Children’s Health

TV watching linked to young adults’ heart risk

Watching a favorite television show may feel relaxing, but in a new study, the longer 30-somethings spent in front of the TV, the stiffer their arteries – a sign of likely heart disease in the future.

 “The fact that your arteries aren’t elastic, it predisposes you to develop hypertension in later age and cardiovascular disease,” Isabel Ferreira, senior epidemiologist at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, said.

Previous studies have linked TV watching to increased weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes, she and her colleagues write in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

It’s thought that people who spend more time in front of their TVs are less likely to get up and be physically active throughout the day, leading to a variety of problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

For the new study, researchers wanted to see whether early signs of damage caused by too little activity could be detected in younger adults.

They used data collected from 373 women and men, who filled out questionnaires about their TV viewing, exercise and other habits at age 32 and then again at age 36.

At age 36, each participant also had an ultrasound measurement of the stiffness of several major arteries in the body.

The researchers found those with the stiffest carotid artery, which is the main blood vessel in the head and neck, spent an average of about 20 more minutes per day watching TV, compared to people with the most elastic carotid artery.

Similar results were seen for stiffness of the femoral arteries in the legs.

Ferreira said the “critical cutoff” was about two hours per day of sitting. That’s in line with current recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics for maximum screen time for children.

What’s more, the negative effects of sitting did not appear to be offset by exercising.

“The funny thing is even if they do physical activity… that doesn’t correct the bad effects of sedentary time,” Ferreira said.

Joel Stager, a professor at the Indiana University-Bloomington School of Public Health, told Reuters Health that those with stiff arteries wouldn’t face immediate health problems. But it raises their risks later on.

“To be honest about this particular measure, it’s more of an association of future problems,” he said. “In other words, it’s predictive of cardiovascular disease down the road.”

Stager was not involved with the new study, but has researched arterial stiffening among college-age people.

“We are catching the early stages of this process,” Ferreira said.

Stager also added that the new study cannot prove watching TV is what caused people’s arteries to stiffen. It could be some other factor that goes along with TV watching, for instance, or young people with stiff arteries might be more likely to stay in and watch TV.

Ferreira told Reuters Health that more research into how watching TV may be tied to arterial stiffness is needed. But she said there is a take-home message for the average person.

“To put it simply, be active,” she said. “And on top of that don’t spend more than two hours sitting in front of your television, computer or laptop per day.”

Source:

Oreo cookies are as addictive as drugs

If you’ve ever been unable to stop yourself from eating too many Oreo cookies it may not be your fault–a new college study says one of America’s favorite desserts is just as addictive as drugs in lab rats.

The study by students at Connecticut College found that when the rats ate Oreos they formed an equally strong association with the cookies as when other rats were injected with cocaine or morphine.

Additionally, researchers found eating the cookies activated even more neurons in the rats’ brain “pleasure centers” than the addictive drugs.

“Our research supports the theory that high-fat/ high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do,” Neuroscience Professor Joseph Schroeder said in a school press release. “It may explain why some people can’t resist these foods despite the fact that they know they are bad for them.”

The student behind the study says she wanted to explore how foods with high fat and sugar content contribute to obesity in low-income communities, and that the results are troubling.

“Even though we associate significant health hazards in taking drugs like cocaine and morphine, high-fat/ high-sugar foods may present even more of a danger because of their accessibility and affordability,” Jamie Honohun said.

On a lighter note, Honohun says they also got a surprise when watching the rats eat the Oreos.

“They would break it open and eat the middle first,” she said.

Source:

Girls who eat peanut butter improves breast health later in life

Girls who eat more peanut butter could improve their breast health later in life.

That’s according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Harvard Medical School. The research shows that girls ages 9 to 15 who regularly ate peanut butter or nuts were 39 percent less likely to develop benign breast disease by age 30. Benign breast disease, although noncancerous, increases risk of breast cancer later in life.

“These findings suggest that peanut butter could help reduce the risk of breast cancer in women,” said senior author Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH, associate director for cancer prevention and control at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine.

The research was published in the journal Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.

