Children's Health
our child's health includes physical, mental and social well-being. Most parents know the basics of keeping children healthy, like offering them healthy foods, making sure they get enough sleep and exercise and insuring their safety.
It is also important for children to get regular checkups with their health care provider. These visits are a chance to check your child's development. They are also a good time to catch or prevent problems.
Other than checkups, school-age children should be seen for
- Significant weight gain or loss
- Sleep problems or change in behavior
- Fever higher than 102
- Rashes or skin infections
- Frequent sore throats
- Breathing problems
- Study shows teens benefit from later school day 2010.07.06 Giving teens 30 extra minutes to start their school day leads to more alertness in class, better moods, less tardiness, and even healthier breakfasts, a small study found.
- Dr. Rod Tinney of Pine River Medical, receives Hometown Health Hero honor for immunization advocacy 2010.04.20 Dr. Rod Tinney of Pine River Medical, received the Hometown Health Hero honor for his advocacy of immunizations
- First lady pushes healthy kids campaign forward 2010.03.10 First lady Michelle Obama is challenging software and video game designers to develop games and applications that get kids excited about living healthy.
- 800,000 doses of kids' swine flu vaccine recalled 2009.12.15 Health officials are recalling hundreds of thousands of doses of swine flu vaccine after tests indicated they may not be potent enough to protect against the virus.
- Report: 13 million babies worldwide born premature 2009.10.09 They call it kangaroo care: A premature baby nestles skin-to-skin against mom’s bare, warm chest. In Malawi, mothers’ bodies take the place of too-pricey incubators to keep these fragile newborns alive.
- The perils of public potties require some care 2009.08.03 Mixed in with the book order forms and the crafts from the day, I got a notice in my daughter's school bin that several children had come down with scarlet fever.
- Depression diagnoses decline after FDA warning 2009.06.02 Researchers have come to understand that social groups can influence health in people of all ages.
- Healthy Teen Relationships 2009.03.10 Young love can seem so innocent, but it’s not immune to issues of emotional and physical abuse, unhealthy patterns and conflict.
- Juvenile Diabetes 2009.03.10 Her job as an RN with Northern Michigan Regional Hospital and her bachelor’s of science degree complemented her mother’s intuition, and she made an appointment for her son with his pediatrician.
- Panel: Adopting from abroad? Get hepatitis A shot 2009.02.26 A 51-year-old adoptive grandmother’s hospitalization from hepatitis has helped spur new vaccination recommendations for people in close contact with children adopted from other countries.
- When toddlers point a lot, more words will follow 2009.02.13 Don’t just talk to your toddler — gesture, too. Pointing, waving bye-bye and other natural gestures seem to boost a budding vocabulary.
- Studies: Steroids do not help wheezing kids 2009.01.22 Steroid drugs, a common treatment for young children prone to wheezing and colds, do not help and may even be harmful, according to new research.
- MRSA rising in kids’ ear, nose, throat infections 2009.01.20 Researchers say they found an “alarming†increase in children’s ear, nose and throat infections nationwide caused by dangerous drug-resistant staph germs.
- Largest-ever study of U.S. child health begins 2009.01.13 Scientists begin recruiting mothers-to-be in North Carolina and New York this week for the largest study of U.S. children ever performed — aiming eventually to track 100,000 around the country from conception to age 21.
- First U.S. count finds 1 in 200 kids are vegetarian 2009.01.13 A recent study provides the government’s first estimate of how many children avoid meat. That’s about 1 in 200.
- Mission: Impossible? Keeping kids healthy in sick season 2008.12.22 Figuring out when a child is contagious is tough. Many children are the most contagious in the very early stages of illness even before they appear to be sick.
- Adoption Awareness Month 2008.12.19 Each year, National Adoption Month brings attention to adoption, the families who welcome children into their home and the birthparents who provide new hope for their infants.
- Young girl faces heart surgery 2008.12.10 A Petoskey girls story of trumping tragedy
- Disruptive behavior by autistic kids stirs furor 2008.11.17 Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death among children in the U.S.1 But many of these deaths can be prevented. Placing children in age- and size-appropriate car seats and booster seats reduces serious and fatal injuries by more than half.
- Bedwetting: More common than you think 2008.10.22 When children are wetting their bed well into the adolescent and even early “tween†years, it can mean added stress on a family and a great deal of embarrassment for the child.
- Got milk? Breast-feeding best — unless you can’t 2008.10.22 Bente White was willing to try almost anything to breast-feed her infant son.
