Nipper News

Nipper News http://nippernews.co.uk/blog The UK news site for Mums and Dads all about babies and children, and how to raise them. Plus parenting bargains! Thu, 17 May 2012 18:34:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Grooming tips from the man with the longest moustache http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17410 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17410#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 18:34:13 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17410 Ram Singh Chauhan of India is the proud owner of the world’s longest moustache, officially recorded by Guinness World Records as 4.29m (14ft) long. But what is the secret of his success? Here he offers five tips.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17410 0 Primary schools ‘failing to honour swimming obligations’ http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17408 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17408#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 18:31:29 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17408 A third of children in England cannot swim by the time they leave primary school, according to research from the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA). The research suggests many non-swimmers have never had a school swimming lesson despite its being part of the national curriculum for seven-to-11-year-olds. The ASA says swimming is the only curriculum subject that saves lives. The Department for Education said schools must provide lessons and pupils must be taught to swim 25m unaided.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17408 0 Rise in tuition fees ‘did not boost teaching time’ http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17406 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17406#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 18:30:47 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17406 Students have had no extra teaching time at England’s universities since tuition fees trebled, researchers say. The Higher Education Policy Institute study of 9,000 students found no change in their experiences since fees rose from £1,000 to £3,000 in 2006. It comes as universities are about to treble fees again to a £9,000 maximum. Universities UK said the extra money had gone on improving libraries, IT facilities and other aspects of student life as well as improving teaching.

via BBC News

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17406 0 Schizophrenia Risk In Kids Associated With Mothers’ Gluten Antibodies http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17404 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17404#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 21:12:26 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17404 Children are nearly 50% more likely to develop schizophrenia later in life if their mothers are sensitive to wheat protein gluten, say researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. The study, published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, adds to increasing evidence that many subsequent diseases in life take root before and shortly after birth.

via Medical News Today

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17404 0 Bright children should start school at six, says academic http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17402 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17402#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 20:39:47 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17402 Formal schooling should be delayed by at least 12 months because an over-emphasis on the three-Rs at an early age can cause significant long-term damage to bright children, according to a leading academic. Pupils should not be subjected to full classroom tuition until the age of six to off-set the effects of premature “adultification”, it was claimed. Dr Richard House, a senior lecturer at Roehampton University’s Research Centre for Therapeutic Education, said gifted pupils from relatively affluent backgrounds suffered the most from being pushed “too far, too fast”. He quoted a major US study – carried out over eight decades – that showed children’s “run-away intellect” actually benefited from being slowed down in the early years, allowing them to develop naturally. Many bright children can grow up in an “intellectually unbalanced way”, suffering lifelong negative health effects and even premature death, after being pushed into formal schooling too quickly, he said. Most British schoolchildren already start classes earlier than their peers in many other European nations. Children are normally expected to be in lessons by five, although most are enrolled in reception classes aged four.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17402 0 Blue Peter and other children’s shows to be ditched from BBC1 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17400 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17400#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 20:13:22 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17400 Blue Peter is to be dropped from BBC1 as part of wide-ranging shakeup that will see all the BBC’s children’s programmes moved from its flagship channel after more than 60 years. The corporation will move all children’s programming to digital channels CBBC and CBeebies, as part of wide-ranging plans to cut hundreds of millions of pounds from its budget by 2017 and rejig its output for the post-analogue broadcasting era. Blue Peter is currently presented by Helen Skelton and Barney Harwood, and airs on BBC1 on Friday afternoons, as well as CBBC. Last Friday, Blue Peter attracted 300,000 viewers and a 3% audience share, and struggles to win viewers who tune into programming aimed at adults. On Wednesday, the BBC Trust gave the green light to director general Mark Thompson’s Delivering Quality First proposals, including the children’s programming switch. The DQF cuts will also see fewer entertainment shows, more repeats and reduced programming budgets for BBC3 and BBC4.