Colditz also is the Niess-Gain Professor in Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine. He led the study with Catherine Berkey, MA, ScD, a biostatistician at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The findings are based on the health histories of 9,039 U.S. girls enrolled in The Growing Up Today Study from 1996 through 2001. Later, from 2005 through 2010, when the study participants were 18 to 30 years old, they reported whether they had been diagnosed with benign breast disease that had been confirmed by breast biopsy.

The researchers found that participants who ate peanut butter or nuts two times each week were 39 percent less likely to have developed benign breast disease than those who never ate them. The study’s findings suggest that beans, lentils, soybeans and corn also may help prevent benign breast disease, but consumption of these foods was much lower in these girls and thus the evidence was weaker.

Past studies have linked peanut butter, nut and vegetable fat consumption to a lower risk for benign breast disease. However, participants in those studies were asked to recall their high school dietary intakes years later. This new study is the first to use reports made during adolescence, with continued follow-up as cases of benign breast disease are diagnosed in young women.

Because of the obesity epidemic, Colditz recommended that girls replace high-calorie junk foods and sugary beverages with peanut butter or nuts.

Source : http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/25897.aspx

Accidental ingestion of acids common among children

The immediate symptoms are vomiting and severe abdominal pain with mostly children mistakenly consuming substances like toilet cleaners or acids kept in mineral water bottles or other daily-use containers, the doctors said.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) authorities say more than 50 such cases reach the hospital’s emergency every year with peak incidence between 1-3 years of age.

Esophageal injuries caused by ingestion of caustic agents occur frequently in small children. Commonly, the ingestion occurs because of inadequate storage of products such as acids, alkali and bleaches, doctors from AIIMS said.

According to the doctors, ingestion of such corrosives burns the food pipe from inside and causes ulcers in it. These ulcers bleed and perforate, which is often life-threatening.

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital receives 20-25 cases in a year.

“When such an accident takes place, family members should try to stimulate vomiting and rush the child to a paediatric where endoscopy should be done within 25 hours.

“If the reports reveal that the ulcers are too deep, then a nasojejural tube is inserted through the food-pipe. It takes almost four to six weeks for the injury to heal.

“But the actual problem starts after the healing as it leads to the narrowing of the food pipe and the child may have difficulty in swallowing even his saliva,” Dr Nishant Wadhwa, Paediatric Gastroenterologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said.

Apart from esophageal complications, these corrosives can cause severe damage to the stomach due to pyloric spasm and accumulation in the antrum, Dr Pankaj Vohra, Paediatric Gastroenterologist at Max hospital, said.

“They form ulcers in the stomach and cause swelling and obstruction of stomach outlet. In such cases, nothing should be given by mouth. The child should be started on intravenous fluid and given parenteral nutrition.

“After that, the child should undergo endoscopy for some time. Surgical interventions may required if there is a complete obstruction,” Dr Vohra said.

However, precaution is always better than cure. Doctors advise that such poisonous substances should be kept in secure places out of reach of children.

Potential household poisons should not be transferred to empty containers (otherwise used for food or beverages) and corrosives should not be kept in the open.

Source: Businessstandard.com

How Physical Fitness May Promote School Success

How Physical Fitness May Promote School Success

Children who are physically fit absorb and retain new information more effectively than children who are out of shape, a new study finds, raising timely questions about the wisdom of slashing physical education programs at schools.

Parents and exercise scientists (who, not infrequently, are the same people) have known for a long time that physical activity helps young people to settle and pay attention in school or at home, with salutary effects on academic performance. A representative study, presented in May at the American College of Sports Medicine, found that fourth- and fifth-grade students who ran around and otherwise exercised vigorously for at least 10 minutes before a math test scored higher than children who had sat quietly before the exam.

More generally, in a large-scale study of almost 12,000 Nebraska schoolchildren published in August in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers compiled each child’s physical fitness, as measured by a timed run, body mass index and academic achievement in English and math, based on the state’s standardized test scores. Better fitness proved to be linked to significantly higher achievement scores, while, interestingly, body size had almost no role. Students who were overweight but relatively fit had higher test scores than lighter, less-fit children.

To date, however, no study specifically had examined whether and in what ways physical fitness might affect how children learn. So researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently stepped into that breach, recruiting a group of local 9- and 10-year-old boys and girls, testing their aerobic fitness on a treadmill, and then asking 24 of the most fit and 24 of the least fit to come into the exercise physiology lab and work on some difficult memorization tasks.

