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CCEI offers trial course on recognizing infectious diseases in the early childhood setting

ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI), an IACET approved, nationally accredited, distance training institution dedicated exclusively to the child care and education workforce, offers new users the trial course CCEI114B: Recognizing Infectious Diseases in the Early Childhood Setting at no cost in December.

2 Dec 2011

Adding a dip can induce bitter sensitive children to eat more vegetables

There's an existential crisis that often happens at dinner tables across the country: why won't kids eat their vegetables? Research has found that one reason could be a sensitivity to bitterness, fairly common among children - about 70 percent have it.

2 Dec 2011

Life expectancy rising in Afghanistan with infant, maternal mortality declining, survey shows

"Afghans are living longer, fewer infants are dying and more women are surviving childbirth because health care has dramatically improved around the country in the past decade, according to a national survey released Wednesday," the Associated Press/Guardian reports.

2 Dec 2011

Low-carbohydrate diet may help prepubescent girls avoid obesity associated risks

A low-carbohydrate diet may help prepubescent girls avoid some risks associated with obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease, according to research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

2 Dec 2011

Autism Speaks releases 'Visual Supports' tool kit for parents, providers

Autism Speaks, North America's largest autism science and advocacy organization today released the Visual Supports and Autism Spectrum Disorder tool kit providing valuable guidance to parents, families and providers about how to utilize pictures, photographs and other visual supports to improve communication for children, adolescents and adults who struggle with understanding or using language.

1 Dec 2011

Peer-mediated interventions may provide greater social benefits for children with ASD

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who attend regular education classes may be more likely to improve their social skills if their typically developing peers are taught how to interact with them than if only the children with ASD are taught such skills. According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, a shift away from more commonly used interventions that focus on training children with ASD directly may provide greater social benefits for children with ASD.

1 Dec 2011

Study finds unhealthy food environment in children's hospitals

Given the obesity epidemic among the nation's young, one would hope that children's hospitals would serve as a role model for healthy eating. But hospitals in California fall short, with only 7 percent of entrees classified as "healthy" according to a new study published in Academic Pediatrics.

1 Dec 2011

Fewer uninsured kids even as adult numbers rise

A new study by Georgetown University credits the health law as having a 'key role' in the increase in children's health insurance coverage.

1 Dec 2011

World-renowned neurosurgeon to receive Franc D. Ingraham Distinguished Service Award

Children's Hospital Boston today announced that world renowned neurosurgeon R. Michael Scott, MD, will be awarded the prestigious Franc D. Ingraham Distinguished Service Award.

30 Nov 2011

Morning snacking harms diet and affects weight loss efforts: Study

According to a new study snacking between breakfast and lunch might damage the diet more than snacking at other times of the day. Women taking part in a weight loss study who ate a midmorning snack lost an average of 7 percent of their body weight over the course of a year, whereas women who did not snack before lunch lost 11 percent of their body weight the study revealed.

30 Nov 2011

Home visits, mobile clinics do not improve asthma outcomes in children

A new Johns Hopkins Children's Center study of Baltimore City children with asthma shows that two programs designed to improve disease outcomes among those who may be affected the worst fall short of expectations.

30 Nov 2011

Car seats sufficiently accommodate broad spectrum of children's body sizes

Researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Center for Injury Research and Prevention studied nearly 1,000 1- to 8-year-old children involved in crashes and found no evidence of increased injury risk for children across a broad weight range. All of the children included in the study were properly restrained in the correct child safety seat or booster seat for their height and weight.

30 Nov 2011

Texas pharmacists assail Medicaid cuts; Ariz. could restore kids' coverage

Texas pharmacists say a plan to have health maintenance organizations manage the drug needs of Medicaid enrollees will drive them out of business. Meanwhile, Arizona officials announce a plan that will leverage federal Medicaid funds and allow them to restore insurance to some children who lost it in recent budget cuts.

30 Nov 2011

Anemia, high blood pressure linked to risk of silent strokes in children with SCD

A team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, Vanderbilt University and elsewhere have demonstrated that high blood pressure and anemia together put children with sickle cell disease (SCD) at serious danger for symptomless or so-called "silent" strokes, although either condition alone also signaled high risk.

30 Nov 2011

Study examines alternative immunization schedule occurrence rates in Washington State

Seventy-seven percent of Washington state pediatricians report that they are sometimes or frequently asked to provide alternative childhood vaccine schedules for their patients, according to a new study from Seattle Children's Research Institute. Researchers also found that 61 percent of Washington state pediatricians are comfortable using an alternative schedule when asked by a parent.

30 Nov 2011

Boys may benefit from high-quality kindergarten friendships

High-quality friendships in kindergarten may mean that boys will have fewer behavior problems and better social skills in first and third grades, said Nancy McElwain, a University of Illinois associate professor of human development and co-author of a study published in a recent issue of Infant and Child Development.

30 Nov 2011

BioMarin commences GALNS Phase 2 study in mucopolysaccharidosis IVA

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 study for GALNS (N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulfatase) in patients under five years of age with mucopolysaccharidosis IVA.

30 Nov 2011

Shots reduce risk of chicken pox

Infants below the age of one may be too young to get the chicken pox vaccine but far fewer of them got the itchy rash after the U.S. started routinely vaccinating older children in 1995, according to a new study.

29 Nov 2011

Large brains linked to regressive autism: Study

In this new study researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute, show there are multiple biological subtypes of autism including likely differences between males and females. They looked at 114 children with autism spectrum disorder between the ages of 2 and 4 and compared them with 66 healthy children of the same age. Of the 114 with the disorder, 54% had regressive autism and 46% had non-regressive autism.

29 Nov 2011

Many kids missing vaccinations owing to parental refusal: Report

Figures reveal that more parents are opting out of school shots for their kids. In eight states now, more than one in 20 public school kindergarten children aren't getting all the vaccines required for attendance.

29 Nov 2011