Two recent studies offer somewhat contradictory advice on the importance of free play vs. structured activities for kids. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says: Free and unstructured play is healthy and—in fact—essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones as well as helping them manage stress and become resilient. . […]
Lesbian mom Beren deMotier has written a useful list of ways to keep your child from getting sicker when you take your child to the pediatrician’s office. Timely advice as we head into cold season. (Thanks to Lifehacker for the sighting.)
All children between six months and five years old should receive a flu shot, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC wants to make sure parents are aware of these new guidelines, since their previous recommendation put the upper age at two. They also recommend that household contacts
To commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, here are some sites to inform, support, and help you take action. Resources with a lesbian connection: The Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention of breast cancer. You may remember Love from her appearance on The L Word last season. Love is an
Women whose ring fingers are longer than their index fingers are more likely to have high athletic ability, a new study from King’s College London claims. Interestingly, an earlier study from the University of California-Berkeley showed that lesbians also tend to have longer ring fingers. Does this mean all lesbians are athletes? Or all female
Many parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children because of concerns that some may in fact cause serious health problems. Whole-cell pertussis (DTP) vaccine and combined measles-mumps- rubella (MMR) vaccine, for example, have been associated with an increased frequency encephalopathy or encephalitis. A new report, however, says that childhood vaccination against whooping cough (pertussis)
As pink begins to pervade the media in preparation for National Breast Cancer Month, Amanda at Blogher offers an important reminder that September was both Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. She also suggests some ways people can help fight these diseases. My family has been hit by both lymphoma and
Preeclampsia is a sudden complication of pregnancy that can be deadly for both mother and baby. Researchers at the U. S. National Institutes of Health have announced new findings that offer hope for earlier detection and possibly a cure. They say women with preeclampsia have high levels of two blood proteins several months before they
Since today marks the midway point between the commemorations of Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, it seemed appropriate to highlight this page of resources (from the LGBT-supportive American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)) to help families prepare for and cope with terrorism and natural disasters. While the information on biological, chemical, and radiological agents could drive anyone
Chorionic villus sampling (CVS), a test for birth defects, carries the same risk as the more commonly used amniocentesis, a new study has shown. Doctors previously thought its risk to be greater. Women can undergo CVS about six weeks earlier than amniocentesis, at 10 to 12 weeks gestation, so these findings, if confirmed, will be
