New US guidelines now advise against antibiotics for children older than six months.

Ear infections can be a worry for parents. This week the American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) issued new guidelines on treatment.

They advised against antibiotics for children older than six months.

Ear infection symptoms have been a major reason for doctors prescribing antibiotics to children.

The APP stresses that while every parent wants their children to feel better as quickly as possible, antibiotics may not be the answer.

«The goal is to improve the diagnosis and make sure that we preserve the healing po...

Does it seem like an effort to get your children to say anything to you besides, “Fine” and “What’s for dinner?” Lack of communication can make parents feel closed off from their own kids.

But don’t despair! You can get kids to talk to you — really. Try these six suggestions from experts:

1: Don’t compare yourself to TV families.

If you watch shows like Modern Family or The Middle and wonder why your kids aren’t as chatty as the kids on those shows, you’re not alone...

Many expectant mothers are wary of taking drugs during the early weeks of pregnancy, as this time period can be crucial for the development of their baby.  However, sometimes it’s hard to know for sure just what kind of effects medications can have on an unborn child.

Fortunately, many mothers can now rest easy when it comes to one very common medication. A recent study from researchers at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen found that the drug Zofran, which is used to treat nausea and vomiting, is safe to use during early pregnancy and poses no increased risk to the developing fetus.

For children the summer holidays should be a happy time of lazy days and swimming. For some children and their parents, however, they are a time of hardship and even tragedy.

he summer holidays are all about winding down from a tough year and fun in the sun.  But accidents involving children can happen in a moment, and sometimes end in tragedy.

Not just drowning

According to Peter Feurstein, Operations Director, Netcare 911, the medical emergency service handles a range of different child related emergencies over the school holidays...

About one in six sudden infant deaths may be linked to their mothers’ heavy alcohol use during or soon after pregnancy, according to a new study from Australia.

Researchers found those deaths may result from babies being exposed to alcohol in the womb and from alcohol-using mothers creating hazardous environments for the babies after birth.

«One of the morals of the story is that parents should be very careful about drinking alcohol, especially if you’re a single parent because there is no other parent to back you up,» said David Phillips, a professor at the University of California, San Diego...

Every parent of a school-age kid knows them all too well: the hours between the end of the school day and kids’ bedtime, when parents have to shuttle children to and from activities and sports, put dinner on the table (or otherwise feed kids), ensure homework is done, prepare for the next day, and get everyone to bed at a decent hour. Then get up and do it all again the next day.

Researchers conducting a recent poll looking at why so many American children are overweight or obese call it “crunch time,” the period starting at about 3 p.m. until a child’s bedtime...

A terrified and weeping child woken by nightmares. It’s the stock late-night wake-up call for parents.

Can you hear that familiar beat of little feet thumping up the long dark hall to the master bedroom? It always comes in the deadest heart of night. When the wind is picking up leaves and blowing them down the sideway and past the window, the urgent rustling sounding like a lost ghoul searching for souls to snatch, for brains to eat.

Can you hear that familiar beat of little feet thumping up the long dark hall to the master bedroom?

What parent doesn’t know the eerie feeling of waking to a s...

Learn how to protect your baby from the unseen dangers of X-rays, cellphones and other high-tech gadgets.

Last spring, as the tsunami-damaged reactors at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant began leaking radioactive particles, that nation’s pregnant women ran for the hills — or at least for faraway cities like Osaka. Moms-to-be in the U.S. are safely distant from fallout or food contamination, but what about X-rays and their high-energy ionizing radiation that damages DNA? Or the low-energy microwave radiation from cellphones and Wi-Fi?

If you are concerned about radiation risk...