News
Children & Young People
National: Scientists find link between maternal diet and diabetes,
BBC News, 8 March 2011.
Scientists say they have found a mechanism which may explain why a poor diet during pregnancy can increase the risk of offspring developing diabetes in later life. They say rat...
National: Mum’s diet can make baby diabetic,
Wales Online, 8 March 2011.
WHAT a woman eats while pregnant could increase her child’s risk of developing potentially life-threatening diseases in adulthood. Research pinpointed how eating habits during the...
Local: £1.4m plan is helping overweight children to MEND their ways,
Wales Online, 7 March 2011.
CHILDREN who took part in a pioneering weight management programme in Wales are exercising more and watching less television, figures today reveal. More than 2,000 Welsh...
Local: Family healthy weight management programme making a difference,
WAG, 4 March 2011.
Children and young people who took part in the first all-Wales weight management programme are exercising more, eating healthier and spending less time watching TV...
National: Sugary soft drinks linked to high blood pressure,
BBC News, 1 March 2011.
Drinking too many sugary beverages appears to raise the risk of high blood pressure, experts are warning. Findings suggest blood pressure goes up incrementally for every extra can of...
National: Advice for managing child fever,
NHS Choices, 1 March 2011.
"Parents should not give children with a mild fever regular spoonfuls of paracetamol and ibuprofen, doctors advise today, as they warn that doing so could extend their illness or...
National: Symptoms of child infections studied,
NHS Choices, 28 February 2011.
BBC News has reported that doctors should check ill children for leg pain, confusion, stiff neck and sensitivity to light, as they are "red flag" symptoms for meningitis. The news is...
Local: Eating as a family will improve kids’ health,
Wales Online, 28 February 2011.
IT HAS recently been reported that eating meals at the table as a family could help combat childhood obesity. Family meals, filled with lots of conversation and chatter, encourage...
Local: Why we need more girls to stay with sport,
Wales Online, 28 February 2011.
A LACK of high-profile female sporting heroes could be a reason why large numbers of teenage girls drop out of sport every year. Experts have spoken of their concern about...
National: Ministers urged to give more help to young offenders,
BBC News, 28 February 2011.
The government could save money if it put more effort into supporting young offenders leaving custody, a children's charity has said. Barnardo's says children as young as 13 are...
National: Parents warned against giving paracetamol and ibuprofen for mild fever,
Telegraph, 28 February 2011.
A misplaced "fever phobia" in society means parents too frequently use both medicines to bring down even slight temperatures, say a group of American paediatricians, who warn...
National: Children given sweets when they are good are the most likely to end up fat and unhappy,
Telegraph, 27 February 2011.
A poll of more than 2,000 people has found those given edible treats in childhood for behaving well had a higher chance of becoming heavily overweight, or of developing an...
Local: ‘I’m to blame’ for 40st frame, says UK’s heaviest teen,
Wales Online, 27 February 2011.
BRITAIN’S heaviest teen has insisted that she alone is to blame for her ballooning weight, despite her mum’s feelings of guilt. Aberdare teenager Georgia Davis was whisked away...
National: Doctors offered meningitis 'red flag' advice,
BBC News, 26 February 2011.
Doctors should check for leg pain, confusion, stiff neck and sensitivity to light in children as the "red flags" for meningitis, a study says. Headaches, pale colour and cold hands and...
Local: School nurses ‘help reduce underage pregnancies in Wales’,
Wales Online, 23 February 2011.
A fall in the rate of underage pregnancies in Wales is partly thanks to school nurses helping young people make the right decisions, it was argued yesterday. Bringing in nurses at...
National: Teenage pregnancies at lowest level since 1980s,
Telegraph, 23 February 2011.
Conceptions among under-18s fell by almost 6 per cent last year, the Office for National Statistics said, while the rate among older women continued to rise. However the...
National: The rise and rise of allergies,
BBC News, 23 February 2011.
Research published in 2007 showed the number of hospital admissions for food allergies had increased by 500% since 1990. Meanwhile, cases of hay fever, asthma and eczema have...
National: NICE warns of alternative allergy tests,
NHS Choices, 23 February 2011.
The Guardian reports that "alternative tests for children's food allergies - such as hair analysis or muscle weakness - must be avoided because there is little evidence they work." The...
National: Alternative allergy test offers 'mislead parents',
BBC News, 23 February 2011.
There is no scientific evidence that complementary therapies or kits sold through websites can identify allergies, the NHS watchdog NICE says. It said sites for services such as hair...
National: Food allergy kits 'don't work' warn doctors,
Telegraph, 23 February 2011.
