ParentDish

How to Prevent and Treat Poison Ivy

Mary Kate Baumann — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Medical Conditions, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens

There's nothing more irritating than a skin rash to set your summer activities back. Poison Ivy is among the most common skin rashes to get while playing outside during the summer. Watch this video on how to get rid of the plants in your yard and how to treat the rash so you can get back to your summer fun!

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First Lady Targets Healthy Habits for Toddler Set

Associated Press — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Celeb Parents, Nutrition: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers

First lady Michelle Obama visits CentroNia, a bilingual child care facility in Washington, Wednesday, June 8, 2011. Credit: Charles Dharapak AP

WASHINGTON (AP) - Michelle Obama dropped in on lunch and circle time at a Washington child care center on Wednesday and used the occasion to announce a new national initiative to encourage child care centers to promote healthy eating and exercise habits starting with the littlest Americans.

The first lady watched as toddlers ate a healthy lunch of fish, fruit and salad greens, did the bunny hop with youngsters in a P.E. class and clapped along with singing time at CentroNia, a bilingual child care center that stresses just the kinds of healthy practices that Mrs. Obama is trying to encourage.

The first lady said instilling good health habits through child care centers and home-based care can be "a real building block for an entire generation of healthy kids." She noted that more than half of obese children first become overweight before they reach their second birthday.

Mrs. Obama announced that 1,600 child care centers nationwide already have committed to standards that promote healthy eating, exercise and limited time in front of TV, computer and other screens. And she released a checklist that parents and child care centers can use to make sure they're hitting the right notes.

The first lady said child care centers run by the Defense Department, the General Services Administration and Bright Horizons, a private company that manages child care centers for many corporations, hospitals, universities and government agencies, all had signed on to the program.

She was joined by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Cartwright recalled that when his children were young, military child care centers were sometimes "just a corner of a hangar" without clear standards. Some 200,000 children use military child care centers daily.

The first lady's Let's Move child care checklist stresses five principles:

-Provide one to two hours of physical activity daily.

-No screen time for children under 2. Limit screen time for older children to no more than 30 minutes per week during child care, and ensure children have no more than one to two hours of quality screen time per day overall.

-Serve fruits and vegetables at every meal, eat family-style when possible and no fried foods.

-Provide access to water throughout the day, and do not serve sugary drinks.

-Support mothers who want to breast-feed by providing mother's milk to infants and welcoming mothers who want to breast-feed their children during the child-care day.

___

Online:

http://healthykidshealthyfuture.org

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by Nancy Benac, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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Infants Particularly Vulnerable to the Sun

Tom Henderson — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers

Sure, they're having a ball, but did they remember the sunscreen? Credit: Getty Images

As summer approaches, remember that infants' skin is particularly vulnerable to skin cancer and sun damage.

"The ultimate goal of sun protection is to protect all parts of the skin exposed to the sun by using a variety of techniques, including sunscreen in infants older than 6 months," researchers led by Amy Paller, a dermatologist at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University in Chicago, report in the July issue of Pediatrics.

WebMD reports children younger than 6 months should avoid the sun, and older children should avoid the midday sun and wear sun-protective clothing, wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses when they're outside.

"Sunscreens for infants must be non-irritating to the skin and eyes and have aesthetic qualities that encourage effective application by caregivers," the researchers write.

According to WebMD, many parents like sunscreens that leave a temporary film. That way, they can be sure the child is thoroughly coated. That's particularly important for infants.

"Newborns, infants and toddlers have skin that is continuing to develop," New York City dermatologist Doris Day tells WebMD. That's why pigments and moles don't always show up at birth. Their skin is still evolving and maturing and it is really important to protect it."

WebMD reports Day recommends keeping infants and toddlers indoors when the sun is strongest -- usually from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- and choosing clothes with built-in ultraviolet protection. And don't spare the sunscreen.

Sunscreens should be heavy on the zinc and/or titanium, she tells WebMD.

"These are more opaque and sit on skin rather than getting absorbed," she says.

Also, WebMD reports, zinc and titanium don't irritate the eyes as much because they tend to stay in place.

"Infant and toddlers' skin barrier protection is quite immature," Roya Samuels, a pediatrician at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York in New Hyde Park, tells WebMD. "A child's skin has structural quality that makes it more vulnerable to the effects of UV [ultraviolet] radiation, and this can result in an increased risk of later skin cancer."

