That New Year smell
Two thousand thirteen has barely begun, and it’s already off to an amazing start! I join satirists worldwide in celebrating the not-yet-officially-divorced Kim Kardashian’s announcement that she is pregnant by boyfriend Kanye West. While nothing about this development is funny yet, we can't have long to wait.
And while news on the “fiscal cliff” continues to develop, Internet game giant Zynga has single-handedly boosted American productivity by pulling the plug on 13 of its Facebook-based games including “Petville,” "Mafia Wars 2," "Vampire Wars," "ForestVille" and "FishVille." In place of these diversions, in which Facebook users ask online friends for virtual gifts and favors, the company is planning to release a new blockbuster tentatively titled, “Get-Back-To-Work-And-Do-Something-ProductiveVille.”
Strange But True
Even the world of pediatric research is full of momentous news as we enter the new year. For example, a Utah-based research team just published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal a study involving over 271,000 cases of of acute otitis media in children. Their findings? Pediatric ear infections are often associated with colds. I know, like you, I had to let that one sink in for a moment, but there it is: viral upper respiratory infections may increase children’s risk of developing otitis media.
While that news alone would have been enough to rock the world of pediatrics, the team didn’t stop there. Investigators identified some specific viruses linked to ear infections, including respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, and influenza A. I look forward to future studies by this group investigating the links between strep and sore throat, staph and abscesses, and celebrity and questionable lifestyle choices.
New And Improved
When it comes to the advertising claims of formula companies, I have to admit I’m a skeptic. After all, these are the same people who market lactose-free formula for “fussy” babies when you’re less likely to find an infant with congenital lactase deficiency than you are to run into a Kardashian at your local Wal-Mart.
And yet, it looks like at least one formula company claim holds up (no, not the one about longer, thicker lashes). Supplementing infant formula with long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) really does seem to improve infants’ vision. The good news is that at this point the formula arms race has largely moved beyond LCPUFA to other supplements, such as probiotics, prebiotics, and unicorn tears. That said, I mourn for the generations of infants who grew up drinking formula before the era of LCPUFA supplementation and are now presumably blind.
A Fair Fight
As a parent in a household that currently includes two teens (and will eventually host four) I was not surprised to read that sibling conflict among adolescents could lead to depression and anxiety. For the teens. No one bothered to study the parents.
Specifically, conflicts over domain such as, “That’s my stuff! Don’t touch it! Why do you always have to touch my stuff?!” were associated with increased anxiety and lower self-esteem one year later. Conflicts over equality and fairness, such as, “He rode in the front seat yesterday! You hate me!” were more associated with depression. These results reinforce the strategy I’m already employing in my home: not allowing either of the teenagers to speak at all until they turn 20. Is it strict? Yes, but ask yourself, what’s cheaper, Prozac or duct tape? I admit sometimes I just want to escape into a Facebook game, like Short-Lived-Celebrity-RelationshipVille. Who out there can help me earn a baby with a bizarre first name, preferably one that starts with a “K”?
David L. Hill, M.D, FAAP, is vice president of Cape Fear Pediatrics in Wilmington, NC and is an adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is Program Director for the AAP Council on Communications and Media and an executive committee member of the North Carolina Pediatric Society. He has recorded commentaries for NPR's All Things Considered and provided content for various print, television and Internet outlets. Dr. Hill is the author of Dad to Dad: Parenting Like A Pro (AAP Publishing 2012).