Wild Lights at Dublin Zoo
Dublin Zoo is launching an after-dark event tomorrow (November 3) which will run until January 7, 2018. Wild Lights is a trail around illuminated animal sculptures including a pride of lions, orangutans, tigers, giraffes and monkeys. Other highlights include a 16-metre high porcelain elephant tower and a 30-metre long Chinese dragon. Visitors will also be entertained by Chinese performers before browsing at the Chinese craft market and there will be a selection of Chinese foods and warm drinks available for purchase.
Admission is from 5-9pm and tickets are €20 per adult and €15 per child, booking essential. www.dublinzoo.ie
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Hand Hygiene
Children aged 0-4 are more vulnerable to certain forms of food poisoning and all the evidence points to poor hygiene being the major cause.
While wipes and hand sanitisers are really handy, they are not soap and water and just don’t work the same way. Just rinsing their hands under the tap will not get rid of dangerous germs. And if they don’t dry their hands either, germs will breed in the moisture and spread easily onto whatever your children touch next. So Safefood advises we teach them to wash their hands the only way that works:
*Wet their hands with water. Add soap and show them how to rub their hands until lather forms.
*Rubbing their hands’ palms, back, wrists, finders, nails and in between their fingers helps remove dirt and germs.
*Rinse soap off completely with running water and show them how to dry their hands thoroughly with a towel.
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Dogs reduce anxiety in children
Children who have a pet dog are less likely to suffer from anxiety, according to a new study published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease.
Researchers from Bassett Medical Centre in Cooperstown, New York found that just 12% of children with pet dogs tested positive for clinical anxiety, compared to 21% of children without a dog.
“From a mental health standpoint, children aged 7 to 8 often ranked pets higher than humans as providers of comfort and self-esteem and as confidants,” wrote Dr Anne Gadomski and her team.
“Because dogs follow human communicative cues, they may be particularly effective agents for children’s emotional development.”
Other studies have also shown that playing or cuddling with a dog can release the bonding hormone oxytocin, and lower the stress hormone cortisol, they noted
The team choose to study the effects of dogs because there’s so much research about them, but Dr Gadomski said that “doesn’t mean that cats can’t do the same thing”.