Children's and parenting health centre

News and features related to children’s health

PM announces parenting classes

18th May 2012 - The Prime Minister said free parenting classes do not amount to a 'nanny state', as he announced a series of initiatives aimed at helping families. Mums and dads in three trial areas of England who have children up to the age of five will be able to claim vouchers worth £100. There w
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Parents to be given personal SEN budgets

15th May 2012 - Parents in England are to get a new legal right to buy-in special education needs (SEN) care for children who need support. It means that parents will be given the power to control personal budgets for their children with severe, profound or multiple health and learning difficulties.
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Mixed reaction to 'family-friendly' Queen's speech

10th May 2012 - The Queen's speech to parliament set out the coalition government's plans, including a promise to "strive to improve the lives of children and families". Parental leave will be made more flexible so both parents can share parenting responsibilities and balance work and family commitm
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Measles on Merseyside: Over 200 cases

4th May 2012 - The largest measles outbreak on Merseyside since the MMR vaccine was introduced in 1988 is continuing. There have been 210 laboratory confirmed cases and a further 92 probable cases are under investigation. The outbreak has affected all age groups but approximately half the cases are
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Test for newborns could detect serious heart problems

Heart problems (called congenital heart defects) are the most common birth defect in babies born in the UK, and are the cause of more deaths in newborn babies than any other type of birth defect. If picked up early, many heart defects can be repaired during an operation. But if they are not picked u
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Half of girls turned off sport by school PE

2nd May 2012 - More than half of girls in the UK are put off exercise and playing sport by their experiences of PE and games at school, according to a study. The report for the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation said that girls worry that playing sport is too competitive, not feminine and that the
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Do dummies really interfere with breastfeeding?

Breast milk is the best and most appropriate food for new babies, as it includes all the nutrients that babies need, along with antibodies from the mother to protect against disease. In the UK, women are advised to feed their babies only breast milk for the first six months, if possible. However, no
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Beware the know-it-alls: Many mums given misleading advice

New mothers are frequently bombarded with old-fashioned and sometimes even dangerous advice from their own families about how to bring up their baby, according to a survey in 2011 by the online parenting support group Netmums. A study of 4,000 first-time mums found that almost two in five (39%) had
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Baby sleep: Expert Q&A

Questions about your baby’s sleep needs can really keep a new parent up at night. Should you wake the baby for feeds? How can you help your baby start sleeping through the night? To find the answers to these questions, we went to paediatrician, Dr Jennifer Shu, co-author of Heading Home with Your N
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Changing a baby’s nappy: Expert Q&A

What are the most common mistakes in changing a nappy that mums and dads make? Can the scourge of nappy rash ever be conquered? How can you get a wiggly baby to stay still during changing time? To get answers to these and other common nappy-changing dilemmas, we sat down with Dr Steven Parker, an as
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