Kids Health & Nutrition
Boom in food allergies driving physicians nuts
Esther Han, Alexandra Smith It was once a staple of the lunchbox but the humble peanut butter sandwich is increasingly being shunned from school lunches as the number of children, especially preschoolers, with allergies continues to rise significantly.
DIY autism treatment raises alarm
Rachel Browne Some parents with autistic children are using a DIY hormone treatment to improve their learning, one of Australia's leading researchers has warned.
Antibiotic resistance risks
Mark Metherell Children with persistent ear infections and patients suffering recurring kidney disease are among the casualties of Australians' love affair with antibiotics.
Good parenting or figure fascism?
Andrea Black There's a right way and a wrong way to help children lose weight.
Top 10 immunity boosters for kids
Dr Joanna McMillan Ward off those winter bugs with Dr Joanna McMillan’s top ten immunity booster super foods for kids.
Her life inside the whirlwind
David Sygall and Katie Cuttriss Quiet moments are few for this mother in her 'cyclonic' life with four sons on the Asperger spectrum.
Monitoring salt intake in children
Lakshmi Singh When your child's daily salt intake can be unwittingly consumed in one meal it is time to get savvy about how much salt is going into their young bodies.
The four dreaded dinner words
Dr Joanna McMillan Dr Joanna McMillan tackles the problem that parents for generations have struggled to solve - how to deal with fussy eaters.
Bully proof your kids
Lakshmi Singh Australia placed in the worst category for bullying by a study of almost 40 countries.
Hope for children addicted to gaming
Adele Horin Children addicted to video games are more likely to suffer depression, anxiety and social phobias.
Coles ban added MSG & artificial colours
Justine Davies While the scientific jury is still out on conclusive proof, many parents will tell you that they are certain that particular colours and additives to food send their children crazy!
Fat proof your kids' screentime
Kylie Orr Muting TV ads was my husband’s idea. He hates them. The blatant lies leading us to believe we’ll be a lesser person, an inferior being if we don’t buy their product.
The mum who put her 8-year-old on a diet
Katie Carlin Would you ever put your four-year-old on a diet to fit into her pageant dress? How about restrict your eight-year-olds daily calorie intake before a competition, bake her cake as a reward and then pile on the guilt as she eats it?
Time to weigh up the problem
Rachel Browne Schoolchildren should be put on the scales and measured every time they have a health check, because parents and doctors can no longer identify weight problems purely on sight.
How do you tell a child to lose weight?
Heidi Davoren There are at least two issues common to every parent/child relationship. And over tea and scones us primary carers share our torment at the frustration these matters bring to our daily lives.
Investing in good health
Rachel Browne Ella Gould's afternoons and weekends are action-packed. The eight-year-old is involved in physical culture, dancing, nippers, Oztag, a type of touch football, and Acrogym, a combination of acrobatics and gymnastics.
Secret is get them while they're young
Rachel Browne Good eating habits from an early age can help prevent eating disorders, writes Rachel Browne.
Let's get physical
Sarah Whyte MENTION the words hairspray, ''bendy rollers'' and leotards in a sentence and you're probably talking about physical culture, widely known as ''physie''.
What chefs put in their kids' lunch boxes
Paula Goodyer Healthy school lunches from some of Australia's best loved cooks.
Banish summer munchies
Rachel Browne SUMMER holidays are supposed to be a time for children to play outside from dawn to dusk.
A mother's gift to her only child
Tim Barlass THREE years ago Charlie Munns was severely jaundiced, suffering a genetic liver disease and waiting in hospital for an organ donor.
Bill to ban junk food ads
Stephanie Peatling FAST food advertisements would be completely banned on children's television channels, websites and smartphones under new proposals to curb childhood obesity.
Research
Fat dads mean fat kids: study
Overweight fathers urged to lose weight for the sake of their children.
Fruit a rubbish food? That’s garbage
Dr Joanna McMillan First up it’s nonsense to talk about sugar as being the root of all our health problems. We cannot talk about sugar as a singular compound in the same way that we can’t lump fat together, or carbs for that matter.
The A-Z of common illnesses in school children
Brooke Tasovac Everything you want to know about common illnesses in children - from how to treat them to when you should make the trip to the doctor.
Late programs keeping kids from a decent snooze
Rachel Browne REALITY television has Australian children hooked, but their sleep may be suffering for it.
Running to help Olivia's legacy
Heather Quinlan THE sight of a child having fun in a playground is enough to make Drummoyne businessman and philanthropist John Perkins smile.
Active kids needs carbs
Cherie Lyden Most children are constantly on the go, expending energy all the time. Therefore it’s essential that children eat enough nutrient dense and energy rich food to help fuel their bodies.
Big kids burger
These burgers are a great healthy recipe to fill up you kids' tummies. To make this meal even better, let them help you with these beauties in the kitchen and you will be a hit as well as the burgers.
Caring for your child's teeth
Sweet, sticky, sugary foods encourage plaque to make acid which causes tooth decay and bleeding gums. Here are some tips to help keep their smile healthy.
The dangers of food colouring
Dr. Joanne McMillan These dyes are not necessary in our food chain, they are only there to make food look more enticing, particularly to children.
A Guide to bedwetting ... why it happens and how to deal with it
Brooke Tasovac Bedwetting is known medically as nocturnal enuresis, the term for when children wet the bed without waking up immediately.
