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Chase away those sick-day blues with these simple, laid-back crafts and games. Your child will be feeling better in no time!

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), you should go to the head of the line to receive a vaccine for swine flu (a.k.a. H1N1) as soon as it becomes available if you...

Back to school means early mornings, cold showers, and bagged lunches. It can also mean runny noses, coughs, and sore throats. With the recent spread of the H1N1 virus, it can be difficult to sort out the difference between a common cold and a severe flu...

Most kids suffer from the common cold up to 10 times a year. Right now, there is no known cure for these bouts of sniffles, sneezes, and coughs. But help could be on the way. Scientists recently announced...

If you've been hearing new recommendations about how to handle winter colds and flu, you may be unclear about what's accurate and what's not. Can your toddler have cold medicine? Should your preschooler get a flu shot? To answer these questions...

The key to avoiding illness may rest in little hands. Researchers at the nonprofit Cochrane Collaboration found that the best way to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses is to ensure that young children wash their hands frequently and properly...

Gather a group of children together and you can bet that they will share more than toys. Each school year, children pass around billions of germs that cause colds, flus, and digestive problems. Fortunately, many infections are preventable...

Because small children are natural, effective, and indiscriminate germ-spreaders, keeping them healthy requires diligence. The single most important disease-prevention strategy is hand-washing. Not fingertip washing, but whole-hand washing, back and front. Germs and viruses...

The pre-teen stage is the time for kids to take control of their personal hygiene. The good habits you've taught so far should now be near-automatic. Nevertheless, your son may ignore the rules for a while to assert his masculinity and independence...

Each year, eight to twelve million cases of head lice are discovered in the United States. Having head lice is common, especially among kids three to twelve years old. Although they are...

You probably have a lot on your mind to begin with, but add in the current economic uncertainty, and you might find yourself staring at the ceiling at night instead of sleeping. These tips from sleep expert...

Experts say tweens and teens need at least 8 to 9 hours of sleep a night, if not more. But only 20 percent of the 12- to 18-year-olds surveyed for a study published in Pediatrics reported sleeping 8 or more hours on school nights. What's keeping them up? Caffeinated energy drinks...

While children, like adults, vary in the amount of sleep they need, how quickly they fall asleep, as well as how long it takes to resettle once they wake during the night, today's kids are a decidedly groggy group. A poll released earlier this year by the National Sleep Foundation...

As she heads off to school, it's important for your child to have a good breakfast — preferably with a healthy serving of protein. Why? Research shows that children...

Registered dietitian and personal trainer Cynthia Sass, M.P.H., R.D., is the nutrition consultant to the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays—last year's World Series opponents. With Sass's winning record, we asked her to step up to the plate and share ideas about school-day breakfasts.

Let your child know that treats, in moderation, fit into a healthy eating plan. It's important not to send the message that candy is a "bad" food and if your eat it, you're a bad person...

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, more than one in five children in the United States are overweight. The problem is creeping downward on the age scale, threatening even preschoolers. At the same time, type 2 diabetes...

To succeed in school and in life, your child needs to learn more than reading and writing. He also needs an understanding of how to stay strong and fit by eating well and exercising. Here's how you can promote healthy habits at home. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation...

"Reading! Ninety minutes of reading! For kindergarten!" The school's kindergarten teacher, Ms. Costello, was becoming increasingly annoyed with the intense focus on academics at the expense of other important parts of her program...

As the temperature drops, the urge to snack rises. Keep these healthy tips and recipes on hand.

1. Being overweight is genetic. There are very few inherited conditions that cause a person to be overweight. If an entire family is overweight, it's most likely that...

Because nutrition behaviors are learned, it's important to help children start making healthy choices early on. Approximately 17.1% of children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight...

"Mom, I'm hungry!" Does it sometimes seem like you just finished serving a meal and your child is already hungry again? Don't worry. It's natural for young children to want to eat between meals. In fact, "grazing" on small healthy snacks throughout the day is...

Breakfast, lunch, and snacks in the afternoon can all affect how you study and, in turn, how you perform on a test. Here's a crash course on refreshments that can refresh your mind.

No time to go grocery shopping? No problem! Here are 7 ideas for snacks made from items you just might have in your fridge or pantry right now.

It turns out that we can still be happy even when we're worrying, according to a new study by the University of North Carolina—if we also savor positive emotions in everyday life. The study showed that experiencing moments of awe, amusement, joy, interest, and other positive feelings builds up our...

Hey, Mom — when was the last time you took a walk or went for a jog, sat down with your journal, or just took a deep breath and thought about . . . nothing? You might feel a little guilty...

Stomachaches are a familiar complaint with kids. Fortunately, only a small number of them signify serious gastrointestinal problems. We asked Yinka Davies, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist and mother of two in Sacramento, CA, to explain what lies behind...

One out of every seven kids in America has asthma. To help parents with asthmatic children, we spoke with Dr. James L. Sublett and Jo Frost (better known as Supernanny, from her TV show by the same name) about their involvement in the Time 2 Talk Asthma campaign.

With all the news about the rise in autism, you may have also heard about Asperger's Syndrome. It's a sub-type of autism spectrum disorder first identified 65 years ago. As with autism, the cause of Asperger's is unknown, and it occurs more frequently in boys than in girls...

Tummy aches, head lice, asthma . . . the list of ailments school nurses deal with on a daily basis makes them indispensable—almost. Regrettably, many school districts have been forced to eliminate the position due to severe budget cuts; 25 percent of public schools have no nurse at all...

Like a hummingbird darting from flower to flower, some kids constantly flit from one game or activity to another. Even in class, they can't seem to sit still and can become easily distracted by other students or movement outside the window. Ring a bell? This kind of behavior...

There is so much pressure for everything to be perfect when a woman brings a new life into the world: a natural birth, immediate bonding with the baby, breastfeeding. Anything that doesn't go the way things are "supposed to" can make a new mother feel like a failure and can increase...

A gentle sponging is all the bathing a newborn needs. She'll be ready for her first real bath once the umbilical stump falls off and the area has healed — after about two weeks. At that point, you'll have gotten to know each other a bit, and you'll be more...

After dispensing health advice on The Oprah Winfrey Show for the past five years, Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., is opening his own practice: The Dr. Oz Show. The talk show, which starts September 14, will cover health and wellness topics and include a segment called "Ask Dr. Oz." As a warm up, Dr. Oz answered questions from Parent & Child readers.

A public health expert explains why some children remain unvaccinated — and why that puts all children's health at risk.

When worn correctly, a backpack is an engineering marvel. Besides being convenient, it works the muscles that are used to carry the load (in the back and abdominals), which are among the strongest in the body. But a bag that's too heavy...

May is Healthy Vision Month. That makes it a perfect time to schedule an eye exam for your child. He should have his first at 6 months, then at 3 years, then again right before school starts. Also be on the lookout for these symptoms of a possible vision problem...

Parenting a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is demanding, and there are many misconceptions about the diagnosis. But there is help as we learn more about the different facets of ADHD. For clarity, advice, and a healthy dose of optimism, we turned to Martin Kutscher, M.D...

Knowing the signs and pursuing early treatment tailored to your child's specific needs is key to helping him shoot for the stars.