Parent | Jotup

Falls, fractures and self-harm: 4 charts on how kids’ injury risk changes over time and differs for boys and girls

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Giant, Injury, Health, Psychological abuse, Disability, Attention, Burns, Drowning, Arm, Growth, Sport, Learning, Caregiver, Risk, Ageing, Knowledge, Fracture, Aborigine, Child, Death, Choking, Crash, Head Injuries, Asphyxia, Adolescence, Safety, Government, Parent, Violence, Assault, Toy

At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related.

Key Points:

At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related.
Injuries can be unintentional (falls, road crashes, drowning, burns) or intentional (self harm, violence, assault).
The type, place and cause of injury differs by age, developmental stage and sex.

children aged 1–4 years are the age group most likely to present to an emergency department with injuries
adolescents aged 16–18 years are the age group most likely to be admitted to hospital for injuries
boys are more likely to be hospitalised for injuries than girls. This continues into adulthood
girls are five times more likely to be hospitalised for intentional self-harm injuries than boys
falls are the leading cause of childhood injury, accounting for one in three child injury hospitalisations. Falls from playground equipment are the most common
fractures are the most common type of childhood injury, especially arm and wrist fractures in children aged 10–12 years.

For children under age one, drowning, burns, choking and suffocation had the highest injury hospital admission rates compared to adults.
In early childhood (ages 1-4 years), the highest causes of injury hospitalisation were drowning, burns, choking and suffocation and accidental poisoning.

What about sports?

Cycling causes the highest number of sporting injuries with almost 3,000 injury hospital presentations.
For the top 20 sports that are most likely to cause injury hospital admissions, fractures are the most common type of injury.
How to spot a serious injury now school and sport are back

Balancing risk and safety

To prevent injuries, we need to balance risk and safety.
Embracing risk is a fundamental part of play in all environments where children play and explore their world.
But with proper guidance and supervision from parents and caregivers, we can strike a balance between offering opportunities for risk-taking and ensuring children’s safety from serious harm.

What can governments do to prevent injuries?

This will provide clear guidance for all levels of government and others on prevention strategies and investment needed.
Better reporting on childhood and adolescent injury trends will better inform parents, caregivers, teachers and health professionals about the risks.

She is currently undertaking a project specific short term contract at the AIHW, in the Family and Domestic Violence Unit.
Dr Sharwood is recognised as a Professional Fellow in the Faculty of Engineering and IT, UTS, for her industry expertise in product related injuries.
Warwick Teague is Director of Trauma and Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne (RCH).

The tragedy of sudden unexpected infant deaths – and how bedsharing, maternal smoking and stomach sleeping all contribute

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Research, Strangling, Infant, Risk, Tobacco, Sleep, Human, American Academy, SUID, Smoke, Death, Pregnancy, City, Nicotine, Medicaid, SIDS, Parent, Pediatrics (journal), Birth control

Sudden unexpected infant death, or SUID, occurs in infants less than 1 year old who die suddenly and unexpectedly without an obvious cause before investigation, accounting for about 3,400 deaths annually in the U.S..

Key Points:

Sudden unexpected infant death, or SUID, occurs in infants less than 1 year old who die suddenly and unexpectedly without an obvious cause before investigation, accounting for about 3,400 deaths annually in the U.S..
These infants die from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed, or other ill-defined and unknown causes.
Compared with nonsharing infants in our study, bedsharing infants were more likely to have the following characteristics:

Among nonsharing infants in the study, only one-third were sleeping in the recommended back position, and three-quarters were in sleep areas that had soft bedding such as pillows, comforters or bumper pads at the time of death. Three-quarters of all the sudden unexpected infant deaths in our study were affected by multiple unsafe sleep factors.

Why it matters

Rates of sudden unexpected infant deaths overall in the U.S. have changed only minimally in the past 20 years, but racial-ethnic disparities [in these deaths are widening] due to increasing rates among non-Hispanic Black infants.
Our study suggests that the majority of these deaths are preventable by following the guidelines for safe infant sleep as outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Even with knowledge of the recommended practices, many parents find it difficult to follow the recommendations.
Others may choose not to follow them or may not follow them all of the time.
Bedsharing may also be a common cultural or preferred practice, so not doing so might go against one’s beliefs or preferences.

What’s next

Much more research is needed to find the most effective ways to teach families about safe infant sleep.
There are currently a number of studies underway using innovative methods to engage and educate parents, starting in pregnancy and continuing after the baby is born.

Fern R. Hauck receives funding from NIH. She is affiliated with American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on SIDS.

Friend breakups: why they can sometimes feel as bad as falling out of love

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Research, Depression, Friends, Marriage, Woman, Caregiver, Shock, Tongue, Mental health, Learning, Anxiety, Life, Quarterlife, Pain, Language, Optimism, Rib, Family, Emotion, Parent, Nightclub

Though we tend to think of bad breakups as the end of romantic relationships, losing a friend – especially one who has been close to you – can be just as hard.