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Head Lice: How to Get Rid of Those Creepy Crawlers

Jessica Samakow — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Expert Advice: Big Kids

When one kid in school gets head lice, you know your kid is likely to be stuck in a hairy situation. It isn't long before your kid is itching and scratching his scalp, too. But, the misery doesn't have to last too long. In this video, pediatrician Dr. Su Laurent explains how to get rid of head lice.

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Saving Precious Skin: Summer Skin Safety

the editors at FoxNews.com — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens

Author Jill Kargman, mother of three and skin cancer survivor, talks to Dr. Manny about how she protects her kid's skin.

Click here for more health tips from Dr. Manny on Foxnews.com.

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Hearing Problems Detected in Kids With a Little Bit of Spit

Tom Henderson — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens

Hearing problems can now be detected through saliva. Credit: Getty

Spit happens.

Don't knock it. You can learn a lot from a little bit of spit. Doctors may soon use saliva samples to tell if newborn babies have hearing problems.

Bloomberg News reports these samples can be used to detect an infection that is responsible for up to 25 percent of hearing loss in newborns.

Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham identified all babies infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV) using a wet saliva sample and about 97 percent when using a dried saliva sample. Their findings were just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Bloomberg reports one in 150 children born in the United States (30,000 babies all together) suffer from CMV, the most common infection passed from mother to child.

About 10 to 15 percent of those children will lose some or all of their hearing, pediatrician and lead study author Suresh Boppana tells Bloomberg, adding that the new study could help make testing for the infection routine.

"Most babies with CMV infection won't be identified at birth, unless you screen them for CMV infection, because they look like every other healthy baby," he tells the news service.

Some 20 percent of hearing loss at birth and 25 percent of hearing loss in 4-year-olds is due to CMV, Boppana adds. A screening test for CMV would cost about $2.50 to $3, he tells Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, in a separate study, researchers are currently looking at children with congenital CMV and monitoring their hearing every six months until they are 4 years old.

Bloomberg reports results from the study are designed to give doctors a better understanding of how CMV causes hearing loss, but they won't be available for several years.

"If our results confirm that congenital CMV is a major cause of hearing loss, then there's an impetus on the national agencies to think about considering making a recommendation that every baby needs to be tested for CMV," Boppana tells the news service.

Boppana and his fellow researchers took saliva samples from almost 35,000 babies in seven U.S. hospitals from June 2008 to November 2009. According to Bloomberg, some of the samples were stored in solution and some were air dried.

Then researchers compared their results with another test, called the rapid culture method.

Of 17,662 newborns screened with the saliva samples stored in solution, Bloomberg reports 85 were positive for CMV -- a 100 percent match to the rapid culture method.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders helped fund the study.

"It's important for us to develop diagnostic tools to screen babies for congenital CMV infection so that those who test positive can be monitored for possible hearing loss and, if it occurs, provided with appropriate intervention as soon as possible," James Battey Jr., the director of the institute, tells Bloomberg.

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Measles Pose Threat to Unvaccinated Infants

Tom Henderson — Fri, 27 May 2011 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens, Health

Children and adults who remain unvaccinated and develop measles put others in their community at risk. Credit: Getty Images

The United States has been hit by the worst measles outbreak since 1996, posing a threat to infants too young to be vaccinated against the disease.

Quick! Blame someone!

The Los Angeles Times says you can wave a finger (you choose which one) at travelers to Europe and Asia.

Think of measles as filmmaker Roman Polanski. Although eliminated from the United States, it took up residence overseas. Occasionally, it meets with American visitors, visitors who bring home little souvenirs from their trip.

Bear in mind, the Times reports, "outbreak" doesn't mean the return of the plague. There have been 118 cases (none of them fatal) in the United States reported to the Centers for Disease Control between January and May.

Still, according to the Times, that's the highest number of cases reported during that time period since 1996.

Because infants younger than 12 months old are too young to be vaccinated, health officials' brows are slightly knitted.

Your best defense, CDC officials tell the Times, is to get adults and older kids vaccinated.

"Children and adults who remain unvaccinated and develop measles also put others in their community at risk," the CDC says in an official statement. "For infants too young for routine vaccination and persons with medical conditions that contraindicate measles immunization, the risk for measles complications is particularly high. These persons depend on high MMR vaccination coverage among those around them to protect them from exposure."

Oh, and the next time you go to Europe? Just bring back a T-shirt.

