My babies always feel out of sorts after a series of vaccines. Their body temperature would rise, as well as their fussiness. My pediatrician routinely advises to give them some Tylenol to make them feel better. Apparently - not a good idea.

An international research team led by Roman Prymula, MD, of the University of Defense, Czech Republic, finds that Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, weakens infants’ immune responses to vaccines.

In a study looking at whether acetaminophen really prevents vaccine-related fever, Prymula and colleagues found that the common over-the-counter pain remedy dampens vaccine-induced immune responses.

You watch what your child eats. You religiously smoother your little one with sunblock from head to toes. You remind them again and again to wash their hands. You help them wash off their tearless shampoo. You both have fun building soapy mountains of bath foamy babbles. You put some nice smelling lotion before bedtime. And what would you say if you found out that all of that can do more harm then good?

Many of the lotions, sunscreens, toothpastes don’t work at all as it is promised on the nice shiny beautiful packages. Many are actually harmful.

As much we dislike it, we absolutely SHOULD talk to our kids about sex. Unless, of course, you prefer some Mr. Know-All enlighten your innocent little one on a school bus. Here you can find some suggestions and resources that I could find on this topic.

My friend just shared a fantastic story about her own kid:

My friend’s 7 year old, Jacob, comes home from school, rushes over to mom and screams excitedly: “Mom, where did I come from?”

My kid has egg allergies. Milk allergies. All kinds of allergies! It’s a nightmare: food is falling apart, he can eat only food from home, to every party we come with our own versions of pizzas, cakes, ice cream, cookies, etc. Search for substitutes is a never ending story for us. If you feel like you are in the same boat, or you prefer to avoid certain foods from other considerations, you might find these resources helpful:

Egg Replacement
Milk Replacement
Diary Free or Egg Free Products

Egg Substitute Recipes (Each replaces one egg)

more at TipNut:

I found this video absolutely… astonishing? Astounding? Interesting?

In My Language

Are people with autism trapped in their own world? Or are the rest of us just trapped in ours?

This video starts with weird collection of sounds and actions: humming, running fingers on the keyboard, tapping, waving hands, burring face in the book…

The baby is here. The baby is perfect: rosy cheeks, huge eyes, sweet smelling hair… so why the mommy is ready to cry any second?

As if having a new baby in the house is not enough cause of anxiety, as if the lack of sleep and hectic day schedule doesn’t just compound things, the hormonal changes taking place in mother’s body after the delivery bring in another common problem: baby blues or full blown postpartum depression.

Yet another article stresses the harmful effect of television on little children. How is this article different from the rest? It examines various studies all over the world, all of which, unfortunately, indicate that TV watching has more bad then good for the little children:

Professor Christakis’ extensive review looked at 78 studies published over the last 25 years and reiterates the findings of numerous studies he has carried out with colleagues into this specialist area.

The importance of physical activity in the daily life of our kids is clear to everyone. This new research goes further: it indicates that weight-bearing activities like running, volleyball, and tennis during adolescence lead to having stronger bones later in life. The research is specific for women:

In the study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers compared the effect of youth sports participation in 46 postmenopausal women aged 52 to 73 on two major contributors to overall bone strength: bone mineral content and bone mineral density.

Everyone is trying to eat healthier these days. In my house salt shaker is reserved only for guests, and I never even look at the salt can while cooking, despite all the nasty comments from the relatives: “How can you cook without salt!”.

But it seems that even such drastic measures are not enough to keep the sodium level at bay:

Even if you never touch a salt shaker and steer clear of potato chips and french fries, you are probably eating more salt than you think and much more than is good for you, an investigation from Consumer Reports shows.