Granny Ranny's Coming Attractions

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) invites children to enter a national art contest with a chance to win a trip to Washington, DC, this year. The contest is open to boys and girls in three groups, grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12, and the theme is “Protecting Children from Tobacco Smoke.”

Group winners and their parents/guardians will be invited to a presentation ceremony before several thousand pediatricians at the 2009 AAP National Conference & Exhibition in Washington, DC, on Saturday, October 17. Each first-place winner will receive $500 and up to $1,000 for travel-related expenses. The three second-place winners will each receive $250. The six winners’ schools will be awarded matching cash amounts. Winners will have their artwork featured on the AAP Web site and in promotional materials.

“There are still far too many young people who smoke and many pick up this deadly habit while they are at school,” warns AAP President David Tayloe, Jr, MD, FAAP. “This is an opportunity for children to exercise their creative side to alert other children – and parents — to the dangers of tobacco and secondhand smoke.”

This year’s contest is an initiative of the AAP’s Julius B. Richmond Center, supported by the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute, and dedicated to the elimination of children’s exposure to tobacco and secondhand smoke.

To enter, children should submit an original piece of artwork to: National Art Contest, American Academy of Pediatrics, 141, Northwest Point Boulevard, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007.

Rules, official entry forms and consent forms must accompany all entries and are available online at http://www.aap.org/ . Entries must be postmarked by July 31, 2009. Winning entries will be selected by a panel of judges including pediatricians, and announced in the summer.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has release information about a new study that shows exposing infants and toddlers to television does not improve their language and visual motor skills at age 3, but does not appear to harm them either.

In the study, “Television Viewing in Infancy and Child Cognition at 3 Years of Age in a US Cohort,” researchers looked at the amount of time 872 children spent watching television or videos from birth to 2 years of age, then assessed their language and visual motor skills at age 3. When researchers adjusted for other factors that could influence these skills, such as maternal education and breastfeeding, the effect of television appeared neutral. Contrary to many parents’ perception that television viewing is beneficial to their children’s brain development, the researchers found no evidence of such a benefit. The authors point out that there are many potential benefits of limiting television exposure in children, including improved diet, lower risk of overweight, less exposure to violent content, and improved sleep quality.

Watch your local DVD retailer for some of these delightful titles for your younger viewers:

3-2-1 Penguins!: Blast In Space!

All systems are GO as your favorite space-traveling penguins embark on their next intergalactic journey! From the creators of the award-winning VeggieTales® series, Big Idea, Inc., an Entertainment Rights group company, presents Zidgel, Midgel, Fidgel and Kevin in 3-2-1 Penguins!®: Blast In SpaceÔ! Featuring three all new episodes together on one DVD. Dedicated to responding to distress calls from across the galaxy, 3-2-1 Penguins! follows the adventures of a pair of seven-year old twins and four space-traveling penguins who learn valuable lessons based on the book of Proverbs along the way.

Strap in for three all new adventures with four space-traveling penguins! Add in giant ants, hula-dancing tikis and a volcano ready to blow and you’ll have a blast in space while learning valuable lessons from the book of Proverbs in patience, diligence and compassion! Featured episodes include Wiki Tiki, Lazy Daze and Compassion Crashin’.

Elmo and Friends: Tales of Adventure – Making ABCs, geometry and comparisons fun!