Amusing Facts About Babies

 by: Tony Luck

* Men are officially the best at changing baby! Research shows that the average time taken by a woman to change baby is 2 minutes and 5 seconds, whereas the average man takes 1 minute and 36 seconds! Expert in male and female behaviour Corinne Sweet says 'Changing baby is essentially a mechanical process, men approach it like a pit stop; they want it over as quickly as possible'. So come on guys lend a hand, you're the experts!!

* Overweight children are up to 5 times more likely to have a heart attack or stroke before the age of 65. So if you're overfeeding your 'little' one, you could be killing him with kindness.

* Eating fish during pregnancy can boost your baby's brain development and give him better communication and language skills. A study of 7000 mothers found that those who ate fish at least once per week had babies who scored higher in verbal skills at 15 months than those whose mothers ate no fish.

* The father's sperm will decide the sex of your baby. The mother's eggs contain only a female or X chromosome, but a man's contains either an X (which makes a girl) or Y chromosome (which makes a boy). Whichever one reaches the egg first and fertilises it will determine the sex.

* Air fresheners may cause diarrhoea and earache in babies say scientists. They found that infants in homes where air fresheners and aerosols were used every day were 32% more likely to suffer from stomach and ear complaints.

* One in five toddlers can open medicine and chemical bottles with child-resistant tops experts are warning. Every year thousands of toddlers are taken to hospital having swallowed substances ranging from perfume, painkillers and household cleaning products. The Child Accident Prevention Trust advises parents to store all medicines high up and well out of reach and sight; never assume that a child cannot open a product with a child-resistant lid; and never leave pills or drugs in a handbag - a favourite place for a toddler to search.

* Will your baby be left or right-handed? It's decided as early as 10 weeks gestation say researchers who found that babies in the womb favour one hand over the other, the same one they'll prefer to use in life.