Behind the Headlines

Does tough love work?

Friday Apr 19 2013

"Smacking does children no harm if they feel loved, study claims," The Daily Telegraph reports. The study in question was looking at the experiences of Mexican-American teenagers and how they reacted to physical punishment…

Can music help premature infants sleep and feed?

Tuesday Apr 16 2013

“Playing music to premature babies ‘helps them sleep and improves their breathing’” is the headline in the Daily Mail about research into the effects of ‘music therapy’ on premature babies. While positive effects were found, it is still unclear…

Report finds children's units lack 24/7 care

Friday Apr 12 2013

The Mail Online website warns that children’s hospital services are “not providing 24/7 care”, while The Guardian argues that “child services are spread too thinly”. The Independent makes the point that “Children [are] at risk until NHS units close”…

High UK child death rates unfairly blamed on GPs

Thursday Mar 28 2013

"Almost 2,000 British children a year die from 'avoidable' causes because family doctors lack training in paediatric care," The Independent alarmingly claims. The story comes from a review of health services for children across 15 countries...

New guidelines on child antisocial behaviour

Wednesday Mar 27 2013

BBC News is reporting that there is a new ‘Guide to help parents to spot 'problem behaviour’’, while The Daily Telegraph claims that ‘More than one million parents could be offered state-funded lessons…

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Do TV and video games really make kids naughty?

Tuesday Mar 26 2013

“Watching TV for three hours a day will not harm your children”, The Independent reports. However, The Daily Express contradicts this, saying “Too much television turns children into monsters”. In this case…

Doubt cast on benefit of vitamin D in pregnancy

Tuesday Mar 19 2013

"Guidelines could be overstating the importance of taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy," The Independent has reported. The newspaper reports on a large UK study that appears to contradict advice that vitamin D supplements in pregnancy...

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Postnatal depression hits one in seven mothers

Thursday Mar 14 2013

As many as one in seven women could have postnatal depression, The Daily Telegraph reports, citing one of the largest screening studies of the condition carried out in recent times. US researchers interviewed...

Reports of 'HIV cure' are premature

Monday Mar 4 2013

Global news coverage has been dominated by the potentially groundbreaking news that a child born with HIV appears to have been ‘cured’ of the infection. The Guardian reports that US doctors have made medical history…

Video games tested as treatment for dyslexia

Friday Mar 1 2013

"Video games help reading in children with dyslexia," BBC News reports. The news is based on a study that found video games could be a new treatment for dyslexia in children...