RxPG News : Parenting

Exposure to Cigarette Smoke Robs Kids of Antioxidants

Tue, 12 May 2009 13:28:09 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Exposure to tobacco smoke robs children of antioxidants, which shield the body against many biological stresses.

A study by the University of Rochester Medical Centre - looked at the levels of antioxidants in comparison to the amount of smoke exposure in more than 2,000 children aged between 6 and 18 in the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey -.

'It's always wise to feed children - an abundance of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants and other healthy nutrients,' said study author Karen Wilson, senior instructor of paediatrics at URMC.

Antioxidants are believed to play an important role in protecting the body's cells against free radicals, which are produced during many body processes including when we use oxygen and respond to infections.

It is not completely understood how antioxidants work together to neutralise free radicals, but scientists continue to discover more antioxidant compounds, including those examined in the study - vitamins E and C, folate and beta-carotene.

Children's exposure to tobacco smoke was determined by the level of cotinine in their blood. Cotinine is a byproduct of metabolising tobacco smoke.

The higher the level of cotinine in a child's blood, the lower the antioxidant level, after controlling for diet and supplements, said a URMC release.

The study was presented at the Paediatric Academic Society Meeting in Baltimore.

Good parenting may steer teens away from drinking problems

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:04:31 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) London, April 24 - Teenagers who share a good relationship with their parents may start drinking at a later age, helping them avoid alcohol related problems, according to a new study.

Past studies have suggested that the age at which kids start drinking is a key factor in whether they eventually develop alcohol-related problems, like getting into fights or having academic or work problems.

So it often has been assumed that drinking at an early age, in and of itself, is the problem, explained the study's lead author, Emmanuel Kuntsche of the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems in Lausanne, Switzerland.

'Our work shows that the 'preventive effect' of a later drinking age is likely to be a side effect of a good parent-child relationship,' Kuntsche said.

'In other words, the circumstances in which that first drinks occurs, and how parents deal with it, is important.'

Kuntsche and colleagues surveyed 364 teenagers three times over a span of two years. They found that in general, teens who reported an earlier drinking age during the first survey tended to be drinking more heavily by the second survey. They were also at a greater risk of drinking-related problems by the third survey.

But a closer look at the data revealed the importance of parents' influence. In fact, only teenagers who reported both a later drinking age and a high-quality relationship with their parents had a lower risk of drinking problems compared to their peers.

A high-quality relationship was one where teenagers felt they could discuss their problems with their parents and that their parents respected their feelings, said a Swiss Institute release.

The findings, Kuntsche and his colleagues say, suggest that such parent-child relationships can 'trigger a spiral of healthy development during adolescence' that may lead to a lower risk of alcohol problems.

The findings are scheduled for publication in the May issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Kids safe and secure with grandparents around

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:19:14 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Washington, Nov 3 - Kids are safe, secure and protected from injuries when grandparents are around, a boon for working parents, according to a new study.

Compared to organised daycare or care by the mother or other relatives, having a grandmother watch a child was associated with a decreased risk of injury for the child.

According to researchers, the odds of injury were significantly greater among children whose parents never married, compared with children whose mothers stayed married.

Similarly, odds of injury were greater for children living in homes in which the father did not co-reside. These associations were independent of family income, according to a Bloomberg press release. The results were published in the November issue of Paediatrics.

'Recent growth in the number of grandparents providing childcare has some observers concerned they don't adhere to modern safety practices,' said co-author David Bishai, professor at Bloomberg School's Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health.

'This research tells us not only is there no evidence to support this assumption, but families that choose grandparents to care for their children experience fewer child injuries.'

Bishai and colleagues analysed data from the National Evaluation of the Healthy Steps for Young Children Programme, which includes information on over 5,500 newborns enrolled in 15 US cities in 1996-97 with follow-up for 30-33 months.

Data on child care arrangements reported by the mother were linked to claims reporting children's office visits, allowing researchers to identify medically attended injuries.

'As injuries are the number one cause of death for children in US, it's critical we continue to determine risk and protective factors,' said study co-author Andrea C. Gielen, director of the Centre for Injury Research and Policy at the Department of Health Policy and Management at Bloomberg.

