Jean Balchin • Dec 20, 2017 •
Both chimpanzees and six-year-old children love seeing punishment doled out, even if it costs them, according to a paper published online this week in Nature Human Behaviour. These findings reveal new insights about the evolution of peer-punishment as a means to enforce social norms and ensure cooperation. We know from previous research that humans and some animal species experience … Read More
Guest Author • Dec 13, 2017 •
Nicholas Wood, University of Sydney As a medical researcher and parent of two teenagers there is one bug, Neisseria meningitidis, that really scares me. This is mainly because of the speed and severity of the infection it causes, called meningococcal disease, and its predilection for infecting healthy adolescents and younger children. Meningococcal is a rare but very … Read More
Jean Balchin • Jul 07, 2017 •
New evidence shows one in five children continue to be exposed to smoking in cars. Exposure even increased in 2015. According to Action on Smoking and Health New Zealand (ASH), secondhand smoke (SHS) consists of the smoke that is either exhaled by the smoker, or that is given of by the burning tobacco and released into … Read More
Eric Crampton • Jun 15, 2017 •
UNICEF’s new report has made for some damning headlines about child outcomes in New Zealand. In a few cases the critique is deserved; in a few others, it needs a bit of context. UNICEF finds that fewer New Zealand live in relative income poverty than is the OECD average, in 2014 data. It is worth remembering that there is … Read More
Eric Crampton • Jun 09, 2017 •
A new paper out in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows there’s an association between children drinking non-dairy milk, as opposed to cow’s milk, and lower heights. It would be tempting to take these results and make a case for ending Canadian dairy supply management, but there are better reasons for ending Canadian supply management. The press … Read More
Ken Perrott • May 18, 2017 •
Local antifluoride activists are busy presenting ChildSmile and similar programmes as alternatives to fluoridation. They aren’t – and New Zealand District health Boards already operate elements of these programmes where they consider them effective. I am currently dealing with family issues so am reposting this article, “ChildSmile dental health – its pros and cons” from September 2015. There is … Read More
Sarb Johal • Mar 20, 2017 •
In this Psychology Report, I talk with Associate Professor Claire Vallotton from the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Michigan State University in the USA, about father’s parenting stress and its relationship to cognitive and language development in toddlers. This interview is based on the findings of this paper, and you can listen to the podcast as … Read More
Laura Goodall • Jul 06, 2016 •
Dr Lance O’Sullivan was kicked out of school for disruptive behaviour. Twice. Now the award-winning Māori doctor has created another kind of disruption – an ambitious new health app that aims to speed up diagnosis and treatment times for common childhood illnesses. Māori innovation is skyrocketing. The June 2016 statistics say it all: Māori innovation reached almost 65 percent … Read More
Paul Walker • May 21, 2016 •
New research suggests that women earn, on average, around 31% less that men in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) subjects within a year of completing a PhD. An obvious question is why. Perhaps surprisingly the answer to this questions can be reduced to just two factors: 1) field of study and 2) kids. But after controlling for differences in … Read More
Laura Goodall • May 19, 2016 •
Teachers have been shown to underestimate Māori children’s academic capabilities, which their achievements end up reflecting. But Pūhoro, a forward-thinking science academy, has now been set up to support Māori youth in reaching their true potential. Naomi Manu and Mana Vautier give us the lowdown. One thing that people really don’t like to talk about is prejudice. But we all have … Read More