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Feature Articles:

Study: One-third of kids ride in wrong safety seat  The most comprehensive study of behavior and use of child safety seats ever completed has found a third of children are riding in the wrong seat for their size. The National Safe Kids Campaign's report, "Child Passengers at Risk in America: A National Study of Restraint Use," released Thursday, also shows 63 percent of children who should be in booster seats were improperly restrained. - CNN

Government issues first-ever child seat ratings  Only two of the 68 child safety seats tested for ease of use in the government's first-ever such rating score an "A" in all five categories. Two models of the Graco Comfort Sport got an "A" in every category tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which released the ratings Wednesday. No seat got below a "B" for an overall rating. - USA Today

Study first to show where child drowning occurs While the majority of accidental infant drowning occurred in bathtubs, nearly two-thirds of cases involving older children were in rivers, lakes and ponds, a new study shows.   Described as the first to examine nationally where drowning took place, the study also found that more than half of drowning incidents among toddlers occurred in swimming pools.  "Drowning is still a big problem in this country and these deaths are preventable," said Dr. Ruth A. Brenner, an investigator with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. - CNN

Nothing magical in these headaches  'Hogwarts Headache' the latest in a long medical journal tradition of lighthearted reports on the hazards of everyday living

Harry Potter has cast a spell on many young readers, but J.K. Rowling's latest book in the series has inflicted some fans with a dull ache in the noggin.  Call it Hogwarts headache.

In a letter published in today's New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Howard J. Bennett, a pediatrician in Washington, D.C., describes generalized headaches suffered in the past several months by three of his patients, who range in age from 8 to 10.  Each complained about headaches that persisted for two or three days, yet Bennett found the children were reasonably healthy, with no infections or neurological problems that might explain prolonged headaches.

But in talking further with each child, Bennett learned that each had been spending long hours plowing through "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the tome that was published over the summer.  Four earlier books in the series apparently didn't spawn headaches, Bennett said, but at 870 pages and about 3 pounds, the fifth book requires more mental and physical effort of its readers than Professor Snape's classes at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Two of his patients would lie prone to read the bulky book, while the other propped the book on her legs and rested her head on a pillow so she could keep reading.

Hogwarts headache is the latest in a long medical journal tradition of lighthearted reports on the hazards of everyday living. These have included such ailments as Frisbee finger, cuts on the finger caused by strenuous throwing of a Frisbee; Nintendinitis, thumb tendon inflammation from playing video games; and disco digit, a sore finger from snapping the fingers while dancing. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Puffing in Pregnancy Ups Risk Child Will Smoke  Children of mothers who smoked at least one pack of cigarettes per day while pregnant are more likely to become addicted to nicotine as adults than children whose time in the womb was spent smoke-free, new research reports.  Children of mothers who smoked in pregnancy were not more likely to smoke cigarettes, but "they're more likely to become dependent if they try," study author Dr. Stephen L. Buka of Harvard University in Boston told Reuters Health. - Yahoo

If your child swallows poison  Don’t treat swallowed poison with syrup of ipecac, says AAP.  Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics reverses a long-held recommendation regarding the home treatment of childhood poisonings. For over 20 years the AAP has recommended that parents of young children keep on hand a one-ounce bottle of syrup of ipecac, a medicine that causes vomiting, to be used on the advice of a poison center for the emergency treatment of certain kinds of poisonings.  THE AAP is now advising that syrup of ipecac should no longer be used routinely and that parents should safely dispose of any syrup of ipecac that they currently have at home. - MSNBC

Youths risk death in latest drug abuse trend  Emergency rooms and schools across the nation are reporting that waves of youths are overdosing on non-prescription cough and cold medicines that are widely available in drugstores and supermarkets.

The dozens of overdoses in the past two years — including at least five deaths in which the abuse of over-the-counter medicines was a factor — reflect how medicines such as Robitussin and Coricidin are becoming more popular as recreational drugs for kids as young as 12, police and doctors say.

The incidents represent a dangerous turn from past decades, when some youths would guzzle cough syrup to try to get a buzz from alcohol and codeine, authorities say. Most cough and cold medicines no longer contain alcohol, and those with codeine, an addictive opiate, are available only by prescription. But more than 120 over-the-counter medicines include dextromethorphan, or DXM, a cough suppressant that when taken in heavy doses can produce hallucinations and a loss of motor control, much as PCP does. – USA Today

Parents are warned of bed deaths  Babies need to sleep alone, say investigators As the holidays approach and schedules are disrupted and exhaustion levels rise, some members of the Wayne County child death review team are trying to get a warning to parents of infants: Put your baby to sleep alone, on his back, in an empty crib. Period.

