Lifestyle

Millions of British children are copying the drinking habits of their parents, new research has revealed. Over six in ten UK adults admit their children copy their drinking habits for both healthy and unhealthy drinks. The results show that if they have a soft drink, the child asks for that too, with eight per cent of youngsters having a fizzy drink every day. If parents drink more healthily, children are also likely to follow, increasing their consumption of water, low/no...

Newborn Bobby Davies had the first of two open heart surgeries when he was just three months old after he was born with deadly heart defect, tricuspid atresia. The tot, now seven months, successfully went under the knife in a Glenn Shunt operation just 12 weeks after he was born to increase the amount of oxygenated blood going round his tiny body. Dad Richard, 28, got a tattoo of his son's scar on his chest so his brave little soldier...

A rare dog that was reported to police after being mistaken for a badger on a lead at a car boot sale has now gone missing. Charlie Plumb's Japanese raccoon dog 'Palesa' disappeared from her enclosure on Tuesday. Police attended a car boot sale in Rufforth, York, in early February to reports of a badger being seen on a leash. Charlie, the owner of an exotic animal company, took the misunderstanding in his stride but now fears for Palesa's life. His...

Fathers could also suffer from postnatal depression according to new research. Being stressed about looming fatherhood and being unwell increases the risk of becoming depressed before the birth his child and up to nine months afterwards, according to the study. A new study of men in New Zealand found 2.3 per cent get the blues during the last trimester of the pregnancy which nearly doubles to 4.3 per cent following the birth. While fluctuations in hormones are to blame for...

As much as we are taught not to value material possessions even the most non-indulgent people still have those one or two items we just couldn’t live without. Whether it’s a family heirloom, something our child gave to us or or the house itself, we all have prized possessions. This week the British public were quizzed by Skipton Building on what items they hold dear. The study shows people are more likely to cherish a possession which was given to...

Millions of Brits are suffering from first wash anxiety - living in fear of ruining their new clothes. More than three-quarters of Brits say they feel anxious that they’ll spoil their new clothes on the first wash, with more than half admitting that they no longer consider an item ‘new’ once it has been laundered. Three in five Brits say they purchase new clothes just for the ‘just bought feeling’, with many putting off putting new clothes through the wash...

Naming another living creature is a big responsibility. If you are a parent, your child will have to deal with his or her name, and whatever associations or nicknames it invites, for the rest of their life. For pet owners, the consequences of the name chosen are unlikely to be felt much by the animal, but, when choosing a name, you might want to think about whether you will be happy to shout it in the street in the unfortunate...

What is a 'normal family', Lisa Belkin probed in a new study published in the New York Times. Statistically, it is no longer a mother, a father and their biological children living together under one roof, and certainly not with Dad going off to work and Mom staying home. "Although perception and acceptance often lag behind reality, there is evidence that a new definition of family — while far from universally accepted — is emerging". The nuclear family has certainly expired, but it...

One of the main characteristics of the today’s society is its constantly changing shape and features. The modern world is developing at such rate that it can easily be called inconsistent. Such an inconsistency can be quite challenging and one of the last resorts we can find is a family. There is a ton of investigations on the subject. Some of them argue that the conception of the family is obsolete and there is no place for it in the...