Growth Curve

The inexact science of raising kids

  1. Health & Medicine

    Kids’ me time may boost brainpower

    Unstructured play may give kids more opportunity to exercise their executive function, complex cognitive function that includes resisting impulses and paying attention.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Your baby can watch movies for science

    Any parent with a computer can let their kid participate in child development studies through a new website called Lookit.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Pregnant women on the hook for calculating risks, benefits of fish

    New draft FDA guidelines on fish for pregnant or nursing women make women do the math for how to maximize omega-3 fatty acids and minimize mercury exposure.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    If timing’s right, cats and roaches may be good for kids’ allergies

    Exposure to mice, roaches and cats before a child’s first birthday may confer protection against asthma and allergies, a new study suggests.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Your baby: The ultimate science experiment

    Babies may be serious scientists, but parents can join the fun by trying some simple experiments with their kids.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Baby’s first bacteria arrive sooner than we thought

    Forget what you’ve heard. The womb is most definitely not sterile.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Study on pregnant women’s driving has some potholes

    New study finds that pregnancy makes women get into more car accidents, but there could be a simpler explanation.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Mom’s nutrition puts a stamp on baby’s DNA

    A new study is the latest in a growing list of how the environment sculpts a person’s epigenome.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Induced labor doesn’t necessarily kick off cascade of interventions

    A large analysis of clinical trials finds that jump-starting labor actually leads to fewer C-sections, a finding that runs contrary to common birthing wisdom.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Babies cry at night to prevent siblings, scientist suggests

    Babies who demand to be breastfed in the night might be delaying the birth of a sibling, scientist proposes.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    What’s going on in the mind of a Skyping baby?

    By studying how young children respond to video calls, scientists hope to understand the role of new technology.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    If your kid hates broccoli, try, try again

    Repeated exposure to foods may be the antidote to picky eating.

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