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How to Treat Cradle Cap

Sally Worsham — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Newborns, Babies, Health & Safety: Babies, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers

Use a toothbrush to scrub cradle cap. Credit: Getty Images

Skin cells are constantly being made, and we usually don't notice our old, dry skin cells falling off as the new cells replace them. However, sometimes in healthy infants, new cells grow faster on their scalps than the old cells can fall off, causing a buildup of flaky, crusty skin.

This condition is called cradle cap. Cradle cap is common and is not part of any serious illness, nor is it contagious. It also does not mean the baby is not being taken care of properly. Fortunately, this condition does not last longer than the infant's first year. Additionally, it is easily treated.

Cradle cap generally begins within the first three months of an infant's life. A possible cause has to do with the hormones from the mother that pass through the placenta right before birth. These hormones stimulate the baby's sebaceous glands in his or her skin, causing the glands to produce a greasy substance which makes the old skin cells stick to the scalp as the substance dries.

The symptoms of cradle cap are patchy scales and redness on the scalp. These scales can look cracked and greasy. Sometimes, the scales even appear to be weeping. Your pediatrician will be able to diagnose a case of cradle cap by physical examination.

If your baby does have cradle cap, wash his or her hair more frequently and use a soft brush (a toddler toothbrush works well) to loosen the scales to be brushed away. If you do not notice a decrease in the flaking and scaling, you can try massaging the scalp with oil. You can use baby oil, mineral oil or even olive oil. Healing Natural Oils makes a cradle cap treatment, Heal Cradle Cap, from natural essential oils. Whatever oil you try, you should rub it on your infant's head, brush the scales away with the soft brush and wash his or her hair with a gentle shampoo.

In some cases of cradle cap, the home remedies of oil massaging and shampooing do not always work. Your pediatrician can prescribe a medicated shampoo for you to use on your baby. This shampoo contains salicylic acid and sulfur, which are remedies for dandruff.

However, this shampoo can be rough on your baby's scalp and skin, so use it as directed by the doctor. The doctor also may prescribe hydrocortisone cream to soothe any redness and rash that occurs in severe cases. If your baby does have cradle cap, you will need to watch for further irritation of his or her skin because yeast infections can occur, especially in skin folds behind the ears, in the folds of the neck and under arms.

If you notice any of this irritation, the rash spreading, and/or your baby acting as if he or she is uncomfortable, your pediatrician can give you an anti-fungal cream which will kill the yeast infection.

While cradle cap may be stubborn to treat, it is a relatively harmless, common and temporary condition. If you suspect your infant has cradle cap, take him or her to your pediatrician for an official diagnosis before trying any home remedies.

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CT Scans Not Always Best Response to Head Injuries

Tom Henderson — Tue, 10 May 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens, Health

It might be a good idea to observe children for awhile before getting them a CT scan. Credit: Getty Images

One of the first things you want to do after a child has suffered a head injury is get him a CT scan. Right?

No, actually.

Reuters reports it might be a good idea to observe children for awhile. If it turns out they don't need a computed tomography (CT) scan, they can avoid an unnecessary dose of radiation.

Lise Nigrovic at Children's Hospital in Boston worked on a study that concludes this is especially true for children who have some risk of a serious brain injury, but aren't showing serious symptoms.

Nigrovic tells Reuters if a child goes to an emergency room very soon after a head injury, "you may just not have had enough time for symptoms to develop."

Or, a child may have some concerning symptoms, she adds, "but you just want a little time."

According to Reuters, Nigrovic and her fellow researchers reviewed data on more than 40,000 children with head injuries who were taken to one of 25 different emergency rooms.

In one case, a child fell off a swing, developed a severe headache and vomited once. Nonetheless, doctors waited before giving him a CT scan. Two hours later, he was a awake and talking and more or less back to his old self.

"We all want to make sure that we use CT scanning in the cases where it's likely to be positive and that we save children from the radiation for those that we know are very unlikely to be positive," Martin Osmond at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario tells Reuters.

Osmond was not among the researchers, but, he adds, "this study adds important new information about who to observe."

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Canadian Kids Waiting Too Long for Surgery, Researchers Say

Tom Henderson — Wed, 04 May 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens

Watch Videos Related to Child Surgery!

Twenty-seven percent of children linger too long on government waiting lists for necessary surgeries. Credit: Getty Images

Your child has one of those creatures from "Aliens" growing inside his innards? You might want to consider surgery. Then again, no need to be hasty. He might grow out of it.

This wait-and-see attitude toward disturbing medical conditions doesn't always pan out. Yet, the Vancouver Sun reports the Canadian government keeps hoping: Researchers found 27 percent of children linger too long on government waiting lists for necessary surgeries.

