Babies in Womb can Remember

My baby can already remember things that happen while he's in the womb. Scientists say this new finding could help prevent abnormalities in utero (I am not sure how though.) We knew the baby could hear our voices and I just assumed he would remember those sounds. I guess these findings make sense with what I already thought. Still, what a great insight into the mind of a baby! I can't believe I will get to see him in just two months--or less!

FROM NBC: Scientists have found evidence of short-term memory in babies who are still in the womb! The research from The Netherlands shows fetuses at 30 weeks gestation have a short-term memory of about 10 minutes. Infants aren't considered full-term until they're about 40 weeks gestation. Researchers discovered this by examining how fetuses responded to repeated stimulation of sounds and vibration.

After a while, the fetuses got used to the stimulus, and didn't react as strongly when the process was repeated 10 minutes later. Researchers also found 34-week-old fetuses could store information and remember it a month later. FROM SCIENCE DAILY:Memory probably begins during the prenatal period, but little is known about the exact timing or for how long memory lasts. Now in a new study from the Netherlands, scientists have found fetal short-term memory in fetuses at 30 weeks.

The study provides insights into fetal development and may help address and prevent abnormalities. Published in the July/August 2009 issue of the journal Child Development, it was conducted by researchers at Maastricht University Medical Centre and the University Medical Centre St. Radboud.

The scientists studied about 100 healthy pregnant Dutch women and their fetuses, measuring changes in how the fetus responds to repeated stimulation. After receiving a number of stimuli, the fetus no longer responds to the stimulus as observed by ultrasonography and the stimulus is then accepted as "safe." This change in response is called "habituation." In a second session, the fetus "remembers" the stimulus and the number of stimuli needed for the fetus to habituate is then much smaller.

Based on their research, the scientists found the presence of fetal short-term memory of 10 minutes at 30 weeks. They determined this because a significantly lower number of stimuli was needed to reach habituation in a second session, which was performed 10 minutes after the first session.

They also found that 34-week-old fetuses can store information and retrieve it four weeks later. Fetuses were tested at 30, 32, 34, and 36 weeks, and again at 38 weeks. The 34- and 36-week-old fetuses habituated much faster than the 38-week-old fetuses that had not been tested before. This implies that these fetuses have a memory of at least 4 weeks—the interval between the test at 34 weeks and that at 38 weeks.

"A better understanding of the normal development of the fetal central nervous system will lead to more insight into abnormalities, allowing prevention or extra care in the first years of life and, as a consequence, fewer problems in later life," according to the study's authors.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Tattoo your kids?

The last two times my kids stayed with their grandparents, my oldest got lost. Once was with my mom at City Museum in St. Louis. The other was at a park with my in-laws. I feel like we have hammered him about not running off when he gets excited, but he keeps saying he forgets. So when I hear that 90% of parents experience this, it makes me feel a little better. I haven't decided whether I will purchase the temporary tattoos or not, but I don't think they're a bad idea. I don't like the ones where you write your number on the child with a marker. What's the point of the tattoo then? My kids have never been lost long enough for a stranger to find them, look at their arm and call the number. It's usually just a couple of minutes. But it is a scary thought.Have any of you used these temporary tattoos? What do you think about them?

Planning a family outing anytime soon? If you have young children this is an eye opener. The Center to Prevent Lost children says 90% of you will experience an unplanned separation from your child.

Chandra Bill shows us a parent-tested device that could give you some piece of mind. Any parent who's ever lost sight of their child for even a few seconds knows the panic that sets in.

"She ducked under one of those clothes, those carousels and my heart went out of my chest. But like I said, it was probably like ten seconds." Department of Justice studies indicate 2000 kids get lost every day. A Wander Wear survey found parents rank losing a child five times more concerning to them than terrorism.

"When my son was a toddler we went to a mall with a babysitter to look at appliances. I turned around and asked my baby sitter.. where's EJ? In a flash he was gone. We found him outside the store at a fountain."

In response to situations like that a mother of three invented a temporary tattoo on which you can write your cell number and stick it on your child, adding another tool to the parenting arsenal." The safetytat is designed to reconnect parent and child as quickly as possible if they're ever separated. We talked to parents to see if they'd use it.

