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School suspension an increased risk for children exposed to lead

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 17 Aug 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
School suspension an increased risk for children exposed to lead

Children who are exposed to lead are nearly three times more likely to be suspended from school by the 4th grade than children who are not exposed, according to a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study funded jointly by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Wisconsin Partnership Program Education and Research Committee.

"Students who are suspended from school are at greater risk of dropping out, twice as likely to use tobacco, and more likely to engage in violent behavior later in life," says first author Michael Amato, a doctoral candidate in psychology and the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison. "Our study found that children exposed to lead were more than twice as likely to be suspended in the 4th grade, which means that lead may be more responsible for school discipline problems than many people realize."

Nationally, African-American students are three times more likely to be suspended than white students. The same discipline gap was found in the Wisconsin study, but 23 percent of the disparity was explained by differences in rates of lead exposure. Many previous studies have documented disparities in school discipline, but few have specified the underlying factors.

"We knew that lead exposure decreases children's abilities to control their attention and behavior, but we were still surprised that exposed children were so much more likely to be suspended," said Sheryl Magzamen, a public health researcher who also worked on the UW-Madison study. Magzamen is now an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma.

Researchers cross-referenced medical data of nearly 4,000 children exposed to lead with 4th grade disciplinary records in the Milwaukee school district. They found that children who had been exposed to lead were nearly three times more likely to be suspended in the fourth grade than children who had not been exposed, even after controlling for income, race/ethnicity, and gender.

Experiments on non-human animals prove that lead exposure causes decreased attention and decreased control over behavior when subjects are startled or touched. The study team reasoned that if exposed children were affected the same way, they would be more likely to engage in disruptive classroom behaviors that could result in suspension. The results of the study supported that hypothesis.

"Children exposed to lead don't get a fair start and it affects them for their whole lives," adds study coauthor Colleen Moore, a UW-Madison psychology professor emerita affiliated with the Nelson Institute.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African-American children are more than twice as likely as whites to have elevated lead levels. The reason, say the researchers, is that African-American children are more likely to live in lower-income neighborhoods and rental housing where lead remains in the buildings and soil, a common situation in major American cities.

Moore notes that in the city of Milwaukee, lead abatement orders are currently active in more than 100 residential properties. "It would be great to see more landlords get on board to make their housing lead-safe," she said. "Future generations depend on it."

"Everyone agrees there is a big problem with disparities in education," says Amato. "This study shows that lead is a part of the problem. There is only one way to reduce lead's harmful effects, and that is to remove it from the environments where children live and play."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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The study will be published in the September 2013 issue of Environmental Research.

University of Wisconsin-Madison

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Get your children's sleep schedule on track for school

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 15 Aug 2013 - 2:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Get your children's sleep schedule on track for school

Back to school preparations include shopping for supplies, backpacks and clothing, but at the top of your list should be adjusting your child's sleep schedule. If they've been staying up late and sleeping in the next morning, the first day of school will be a rude awakening if you don't help them make the transition smoothly. You can help your children get ready for the start of the new school year by gradually adjusting their sleep schedule.

Starting about two weeks before school begins, set a slightly earlier bedtime and wake-up time. Continue to make small adjustments every evening and morning, until they wake up on time the first day of school. Use National Sleep Foundation guidelines to figure out how much sleep your child should be getting. The group recommends that preschoolers get 11 to 13 hours of sleep per night; children ages five to ten should get 10 to 11 hours, and teens should get 8.5 to 9.25 hours.

To ease your child's transition to sleep, provide "quiet time" before they head off to bed. This can include a bath, soothing music, quiet conversation and reading. It is especially difficult for teens transitioning to High School as they will typically have earlier school times. Limiting their exposure to television, video games and other electronics before bed will be helpful. Don't provide caffeinated drinks in the six hours before bedtime as caffeine can interrupt natural sleep patterns.

Other tips for an easier bedtime:

Once you've established a sleep schedule, stick to it, even on weekends. If you let children "catch up on sleep" on the weekends, Monday mornings will be especially difficult.Don't serve heavy meals close to bedtime, but allow a small snack so they don't go to bed hungry.Make sure their room is dark and the temperature is cool at night. In the morning open their bedroom shades to expose them to bright sunlight.

Parents of teens are likely to have a more difficult time convincing them to go to sleep earlier. You can suggest they read, listen to relaxing music or meditate before bed. The National Sleep Foundation has more ideas for helping teens get enough sleep. This is especially tricky during the school year, since their natural sleep cycle tends to conflict with school start times.

Taking some time now to plan ahead for a healthy school year sleep schedule will pay off, with a rested child who is ready for the excitement and demands of school.

