There is something to be said for allowing your children copious amounts of free time outdoors to ride their bicycles, engage in sports activities, and play with their friends, especially if you want them to grow up to be healthy, strong, and vibrant members of society. And a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics clearly illustrates this point, having found that many of the most critically ill children are also the ones with the most severe vitamin D deficiencies, which means these young ones are not getting enough natural sunlight exposure to maintain proper health.

For their study...

A new global study of a century’s worth of flu pandemics gives new meaning to that «first kiss.» Influenza’s first kiss, that is.

«Your first kiss by the influenza virus produces original antigenic sins,» the study’s lead author, Dr. Thomas Reichert of the Entropy Research Institute in Lincoln, Mass., tells CBS News. «We remember our first kiss forever.»

The study, published Dec. 12 in the peer-reviewed BMC Medicine, looks at all five influenza pandemics of the past 100 years...

The fact that Maddalena Douse was born at just 23 weeks, and is the youngest premature baby ever to survive in the UK, is a miracle in and of itself. But the reason she’s alive makes the entire situation all the more miraculous. See, current guidelines in England don’t suggest providing active care for babies born 22 weeks and 6 days or before. But when they put Maddalena on the scale, and realized that she weighed 1 pound — the minimum weight for a baby to be considered «viable» — they fought to keep her alive. Here’s the thing, though — Maddalena wasn’t 1 pound. Apair of scissors h...

About 60 per cent of parents wanted their children to eat more fruit, the survey of 501 parents found, but only 46 per cent actually served it.

The Australian Pineapples Family Nutrition Report surveyed parents about their eating habits, fruit intake, parental influence on children’s eating habits and whether fresh fruit was bought.

Australian Pineapples ambassador Dr Joanna McMillan said developing healthy eating habits early in life is vital.

«Despite reports showing 20 per...

There have been many recalls on Children’s Tylenol and Motrin over the years due to inadequate (or non-existent) testing procedures. This should be a major concern for parents when their children fall ill. Homeopathic medicine has shown to have an 82.6 percent success rate versus conventional medicine at 67.3 percent response in regards to respiratory tract infections. This article will share some natural alternatives to over the counter medicines.

Medicine cabinet must-haves

These homeopathic medicines can be found at most health food store in quick dissolving tablet form and can be used for ...

Parents across Australia are waking up in droves to the dangers of vaccines, as evidenced by new government figures showing a major uptick in the number of parents who are choosing not to vaccinate their children. According to the data, there has been a 600 percent increase in recent years in the number of informed vaccine opponents who are simply not willing to inject their offspring with toxic, and largely untested, chemical cocktails.

So many Australian parents are taking charge of their children’s health and making informed vaccination decisions, in fact, the Australian government is now w...

Opinions of the tooth fairy as kind and giving may need to be revised following «mounting reports of less child-friendly activity,» says a paper published in the BMJ Christmas edition and appearing online today.

Researchers from across London became concerned following misdemeanours of the mythical character and a worrying trend in malpractice. One boy in particular became extremely distressed because the tooth fairy «had put a tooth in his left ear» after he left it under his pillow. Further investigation turned out he was right.

Further supporting their evidence are another two cases showing...

Research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) reveals that sons of male rats exposed to cocaine are resistant to the rewarding effects of the drug, suggesting that cocaine-induced changes in physiology are passed down from father to son. The findings are published in the latest edition of Nature Neuroscience.

«We know that genetic factors contribute significantly to the risk of cocaine abuse, but the potential role of epigenetic influences — how the expression of certain genes related to addiction is controlled — is sti...