"I would definitely use it." "Would you ever use something like this?" Parent: "I would definitely consider it. Especially since it doesn't contain personal information like the child's name or my name and it just has a phone number, so yeah, definitely."

"Kids nowadays they get the tattoos they can put on their skin they think they're cool and they like the way they look. So from a child's perspective I think it would be really neat to wear it."

The tattoos apply without water and won't rub off. They last about two weeks, come in a variety of child-friendly colors and designs and cost less than a dollar a piece.

"It's kind of like a funny band-aid" "I would definitely use it, even at the beach, or when we go to the store. Everytime we walk out the door. I would not mind using them at all." "Any kind of traveling that you would do. Anytime you went any place. to a supermarket." "Definitely like the theme park or the beach when it's crowded. The mall possibly." "Probably Disney. the big parks, big places. If you're taking a long trip or even the beach. To lose a kid on the beach is not hard, it just takes seconds.

A word of caution, however. Experts recommend parents use a multi-prong approach to summer safety and much of that involves preparing your child should they ever lose sight of you.

Nancy McBride/Ctr. For Missing & Exploited Children "Tell your child not to look for you. If they get lost, stay close to where they got lost and don't ever go out in the parking lot. You should be looking for them, not the other way around. If you've done that cursory search and they're not around. You call law enforcement."

Nancy Mcbride handles the educational arm of the National Center for Missing and Exploited children. She says nothing takes the place of adult supervision.

"It's easy to get distracted. Keep your eyes on the child. And understand that the people who harm children in 40 percent of the cases, the most dire cases, they're opportunists. So, make sure they don't have the access or the opportunity. But that's our job as the parents and the trusted adults."

The material used to make safetytats is FDA approved. In addition to loss prevention, safetytats have been expanded to include health information, like peanut allergies.. to let people know if a child has special needs, such as autism. They also come in Spanish.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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When to sign up for Swimming lessons

None of my kids can swim yet. I wish they could! I have my oldest starting swim lessons this week. He normally takes them all summer, but this year it wasn't possible with me on bed rest. I feel parent guilt. He is so close to swimming by himself, but just not there yet. Maybe these lessons will help. The problem has been trying to get him to the pool. It's hard to watch two kids who can't swim at the same time. I know some of my friends' kids who have pools or their parents have pools taught their kids to swim as young as 3 years old!

Last year on the blog we talked about the American Academy of Pediatrics stance that kids should not learn to swim until 4 years old. Many people responded in disbelief and thought that was way too old. So these new recommendations for toddler swimming lessons are probably more in-line with a parent's perspective. When did your kids learn to swim?

There is new evidence that infant and toddler swim lessons give children an added layer of protection around the water. The study by the National Institutes of Health is prompting a major policy shift by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

At just two and half years old, little Preston Crowder had a close call at his home swimming pool. "He was just getting too close to the side and ended up tumbling in head first and was probably out two or three feet."

Before his mother could react, she watched her son turn around and swim towards the pool's edge and pull him self out. It's a skill he's learned during his two years of swim lessons.

"We were completely panicked watching it, but he was fine." For years, the American Academy of Pediatrics actually warned against children under the age of four taking swim lessons.

Pediatrician Dr. Early Denison "The thinking there is that kids don't have the gross motor skills until they're four years old, and if they're participating in swim lessons that might make parents less vigilant and there by indirectly increase the risk of drowning."

But a recent study by the National Institutes of Health found that swim lessons can provide some layer of protection. So now the Academy is changing its stance, but pediatricians warn their must still be a more comprehensive water safety course.

Dr. Early Denison, Pediatrician"You still need to think about pool fences. You still need to think about CPR training for parents and caregivers and you need to think about parent vigilance."

EXPERTS SAY IF ALL THOSE SAFEGUARDS FAIL.. You absolutely want your child to learn to fall in the water, turn around and get back to the side.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Neopets.com Identity Theft

The popular kid's website neopets.com has been targeted by scam artists who are stealing parents' social security numbers, bank card number and credit cards. All the kid has to do is fall victim to wanting to change the color of their virtual pet. Just by clicking on a certain link, the scammers will get access to your computer. My almost six-year-old does have a neopets account, but I he is a little young to really play unless we help him. Plus, he can't really read. So it would be a total fluke if he clicked on the link. That doesn't mean it won't happen though. I will be extra careful. Yikes! Does your family have a neopet?

