Parenting/Kids News

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Once weaned from breast-milk or formula, some babies as young as 12 months of age should be given reduced-fat (2 percent) milk instead of whole milk, according to newly revised guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) this month.

THURSDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) -- People with certain common genetic variations that affect their nicotine receptors seem to be at higher risk for becoming life-long nicotine addicts if they begin smoking before they turn 17, a new study says.

THURSDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) -- New research shows that some parents of autistic children appear to be "socially aloof," providing more evidence that some aspects of autism are hereditary.

THURSDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) -- Eating more fiber during the first trimester of pregnancy seems to reduce the risk of developing preeclampsia, a potentially fatal condition characterized by elevated blood pressure.

THURSDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) -- In its first guidance on stroke in children, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association stated that stroke in this younger population is not as rare as once believed and, importantly, that the symptoms tend to be different than those in adults.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson on Thursday won a lawsuit brought by the family of an 11-year-old girl who became blind after using the drug Children's Motrin in 2003.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Asthma flare-ups early in pregnancy may raise the risk of birth defects, a new study suggests -- highlighting, researchers say, the importance of good asthma control in pregnant women.

WASHINGTON - Global warming will affect the health and welfare of every American, but the poor, elderly, and children will suffer the most, according to a new White House science report released Thursday.

WEDNESDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Empathy comes naturally to children, a new report shows.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Boys with hemophilia have a lower aerobic capacity than their healthy peers, according to study findings published the Journal of Pediatrics. However, the overall muscle strength of these children is comparable to that seen in the normal population.

CHICAGO - One of the largest studies of its kind shows just how sluggish American children become once they hit the teen years: While 90 percent of 9-year-olds get a couple of hours of exercise most days, fewer than 3 percent of 15-year-olds do.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Children turn away from exercise in droves in their early teen years after getting much more exercise when they are younger, according to a study spotlighting a factor in the rise of youth obesity.

(HealthDay News) -- As your baby grows and learns to walk, it's important to prepare your home to keep your toddler safe and injury-free.

TUESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- Even if young children aren't watching the TV, it may be distracting them from their play and depriving them of developing critical attention skills, a new study says.

TUESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- Children suffering from juvenile arthritis who haven't had luck with other treatments may benefit from a drug called Orencia (abatacept).

TUESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- New evidence suggests that a cholesterol-lowering drug widely prescribed for adults may not help children with a fairly common genetic disorder.

TUESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- If you've got a strong family history of food allergies or allergic asthma, you might want to think twice before munching a handful of nuts when you're pregnant.

TUESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- By the time children reach their teens, their level of physical activity drops significantly, new research shows.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bacterium that is a major cause of ulcers and stomach cancer may help protect children from developing asthma, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - One form of statins, the cholesterol fighter that is the world's top selling drug, does not appear to help children overcome a common, genetically linked learning disability, researchers said on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children with peanut allergies may run the risk of not receiving life-saving treatment for a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis because they don't have their epinephrine autoinjector with them at school, Canadian researchers report.

BRAZZAVILLE (AFP) - HIV/AIDS tests and anti-malaria medication will be available free to children, Congo Health Minister Emilienne Raoul announced Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having the television on in the background while pre-schoolers play with their toys disrupts their efforts to sustain attention, even when they don't pay much attention to it, and may harm their development, researchers report in current issue the journal Child Development.

LONDON (Reuters) - Pregnant women who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily raise the risk their children will develop asthma by 50 percent, Dutch researchers said on Tuesday.

MONDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) -- One of the country's leading sports doctors reports that he's performing more surgeries on sprained elbows in young athletes, a fact that reflects higher numbers of children focusing on just one sport.

LONDON (Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's Orencia can help children with rheumatoid arthritis who do not respond to other drugs, Italian researchers said on Tuesday.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Most food products aimed specifically at children have poor nutritional content even though more than half of the products are marketed to the contrary, according to a Canadian study released on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - From 1990 to 2004, 53 babies died suddenly and unexpectedly in bassinets, according to a review of data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. And according to Drs. Jodi Pike and Rachel Y. Moon of Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the cause of death in 85 percent of the cases was lack of oxygen.

LONDON (Reuters) - British children's brain development is being threatened by their failure to work with their hands in school and at home, said a report released on Monday.