Parenting | featured news

Parents taking infants on long flights are turning to medication to help their children sleep. But is the practice safe - or a dangerous abuse of parental power?

A large new government study should reassure parents who are afraid that kids are getting autism because they receive too many vaccines too early in life. The study, by researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, found no connection between the number of vaccines a child received and his or her risk of autism spectrum disorder. It also found that even though kids are getting more vaccines these days, those vaccines contain many fewer of the substances that provoke an immune response.

The menus offered to children by most U.S. restaurant chains have too many calories, too much salt or fat, and often not a hint of vegetables or fruit, according to a study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The group, which has agitated for everything from healthier popcorn at the movies to calorie labeling in supermarkets, found that among almost 3,500 combinations surveyed, kids' meals failed to meet nutritional standards 97 percent of the time.

The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages use of electronic media by kids under age 2 and recommends older kids be limited to one to two hours of educational programming daily. That may make intuitive sense to any parent who has watched a kid grow slack-jawed in front of the tube or beg for just five more minutes on the iPad.“That look on their faces – it’s panic-inducing. They look transfix...

As teenagers demand independence and eventually move out, they’re not always quick to cut the cord when it comes paying their own cell phone bill. Among 620 parents with 18- to 35-year-old children, more than 40 percent of those surveyed said they still pay for their kids’ cellphone service, and 29 percent were still doing so even if their children no longer lived at home.

Squeezable pouches of organic baby food are as omnipresent on some American playgrounds as runny noses, diaper bags and overpriced strollers. Organic baby food can cost up to twice as much as conventionally grown baby food, and it comes in such gourmet blends as “blueberry, oats and quinoa” and “ spinach, apple and rutabaga.”

It's 6:50 a.m., and the Huff household is in chaos. While mom Rachel coaxes her towheaded son Grant to get off the family computer ("One more minute," he's been saying since 6:30), husband Forrest fries eggs and corned beef hash for daughter Andie, who isn't even out of bed. "I don't want to be that mom who's always yelling, 'Come on!'" says Rachel, still wearing her penguin pajamas and now packing lunch boxes between gulps of tea.

What do you call a gathering of princesses? A pack? What do you call a gathering of princesses? A pack? A gaggle? A bevy? We don’t know, either, but travelers heading to Disneyland may find themselves pondering that question when the theme park’s newest attraction, Fantasy Faire, opens on Tuesday, March 12. With the likes of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” on hand to meet and greet little visitors, it promises to be a regular princess-palooza.

Researchers find a majority of children with ADHD have continued symptoms, or symptoms of another psychiatric disorder, in adulthood. Childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder frequently persists into adulthood, bringing heightened risks of additional psychiatric issues and nearly five times the risk of suicide, according to a 20-year study that followed children diagnosed with the disorder.

Thanks to mothers with too little supply and mothers with too much, the first breast milk depot recently opening in Florida, reports CBS Miami. The Gathering Place, a maternity center in Miami's Biscayne Corridor, started officially accepting breast milk donations as of February 19.