As the holiday season approaches,families are facing a surge in common respiratory illnesses alongside the usual challenges of balancing work,family,and well-being. New research and guidance address a range of topics-from preventing the spread of viruses like the flu and RSV, to surprising insights into the benefits of potty humor and the impact of scheduled intimacy on parents, and the confirmed advantages of skin-to-skin contact for newborns. This compilation of recent findings also includes an opening for a new team member dedicated to child growth in Quebec.
HEALTH
Table of Contents
Protect Yourself from Flu and Other Viruses During the Holidays
As the holiday season approaches and gatherings increase, public health officials are reminding people of key preventative measures to limit the spread of viruses and protect vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and young children. This is particularly important as respiratory illnesses are currently on the rise.
Flu transmission is currently increasing and is expected to peak during the holiday season. The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), COVID-19, and gastroenteritis are also circulating. Understanding the risks and taking precautions can help minimize illness during this time.
To limit transmission, health officials recommend frequent handwashing with soap and water or hand sanitizer, and covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow. Vaccination against the flu and COVID-19 remains a crucial step in preventing severe complications from infection.
If you experience symptoms, it’s important to take the following steps:
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Stay home, especially if you have a fever.
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Wear a mask until symptoms resolve.
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Avoid contact with vulnerable individuals.
Additionally, public health authorities recommend vaccination against measles for those who haven’t received the vaccine, due to a recent outbreak involving three cases in the Laurentides region. This highlights the importance of maintaining high vaccination rates to prevent the spread of preventable diseases.
For guidance on caring for a sick child, consult resources on contagious diseases. If you’re unsure whether your child needs emergency care, review the information available on When to Go to the Emergency Room?
Sources: Government of Quebec and Radio-Canada
BEHAVIOR
Discover the Benefits of Potty Humor
Does your child love to say and hear words like pee, poop, fart, and butt? It turns out that using these words isn’t just funny—it can actually be beneficial for their development, according to a recent analysis.
Toddlers often use these words when learning toilet training. They’re proud of their new skills and find pleasure in talking about them, sometimes for up to eight years!
The topic of the bathroom also allows children to exercise their sense of humor. Potty jokes often elicit big laughs, and children quickly learn that repeating them will make others laugh too. These shared moments of fun are beneficial for the parent-child bond.
Beyond the laughter, potty humor allows children to test social boundaries by observing adult reactions. Through this, they learn, for example, that it’s impolite to fart in public, talk about poop during meals, or make jokes around new acquaintances.
Source: The Conversation
RELATIONSHIPS
Scheduling Intimacy May Boost Libido in Parents
Contrary to popular belief, planning sexual encounters may actually increase desire among parents of young children, according to a study from York University in Toronto. This finding challenges the notion that spontaneity is essential for a healthy sex life.
Researchers found that couples who scheduled intimacy reported having more intimate encounters—both planned and unplanned—compared to new parents who didn’t change their sexual habits. For couples, scheduling resulted in at least one additional sexual encounter per month.
Surprisingly, participants who planned dates for intimacy didn’t feel more obligated to have sex than those who didn’t. The research team suggests that planning relies on dialogue and consent, which may explain this positive effect.
The study involved over 500 parents with children aged five years or younger, representing diverse genders and sexual orientations from five countries, including Canada.
Source: EurekAlert!
BABY
Confirmed Benefits of Skin-to-Skin Contact
Placing a newborn baby skin-to-skin on their mother’s chest within the first hour after birth provides several health benefits for the baby, confirms a Cochrane meta-analysis of 69 studies conducted across multiple countries involving over 7,000 new mothers. This practice is increasingly recognized for its positive impact on newborn health and well-being.
Skin-to-skin contact helps the baby adapt to life outside the womb by keeping them warm, calming them, and supporting vital functions like breathing and heart rate. Mothers who initiate skin-to-skin contact soon after birth are also more likely to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of life.
Despite these benefits, researchers note that skin-to-skin contact isn’t always offered in hospitals. The World Health Organization recommends this practice, highlighting the need for wider implementation.
Given the well-established benefits of skin-to-skin contact, future research should not require mothers to forgo this practice to assess its advantages, the meta-analysis authors state. Such a practice would be considered unethical, one author emphasized.
Source: News Medical Life Sciences
JOB OFFER
Join Our Team!
We are seeking a versatile, organized, and proactive individual to fill the position of Executive and Administrative Coordination Assistant. This role offers a unique opportunity to contribute to organizations dedicated to child development and well-being.
As a true right hand to the leadership team, the selected individual will provide support to governance, administrative and accounting coordination, as well as support to teams and office operations. The position will be split between the Early Childhood Observatory (3 days) and Naître et grandir (2 days).
This is a great opportunity to put your energy and skills to work for two organizations that share a passion: promoting the development and well-being of children in Quebec, from the earliest moments of life. This full-time permanent position is based in Montreal, with the possibility of hybrid work. Applications are open until January 9, 2026.
View the detailed job description: tout-petits.org
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Julie Leduc and Nathalie Vallerand – Naître et grandir Team
Photos: GettyImages/PeopleImages, kate_sept2004, EyeEm Mobile GmbH, franckreporter and RichVintage