- CDC Study Finds 3 Million U.S. Children have Food or Digestive Allergies 2008.10.22 The number of young people who had a food or digestive allergy increased 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- CDC Releases New Infant Mortality Data 2008.10.17 The United States ranked 29th in the world in infant mortality in 2004, compared to 27th in 2000, 23rd in 1990 and 12th in 1960, according to a new report from CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
- Child Passenger Safety: Fact Sheet 2008.10.15 Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death among children in the U.S.1 But many of these deaths can be prevented. Placing children in age- and size-appropriate car seats and booster seats reduces serious and fatal injuries by more than half.
- Pediatricians double vitamin D recommendations 2008.10.13 The nation’s leading pediatricians group says children from newborns to teens should get double the usually recommended amount of vitamin D because of evidence that it may help prevent serious diseases.
- FDA issues safety and risk assessment of melamine in infant formula 2008.10.06 FDA is currently unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns.
- Avoid foodborne illness when baby arrives home 2008.10.06 Foodborne illness is a serious health issue, especially for your new baby and any other children in your home. Each year in the U.S., 800,000 illnesses affect children under the age of 10.
- Hearing and vision screening underway for school children 2008.09.16 Local health department’s Hearing and Vision Screening Program are working with local school districts and preschools to provide screening to more than 15,000 children, identifying problems early before they can interfere with children’s academic succ
- Childhood obesity is an ever increasing issue for today’s families 2008.08.29 Researchers have come to understand that social groups can influence health in people of all ages.
- Instances of Autism on the Rise 2008.08.22 In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that raised many an eyebrow across the country.
- Physical Activity Drops From Age 9 to 15 2008.08.15 The activity level of a large group of American children dropped sharply between age 9 and age 15, when most failed to reach the daily recommended activity level according to the NIH.
- Fat Cell Numbers in Teen Years Linger for a Lifetime 2008.08.15 Researchers have found that the number of fat cells in your body is set during adolescence and remains constant through adulthood, regardless of whether you gain or lose weight.
- SIDS: A heart-breaking killer 2008.08.07 The latest for parents about the still-unexplained mystery of crib death.
- Sex education: Safeguarding teens from becoming parents 2008.07.24 Health officials claim the keys to keeping teens from becoming moms are education and persistent parents.
- Noise Pollution: A Different Environmental Problem 2008.07.24 Too much noise not only pollutes the environment; it can permanently damage your hearing.
- How Social Networks Affect Your Health 2008.07.24 Researchers have come to understand that social groups can influence health in people of all ages.
- 4.7 Million Uninsured But Eligible Children Not In Medicaid Or CHIP There are still about 4.7 million uninsured American children who are eligible for CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) or Medicaid and are not enrolled, says a new report published in the journal Health Affairs. The report estimated about 7.3 million American children were uninsured on an average day in 2008-of those, 65% of them (4...
- Half Of Severe Asthma Cases In Children Are Not Untreatable; Just Follow The Basics Many youths appear resistant to treatment from the onset of a severe asthmatic condition. Why? Simply put, many have been wrongly diagnosed or caretakers have not followed asthma treatment guidelines properly. There is no one cure-all for this condition that is a chronic, or long-term lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways...
- U.N.-NGO Meeting Concludes With Participants Calling On World Leaders To Do More For MDGs A group of more than 350 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) concluded a U.N. forum in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday with a call for world leaders to step up their commitments to achieving the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Australian Associated Press/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 9/1). "In a wide-ranging declaration adopted at the end of the three-day meeting ...
- Also In Global Health News: Congo Security Warnings; Niger Food Crisis; Drug Cost In Developing Countries; Measles Vaccination In China Congolese Community Leaders Warned U.N. About Security; 240 Rape Victims Now Identified "Congolese community leaders say they begged local U.N. officials and army commanders to protect villagers days before rebels gang-raped scores of people, from a month-old baby boy to a 110-year-old great-great-grandmother," the Associated Press reports...
- Autistic Children And Families In Detroit Are Offered Help From The Children's Center Of Wayne County As They Prepare For School In preparation for the new school year The Children's Center's is gearing up their early intervention programs for families and children with autistic spectrum disorders between the ages 18 months to 6 years old. The Children's Center (TCC) recognizes one of the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States affecting our children is Autism...
- American Academy of Pediatrics 08.04.08 AAP.org website devoted to children's health.
- WebMD Children's Health Center 08.04.08 Children's health information at WebMD
- Medline Plus: Children's Health 08.04.08 Children's Health links provided by the NIH.
- KidsHealth 08.04.08 KidsHealth website from the Nemours Foundation.