US: U.S. recession didn't raise rates of child neglect: study

The recession did not have much impact on rates of child maltreatment in the United States, the results of a new study suggest.

"Many of us worried about possible large increases in 2009 due to worsening economic conditions. But so far the impact of the recession on child maltreatment does not appear too dire," David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said in a university news release.
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Finkelhor and his colleagues analyzed federal data and found a 5 percent decline in sexual abuse between 2008 and 2009, a 3 percent increase in the number of child maltreatment-related deaths, and no change in rates for physical abuse and neglect.

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http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/01/12/us-recession-didnt-raise-rates-of-child-neglect-study

A civil right: Adoptees should have access to their birth certificates

This is not a commentary about "don't ask, don't tell" or any other gay rights issue, though the identical observations would certainly apply. Rather, it's about providing legal and moral equality for a segment of our population that is not generally perceived as deprived of any rights: the approximately 7 million Americans who were adopted into their families. And the right denied to most of them is so basic that it almost sounds like a joke: access to their own original birth certificates.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-pertman/post_1565_b_807939.html

The Watch List: The medication of foster children

Nearly one in every 10 American children is diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Often the treatment prescribed is medication, and often the medication is heavy-duty — so-called antipsychotic drugs.

In this report, you’ll see that foster care children are prescribed drugs at a rate much greater than that of other kids. Concern over their well-being — not to mention the amount it costs to treat them — has prompted the Government Accountability Office to investigate potentially abusive prescribing practices in America’s state foster care systems. The GAO findings are expected to come out later this year.

READ MORE & VIEW VIDEO:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/video-the-watch-list-the-medication-of-foster-children/6232/

Parent education is first, then children's education

A parent education program can have better results in education of infants. "Research has shown that children growing up in poverty fall behind their middle-class peers in development – even before their first birthday," says Alan L. Mendelsohn, MD, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and associate professor of Pediatrics at NYU School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital Center.

"Our study found that programs working with parents during pediatric check-ups increase verbal interactions between parents and children and help children in low income families keep up with their peers."
For this study the team had 675 mothers and infants under observation, some of them were assigned to the Video Interaction Project (VIP) and Building Blocks (BB).

Some participating parents (225) were randomly assigned to the VIP program, in which mothers and infants had fifteen 30-45 minute of a normal session with a child development specialist. VIP focuses primarily on supporting verbal interactions in play, book-reading and daily routines. In this activity, mothers and children are videotaped playing and reading books together, this tape is then reviewed and analyzed, the Toys and books are also provided for the family to take home and use it at their own comfort. In VIP program mothers were encouraged to read aloud in primary care, and it results in enhanced school readiness.

READ MORE HERE:

http://www.news.raafatrola.com/behavior/behavior-blogs/898--parent-education-is-first-then-childrens-education

Tips on Teaching Social Skills to Children

Games and Activities
Planning certain social skills activities for children is perhaps the best way to inculcate the same in them. Games can be fun and at the same time educate children on how to behave, communicate and present themselves in a social situation.

For Teaching "Co-operation"...
Have the kids stand in a circle. Next, draw a circle in the middle with a chalk. Give instructions that as soon as you whistle, the kids have to run and accommodate themselves in the circle drawn by you. Once the kids do that, make another smaller circle in between the previously drawn circle. Now, the kids have to accommodate themselves in this even smaller area. While doing so the kids will have to hold each other or make suggestions as to how to fit it. Thus, by undertaking such team games for children, the communication and co-operation amongst them can be improved considerably.

READ MORE HERE:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/teaching-social-skills-to-children.html