Study Shows Many Kids Are Unbuckling Themselves From Car Seats

Some parents may have enough difficulty getting their toddlers strapped into their car seats, but that may be just half the battle.
A new, small study of parents in Colorado reveals another potential roadblock to child passenger safety: youngsters unbuckling themselves while the vehicle is moving.
Such incidents are alarming as restraining children inappropriately in a vehicle [...]

Errors Put Youngsters At Risk For Overdose Of Painkillers

A new study reviewing more than 50,000 narcotic-containing precriptions for  children found that about 4 percent of them received an overdose amount.
Of more concern was the finding that the youngest children had the greatest chance of receiving an overdose, according to lead researcher Dr. William T. Basco Jr., associate professor and director of the Division [...]

Pediatricians Seek Better Protection From Chemicals

The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that chemical-management policy in the United States be revised to protect children and pregnant women and to better protect other populations.
Since the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) was passed in 1976, tens of thousands of new chemicals have been developed for widespread use with little oversight or testing [...]

What To Do For An Infant Who Is Choking

Nearly 4,000 men, women and children in the United States die from accidental choking each year.
And almost two thirds of children who choke to death are three years of age or younger. Most of these deaths can be avoided. Understanding how to prevent choking, as well as what to do when choking occurs, can save [...]

As CT Scans Of Kids Soar, Experts Urge Oversight

Computed tomography examinations of children in hospital emergency departments increased fivefold from 1995 to 2008, highlighting the need for appropriate use and interpretation of these exams, a new study shows.
The number of pediatric emergency department visits that included a computerized tomography or CT examination increased from roughly 330,000 in 1995 to 1.65 million in 2008, [...]

Antipsychotic Drug Use Up For Children, While Mental Health Visits Are Few

The use of antipsychotic drugs for very young children with behavior problems approximately doubled between 1999-2001 and 2007. Yet fewer than half of these children received a mental health assessment, a psychotherapy visit, or a visit with a psychiatrist while taking these medications, reveals a new study.
These findings raise safety concerns, note the researchers. They [...]

Rear-Facing Car Seats Now Advised Until Age 2

The nation’s leading pediatrician’s group now says toddlers should remain in rear-facing car seats until the age of 2, rather than the previous age requirement of 12 months.
In a new policy published in the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online March 21), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises parents to keep their toddlers [...]

Playing It Safe With Kids And Toys

Play time for babies and toddlers should be fun for both the young ones and their parents.
But for 250,100 children in 2009, play time stopped being fun as they were treated for toy related injuries at hospitals, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. That same year, 12 children died from toy-related injuries.
Most (46 percent) [...]

Experts Urge Greater Caution In Use Of X-Rays During Pregnancy And Infancy

Much care should be taken when using x-rays on pregnant women and infants because of the potential for a slight increase in the risk of children developing cancer, a new study says.
The study is consistent with what doctors have long suspected, and why women of childbearing age are always asked about the possibility of pregnancy [...]

Crib Injuries Send Thousands To ER Each Year, Study Shows

Nearly 10,000 children under 2 are rushed to emergency departments each year as a result of injuries associated with cribs, playpens and bassinets, a new study has found.
Conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, the study examined such injuries among [...]