Vaccinating family members protects newborns from flu

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:01:50 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Washington, Oct 27 - Vaccinating mothers and family members against flu before the newborns leave hospitals, creates a 'cocooning effect' to protect babies from the life-threatening virus, a research has found.

The hospital-based outreach tested in this study proved effective at boosting immunisation rates in parents - especially new fathers - and siblings who otherwise may not be vaccinated.

'The Centres for Disease Control - and Prevention does not recommend vaccinating newborns for flu because they're too young, however they're a part of the population that is at highest risk,' explained Emmanuel - Walter, a paediatric infectious disease specialist at Duke Children's Hospital.

'Newborns have the highest rate of hospitalisations due to influenza when compared to any other age group of children,' comparable 'to people of age group 80 and older. And, in some seasons the influenza-associated mortality rate is highest among infants. We want to protect the newborn by vaccinating the entire family, and send parents home with one less thing to worry about,' added Walter.

The study was carried out from October 2007 to February 2008 at Durham Regional Hospital. Educational material was distributed to new mothers, and a flu vaccine clinic was set up to facilitate the vaccinations for other family members around the time of a newborn's birth. Duke University Medical Centre served as the comparison site.

Hands off the medicine cabinet when treating sick children

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 08:44:00 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Munich, Sep 5 - It's no secret that children suffer more coughs, sniffles and fevers than adults. However, the course of action for parents when they find themselves forced into the role of nurse is not always clear.

Assessing the suitability of medications is one of the biggest challenges and there are risks.

Usually it's difficult for parents to gauge the type and severity of their child's illness, says the Federal Association of German Apothecary Groups - in Berlin. That means parents should always consult a doctor or pharmacist before treating a child themselves.

'Children are not small adults,' says Christina Jaeger, a Bremen-based pharmacist. Parents should never give children smaller doses of medications for adult as they cannot handle all drugs and will respond differently.

Even homeopathic drugs are not without dangers. Essential oils like menthol or camphor might stop an adult's sniffles, but they can arrest children's breathing. Jaeger recommends treating children two to three times a day with an isotonic salt solution instead.

Still, there is room for homeopathic medicine when treating children because it can be much milder, says Margit Schlenk, a pharmacist from Nuremberg. Plant-based medicines combined with regular medication can help speed healing and lessen side effects.

Proper use of plant-based medicines and household remedies can often prevent a doctor's visit, says Bernd Simon, a paediatrician from Munich. An onion poultice for example can alleviate earaches. Throat or chest poultices or special teas for coughing are effective for sore throats and fever, adds Jaeger.

As a rule of thumb, always consult your doctor first if an illness lingers more than two days. In cases of regular vomiting or diarrhoea, Simon advises going to a doctor within 24 hours. Excruciating pain should send you heading to a doctor immediately.

Medication should be adjusted for the child.

'Children do not like the taste of many medications or they can cause pain,' says Matthias Schneider, a pharmacist from Dillingen. Sweet juices or drops are easier to swallow than tablets or capsules and can be dosed properly, making them ideal, he says. If swallowing is a problem, for example due to bad bouts of coughing, enemas and suppositories are other options.

When using salves and creams, it's important to remember that a child's skin surface is relative to their weight. That means creams should be applied thinly.

High-quality child care for low-income children offset the risk of later depression

Sun, 20 May 2007 03:59:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Young adults from low-income families who were in full-time early educational child care from infancy to age 5 reported fewer symptoms of depression than their peers who were not in this type of care, according to a new report. The early educational intervention also appears to have protected the children to some extent against the negative effects of their home environments.

The report, from the FPG Child Development Institute (FPG) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, uses data from the Abecedarian Project, a longitudinal study begun in 1972 in which 111 high-risk children were randomly assigned to early educational child care from infancy to age 5 or to a control group that received various other forms of child care. The study is published in the May/June 2007 issue of the journal Child Development.

Research has shown a relationship between poverty in early childhood and an increased risk for mental health problems in adulthood. A number of early intervention programs have been found to enhance the cognitive development and academic outcomes of children living in poverty, but less is known about the long-term effects of these programs on children's mental health.

In the Abecedarian Project, 98 percent of the children were black and all came from low-income families with demographic factors known to predict developmental delays or academic problems. As part of the study, developmental and demographic data were collected regularly during the early childhood years with follow-up assessments in adolescence and young adulthood.