Learning is, of course, a complex process, involving not only the taking in and storing of new information in the form of memories, a process known as encoding, but also recalling that information later. Information that cannot be recalled has not really been learned.

Earlier studies of children’s learning styles have shown that most learn more readily if they are tested on material while they are in the process of learning it. In effect, if they are quizzed while memorizing, they remember more easily. Straight memorization, without intermittent reinforcement during the process, is tougher, although it is also how most children study.

In this case, the researchers opted to use both approaches to learning, by providing their young volunteers with iPads onto which several maps of imaginary lands had been loaded. The maps were demarcated into regions, each with a four-letter name. During one learning session, the children were shown these names in place for six seconds. The names then appeared on the map in their correct position six additional times while children stared at and tried to memorize them.

In a separate learning session, region names appeared on a different map in their proper location, then moved to the margins of the map. The children were asked to tap on a name and match it with the correct region, providing in-session testing as they memorized.

A day later, all of the children returned to the lab and were asked to correctly label the various maps’ region

Read More: New York times

Child cataract blood test developed

Child cataract blood test developed

A blood test that may improve treatment for children born with congenital cataracts has been developed by researchers in Manchester.

It analyses every known mutation in the DNA which can cause the condition.

The team, which is presenting the test at the British Society for Genetic Medicine, hope it will spread up diagnosis and help decide the best treatment.

The charity RNIB described the test as a “welcome step forward”.

About 200 children are born with cataracts in the UK each year.

“Diagnosing a congenital cataract is very easy at birth, but diagnosing the cause takes considerably longer,” Prof Graeme Black, from the University of Manchester, said.

The problem is there are more than 100 different mutations in a child’s DNA which have been linked to congenital cataracts.

“If you have a child with no family history then finding the cause can take months or years,” he told the BBC.

‘Faster treatment’

A complete diagnosis can help doctors work out the best course of treatment, inform families on the risks of cataracts if they have more children or diagnose severe diseases which have cataracts as an early symptom.

At the moment, each mutation has to be tested for individually.

A team of researchers, at Manchester University and the Central Manchester Health Care Trust, has used advances in genetics to look for all the errors in the genetic code in a single test.

Dr Rachel Gillespie said: “Our test looks at all of these genes in parallel, so patients can be diagnosed much faster and receive the treatment, clinical management and genetic counselling they need.”

Hospitals in Manchester will begin offering the test from December.

Steve Winyard, from the charity RNIB, said: “This is very interesting research as approximately 200 children in the UK are born with some form of congenital cataract every year.

“Any development which enables children to be diagnosed quicker and gain faster access to treatment is a welcome step forward.

“It will be exciting to watch how this research progresses and how the genetic information might be used to manage congenital cataracts in the future.”

Source: BBC News

How to fight 14 classroom germs

Children in day care or in school can have as many as eight to 12 colds a year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics

If you think your kids are sick a lot during the school year, that’s because they are. Children in day care or in school can have as many as eight to 12 colds a year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. And that’s just respiratory infections. Often colds and other germ-triggered conditions aren’t that serious and symptoms disappear on their own (if they can’t be treated by a doctor). But isn’t it better to prevent them in the first place?

Here’s how to protect your kids from germs that tend to circulate in classrooms.

Conjunctivitis

More commonly called “pink eye” because it can cause the whites of one or both eyes to turn pink, conjunctivitis is transmitted by touching the germy discharge from someone else’s eyes or touching a surface that has been contaminated. The type cased by bacteria is more contagious than the type caused by viruses, but the risk of either can be minimized by hand washing and telling kids to not touch their face unless they’ve washed their hands.

Coxsackievirus

Coxsackievirus infections can cause a number of ailments, chief among them the uncommon, but painful hand, foot, and mouth disease. This causes a nasty rash inside the mouth and on the palms and soles of the feet. There’s no treatment, so go for prevention. The virus lives in the saliva. Make sure kids don’t put objects, especially shared objects like pencils, in their mouths and stress that they need to eat their own lunch, not anyone else’s, says M. Kathryn Sanders, RN, assistant professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Nursing in Round Rock.

