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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: babies

babies stories: 19 news summaries
Wah!

 Even Babies Are Airbrushed 

Babies subject to the tyranny of Photoshop, too

Nov 16, 09 8:03 AM CST
(Newser) - Even babies can't meet the media-industrial complex's exacting standards: Baby photos are airbrushed before making their way to magazines, to tweak skin tone, swap eye color, and airbrush fat lines and creases, reports the Daily Telegraph . While many are riled, to some, this is not news: "You kind... More »

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baby • Photoshop • digital retouching • babies • airbrush

 Plastics 'Feminizing' Baby Boys 

In utero exposure linked to different behaviors

Nov 16, 09 5:25 AM CST
(Newser) - Pregnant women's exposure to plastics is "feminizing" the baby boys they give birth to, researchers have found. Heightened in utero exposure to plastics is linked to reduced interest by boys in "rough and tumble" play and also to more typically masculine toys, like trucks, trains and guns, found... More »

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toys • in utero • GE Plastics • phthalates • girls • boy • babies • masculine

Babies Cry in Their Parents' Language

Within 3 days, French, German infants wail differently

Nov 7, 09 5:04 AM CST
(Newser) - It’s apparently possible for a baby to cry in French. Within three days of birth, babies begin to pick up the accent of their parents, according to a study. Researchers analyzed 60 newborns—half French, half German—and discovered that soon the French babies took on a specific cry,... More »

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baby • accent • child development • babies


 Disney Offers 
 Refunds for Failed 
 Baby Einsteins

Videos may mesmerize kids, but they don't prompt development

Oct 24, 09 6:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Parents disappointed that junior isn't a prodigy can get now get a refund from Disney. Threatened with a class-action lawsuit, the makers of Baby Einstein products have withdrawn claims that the ubiquitous videos are beneficial to childhood development, and offered to refund the $15.99 parents shelled out if they... More »

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parents • Baby Einstein • babies • women's issues • children's videos • educational videos

Gov't to Japanese: Have Babies, We'll Pay You 

But cash alone might not be enough to raise birth rate

Oct 8, 09 9:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - With Japan’s aging, pension-collecting population eating away at the country's coffers, its leaders have decided they need more kids who can in turn support the elderly—and they’re willing to pay for them. They’re proposing a program that would pay new parents $3,300 a year for... More »

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parenting • Japan • parents • babies

 Half of US Babies Will See 100 

Upward life expectancy trend shows no signs of slowing

Oct 2, 09 10:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - More than half of the children born today in wealthy developed countries will live to see their 100th birthday. New research coming out of Denmark also suggests life expectancy in general has increased dramatically as medicine and diagnosis of diseases afflicting the elderly have improved. Since the 1950s, the BBC... More »

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medicine • elderly • Europe • life expectancy • Denmark • lifespan • developed countries • scientific study • babies

 Spanked Kids 
 Have Lower IQs 

Offspring of hands-off parents test better: scientists

Sep 25, 09 12:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - American children whose parents use spanking for discipline have lower IQs than those who aren't spanked, a new study finds. Researchers assessed about 800 2- to 4-year-olds and 700 5- to 9-year-olds and revisited them 4 years later, reporting a dropoff of up to 5 IQ points in kids whose... More »

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parenting • children • discipline • scientific study • spanking • corporal punishment • babies

Winter Babies' Real Problem? Less-Educated Mothers

Accidental find shines light on old conundrum

Sep 22, 09 8:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - For years, economists have been trying to explain why winter babies have it so tough. In study after study, those born in winter consistently perform worse in school, earn less, and are less healthy than peers born at other times of year. Now Notre Dame economists Kasey Buckles and Daniel... More »

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education • economics • statistics • Freakonomics • babies

(Newser) - If you’ve had a few kids, you know that you don’t need half of the baby products littering the shelves of Babies “R” Us, but new parents are easy prey for marketers. Brad Tuttle offers a list of the silliest, most useless crap in Time:
... More »

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parenting • shopping • list • baby • babies

Mohammed Now London's Most Popular Boys Name 

Prophet's name knocks Daniel into second place in British capital

Sep 16, 09 7:25 AM CDT
(Newser) - Mohammed has beaten out old favorites like Jack and Oliver to become the most popular name for baby boys in London, the Telegraph reports. British government figures show that the name—when variant spellings like "Muhammed" are included—is more than twice as popular in the British capital as... More »

