News from the net

A selection of interesting reads from around the net:

One View: A Spanking Might Beat Ritalin

Nancy Shute’s interview with Lawrence Diller, a behavioral pediatrician in Walnut Creek, Calif., about how society deals with children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

“Nobody wants to be pro-spanking. I just got asked to be on a website called Opposing Views, where they asked me to take the pro-spanking position. I declined. I’m not pro-spanking. I just think a well-thought-out spank ain’t so bad and shouldn’t be banned.”

“You don’t have to spank. But if you’re using spanking as one of an array of tools to get control of your kid, you’re not hurting them in the long term.”

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Sheriff Calls Balloon Boy a “Hoax,”

The sheriff investigating the Balloon Boy incident said Sunday it was a “hoax” and a “publicity stunt” the boy’s parents hoped to parlay into a reality TV show, and promised that charges would be presented to the local district attorney’s office.

TVGuide.com Poll: 91 percent believe balloon drama was hoax

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden said the charges against Richard and Mayumi Heene would include conspiracy, attempting to influence a public servant, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and false reporting to authorities.

Some of the most serious charges each carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

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101 Advanced Tips For The Next Time You Buy Text Link Ads

You need discretion to buy text links effectively, and there’s more to it than just avoiding paid link networks. Here are 101 tips to reduce your risk and maximize value for money the next time you buy links.

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The truth about sleeping with baby

Yes – the study found that 54% of cot deaths occurred while the baby was co-sleeping with a parent. But although the risk was strong if they had crashed out on the sofa, it was only significant among those in a bed if the parent had drunk more than two units of alcohol or had been taking drugs.

“My view is that the positive message of this study is that it says don’t drink or take drugs and don’t smoke, particularly for breastfeeding mothers. We did not find any increased risk from bedsharing. It is a very different message from the one the media picked up.”

You can say that half the deaths occurred while babies slept with their parents. You could also say that half the deaths occurred while babies were alone in their cots, he says, but: “I don’t see anybody saying, ‘Don’t put your baby in a cot.’”

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Children start school too young

Formal schooling should be delayed until children reach 6, according to the biggest review of primary education for more than 40 years.

The Cambridge Primary Review, published today, says that five-year-olds should continue with the play-based curriculum used in nursery schools. Trying to teach literacy and numeracy at such an early age is “counterproductive” and can put children off school, according to the committee that produced the report.

Professor Robin Alexander, the report’s editor, called for a debate about whether to raise the age of compulsory schooling, which has been set at 5 since 1870.

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