Head lice

Head lice infestation can happen to anyone—and it does. These tough-to-eradicate critters spread from person to person and, most often, with head-to-head contact, says Sanders. If kids are studying in a group, heads huddled together, lice can spread. Lice can also crawl on back packs, sleeping bags, and pillows. Girls should keep long hair up and shorter haircuts can help minimize (but not eliminate) risk, says Sanders. Tell children to avoid head-to-head contact, and not to share combs, hats, or back packs. Too late? Here are 20 Ways to Get Rid of Head Lice.

Impetigo

This skin infection can be caused by Streptococcus or Staphylococcus bacteria and results in pus-filled blisters and open sores that crust over. The bad news is that it is quite contagious, and can be spread by coming into contact with another person, by touching a contaminated surface, or by moving germs from one part of the body to another. The good news is that you actually have to have an open sore or cut for it to infect you, says Sanders. Avoid direct contact with someone who is already infected and keep washing those hands.

Influenza

Coinciding with the start of the school year is the beginning of flu season. Aside from avoiding these surprising risk factors for the flu, the best protection against the seasonal flu is the flu vaccine, which is updated annually. The effectiveness of the vaccine varies from year to year but, according to one study, can be up to 83 percent effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all healthy children aged 6 months and older get the vaccine each year.

Measles

Thanks to the highly effective MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, measles in children was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. In recent years, though, there have been troubling outbreaks around the country, probably due to a drop in vaccination rates. (Sort out fact from fiction with 12 Myths and Facts about Vaccines.) Vaccination is the key to prevention. In fact, proof of vaccination is often required before a child can start school. The initial shot is given when the child is 12-to-15 months old and another when they reach school age.

Meningitis

This potentially fatal infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord is more common in preteens and teens (it can be a hazard in college dorms) than younger children, and fortunately, is relatively rare. The best way to prevent it is a meningococcal vaccine, which stops some of the major meningitis-causing germs. The CDC recommends all 11-12 year olds be vaccinated then receive a booster dose at age 16. If you notice any symptoms in your child—severe headache, sensitivity to light, neck pain—seek medical attention right away, says Sanders.

Mononucleosis

Known as the “kissing disease,” mononucleosis can be transmitted through kissing and other contact with contaminated saliva. It is most common in teens aged 15 through 17. While it may not be possible to regulate kissing in maturing kids, you can caution them to avoid sharing food, drinks, and utensils. These can spread mono-causing viruses, which can cause fever, swollen glands, sore throat, and fatigue.

Norovirus

You’ve heard about outbreaks of this stomach bug on cruise ships, but it can make the rounds in any crowded space, including schools. The virus is spread through feces so avoid sharing food, drinks, and eating utensils with other people. Washing hands frequently can help. There have been reported instances of contracting norovirus from swimming pools. Tell your kids not to get pool water in their mouth, says Sanders.

Otitis media

Also known as an ear infection, otitis media is common, especially among young children. That’s partly because the structure of the developing ear makes it easier for fluids to get trapped, says Sanders. There’s not much you can do about that, but some childhood immunizations (including influenza and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines) may reduce the risk of ear infections, as can basic hygiene techniques such as washing your hands.

Pertussis

Pertussis, aka whooping cough, is a serious and potentially dangerous respiratory infection caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria. Infected people spread the bug through coughing, sneezing, or close contact with another person. Vaccines are available for children, teens, and adults—but not babies, who can get life-threatening infections. If your child has a serious cough, see your doctor and, make sure he or she stays home (this goes for all illnesses). Healthy children should be vaccinated and wash their hands often to avoid getting sick.

Rhinovirus

Rhinoviruses are behind most cases of the common cold, which run rampant in schools. Once your child has caught a cold there’s not much you can do except treat the symptoms. To stay healthy, it’s best to encourage hand washing. At a minimum, children should wash their hands or use a hand sanitizer after using the restroom; after they blow their nose; if they cough or sneeze into their hands (tell them to aim for the crook of their arm, instead of hands); and before they eat, says Dr. Andrea Green Hines, a pediatrician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Rotavirus

Rotavirus is highly contagious bug that causes diarrhea and can quickly lead to dehydration, especially in small children. But this is another case when a vaccine, given orally when your child is still a baby, can prevent future ailments. The vaccine is not given to older children, so if your child missed the chance, be aware that the virus is spread through feces. To help prevent its spread, make sure diapers are properly disposed of and wash your hands.

