Word: normalization
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Local traditions fuel the problem. In the past, it was normal for West African families to send a child to stay with richer relatives in the city and for newlyweds to hire a young village girl to cook and clean for them. But with "the fabric of the extended family breaking down, things have become distorted," says Lisa Kurbiel, a child-protection officer with UNICEF. What was a custom has become an organized trade, with children being taken as far away as South Africa and the Middle East. Closer to home, they end up in such places as the labor...
...suffer from cognitive deficiencies. However, no evidence indicates that a lot of attention, in the form of early and constant stimulation, enhances a child's intellectual growth. According to the current scientific literature, the type and amount of stimulation needed for proper childhood development is already built into the normal life of an average baby. No whizbang tricks are necessary...
...that matter, should we even be worried at all? The researchers noted that almost all the "aggressive" toddlers were well within the range of normal behavior for four-year-olds. And what about that adjective, anyway? Is a vice not sometimes a form of virtue? Cruelty never is, but arguing back? Is that being defiant--or spunky and independent? "Demanding attention" could be a natural and healthy skill to develop if you are in a room with 16 other kids...
...cover story on how to get healthier. That article referred to a study of which I was the lead author. I never stated in that study that obese and fit men had about the same risk of all-cause deaths as men who were fit and of normal weight. In fact, this study reported that men who were physically fit and overweight (including obese men) had about a 10% increased risk of death from all causes. A 10% higher risk of all-cause death is not insignificant and could account for about 100,000 deaths a year...
...summer. "The noise is so overwhelming that it ruined the dining experience." Michael Bauer, food editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, carries a sound meter to rate restaurants on a four-bell scale. "New places in San Francisco often measure 75 to 80 decibels on my meter," he says. (Normal conversation is around 60.) "To carry on a conversation at that level, you have to raise your voice." Or scream...