Experts from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) said many parents resorted to food allergy tests that can be bought online for about £60, because getting...
Local: Availability of sex education questioned by leading doctor,
Wales Online, 22 February 2011.
A leading doctor has questioned the quality and availability of sex education in Welsh schools. Dr Richard Lewis, Welsh secretary of the British Medical Association believes the nation’s...
National: Figures show a fall in pregnancy rates among under-18s,
BBC News, 22 February 2011.
Pregnancies in girls under 18 in England and Wales have fallen to levels not seen since the early 1980s, according to new government figures. The rate of conceptions in under-18s...
Local: Childhood obesity almost "inevitable", say experts,
Wales Online, 21 February 2011.
Childhood obesity is almost “inevitable” because of the way society is organised, experts are set to tell a major Welsh health conference. An abundance of cheap, unhealthy food, the...
Local: Research shows how sleep helps youngsters,
Wales Online, 21 February 2011.
RESEARCH has already highlighted that poor sleep quality has a negative impact on health for adults. But a new study shows this applies to children too. The US research found children...
Local: Obesity epidemic in Welsh children inevitable warn experts,
Wales Online, 20 February 2011.
CHEAP, unhealthy food has made childhood obesity in Wales “inevitable”, experts claim. Leading health figures have told Wales on Sunday the tens of millions of pounds spent by...
National: Children's diets 'still lack nutrition',
NHS Choices, 18 February 2011.
Today’s children are a junk food generation facing a "diabetes timebomb" according to The Daily Mail. The newspaper says that research into the modern diet of UK children also...
Local: Making high quality childcare accessible and affordable,
WAG, 16 February 2011.
Making high quality childcare accessible and affordable has a key role to play in reducing child poverty, Deputy Minister Huw Lewis said today as he launched the Welsh Assembly...
National: Risks of energy drinks examined,
NHS Choices, 15 February 2011.
"Energy drinks could be dangerous for children and teenagers," The Daily Telegraph has reported. The newspaper said that the use of high-caffeine drinks has been linked to...
Local: Families go without food to pay winter fuel bills,
Wales Online, 15 February 2011.
ONE of the coldest winters in a century saw Welsh people risking their health by switching off heating in the face of rising energy bills, a report has found. The Bevan Foundation...
Local: Child abuse affects one in five,
Wales Online, 15 February 2011.
ONE in five secondary school pupils in Wales and across the UK have been severely abused or neglected during childhood, according to a survey for the NSPCC. With almost a million...
Local: Teenage pregnancy: Are we failing our children?,
Wales Online, 14 February 2011.
Dr Richard Lewis asks whether Wales’ high teenage pregnancy rate means we’re failing young people. WALES has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in Europe, and as a GP...
National: Child worker checks to be reduced, say ministers,
BBC News, 11 February 2011.
Millions of people in England and Wales who work or volunteer with children and vulnerable adults will no longer need criminal record checks, ministers say. Deputy Prime Minister Nick...
Local: New film puts impact of childhood fuel poverty in the spotlight,
Consumer Focus Wales, 9 February 2011.
The life-altering impact of living with fuel poverty has been brought vividly to life in a new film featuring children and young people from across Wales. The short film and accompanying...
Local: Wales continues to lead the way on children's rights,
WAG, 10 February 2011.
Wales' Deputy Minister for Children, Huw Lewis will today meet with Ministers from across the UK to discuss Children's Rights and to highlight the continuous priority Wales is giving to...
National: School singing 'can boost children's well-being',
BBC News, 9 February 2011.
Singing in school can make children feel more positive about themselves and build a sense of community, research based on 10,000 children suggests. An evaluation by the Institute...
National: Children's screen habits revealed,
BBC News, 1 February 2011.
UK children watch an average of more than two and a half hours of television a day and spend an hour and 50 minutes online a day, a poll suggests. A survey of 2,445 children...
National: Food for thought - diet does boost your intelligence,
Telegraph, 8 February 2011.
Toddlers fed a diet packed high in fats, sugars, and processed foods had lower IQs than those fed pasta, salads and fruit, it was found. The effect is so great that researchers...
National: Healthy diet 'boosts childhood IQ',
BBC News, 8 February 2011.
Eating chips, chocolate and cake may be damaging to a child's intelligence, according to researchers at Bristol University. Their study suggests a link between a diet high in...
National: Children warned over dangers of 'sexting',
BBC News, 8 February 2011.
Children and young people are being warned about sending sexually explicit images of themselves to others. A 10-minute film showing the problems of "sexting" has been...