Researchers banded together for the Canadian Pediatric Surgical Wait Times project, publishing their findings in this week's issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Government officials in Canada promised seven years ago to cut down the wait time for surgeries, focusing on hip and knee replacement and cataract surgery. However, the Sun reports, they overlooked children.

While Grandma is getting her hip replaced, her grandkids are waiting for heart, brain and eye surgeries, as well as cancer treatments.

"If you're an adult and you have an arthritic hip, it's been declared that you shouldn't wait more than a certain length of time to have your hip replacement," Geoffrey Blair, a pediatric surgeon at B.C. Children's Hospital and a member of the Wait Times project, tells the Sun.

"If you are a 2-year-old with a painful or potentially dangerous condition, then it should apply just as much, if not more," he adds.

Last week, according to the Sun, Blair operated on several children who had been waiting more than a year for hernia surgery. The nationally agreed upon target for hernia treatment is three months.

"Ninety percent of children in our study had their surgery within six months, but when you begin to talk about some of these diagnoses, like cancer surgery, six months doesn't make any sense at all," study co-author Dr. James Wright, surgeon-in-chief at SickKids and lead of the pediatric surgical wait times project, tells the Sun.

"It may be great that you had your surgery within six months, but what you really needed was to have it within three weeks," he adds.

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Safe Kids USA Helps Soothe Parental Fears

Tom Henderson — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens

Safe Kids USA is sponsoring a webcast to educate parents about sports injury prevention. Credit: Corbis

Is it safe to sleep with your baby in the bed? Or will you squish him in the night?

When should your child ride in the front seat of the car? How can you have children and firearms in the house at the same time?

These are the questions that often plague parents. Safe Kids USA was founded to answer some of these questions and un-knit a few parental brows.

Surgeon Martin R. Eichelberger and public relations professional Herta Feely started the National Children's Accident Prevention Campaign under Children's National Medical Center in 1987.

One year later, Eichelberger and Feely received money from Johnson & Johnson (the organization's founding sponsor) to launch the Safe Kids Campaign -- the only American nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing unintentional childhood injuries.

Safe Kids USA and Johnson & Johnson are sponsoring a webcast at 12:00 p.m. EST on May 2, to educate parents of children ages 5 to 14 about sports injury prevention.

The webcast will be streamed from the Safe Kids USA Facebook page. RSVPs are being accepted.

Today, Safe Kids USA is a nationwide network of organizations working to prevent unintentional childhood injury -- the leading cause of death and disability for children ages 1 to 14.

Organization officials educate families, provide safety devices to families in need and advocate for better laws to help keep children safe, healthy and out of the emergency room.

There are more than 600 coalitions and chapters in all 50 states bringing together health and safety experts, educators, corporations, foundations, governments and volunteers to educate and protect families.

Safe Kids USA aims to:

· Teach families about child injury risks and prevention.

· Encourage and conduct research on leading injury risks.

· Evaluate solutions for injury risks.

· Work to pass and improve child safety laws and regulations.

· Provide lifesaving devices such as child safety seats, helmets and smoke alarms to families who need them.

· Promote corporate leadership in child safety through effective and sustainable partnerships.

The organization's website includes a series of position papers, offering advice on a wide range of child safety issues.

Related: Safe Kids USA and Johnson & Johnson to Air Webcast on Sports Injuries; Dr. Mom Shouldn't Be the One Diagnosing Sports Injuries

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Dr. Mom Shouldn't Be the One Diagnosing Sports Injuries

Tom Henderson — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens

Watch a video on how to avoid children's sports injuries.

Leave it to the real doctors, Dr. Mom! Credit: Corbis

Can you move your arm? Then it's not broken. Can you count how many fingers someone is holding up? Then you don't have a concussion.

Now, the big question: Did you go to medical school? Then you could be a qualified physician. Otherwise, you might want to stop making ballpark diagnoses.

Your child may be able to continue to play after a bonk on the head. However, that doesn't mean he or she doesn't have a concussion.

Parents and coaches admit they lack the information to detect sports injuries, USA Today reports.

According to the newspaper, a survey by Safe Kids USA and Johnson & Johnson reveals that 40 percent of parents feel there is a gap between what they know and what they should know about preventing and responding to sports injuries.

Only 35 percent say their child plays sports with a certified athletic trainer. And only 29 percent feel the coach knows how to prevent sports injuries.

USA Today reports more than 3.5 million children ages 14 and younger are treated each year for sports-related injuries. These include concussions, dehydration, heat stroke and sprains. More than half of these injuries are preventable, according to the newspaper.