via guardian.co.uk

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17400 0 Brain surgery boost for children with severe epilepsy http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17398 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17398#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:50:49 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17398 Epileptic seizures are a frightening experience for anyone, but particularly for children who cannot control their seizures with medication. For these children, and their parents, life can often be difficult and unpredictable. However, if a particular part of the brain can be pinpointed as the cause of the seizures, brain surgery can be an effective treatment. Great Ormond Street Hospital in London is currently the main centre in the UK for this type of specialised surgery, but Bristol, Manchester/Liverpool and Birmingham are set to develop similar expertise later this year. As a result, doctors say they will be able to treat three times as many children with drug-resistant epilepsy in England and Wales – from 125 to around 350 each year by 2015-2016.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17398 0 Children at risk as button battery use grows: study http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17396 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17396#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:47:59 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17396 Children face a growing risk from “button” batteries, according to a U.S. study showing a near doubling of emergency room visits in the past two decades as the objects can cause electrical or chemical burns if swallowed. Most of those emergency room trips are due to coin-shaped batteries that have become ubiquitous in toys, remote controls and hearing aids and represent a shiny temptation to curious toddlers, according to a study in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. ”Button” batteries carry extra risks, experts said, because they can send an electrical current through esophageal tissue, eventually even burning a hole in the trachea or the esophagus – without children showing any signs of immediate injury.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17396 0 Nurses warn about children playing adult video games http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17394 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17394#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:43:11 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17394 Parents need to be more vigilant over the computer games they allow their children to play, nurses say. The Royal College of Nursing passed a motion calling for more education and awareness about the risks of children playing adult-rated games. Nurses said some products on the market were littered with explicit references to violence, sex and drug-taking. At their annual conference in Harrogate, they said exposure to these images could harm children.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17394 0 Schools get King James Bible to mark 400th anniversary http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17392 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17392#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:40:40 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17392 Schools in England will sent copies of the King James Bible from this week to mark its 400th anniversary. Education Secretary Michael Gove said the text had had “an immense influence” on the English-speaking world. He said pupils should learn about its role in the nation’s history, language, literacy and culture. The move is being funded by charities. But secular groups said the money could have been better spent elsewhere. Critics say it is unlikely that schools do not already have a Bible. Concerns had also previously been raised that the cost of providing the Bible to schools would be met by the taxpayer.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17392 0 Biometric data: Schools will need parents’ approval http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17390 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17390#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:39:22 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17390 Schools in England will be banned from taking pupils’ fingerprints and using face-recognition technology unless they get permission from parents. New government guidance says written parental permission must be obtained to use students’ biometric data. Pupils themselves will also be allowed to refuse to participate. Schools can use fingerprinting or face scanning for recording attendance, checking out library books, paying for lunch or accessing school buildings. Last year the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) estimated that about 30% of secondaries in England were using biometric data.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17390 0 Special needs budgets to be controlled by parents http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17388 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17388#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:38:22 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17388 Parents are to be given more financial control over support for children with special educational needs, in a major shake-up of the system in England. The government says it wants to push ahead with proposals announced last year that parents should have a “personal budget” for their children. The changes could also see fewer children in the special needs category. Children’s minister Sarah Teather said the current system was “outdated and not fit for purpose”.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17388 0 Wakefield baby’s bathroom birth after eight-minute labour http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17386 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17386#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:21:51 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17386 A young couple delivered their baby in a bathroom after a labour lasting just eight minutes. Joshua Courtney, advised by a midwife over the phone, helped Natalie Dunleavy give birth after her waters broke at their home in Tingley, Wakefield. Miss Dunleavy, 22, said: “It was so quick it was unbelievable. Josh was amazing. It was an amazing experience to remember.” Their daughter Bo-Pierre, who weighed 8lb 4oz, is now doing well at home.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17386 0 Girl, 10, has 3kg tumour removed http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17384 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17384#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 20:20:47 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17384 A 10-year-old girl, Eliana Mann, is like a “new child” after having a massive tumour that weighed more than 3kg removed. Her mother said Eliana, from north London, had been transformed by the operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. Surgeons said the growth had reached the size of a small football. The tumour was benign, but it would have been deadly had it continued to grow. In the summer of 2009, Eliana was not growing properly. Her feet had not grown for a couple of years, she was not eating properly and was tired all the time. Her father, Paul, thought her stomach felt quite hard. Her doctor agreed and Eliana was sent to hospital for testing. The results showed she had a massive benign tumour growing in her abdomen.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17384 0 Schools ‘will compete’ for £10,000 pupil premium award http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17382 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17382#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 21:28:58 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17382 Schools which find the most effective ways to help children from poor backgrounds could win £10,000, Deputy Prime Nick Clegg has announced. The awards will be made to 50 schools which make best use of the “pupil premium”, a £600 payment given for each child who receives free school meals. Mr Clegg said this would “reward and celebrate” the improvement in young people’s life chances. But Labour said the premium was being used to “plug holes” in school funding. The payments – affecting 1.8 million children – will cost a total of £2.5bn a year by 2015.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17382 0 Consultation launched on how to label food http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17380 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17380#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 21:09:43 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17380 Food manufacturers, supermarkets and health experts are to be asked their views on the best way to label the nutritional content of food. There have been long-running battles over how to label the amount of fat, sugar, salt and calories in food – with several different systems in place. The government’s UK-wide consultation will take place over the next 12 weeks. The health secretary, Andrew Lansley, said getting everyone to use the same system was “common sense”. He said this made it easier for people to make a healthier choice when they were buying food. Some retailers and manufactures have preferred a “traffic light” system in which the least healthy foods are labelled red and the most healthy are in green. Others use Guideline Daily Amounts – or GDAs – which give the percentage of recommended intake. Some use both.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17380 0 Parents of autistic children forced to wait years for diagnosis http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17378 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17378#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 20:50:53 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17378 Parents who suspect that their children have autism face years of uncertainty and anguish because of a continuing unwillingness to diagnose the condition. Long waiting times leave more than a third of families waiting at least three years for a diagnosis, with two thirds waiting more than a year, according to new figures. A wide-ranging survey of the experiences of adults and children living on the autistic spectrum, commissioned by the National Autistic Society (NAS) to mark its 50th anniversary, will be published this month. It states that despite an increased awareness and identification of autism since 1962, getting a diagnosis remains a challenge and can leave families coping with uncertainty, often for years. One in 10 people end up paying for assessments privately. The NAS says long waiting times result from a combination of factors, including a lack of awareness among GPs and a shortfall in the numbers of professionals who have the expertise to assess autism, particularly in adults. The process remains difficult and stressful, said Dr Judy Gould, director of the NAS Lorna Wing Centre for Autism, whose research with Dr Wing led to the now-accepted concept of a spectrum of autistic conditions.

