In Brief: Jan. 22, 2001

WEIGHTY PROBLEMS Parents who criticize and place food restrictions on their overweight children could actually be contributing to future eating disorders, a new Penn State study finds. When foods are restricted, the report concludes, kids are more likely to binge past the point of hunger on foods that are available, setting up unhealthy habits. The authors recommend keeping the kitchen stocked with healthy foods for the whole family and offering kids blame-free choices.

TAKE THAT, JUNE CLEAVER Modern working moms spend up to half an hour a day more with their children than did the stay-at-home mothers of the 1950s and '60s, according to several new university studies. Researchers say the perception that women who didn't work outside the home devoted all their time to their kids was a myth. Those women were cooking, cleaning, socializing with their friends and doing other non-child related activities. Today's working women are more likely to put off housework, sleep fewer hours and make a high priority of spending one-on-one time with their children.

ADULT AVOIDANCE Even though they strongly believe that they should be providing guidance to the teens in their life, most adults avoid talking about complicated issues, the Lutheran Brotherhood and Search Institute reports. While 75% of adults feel it is important to give financial guidance to young adults, only 36% actually do, the survey notes. Though 77% of adults believe it is their responsibility to teach teens respect for cultural differences, only 36% follow through.

--By Lisa McLaughlin