The study followed up with 104 study participants when they were 21 and found that those who had participated in the child care program had fewer symptoms of depression than those who did not.

Early child care also moderated the effects of the children's home environments on subsequent feelings of depression. For children in the control group, the more negative the early home environment, the greater the likelihood of signs of depression.

The early intervention does not appear to have changed home environments, according to Frances A. Campbell, a senior scientist at FPG and one of the authors of the study. Rather, it buffered, or protected, the children from the adverse effects of less-optimal early home environments. This evidence, indicating that good early childhood experiences can make a positive difference in the mental health of individuals born into poverty, underscores the importance of investing in high-quality early childhood experiences for poor children.

A mother's attentiveness to baby's distress is important

Sun, 30 Jul 2006 02:37:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A mother's attentiveness to her baby's distress, especially in the first year, is more important to his secure attachment than lots of positive feedback when he's happy and content, concludes a University of Illinois study published in the June issue of the Journal of Family Psychology.

"Unfortunately, sometimes it's difficult for parents to deal with their child's distress," said Nancy McElwain, a U of I assistant professor of human and community development. "A mother may become anxious when her baby is really unhappy and try to comfort him by saying, 'Oh, don't cry, don't cry.' But it's okay to cry.

"If the new mother wasn't comforted very well by her own mother when she was a child, she may need help learning to console her own infant," the researcher said.

In the study, McElwain coded maternal sensitivity to distress and nondistress in 357 mothers and their babies at six and 15 months, then assessed attachment security in the babies at 15 months. Infant difficult temperament was also used as a predictor and found not to be a factor. The data came from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, which involved more than 1,300 families.

"A mother's sensitivity to her baby's distress at six months was a significant predictor of the baby's attachment security at 15 months, but sensitivity during times of nondistress was not. It's important that babies become securely attached to their caregivers because it's the foundation for future healthy child development," she said.

Mothers who realize they are uncomfortable with their baby's distress should find ways to compensate or cope with those feelings so they can change their behavior, she said.

What does a sensitive response to distress look like? "Ideally, you want to show your child through your facial expression and your tone of voice that you understand how she feels and that you empathize with her," the researcher said.

"Respond in a timely way to your infant's cues, and let your interactions with your infant be driven by the baby's agenda, not your agenda," she added.

Recent research has shown that children respond more positively to mothers who are able to think of their infant as a person who has needs, desires, intentions, and a mental world, McElwain said.

"Try to see things from the infant's point of view as much as possible. When mothers talk to their babies, even at six months, about the baby's mental state and how the baby is feeling, infants respond to that verbalization," she said.

But don't obsess over your baby's distress. "Sensitivity doesn't necessarily mean responding to your baby every minute of the day. It does mean thinking about why the baby is upset. Of course, it's easier to interact sensitively with a baby when he's happy, and no mother can respond perfectly 100 percent of the time. It's the pattern that's important," McElwain said.

Being attuned to your baby's emotional life should result in a securely attached toddler who seeks out his caregiver when he needs to be comforted and is able to explore his environment relatively freely when he isn't stressed, said the researcher.

"The first year of life is so important," McElwain said. "And we can see from this study that the way mothers and caregivers respond to a baby's distress is a very important factor in the child's healthy development."

DDT in moms harmful to kids, study

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:23:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Since the 1970s, scientists have known that when DDT accumulates in a woman's tissues it can be transmitted to her developing fetus across the placenta. Now, a new study led by a team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that such in utero exposure is associated with developmental delays in the young child.

The team also found that the longer the children nursed, the better they scored on developmental tests, despite the fact that DDT is also transmitted through breast milk. This was the case even with mothers who had high accumulations of the pesticide in their bodies, a finding that suggests that the benefits of nursing may outweigh the potentially harmful effects of DDT transmission through mother's milk.

The study is the first to examine the effects of maternal levels of DDT, rather than its breakdown products, on child neurodevelopment - that is, the development of mental and physical skills. At a time when health authorities around the world are considering increasing use of this pesticide to combat malaria, the study is one of the first to suggest that DDT may be harmful to child development. As such, it provides important health information for decision makers, said Brenda Eskenazi, the study's lead author.