Key Points:

Though we tend to think of bad breakups as the end of romantic relationships, losing a friend – especially one who has been close to you – can be just as hard.
In a recent session of a personal development group I run, several participants in their 20s and 30s got talking about being dumped by a friend.
Most thought things were okay, then received a long text in which the friend explained they were unhappy and wanted no further contract.
This is part of our genetic design, readying us to grow up and build adult lives independent of our parents.

This article is part of Quarter Life, a series about issues affecting those of us in our 20s and 30s.
The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.
Research shows that the most common method of ending a friendship is by avoidance – not addressing the issues involved.

Why friendships break up

A serious romantic relationship or starting a family means the time and focus given to the friendship will naturally decrease.
Friendships don’t have to end over changes like this, if you can try to empathise with what your friend is going through rather than judging them or taking it personally.
Long friendships will naturally go through fluctuations, so it’s normal if sometimes you feel closer and other times further apart.

This can cause your feelings of closeness to suffer.
Even worse, the friend could try to make you feel bad about yourself – guilt-tripping you for developing other relationships or interests.

How to cope

You can help yourself get through such waves by practising diaphragmatic breathing, which is evidenced to reduce stress.
Discussing the situation with someone else can help, and might allow you to see what you can learn from it.
When coping with any type of breakup, traits of resilience (optimism, self-esteem and grit) will help you adapt.

Sonja Falck does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Online schooling is not just for lockdowns. Could it work for your child?

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone away. What are online schools doing now? What does the research say? And how do you know if they might be a good fit for your child? Online learning in AustraliaWhile learning in COVID lockdowns was extremely tough, it also showed schools, students and parents the potential benefits of online learning for a wider range of students.

Key Points:

During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone away. What are online schools doing now? What does the research say? And how do you know if they might be a good fit for your child?

Online learning in Australia

While learning in COVID lockdowns was extremely tough, it also showed schools, students and parents the potential benefits of online learning for a wider range of students.
This can include greater accessibility (learning from any location) and flexibility (personalised, self-paced learning).
This has prompted an expansion of online learning options in Australia.

Primary and high school options

For example, Monash University has a free virtual school with revision sessions for Year 12 students.
Read more:
Australia has a new online-only private school: what are the options if the mainstream system doesn't suit your child?

What about academic outcomes?

Research on the academic outcomes of distance education students is inconclusive.
A 2017 study of primary and high school students in Ohio found reduced academic progress in reading, maths, history and science.
Another 2017 US study also found online students had lower graduation rates than their in-person peers.

What about wellbeing?

This includes access to specialists such as psychologists, nurses and social workers.
Some research has noted concerns about online student engagement, social isolation, sense of belonging and social and emotional development.

Is online learning a good fit for your child?

However, if certain subjects are unavailable, or health, elite sport and distance to school make in-person learning difficult, learning online could be a viable option to consider.
Because online learning tends to be a mix of live lessons and self-paced learning, online students need to be independent, motivated and organised to succeed.

Brendon Hyndman is Senior Manager - Research, Innovation and Impact with Brisbane Catholic Education. Vaughan Cruickshank does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

How England’s scrapped Sure Start centres boosted the health and education of disadvantaged children

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

Sure, Health, Homelessness, Sheffield Hallam University, Learning, Partnership, Family, Child, Ageing, Save the Children, Research, Food, Sure Start, Organic, Housing, Heart, Parent, Tutoring

The Sure Start programme was launched in 1999, with centres set up in communities across England to offer support to the most disadvantaged families.

Key Points:

The Sure Start programme was launched in 1999, with centres set up in communities across England to offer support to the most disadvantaged families.
The research found that access to a Sure Start centre significantly improved the GCSE results of disadvantaged children.
This builds on other research that has shown that Sure Start also had significant long-term health benefits.

How Sure Start worked

There was no set model for how Sure Start local programmes should deliver the services they offered.
The support offered was tailored to the challenges that local families were facing.
I was lucky enough to be the community development worker for a small children-and-families charity that led an early Sure Start local programme.

Learning from Sure Start

Drawing on the successes of Sure Start, the nursery was established with the motto “changing lives through relationships”.
It had the explicit aim of building trust with families so that we can understand their challenges and work on solutions together.
The university runs the nursery, and together with Save the Children provides additional support to parents.
I have always been convinced of the benefit of Sure Start’s approach, and the recent IFS findings add further evidence of its value.

Sally Pearse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Earth Day: ‘Green muscle memory’ and climate education promote behaviour change

Retrieved on:

Thursday, April 18, 2024

This year, organizers of Earth Day are calling for widespread climate education as a critical step in the fight against climate change.

Key Points:

This year, organizers of Earth Day are calling for widespread climate education as a critical step in the fight against climate change.
A new report, released in time for global attention for Earth Day on April 22, highlights the impact of climate education on promoting behaviour change in the next generation.

How knowledge becomes ingrained

Teachers have become increasingly concerned about best practices for supporting their charges as young people express anxiety about environmental futures.
Similarly, Finnish researchers use biking as an analogy to describe the process by which knowledge becomes ingrained in people’s memory.
The bike model advocates ways of learning that consider knowledge, identity, emotions and world views.
More than half of the survey respondents were from Ontario (25 per cent) and Québec (29 per cent).

