How much TV do your kids watch? If you don’t know, you might want to find out, say experts, since the time children spend in front of a TV or computer screen can have a profound effect on their physical and developmental health.
pediatrics
Advice From Doctors: Top 5 Ways to Lower Costs and Improve Care
If anyone knows where health-care dollars are being wasted, it’s primary-care physicians. So, the National Physicians Alliance recently assembled working groups of doctors within three fields of primary care — family medicine, …
Study: Secondhand Smoke Increases Risk of Stillbirth, Birth Defects
Note to expectant fathers: Stop smoking.
Has Your Kid Got a Fever? Don’t Rush to Dole out Drugs
Parents, especially new ones, freak out about fevers. A third of all pediatric visits involve worried parents bringing in feverish little ones. But there’s really no reason to fret when your kiddo’s temperature starts to rise.
Study: Most Babies Sleep Through the Night (But Not Mine)
There is a new Pediatrics study showing most babies sleep through the night by three months. I do not know those babies. Nor do I want to get to know their parents.
Study: More Screen Time May Cause Social Problems for Kids
Children who spend more than two hours in front of a television or computer screen were more likely to report behavioral and social problems than kids who watched less, according to a University of Bristol study that will be …
Why Most Moms Don’t Follow Breast-Feeding Recommendations
When it comes to breast-feeding, there’s good news and bad news. The former is that lots of U.S. mothers – 75% — are initiating breast-feeding. The latter? Less than a quarter are persevering a full year, which is the …
Study: Brain Injuries On the Rise Among Teen Basketball Players
As childhood obesity reaches epidemic levels, anything that gets kids moving should be encouraged. But children’s sports are competitive these days. Whether at school or on traveling or club teams, young athletes are training …
The BPA Debate: Bad Reputation and Still No Answers
Bisphenol-A (BPA), the endocrine-disrupting chemical in plastics — and the go-to environmental health villain — has vexed public-health experts for at least a decade. Reams of inconclusive and conflicting studies on the …
Are Cartoon Characters Coaxing Kids to Eat Junk Food?
Is your kid on the Dora the Explorer diet? Children say food tastes better when a familiar cartoon character — like Dora or Scooby Doo — appears on its packaging, a new study finds. And most kids prefer snacks that have the …