The transition to fatherhood can be one of the most difficult, yet rewarding, journeys for dads today, says Jared Durtschi, a Kansas State University marriage and family therapist. Durtschi offers advice for all fathers, especially those experiencing parenthood for the first time.
Researchers adapted a parenting program to help foster families address their greatest challenges, including overwhelmed foster parents and a lack of trust between caregivers and foster children.
Bowling Green State University’s National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR) has recently taken a closer look at the changing face of fatherhood.
In her new book, "'Eat Your Vegetables' and Other Mistakes Parents Make: Redefining How to Raise Healthy Eaters" (Healthy Learning, May 2012), registered dietitian Dr. Natalie Digate Muth, a pediatric resident at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA and mother of two, provides parents with a step-by-step plan to help kids embrace fruits, vegetables and other healthful foods without battles, bribes and coercion.
The family meal is often touted and encouraged for its social and health benefits, but a new Cornell University study questions the nature of this association, finding that the perceived benefits may not be as strong or as lasting once a number of factors are controlled for.
Infants ignore information that is too simple or too complex, focusing instead on situations that are “just right,” according to a new study. Dubbed the “Goldilocks effect” by the University of Rochester team that discovered it, the attention pattern sheds light on how babies learn to make sense of a world full of complex sights, sounds, and movements.
Two popular MTV programs about teenage pregnancy -- "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" -- were met with national debate. Critics said the shows glamorized teenage pregnancy, while supporters said they discouraged it. A new study by an Indiana University professor suggests they're both right.
Conventional wisdom, backed by years of research, suggests that healthy marriages equals a healthy society. And politicians and government officials have taken note, investing hundreds of millions of dollars each year in education programs designed to promote healthy marriages, focusing specifically on poor couples and couples of color. Is it working? No, says a Binghamton University researcher in a new study published in the current issue of American Psychologist, the flagship journal of the American Psychological Association. And it’s because many of these programs were based on research data gathered from White and middle-class marriages, and when applied to poor couples or couples of color, just don’t work.
Folic acid fortification of foods may reduce the incidence of the most common type of kidney cancer and a type of brain tumors in children, finds a new study by Kimberly J. Johnson, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, and Amy Linabery, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota. Incidence reductions were found for Wilms’ tumor, a type of kidney cancer, and primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET), a type of brain cancer.
When writer Florence Williams was nursing her second child, she had her breast milk analyzed for toxins. What she found surprised her. Trace amounts of pesticides, dioxin, a jet-fuel ingredient and high-to-average levels of flame retardants were present in her breast milk. She reported on these findings in New York Times Magazine, which has since set off a wave of controversy. A Loyola University Health System lactation consultant puts these findings in perspective.
Analysis of best-selling teen novels shows that readers come across seven instances of profanity per hour spent reading, and the characters who cuss are usually rich, beautiful and popular.
An increasing number of highly educated women are opting for families, according to a national study. The research clearly shows fertility rising for older, highly educated women since the 1990s.
A national study suggests that a significantly greater number of highly educated women in their late 30s and 40s are deciding to have children - a dramatic turnaround from recent history.
Pediatricians and other breastfeeding advocates often encourage new mothers to breastfeed their babies for at least the first six months of their infants’ lives based on the purported health benefits to both mothers and children. Many breastfeeding proponents also argue that breastfeeding has financial advantages over formula-feeding—breastfeeding is free, they say. But, according to a new study, the notion that there’s no cost associated with breastfeeding for the recommended amount of time is patently untrue.
Aimed at professionals faced with hard choices on family matters, this book shows how restorative practices empowers families to solve their own problems with a minimum of government intervention.
Parents drill their children on "stranger danger," but when children are abused its most often by someone they know. This article helps parents protect their children from abuse closer to home: from family members, an adult the family trusts or another child.
A new study from Case Western Reserve University finds mothers tend to be more critical of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder than they are of other children in the family. And, that parental criticism is linked to poorer outcomes for the child after treatment.
Do an online search for sex offenders living in your neighborhood and you may be alarmed by how many you find. But a new study of sex-offender registries in five states shows that they overestimate the number of offenders actually living in the community by as much as 60 percent.
Parents and adult caregivers of pediatric cancer patients prefer personal consultations with trusted health care providers over online sources for information about their child’s illness, according to a University at Buffalo research study.
How do we balance our careers with other aspects of our lives? Is there an ideal balance, or is the equation mostly subjective? Boise State University Foundational Studies professors Vicki Stieha and Rebecca Robideaux can answer these questions and examine the evolution of the “work-life balance” dynamic.
More women are waiting to get married, but choosing not to wait to have children. That’s the conclusion in a new profile from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research (NCFMR) at Bowling Green State University. Researchers looked at data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics to investigate the trends in a woman’s average age at first marriage and first birth since 1980.
