Almost all babies get a cold before their first birthday. Does your baby have a cold? Many parents are hesitant to give their children decongestants, antihistamines, or other drugs. Here’s a look at natural ways to treat your baby’s sniffles and sneezes.

At least two common gene variants are linked to «clinically meaningful» differences in pain scores in children after major surgery, reports a study in the January issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

«[O]ur study is highly suggestive of a genetic component in pain response among children,» concludes the study by Dr Chantal Mamie and colleagues of Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland...

The number of low-income preschoolers who qualify as obese or «extremely obese» has dropped over the last decade, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.

Although the decline was only «modest» and may not apply to all children, researchers said it was still encouraging.

«It’s extremely important to make sure we’re monitoring obesity in this low-income group,» said the CDC’s Heidi Blanck, who worked on the study.

Those kids are known to be at higher risk of obesity than their well-off peers, in part because access to healthy food is often limited in poorer neighborhoo...

For the umpteenth time on a recent afternoon, Ethan Todd sprang to his feet and reached for a toy truck. And for the umpteenth time, the 5-year-old boy’s thin legs buckled and collapsed.

The San Mateo boy then allowed Karen Price to sit behind him in the Palo Alto studio and knead his calves and thighs. «Look how high your feet can go!» she said, lifting his right leg into the air.

To the casual eye, what Price did may have looked like a massage...

One of the biggest questions tech-savvy parents must contend with when it comes to tablets for their kids is this: do I really want to give my precious wee one a really expensive piece metal and glass?

Tech blogger Shelly Palmer asked the same question this holiday season and came up with five good tablet options for kids.

Palmer’s picks are pretty good, touching on safe and educational options for younger and older kids alike. I like the fact that he threw out an Android- and an iOS-based device, though I’m not sure that I would have picked a Kindle Fire.

Unless you want to (a) give your ch...

Kids who have food allergies or are overweight may be especially likely to get bullied by their peers, two new studies suggest.

Not surprisingly, researchers also found targets of bullying were more distressed and anxious and had a worse quality of life, in general, than those who weren’t picked on.

Bullying has become a concern among parents, doctors and school administrators since research and news stories emerged linking bullying — including online «cyberbullying» — with depression and even suicide.

«There has been a shift and people are more and more recognizing that bullying has real co...

Overweight and obese children and teens are more likely to have low vitamin D levels than kids with healthy weights, a new study suggests.

The study is published in Pediatrics.

Vitamin D is essential for bone health. Bone growth is high during childhood and adolescence. So it may be especially important to identify and treat vitamin D deficiency during that time, the researchers write.

Vitamin D deficiency is also linked to a variety of chronic conditions, such as:

• High blood pressure
• Type 1 diabetes
• Multiple sclerosis

Previous research suggests that obesity may put you at risk for v...

US to investigate after hackers expose indecent images after breaking into accounts, according to NSPCC reports

A string of Twitter accounts have been closed after they were revealed to contain disturbing images of child abuse.

The graphic pictures were apparently made public late last night after hacking groups claimed to have broken into private accounts to expose their indecent content, the NSPCC said.

The charity said it received a «flurry» of reports overnight relating to at least half a dozen Twitter accounts which were later disabled.

They will now be investigated in the US, where the m...

Children suspected of having appendicitis are more likely to receive CT scans, which involve radiation, if they are evaluated at a general hospital, a new study by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shown.

Similar patients who went to St. Louis Children’s Hospital were more often evaluated with an ultrasound scan, a safer option that uses sound waves instead of radiation to confirm or rule out the need for surgery to remove the appendix.
Use of either scanning technique can potentially reduce the occurrence of unnecessary surgeries and expedite the diagnosis of appendici...

Healthy snacks including veggies and cheese can help take the edge off of kids’ between-meal hunger pangs, and may help put a dent in rates of childhood obesity.

In a new study, children who were given cheese and vegetables as a snack ate 72% fewer calories than children who snacked on potato chips, and this effect was even more pronounced among kids who were overweight or obese.

What’s more, these kids needed fewer calories to feel full than those who ate chips.

The study included about 200 kids entering third or sixth grades...