Divides in parent opinion complicate school reopening push gjsentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gjsentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
UPDATED:23:16 EST, 20 October 2012
When it comes to the birds and the bees, some parents may want to have that talk with their boys a little sooner than they expected.
Researchers have found signs of puberty in American boys up to two years earlier than previously reported – age 9 on average for blacks, 10 for whites and Hispanics. Other studies have suggested that girls, too, are entering puberty younger.
Why is this happening? Theories range from higher levels of obesity and inactivity to chemicals in food and water, all of which might interfere with normal hormone production. But those are just theories, and they remain unproven.
Sponsored Story
By StoryStudio December 21, 2020 2:57 pm
(BPT) – Newborns need a lot of sleep, but rarely does it seem like they are ever actually sleeping. Ask any parent and they will tell you that they spend far more time trying to put baby down to rest than the amount of time baby remains asleep! It’s a tale most parents are all too familiar with: the 3 am feedings, followed by hours of tossing and turning, and then, before they have a moment to shut their eyes, the next feeding. Welcome to the 3am Club.
“Sleepless nights are difficult whether it’s your first child or you’ve been around the baby block a few times before,” says Natalie Willes, expert baby sleep trainer. “It’s fundamentally important for both the parent and child to get adequate rest, yet this is often easier said than done. Fortunately, there are methods to help you succeed.”
AP Photos
My 16-year-old daughter and I recently celebrated a rite of passage: she had her ears pierced. We drove to the shopping mall, she picked out a pretty pair of gold studs, and I was presented with permission papers and consent forms. After I had signed these forms (in triplicate), my daughter and I were given instructions on how to properly clean her ears and what we should do if an infection developed.
Opinion
As the mother of three teenage daughters, I am well aware of the vast number of routine procedures like my daughter’s pierced ears and activities like participation in a field trip that require parental involvement and consent. Knowing how the law strives to protect minors, I was shocked to see the Chicago Sun-Times’ editorial endorsing the elimination of the Illinois Parental Notification of Abortion Act. (“Repeal law that requires parents to be notified when a minor seeks an abortion,” Feb. 7.) Illinois law currently requires that an adult family me