"People need to consider these data if they are going to continue using DDT or reintroduce it in countries where it's been banned," said Eskenazi, a professor of epidemiology and maternal and child health at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health. "Given the impact of malaria on child health, I'm not saying that we shouldn't use it. But if we do, we need to think of ways to protect women and children."

The study is published in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Eskenazi and her team measured blood levels of DDT and one of its breakdown products, DDE, in 360 pregnant women. Then they tested the mental and physical skills of the women's babies at six, 12 and 24 months using tests known as the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, a well-known method for developmental assessment of young children.

For each tenfold increase in DDT levels measured in the mother, the team found a corresponding two- to three-point decrease in the children's mental development scores at 12 and 24 months. No decrease was found at six months. The highest in utero DDT exposures in children were associated with a seven- to 10-point decrease in Bayley mental scores, compared to the lowest exposures.

In the physical skills evaluations - known as psychomotor testing - there were two-point decreases in children's scores at six and 12 months for each tenfold increase in DDT levels in the mothers. No decrease was found at 24 months.

When it evaluated the effects of DDE on development, the team found associations that were similar to those for DDT, but not as strong.

Other findings, reported earlier by the team, were that mothers' levels of DDT and DDE did not affect the length of their pregnancies or their infants' birth weights.

In its analysis of the data, the team took into account many factors, including the mother's age and number of years she had lived in the United States, income, education, marital and work status, the child's gender, duration of breastfeeding and the quality of the home environment for young children.

Although small decreases on the Bayley tests may not be apparent in individual children, Eskenazi said, the decreased scores her team found are relevant for populations. (The Bayley test is designed so that the average score is 100 and scores below 85 indicate a possible developmental delay.)

"If you had a whole population with a downward shift like this, you'd be seeing more kids with developmental problems," Eskenazi said.

Eskenazi hopes to be able to follow these children until they reach school age to determine whether the effects of DDT exposure persist. "We need to know what's happening further down the road," she said. "What's critical is to find out whether these levels of exposure are affecting a child's ability to perform academically and to function in society."

The mothers in the DDT study are participants in a long-term UC Berkeley project called the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS). The project is designed to examine the effects of pesticides and other environmental factors on the health of pregnant Latina women and their children living in California's Salinas Valley, one of the most intensely farmed regions in the world.

Ninety percent of the women in the study were born in Mexico, where DDT was widely used in agriculture during the 1970s. Its use gradually declined there until 1995, when applications were banned other than to control malaria by targeting mosquitoes. In 2000, a complete ban went into effect. As a result, levels of DDT in most women in the CHAMACOS study are considerably higher than those of the general population in the United States, where DDT has not been used since 1972.

Classified as an organochlorine, DDT persists in the environment long after use, accumulating in the food chain and in fatty tissues of animals and humans. Over time, it degrades into DDE and DDD, compounds with chemical and physical properties similar to DDT that are also highly persistent. Thirty-three years after its use was banned in the United States, DDT is still detectable in about five to 10 percent of this country's residents, and DDE is detectable in nearly everyone, Eskenazi said.

While earlier studies have shown that DDT is harmful to the neurodevelopment of animals, until now no one has studied its effects on the neurodevelopment of humans. A few studies have examined DDE's effects on people, but with conflicting results.

Since 2001, more than 100 countries have committed to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which calls for the elimination by the year 2025 of DDT and 11 other persistent pollutants. Because DDT is inexpensive and effective in controlling mosquitoes - at least in those regions where insects have not yet become resistant to it - the convention permits its use for malaria control until safe, affordable and effective alternatives can be found.

Internet could induce self-destructive behaviour

Tue, 02 May 2006 22:36:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Spending a lot of time in Internet chat rooms can induce self-destructive behaviour among young people, says a study.

Between 75 and 90 percent of teenagers in the US use the Internet to email, instant message, visit chat rooms and explore other sites on the World Wide Web.

Janis L. Whitlock and other researchers at Cornell University examined normal behaviour in chat rooms and the use of message boards by adolescents.

They observed 406 message boards to investigate how adolescents solicit and share information related to self-injurious behaviour. Females 14-20 years of age visited these bulletin boards the most, reported science portal EurekAlert.