Just last weekend in Wayne County, three infants died from sleeping in cribs with unsafe bedding, or from sleeping in bed with their parents. Nine of the 60 infants who died in Wayne County last year from unsafe sleep environments died between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. By urging parents not to sleep with their infants or put their babies to sleep on an adult bed or on a couch or in a crib stuffed with blankets and stuffed animals, team members hope to avoid more deaths.  – Detroit Free Press

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Releases Summer Tips to Keep Kids Safer  The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) calls on parents to be more engaged in their children's lives. Recent news reports of children being exploited in retail stores and through the Internet underscores the seriousness of child sexual exploitation in the U.S. "Research shows that 1 out of 5 girls and 1 out of 10 boys will be sexually victimized before they reach adulthood," said NCMEC President Ernie Allen. "Awareness and preparedness are key to protecting our children. Parents must be proactive and teach their children how to be safer and these ten tips for the summer are a good starting point!"  - US News Wire  8/11/2003

Safety Tips For Your School-Age Children  As school starts, children get butterflies in their stomachs about what lies ahead in the hallways, while their parents fret about their children's safety, particularly if the kids will be home alone.  - ABC News

Shaking baby is never right; it's too easy to hurt or kill fragile infants
There are a few absolutes in parenting. Here is one: Never shake a baby. The whiplash motion caused by shaking easily damages nerve and brain tissue. - Seattle Times

Asking saves lives: Is there a gun in the house?  As if parents didn't have enough to worry about when their children are invited to play at a friend's house. Will there be a parent at home? Is the vodka safely locked away? What kind of cable stations and Web sites might their child's innocent eyes see for the first time?  - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Child safety urged  The federal government is pushing proper use of child car seats beginning this month -- National Baby Safety Month. - Las Vegas

Pediatricians: Walkers Should Be Banned  Baby walkers actually account for such severe injuries, doctors say. Saying the devices do little good and may even harm development, the American Academy of Pediatrics has decided to reiterate and strengthen its opposition to them.  - ABC News  

A push for scooter safety  They're sleek, lightweight and hip, and during the holidays they topped gift lists across the country.  But the wildly popular fold-up scooters, whose sales stretched into the millions last year, are sending riders to emergency rooms in record numbers.  St Petersburgh Times 

An extra soft drink a day gives a child a 60 percent greater chance of becoming obese, new research suggests.  The U.S. study, published this week in The Lancet medical journal, says the soft drink-obesity link is independent of the food children eat, how much television or videos they watch and the amount they exercise.  Experts, who called the findings "enormously important," have long believed that sweetened drinks were contributing to the rising obesity epidemic among children, but said there has been no reliable evidence of a link  ABC News  

Parents,children working together for safety  For many teenagers, talking their parents into allowing them to go to a Friday night party is a weekly battle. But Bishop Gorman High School senior Molly Moore often doesn't have to cajole her parents to win her Friday night freedom. Las Vegas Sun  

Report:  Hidden dangers to children on many U.S. playgrounds  The majority of public playgrounds in the United States pose hidden dangers that result in injuries to tens of thousands of children each year, two consumer watchdog groups said Thursday.  A report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Consumer Federation of America said hard playground surfaces, equipment that is too high, openings that can entrap children, and swings that are too close together pose serious threats to children.  Annually, 17 children die from injuries they received on playgrounds, according to the federal government's Consumer Product Safety Commission.  CNN 

'Startling' Number of Kids Solicited for Sex on the Internet  Children, especially teens, are more likely to encounter sexual conversations and materials on the Internet than parents may realize, according to a report released yesterday showing that 1 in 5 youths online face invitations to engage in cybersex or receive other risque solicitations.

Incidents ranged from a suggestive comment in an online chat room -- such as a 13-year-old girl who was asked her bra size -- to children being aggressively pursued by strangers who wanted to meet them for sex in the real world. None of the children surveyed agreed to meet with the propositioners offline, although hundreds of cases have been investigated by law enforcement agencies.  - San Francisco Chronicle 

How's My Teen Driving-Dot-Com?  Used to be, you had no recourse when a reckless leadfoot teenager cut you off in traffic. But this is the 21st century. Now, just punch up Tell-My-Mom.com and you can cyber-snitch on the malevolent little motorists.  Channel4000.com   [Click here for more Teen Driving Tips]

How grandparents can keep babies safe.  Many grandparents today are raising their grandchildren. Others are caring for grandchildren while the baby's parents are at work. As a grandparent today, it is almost certain that, at some time, you will be taking care of your infant grandchild while he or she is sleeping.  What a lot of grandparents do not know is that the guidelines for safe sleeping have changed since their children were babies. When you first see your grandchildren sleeping, they will be on their backs, not their stomachs. It is important to know why the rules have changed: Putting an infant to sleep on his or her back will greatly reduce the baby's risk of dying from the mysterious but tragic disease known as sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.  St Petersburgh Times 

Back to school: Foil those bullies on the bus  Back to school: Foil those bullies on the bus Prepare students, talk to officials to stop intimidating behavior among kids.   Being educated and prepared can help students and school administrators defend against the school-bus bully, says Mr. Hackett and other experts. So can practicing techniques to deflect or prevent bully behavior. Techniques range from using humor to defuse a situation to hiring school bus monitors.  - The Cincinnati Post and Enquirer