Children's Health:Bullying exposure associated with adult psychiatric disorders ♦ Poorer children nearly three times as likely to be obese ♦ Behavioral problems in youths are associated with differences in the brain

Bullying exposure associated with adult psychiatric disorders requiring treatment Exposure to bullying as a child was associated with psychiatric disorders in adulthood that required treatment in a study of Finnish children, according to an article published online by JAMA Psychiatry

Behavioral problems in youths are associated with differences in the brain Young people with behavioral problems, such as antisocial and aggressive behavior, show reduced grey matter volume in a number of areas of the brain, according to a new study.

Poorer children nearly three times as likely to be obese A new study has questioned why poorer children are at higher risk of obesity compared to their better-off peers. The link between relative poverty and childhood obesity turned out to be quite stark. At age 5, poor children were almost twice as likely to be obese compared with their better off peers. 6.6% of children from families in the poorest fifth of the sample were obese while the figure for the richest fifth is just 3.5%. By the age of 11 the gap has widened, nearly tripling.

Early childhood exposure to farm animals, pets modifies immunological responses Exposure to farm animals in early childhood modifies the key allergy-related immunological mechanisms, shows a recent study, which provides new insight into the role of dendritic cells and cytokine production in particular.

Children's Health: ADHD meds may be a prescription for bullying ♦ Children from chaotic homes benefit from time in child care ♦ Should pools ban certain risky dives?

Global study looks at how children respond to advantage and disadvantage In one of the first studies of its kind, a team of researchers conducted a global experiment to understand how fairness develops in different societies. Culture, as much as the need to maintain competitive standing, may play a leading role in how children learn to respond to what is fair and unfair, the team reports.

ADHD meds may be a prescription for bullying Kids and teens who take medications like Ritalin to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are twice as likely to be physically or emotionally bullied by peers than those who don't have ADHD.

Children from chaotic homes benefit from time in child care Full-time child care was associated with cognitive, behavioral and social benefits for children in poverty who live in chaotic homes. Children from highly disorganized homes showed better executive functioning, vocabularies and ability to regulate their thoughts and attention if in child care 35+ hours weekly.

Should pools ban certain risky dives? It may be pointless in curbing kids' injuries Diving restrictions do not protect divers from injuries, new research suggests. Somersault and backward facing dives, for instance, may be safe, because divers generally self-regulate based on their skill levels and risk perceptions, according to new research that raises questions about the rarely studied issue.

National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month — October 1–31, 2015

Bullying is "any unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths who are not siblings or current dating partners that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated". As a form of youth violence, bullying can include aggression that is physical (e.g., hitting, tripping), verbal (e.g., name calling, teasing), or relational/social (e.g., rumor spreading, leaving out of a group). Electronic aggression or cyberbullying is bullying that occurs through Internet or mobile telephone technology (e.g., e-mail, chat room, instant messaging, website, text messaging, videos, or pictures).

Bullying is widespread in the United States. In 2013, 20% of U.S. high school students reported being bullied on school property and 15% reported that they were bullied electronically within the past 12 months. Youths who are bullied are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, and poor school adjustment. Youths who bully others are at increased risk for substance use, academic problems, and violence later in life.

October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. During this month, multisectoral partners collaborate to raise awareness about bullying prevention and identify ways to stop bullying year-round through events, activities, outreach, and education. The ultimate goal is to stop bullying before it starts.

Certain promising school-based bullying prevention programs include the following elements: 1) improving supervision of students, 2) using school rules and behavior management techniques to detect and address bullying, 3) implementing and consistently enforcing school wide anti-bullying policies, and 4) promoting cooperation among different professionals and between school staff and parents.

Children's Health: Babies' lives were saved by 3-D printing ♦ Childhood bullying causes long-term mental health problems ♦ Breast milk sharing risky

Childhood bullying causes worse long-term mental health problems than maltreatment Bullying adversely affects children in later life more than being maltreated, according to new research. A new study shows that children who have been bullied by peers suffer worse in the longer term than those who have been maltreated by adults

Maternal obesity increases risk of type 1 diabetes in children   A study of more than 1.2 million children in Sweden has concluded that children of parents with any type of diabetes are more likely to develop type 1 diabetes (T1D), and that maternal overweight and obesity increases the risk of the child developing T1D when neither parent has diabetes.

Toxic combination of air pollution and poverty lowers child IQ Children born to mothers experiencing economic hardship, who were also exposed during pregnancy to high levels of PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), scored significantly lower on IQ tests at age 5 compared with children born to mothers with greater economic security and less exposure to the pollutants.

How babies' lives were saved by 3-D printing A new study reports outcomes for three boys who became among the first in the world to benefit from 3D printed devices that saved their lives

Breast milk sharing among friends, relatives increasing, but still risky A new study offers insight into the attitudes around the growing -- and unregulated -- practice of breast milk sharing. Results indicate that friends and relatives are sharing breast milk with each other, but that many may not be aware of the risks, even when the milk is from someone they know. The study also found that healthcare practitioners are being left out of the milk-sharing dialogue-- and that there are untapped opportunities to encourage women to donate desperately needed, extra breast milk for premature babies.