Marriage breeds better children?

The AIFS is an Australian Federal government body but its website seems not to be up to date. At the time of writing, I could find no mention of the study described below

From the information below, however, the study conclusion seems outstandingly silly. The data seem more indicative of highly educated mothers having better adjusted children, rather than anything else. Just another case of the general high IQ advantage, it seems

CHILDREN of married couples are more mentally and socially developed than children brought up by a single parent or an unmarried couple, a study claims.

A report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, released today, suggests a gap between children from single-parent and married families that will continue to widen as they grow, the Herald Sun reported.

Family studies researcher Ruth Weston said love and affection was shown by all families in the study of 5000 children, but twice as many women in wedded couples had a university degree and were more likely to be employed.

"The study shows 31 per cent of the married mothers had a university degree or higher-level education compared with 15 per cent of single or cohabiting mothers," Ms Weston said. "A family's financial circumstances are clearly very important for the wellbeing of children."

But Victorian president of Parents without Partners, Rhonda McHugh, slammed the taxpayer-funded study, describing it as "detrimental". "It is unfair assuming children of single parents are not going to do well. A lot of our kids are doing well in sports and going to university," Ms McHugh said. "These studies create a stigma, and single parents go out of their way for their kids to achieve."

Married couple Rebecca, 39, and Troy Harris, 42, of Croydon, agreed that having two breadwinners made things easier, but a child's development depended on time spent as a family. "Because there is two of us, we get more time to sit with them and interact, but sometimes families are better off separated," she said. "Marriage is great for kids, but it has to be a positive environment for them."

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Another win for systematic desensitization

It's been around for decades but seems to be strangely neglected as a therapy. It can even be used in at least some cases to overcome that most frightening allergy: peanut allergy

A woman blighted by a severe food intolerance which restricted her to a rice-only diet is preparing for her first Christmas dinner in over a decade. Former caterer Micaela Stafford, 53, lost 3st as her body started violently reacting to foods that included dairy, gluten, wheat, sugars, oils and fats.

She used to enjoy fried breakfasts, curries and roast dinners but was limited to bowls of boiled rice following physical reactions to nearly everything she ate.

Her unusual condition had left dieticians, gastroenterologists and even neurologists baffled. With no solution she was forced to give up her job and became housebound as her condition took control, leaving her husband Philip increasingly concerned.

For the past twelve Christmases she had to watch as her family tucked into their roast dinners while she sat with a portion of bland rice.

She told MailOnline: 'Every year my condition got worse. The first year it was Christmas pudding that I couldn't handle and last Christmas I could only manage one sprout.'

But in a dramatic turnaround the mother-of-two, from Normanton on Soar, Leicestershire has overcome her debilitating illness which began in 1999.

After her story gained publicity earlier this year clinical nutritionist Diana Earnshaw got in touch via Facebook and suggested she should try slowly introducing new foods into her diet, and now Mrs Stafford is able to tolerate 40 different foods.

Mrs Stafford said: ‘When Diana got in touch, I thought it was worth a try, I'd tried everything else.’

Following the new diet plan she started by consuming nothing but clear meat broth, made from boiled chicken carcasses which contained only 10 to 14 calories per dish. Eventually she was able to introduce stand-alone dishes, such as omelets and lamb chops, as her body built up resistance.

Now miraculously she is busy gearing up for her Christmas dinner which she will spend with her husband Philip and eldest son Michael, 34. She said: 'I didn't believe this would ever be able to happen, I'm really looking for to people coming around and enjoying food again.

'We are planning on having turkey, sprouts, carrots, green beans, parsnips and potatoes, which will be cooked in goose grease, as this is an oil I can tolerate.

'Unfortunately there will be no mince pies or Christmas pudding but I might be able to manage some banana and coconut milk.' She is also on the hunt for a stuffing recipe that will adhere to her dietary needs. 'There is a local organic farm nearby and I'm hoping they can make me up a special recipe. 'They have gluten free sausage meat and I'm hoping they can combine it with chestnuts.'

Prolonged migraines, sickness, diarrhoea and joint pains were all symptoms caused by the allergy that remains undiagnosed.

A number of surveys have found that 20 to 30 per cent of people in the UK now claim to have a food allergy.

Mrs Stafford added: 'I really didn't think I would be eating Christmas dinner, but now it's mid November it really seems like a reality. But I still have a long way to go.'

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