Some San Francisco middle-school parents were taken aback this month when they received a letter describing their child’s stress level.

«We wanted to inform you that the results (of a screening) showed your child’s stress was in the normal range.»

Other parent letters identified high levels of stress.

At least one parent — with a «normal range» kid who is no stranger to homework-induced stress — wasn’t quite sure what to make of the letter sent by SRI International, an education research firm.

The letters went home to students from 11 district middle schools, where researchers are screening ch...

“Whooping cough cases are higher than at any point in the last twenty years and 13 babies have died from the disease, official figures have revealed” The Daily Telegraph reports.
This sad news reinforces the need for pregnant women to get vaccinated against whooping cough.
All pregnant women are now offered vaccination against whooping cough when they are 28-38 weeks pregnant. This is due to the sharp rise in the number of whooping cough cases in the UK.
Whooping cough is a serious illness. Babies who get it can develop severe complications such as pneumonia and brain damage...

Children whose mothers went into pregnancy overweight may have slightly lower scores on certain tests of verbal and numbers skills, a new study says.
The findings, reported online Dec. 10 in the journal Pediatrics, do not prove that their mothers’ extra pounds are the reason for these decreased scores, and experts not involved in the study said it’s too soon to suggest mothers-to-be lose weight for the sake of their kids’ mental prowess.
But the results do add to studies showing that, for whatever reason, kids born to heavy mothers tend to have a somewhat lower IQ than their peers.
For the stu...

Learn facts about elephants, including what they eat, how they live, how big they are, how they talk and more!

Elephants are wonderful animals! They are the largest mammals in the world that live on land. There are two kinds of elephants; African and Asian. Asian elephants have smaller ears and shorter tusks than African elephants. The African elephant is bigger and taller than the Asian elephant.

Do elephants live together?

Elephants live in families. Several families live together in a «herd.» The leader of the herd is usually the oldest female elephant. She is called the «matriarch...

About 60 per cent of parents wanted their children to eat more fruit, the survey of 501 parents found, but only 46 per cent actually served it.

The Australian Pineapples Family Nutrition Report surveyed parents about their eating habits, fruit intake, parental influence on children’s eating habits and whether fresh fruit was bought.

Australian Pineapples ambassador Dr Joanna McMillan said developing healthy eating habits early in life is vital.

«Despite reports showing 20 per...

There have been many recalls on Children’s Tylenol and Motrin over the years due to inadequate (or non-existent) testing procedures. This should be a major concern for parents when their children fall ill. Homeopathic medicine has shown to have an 82.6 percent success rate versus conventional medicine at 67.3 percent response in regards to respiratory tract infections. This article will share some natural alternatives to over the counter medicines.

Medicine cabinet must-haves

These homeopathic medicines can be found at most health food store in quick dissolving tablet form and can be used for ...

The data comes from more than 500,000 parents of new babies who shared their names with the site, which releases the gruesome list annually.

The Baby Centre claims that each of the names was given to at least two children this year «so it’s not a fluke».

Remember, these are real babies who will go on to live their whole lives with these names — unless they change them by deed poll — so please be sensitive in your comments.

Most unusual girls names of...

Parents across Australia are waking up in droves to the dangers of vaccines, as evidenced by new government figures showing a major uptick in the number of parents who are choosing not to vaccinate their children. According to the data, there has been a 600 percent increase in recent years in the number of informed vaccine opponents who are simply not willing to inject their offspring with toxic, and largely untested, chemical cocktails.

So many Australian parents are taking charge of their children’s health and making informed vaccination decisions, in fact, the Australian government is now w...

Opinions of the tooth fairy as kind and giving may need to be revised following «mounting reports of less child-friendly activity,» says a paper published in the BMJ Christmas edition and appearing online today.

Researchers from across London became concerned following misdemeanours of the mythical character and a worrying trend in malpractice. One boy in particular became extremely distressed because the tooth fairy «had put a tooth in his left ear» after he left it under his pillow. Further investigation turned out he was right.

Further supporting their evidence are another two cases showing...

From the Mozart effect to educational videos, many parents want to aid their infants in learning. New research out of North Dakota State University, Fargo, and Texas A&M shows that something as simple as the body position of babies while they learn plays a critical role in their cognitive development.

The study shows that for babies, sitting up, either by themselves or with assistance, plays a significant role in how infants learn. The research titled «Posture Support Improves Object Individuation in Infants,» co-authored by Rebecca J...