"This epidemic of youth injuries hasn't happened overnight. It's a cultural change," William Levine, a physician and the incoming chair of STOP Sports Injuries, tells USA Today. His organization is made up of physicians who want to make sports safe for kids.

He adds that sports have gone from a seasonal activity for kids in the past 10 years to a lifestyle. When one sport ends, another begins.

Jean Rickerson, a mother and founder of SportsConcussions.org, tells the newspaper it will take another movement to eliminate the parents' knowledge gap.

"We're changing a culture and the culture doesn't change overnight," she says.

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Nursery Style Ideas That Don't Cost a Fortune

Ellen Rooney Martin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Newborns, Babies, Health & Safety: Babies, Development/Milestones: Babies, Going Green, Expert Advice: Babies, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Gear Guides: Babies, Gear Guides: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers

Removable wall art lends versatility to a nursery's decor. Credit: Kenziepoo, Flickr

Decorating a stylish nursery doesn't have to require dipping into your child's college tuition fund. To help keep costs low, but style high, ParentDish asked some design pros for a few secrets to create a contemporary look for your baby's room.

First, think about color, which has gotten more sophisticated in recent years. Pink and blue have been replaced by silvery greens, pale yellows, grayish lavenders and even straight gray tones.

"It used to be more cutesy or gender specific," says Esther Sadowsky, owner of Manhattan's Charm & Whimsy. "Now parents want things to go with the rest of the apartment."

Los Angeles designer Sarah Barnard says parents are more fashionable than ever before.

"They're probably not going to be satisfied with a cartoon theme," she says.

One way to jazz up the walls without making a long-term commitment is to use stick-on art such as Wall Pops. Designers, including Sadowsky, love this type of wall art because it can add instant interest and color to a wall and then be peeled right off in a couple of years when you or your child gets tired of it.

Check out craft stores like Michaels and even Home Depot for supplies. Wall Pops come in funky, vintage prints and bright colors that can be combined in many nursery-friendly ways.

When it comes to furniture, think long-term. As hard as it is to imagine, your baby will be out of diapers and moving from a crib to a bed before you know it.

"My opinion is that it's very expensive if you have to buy two rooms of furniture for the same child," says Northbrook, Ill.-based designer Jeff Smoler. "I try to do to it so all the furniture has a dual function."

He recommends a chest of drawers with a detachable changing table and a crib that converts to a youth bed.

Barnard says many parents now want their nursery to be environmentally friendly, too. She recommends second hand furniture, low VOC paints, natural bedding supplies (such as organic cotton sheets and blankets) and even natural latex crib mattresses for nurseries because she believes natural products are healthier for babies. She doesn't want anything that gives off that "new car smell" in a baby's room.

If you insist on buying new furniture, Barnard suggests spending a little extra and buying something well-made that can be passed down to a future generation.

Related: Making your child's room unique

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Food Allergies More Likely in First-Born Children, Study Finds

Tom Henderson — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, Research Reveals: Babies, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Research Reveals: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Research Reveals: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Research Reveals: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens, Research Reveals: Teens

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First-borns are more likely to be allergic to certain foods, a new study says. Credit: Getty Images

"Thus says the Lord: About midnight, I will go forth in the midst of Egypt, and all the first born in the land of Egypt shall die. Either that, or I shall make them swell up like a balloon whenever they eat one of their precious peanuts. That shouldst showeth them who they art messing with." (Exodus 11:4.0)

OK, that may be a somewhat loose translation of scripture, but dang if there isn't a plague -- at least a food plague -- on the first born.

ABC News reports a new study shows first-born children are more likely to have food allergies, standing about a 4 percent chance of being allergic to peanuts and other foods. Those odds drop to 3.5 percent among second children and 2.6 among subsequent children.

Japanese researchers compared 13,000 kids between the ages 7 and 15 -- looking at the allergy rates, depending on where each child fell in terms of birth order. Researchers also asked parents if their kids experienced wheezing, eczema or food allergies before age 1.

Researchers presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in San Francisco March 20.

"It has been established that individuals with increased birth order have a smaller risk of allergy," lead researcher Takashi Kusunoki, of the pediatrics department at Shiga Medical Center for Children and Kyoto University, says in a press release from the academy. "However, the significance of the effect may differ by allergic diseases."

Kara Corridan, health editor at Parents magazine, tells ABC News she isn't "too excited about this." The study is still very preliminary.

