Kids and young adults who use social media for seven or more hours per day have double the risk of taking up vaping or smoking or both, new research shows.
The study is based on a survey of almost 11,000 young British people ages 10 to 25 who were tracked from 2015 throu...
Sleepaway camp can be a lot of fun for kids, but only if they’re ready for the experience.
And that’s the tough part -- figuring out as a parent when a child is ready to stay away from home, and what they’ll need while they’re at camp, said
More than 320,000 U.S. children lost a parent to drug overdose during the past decade, according to a new study reported May 8 in JAMA Psychiatry.
What’s more, the death rate accelerated during the ...
Parents striving to be “perfect” will never attain that goal, and the aim isn’t even healthy for their families, a new study says.
The risks of striving for perfection are such that researchers have now created a scale to help parents track their burnout and, if ne...
No one knows what caused the liver and kidney disease that led to Ludwig van Beethoven’s untimely death.
But one popular theory – that high lead levels killed the great composer – should be ruled out, researchers argue in the journal
Children and young adults who are couch potatoes could wind up with enlarged hearts, increasing their risk of heart attack, stroke and early death.
Sedentary behavior contributed as much as 40% to the total increase in heart size between the ages of 17 and 24,
Kids are very likely to make the acquaintance of a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at some point, whether they know it or not.
An estimated 95% of children with disabilities enroll in regular schools, experts say.
“Given the rates of autism dia...
Parents can be very effective buzzkills for their teens, just by letting kids know they’re being closely watched, a new study reports.
Nearly 100,000 U.S. children lost a parent in 2020 to gun violence or drug overdose, a three-fold rise since 1999, according to a new study.
Overall, these two causes made up nearly a quarter (23%) of parental losses in 2020, almost double the level cited in 1999, accord...
Parents of newborns diagnosed with cystic fibrosis often are confused about both the disease and their next steps, a new national survey has found.
In fact, about half of new parents don’t even know that newborns are routinely screened for the genetic disorder, the pol...
Everyone knows that specific type of sports parent – the over-the-top dad or mom who curses, shouts and even becomes physically aggressive during their kid’s match.
While they might think they’re cheering their kid to victory, such poor sports behavior actually can...
Giving your kid a drink, snack or small bag of fast food on the way home from day care might distract them during a busy commute, but it’s not doing their
Getting the HPV shot in adolescence can spare kids a lifetime of risk for cervical and other cancers related to the virus, but only half of American kids are up-to-date on these shots.
Now, a new review suggests that if schools mandate HPV shots as an entry requirement f...
Having a child with food allergies isn't easy to manage, and now new research shows that most of these parents turn to social media for medical advice.
When they do, some of the advice is good and some is not, researchers report.
In the study, published recen...
Anne Helms is one busy mom, constantly juggling the demands of working from home with parenting two young children.
Despite that whirl of activity, Helms says she often feels isolated and lonely.
“I work from home full time and I actually have a job where I’m o...
The pandemic caused only “modest” delays in developmental milestones for infants and toddlers, a new study has found.
Previous research has reported that pandemic-related lockdowns disrupted the lives of many people, including families with young children.
Day-...
Parents too often wave the white flag when it comes to young picky eaters, a new survey finds.
Three out of five parents say they’re willing to play personal chef and cobble up a separate meal for a child who balks at the family dinner, according to a national poll fro...
Another broiling summer looms, along with another season of kids' summer sports.
It's a potentially harmful, even lethal combination. But experts at Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH) have advice for kids, parents and coaches on how to keep young athletes safe when the...
Teenagers are frequently bullied about their weight on social media, and the bullying increases with each hour they spend on these si...
Quiet preteens who feel they're a burden on others are more likely to have suicidal thoughts and behaviors, a new study reports.
Criticism from parents or caregivers also increased the likelihood of suicidal thoughts and behaviors, researchers found.
Preteen girls ...
Preparing a kid for summer camp is already a daunting task, and it’s even more complicated if your child has allergies or asthma, experts say.
“Kids with allergies and asthma need an extra layer of protection when they head off to summer camp,” said allergist
Standardized tests put a lot of pressure on teenagers who want to secure their future and make their parents and teachers proud.
This stress can lead to symptoms like stomach aches, sleep problems, irritability and heightened emotionality, experts say.
But there ar...
A days-old newborn in Oregon was sickened with salmonella that may have been transmitted from parents who tended infected poultry located 150 miles away, a new report finds.
Toddlers who grow up near nature are less likely to have emotional issues, even if the green space is just a park or a big back yard, a new study shows.
The more green space there is within three-fourths of a mile from a child's home, the fewer symptoms of
Suicides among U.S. college athletes have doubled over the past two years, according to data from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Suicide is now the second most common cause of death for college athletes after accidents, results show.
“Athlet...
U.S. rates of suicide by all methods rose steadily for adolescents between 1999 and 2020, a new analysis shows.
