According to a recent survey, 40 percent of the US teens become sexually active before they learn about sex from their parents. That made scientists think today's parents delay too much on talking about sex, reports Psychological Science. Full story

A study by American scientists on how the capacity for creativity and affective disorders are linked revealed the depression-prone parents are more likely to have a genius child compared to optimists, reports the Psychological Science. Full story

Most of us were brought up in belief that physical discipline like smacking or spanking can teach the child aggressiveness and induce him or her to act out and misbehave even more. But it turns out that there’s more to physical discipline than meets the eye. Full story

Researchers from the Glasgow University claim children can make their parents happier, but only if the parents are married. Previous studies, however, showed that having a lot of children makes life harder for the parents. Full story

Strange as it seems, but some moms experience kind of euphoria when they see their baby crying. Other women get negative feelings, and even disgust. A study looking at reasons for maternal neglect found that such opposite behavior patterns have their root in different brain chemical responses which could be explained how mums themselves were treated as children. Full story

American toddlers watch TV two hours a day at average. Many TV programs are advertised as educational. Yet, the children under 3 years of age learn less from these programs than it might seem, unless there is an adult present to reinforce the learning. Researchers from the University of Delaware and the Temple University studied children aged from 40 to 42 months to find out whether they could learn verbs from watching TV programs. Full story

Scientists found spanking one year-olds may make them aggressive by the time they reach three years of age. Although the negative effect of spanking is rather innocent, a new study adds to pile of evidence that spanking may be detrimental to kids. According to Lisa Berlin, the study's lead author and research scientist at the Center for Child and Family Policy at Duke University, at the age of one year old, children assess parental care and develop a bond. Spanking at that period may affect the processes in negative way and increase aggressiveness of children by the time they reach two years of age. Full story

According to a recent British poll, only one out of four parents spends enough time, playing with their kids. Children and their parents said commitments and pressures of modern life get in the way of spending time together, which makes them unhappy. Only one out of four parents has enough time to play with their children, according to researchers from Play England who conducted the poll. Full story

DNA tests to establish fatherhood at home have hit pharmacies in Britain. Despite a sales pitch, the test could not be carried out at home completely. First, a user has to collect cheek cells from the father and the child and then to send DNA samples to a lab. After 5 days (or after one day for vip-version of the test), the lab will return 100% reliable result showing if the user is a biological father. Regular test will cost £160 and VIP-version will go for about £300. Full story

The tendency to spank infants was brought down to such factors as depression, drug and drink abuse, low self-esteem and general behavioral problems. Now the latest study highlights such a factor as physical abuse directed at mothers when they were children. An article in Pediatrics says that mothers who were subjected to spanking and other forms of violence in their childhood spank their children more than mothers who were not so mistreated. They also go on with it for a longer time. Full story

When your little one’s teeth stand in need of filling, what should you do? Hmm… that remains a moot question. There is no prevalent idea on whether it is worthwhile to treat tooth decay in little children. Some dentists believe that proper filling is necessary to prevent possible pains that may result in staying awake at nights. Yet there are others who argue that it is required only when the child is already in pain. Full story