The Balkan Chronicle

The world is becoming unbalanced. In pockets across the globe, women are giving birth to too many boys. In China, the sex ratio is 121 boys to 100 girls. In India, it's 112 to 100. Sex selection also is a force in the Balkans, Armenia and Georgia. In her eye-opening book, "Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the Consequences of a World Full of Men," journalist Mara Hvistendahl estimates that ultrasound and abortion have "claimed over 160 million potential women and girls - in Asia alone." That's more than the entire female population of the United States.

“Immunizations the best thing to protect your child from a variety of diseases.”

You hear this from your doctor from the media, from the brochures in the clinic, from your friends. But, did you ever stop to think twice about what it all means?

Did you ever look deeper into the issue and the other side of the story?

Research has shown that smacking your kids makes them brainier. Could there be any sweeter music to the ears of harassed parents counting the seconds until schools reopen after the torture of Christmas togetherness?

According to research from Marjorie Gunnoe, professor of psychology at Calvin College in the US State of Michigan, children smacked before the age of six perform better at school when they are teenagers. They are also more likely to do voluntary work and to want to go to university than their peers. Forget moving to that must-have catchment area, all the little blighters need, apparently, is a skelp around the legs.

Half of all family blockbuster films set a bad example to children as characters routinely break basic safety rules, an academic report claims.

Researchers found that the main protagonists of Hollywood movies often undermine accident prevention advice given to children.