Weekly round-up: Children’s health

Almost half of all parents feel like they could use more help from family and friends, and 69% think it is harder to be a parent today than it was 20 years ago. Well, here’s some info we didn’t have 20 years ago (or last year) and some advice I hope will help you parent more effectively and happily.

1. It’s been 50 years since the Poisoning Prevention Packaging Act was passed, mandating that medicines and other hazardous household products be sold in child-resistant packaging. Since then, the number of kids dying from poisoning each year has dropped by 92%. So, when the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of more than 400,000 bottles of over-the-counter medicines because of problems with their child-resistant packaging, it was alarming. If you have any of these products in the house, transfer their contents into a labeled, child-proof container, pronto: Walgreens brand acetaminophen; Kroger brand arthritis pain acetaminophen; and Kroger brand aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

2. COVID-19 vaccines are now approved for children as young as 6 months old. The data show that vaccines prevent severe illness and death from the virus. Moderna has a two-dose regimen for kids 6 months to 5 years old; Pfizer’s is a three-shot regimen for kids 6 months to 4 years. Both are good choices.

3. University of Colorado researchers have found that giving your kids sweetened beverages can cause a heart-damaging rise in triglyceride levels from ages 10 to 16. Let kids stick with water, unsweetened fruit juice and milk.