News and Features Related to Health & Parenting

Too Much TV Time in Home Day Care

Nov. 23, 2009 -- Children in home day care settings may get more TV time than they would in a center-based program, a new study indicates. The study, published in the Nov. 23 issue of the journal Pediatrics, says kids in home day care settings may watch TV up to two hours more than they would in a l
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9 Ways to Wean a Child Off Thumb Sucking

Kara Angelone's 3-year-old daughter Addie was a thumb-sucker from day one -- literally. Tucked away in her baby book is an ultrasound image of Addie sucking her thumb in the womb. Now, three years later, she's still not ready to let it go. "It makes her feel safe and comfortable," says Angelone, of
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7 Things You Didn't Know About Raising Newborn Twins

Even experienced moms may not know what to expect when they bring home newborn twins. If you are about to have twins, don’t worry. You won’t be the only one. In the U.S, about three of every 100 pregnant women give birth to twins or triplets, according to statistics from the Mayo Clinic in Rocheste
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Imagination Helps Tame Young Kids' Fears

Nov. 13, 2009 -- Your preschooler wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming there's a monster in the room. If you're like most parents trying to calm their children's fears, your first instinct is to say: "Monsters aren't real" and try to get your kid grounded in reality and back to sleep. But
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1 Million Maclaren Baby Strollers Recalled

Nov. 9, 2009 -- Maclaren USA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission today announced a voluntary recall of "about a million" Maclaren baby strollers because of the risk of fingertip amputation. Maclaren USA has gotten 15 reports of children placing their finger in the stroller's hinge mechanism,
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Expert Panel Recommends Sex Ed, Not Abstinence-Only

Nov. 6, 2009 -- There's no evidence that abstinence-only sexual education programs cut teens' risk of sexually transmitted disease, HIV, or pregnancy, a task force of public health experts finds. But the panel finds that sex ed that includes information about condoms and delaying sexual initiation
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Want to Help Feed America's Hungry Children?

Scarlett Johansson discovered her passion for feeding the hungry after Hurricane Katrina, when she started working with USA Harvest in New Orleans. Several years later, Stan Curtis, who founded USA Harvest, asked her if she wanted to help promote a new program called Blessings in a Backpack. The ide
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How to Handle Parents Who Brag About Their Kids

"My kid must be some sort of math genius!" a mother of a preschooler said to Hilarie Atkisson as she watched her 4-year-old twin daughters and 2-year-old son on the playground after school. Another mom queried Atkisson about her twins' progress in reading: "Are your girls reading yet? Mine are alrea
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Stanley Tucci on His Toughest Role Yet

Award-winning actor Stanley Tucci -- best known for his roles in Big Night, Kit Kittredge, and Julie & Julia -- will be appearing in The Lovely Bones this fall. But at the top of his career, Tucci experienced the devastating loss of his wife, Kate Tucci, to cancer. WebMD the Magazine asked him about
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Car Booster Seats Cut Injury Risk for Kids

Oct. 19, 2009 -- Booster seats with proper belt positioning significantly reduce the risk of injury in children aged 4 to 8 who are involved in traffic accidents, a new study shows. The research reinforces previous studies that booster seats are important in preventing injuries and saving lives. It
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