Parenting/Kids News

MONDAY, Nov. 23 (HealthDay News) --Young children of working parents may watch even more television every day than previous reports have found, especially kids in home-based day-care settings, a new study finds.

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Santa Claus should avoid kissing children and shaking their hands to prevent spreading the flu and should get vaccinated against the illness, Hungary's state health authority said.

A child's never-ending "why's" aren't meant to exasperate parents, scientists say. Rather, the kiddy queries are genuine attempts at getting at the truth, and tots respond better to some answers than others.

SEATTLE - Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday.

(HealthDay News) -- Diarrhea in infants is common, often a quick bout caused by a virus. But in some cases among young children, diarrhea can quickly become dangerous, says the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

(HealthDay News) -- Cesarean section is a surgical alternative to vaginal birth. After this surgery, the new mom needs time to recover.

THURSDAY, Nov. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Parents who take the time to know what their teenage children are up to and have strong anti-drug views can be effective in reducing their children's marijuana use, a new study says.

THURSDAY, Nov. 19 (HealthDay News) -- New research may provide the foundation for future medical treatment of memory deficits associated with Down syndrome.

(HealthDay News) -- Migraines are common in kids, affecting up to 5 percent of grade-school children, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

(HealthDay News) -- Gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy, resulting in high blood sugar levels that can pose dangers for mom and baby.

FRIDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests it may become possible for pre-pubescent boys stricken by cancer to prepare for the future when they may be infertile but still want to become natural fathers.

PARIS (AFP) - Beaten or sexually abused children are more likely to show accelerated ageing of cells later in life, a condition linked to higher rates of cancer and heart disease, according to a study released Friday.

HANOI, Vietnam - Babies squirmed and wailed as needles plunged into their chubby thighs at a public health clinic on the outskirts of Hanoi on Friday. Like little ones everywhere, the reaction to the sting was never pretty.

Among the many reasons for the high preterm birth rate in the U.S.: lack of insurance, cigarette smoking and elective cesarean-section deliveries that are scheduled too early

MELBOURNE, Australia - A Bangladeshi toddler separated this week from her conjoined twin sister was talking and behaving normally Thursday after waking from a medically induced coma, the head of the surgery team said.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- New research offers bad news for women who develop a condition known as preeclampsia during pregnancy: They're at higher risk of reduced thyroid function and may be more likely to have thyroid problems in later life.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that having multiple sclerosis puts pregnant women at slightly higher risk for giving birth via cesarean deliveries or having babies that grow at a slower rate in the womb.

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Secondhand smoke harms the cardiovascular health of children, especially toddlers and obese youngsters, U.S. researchers say.

BETHESDA, Md. - Federal health experts said Wednesday an updated version of Pfizer's best-selling anti-infection vaccine is safe and effective for infants and toddlers, despite company studies that failed to meet certain goals.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. A study published Wednesday shows that while women with MS have a somewhat heightened risk of certain pregnancy complications, by and large, their pregnancies are as healthy as other women's.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Boosting a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine in sufferers of Down Syndrome could help reverse the condition, which is the most common cause of mental retardation in children, a study showed Wednesday.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - First Lady Michelle Obama received a few gardening tips from students Wednesday as she toured a Virginia elementary school's vegetable garden.

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Toddlers and obese children suffer far greater blood-vessel damage and other harm from secondhand smoke than other children, which could put them on the path to heart disease later in life, according to a new study.

(HealthDay News) -- When babies are teething, they're generally miserable from the pain, swelling and tenderness in their gums.

TUESDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Children who are fearless at 3 years of age might just be poised for a life of crime.

TUESDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) -- A new small study raises the prospect, but doesn't prove, that there's a link between pregnant women's exposure to common chemicals called phthalates and the type of toys their male children prefer to play with when they reach preschool age.

TUESDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) -- The erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil, commonly known as Viagra, boosts the heart's pumping ability in children and young adults who've had the Fontan operation to correct single-ventricle heart defects, researchers report.

TUESDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Surging obesity rates, especially among children, may be putting the brakes on progress made in the past few decades against heart disease, researchers report.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Runny nose, fever, cough, even pneumonia -- the symptoms sound like swine flu but children hospitalized at one U.S. hospital in fact had a rhinovirus, better known as a common cold virus, doctors said on Tuesday.