Dr. Stephen Daniels, of the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease begins early in life, as well as research showing cholesterol-fighting drugs are safe for children.

"If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life ... and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," Daniels said.

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The mother of the three-year-old girl whose foot became entangled in an escalator at an Atlanta airport has filed a lawsuit against the maker of the popular plastic shoes for millions of dollars.

Alison Pregliasco and her daughter were on their way to a trip to Disney World when the little girl's Croc became entangled in an airport escalator. According to the report, it took 15 minutes to remove the child's right foot from the escalator. She had three broken toes and had to have surgery that involved doctors putting pins in her foot and cleaning bones to remove skin contaminated with escalator grease.

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When you think of dangerous dog breeds, which animal do you picture: a pit bull or a wiener dog?

According to the results of research published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science, the breed most prone to aggression is the dachshund. New research that involved questioning 6,000 dog owners, found that one in five dachshunds have bitten (or tried to bite) strangers, a similar number have attacked other dogs, and that one in 12 have even snapped at their owners.

Prior research on dog aggression focused solely on dog bite statistics. Using that data, breeds like Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, and Dobermans were thought to pose the most danger. Researchers now feel prior studies were not painting a full picture, as most dog bites (especially those of smaller dogs) go unreported and were not included in the past.

Chihuahuas ranked second on the list of aggressive dogs, while Jack Russell Terriers came in third.

Just like with people, it's not fair to stereotype an entire group based on the actions of a few. But it's also good know some small dogs might not be the ideal choice for children.

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First came Wii Sports and about fifteen minutes late, the first reports of damage from Wiimotes flying out of gamers hands in the heat of competition or because the safety strap broke. (If your Wii was purchased before December 31st, 2006, contact Nintendo for a free strap replacement kit.) According to the blog Wii Damage, a site dedicated to damaged inflicted by the Wii, the most common target for the Wiimote is a television screen.

With the release of Wii Fit, there's a new danger to household objects, and it's not due to Wiimote projectiles. According to The Daily Telegraph, who polled 1,000 women in the U.K., 20% of the respondents reported having accidents such as tripping over pets, banging their heads, and knocking over household objects (such as lamps) while exercising with Wii Fit.

While Nintendo took action to correct the weak strap issue, there's not a whole lot the company can do for people who don't use common sense and heed the repeated warnings to make sure users of the system have plenty of room to move around before using the games. Be careful out there, folks!

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Every now and then, my husband sees a little pig-tailed cutie holding someone's hand and sighs and says, "You never gave me a daughter." He's kidding, of course, but wondering what raising a child of the opposite sex would be like is a fact of life for families blessed with kids of the same sex.

However, for 77 year-old Charan Singh Panwar of India, not having a son weighed on him so heavily, he mortgaged his land, sold his buffaloes, spent his life savings and took out a credit card loan to finance fertility treatments so his seventy-year-old wife could bear him a male heir.

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Happy 4th of July! Welcome to the one holiday nearly as fun for kids as Christmas, only with fewer financial obligations for parents but with the painful twist of the grand finale (fireworks!) at the very end of the day instead of first thing in the morning.

If you aren't the lucky owner of a cottage or waterfront property (or related to someone who is) it can be really tempting to let the kids plop in front of the television while you work on marinading the steak and prepping the potato salad for a cookout.

However, with just a few craft materials you probably already have lying around and some easy instructions, you can quickly throw together a last minute 4th of July Kid Parade that will be the talk of........well, everyone who was actually around on the 4th! (And if you keep the neighbor kids occupied for a few hours, their parents might even invite yours over to burn some daylight out of gratitude!)

If you spent your life shunning fruits and vegetables, you might want to seriously reassess that stance on healthy foods before becoming pregnant. According to British researchers, a mother's diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding directly affects the child's risk of obesity, elevated cholesterol, and blood sugar levels for the rest of their life.

In the study, researchers fed one group of rats a diet of donuts, muffins, cookies, chips and sweets while they were pregnant and nursing their young. Another group was fed a regular, healthy diet. When comparing the two groups, researchers found the babies from the junk food momma rats had higher levels of cholesterol, triglycerides,glucose, and insulin and were fatter through adolescence and adulthood that the rats born of mothers who ate healthily.

And while it's true that rats aren't human (although some humans can be rats!) according to Neil Stickland, the study's co-author, "Humans share a number of fundamental biological systems with rats, so there is good reason to assume the effects we see in rats may be repeated in humans. Our research certainly tallies with epidemiological studies linking children's weight to that of their parents."

Does this mean pregnant woman stress over a couple chocolate chip cookies and an occasional hamburger? Of course not! But knowing the constant craving for deep fried Snickers bars isn't exactly doing the wee one any favors might be the push needed to choose a juicy orange or calcium-building serving of yogurt instead.

I've never been much of a fan of reality TV. Putting ordinary people (who are always prettier or meaner or whinier than anyone person I've ever met) in weird circumstances to show what happens just isn't entertaining to me. I've got kids, I deal with weird circumstances ALL DAY LONG!

Apparently, I'm not the only one who isn't crazy about at least one reality TV show. The Washington D.C. based nonprofit group Zero to Three is upset with the new NBC television series "Baby Borrowers". The group's spokesperson told Page Six, "We're concerned about the fact that these babies are being separated from their parents and placed with strangers. On the first episode, the babies were separated for about 12 hours and were clearly in distress. Typically they will cry and cling and search for their parents, which they were doing. They should be with someone they've had the opportunity to get to know."

I'm all for educating teens on child care getting rid of the notion that parenting is one big ball of baby powdery fun, but there ARE better ways than dumping a baby off with complete strangers for a television show. Working at a childcare center, volunteering at a church nursery or preschool, or even babysitting are all good ways to get a small idea of what life as a parent is like.

There is no way I'd ever, ever, ever have agreed to let my babies be on a television show like this, even with a nanny stationed nearby in case she's needed. What exactly is going on with our society that makes babies fair game for a reality series, anyway?

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One of the best things about Halloween is the assortment of candy bars the little goblins bring home. I consider it repayment for my costuming efforts as there is always WAY too many for tender tummies to handle, so I help reduce the inventory levels of chocolate covered goodness from the communal treat bowl. ( And, you know, to save the little scamps from cavities. I eat because I love!)

Because of this yearly crash course in chocolatery, I fancied myself somewhat of an expert on the various candy bar brands available until I took this quiz asking you to identify cross-sectioned chocolate bars. Even with multiple choice answers available, I scored a dismal 14 out of 20 which shocked me. Obviously, I need to do more research treat myself a little more often than just Halloween and build up a better understanding of chocolate and caramel and nougat!

Test your candy bar knowledge against your kids and see who is candy king in your house! It's trickier than you'd think!

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Don't rely on just your memory to keep track of when to reapply kids' sunscreen.