Research has shown that youth violence is a major cause of injury and death among Latinos. However, there is little understanding of violent behaviors of youths within various Latino ethnic subgroups such as Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Mexicans. Lorena Estrada-Martínez, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, recently examined how family dynamics and neighborhood racial/ethnic composition and socioeconomic status (SES) impact youth violence among Latino subgroups. “Higher levels of youth independence can reduce the risk of violence in primarily Latino neighborhoods,” Estrada-Martinez says. “When we looked at the interaction between SES and autonomy, it was a different story. We found that as the SES of a neighborhood increases, high levels of autonomy became a risk factor for youth violence.”
Married adults who undergo heart surgery are more than three times as likely as single people who have the same surgery to survive the next three months, a new study finds.
For couples who may believe a baby will improve a rocky relationship, new research from RTI International and Pennsylvania State University finds that violence between a couple before a child's birth impedes their ability to co-parent well.
People collect things all the time, but when that hobby becomes an incessant need to hoard, it becomes a disorder. But how much of hoarders' behaviours are influenced by their partners and family members? A pair of Canadian researchers are investigating this link.
The growth of two-income families and increasing levels of job stress are two of the most significant work trends affecting American businesses and families in recent years. Having just one stressed-out spouse can harm couple’s work and home lives — but what about when it’s both?
Authoritarian parents whose child-rearing style can be summed up as “it’s my way or the highway” are more likely to raise disrespectful, delinquent children who do not see them as legitimate authority figures than authoritative parents who listen to their children and gain their respect and trust, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire.
When low-income cohabiting couples with children decide to no longer live together, that doesn’t necessarily mean the end of their romantic relationship, a new study suggests.
Programs that support parents during their child’s early years hold promise for obesity prevention, according to a new study in the online February 6 issue of Pediatrics.
For those with few social advantages, college is a prime pathway to financial stability, but it also unexpectedly lowers their odds of ever marrying, according to a study by Cornell University sociologist Kelly Musick being published in the February issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.
Research continues to support a connection between instability in the home and school performance in adolescents, but a new study takes the research a step further by exploring how the relationship between family structure change and adolescent academic careers is also affected by the kinds of schools they attend.
Researchers at the California Teratogen Information Service (CTIS) Pregnancy Health Information Line, a state-wide non-profit organization based at the University of California, San Diego, have found new links between the timing of alcohol consumption during pregnancy and certain characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
Love is in the air, but Valentine's Day shouldn't be the only time to express love for your partner; rather, it should serve as a reminder to devote time and energy to your relationship every day.
Normal everyday life for parents requires organization. Parents of children who require ventilators, oxygen, IVs and other tools to live, those day-to-day tasks can be time-consuming, difficult and stressful on the family. But researchers from Case Western Reserve University found that mothers who successfully integrate the care of the technology-dependent child into family life have families that function better.
“What kids find visually appealing is very different than what appeals to their parents,” said Brian Wansink, professor of Marketing in Cornell’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. “Our study shows how to make the changes so the broccoli and fish look tastier than they otherwise would to little Casey or little Audrey.”
If the festive season tempts your tastebuds to overindulge, learn to prevent holiday weight gain with these 10 tips from the team of medical experts at Greenwich Hospital’s Weight Loss & Diabetes Center
Raising kids is a challenge, from the stresses of sleepless nights and toddler tantrums to teenage sullenness. Plenty of research has found that the arrival of a baby is associated with declines in self-reported happiness and marital satisfaction for many, and increases in depression for some.
Middle-class children ask their teachers for help more often and more assertively than working-class children and, in doing so, receive more support and assistance from teachers according to a study from the University of Pennsylvania.
An attentive, nurturing mother may be able to help her children better resist the temptations of drug use later in life, according to a study involving the University of Adelaide.
For many, an important marker of adulthood is forming a family, whether it’s having a child, getting married or cohabiting with a romantic partner. Researchers at Bowling Green State University’s National Center for Family and Marriage Research’s (NCFMR) say a majority (61 percent) of young adults have formed a family by age 25.
Two new studies from the University of New Hampshire Crimes against Children Research Center suggest that concerns about teen sexting may be overblown. One study found the percentage of youth who send nude pictures of themselves that would qualify as child pornography is very low. The other found that when teen sexting images do come to police attention, few youth are being arrested or treated like sex offenders.
Not only are working mothers multitasking more frequently than working fathers, but their multitasking experience is more negative as well, according to a new study in the December issue of the American Sociological Review.
During the holidays, you might look forward to the time away from work – unless you feel connected by the nagging need to check emails and voice mails. You wouldn’t be alone. A recent survey says 68% of Americans with work emails check them during their holiday vacations. How can you unplug and find the digital downtime you need to recharge or focus on your family?