FROM FOX.COM: The popular Web site Neopets has a reputation for being kid-friendly and kid-safe. Owned by the media giant Viacom, Neopets lets its members — roughly 25 million people — "adopt" cyber pets and earn points by playing games to purchase items for them.

Nearly half of players are between the ages of 8 and 12, although some are as young as 6, and they communicate with each other while at play.

But Neopets has been hit by Internet pirates, according to Christopher Boyd, director of malware research at FaceTime Communications Inc., a California-based Internet security company. The scam takes advantage of kids willing to pay big for a "magic paintbrush," the rare and pricey item that lets kids change their pets' colors.

They're sent a seemingly innocuous e-mail or private message on the Neopets bulletin boards telling them about a secret Web site (Neopets does not let users copy and paste links) that will let them make their own magic paintbrushes — without having to spend precious points for them.

But when the child browses to that third-party Web site, which may be spoofing the official Neopets look and feel, he or she is not actually downloading and installing a magic paintbrush, but malware — software created to damage or penetrate a computer system.

Not only does the child never get the anticipated paintbrush, the malicious software then is in place to wreak havoc with his or her parents' financial data by culling private information from the now-infected PC.

"I think it's despicable that someone would target little kids, but unfortunately, I'm not entirely surprised," comments Tela Durbin, a 33-year-old advertising copywriter in Cincinnati who blogs for the Working Moms Against Guilt Web site.

Passwords to banking sites, account information, Social Security and credit card numbers all become fair game.

"The overall aim is hoping a child's parent does [online] banking," says Boyd, a security expert. "The child is being used as a launch pad to get to the parent."

Boyd heard of the scam when a friend's child, a Neopet user, was sent the message and the parent asked Boyd to check it out.

Cara Reeves, a 32-year-old advertising copywriter in Cincinnati, has a 6-year-old who's a big fan of Webkinz, a Web site similar to Neopets, and was shocked to learn that her children could become targets of scammers.

"Although I'm usually in the same room or nearby when he's playing, I know he could easily click on something without my knowledge," she says. "Hearing about this scam makes me think I should be monitoring him more closely — or avoid 'kid-safe' community Web sites altogether."

Boyd, who blogged about the problem last week, says such ploys of offering "something for nothing," whether it's free gaming software or Web design software, all follow the same basic principles.

Once a curious surfer clicks on the link and downloads the malware, his PC is compromised, and the information on it is "sent back to base" for the bad guys to use as they choose, says Boyd.

Another security expert isn't surprised by the scam.

"Cybercriminals are looking to attack people where they gather and where they feel safe — and that defines our online social networks," says Marian Merritt, Norton Internet Safety Advocate at Cupertino, Calif.-based PC security giant Symantec.

For its part, Viacom says it is investigating.

"The blog post by Mr. Boyd was not an indictment of Neopets security practices, but rather one example of a 'social engineering' scam used by third parties to lure members of community websites to unaffiliated websites where they may be deceived into providing user name and password," Viacom said in a statement.

"Neopets values the security of our users and educates them about these types of scams. We aggressively investigate all reported instances of social engineering, phishing and any other attempts by malicious individuals to deceive Neopets members."

A Web of Deceit

While social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Neopets spell out conditions against such practices and publicly warn users of the potential threats of infiltration, it's really up the user — or the user's parents — to watch out for sinister pop-ups and e-mails, says Boyd.

"People come up with the scams randomly," he says. "It's up to the people to monitor these things."

Kelly Land, a stay-at-home working mother from Asheville, N.C., points out that it's best to always be on your guard.

"The Internet is very much the Wild West," says Land. "You wouldn't have sent [Little House on the Prairie author] Laura Ingalls Wilder out in the middle of the night to fetch water from the river. Something terrible could have happened to her.

