Child safety dependent on carers’ ability to hear

The Better Hearing Institute has implored parents to ensure that more elderly relatives who look after their children can hear well to ensure that their children remain safe.

“If your child’s babysitter is one of the 24 million people who need hearing aids and don’t have them, there could be serious problems,” warned Dr Sergei Kochkin, Executive Director of the BHI. “The risks of not hearing a smoke or carbon monoxide detector could be fatal, as they have been for some. Not hearing weather warnings could expose them, and your children, to a flood, tornado, or hurricane. Spending too much time speech reading while driving can cause a crash, as can failing to hear a siren.”

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Computer games can help adults bond with their kids, casual gaming survey reveals

According to a recent worldwide casual gaming survey, 70% of family members have seen educational benefits of their children and grandchildren playing computer games, while a whopping 92% say that casual games provide an opportunity for them to bond with them.

PopCap Games commissioned the survey and found some other interesting statistics that suggest not all video games are bad, either educationally or in terms of isolating kids.

Casual games provided the following observed benefits: improved hand-eye coordination and mental dexterity (68%), improved learning, such as pattern recognition and spelling (60%), mental workouts/cognitive exercises (51%), strengthened memory (48%), stress relief and relaxation (44%), and confidence building/affirmation (37%).

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5 ways to celebrate National Grandparents’ Day

September 9th is “National Grandparents’ Day”, and members of the Los Angeles Jewish Home, the largest group of 90-year-olds in the US, have come up with their top five tips on how people of all ages, with or without grandparents, can mark the day.

1. Visit: If you don’t have one, visit residents of a nearby home and perhaps share a meal or conversation. Sixty percent of nursing home residents never have a visitor. The enriching benefit for young and old of such interaction is incalculable.

2. Write a note: If you can’t visit, send an old-fashioned note or card. Though computer use is on the upswing with seniors, remember that “good writing is clear thinking made visible;” and everyone likes to receive something personal — like a poem or artwork — in the mail.

3. Call: And if you forget to send a note in time, give a call. In a world of text messaging, taking the time to call goes a long way.

4. Ask questions: Grandparents are usually the ultimate repository of family history. Knowing it is being passed down to future generations is often a comfort to everyone in the family.

5. Adopt: People of all ages are willing to make new friends. Many seniors are not fortunate to have a family nearby. There are thousands of seniors who would love to be a foster grandparent.

More British grandparents caring for grandchildren than ever before, research suggests

New research from Metanium suggests that British grandparents are more involved than ever with the care of their grandchildren.

Some five million grandparents now spend three days per week caring for their grandchildren.

Childcare is major source of concern for working parents. Cost is a key factor, but trust is even more important – and an increasing number of mums and dads are solving the problem by keeping it in the family and turning to their own parents for help

Statistics show that the percentage of children receiving care from their grandparents is on its way to being tripled from 33% in the 1930s to 82% today.

Unlike the grandparents of the 1930s, today’s grandparents have sophisticated toys, gadgets and electronic devices to help in their childcare role. In spite of that, good old fashioned cuddles, walks and snuggling up with a book are still favourite activities.

Children with alcohol-abusing parents need as much care as those of drug-abusers

A new report from the Aberlour Child Care Trust and the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams has recommended that the children of parents who abuse alcohol need the same services as those offered to children of drug abusers.

The authors of the report, “A Matter of Substance? Alcohol or Drugs: Does it make a difference to the child?”, said about 100,000 Scottish children were affected by parental alcohol abuse, and that number is sure to be reflected across the UK

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