Lifestyle

Now, yet more evidence that children’s health is in dire need of attention: A new study released today shows that almost a quarter of teens have diabetes or prediabetes.

Almost a quarter.

That’s up from 9 percent a decade ago, according to a study in the June 2012 issue of Pediatrics, published online today.

The findings come from a report that looked more broadly at the risk factors teens have for cardiovascular disease. “Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among U.S. Adolescents, 1999-2008” examined data from nearly 3,400 adolescents age 12 to 19 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The authors, affiliated with The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, set out to examine why American teens have become more susceptible to cardiovascular disease — the leading cause of death among U.S. adults.

They found little significant change in the last decade for teen rates of hypertension or abnormal cholesterol. There was also little change in the percentage of overweight and obese teens, but at 34 percent that figure remains troubling.

It was the spike in diabetes and prediabetes that stood out.

There’s only one thing worse than getting stuck on a flight with a screaming baby and that’s being the parent of said baby, in charge of keeping him or her quiet and happy. The stakes feel even higher after the March news story of the toddler who threw a tantrum and got her family of four kicked off a JetBlue flight.  
The Eric Carle firefly is easy to pack and has lots of colorful features for a baby to explore. (Rachel Saslow)

Making sure your baby is fed and rested is the best way to keep the peace, but bringing some toys on board will help, too. Airplane toys have some special restrictions: They can’t be bulky or heavy because they have to fit in the diaper bag. Balls don’t work because they’ll roll down the aisle in two seconds and you’ll never see them again. They also can’t be super noisy and annoying. You don’t want to make your seatmates listen to a computerized voice say, “Amarrillo…yellow! Verde…green!” from takeoff to landing.

 I’ve flown cross-country with my daughter three times so far. The trips have ranged from nightmarish (she had an upset stomach from D.C. to Oregon. I’ll leave it at that.) to pretty easy. As the mother of a 9-month-old, I don’t pretend to know what would entertain older children, so I’m sticking to infant toys.

Here are a few suggestions for keeping your baby happy and entertained during the next flight, which for many of us will be soon as Memorial Day weekend and summer vacation quickly approaches.

Today’s Post story recounting the alleged acts of Eric Toth, a former teacher at the District’s exclusive Beauvoir elementary school, is hard for any parent to read.

Before the evidence of his child pornography collection and possible abuse surfaced and Toth escaped, becoming one of the FBI’s Most Wanted fugitives, he “worked where he had access to kids, ingratiated himself with families and got extended alone time with their children, sometimes as a tutor. Then he allegedly exploited children and took pictures of them for gratification,” Allison Klein reported.
Eric Toth’s picture on a billboard in Times Square. (FBI)

It’s an especially haunting story for parents now, given that many of us are poised to send children to summer camps and programs with unfamiliar staffs.

It reminds me of the old adage “Trust but verify.”

Last month, LexisNexis released a report on the screenings the company had conducted for nonprofit organizations since 2007. It revealed that a significant proportion of potential employees and volunteers, 22 percent, were found to have serious criminal convictions.

Remember, those employees were already self-selected. They presumably applied for jobs with the understanding that their backgrounds would be searched.

File this under “Where Are They Now.”

Or, maybe, ‘Told You So.”

Post readers may recall the story of Zoe Rosso, a preschooler who was suspended from her Arlington school in December of 2010 after she had too many potty accidents.

Her story, written first by Brigid Schulte the following January, triggered an outpouring of response.

(BIGSTOCK) Some parents were outraged that a school (in this case, Arlington Public Schools’ Montessori preschool at Claremont Elementary) “removed” Zoe, who was 3 at the time, because she had frequent accidents. Others defended the school and saw Zoe’s mother as a symbol of all those parents who disregard the common preschool rule that children be potty-trained.

It turns out the story is much more complicated.

Zoe became the subject of a book about what the authors say is a common but often undiagnosed medical problem that leads to potty accidents. “It’s No Accident: Breakthrough Solutions To Your Child’s Wetting, Constipation, UTIs and Other Potty Problems,” by Steve Hodges, a pediatric urologist, and Suzanne Schlosberg, a health writer, (Lyons Press, February 2012), picks up Zoe’s case where the publicity left off.

When people learn that I’m the KidsPost editor at The Washington Post, the reaction is nearly universal.
Virginia Google doodler Eileen Powell. (Google)

“That must be the most fun job.”

True confession time. It is.

I learn something new every day. (Did you know more tornadoes strike the United States than any other nation on Earth?)

By and large the news we deal with can be considered “happy.” And when we have to tackle something serious (How does a nuclear reactor work? Why are people dancing in the streets over the death of some guy named Osama? Are we going to have another earthquake?), we do it in an explanatory way that seems to be welcomed as much by 40-year-olds as by 8-year-olds.

And the kids I meet are enough to restore your faith in kids — and parents and teachers — everywhere.