If you cross your eyes, they could stay that way.
False. A lot of babies do occasionally cross their eyes, but that is a natural part of development. They need to strengthen their eye muscles before they can master a "conjugant gaze," that is, getting both eyes in alignment, explains Ponti. But there's nothing to suggest that a kid who crosses her eyes will suffer any damage. "I would say if your child does have a wandering eye, a lazy eye or a crossed eye, she absolutely needs to see a physician," she adds.
Only "dirty" children get head lice, and lice can jump from kid to kid.
Both false. Head lice are extremely common among children in day cares and school. Head lice do not spread disease and they do not mean your child is unclean, according to a Canadian Paediatric Society article in Pediatrics & Child Health in 2004. Lice cannot jump or fly from head to head, though they can crawl quickly and are easily passed from one child to another when kids share hats, combs, brushes and headphones. Head lice are unpleasant, but they are benign and can be treated with shampoos available at the drugstore. For advice on how to treat head lice, see www.caringforkids.cps.ca/whensick/headlice.htm.
If a child drinks coffee, it could stunt her growth.
False. There are a lot of good reasons you wouldn't want young children drinking coffee, but stunting their growth isn't one of them. Coffee, or more specifically caffeine, can cause a host of undesirable symptoms if consumed in excess -- jitteriness, insomnia, upset stomach and headaches. But studies have never shown that caffeine affects growth in children. The idea may have come from early studies that suggested caffeine intake might be associated with weak bones and osteoporosis, but research has failed to support the connection. Health Canada recommends limiting the intake of a preschool child (age four to six) to 45 milligrams of caffeine a day, or about the amount found in one can of cola.
Eating sugar makes children hyperactive.
False. You take your six-year-old to a birthday party. Within minutes of eating sugary treats, every child in the room is bouncing off the walls. Common sense tells you that eating sugar makes kids hyper. Or does it? "It is a common misconception," says Dr. Madan Roy, chief of general pediatrics at Hamilton Health Sciences in Hamilton. "There has been a lot of good research done looking at the number of kids with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) [though no research has been done on children without ADHD] and none has ever shown a connection." Sugar is a natural source of energy, he explains, and often children are eating treats in a special situation -- a birthday party, Halloween, Easter -- so it's no wonder they're excited.
Try sharing a cup of tea with your kids. Read about the benefits of tea here.
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