via The Observer

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17378 0 Crackdown on online junk food advertising aimed at children say MPs http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17376 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17376#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 20:47:32 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17376 Junk food advertising on social networking sites and the internet should be controlled to prevent manufacturers from targeting children, according to a new report by MPs. The Environmental Audit Committee has called for a clampdown on advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar to children as part of a strategy to combat soaring levels of obesity across Britain and encourage healthier eating choices. They warn that many junk food manufacturers have turned to the internet and social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to directly target children. A recent tightening of regulations has banned junk food advertising during children’s television programming, but it does not extend to the internet or other forms of media.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17376 0 Parenting vouchers “might not benefit those how need it” http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17374 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17374#comments Sun, 13 May 2012 20:44:38 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17374 Childcare experts expressed reservations yesterday about a Government scheme to hand out £100 vouchers for parenting classes, suggesting that it would not benefit those most in need. The free vouchers will be distributed through Boots, the high street chemist, and will offer parents up to 10 two-hour sessions of advice on how best to bring up their children. Initially, it will be piloted in three areas, Middlesbrough, Camden in north London and High Peak, Derbyshire, but it could be extended throughout England and Wales if successful. Parents will be able to use the vouchers to buy lessons from independent organisations such as the National Childcare Trust.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17374 0 Extreme breastfeeding: Should children be nursed for years? http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17372 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17372#comments Sat, 12 May 2012 22:19:01 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17372 Breastfeeding children for years rather than months is in the news. But is there anything wrong with it? The latest cover of Time magazine has caused outrage. Under the headline “Are you mom enough?”, a young woman is pictured having her left breast suckled by a boy who appears way beyond usual breastfeeding age. The woman, it turns out, is Jamie Lynne Grumet, a 26-year old mother from Los Angeles, and the boy is her son Aram, aged almost four. The cover and accompanying article about “attachment parenting” has re-ignited the debate about whether extended breastfeeding – until the age of three or even six – is harmful. And the magazine and mother have faced accusations that they have exploited the child for publicity reasons. Much of the criticism has focused on the age and looks of the mother. “Why is this attractive woman breast-feeding this giant child?” asks Hanna Rosin of Slate.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17372 0 MPs demand more robust school spending checks http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17370 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17370#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 18:28:25 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17370 A committee of MPs says it fears the system for checking school spending in England is not robust enough. The Public Accounts Committee says value-for-money checks on education and children’s spending need improving. And it says it is alarmed by reports of “worrying expenditure”, such as high salaries for staff, in some academies. The government says it is publishing more data than ever on how schools spend their money and this will improve accountability. It says it is consulting on further measures, but that there is a balance to be struck between rigorous accountability and burdening schools with bureaucracy.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17370 0 Higher education ranking: UK ’10th best’ http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17368 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17368#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 18:25:09 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17368 The author of a report on international higher education has questioned whether UK universities can remain world leaders without more funding. The report for Universitas 21 rated the UK 10th best at providing higher education in a ranking of 48 countries. The study put the UK second for university research and teaching but 27th for spending on higher education. Universities UK said other more established global rankings regularly put the UK system second to top. Ross Williams, lead author of the Universitas 21 study, said the evidence showed the UK system was very efficient.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17368 0 TOWIE among shows criticised over ‘lack of role models’ http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17366 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17366#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 18:22:30 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17366 There is a lack of positive female role models for young women, according to the Girl Guides. TV shows like Made in Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex (TOWIE) are limiting girls’ career ambitions, the organisation said. A study it did found young women often couldn’t name sports or businesswomen unless they’d been on television. But one reality star says her glitzy champagne lifestyle gives young women a “confidence boost”.

via BBC

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17366 0 Vaginal rings ‘riskier than contraceptive pill’ http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17364 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17364#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 18:21:04 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17364 Using skin patches or vaginal rings for contraception presents a higher risk of developing serious blood clots than the pill, according to researchers. A study, published on the BMJ website, followed all women in Denmark for a decade to compare the risks of developing clots. The authors said women should be aware of the risks with each form of contraception. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service said there was no reason to panic. Data from more than 1.6 million women was analysed by researchers at the University of Copenhagen.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17364 0 Induction cuts risk of babies dying, researchers say http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17362 http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17362#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 18:18:01 +0000 Jana http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?p=17362 Babies born after labour is induced have less risk of dying but a higher risk of admission to a special-care unit, a study suggests. The British Medical Journal analysis of 1.2m births in Scotland between 1981 and 2007 also found no increased chance of a Caesarean section – contrary to previous findings. The study looked at full-term births where inductions happened for non-medical reasons – such as a mother’s choice. But one expert said the paper would “not change practice”. Inductions are carried out in around 20% of pregnancies in developed countries.

]]> http://nippernews.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=17362 0