Today's news of Mattel's huge recall of lead painted toys comes right on the heels of a scientific study demonstrating that no level of lead in our children is OK. Is this really 2007? …
Current Affairs
America’s Children: The Big Disconnect
A recent key federal report on the health and well-being of America's children leaves much to be desired. But you wouldn't know it by reading the mainstream media coverage. …
NCCAM on Pediatric CAM use
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) recently published a "white paper" on CAM use and children. …
Once Again: Our Children are Not Well
This week's Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) features an editorial with the ominous title, "Pediatric Chronic Diseases—Stealing Childhood." …
Conquering Obesity: The “Shape Up Somerville” Study
Everyone's concerned about the epidemic rise in childhood obesity. A recent study may point the way to a deceptively-simple yet powerful solution. …
Alphabet Soup
Just returned from the Pediatric Academic Societies' Meetings in Toronto - and here's what I've learned: "IPCAAPPSOCHIMAPASIGPEDCAMCAHCIMCCCWGPSGCCTN." …
Brief update: Abraham Cherrix
Elizabeth Simpson at the Virginian-Pilot has written a poignant follow-up story about Abraham Cherrix, the teenager with cancer who fought to pursue his own path of treatment last year. …
Hospitals as Health Promoting?
The idea of a hospital as a health-promoting institution strikes us in the U.S. as strange. But it doesn't need to be that way, according to a terrific editorial published in Health and Hospitals Network OnLine. …
Media and Medicine: The Health News Review Website
Health News Review, a wonderful resource developed by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, tackles a problematic trend in health news reporting: PR and marketing campaigns disguised as medical news. …
The Reluctant Family Bed
A reporter asked me this week: "What is the most common question you get from parents?" Easy answer, regardless of age: "How do I get my child to sleep through the night?" …