Strep throat

Strep throat, caused by infection with groups A streptococcus bacteria, can cause not only severe throat pain, but also fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting. The bug is spread through contact with contaminated saliva, either directly or indirectly through droplets in the air. If a strep test is positive, antibiotics are necessary due to the risk of more serious complication that may affect the heart and brain. Kids of school age shouldn’t share objects and, importantly, shouldn’t stick them in their mouths. Making sure your child has his or her own cool pencil box may help reduce the risk.

Source: Fox news

Skipping Whooping Cough Vaccine Boosts Disease Risk

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According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, more than 41,000 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, were reported in the United States in 2012. Infants and children between the ages of 7 and 10 are the two age groups with the highest incidence of the disease. The majority of pertussis deaths occur among infants that are younger than 3 months of age due to barriers such as health care or parental refusal of the DTaP vaccination.

While doctors recommend children from 2 months to 6 years old to receive their five DTaP shots — a combination vaccination that protects kids against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis — a significant percentage of kids skip or receive the shots late. Nearly half of children diagnosed with pertussis are found to be under vaccinated, according to a new study.

Findings published online in the journal JAMA Pediatrics revealed that children who skip their whooping cough shots or get them late have a high risk of developing the disease. Researchers conducted a matched case-control study of 72 children (3 to 36 months of age) born between 2004 and 2008 and who were diagnosed with pertussis, and 288 healthy children of similar age who did not catch the disease.

The researchers evaluated how many children in each group received their whooping cough shots on time, and how many children were under vaccinated. Jason Glanz, Ph.D., researcher of the study and senior scientist at Kaiser Permanente Colorado, and his colleagues defined under vaccination for the DTaP vaccine as missing or delaying one or more of the first four doses by the recommended age, says Medpage Today.

Nearly half — 47 percent — of the children diagnosed with pertussis were found to be under vaccinated, compared with 22 percent of healthy children in the study. The researchers believed that 36 percent of pertussis cases among children belonging to this age group could have been prevented with a one-time pertussis vaccination. “Under vaccination is an increasing trend that potentially places children and their communities at an increased risk for serious infectious disease,” wrote the authors of the study.

Under vaccination of whooping cough was attributed to barriers such as health care and parents choosing not to have their children vaccinated. Approximately 30 percent of kids who were diagnosed with pertussis were under vaccinated due to parental refusal. Parents’ failure to get their children vaccinated on time can contribute to a widespread outbreak of whooping cough in the U.S.

Currently, whooping cough has hit Texas the hardest with nearly 2,000 reported cases and two deaths this year, reports Discovery.com. The state could possibly have more cases than what has been reported in the last 50 years.

How to spot vision problems in children

kid_glasses.jpgThere are many conditions that, although extremely rare, can cause blindness in a child if not caught on time. One such condition is pediatric glaucoma, which occurs when the pressure in the eye is elevated, causing damage to the optic nerve.

Other more common conditions that can affect a child’s vision include strabismus, a crossing of the eyes, or amblyopia, poor vision in one or both of the eyes. If untreated, pediatric eye conditions like these can lead to long term problems with vision, hinder the development of the eye and cause problems with socialization and learning.

I spoke to Dr. Shreya Prabhu, an assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology at Mt. Sinai Medical School in New York, to find out what parents need to know:

What signs and symptoms should parents be aware of?
There are two types of pediatric glaucoma – infantile and juvenile.

Infantile glaucoma, which becomes evident within months of birth, is associated with several visible symptoms that parents may be able to spot, according to Prabhu.

“(Children) don’t seem to want to open their eyes in the light, the surface of the eye looks cloudy, their eye looks teary,” Prabhu told FoxNews.com. “(These are) all things parents can look out for.”

Some infants with glaucoma will also have enlarged corneas – or unusually large eyes – a trait that can be difficult for parents to spot, but can sometimes be recognized by a pediatrician.

However, juvenile glaucoma, which develops during adolescence, is often asymptomatic.

