CatherineMom's Blog

Milk and cookies may be a beloved combination, but a US doctor has raised concerns over kids eating late-night sugary snacks. Dr Julie Wei says the combination of sugar and dairy late at night could be causing runny noses, coughs, sore throats and fatigue. After treating a number of children with these chronic symptoms, she found that many of them frequently had sugary snacks such as cookies, as...

Almost two in five nine-year-olds in Ireland have reported being bullied, according to figures revealed during a conference in Dublin yesterday. The findings also showed that while boys were bullied more than girls, girls were more likely to experience cyber-bullying. It was highlighted that with cyber-bullying extending outside of school hours, children experiencing this were being denied a safe...

Do you sometimes feel like your kids are speaking another language? With the young social networking generation creating new slang words at lightening speed, many parents are struggling to keep up with ever-changing vocabulary. But help is at hand. A professor of linguistics from Lancaster University has developed a new dictionary to help parents translate conversations with their tweens as part...

A new study has found pregnant women in Ireland are drinking significantly more during pregnancy than women in other countries. While the research didn't look at the effect of alcohol on the developing baby’s brain, it did find that alcohol consumption hadn't adversely affected the baby’s weight or caused premature births. The research carried out in University College Cork found eight...

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has advised against further folic acid fortification of food An international conference at Trinity College Dublin was told that there were no additional benefits to mandatory folic acid fortification of bread in Ireland. After conducting a blood monitoring study of the Irish population, the FSAI found that folic acid intake remains high mainly due to voluntary...

Children in some parts of Ireland will have to wait up to four years for orthodontic treatment, it has been claimed. The Orthodontic Society of Ireland say there are not enough orthodontists to cope with demand and estimate that the average waiting list time for children is in the region of three years. As part of specialist orthodontist awareness week, the OSI is highlighting the pitfalls of...

The British Education Secretary has been criticised for claiming that every child needs a “room of one’s own” to reach their academic potential. Critics have pointed out that new rules introduced in the UK say that children under 16 in a home receiving housing benefit have to share a room with a sibling of the same gender. The measures, dubbed a ‘bedroom tax’, also state that brothers...

In an attempt to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity in America, schools in 19 US states are weighing children and measuring their body mass index. Pupils are being sent home with report cards informing their parents whether they are “healthy” or “overweight”. While officials say the measurements are useful in tackling obesity, many parents have criticised the practice...

New research shows children in the UK are now working over 54 hours a week between school and extra-curricular activities. The study found parents are over-timetabling their children with extra-curricular activities in addition to their school commitments in order to give them an advantage. Most children already complete 32.5 hours at school Monday to Friday, as well as seven hours and 28 minutes...

Parents are paying more than they need to for their children’s ebook education as Irish schools are insisting on iPads. The National Parents Council Post Primary says parents aren’t being given a choice between tablet devices. "Schools are specifying iPads, which cost up to €500 before (you buy) ebooks," said NPCPP president Don Myers. "I'm aware of other companies offering ebook...