National: Pre-school pupils are still better readers aged 15,
BBC News, 8 February 2011.
Children who have been in pre-school education are likely to be much better readers when they are aged 15, reveals a study of international test results. The OECD has published an...
Local: Families are encouraged to make and keep active pledge,
Wales Online, 7 February 2011.
EVERY family in Wales is being urged to make and keep a promise to become active. The idea of a nationwide pledge to boost Wales’ poor activity rates is part of Sport Wales’...
National: Weaning too early or late could lead to childhood obesity,
Telegraph, 7 February 2011.
Weaning a baby too early or too late could increase its chances of becoming an obese child, researchers have found. Among bottle-fed babies, the best age to introduce solids...
National: Unscrupulous parents seek ADHD diagnosis for benefits,
BBC News, 6 February 2011.
Head teachers claim stimulants are being over-prescribed to young children, who they suspect are not sufferers of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). They say...
National: Child safety vetting scheme 'to be scrapped',
BBC News, 5 February 2011.
scheme for vetting people who work with children is to be scrapped, the government is preparing to announce. The Daily Telegraph reports that following a review of the Vetting...
National: Diabetes link to virus boosted,
NHS Choices, 4 February 2011.
Children with type 1 diabetes are nearly 10 times as likely to have a particular viral infection than children without diabetes, BBC News has reported. This news is based on a high...
National: ADHD children 'should have diets assessed',
NHS Choices, 4 February 2011.
Scientists have suggested, "children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)... should be put on a restricted diet for several weeks to establish whether particular foods...
Local: Sport initiative in east Cardiff kicks off,
Guardian Cardiff, 4 February 2011.
A community initiative to get young people in sporting activities in east Cardiff has seen crime figures drop. Anti-social behaviour in east Cardiff has dropped after a successful sport...
National: Children are at risk of getting rickets, says doctor,
BBC News, 4 February 2011.
We are all aware of the dangers of too much sun, especially for children. But has the safe sun message inadvertently created vitamin D deficiencies, resulting in a resurgence in...
National: Library users 'become better readers',
BBC News, 4 February 2011.
Children who use their local public library are twice as likely to be above average readers, a report has said. A survey of 17,000 children in Great Britain for the National Literacy Trust...
National: Children's TV is in crisis, says Floella Benjamin,
BBC News, 3 February 2011.
Former Play School presenter Floella Benjamin has urged ministers and broadcasters to "wake up" to a "crisis" in children's programming. The Liberal Democrat peer warned against too...
National: Genes 'play key role in classroom performance',
BBC News, 3 February 2011.
Politicians may be keen to measure schools' effectiveness, but the quality of the school environment is only half of the story, researchers have found. Academics at King's College...
Local: Tackling child poverty must remain a priority for all, says First Minister,
WAG, 2 February 2011.
A new strategy to tackle child poverty in Wales was published today by the Welsh Assembly Government. Launching the new Child Poverty Strategy at Llwynhendy Children's Centre in...
Local: Poor pupils go hungry rather than face shame of free school meals, report warns,
Daily Post, 2 February 2011.
POVERTY-hit pupils revealed how they went hungry rather than face the shame of handing over a token for their free school meal when classmates pay with cash. Young people also...
National: Worries over plan to fix young mental health problems,
BBC Newsbeat, 2 February 2011.
The Government has pledged £400m to help young people in England who have mental health problems get the right care. One in 10 between the ages of five and 16...
Local: Kids glued to screens for 36m hours,
Wales Online, 1 February 2011.
CHILDREN across Wales are spending more than four hours a day in front of TV and computer screens, research suggests. On average, youngsters clock up an hour and 50...
Local: £3.6m protects Bookstart programme in Wales,
WAG, 1 February 2011.
Children remain a top priority for the Welsh Assembly Government, Deputy Minister for Children Huw Lewis said today as he confirmed that funding for four Basic Skills...
Local: Bushcraft expert helps launch 24/7 helpline,
WAG, 26 January 2011.
Bushcraft expert Andrew Price today joined Deputy Minister for Children Huw Lewis to announce that the Meic helpline for under 25s in Wales will be extending its opening...
National: Researchers launch mobile device 'to spot paedophiles',
BBC News, 24 January 2011.
A mobile phone application which claims to identify adults posing as children is to be released. The team behind Child Defence says the app can analyse language to generate an age...
Local: Children's rights measure moves forward in Wales,
WAG, 21 January 2011.
The rights of children in Wales took another step forward this week when the National Assembly for Wales approved the Proposed Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales)...
National: Does typing make learning harder?,
NHS Choices, 21 January 2011.