Nightmares and night terrors
There is a difference between nightmares and night terrors but both can be terrifying experiences for your children. Here are some of the facts to help you deal with the problem.
Healthy snack choices
Thinking of healthy snack choices for your child can be a draining process, especially when you are trying to keep them interested.
What to do when your child has to go to hospital
Staff writers When and what to tell your child about a hospital stay and what you'll need to pack.
Kids safety: driveway safety
KIDSAFE Driveway safety: what to be aware of, the facts and tips for staying safe.
Ain't it grand: when parenting goes better the second time around
Adele Horin Judy and Geoff Turner were in their mid-60s and had been married for 42 years when they became parents again - to the five-year-old granddaughter they had met only once.
Sausages still fill gap for ravenous small-fry
Steve Meacham Each Friday, Dilys Graham picks up her regular order: 46 loaves of white bread, 30 kilos of sausages, 10 kilos of bacon, 200 eggs - and that's just for the weekend barbecue at Avalon Soccer Club, where about 70 teams of varying ages need feeding.
Keeping kids safe on the farm
Farms are a very healthy and happy environment in which to raise children but they may pose dangers for those who are new to the environment, including the very young.
Preventing child injuries from falls
Preventing child injuries from falls - particularly from windows and balconies.
Helping children to cope with natural disasters
Rachel West With all of the media coverage of recent natural disasters, it’s important to note the affect it can have on children. Even more so if they or someone they love have been directly involved. To a child, the world is a very big place, and they depend on the predictability of what happens around them.
Looking after children's oral health
Dr Stephen Blatchford With children as young as four are having all of their baby teeth removed because of poor oral health, it's clear that parents do not have enough information on how to care for their child's teeth.
New Vegemite raises ire of health experts
Daniella Miletic A new 'kid-friendly' Vegemite was launched last week - but it it healthy enough? Experts weigh in.
101 lunch box ideas
Stuck for lunch box inspiration? EB members have compiled the most awesome lunch box suggestion list ever!
Do children need their own rooms?
Carolyn Boyd It's a question many parents are facing – do kids really need their own rooms? It seems to have become a community norm that even very young children will sleep in separate bedrooms unless parents are "forced" to put them together because their home isn't big enough and they can't afford something with more bedrooms.
Masterchef: How my son and I bonded over the hit TV show
Amity Dry Like most Australians at the moment I am addicted to Masterchef. But not only is it one of my favourite shows, it is also one of my four year olds favourite shows. And this is proving to be a great platform for us to develop a love of cooking, and eating great food together.
After-school snacks a weighty issue
New research confirms that Australian children are over-indulging on after school snacks, eating both too much food and making unhealthy choices.
Open wide and check the fillings
Rachel Browne Health and welfare groups want a publicly funded campaign to educate young people about looking after their teeth.
How to get your kids to eat well
Jane Willson The struggle to make children eat healthily may seem endless but an author has some tips.
Why I choose to immunise
Kylie Orr With the seasonal flu vaccinations currently suspended for under-fives in Australia, the debate over whether to vaccinate children rears its familiar ugly head. Frightening cases of children admitted to hospital after being immunised, always sends parents into a spin about whether vaccinations are actually the safest option for their children.
Promoting children's nutrition
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) finds that only 50-63 per cent of children consume the recommended serves of fruit each day, and merely 1-4 per cent of the recommended serves of vegetables on a daily basis. This indicates that children may not be receiving the essential nutrients found in fruit and vegetables that they need to grow and develop normally.
Try walking and talking
Ben Rossiter As another school year begins, the roads will become a lot busier. Not because the streets will be full of children walking to school, but because the roads around schools will be packed with cars ferrying primary school children to class. From an environmental, social and physical health perspective, this is bad news.
School lunches - finding the right balance
Paula Goodyer As domestic items go, a school lunch box seems simple - until you try filling it up, says Kate Di Prima of the Dietitians Association of Australia.
Parents more calorie conscious for kids
Although menu labelling is still the exception rather than the rule, a few states--including California and Oregon--and cities--including New York--have already passed policies requiring chain restaurant to provide calorie information. When restaurant menus list calories, parents will limit how much fast food their kids eat, a new report suggests.
National Kidsafe Day: Oct 26
Kidsafe National Kidsafe Day on October 26 aims to increase community awareness of how to prevent unintentional injury to children from 0 – 15 years. Unintentional injuries account for about 96% of injury hospital admissions and about 90% of injury deaths.
The fats of life: when chubby's no longer cute
Jill Stark Parents are confused. So are the experts. How is the nation supposed to treat the childhood obesity crisis — and does it even exist? Jill Stark reports.
Parents' rage can make children give up sport
Adele Horin Children are appalled and frightened when their parents behave aggressively on the sidelines of junior sports events, and bad adult behaviour is a major reason they drop out of sport, in-depth interviews with 90 children show.
Hormone shots: kids at risk
CAMERON HOUSTON and JILL STARK Short parents are injecting their healthy children with human growth hormone in a bid to make them taller, despite medical experts warning of serious risks.
Warning on childhood eating disorders
Danny Rose Eating disorders are biting deeper into childhood, an expert has warned after conducting a study which included a five-year-old with the potentially fatal condition.