Written by New York Sleep Specialist, Dr. Anita Bhola, Medical Director The Edythe Kurz Center for Sleep Medicine at Nyack Hospital

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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Sensitive parenting can boost premature children's school performance

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Psychology / Psychiatry
Article Date: 02 Aug 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Sensitive parenting can boost premature children's school performance

Sensitive parenting helps protect against the negative effects of being born prematurely on children's school success, a new study has found.

Children born prematurely are at risk of a variety of neurological impairments which can mean they are more likely to need special educational support when they reach school age.

But a new study led by the University of Warwick shows that parents of very preterm and very low birthweight (VP/VLBW) children can increase their child's academic achievement through sensitive and cognitively stimulating parenting.

Researchers looked at parenting styles of parents of children aged 6 to see what effect they had on those children's school success when they reached the age of 13.

The study found that highly sensitive parenting at age 6 boosted the academic performance of VP/VLBW children when they reached 13 to levels similar to full-term children. A parallel increase was not seen for full-term children.

However, the results also showed that more cognitively stimulating early home environments benefit all children's long-term school success, regardless of whether they were premature or not.

Professor Dieter Wolke of University of Warwick said: "By sensitive parenting, we mean adapting one's parenting to the individual child's behaviour and responses, while clearly remaining the more competent partner and setting age appropriate limits."

"So for example providing gentle feedback and suggesting potential solutions rather than taking over and solving the tasks for the child.

"Cognitively stimulating parenting is where parents include activities designed to get children thinking such as reading to them or doing puzzles together.

"We found that both these styles of parenting have a positive effect in increasing school performance, with sensitive parenting particularly effective at closing the gap in achievement between preterm and low birth-weight children and their full-term counterparts."

The study, Effects of Sensitive Parenting on the Academic Resilience of Very Preterm and Very Low Birth Weight Adolescents was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

The researchers sought to clear up uncertainty among the scientific community about whether parenting has an influence on academic achievement of preterm children.

They looked at two groups of German children - 314 very preterm/very low birth weight children and a control group of 338 full-term children.

They were studied from birth to age 13, with the researchers analysing socioeconomic status, neurological and physical impairment at age 20 months and levels of parental sensitive and cognitive stimulation at age 6 years. School success was measured from six to 13 years of age.

The study defined very preterm as babies born at less than 32 weeks gestation or weighing less than 1500g (3lb 5 oz).

The researchers found that the 15 per cent of highly sensitive parents within the VP/VLBW group had children whose academic performance at 13 years was similar to the full-term children.

In contrast, parents of VP/VLBW children who showed low sensitivity had children who required more special educational help and had more schooling problems.

Maternal sensitivity made little difference to the grades or academic performance of full-term children, who were much less susceptible to parenting differences.

The research found that cognitively stimulating parenting raised academic performance across both groups of children.

Professor Wolke said: "The results suggest that sensitive parenting boosts children's self-control and attention regulation, which are important for school success.

"We would like to see increased investment in programmes that equip parents of VP/VLBW with the skills needed to provide appropriate and sensitive support to their children."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
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To School Advice

Kids get the most from the amount when they are healthy enough to really maintain class. To school time is among the occasions when youngsters are more susceptible to illness, largely since they're all of a sudden uncovered to some much wider number of ailments compared to what they were in touch with throughout summer time vacation. Here are a few simple, easy-to-follow instructions that will help to maintain your children at the height of wellness.

Be Up-to-Date on All Immunizations

Kids may hate it, however they will have to be up-to-date on all their needed immunizations. Nearly all schools won't admit or perhaps enroll students who don't possess the proper immunization record. Your son or daughter's school will have the ability to supply you with the details about which immunizations are needed and that are suggested. Your physician will have the ability to pick which shots your son or daughter will require after that and provide the right documentation to make sure that your son or daughter will have the ability to attend school.

Keep your School Nurse and Instructors Informed

If your little one has any allergic reactions or takes any medicines, it is crucial that you should allow the school nurse as well as your child's instructors know. Put these details on paper to ensure that the instructors and nurse will keep them on file just in case of problems. If your little one has food allergic reactions and will also be eating school lunch, take time to consult with cafeteria staff to discover the methods to follow to prevent mix-contamination.

Avoid Bacteria

Among the best methods to don't get sick would be to avoid arriving connection with bacteria. Kids of any age take advantage of a indication to continually practice good sanitation habits. Cause them to become always clean their hands after while using bathroom, before touching their face or mouth, and before foods. Train children to sneeze and cough to their elbows or shoulders rather than their hands to discourage distributing individuals bacteria. Help remind them that certain from the top methods to catch another person's bacteria would be to share their food or drinks that happen to be partly consumed.

Maintain Good Diet

We frequently forget that what we should make use of to fuel our physiques has a huge effect on our overall health. This is applicable to growing physiques. By teaching children about good diet in early stages, you are able to make them make smart options even if you aren't around. Focusing on how food works together with our physiques may also help children to become less in danger of weight problems and diabetes, that are becoming greater and greater health problems in today's world.

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