“It’s only picked up if child goes for a vision exam and something is detected like poor vision or they go for a routine evaluation and someone looks inside their eyes,” Prabhu said.

If adolescents begin to experience problems with peripheral vision, or complain of ‘tunnel vision,’ parents should take them to a doctor immediately, as these are signs that the disease has become more advanced.

Conditions like strabismus are much more easy to spot because they cause a visible crossing or wandering of the eye. However, poor vision can be more difficult for parents to notice without the help of an eye exam.

How early should a child get an eye examination? What should that exam cover?
Doctors will typically perform simple vision tests from birth to rule out major problems in infants, according to Prabhu. Then, as children get older, many will receive vision tests at school, in addition to regular eye evaluations during their yearly visit to their pediatrician.

“They’ll do things like check pupils, how well they seem to see with each eye, do an external exam and look for a red reflux in the retina… that (red eye) when people take pictures,” Prabhu said. “If you don’t see that red spot in the center of the eye, there could be something in the eye like a cataract or other things obscuring that.”

Doctors should also ask parents about any family history of eye conditions. If the pediatrician spots a problem, they will typically refer the child to an ophthalmologist for further treatment.

“Generally, the screening guidelines say (children) don’t need an ophthalmologist unless something is going on – they’re showing signs or failing vision tests at pediatrician or school,” Prabhu said.

What kinds of early interventions can make a difference?
Spotting vision problems early in a child’s life can play a crucial role in preserving a child’s eyesight.

“The benefit is, in congenital glaucoma, they can have severe vision loss if it is not treated early,” Prabhu said. “The later it’s diagnosed, the more ground you’ve lost.”

Juvenile glaucoma can typically be treated with eye drops, pills or surgery, while for infants, the best treatment option is usually surgical.

Additionally, being vigilant about a child’s eye health can completely resolve some cases of crossed eyes or poor vision.

Crossed eyes can be treated with a combination of glasses or surgical interventions, depending on the origin of the problem. Furthermore, poor vision can also be treated with glasses, or occasionally with eye patches to strengthen the weaker eye.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/05/how-to-spot-vision-problems-in-children/#ixzz2e5vKPuMt

 

Baby boy dies after ingesting mother’s drug-laced breast milk

A child advocacy worker is criticizing Sacramento County’s response in the case of an 8-month-old boy who died after ingesting his mother’s drug-laced milk.

A report by the Sacramento Bee says Child Protective Services took three months to fully respond to the case of a child considered at risk after tests found he was exposed to the drugs.

Ryder Salmen died September 2012 after overdosing on a fatal mix of Xanax, methadone and the painkiller Opana. Court documents said the infant’s mother had been warned five months earlier to stop breastfeeding because of high levels of methadone found in her baby’s bloodstream. The test came after Ryder, then 4 months old, was brought to a hospital because he was lethargic.

Documents obtained under the California Public Records Act by the Sacramento Bee show that after the hospital visit, social workers determined Ryder was at risk. A safety plan was required for him to remain in his mother’s custody.

However, records show a CPS manager did not approve the safety assessment in Ryder’s case until three months after a social worker created it.

That response is unacceptable, said Ed Howard, senior counsel for the Children’s Advocacy Institute at the University Of San Diego School Of Law, who reviewed Ryder’s case file at the request of The Bee.

“Is it their policy to wait three months to approve safety assessments for the children of drug-addicted mothers?” Howard said. “This undermines the confidence about whether Sacramento County CPS is doing its job.”

In a written response, the deputy director of CPS said the safety assessment should be approved by a supervisor upon completion by a social worker.

“However, there are occasions when a time lapse occurs between the review of the safety assessment and the (approval). ,” Michelle Callejas said.

On the same day the first safety assessment was approved, the agency created a second safety assessment which said Ryder faced a low risk of future mistreatment.

But shortly after completing its second assessment, CPS received a report from police questioning Ryder’s safety. A Citrus Height police officer cited his mother for child endangerment when the car she was driving, with Ryder in the back seat, went off the road.

Based on the records, CPS apparently did not complete another risk assessment after the car accident. Ryder died less than a month after police made the report to CPS.

His mother, 32-year-old Sarah Ann Stephens of Citrus Heights, was charged recently with murder and two counts of child endangerment.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/