They found that online interactions provide essential social support for otherwise isolated adolescents, but the online boards could also encourage self-injurious behaviour and add potentially lethal behaviours to the repertoire of established adolescent self-injurers, said lead author Whitlock.

Researchers led by Linda Jackson from Michigan State University examined the positive effects of home Internet access on the academic performance of low-income, mostly African American children and teenagers.

The children who participated in the study were online for an average of 30 minutes a day.

Among the Internet benefits, the researchers found that children who used the web more had higher standardised test scores compared to children who used the Internet less, Jackson said.

Some youth benefit from Internet use while for others it can exacerbate self-destructive behaviour, the researchers said.

Study finds parents rarely use baby gates, bath thermometers

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 23:22:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A recent study by researchers in emergency medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found parents use baby gates and bath thermometers less than 25 percent of the time and pediatricians are partially to blame.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that primary care physicians discuss The Injury Prevention Program (TIPP) with parents during the four to six month check-up. TIPP sheets include safety devices such as baby gates, window guards, smoke detectors, car seats and bath thermometers.

"To prevent unnecessary trips to the emergency room, primary care providers should thoroughly discuss all recommended safety devices with parents," said Winnie Whitaker, M.D., a pediatric emergency medicine fellow at Cincinnati Children's and lead author of the study.

But, parents surveyed by researchers at Cincinnati Children's say that only happens in less than one out of every three cases.

Adds Dr. Whitaker, "We found that safety devices parents commonly use are discussed more than other less familiar devices."

Dr. Whitaker will present the findings at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Society on Sunday, April 30.

The study focused on 140 parents who had their child evaluated by a primary care physician for a routine examination at four to six months old. The majority of parents surveyed in the Pediatric Primary Care Center at Cincinnati Children's reported being educated about safety devices for less than five minutes, with the average length of education being 3.7 minutes. Of these, baby gates, window guards and bath thermometers were discussed 35 percent of the time or less while 54 percent of parents recalled being educated about smoke detectors. Car seats were most commonly discussed at 75 percent of the time.

Nationally, there are as many as 10.4 million emergency room visits by children as the result of in-home accidents.

More than half of all nonfatal injuries to children are from falls, according to the National SAFE KIDS Campaign. Many of these falls involve unprotected stairways, which can be blocked by secure baby gates.

Nearly 24,000 children in the United States are treated in hospital emergency rooms every year for burns caused by scalding associated with hot liquids or steam. Scald burns are the number one cause of burns to children under age four. Young children have thinner skin resulting in deeper burns at lower temperatures than adults. The proportion of a child's body that can be easily exposed to burns is also greater. Cincinnati Children's physicians recommend that before baby's bath time, parents check the bath water with their elbow (not the hand, which is less sensitive) or buy a bathtub thermometer. Bath water temperature should be comfortably warm, about 90 degrees and the maximum temperature of the household water heater should be set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

"Although caregivers are only routinely discussing car seats and smoke detectors, these are two devices that have been shown in the literature to reduce the risk of death," said Dr. Whitaker. "The good news is that it seems like doctors are discussing, and parents are compliant with the devices most likely to save a child's life."

Children could inherit coronary disease

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 19:03:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Children could inherit coronary diseases if their parents have a past history of heart conditions, with mothers having a greater influence, says a study.

Researchers led by Kristina Sundquist of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, used a national registry of more than 11 million people stretching back to 1932 to assess how parents' history of heart problems might be linked to their children.

Their analysis focused on people who had suffered a heart attack or angina, a severe constricting pain in the heart, reported the online edition of BBC News.

A woman has a 43 percent greater chance of inheriting such heart disease if her mother suffered from the condition, the study said. By comparison, if her father had the disease she faces only a 17 percent greater chance of heart disease than patients with no family history of the illness.

Sons are also influenced by their parents' heart health, but for them the paternal transmission of the disease was almost as strong. For a man, if coronary heart disease struck his mother or father, his chance of developing it increase by 55 percent or 41 percent, respectively.

"Children spend more time with their mothers, during which they may pick up risky behaviours such as poor dietary habits, physical inactivity and smoking," Sundquist said.