Challenges with climate education

However, inclusion of climate education in formal school curricula has come with its own set of challenges.
Educators in Ontario reported a lack of classroom resources as a barrier when integrating climate change education within the curriculum.
The United Nations has declared climate education “a critical agent in addressing the issue of climate change” as climate education increases across different settings and for various age groups.

Educators finding ways

More and more educators are taking steps to find ways to teach climate education in schools.
As an instructor for several undergraduate-level courses, Olsen focuses on equipping budding educators with the skills and knowledge to incorporate climate education in their classrooms.

All aspects of curricula

Embedding climate education into all aspects of curricula can take a variety of approaches in and outside of the classroom.
Environmental education has been packaged in different forms, including broadening school curricula with inclusion in science, but also subjects including English, math and art.

Preety Sharma is a public health and development consultant. As a freelance journalist, she covers climate change, public health and nutrition. Ayeshah Haque is a Clinical Content Specialist at the Association for Ontario Midwives.

How “location, location, location” can lead to “enforcement, enforcement, enforcement”

Retrieved on:

Friday, April 12, 2024

How “location, location, location” can lead to “enforcement, enforcement, enforcement”

Key Points:

How “location, location, location” can lead to “enforcement, enforcement, enforcement”

Albanese government has ‘irreparably damaged’ Australia’s relations with Israel: Peter Dutton

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

She said the international community “was now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution”.

Key Points:

She said the international community “was now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution”.
On Wednesday, when asked if Australia was willing to recognise Palestine as a state, Wong said the government had made “no such decision”.
She stressed what needed to happen immediately was for Hamas to release the hostages and for a humanitarian ceasefire.
"A Coalition government is committed to seeing a prioritisation on reading, writing and maths, including through explicit instruction teaching.
“A Coalition government under my leadership will rebuild our national confidence and camaraderie by focusing on the things which unite us”.

Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

How to keep your music career going: 3 tips from a Ghanaian star

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Face, Survival, Risk, Education, Rita Akosua Dickson, Observation, Male, Music, Kwame Nkrumah University, Family, Parent

These attitudes stand in the way of musicians wanting to make a career out of their art.

Key Points:

These attitudes stand in the way of musicians wanting to make a career out of their art.
I am a professional musician, music scholar and environmental activist who’s interested in the global challenges that musicians face.
In a recent paper I examined the strategies adopted by Okyeame Kwame (OK), one of the pioneers of hiplife music in Ghana, to sustain his career.
Hiplife music combines traditional Ghanaian music styles like highlife music with hip hop.

Resilience

Resilience can be defined as the capacity to recover and maintain an identity and continuity despite setbacks and change.
Ethnomusicologist Jeff T. Titon explains that resilience involves finding weaknesses and strengths related to changes, then improving in the weak areas and enhancing the strengths.
Based on my research I concluded that Okyeame Kwame had shown resilience through difficult times.

Diversification

He used his music to become well known and then built on his popularity to create another business to earn money.
He explained:
The music itself is not valuable, but the secondary economy of being a musician is valuable.
The music itself is not valuable, but the secondary economy of being a musician is valuable.

Interconnectivity

Musicians must nurture a good relationship with their fans and colleagues by collaborating on music and other projects.
Economists Jordi McKenzie, Paul Crosby and Liam Lenten, in their work on creative production methods in the music industry, recognise the rise of collaboration among musicians on individual song projects.

Conclusion

The viability of any music culture depends on the availability of musicians.
Hence, not paying attention to musicians’ economic sustainability can lead to unsustainable music.

Josh Opoku Brew does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Young people are getting unhappier – a lack of childhood freedom and independence may be partly to blame

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Experts often highlight social media and harsh economic times as key reasons why young people are getting unhappier.

Key Points:

Experts often highlight social media and harsh economic times as key reasons why young people are getting unhappier.
Younger generations have less freedom and independence than previous generations did.
The lack of childhood freedom isn’t just a result of parental control.

Emotional, social and cognitive effects

Psychologist Jean Piaget emphasised the importance of exploration and experimentation in cognitive development in the 1950s.
By restricting children’s freedom to explore and take age-appropriate risks, we deprive them of opportunities for intellectual curiosity and innovation.
The decline in independence can have implications for social and emotional development.
Research highlights the importance of peer interactions in shaping social competence and emotional intelligence.
By orchestrating play dates and entertainment, parents may therefore inadvertently limit their children’s ability to navigate social dynamics.

Age-appropriate freedom

Evidence supports the idea that freedom and independence is crucial for the happiness and wellbeing of young people.
A five-year-old, for example, can be allowed and encouraged to butter their own toast, make their bed, or play on their own in the garden.
A 10-year-old, meanwhile, should be able to walk to and from school on their own, be responsible for their homework and keep their space tidy.

Fiorentina Sterkaj does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.