Other stories we’ve been reading:
Be sure to keep liquid detergent capsules out of your kids’ reach. Scientists find out why Vitamin D is important. [Read how children are at risk of a Vitamin D deficiency.]There’s a jump in kids’ sports injuries due to overuse. [Read about how girls' soccer injuries are preventable.]
Twenty percent of U.S. babies don’t get the hepatitis B vaccine. A Canadian vaccine study proves the idea of “herd community.” [Read about this year's vaccine schedule.] A new drug could help protect against treatment-resistant lice.
Parents can help prevent bullying by modeling kindness and empathy. [Find out how to address bullying.] Girls start bullying at a younger age.
Special needs kids are often uninsured. Can a behavioral optometrist help kids with “issues?”
A consumer groups gives food advertisers an “F” on kids. Taxing soda and pizza could help consumers lose five pounds a year. Schools are serving less sugary drinks. [Read about artificially sweetened beverages.]
A stomach bug can raise a child’s risk of having irritable bowel syndrome. Temporary hearing impairment leads to lazy ear.
Peanut allergies are linked to worse asthma in kids. A family finds success using a pediatric obesity program.
This week there has been a lot of coverage on the topic of childhood obesity. It’s not a new subject and one that we’re likely to hear much more on this year.
The fight for what our kids eat continues to rage on. The battle has moved from the home to school lunch rooms, fast food restaurants and grocery store shelves. Fresh versus frozen. Organic and local versus imported produce. Natural versus artificially sweetened beverages.
There is a story the media find irresistible, revisiting it on a regular basis: The 
Sugary sodas are the latest target in an ongoing battle against childhood obesity. In an online commentary in the 
It’s a long-honored tradition: several times a year, parents receive report cards showing how their children have done scholastically. But with continuing increases in childhood obesity rates, school districts and states across the country are considering a new type of parental notification: the BMI report card.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports that 16.3 percent of children between the ages of two and 19 are obese, putting them at risk for health problems that could reduce their life expectancy and quality of life. And while parents and caregivers play the biggest role in shaping children’s wellness habits, their efforts are often undermined by local problems – like unhealthful school lunches or poorly kept playgrounds – that don’t support those habits.
