A new study hands parents what seems like a miraculous gift: A simple, free technique that takes just 13 minutes to put wailing infants to sleep.

Researchers in Japan found that walking around while carrying infants for five minutes calmed the newborns, while another eight minutes of sitt...

Helping a child deal with a weight issue, while avoiding negativity about their body image, can be challenging, one expert says.

Yet, obesity affects 20% of American children, causing harm to physical and mental health.

Dr. Marsha Novick, medical director of the Healthy Weight Program for Children and Tee...

Kids who walk, skateboard or ride their bikes to school when they are young are more likely to keep it up as they get older, reaping the health benefits, recent research suggests.

“The walk to school is a wonderful moment in the day that provides children a glimpse of living an active lifestyle,” said study...

New federal safety standards announced Wednesday aim to keep kids and teens safe from serious or life-threatening injuries from accidental swallowing of high-powered magnets.

The new standards require that certain products with loose or separable magnets contain only those that are weak or too large to swallow.

The aim is to reduce injuries that can occur when swallowed magnets att...

Many new parents have been jarred awake in the dead of night when they hear their baby let out that telltale barky cough that signals a bout of croup.

Until now, nothing was thought to stave off the disease in babies who are prone to it, but a new study has discovered that when women took hi...

Stories about their difficult birth or their parents' fertility challenges can give adult children a more grateful, upbeat attitude towards their lives, British researchers suggest.

They studied the messages as well as how they were delivered, interviewing people about the stor...

Children should get their flu shot as soon as it is available, preferably by the end of October, a leading medical group recommends.

Flu vaccination lagged last year, with 55% of children getting their vaccines, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) noted. Coverage levels were 8 percentage points lower for Black childre...

Parents who smoke should know that their kids are more likely to vape and try smoking.

Those teens were 55% more likely to try e-cigarettes than those of nonsmoking parents and 51% more likely to have tried traditional cigar...

While half of mothers of children with autism suffer symptoms of depression, a new study has discovered that did not raise the risk of behavioral problems for their kids.

It was both a surprising and heartenin...

It might seem incongruous, but new research suggests that teens who engage in more physical activity may vape m...

Recent years have seen several high-profile cases of doctors sexually abusing young patients. Now the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is issuing new recommendations aimed at prevention.

Medical visits are usually a safe place for children and teenagers, but when abuse does happen, it is an egregious violation.

One reason, the AAP says, is because parents and kids trust that hea...

Roughly six months after it shut down its baby formula plant in Michigan, Abbott Laboratories said it plans to begin making Similac again.

The baby formula will be the latest to restart production after Abbott's specialty formulas, including EleCare, resumed production a couple of months ago. In February, Abbott closed its plant and recal...

Trista Hamsmith's 18-month-old daughter, Reese, died after swallowing a button battery that slipped out of a remote control in the fall of 2020, and the mom-turned-advocate has spent the past two years trying to make sure no other child di...

To help parents who use government nutrition benefits cope with an ongoing shortage of baby formula, U.S. federal officials will extend a program giving them more choice at the grocery store.

Families who buy formula through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children (WIC) will be able to buy substitutes for their regular formula through Dec. 31 -- or for 60...

Pfizer's modified COVID-19 vaccine for use in children under 5 was 73% effective in shielding them from infection during the Omicron surge this spring, company data released Tuesday shows.

The specially formulated...

What your kids eat for breakfast and where they eat it could matter for their social and emotional health.

That's the upshot of a new nationwide study from Spain that concluded that eating breakfast away from home was almost as detrimental as skipping the meal altogether. Researchers said thi...

School lunches can be nutritious, help kids maintain their energy throughout the day and fit into a budget.

One nutrition expert offers some tips for cost-effective healthy lunch options.

"All foods belong in our diet, but we need to view them as energy," said Courtn...

Kids can take part in sports while on vegetarian and vegan diets, but parents and caregivers must help them select foods that will fuel them and meet their nutrition needs.

Vegan athletes can become deficient in vitamin B12, vitamin D, long-chain omega-3 fats, riboflavin and calcium, so it's important to find good substitutes, said Roberta Anding, a registered dietitian at Baylor College ...

Kids who enter preschool with good vocabulary and attention skills have a head start on academic success.

That's the takeaway from a new study of nearly 900 4-year-olds and their ability to engage with teachers and peers, as well as their involvement in classroom tasks.

“The levels of ...

While some may think of hearing loss as something that happens with age, it can also happen to kids.

Parents and teachers should consider hearing loss if a child's academic performance declines or he or she develops behavioral issues, lack of focus and depression, the American Academy of Audiology advises.

“Because children often don't realize they are missing information and may ...

U.S. workers without paid leave lost out on an estimated $28 billion in wages during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report.

The analysis showed that the greatest increases in unpaid absences were among low-income workers who were self-employed,...

The dangers of school traffic is a major worry for many parents, a new poll finds.

In fact, a third of more than 900 parents surveyed last spring said speeding and distracted parent drivers are their main concern, and drivers who don't follow the rules should be banned from school parking areas.

According to the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health from ...

Inflatable bounce houses are big, colorful, cheap to rent and practically scream "childhood fun." So, what could possibly go wrong?

It turns out plenty. For one thing, the air-filled party staples are vulnerable to being blown aloft and even flipped over if left unmoored, a new study warns.

But even when staked firmly in place, researchers warn that the biggest problem is the potent...

American kids who are poor or members of ethnic minority groups are missing out on the youth sports that have long been touted for building strong bodies and strong character, a new study reports.

It found that youngsters who are poor, or from Black or Hispanic households are less likely to take part in organized sports than their white peers.

Across the U.S., 54% of 6- to 17-year-o...

As a new school year begins, many students return to their favorite sports or try something new.

Encouraging kids to make physical activity part of their lives has lifelong benefi...

Add more frequent headaches in kids who are already vulnerable to them to the list of ills associated with the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, 60% of kids reported headaches on less than 15 days of the month. After the start of the pandemic, this number fell to 50%. W...

For peak performance, school-age children need more than a healthy diet and exercise. They also need plenty of sleep.

A new study finds that elementary school kids who get less than nine hours of sleep each night show significant differences in some brain regions responsible for memory, intelligence and well-being compared to those who get the advised nine to 12 hours' sleep.

“We ...

Financial pressures may have made this a year when some families can't afford pricy extras, such as after-school activities or summer camp.

It's OK to explain this to your kids, said an expert from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, who offered tips for the conversation, as well as low-cost alternatives for budget-friendly summer fun.

“It's important to give an optimistic but ...

Folks with young kids at home may be less likely than others to develop severe COVID-19, a new study suggests.

Children bring home colds from day care and school and give them to their parents, and it's thought those lower-level infections may ultimately defend Mom and Dad from the worst of COVID. Both common colds and COVID-19 are coronaviruses, so the theory goes that getting one might ...

Sometimes it's difficult for parents to get their child to take necessary medication.

One expert who spends part of her workday guiding parents through this challenge offers some suggestions to make the ordeal easier.

Emily Glarum, a child life specialist at the Heart Institute at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, offers these tips: Be honest, practice it, provide choices, set a sch...

Parents have had to wait a long time to have access to a COVID-19 vaccine for their kids under the age of 5, but a new survey shows many still won't get a shot for their children.

About 43% of U.S. parents of children aged 6 months to 4 years said they would not get...

A grim new analysis finds that American youth became 30% more likely to die as a result of gun violence over the past decade.

The jump in risk appears to have been largely driven by big spikes in gun-related