There's No Such Thing as a 'Sugar High'

• Sugar Doesn't Affect Children's Behavior
Investigations have thoroughly refuted this myth. But even though cutting down on sugar will not affect children’s behavior, it helps protect them against obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Corporal Punishment is Harmful

• AAP Says No to Spanking
“One of the most important relationships we all have is the relationship between ourselves and our parents, and it makes sense to eliminate or limit fear and violence in that loving relationship.”

Hold the Fruit Juice

• Fruit Juice Is Not Healthy
It isn't just soda that's causing obesity in children. Just two boxes of orange juice contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, which is roughly what’s in a can of Coke.

Suicide

• Ask About It
"...people have the misconception that asking a person about suicide will increase the risk, but in reality asking does not increase the risk of suicide, but can save a life.”

Parent-Child Mental Health

• Engaging Families From the Start
A toddler's troubling behaviors can be understood as difficulties managing both his/her body and developing mind in a social context––consisting initially of parent-child. Helping these families means intensive support from the very beginning.

Mothers and the Affordable Care Act

• Congressmen Have Mothers
Maternal and mental health components may have saved Obamacare, with implications for the next generation of voters.

Hold Your Horses

• Individualized Equine Therapy
HYH is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving quality of life and wellness for people with disabilities. The multidisciplinary team includes board certified physical, occupational, speech and psychotherapy professionals, as well as a team of therapy aides and equine professionals...AND horses.

 

Equating Physical and Mental Illness

• Is It Useful or Accurate
Perhaps rather than equating mental illness with physical illness, we need to recognize that all suffering has some emotional basis, and that relationships are central to all healing.

Early Puberty in Girls

• Sugary Drinks & Stress Contribute
Drinking more sodas and households with high levels of conflict leads to early maturation.

Expand Pre-K, Not ADHD

• Forty Percent Increase in Ten Years
Researchers find the push for academic achievement and increased school accountability parallels skyrocketing A.D.H.D. diagnoses and medication.

Fledging Your Child

• College Readiness
Are childhood ADHD drugs responsible for the growth in mental health problems at college?

ADHD

• Cautionary Statistics
Nearly one in five high school age boys in the U.S. have received a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to CDC.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

• MOFAS
Learn more about the Minnesota Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (MOFAS).

DSM V Update

• Not Diseases, But Categories of Suffering
Written to give physicians a way to recognize similarities and differences among their patients and to talk to one another about them, it now drives insurance coverage and, ultimately, access to care.

Immune Disorder at Root of Autism

• A Type of Inflammatory Disease in The Womb
 Fix the maternal dysregulation, and you’ve most likely prevented autism.

Psychotropic Drug Rx

• American Psychological Assoc. states more research needed
The short- and long-term effects psychotropic medications have on children's physical growth, brain development, behavior, mood and cognitive functioning are unknown.

Traumatic Experiences in Early Life

• Childhood Violence Leaves Genetic Scars

"Children who experience physical violence appear to be aging at a faster rate," says neuroscientist and co-author Avshalom Caspi. The result may be increased risk of disease in adulthood and shortened lifespan.

SSRI Treatment of Depression

• The Emperor's New Drugs
Irving Kirsch, PhD, analyzed 15 years of efficacy data for the top anti-depressant drugs on the market (including the studies used to gain FDA approval) and found... a placebo effect.

Free Dental Care

• Annual "Give Kids A Smile" Day

Hosted by the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, children ages 18 and younger will receive any dental care they may require completely free of charge. This includes teeth cleanings, diagnostic x rays, cavity detection, fillings, sealants, fluoride treatment and more. The event is one day only: Saturday, Feb 4th from 8am - 1:30pm at 515 Delaware St. SE Minneapolis. Call 612-625-1669 to make an appointment.

Post-partum Depression

• It's Not Just for Mothers Anymore
A new study published in the December issue of the medical journal Pediatrics "Paternal Depressive Symptoms and Child Behavioral or Emotional Problems in the United States" will encourage fathers to seek help (and clinicians to offer it).