Parents' News 27 June 2002
 In
the news this week...
The annual UK Twins, Triplets & More Week starts
30 June and to celebrate, why not check out our brand-new features?
Soapbox:'Give
Us A Break!'
6 Of The Best: Famous Twins
Remember the 'internet twins'?
Are your kids a terrific trio? Or a gruesome
twosome?
How do you deal with sibling rivalries?
Up to 100 multiple birth children and their parents
are being offered a free day out at a Berkshire animal and nature park
Tamba, the Twins and Multiple Births Association, has organised a mass
picnic at Beale Park near Pangbourne, Reading, on Sunday June 30 (noon
to 2.30).
More info from Tamba
This Week's Expert: Dr Pat Spungin
Are twins always double trouble? See what
our Parenting Expert has to say:
Twins In Poo Power Struggle!
'My twins will be 6 soon and 2 years ago we moved
back to where our family comes from. Since then, they both have been wet
during the day...'
Dr Spungin's suggestions
The eyes have it
Your baby is born with the ability to communicate
with you. New research has found that babies only 48 hours old can detect
eye contact, which is thought to be one of the foundations of communication.
Researchers at Birkbeck College, London University, also measured electrical
acitivity in the brains of 4-month olds, and found dramatic increases
when the babies were shown pictures of people making eye-contact with
them. All this suggests that the ability to communicate is inborn rather
than learned, and the findings may also enable much earlier diagnosis
of developmental disorders such as autism, in which social ability is
impaired or absent. You and your baby - everything you need to know about
'milestones' in development.
Who's your father?
Most people believe children conceived
by sperm donor should have the right to know about their biological parents
before 18, a survey reveals. Three quarters of the 1000 people surveyed
were in favour of the right to information, while 83 per cent also said
children should have access to the donor's medical records.
Baby-walker ban
Physiotherapists have called for baby-walkers
to be banned because they disrupt babies' ability to develop normal walking,
visual and exploratory skills. Delegates at the conference of the Chartered
Society of Physiotherapists also pointed out that 4,000 babies are injured
each year while using baby-walkers. Studies have shown babies using them
are slower to sit upright, crawl and walk, and may even be slower on simple
intellectual tasks.
Development: wobbling and
walking
The end for the comp?
Education Secretary Estelle Morris has
called for an overhaul of the comprehensive system which would encourage
schools to specialise and 'play to their strengths'. She also angered
teaching unions by remarking that there were some comps that 'she would
not touch with a bargepole'.
Which secondary school would
suit your child?
This week's
exam horrors
The tense silence in the examination hall
at St Wulfram's school in Lincolnshire was rudely broken after someone
smelt gas during a GCSE. After evacuating the hall and calling the fire
brigade, the culprit was revealed as a packet of mouldy sandwiches. Meanwhile
an English teacher at Charterhouse public school (fees: £17,000 a year)
has resigned after submitting false grades for non-existent GCSE coursework,
and 2,500 pupils were given the wrong history paper by the Oxford, Cambridge
and RSA exam board.
How to cope with GCSE year
GET
THE LATEST PARENTING NEWS IN YOUR INBOX EVERY WEEK
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER NOW!
|