During those two decades, over 47,000 Americans between the ages 10 and 19 lost their lives to suicide, the report found, and there have been sharp increases ...
Most parents are torn about letting their middle or high school students take a sick day.
"In some cases, the decision to keep kids home from school is clear, such as if the child is vomiting or has a high fever," said
Babies who die unexpectedly in their sleep often are subjected to many hazards that could have contributed to their deaths, a new study reports.
Multiple unsafe sleep practices are at play in three-quarters (76%) of Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID), according to a ...
Over the first few years of a child's life, foods found in a family's fridge and cupboards tends to get less healthy, new research shows.
“We found significant changes in several food categories over time," said study lead author
Baseball season is near, and one orthopedic surgeon is warning young players and their coaches and parents about the very real danger of overuse injuries.
The cost to American families of caring for a child with a mental health condition rose by almost a third between 2017 and 2021, a new report finds, to an average $4,361 per year.
Overall, American families spent an estimated $31 billion in 2021 on child mental hea...
Days clogged with numerous after-school activities are detrimental to the mental health of over-scheduled high school students, a new study finds.
Researchers also found that these "enrichment' activities -- tutoring, sports, school clubs and even homework -- are unlikel...
During the past half-century, the United States' annual number of school shootings has increased more than twelvefold, a new study finds.
What's more, children are now four times more likely to be a school shooting victim, and the death rate from school shootings has ris...
As more Americans pop over-the-counter melatonin to help them sleep, their young children are increasingly showing up in ERs after accidentally ingesting the supplements.
Using TVs and tablets as "e-babysitters" really cuts down on the time toddlers spend interacting with parents or other caregivers, new research shows.
The Australian team of investigators are calling the phenomenon "technoference" -- a scenario where "young children's ex...
As new outbreaks of measles -- a once nearly eliminated illness in the United States -- continue to emerge, experts remind Americans that there's an easy way to stop infection: Get vaccinated.
"Measles spreads so easily that if one person has it, 90% of the people close ...
Teens have a higher risk of self-injury -- deliberately cutting or burning themselves -- if they have a fraught relationship with a struggling parent, a new study shows.
Teenagers were nearly five times more likely to self-injure if, when they were 6, their moms and dads...
Most parents have experienced it: Your young child wakes up distraught, sure that the nightmare they've just suffered through is real.
Dr. Anis Rehman, an internal medicine specialist and consu...
Well-to-do American families are more likely than poorer families to increase their children's risk of cervical cancer by skipping the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, a new study has found.
Nearly two-thirds of well-off parents (65%) do not intend to seek out the HPV...
Many younger children could be permanently damaging their hearing by blasting loud music on their earbuds and headphones, a new report finds.
Two in three parents say that their child between the ages of 5 and 12 regularly pop listening devices in their ears, according t...
Lockdown drills have become a shudder-inducing part of American life, preparing kids to lie low and keep quiet if a gunman chooses to roam their school.
But a new study finds these drills help children who've been exposed to violence, helping them feel safer at school.
Talking about the “good old days” might elicit eye rolls from teenagers, but it could be the key to boosting a preschooler's language skills, a new study finds.
Reminiscing about past events with preschoolers presents young kids with high-quality speech as good as or...
Television has been wryly referred to as the “electronic babysitter,” but a new study argues TV or other media could stunt a child's language development.
Children plopped in front of videos for hours on end tend to use phrases and sentences with fewer words, researc...
A shift in parenting early in a child's development might help curb the symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), new research suggests.
When a preschooler exhibits an "excitable or exuberant" temperament, dialing down a "controlling" style of parentin...
Kids are more likely to lie to their parents if their parents have been lying to them -- even with positive “white” lies, a new study shows.
But researchers found a difference between encouraging white lies and “instrumental” lies that involve false threats or pr...
American teenagers cite stress as the leading reason they might get drunk or high, a new report reveals.
That only underscores the need for better adolescent mental health care, according to the research team behind the study.
Better "access to treatment and suppor...
High school students who smoke, drink or use weed are more likely to be emotionally troubled and have suicidal thoughts, a new study finds.
Teens who turn to nicotine, alcohol or marijuana are more likely to think about suicide, feel depressed or anxious, have psychotic ...
If your preteen or teen skips school activities and social events, it may be more than the typically moody behavior of adolescence, new research warns.
Being socially withdrawn and having physical discomforts such as headaches, nausea or stomachaches as a preteen may boo...
The health dangers posed by colorful detergent pods continues to plague young children, a new study warns.
U.S. poison control centers still receive one call every 44 minutes about a young child who's been harmed through exposure to a liquid laundry detergent pod, resear...
Kindergarten might seem like child's play, but embracing the adventure can play a key role in a kid's future educational success, a new study finds.
A successful early transition to kindergarten -- what the researchers called the “big little leap” -- can put a child ...