Nonetheless, she tells the network, this could be good news for parents grappling with food allergies with their oldest child.

"Even if there's a small fraction of a chance that younger children don't have (food allergies), that would be great," she says.

Researchers also concluded oldest children are more likely to have allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis -- conditions that affect the nose and mouth -- than their little brothers and sisters.

Why? Researchers tell ABC is could be that multiple pregnancies make a womb tough, building up its immune system with each subsequent child. It also could be the Hygiene Hypothesis, which is not the name of an episode of "The Big Bang Theory."

Rather, it's the theory that parents go a little nuts in sterilizing their home in preparation for a first child. By the time baby No. 2 comes around, everyone has chilled out and is back to eating with their hands off the kitchen floor. Outside an overly sterilized environment, you have to get tough or die.

"The more you are exposed to an allergen, the more likely it is you'll be immune to it," Corridan tells ABC News.

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New Car Seat Policy Keeps Kids in Booster Seats Much Longer

Honey Berk — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:01:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids

If you think it's time to graduate your child out of her car or booster seat, you may want to take a look at a new policy released today by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) which significantly modifies the last guidelines, issued in 2002.

These guidelines are markedly different from the previous policy, which had infants and toddlers riding in rear-facing car seats only until the age of 12 months or 20 pounds at minimum. With this in mind, parents often turned the seat to face the front of the car around the child's first birthday.

"Parents often look forward to transitioning from one stage to the next, but these transitions should generally be delayed until they're necessary, when the child fully outgrows the limits for his or her current stage," Dr. Dennis Durbin, author of the policy statement and technical report, says in a news release.

Durbin says a rear-facing child safety seat better supports the neck, head and spine of infants and toddlers in the event of a crash, as it distributes the force of the collision throughout the entire body.

In support of this idea, the release cites a 2007 study from the journal Injury Prevention with found that children younger than 2 years old are 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a car crash if they are rear-facing.

"The 'age 2' recommendation is not a deadline, but rather a guideline to help parents decide when to make the transition," Durbin says in the release. "Smaller children will benefit from remaining rear-facing longer, while other children may reach the maximum height or weight before 2 years of age."

For larger children, Durbin says a forward-facing seat with a harness is safer than a booster, while a belt-positioning booster seat affords greater protection than just a car seat belt alone, until the seat belt properly fits the child.

With regard to fit, the shoulder belt should lie across the middle of the chest, and not near the neck or face. The lap belt should fit low and snug on the hips and upper thighs, not across the belly, according to the guidelines.

The AAP recommendations also note that children should ride in the rear of the vehicle until they are 13 years old.

The AAP's air travel guidelines call for children younger than 2 to ride in an age- and size-appropriate restraint, even though the Federal Aviation Administration allows infants up to 2 to ride in an adult's lap on an airplane.

"Children should ride properly restrained on every trip in every type of transportation, on the road or in the air," Durbin says.

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Public Health Insurance is Confusing to Parents

Tom Henderson — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens

Watch A Related Video to This Article

Many parents don't know they qualify for health care assistance. Credit: Corbis

If Oregon is any indication, parents are easily confused by public health insurance. And their children might not be getting the coverage they need.

U.S. News & World Report says researchers from Oregon Health and Science University looked at 10,175 children in families that qualify for food stamps. Only 23 percent of those children were reported enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan, a state program that combines Medicaid and the Children's Health Program (CHIP). Eligibility requirements are similar for both programs.

Some parents think their kids are enrolled when they're not. Some 20 percent of 2,681 parents who responded to a survey are laboring under that misapprehension, according to the study (published in the May print edition of the American Journal of Public Health).

Conversely, 11 percent of parents responded that their children are not enrolled in the program when they actually are signed up.

This could be a bad portent for the level of parental understanding, researchers write -- not just in Oregon, but throughout the country.

"Our data suggest that insurance coverage is a transient phenomenon for many low-income children," the researchers write in the journal. "If Medicaid and CHIP are to be pillars in future health insurance reforms, public health programs should continue to work toward providing stable coverage and systems that increase parental knowledge and awareness of their children's eligibility and enrollment status."

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Vaccine Exemptions for Religious Reasons May Face Stricter Guidelines in N.J.

Honey Berk — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, In The News, Religion & Spirituality, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens

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New Jersey laws may be getting stricter with regard to religious exemption from required vaccines. Credit: Getty

With the autism-vaccine connection disproved last year, you would think fewer parents would be objecting to having their children vaccinated.