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London • Muslim • Mohammed • Britain • baby name • babies

ANALYSIS

A Post-Racial Society? Your Toddler Would Beg to Differ

Kids learn racial difference early, and parents aren't helping

Sep 6, 09 1:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Parents, if you think you’re raising color-blind children by avoiding open discussions on race, you’re wrong and could actually be doing the opposite, Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman write in a lengthy Newsweek article exposing how babies really learn about racial difference. Many white parents shy away from... More »

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race • children • parents • race relations • racism • post-racial • desegregation • babies

 How Playpens Slowly 
 Disappeared 

Once-'ubiquitous' enclosure got a bad rap; was it deserved?

Aug 10, 09 3:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Playpens used to be a standard piece of household furniture—but now, one rarely sees them, notes Tom Vanderbilt in Slate. That sparked him to ponder whether, and why, parents had given up on them. A little digging revealed that while they still exist, some believe them to be dangerous... More »

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parenting • children • toddler • trend • babies • women's issues

 Fetuses Form Memories: Study 

At 30 weeks, have 10-minute memory

Jul 16, 09 10:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Fetuses can form memories, an important indicator of nervous-system maturation that may help doctors detect developmental problems, Dutch researchers say. Fetuses exposed to sound and vibration for 1 second every 30 seconds became accustomed to the stimuli, a process known as habituation. "Habituation is a form of learning,"... More »

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pregnancy • memory • parenting • study • research • fetus • prenatal care • Down Syndrome • pregnant women • babies

Kid's Looks May Affect Mom's Love: Study

Women more likely than men to look away
from ugly babies

Jun 24, 09 12:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - A mother’s love may be “determined by facial attractiveness,” a new study suggests in finding that women were more likely than men to avert their gaze from an unattractive baby. Researchers showed men and women photos of normal and abnormal infants; men and women gave equal attractiveness... More »

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parenting • women • men • love • baby • mother • babies • looks

 Study: Babies Born Before 40 Weeks Have Lower IQs

Research casts doubt on benefits of inducing birth at 37 or 38 weeks

Jun 24, 09 1:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - New research suggests that inducing birth two or three weeks ahead of the full 40 weeks isn't as harmless as many doctors believe, the Globe and Mail reports. The study found that children born after 37 weeks tended to have IQs 1.7 points lower than those born at 38... More »

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pregnancy • baby • birth • premature birth • gestation • babies

(Newser) - Red panda mom Shan Tou has surprised zoo keepers in Fargo, ND, by giving birth to triplets, InForum reports. “This is huge," a Red River Zoo executive said. Red pandas, an endangered species, often have one or two cubs, but triplets are rare. "It’s been 10... More »

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zoo • birth • North Dakota • panda • Fargo • babies • triplets

CD Smells Like Teen Spirit,
Sounds Like a Lullaby

Cobain 'Lullaby' Sending Tots to Slumber Land


May 28, 09 6:39 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new CD is lulling babies to sleep with the gentle sounds of Nirvana, AC/DC, and Queen, the Sun reports. The makers of Rockabye Baby created lullaby renditions of hits like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" with xylophones, wood blocks, and glockenspiels. The CD—which also includes songs from Bob... More »

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music • Kurt Cobain • Nirvana • rock music • babies

'Co-Sleeping' Puts Babies at Risk of Death

Sharing bed or couch with an adult imperils infants: UK docs

Apr 29, 09 9:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Sleeping with an infant on a bed or sofa is dangerous for the baby, new research finds. The risk of unexpected infant death goes up for babies sleeping somewhere other than their cribs, especially for parents who smoke or who have been drinking. The study found that half of sudden... More »

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parenting • health research • babies • cribs • co-sleeping

(Newser) - Tormented Dr. Meredith Grey of Grey's Anatomy will be heading to the hospital for real soon when actress Ellen Pompeo delivers her first baby, reports People. Pompeo, 39, and hubby Chris Ivery, 41, are said to be "ecstatic" about the pregnancy. "It's great news," said their spokeswoman.... More »

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pregnancy • parenting • Grey's Anatomy • celebrity pregnancy • Ellen Pompeo • Chris Ivery • TV doctors • babies

19 Stories


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