraham asked if the increase in autism is part of this all.   Greenfield wasn't sure on this but that children who read less and have fewer friends are less empathetic to others. 

Greenfield said that it isn't the digital media, but the amount of time that is devoted to it that precludes other activities and relationships. 

Prof. Richard Sullivan & Pam Zingeser With Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Pam Zingeser on what it's like having a kid who's permanently attached to a cell phone and Prof. Richard Sullivan, who believes texting is just another technology we need to embrace.

Zingeser said that texting and Facebook have become the primary vehicle for children to communicate.  It concerns her because children aren't learning to communicate other ways and aren't learning the subtle ways of communication.  Her daughter and friends have done thousands of text messages in a month.  She said that she and her husband grapple with how much texting her daughter is doing.

Sullivan said that this technology will take time to evoke changes on children's bodies while Ingraham noted that children's neurological situation is more pliable.  He said he doesn't think texting is a huge threat and that discussions like they are having are beneficial in learning how to cope with the ramifications of the technology. 

In Afghanistan: Selliing Sons So That The Family Can Live

"Afghan parents selling their sons to survive" from UK Telegraph reports on the horrifying trend in Afghanistan due to poverty where parents are forced to sell their sons - rarely daughters - so the rest of the family can survive.  In other cases, sons of wealthy families are kidnapped for ransom and if not, sold to the Taliban. 

Below is the conversation from one such sale:

As the meeting began, the boy's father, Nek Mohammed, knew he only had a final few moments with his son. Sadiqa was business-like. "Kiss your father and mother goodbye now - it is time," she said, before handing over $1,500 (£1,000). Mr Mohammed began to weep.

The translator accompanying the cameraman said: "Sadiqa, this is wrong!"

"Yes you're right. It's cruel, " she replied, before claiming: "But I have two aims here. First, to give this boy a bright future and a good education. And second, to save their other children. The winter's coming and I've given them money so the children don't die of hunger."

Mr Mohammed said: "I sold a piece of my heart to stop my four other children dying of hunger. I don't have an elder son. I'm also sick.

"My kidney is failing. My body is in pain."

For Mr Mohammed, selling a child was the only way to keep his other children alive.

UNICEF Study: Children Should Be Cared For By Parents At Home Until Age 12

Childcare is bad for your baby, working parents are warned is a warning from a UNICEF report that is based on numerous scientific and governmental studies that recommend children being cared for by parents at home until age 12 when possible.

This will cause consternation on both ends of the political spectrum - for those who favor parents, particularly mothers, having the opportunity for fulfillment in the workforce and those who want high consumerism and single parents in particular to get off welfare and work. 

The research, which draws on a wealth of scientific and psychological studies, as well as government data, is bound to reignite the fraught debate on whether overexposure to formal childcare is bad for very young children.

It is also likely to provoke concerns over whether growing political, social and economic pressure on parents, particularly those on low incomes, to return to work soon after their child is born is at odds with emerging research into children’s brains showing the importance of stable one-to-one care in the first year of life.

 

HairConfirm-s Parents Fears, Teens Substance Use

"Kid Drug Kit: Now Hair This" from the NY Post reports on a new drug kit where parents can take a snip of their progeny's hair - and find out what substances they have been ingesting.

With a snip of some locks, mom and dad can get test results within a week on any drug use, including prescription pills and liquids, in the last 90 days.

HairConfirm is already a hit in New York, which accounts for 15 percent of its sales, said Zeynep Ilgaz, president of Confirm Biosciences, the home-testing kit's San Diego-based producer.

The $89.99 kit comes with a hair-specimen collector and a prepaid FedEx overnight envelope marked "Extremely Urgent." Parents are sent lab reports declaring their kids non-users or "recreational," "daily/weekend" or "constant" users.

 

Dr. Peter Breggin With Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Dr. Peter Breggin, author of Medication Madness, on why a new study claiming 1 in 5 young people has a "personality disorder" and needs treatment, is dead wrong.

Dr. Blanco came to the conclusion that personality disorders are more common via systematic data investigation.  He said there is a spectrum of disorders that fall under the umbrella of personality disorders.   He said that there are a variety of treatments for students with various disorders. 

Breggin said that he knows there are young adults at sea who don't have the values and don't know how to take responsibility.  He said that instead young people go to a university clinic and get psychiatric drugs. 

Michael Josephson With Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Michael Josephson, founder and president of the Josephson Institute, on his recently-released study finding teenage deceit is an all-time high.

Josephson said that two-thirds of teens said they have cheated on a test and one third of boys have said they have stolen from a store.  He said that it is attributable to how children are being raised.  Ingraham pointed out the rationale that was given for people trampling to death an attendant at a shopping center. 

Josephson said that there isn't a moral infrastructure in society and families for children to follow.  Ingraham noted a study that documents the negative effects of mass media on children.  He said that the whole village needs to be concerned about children.  She also spoke about parents who feel they have to be their children's friends. 

Governor Palin Advocates Billions For Special Needs Children

"Palin: I'd get billions for disabled kids" from the NY Post reports that Governor Sarah Palin, while stumping in Pennsylvania, said that she would back up her advocacy for special needs children with resources.

"We've got a $3 trillion budget, and Congress spends some $18 billion a year on earmarks for political pet projects," Palin told an audience that included families with special-needs children and service providers.

"That's more than the shortfall to fully fund the IDEA. And where does a lot of that earmark money end up? It goes to projects having little or nothing to do with the public good."

Mark Bauerlein With Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Mark Bauerlein, author of The Dumbest Generation, on technology's negative effects on young people.

Bauerlein said that the decline in reading is linked to excessive Internet use by young people.  He notes that children have so many other electronic options besides books that there are other leisure choices.  He said most of the blogging is done by teens in the country but the quality is poor and doesn't translate to skills needed in college and the workforce. 

Study: Breastfed Children Are Smarter

"Breastfed children brainier, study suggests" from UK Guardian reports that one of the most extensive studies done on breastfeeding and children's intelligence has found that there are significant differences in the verbal and non-verbal score of children who were and weren't breastfed. 

Doctors followed nearly 14,000 children over six and a half years and found that those who were breastfed fared significantly better in IQ tests.

At the age of six and a half, children who had been exclusively breastfed scored 7.5 points higher in verbal intelligence tests and 5.9 points higher in overall IQ tests. Teachers also rated the breastfed children higher at reading, writing and solving mathematical problems.

The finding, which confirms earlier research, raises the question of whether it is breast milk itself or associated maternal care that is responsible for boosting the intelligence of developing babies. Previous studies have hinted that breastfeeding increases intelligence, but the effect has proved hard to nail down.

Cliff Boro With Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Cliff Boro, CEO of KidZui.

Boro's product can be obtained at http://www.kidzui.com - which allows children to surf the web without being exposed to adult content.  He assembled a group of educators, parents and other stakeholders to put together this product.  His browser can be customized.  He said his co-founder was so frustrated in finding the good things on the web among all the inappropriate resources. 

Elsa Rose Hoffmann and Liz Cunningham With Laura Ingraham

Laura Ingraham hosted Elsa Rose Hoffmann and Liz Cunningham of Pure Fashion.

Hoffman said "Pure Fashion" is a program to help young girls be proud and articulate about being modest and dignified.  They have seven months worth of sessions which culminate in a fashion show.  She said the emphasis is on inner beauty as well as outer beauty.  She said that the young girls get bombarded by degrading messages from the media - and that it takes heroic virtue to deal with this all.

Cunningham said she has gotten a lot of support from her peers for her efforts.