Your health: Physical punishment use for kids declines

Physical punishment use for kids declines

A study in the December 2016 issue of Pediatrics investigated changes over time in parents' discipline strategies.

Discipline strategies are a main component of socioemotional interactions and include physical punishments such as spanking, and nonphysical discipline techniques such as timeouts.

Researchers examined four national studies of kindergarten-age children (about 5 years of age) conducted between 1988 and 2011. The studies provided information about caregivers' socioeconomic status as well as typical discipline techniques.

The findings suggest that parents' use of physical punishment has declined substantially while parents' use of nonphysical discipline strategies has increased substantially across all socioeconomic groups.

They found that the share of mothers at the median income level who endorse physical discipline decreased from 46 percent to 21 percent over the study period, and the same share endorsing timeouts increased from 41 percent to 81 percent.

Although endorsement of physical discipline has declined across all groups, the researchers note that nearly one-third of mothers with the lowest incomes still endorse physically disciplining kindergarten-age children, with almost one-quarter doing so in the last week.

They suggest these results remind us that education is still needed to further reduce reliance on physical punishment and increase use of nonphysical discipline techniques.

Bad back could be a symptom of cancer

One in six women with breast cancer have symptoms other than a lump, a study has found. These include back pain, a swollen arm, breathlessness or weight loss, the Daily Mail reports.

But these women are far more likely to wait three months or more before seeing their doctor than those with a lump.

Researchers from University College London say too many women are unaware of the other symptoms of breast cancer.

In a study presented at the National Cancer Research Institute conference in Liverpool, they looked at data on 2,300 women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009/10.

The majority - 76 percent - first went to their doctor complaining of a lump. Another 17 percent had non-lump symptoms including a change in the shape of the breast or nipple, swollen arms, back pain or weight loss.

"It's crucial that women are aware that a lump is not the only symptom of breast cancer. If they are worried about any breast symptoms, the best thing to do is to get it checked by a doctor as soon as possible," researchers said. "'Diagnosing cancer earlier really is key in order to increase the chances of survival."