Health Trends

Now here’s a way to persuade your teen to talk to you.

When girls stressed by a test talked with their moms, stress hormones dropped and comfort hormones rose, according to a study by the University of Wisconsin. When they used IM, nothing happened.

This research follows an earlier study by the University showing that both phone conversations with mom and face-to-face talks triggered similar hormonal responses: A drop in cortisol, which is generally linked to stress, and a rise in oxytocin, which is linked to pleasure. For the latest study, published in the January issue of Evolution and Human Behavior, they wanted to identify the source of that comforting. Was it something mom said? Was it simply the sound of her voice? What would happen if the tone and verbal cues were deleted and all that was left was the content of the message? What made the difference?

The girls were asked to solve difficult math problems. After finishing, they were assigned to one of four groups. One didn’t talk at all to their mothers, another talked by phone, a third experienced a face-to-face conversation, and another communicated by instant message. The researchers then measured their cortisol and oxytocin levels, and compared them to pre-test measurements.

Girls who heard their mother’s voice, either in person or on the phone, were consoled. But among girls who used IM, hormone levels barely changed. Translated onto a screen, mom’s words seemingly lost their comforting power.

According to Seltzer, the results suggest that mom’s voice — its tones and intonations and rhythms, known formally as prosodics — trigger soothing effects, rather than what she specifically says.

However, it’s also possible that IM altered conversational dynamics. Maybe moms who heard their daughters’ voices were better able to detect stress and respond to it. On a screen, “I’m fine” is a fairly one-dimensional statement. Heard aloud, it can convey something very different.

Moms, how do you help your teens de-stress?

 Last week I posted about iPhones as kids’ favorite toy.  Just this Sunday, there was an article about the IPad and kids, but from a very different perspective.  Apparently, the iPad has proven a godsend to children with disabilities.

For children who don’t have the strength to maneuver  a computer mouse or are unable to communicate by using other devices,  the iPad offers a solution.  It has become a popular therapeutic tool for a broad range of disabilities.  A speech pathologist has used text-to-speech applications to give patients a voice. A teenager used it when a spinal injury caused his hands to clench into fists. According to the article, “Parents of autistic children are using applications to teach them basic skills, such as brushing teeth and communicating better.”  Studies are underway to test its effectiveness.  

Another plus: the iPad is often less expensive than other tools specifically designed to help the disabled speak, read or write.

For more on this, visit here

Zhu Zhu Pets, the robotic hamster toys that have been getting much attention in social media, have now been found to be unsafe, according to GoodGuide,  an organization that, per its Web site, “provides the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home.” The group reported higher-than-acceptable levels of tin and antimony in one of the pets. The heavy metal antimony, which can cause health problems,  was included in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which mandates tougher standards for toy safety. The CPSIA  1) “lowers lead in toys to some of the lowest levels in the world, 2) bans certain phthalates from toys, and 3) puts federal limits on heavy metals like antinomy from being in surface coating on toys,” according to Walletpop.com.

According to the Huffington Post, antimony was measured at 93 parts per million in the hamster’s fur and at 106 parts per million in its nose. “Both readings exceed the allowable level of 60 parts per million,” said Dara O’Rourke, an associate professor of environmental science at the University of California, Berkeley and GoodGuide’s CEO.

In the same story, O’Rourke said GoodGuide’s test results, released Friday, also indicated the possibility that some toys contained phthalates.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is taking the safety claims about Zhu Zhu pets seriously and conducting an  investigation. Cepia, the manufacturer of the line, disputes the findings.

The news about Zhu Zhu pets’ safety raises three key questions:

1. If the product is indeed unsafe, how did it make it to market? The toy industry has been particularly aware of and sensitive to dangerous elements in toys ever since the news about lead in toys made in China permeated media and impacted parents’ shopping lists during the 2007 holiday season.

2. How did GoodGuide do its research, and what did it do that Cepia did not? Are GoodGuide’s criteria and tests reasonable? 

3. What will moms do now? Will they give in to their child’s request for the product or err on the side of caution when it comes to their child’s health?

Your thoughts?

Moms, it’s official – according to today’s USA Today, we’re doing a great job of keeping our children safe and healthy.

• The infant mortality rate has declined dramatically, from 29 deaths per 1,000 births in 1950 to fewer than seven deaths per 1,000 births today. Reasons include cleaner water, vaccines, antibiotics, good prenatal care and better nutrition.
• Children of all ages are benefiting from research, better products based on research findings, and improved safety laws. Death rates from unintentional injuries among children under 19 have dropped nearly 50% since 1981 — from 27 deaths per 100,000 then to 14 deaths per 100,000 children in 2005.
• A little over half of moms – 54% — breastfed their children in 1986-88. Now, 77% do.
• There were 151 cases of sudden infant death syndrome per 100,000 children in 1979 compared with 55 cases per 100,000 in 2004.
• A whopping 33%-40% of married pregnant women smoked in 1967 vs. 10% in 2005.

As moms have improved their practices, companies have also upgraded their products, from reducing the maximum temperature of water heaters in new homes to adding childproof caps to reduce accidental poisonings.

For more, visit USA Today.

Moms, what steps have you taken to assure your child’s health and safety? Marketers, what products have you introduced to help them?