*** News You Can Use! -- 2 August 1996 ***
If a two-year child is being difficult, parents usually blame it on the "terrible twos," figuring that it's a phase all children go through. A new study suggests nearly every child will have moments of disagreeable behavior, but it only becomes a pattern when the parents had the most stress and the least money. Researchers at Penn State University studied 69 families with first-born sons, observing them when the boys at 15 months, 21 months, 27 months, and 33 months of age. All 69 families had some episodes of "terrible two" behavior, but some were identified as being more serious. In these 15 families, the parents were often unable to manage their uncooperative and sometimes defiant child. Whether the child himself was a highly negative sort didn't predict which would have the most "terrible two" antics. Instead, it was the familes where:
- * Parents had lots of work-related stress.
- * Parents were more anxious, depressed, and anti-social.
- * Families had fewer economic resources.
"Parents under stress become less patient, have less tolerance and become more dictatorial," says Jay Belsky, a professor of human development and family studies at Penn State. "That ends up pushing the child to become more emphatic and assertive."
Another finding: unlike other studies, the researchers found that putting an infant in day care does not necessarily result in a non-compliant child. Belsky said it *was* an issue where "both parents have spent a lot of time away from the child all through the infant year, and they're under a moderate degree of stress. They are less able to handle the curve ball the child throws." (USA Today, 30 July 1996)
See the USA Today story.
Before you have to give a speech or take the S.A.T.'s, maybe you should consider including some foods of these in your meals. According to "Prevention" magazine, certain foods can help your memory: mussels, oysters, chicken, asparagus, brussel sprouts, oranges, bran cereal and whole wheat bread. Each is high in Vitamins B-6 and B-12. (Prevention magazine)
The Wall Street Journal says that in its first formal report to regulators, Proctor & Gamble has received only one complaint of health trouble for every 3,000 bags sold of snack food containing their fat substitute Olestra. The manufacturer says that's better than expected, since they anticipated one bad reaction every 500 bags. Critics told the Associated Press the report is "a joke," since many of those sickened by Olestra-laden potato chips didn't call Frito-Lay's hotline to complain. One critical group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said its Washington office received 200 complaints. A spokeswoman for Proctor & Gamble responds that the Center is repeating unfounded allegations about Olestra. The company questions reports of cramping and diarrhea, saying those symptoms are common to foods such as beans, bran and milk. (Associated Press, 25 July 1996, 26 July)
An interesting collection of negative stories about Olestra can be found at Olestra Online."
Is there another way to take the fat out of those popular snacks? Japanese researchers reporting in the journal Nature Biotechnology say they may have found a way to use genetic engineering to make safer foods. Concentrating on the genes that make fat in plants, the scientists have slipped a gene normally found in bacteria into a plant, modifying its fat-making instructions. Instead of producing unhealthy saturated fat, the plant produced mostly unsaturated fat. True, the experiment was conducted on tobacco, because its genetics are well understood. But researchers to apply the technique to rice and other crops, to reduce the saturated fats that raise cholesterol levels. (Associated Press, 24 July 1996)
Dr. Suzanne Lewis is studying a rare genetic disorder, in which people are born without the enzyme lipoprotein lipase, known as LPL. Without it, most of the fat in the bloodstream cannot be converted into energy. Her hope is to grow 100 million cells containing LPL, and transplant them into someone without the enzyme. But what would be the vessel to carry these cells? Lewis is proposing to grow an artificial organ, with a lining of Gore-Tex. You know it best in waterproof shoes and winter jackets, due to its ability to resist water. But Gore-Tex fibers can be chemically altered to *retain* water rather than repel it, so this water-retaining version is being used as a skeleton to group skin cells into an artificial organ. (Broadcast News, 29 July 1996)
You probably saw the commercials. Comedian Steve Allen told you that the Whisper XL hearing aid would enable the user to hear a pin drop from 50 feet away, or a whisper from 100 feet away. But what Allen didn't know was that the claims were unsubstantiated, and that the company had never received approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Now Telebrands Corporation of Fairfield, NJ, and its president, Ajit Khubani, have settled a fraud lawsuit with 17 states. Under the terms of the settlement, Telebrands must stop selling the Whisper XL until it receives FDA approval, recall the product and give refunds to customers who request them. Also, the company must pay the litigating states $515,000 in penalties and costs. Consumers who bought the hearing aid can return it within 90 days (until late October), with an explanatory letter and any proof of payment to: The Telebrands Corp., 2428 Patterson Ave. S.W., Roanoke VA 20416. (Associated Press, 30 July 1996)
In last week's edition of News You Can Use! we told you about the new HIV home test from Home Access, and mentioned that Johnson & Johnson had already begun limited sales of its Confide home test. That was last week. An arbitrator has ordered Johnson & Johnson to turn over the division they set up to market the test to Elliot Millenson. Why?
Sherman, set the Wayback Machine for 1993... Millenson had sold his University Hospital Laboratories to J&J, joined the company and was named CEO of the new division. But last year, Millenson was fired, accused of disobeying orders and causing the company substantial harm. But the arbitrator ruled that Millenson had been improperly dismissed, and ordered the health products company to turn over the patents, lab equipment and test kits. (USA Today, 30 July 1996)
There's new evidence that links smoking with Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), or crib death. British researchers studied 195 babies who died from SIDS, and another 780 babies who survived an apparent SIDS episode. Of the 195 who died, 62% had mothers who smoked, while only 25% of the babies who lived had mothers who smoked. One researcher told the Times of London that the message here is that it's as anti-social to smoke in a room where there are pregnant women and babies, as it is to drink and drive. The risk of SIDS was increased if mothers smoked before or after birth, and slghtly increased if fathers smoked. The research also backed up earlier findings that babies laid down to sleep on their tummies or on their sides are at greater risk for SIDS than babies who sleep on their backs. The study will be published in the 3 August 1996 issue of the British Medical Journal. (Associated Press, 26 July 1996, Broadcast News, 25 July)
A couple of months ago in our News You Can Use! we told you about a high chair for kids that actually killed germs on contact. Now the folks at Microban Products have found a way to create germ-killing clothes. By impregnanting synthetic fibers with anti-microbial chemical additives, Microban has created a cloth that kills fungi and bacteria. The Microban fabric is being marketed by Fibermesh. The company has been marketing its treated fabric to hospitals for use in everything from bedsheets to doctors' scrubs. And Microban wants to expand into the home, putting their germ-killing application on everything from pillowcases to mops and kitchen cutting boards. (CBS Radio, 1 August 1996)
STB's News You Can Use! edited and written by --
Tom Connolly, for Infant Moose Web Page Creations.
Past newsletters: 25 July 1996 | 18 July 1996 | 11 July 1996 | 3 July 1996 | 26 June 1996 | 20 June 1996 | 12 June 1996 | 6 June 1996 | 31 May 1996 | 25 May 1996 | 16 May 1996 | 9 May 1996
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