Not unexpectedly, if both parents have a history of such ill health, the male and female risk of heart attack and angina increases even more - by 108 percent and 82 percent, respectively.

"If a person has a mother or both parents with coronary heart disease then it means he or she should be more aware of other risk factors," Sundquist says.

Sleeping less could make kids overweight

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 14:05:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Sleeping less could make your child overweight, says a study.

Researchers from the University of Laval's faculty of medicine studied 422 grade school students aged 5 to 10 and measured the weight, height, and waist size of each participant.

They also gathered information on the children's lifestyle and socio-economic status through phone interviews with their parents.

Through body mass index measurement, the researchers determined that 20 percent of the boys and 24 percent of the girls were overweight.

The risk of becoming overweight is 3.5 times higher in children who get less sleep than 10 hours a night than those who slept 12 or more hours, according to researchers.

Obesity and the loss of sleep have become increasingly important social issues over the last few decades. Between 1960 and 2000, the prevalence of obesity has doubled in the population while the average night of sleep lost one to two hours.

During the same period, the percentage of young adults who slept less than seven hours went from 16 percent to 37 percent.

"It's ironic that part of the solution to obesity might lie in sleep, the most sedentary of all human activities.

"In the light of this study's results, my best prescription against obesity in children would be to encourage them to move more and to make sure they get enough sleep," said researcher Angelo Tremblay.

Renovation may harm pregnant women and newborns

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:44:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Pregnant women and newborns should avoid exposure to the fumes of solvents used in house renovations.

Contact with such materials, which contain dyes and lacquers, could give rise to allergies in young children, said Norbert Englert, an environmental medical specialist at Germany's environmental agency.

Pregnant women should leave renovation work to their husbands or hired professionals and stay clear of the work area altogether.

"It is also wise not to renovate the house or apartment just before the baby is born," suggests Englert. This ensures that the newborn will not be exposed to high concentration of the materials used at the outset of a project.

Using solvents without dyes is an alternative, but they also expose pregnant women and their unborn baby unnecessarily to things they should avoid, he said.

Swimming can enhance children's health

Sat, 25 Feb 2006 09:56:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Swimming helps tremendously in enhancing the health and social well-being of children, says a study.

Researches conducted over six years at the Jigalong, Burringurrah and Mugarinya communities in western Australia's Pilbara region examined the impact on children's health where swimming pools were installed, reported ABC News online.

The Institute for Child Health Research study found that at least 44 percent of the children who studied at Jigalong had reduction in ear disease, 51 percent in skin disease and 63 percent in respiratory disorders after swimming.

"School attendance, self-esteem of children and their behaviour have improved," says institute director Fiona Stanley, who hinted that there were unexpected social benefits as well.

Herbs and dietary supplements that can help children

Tue, 30 Aug 2005 20:10:38 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) As more parents choose home remedies for their children's gastrointestinal complaints, the question arises, which ones really work?

Kathi J. Kemper, M.D., M.P.H., a pediatrics professor at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and the author of "The Holistic Pediatrician," has written the cover article for Contemporary Pediatrics magazine on which herbs and dietary supplements can help children with nausea, constipation and similar gastrointestinal (GI) problems.

"What we did was look at the original research, the studies, what people were out there doing, and came up with a guide for pediatricians," Kemper said. "Historically, 50 years ago, people used home remedies. Then they began relying on prescriptions, and now there is a swing back toward using more natural health products."

The article in the current issue cites chamomile as one of the most widely used and safest herbs for children with abdominal discomfort. It can be given in small amounts to treat colic in infants and can be combined with peppermint, star anise or fennel for stomach aches, gas, indigestion and bloating for school-age children, according to the article.

Ginger has been well documented as a remedy for nausea and dyspepsia. Probiotics, such as yogurt, have been used to prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea, newborn colic, ulcerative colitis, and a variety of forms of diarrhea. On the other hand, the article says that star anise should be avoided for colicky infants.

The article recommends further study of herbal products for children and greater communication between patients, parents and pediatricians on these topics.

Kemper, a Brenner Children's Hospital pediatrician who is the Caryl J. Guth Chair for Holistic and Integrative Medicine, wrote the article with Paula Gardiner, M.D., a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School.