Yet, the resurgence of serious, preventable illnesses -- including whooping cough and meningitis -- is testament to the fact that even greater numbers are seeking exemption from vaccines for their children.

But parents who seek an exemption from vaccinations for their children based upon religious reasons would have to comply with stricter guidelines under a new bill that passed the New Jersey state Senate March 15, NJ.com reports.

The bill, approved by a vote of 6 to 1, would require parents to attest that vaccination requirements conflict with the student's "bona fide" religious practices or principles.

"By adding the words 'bona fide,' we certainly would be suggesting that you should not use the religious exemption just as an excuse,' " the bill's sponsor, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, tells NJ.com. "The overall aim of this bill is to get children immunized."

Like many states, New Jersey has seen a significant increase in the number of parents requesting religious exemption for their children. In fact, the numbers have more than doubled -- with 3,865 recorded during the 2010-11 school year, up from 1,644 in 2005-06, the news outlet reports.

In 2007, the New Jersey immunization rate for children dropped to 62 percent from 76 percent. This was the year New Jersey became the first state to mandate the flu vaccine for children ages 6 months to 59 months who attended preschool or day care, NJ.com reports.

In addition to influenza, New Jersey requires school children to be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, rubella, mumps, varicella (chicken pox), haemophilus influenzae B (HiB), hepatitis B, pneumonia and meningitis -- all serious illnesses that could be life-threatening.

Fran Gallagher, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, tells NJ.com many doctors report that parents claim religious exemption from vaccines, but then are selective about which ones their children don't receive.

"I think it has been abused to the point where it puts the public at risk," Gallagher tells the site.

Critics of the new bill claim it is unconstitutional because the government cannot legally rule on whether or not a person's beliefs are legitimate. They also are concerned the phrase "bona fide" would only cover those who belong to an organized, established religion, the news outlet reports.

"When you say 'bona fide,' it draws to mind that someone could challenge what is bona fide, what is not bona fide. And that is unconstitutional," New Jersey Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk tells NJ.com.

Vandervalk sponsored a bill, which was blocked in the state Senate last week, that would have allowed parents to exempt their children from vaccinations based simply on conscientious objection.

Weinberg says the New Jersey policy on religious exemptions would not change if the bill passes; it would simply require parents to demonstrate that their religious convictions are sincere, the news outlet reports.

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Frequency of Crib-Related Injuries Cause for Concern, Study Finds

Honey Berk — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:01:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, In The News, Baby Essentials, Decor, Alerts & Recalls, Bedtime, Research Reveals: Babies, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Research Reveals: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health

Although safety standards continue to improve, crib injuries occur at alarming rates. Credit: Getty

Cribs, playpens and bassinets are supposed to function as secure locations where parents can place their baby or toddler and be confident that their child is safe and protected even when unattended.

Yet, between 1990 and 2008, an estimated 181,654 children younger than 2 years were treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to cribs, playpens and bassinets -- an average of 26 injuries per day in the United States, according to a study published online today in the journal Pediatrics.

Although the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) began releasing safety standards for cribs as early as 1973, poor design, product defects, faulty setup and improper use have led to scores of deaths, entrapments and other injuries to young children. In fact, more than 9 million cribs have been recalled by the CPSC since Sept. 2007 because of safety issues, the researchers note.

Despite efforts by the CPSC to tighten and refine safety standards, crib-related injuries accounted for more than 14,500 injuries to children younger than 5 years of age in 2009, and they were associated with the majority of nursery product deaths, according to the study.

Previous studies have looked at infant deaths resulting from suffocation and strangulation in cribs and adult beds; injuries attributed to bumper pads; deaths attributed to hanging, wedging and suffocation from positional asphyxia; and other causes.

However, nonfatal injuries associated with cribs have largely been overlooked in research, even though they occur far more frequently than actual fatalities, and they can result in serious injury. This new research is the first nationally representative study to examine the incidence of injuries. The data was culled from the CPSC's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System over a 19-year period, from 1990 to 2008.

While researchers note that there was a decrease in injury rates from 1990 to 2008, there were still a number of key findings:

Most of the injuries involved cribs (83.2 percent), followed by playpens (12.6 percent) and bassinets (4.2 percent).

Falling from a crib, playpen or bassinet was the most common method of injury (66.2 percent), followed by being struck by or against a crib (14.7 percent).

The head or neck was the most frequently-injured body region (40.3 percent), followed by the face (27.5 percent).