"It's the same with your kid. Don't just let them go out there and think everything will take care of itself and [that] your kid is smarter than a scammer. Odds are ... they are not. And the outcome could be absolutely devastating."

Symantec's Merritt says parents need to keep tabs on what their kids are doing online — even if it's a reputedly rock-solid safe site like Neopets.

"When your children are using social networks, remind them to be careful about who they add as a friend, show them how to set privacy settings to keep private information and photos away from the public, and make sure they know not to click on links or programs sent to them, even by their friends," she says.

The threat of malware isn't just isolated to one hacker stealing one person's information, say security experts. Devious software can sniff out passwords stored in browsers or word documents on a computer that hold personal information, and then pass this data along.

"The bigger issue with [the Neopets-based scam] is the botnet aspect of it," says Michael Fitzpatrick, CEO at NCX Group Inc., a California-based information risk management firm.

The installed malware, explains Fitzpatrick, not only steals personal data — it also lets the hacker "herd" the infected PC into a "botnet," a giant Internet-based virtual computer that can be used to send spam e-mail, attack other Web sites or pump out more malware, all without the rightful owner's knowledge.

While security firms like NCX and Symantec, which makes the well-known Norton anti-virus line of software, are always trying to improve their technology to combat the changing threats, it's an arduous and nebulous task.

"We have to get better on the defense each year," says Fitzpatrick. "It's a process that never stops."

Still, says Boyd, bringing attention to this particular scam means the bad guys will have to go back to the drawing board.

"Shining a light on these corners of the Web tends to make them scatter," he says.

Or, as Land puts it: "Being a cool, passive parent has never been so uncool."

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Afraid to wear shorts? Do you have unwanted hair? Embarrassed by unsightly varicose or spider veins? You don't have to be afraid to wear shorts because you are embarrassed by unwanted hair or unsightly varicose veins. Call 674-Skin to schedule your FREE leg vein or hair removal consultation at Soderstrom Skin Institute.

Soderstrom Skin Institute is positioned to be a comprehensive, full service skin care facility. Visit www.soderstromskininstitute.com to learn what Soderstrom Skin Institute can do for you.

The Sandwich Generation

I am not sure a book will help you if you get into this situation, but I do know several people dealing with this issue right now. Maybe the tips provided will help. The usual problem is finances. Most people can't afford to pay for their loved one to go to Assisted Living, but letting them move into their own house isn't a great option either.

Today, 34 million Americans are part of the 'sandwich generation' - caring for their kids and their elderly parents. But how do you prepare yourself for this major life challenge?

Gloria G. Barsamian is the author of the brand new book - Sustenance and Hope for Caregivers of Elderly Parents. She spent 28 years as a social worker - helping families deal with catastrophic illness. Barsamian offers insight into this social issue and provides advice:

1. Talk About the Issue Before: Find out what your loved ones want in terms of care giving. Have the conversation before the urgency arrives, so you can be prepared.
2. Get the Right Help: Determine if a home setting is appropriate, whether your loved one can remain in their own home, or whether assisted living/nursing home care is required.
3. Don't Go it Alone: Reach out to extended family and friends for help caregiving. Take shifts, divvy up responsibilities. A whole circle of caregivers helps ease the burden.
4. Understand the Finances: The cost of caregiving can escalate quickly. Research what options and resources are available within your family and outside help.
5. Care for the Caregiver: Take time to care for yourself. Pay attention to your mental and physical health.

Gloria G. Barsamian is the author of the brand new book - Sustenance and Hope for Caregivers of Elderly Parents. She spent 28 years as a social worker - helping families deal with catastrophic illness. Barsamian offers insight into this social issue and provides advice:Sustenance and Hope for Caregivers of Elderly Parents is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and other national retailers.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Afraid to wear shorts? Do you have unwanted hair? Embarrassed by unsightly varicose or spider veins? You don't have to be afraid to wear shorts because you are embarrassed by unwanted hair or unsightly varicose veins. Call 674-Skin to schedule your FREE leg vein or hair removal consultation at Soderstrom Skin Institute.

Soderstrom Skin Institute is positioned to be a comprehensive, full service skin care facility. Visit www.soderstromskininstitute.com to learn what Soderstrom Skin Institute can do for you.