children

Child cancer initiatives seeing results in Pacific

Jane Skeen says she is passionate about getting better staff training and treatment to children in countries such as Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

Dr Skeen said greater collaboration had seen an improvement in recovery rates, saying that about 50 children are now getting treatment in Fiji every year.

And colleagues at Auckland and Christchurch hospitals are also able to assist some children from the Pacific who travel for chemotherapy.

Help! Talking to kids about sex

So she decided to have an age-appropriate conversation about menstruation with him right then and there.

She has taken an open approach ever since with her son, now 10, when it comes to talking about sex.

No fruit juice for kids under 1, pediatricians advise

The group had previously advised parents to wait to offer juice until a child reached 6 months old but decided to make the change based on rising rates of obesity and concerns about tooth cavities.

Cotton swabs send dozens of children to ERs each day, study says

But people continue to use a soft-tipped plastic or paper stick to dig out the wax from their ear canals -- and it's a problem.

Authors of a new study in the Journal of Pediatrics, conducted by researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital, warn that using cotton-tip applicators to clean the ear can be dangerous, especially in the hands of little ones.

Seven siblings adopted by same couple

Maria, Elizabet, Guillermo, Jason, Kristina, Katerin and James have been adopted by Josh and Jessaka Clark in Georgia, US.

The siblings were in care for 1,359 days before the couple's adoption process was completed on 9 May 2017.

Josh and Jessaka started the process two years ago and the children lived with the couple for the past 10 months.

The couple already had one biological son, Noah, and refer to the new additions as their "super seven".

​The largest buyer of children’s vaccines

The figures, released during World Immunization Week, make UNICEF the largest buyer of vaccines for children in the world.

Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the three remaining polio-endemic countries, each received more doses of vaccines than any other country, with almost 450 million doses of vaccines procured to children in Nigeria, 395 million in Pakistan and over 150 million in Afghanistan. UNICEF is the lead procurement agency for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Is it worth staying in a relationship for your kids

For couples with kids, it's not always that black and white.

But is staying for the children gifting them a nuclear family or a sacrifice that does more harm than good?

Relationships Australia counsellor Fiona Bennett says couples with children often try harder to save their relationship than those without.

"They can feel it's in the best interest for the children in terms of security, stability and good time with both parents," Ms Bennett says.

How emojis can help children learn and communicate

For young children, emoji can aid inclusion in aspects of society previously closed to them, such as active participation in increasing knowledge of childhood well-being, and being heard in educational and care settings.

Emoji can also support children's learning in areas of health, well-being, safety and diversity.

These are key aspects of supporting children in becoming knowledgeable, confident and informed citizens, essential aspects of high-quality education.

Does having children help you live past 80?

You may feel that your kids are sending you to an early grave, but parents live longer than childless people, especially once they reach 80, found a study in Sweden — and the longevity edge becomes greater as parents get older.

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Kids turn their hands to making 3D-printed prosthetics

Ivanhoe Grammar School has partnered with e-NABLE, a community of online 3D designers, so students can learn how to make and produce prosthetics.

Steve Brophy, the school's director of information and communication technology and eLearning, said the school had used 3D printers for years but was looking for more meaningful projects.

"We wanted to move past the kids just printing knick-knacks and thinking that things like bobble heads and little toy cars were good enough.