Adam Lanza gunned down twenty-seven people in Newtown, Conn. Dec. 14 and his access to high-powered firearms has put gun control front and center in the discourse around the tragedy, but the 20-year-old’s reported enthusiasm for violent video games has some experts and lawmakers wondering if those, too, need the kind of regulation so many want on gun ownership.

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) addressed this issue while discussing his proposed “national commission on mass violence” on “Fox News Sunday” Dec. 16.

“The violence in the entertainment culture, particularly with the extraord...

Over two dozen Maui Police Department officers playedSanta Claus to 30 kids this weekend as part of the annual «Shop for a Cop» event, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: Law enforcement officials take children from a local shelter for homeless families to Kmart, give each kid a shopping cart, and help them choose up to $100 worth of merchandise. FREE SHOPPING SPREE!

As for what sort of «merchandise» the kids went for, well, since the ages ranged from 4 to 14 years old, their picks were pretty much all over the map …

But, naturally, practical stuff like tube socks and und...

When it comes to giving children snacks, having a healthier array of options may cut down on calorie-intake while still keeping kids full, new research suggests.

Scientists found that children who were given snacks of vegetables and cheese or just plain cheese had the same levels of satiation compared to those given potato chips, meaning they were just as full. However, the vegetable and cheese groups reported significantly lower intake of calories.

«There is no magic food or ingredient that will end childhood obesity, but learning to substitute certain foods — such as choosing a combination s...

Over two dozen Maui Police Department officers playedSanta Claus to 30 kids this weekend as part of the annual «Shop for a Cop» event, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: Law enforcement officials take children from a local shelter for homeless families to Kmart, give each kid a shopping cart, and help them choose up to $100 worth of merchandise. FREE SHOPPING SPREE!

As for what sort of «merchandise» the kids went for, well, since the ages ranged from 4 to 14 years old, their picks were pretty much all over the map …

But, naturally, practical stuff like tube socks and und...

When Santa visited Emily Burr’s house when she was a child, he didn’t bother to hide his tracks.

His reindeer left teeth marks on the carrot sticks Burr and her three siblings had set out for them, and Santa’s milk and cookies were half-eaten in the morning.

«We knew that Santa got milk and cookies wherever he went so he didn’t want to eat too much of them,» said Burr, now a graduate student in marriage and family therapy at Kansas State University.

And because the Burrs didn’t have a chimney, Santa landed on the front lawn. On snowy Christmases, Jolly Old St...

If you’re not wild about sharing your tablet with the kids, there’s good news. This year you’ll find more tablets made especially for children. Consumer Reports checked out 5 of the newest, costing between $150 and $200. They’re made for kids but they’ve got features that are all grown up. Some come with with real Android operating systems and features like Wi-Fi and expandable memory.

Consumer Reports examined the tablets, including display quality. Some screens proved hard to view from an angle...

Some San Francisco middle-school parents were taken aback this month when they received a letter describing their child’s stress level.

«We wanted to inform you that the results (of a screening) showed your child’s stress was in the normal range.»

Other parent letters identified high levels of stress.

At least one parent — with a «normal range» kid who is no stranger to homework-induced stress — wasn’t quite sure what to make of the letter sent by SRI International, an education research firm.

The letters went home to students from 11 district middle schools, where researchers are screening ch...

“Whooping cough cases are higher than at any point in the last twenty years and 13 babies have died from the disease, official figures have revealed” The Daily Telegraph reports.
This sad news reinforces the need for pregnant women to get vaccinated against whooping cough.
All pregnant women are now offered vaccination against whooping cough when they are 28-38 weeks pregnant. This is due to the sharp rise in the number of whooping cough cases in the UK.
Whooping cough is a serious illness. Babies who get it can develop severe complications such as pneumonia and brain damage...

Children whose mothers went into pregnancy overweight may have slightly lower scores on certain tests of verbal and numbers skills, a new study says.
The findings, reported online Dec. 10 in the journal Pediatrics, do not prove that their mothers’ extra pounds are the reason for these decreased scores, and experts not involved in the study said it’s too soon to suggest mothers-to-be lose weight for the sake of their kids’ mental prowess.
But the results do add to studies showing that, for whatever reason, kids born to heavy mothers tend to have a somewhat lower IQ than their peers.
For the stu...

Learn facts about elephants, including what they eat, how they live, how big they are, how they talk and more!

Elephants are wonderful animals! They are the largest mammals in the world that live on land. There are two kinds of elephants; African and Asian. Asian elephants have smaller ears and shorter tusks than African elephants. The African elephant is bigger and taller than the Asian elephant.

Do elephants live together?

Elephants live in families. Several families live together in a «herd.» The leader of the herd is usually the oldest female elephant. She is called the «matriarch...