children

The World Health Organization says children's health is being damaged as well as their brain development and social skills.

It says failing to take the recommended hour a day of exercise is a universal problem in rich and poor countries.

Boys were more active than girls in all but four of the 146 countries studied.

What exercise counts?

Pretty much anything that makes the heart beat more quickly and the lungs breathe harder.

It could include:

At least 16 people have been injured in the mass attack and at least two people are reportedly dead. Police have confirmed one girl has died.

The suspect reportedly stabbed himself in the neck and was later detained. He has now died from his injuries.

The motive for the attack is unknown.

Police responding to the violent incident recovered two knives, said NHK.

Digicel staff got together and contributed general school stationary items while Star Printery gave all the exercise books to the children.

Digicel Fiji CEO, Mike Greig made the presentation and met the children and encouraged them to do their best in school this year.

“This is an excellent gesture at the start of the year, I want to thank Digicel Fiji staff who took pride and made an effort to buy stationary and help some needy children in our community,” said Greig.

According to a government statement, some children are allegedly being used to seek funds from the overseas government, and some treated as ‘kavigi’s’ or ‘slave labourers’ in their adopted homes. 

Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi has initiated measures towards tightening up local laws, to ensure that innocent children adopted by their Samoan relatives are not exploited.

Presenting a paper at the Youth and Family Violence Forum in Apia this week Justice Vui said the child learned from its parents.

He said parents who smack their children teach them that assault was an acceptable way to teach behaviour and means children learn about violence from a very young age.

Justice Vui, who is a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of a Child, said violence was becoming an accepted norm in Samoa.

But choking wasn't the cause, according to a case studypublished Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics.

The terrifying incident had a much more unlikely cause, according to Dr. Isa Ozyilmaz of Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul.

Using NAPLAN test results of 5,000 year 3 students, researchers from the University of Melbourne found the delays were equivalent to a child missing about 35 days of a school year.

Melbourne University's Cain Polidano described the findings are relatively small but significant.

"There is already a bit of evidence that shows that caesarean birth is related to a number of negative childhood health outcomes, including risks of ADHD, autism and also asthma", Dr Polidano said.

But this boy has a tumultuous past and a reputation that precedes him, having undergone a recovery most children will never face.

Six years ago, Aldi Suganda, also known as Aldi Rizal, was a 2-year-old chain smoker addicted to cigarettes, smoking packs each day. "It was hard for me to stop," he said. "If I am not smoking, my mouth taste is sour and my head feel dizzy.

"I am happy now. I feel more enthusiastic, and my body is feeling fresh," he said.

Countless parents have kids who just want to eat chicken nuggets, or pasta, or macaroni and cheese, or all of the above, and definitely without any vegetables.

It's a problem throughout the year, but at back-to-school time, it gets maybe a tad more stressful, as parents are looking to start over or at least give their kids lunches that pack a healthy punch and won't get traded away for Oreos or some other sugary snack.

Parents of only children by choice are no strangers to these questions.

But evidence shows there are very few drawbacks to a one-child family, and according to one expert those passing judgement are likely envious because they have "suffered through" raising several children.

Between Canditta Natakuapa and her husband, they have 17 siblings. So deciding to have just the one child was easy for the pair who value work-life balance and giving their son "the best start in life".