"Children who write by hand 'learn better than those who type'," reported the Daily Mail. The newspaper is referring to a scientific paper discussing the theory that the physical...
National: MP Graham Allen calls for early years intervention,
BBC News, 19 January 2011.
Early intervention will improve the lives of vulnerable children and help break the cycle of "dysfunction and under-achievement", a report says. The government-commissioned...
National: Children prescribed antibiotics are twice as likely to develop digestive problems, scientists claim,
Telegraph, 18 January 2011.
The study, published in the health journal Gut, looked at the medical and prescription records of 580,000 children over an eight-year period. It found that youngsters who had...
National: Mothers admit to parenting lies, Netmums survey says,
BBC News, 17 January 2011.
Many mothers are under so much pressure to appear like perfect parents that they cover up how much television their children watch or what they cook their families, according to a...
National: Being a stay-at home dad 'tiring but very rewarding',
BBC News, 17 January 2011.
From April, fathers will be able to share maternity leave with their wives. Currently they get just two weeks off after a child is born, while women can take up to a year. So what is it...
National: Clegg unveils plan for couples to share maternity leave,
BBC News, 17 January 2011.
The Deputy Prime Minister will this morning outline plans to allow couples to share maternity leave. The change in April allows fathers to take up any remaining unpaid leave if their...
Local: Welsh schools in Olympic link with Shawn Johnson,
BBC News, 15 January 2011.
Pupils and teachers at two Welsh schools are set to share their own Olympic dreams with schools in the United States as part of a new project. Ysgol Bryn Alyn secondary in...
National: Call for breastfeeding advice to be re-examined,
NHS Choices, 14 January 2011.
"Babies 'need solid food as well as breast milk' in first six months," reported the Daily Mirror. The BBC said: "Weaning before six months 'may help breastfed babies'." These and many...
Local: Sport Wales launches new vision for families,
Wales Online, 14 January 2011.
A DYNAMIC new vision under which everyone in Wales will be urged to improve their fitness level is being launched today. Sport Wales is calling on families to play their part in getting...
Local: Sport Wales wants five hours sport a week for children,
BBC News, 14 January 2011.
Children should have the chance to play sport for five hours a week, sports chiefs say. Sport Wales called for families to help get the nation active and said taking part in sport should...
Local: Thousands of children benefit from brushing scheme,
WAG, 14 January 2011.
Over 30,000 children are now benefiting from the scheme, delivered through 500 schools, improving their oral health and preventing tooth decay. Following successful pilots in north...
National: Weaning before six months 'may help breastfed babies',
BBC News, 14 January 2011.
Relying purely on breastfeeding for the first six months might not be best for babies, experts in the UK have warned. In the British Medical Journal, the team said breastfed babies may...
National: Too much breastfeeding 'puts children off greens',
Independent, 14 January 2011.
If you want your child to eat their greens, do not continue with exclusive breast feeding for too long, child health experts say today. Breast is best for babies, but delaying the...
Local: Apply for final Child Trust Fund top-up before it's too late,
WAG, 10 January 2011.
Parents and guardians of children who were born between 31 August 2004 and 1 September 2005 have until 31 January to submit their application forms for the Child Trust...
National: Interns 'should be paid £2.50-an-hour training wage',
BBC News, 10 January 2011.
Young people working as interns for three months or more should be paid a £2.50-an-hour training wage, a leading business group is recommending. The Chartered Institute of...
Local: Pupils 'ban' on buying food outside school suggested,
BBC News, 7 January 2011.
Schools in Wales should ban pupils from buying food outside their grounds, says a major study into school meals. Schools should make it clear that crisps and a drink is no longer...
National: Splitting tablets 'may mean patients take wrong doses',
BBC News, 6 January 2011.
Splitting pills could lead to patients taking the wrong doses, a study suggests. Researchers from Ghent University in Belgium said there could be "serious clinical consequences" for...
National: Early periods and depression studied,
NHS Choices, 4 January 2011.
"Girls who go through puberty early are more likely to suffer mental health problems in their teenage years," The Daily Telegraph reported. The newspaper suggested that these...
National: Teen heart risks 'can be tackled', a study suggests,
BBC News, 4 January 2011.
Health campaigns targeted at teens could help reduce their risk of heart problems as adults, a study suggests. Concerns have been raised that warning signs like high cholesterol are...
Local: Rise in flu levels expected in Wales after children return to school,
Wales Online, 1 January 2011.
Public health experts have urged parents to send their children to school as usual despite rising levels of flu. Most public schools will reopen after the Christmas break on Tuesday...