Soft-tissue injury was the most common diagnosis (34.1 percent), followed by concussion or closed head injury (21.1 percent). Concussions were more likely to occur with falls from a crib, playpen or bassinet, while lacerations were more likely to occur when children hit, cut or fell inside a crib.

The injury involved a sibling or another child in 3.4 percent of cases and a parent or adult caretaker in 2.1 percent of cases.

Infants, ages 6 to 11 months, comprised the largest group of injured children (34.6 percent of cases), followed by children 12 to 17 months (33.4 percent).

Boys accounted for 56.1 percent of reported cases of injury.

Given the volume of crib, playpen and bassinet injuries over the study period, the authors note that current prevention strategies are clearly insufficient and call for greater efforts to minimize hazards associated with these nursery products.

"Crib, playpen, and bassinet safety standards must continue to be strengthened and rigorously enforced to protect young children from harm. Health care professionals, child care providers, parents and other child caregivers also should be cognizant of the recommendations for proper use of these products," the authors conclude.

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Report Ranks Best and Worst States for Child Health Care

Honey Berk — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:23:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens

A child's access to affordable health care varies widely from state-to-state. Credit: Getty

A recent analysis of states' performance in children's health care found that where kids live and their parents' incomes have a significant effect on their access to affordable care and preventive treatment.

Conducted by The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that promotes health care, the report looked at how each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia performed on 20 key indicators of children's health.

The analysis uncovered a wide variation in performance, with often a two- to threefold difference across states. Some of the findings highlighted include:

Nationally, 10 percent of children are uninsured, with the rate exceeding 16 percent in three states
Although children's health insurance coverage has expanded in many states, parents' coverage has decreased
Across states, the extent to which children have access to care is closely related to their receipt of preventive care and treatment

The report notes that, if all states achieved top levels on each dimension of performance, these outcomes would occur:

Over 5 million more children would have health insurance coverage
10 million more children would receive at least one medical and dental preventive care visit per year
600,000 more children would receive recommended vaccines by the age of 3
Nearly 370,000 fewer children with special health care needs would have problems getting referrals for specialty care services

While the 14 states in the top quarter of the overall performance ranking -- Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Minnesota, Connecticut, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Kansas and Washington -- often perform well on many of the indicators, even these leading states have room to improve, the authors say. No state ranked in the top half of performers across all indicators.

At the other end of the spectrum, the states that ranked in the lowest quarter generally underperform in multiple areas, with worse access to care, poorer health outcomes and wide disparities related to income, race/ethnicity and insurance status.

The states ranked lowest overall were: Nevada, Mississipi, Arizona, Texas, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, California, Georgia, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana and the District of Columbia.

The authors say the findings highlight the importance of measures to guarantee children's access to health care in the face of rising costs and increasing financial stress on families in today's difficult economy.

"States that invest in children's health reap the benefits of having children who are able to learn in school and become healthy, productive adults," say the authors. "Other states can learn from models of high performance to shape policies that ensure all children are given the opportunity to lead long, healthy lives and realize their potential," they conclude.

Find out how your state ranks on the child health scorecard.

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AAP Announces New Immunization Guidelines for Kids, Teens

Honey Berk — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:01:00 EST

Filed under: Health & Safety: Babies, In The News, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Big Kids, Health & Safety: Tweens, Health & Safety: Teens

This year's immunization guidelines cover a range of conditions such as influenza, pertussis and genital warts. Credit: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released the recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedules for 2011. These schedules are revised each year to reflect new and updated information for the use of vaccines licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Published in the February 2011 issue of Pediatrics, there are a number of important changes for infants, children and teens.

Here is a summary of some of the most notable revisions:

In response to nationwide outbreaks of pertussis, a dose of acellular pertussis vaccine (Tdap) is recommended for children, 7 to 10, who have not been adequately immunized against pertussis (whooping cough).

Guidance on giving the HPV4 human papillomavirus vaccine to boys, ages 9 through 18, to reduce their likelihood of acquiring genital warts.

A minimum age of 24 weeks of age has been set for the third dose of hepatitis B vaccine for children who did not receive the first recommended dose at birth.

A booster dose of meningococcal vaccine is recommended for adolescents to ensure they're protected during the greatest period of risk for meningococcal disease.

The new 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is now recommended for immunization against pneumococcal disease, replacing the previously-used 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Guidance for influenza vaccine dosing based upon whether or not the child previously received monovalent 2009 H1N1 vaccine.

For more information on these recommendations or to view the full recommended immunization schedules for infants, children and adolescents, visit the AAP's immunization website.

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