The Parents Zone

CHICAGO, — Two agencies investigating claims that Procter & Gamble Co’s Pampers Dry Max gave children severe diaper rash reported Thursday that they have found no specific cause linking the diapers to rashes.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada conducted separate reviews of the diapers in response to nearly 4,700 incident reports of diaper rash arising from Pampers Dry Max, according to a CPSC statement.

The Dry Max diapers, promoted as thinner and more absorbent than other brands, were touted as one of P&G’s biggest innovations. B

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When I was seven years old, my parents took me to Europe for an entire summer, and I quickly realized that the rules abroad were different from the ones at home. For example, my family’s rules about alcohol changed once we crossed the Atlantic: suddenly, I was allowed to drink wine (watered down, of course) at dinner, something I had never been permitted to do before. And I clearly remember seeing a Frenchwoman, baby bump bulging from her slim figure, drinking a glass of red wine and smoking a cigarette. Even at seven, I knew her habits would not have been okay at home in the United States. I

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Teens, sex and TV can be a controversial situation for parents. And we’re not talking about the hard-partying, abs-flaunting Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and his sexually charged escapades with pals Vinny and Pauly on MTV’s “Jersey Shore.” The situation that parents are questioning is whether sex-saturated TV inspires their teens to engage in intercourse earlier than their peers. So does tuning into ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” lead teens to rush to sex?

No, according to Dr. Laurence Steinberg, a Temple University psychologist, who says a steady diet of “Sex and the City” does not encourage teens to try sex earlier. Read full post…

It’s that time of the year when schoolkids lament the end of the summer and parents enjoy their child’s return to the classroom. However, keeping those kids in the classroom rather than at home sick is easier said than done — especially since the common cold and other illnesses can spread quickly in a school setting.

“Anytime you put people together in any type of crowded conditions, including schools, you see an increase in infectious diseases,” said Vincent Fischetti, head of the bacterial pathogenesis and immunology laboratory at Rockefeller University in New York City. Read full post…