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It’s that time of year! Many parents are getting ready to send their children back to school. But clothes and shoes, backpacks and notebooks probably aren’t the only things they’re thinking about. School safety tops the list of worries for many parents. Will my child get to school safely? Will he get sick? Will she eat a healthy lunch? Will she fall during recess and scrape her knee? While accidents do happen, there are ways to talk to your children about staying safe at school. Here are 10 tips to share with your family:

1. Know the numbers. Make sure your…

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It’s unanimous. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted 5-0 in support of new standards to address the dangers posed by cribs—including risks associated with drop sides, mattresses, and slats. The standards are designed to eliminate gaps that allow a baby to fall out of the crib or become entrapped and suffocate.

The CPSC action comes on the heels of an announcement by Pottery Barn Kids that it is recalling more than 80,000 drop-side cribs due to concerns over entrapment, suffocation, falling.

Pending final approval by the federal commission sometime next year, the new standards would ban the sale of drop side…

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Two new Pediatrics studies share disturbing information: there are increasing instances of young children swallowing batteries—especially 20mm-diameter lithium cell batteries found in remote controls.

What’s the big deal you might ask? You probably swallowed a quarter or two as a kid. I’m pretty sure my son ate a Band-Aid. But small batteries are not nearly so benign.

There are serious—even fatal—consequences to ingesting button batteries, which can lodge in the esophagus (the tube that carries food to the stomach) and cause severe tissue damage within just two hours. Even after the button-sized battery is removed delayed complications can occur including a hole in…

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Parents already have plenty of reasons to choose organic foods for their babies, given the potential health risks–including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and mental illness that have been linked to the pesticides found in non-organic foods. While many of the health risks related to pesticides are unproven, some experts believe pesticides pose the greatest risks to infants and children.

A recent study linking pesticide levels in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, better known as ADHD, gives parents one more reason to choose organic.

Research
The purpose of the study, conducted by researchers from Harvard University and the University of Montreal and published in the May…

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Ignorance is bliss. Or so they say. Remember the good old days, when you didn’t worry about what your baby’s bottle was made from? Glass, plastic…it didn’t seem to make a difference other than the look, feel, and style. That all changed in 2008, when the National Toxicology Program released its report on bisphenol A (commonly known as BPA), a chemical found in plastics. At that time, the government agency stated a series of concerns about the chemical used in many plastic food containers, including baby bottles. Among those concerns was that human exposure to BPA could cause brain, behavior,…

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If you’ve ever had a flu shot, you’ve almost certainly been asked, “Are you allergic to eggs?” I’ve always wondered what the options are for those who answer, “Yes.” Are they denied the vaccine? Are they left unprotected from the flu?

The answer is no. No, egg-allergic patients without anaphylaxis do not need to be denied the vaccine. No, they won’t be left unprotected from the flu. Children without anaphylactic reactions to egg may safely receive the flu vaccine, in a controlled fashion.

Research
In a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston analyzed data from the medical records of…

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In May, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved a new federal safety standard for infant bath seats. This is the first mandatory standard for infant and toddler products issued by the CPSC as required under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).

Intended for use in sinks and tubs, infant bath seats provide front and back support for babies 5 to 10 months of age. Since 1983, infant bath seats have been implicated in 174 deaths and 300 serious injuries, many due to babies being left unattended.

In a warning to parents, the CPSC cautioned, “Young children can drown quickly, even…

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Swim caps in hand, I walk my 10-month-old to the neighborhood YMCA for swimming lessons. “Today’s the day we learn to float like a rubber duck,” I say. Ahh, floating—the next step on the journey to becoming a water safe baby. I signed my son up for swim class because my friend insisted, saying babies need to get accustomed to the water at an early age. Which would make sense if we lived near a body of water—natural or man-made—but we live in New York City; sprinklers substitute for pools and the nearest beach is an hour away by train.…

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Let’s get something out of the way: I can’t stand the whole idea of a book series called The Complete Idiot’s Guide To… Whenever I see one of those titles, I imagine some disembodied voice thundering from above, “Ha, ha, we’ll make things really simple for you simpleminded folks.” And I shudder at the very thought of reading one.

That said, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Vaccinations: A Balanced Look at the Pros and Cons by Michael Joseph Smith and Laurie Bouck, gave me pause. It’s straightforward intentions are well-written in a way that anyone can understand—hence the title. The book has one…

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Attention all beachgoers! With Memorial Day right around the corner, the timing couldn’t be better. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released its fourth annual Sunscreen Guide touting the best and worst sunscreens on the market. And it should come as no surprise—only 8 percent of the 500 available beach and sport sunscreens made the recommended list.

Why so few? The EWG attributes it to exaggerated SPF claims and a better understanding of the hazards of some sunscreen ingredients—including data possibly linking vitamin A used in 41 percent of sunscreens to an increased risk for skin cancer (albeit in mice not humans). Products with…

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is making sleep safety a key initiative in 2010, mandating a new federal safety standard for cribs. According to CPSC chairman Inez Tenenbaum, the Safe Sleep campaign seeks to inform parents about sleep hazards, soft bedding hazards, and recalls through videos and educational materials. Recently, the CPSC released a new Safe Sleep for Babies poster. It includes the usual guidelines for parents: put your infant to sleep on his or her back, use a firm, tight-fitting mattress, and never use pillows or comforters in your baby’s crib. But the new poster has an…

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Medications account for 44% of accidental poisonings in children under five years old. ©iStockphoto.com/perkmeup

At a recent gathering of friends (guys, gals, and one toddler), several of the guys stepped outside to smoke.

“I’d never let anyone smoke around my son,” my friend said to us confidently. “We’re really protective of his health.”

When the guys returned, one of them placed his pack of cigarettes on a nearby coffee table. Within minutes, the curious toddler made his way over to the table and grabbed the pack of cigarettes, intent on exploring its contents. His mother responded by removing the cigarettes from his grasp before…

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