More on the Breastfeeding Controversy

So there's now more evidence that breastfeeding isn't, as the headline says, "as beneficial as once thought." It's starting to sound like the benefits of breastfeeding may have more to do with hormonal factors than with the milk itself.
Makes me wonder if the reported reduction in breast and uterine cancers associated with breastfeeding is also related to something else, like lifestyle or hormones.

Spanking is good for kids?

... you might be lead to believe that, should you have caught this story in an Australian newspaper (who knew the Aussies were such big smackers?).

I was called by the Ed Norris show to comment on this story, and when I began to look into the facts it turns out that the reporter, Cheryl Critchley, completely misrepresented what the study said. "Reports" the Herald Tribune,

The Christian Calvin College in Michigan quizzed 2600 teens and found the 75 per cent who were smacked at ages 2-6 performed better on measures such as academic and volunteer work, college aspirations, hope and confidence than those who weren't.

In reality, everything in the above paragraph is false, other than the college being in Michigan. The study was of 187 teens, not 2600. The kids were not "quizzed" but self-reported on seven questions, including if they had ever "attacked anyone," been "depressed" and if they felt they had a "close relationship with God." Teens who had been hit did not perform "better," in truth there was no significant difference in how they responded. Below is the PowerPoint that the researcher, Marji Gunnoe, sent me.


For the record, numerous studies have found associations between negative consequences and hitting kids, from lowered IQ's to higher rates of criminal behavior and sexual deviance. But note than an association is not the same as cause-and-effect, which is pretty much impossible to establish if you're using real humans as subjects.
The bottom line (har!) if you're looking for scientific support for the benefits of spanking: it doesn't exist. But if you're looking for evidence that certain people are trying to turn spanking into a political issue, there's ample evidence for that!

Breastfeeding over-rated?

"The Case Against Breastfeeding" from The Atlantic is a lot of food for thought (har!). I do think that the pros of breastfeeding have been overstated, especially by interest groups like La Leche League, and though the research I've read about childhood obesity and breastfeeding has all sounded pretty conclusive, it is hard to create a perfect study when you're using real-life human infants as subjects. In America, formula-feeding, poverty and education are all so closely correlated, it's nearly impossible to isolate the effects of each.