3,000 parents questioned in a survey said that they spend on average only 49 minutes a day together with their children. The study, which also asked the opinions of 1,000 children, was conducted ahead of National Family Week next week.

Of the children surveyed 66% were happy to spend time with their family at home rather than going out.

The study said: “Pound sign parents are blaming money for being the biggest obstacle to positive family life with 36% citing it as having a negative impact on family time.” It says this is “rubbing off” on their children as more than a quarter of eight to 15-year-olds in the survey said money was the most important thing to them, putting cash in front of their health, education, sport or music.

Source: BBC Family News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

Pupils are being asked to protect Britain’s wildlife by transforming concrete areas into green spaces.

The Concrete Jungle campaign aims to create more than 300,000 square metres of wildlife habitats in schools, which will be recorded on its website.

The organisation says action needs to be taken as 40% of birds and amphibians are in decline across the world.

Jane Langley, from Cool it Schools, said the project was open to any school in the UK.

“We have estimated even if 5m x 5m are put aside, if every school did that we would end up with 300,000 square metres of space,” she said.”Extinction rates are absolutely shocking and it is imperative wildlife chances are improved.”

The project is part of the International Year of Biodiversity, a global project celebrating life on earth, which is run by the United Nations.

Source: BBC Family News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

Parents worry more about their children being murdered, rather than much more widespread health problems such as obesity, a survey suggests.

The findings, in a YouGov poll of 1,244 parents, contrast with data showing the risk of a child being killed by a stranger is a million to one. The risk of severe health problems for children due to lack of exercise is one in three, figures have suggested.

The latest figures show walk-to-school rates have fallen to a new low of 48%.

The survey for charities Parentline Plus and Living Streets is being published as part of a campaign to get more children walking to school.

Of the parents polled by YouGov for the charities, 30% said they most feared that their child would be abducted or killed by a stranger, while a further 30% feared they would be hurt in a road traffic accident. But only one in 20 picked concerns about poor health in later life due to the child’s levels of physical activity.

Source: BBC Family News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

The working mother who cannot be at home to cuddle a distraught child can relax – her voice on the phone soothes as much as a hug, a recent study suggests.

US researchers put more than 60 girls in a stressful situation and monitored their hormonal responses when they were either phoned or hugged afterwards. Their mother’s voice produced virtually the same amount of the stress-quelling hormone oxytocin as physical comfort.

For one group of girls their mother was on hand immediately afterwards to offer physical comfort – a hug, or an arm around the shoulder. Another group was handed a phone with mother on the line, while a third watched March of the Penguins – seen as an emotionally-neutral film.

Oxytocin – a hormone believed to be strongly associated with social bonding, and one which alleviates the effects of cortisol – rose in both groups to similar levels. Oxytocin levels in the film group did not increase.

“It was understood that oxytocin release in the context of social bonding usually required physical contact,” said Dr Leslie Seltzer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the research. “But it’s clear from these results that a mother’s voice can have the same effect as a hug, even if they’re not standing there.”

Research has suggested that even in the womb a foetus – at least in the later stages of pregnancy – is capable of recognising its mother’s voice. But whether this has any emotional impact at this young age is still unclear.

Source: BBC Family News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth

The more TV a toddler watches, the higher the likelihood they will do badly at school and have poor health at the age of 10, researchers have warned.

The study of 1,300 children by Michigan and Montreal universities found negative effects on older children rose with every hour of toddler TV. Performance at school was worse, while consumption of junk foods was higher.

The study, part of the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development Main Exposure, asked parents how much TV their children watched at 29 months (two years and five months) and 53 months (four years and five months).

On average, the two-year-olds watched just under nine hours of TV per week, while for four-year-olds the average was just under 15 hours. But 11% of the two-year-olds and 23% of four-year-olds watched more than the recommended maximum of two hours of TV a day.

When the children were revisited at the age of 10, teachers were asked to assess the children’s academic performance, behaviour and health, while body mass index (BMI) was measured at 10 years old.

Higher levels of TV viewing at two was linked to a lower level of engagement in the classroom and poor achievement in maths. Researchers also found a decrease in general physical activity but an increase in the consumption of soft drinks and in BMI (body mass index).

The UK’s National Literacy Trust vigorously campaigns to raise awareness of how to moderate a toddler’s viewing.

It said that until research demonstrated that children under two might benefit from TV, parents should, “limit exposure and encourage other one-to-one language-enhancing activities that centre on talk at mealtime, bath time, shared reading and imaginative play”. But it added: “Encourage exposure to some high-quality, age-appropriate educational television for children aged two to five.”

Source: BBC Family News

Chris, Web Designer at Input Youth