Recent declines in teen marijuana use seem to have stalled this year. Additionally, teen use of prescription drugs is at high levels.
The annual survey of US teen drug use, conducted by the University of Michigan also found continuing declines in smoking and drinking.
The survey found that marijuana use increased slighly, use of illicit drus use increased, but the survey itself found a decline in overall teen drug use.
Ex-President George Bush stated, “No question there’s still work to do in America, but we are making progress. And one way to note the progress is this statistic — since 2001, teen-age use …read more

The revised safe haven law will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday December 1. The new law states that parents can only drop off children who are 30 days or younger.
Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman says the revised law protects only newborn babies like the law was originally supposed to.
Although lawmakers approved the revision they do know they have a bigger problem with mental health care and human services.

This is your friendly reminder to schedule your family’s flu shots, now.
The cold and flu season are about to begin, and I’m all about protecting your family against influenza and its complication.
Should your family member get vaccinated? 
Yes, if he is high risk for complications of the flu. No, if he falls under this category of people.

Children up to 9 years old who are getting the shots for the first time should receive two shots, and one shot every year thereafter.
Household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children need to be vaccinated as well. Yes, that means up …read more

Celebrities are taking matters into their own hands!
In a television event like no other, celebrities and ordinary folks will come together this Friday, September 5, in an unprecedented primetime show called Stand Up To Cancer to raise cutting-edge funds for cancer research.
When you tune in to the three major broadcast networks, ABC, CBS and NBC,  you will see one simultaneous telecast from 8 pm EDT and PDT on September 5, where the three television anchors, Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams, and major celebrities rally the public around the goal of ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of …read more

Ever wonder if your teen’s university or college rank up there in the top something? Or if that school I’m eyeing for my child is one of America’s Best Colleges? And can we afford to get our children into these ivy leagues?
Well, here they are. The national universities in the United States have been ranked, and Harvard gets top honors. The best schools offer all levels of degrees and produce groundbreaking research. Plus, you might be surprised just how many students get some kind of funding or grant.
The top ten colleges and universities in the US:

RANK
UNIVERSITY
LOCATION
TUITION …read more

So now, new research says it’s not just watching too much television that is bad for a child’s mental health.
When a television is on, it interferes with a child’s ability to focus on an activity, scientists reported in the July/August issue of Child Development.
It seems that TV becomes a background noise and toddlers get so distracted by it that it reduces the length and focused attention of their play, even when they are not actively watching TV. The authors add that “these findings have implications for subsequent cognitive development.”
Unfortunately, I do notice this in my own home. …read more

In Britain, the sexually active “young people remain undiagnosed, untreated and unaware of the risk they pose both to their own health and that of their sexual partner.”
UK’s Health Protection Agency crunched some alarming rates:
This age group (ages 18-24) suffered 65 percent of all chlamydia cases, 55 percent of all genital warts and 50 percent of gonorrhoeae infections diagnosed in genito-urinary clinics last year.
The total number of STIs diagnosed reached 397,990 in 2007, up from 375,843 the year before.

The agency issued a warning that young persons need to get tested for chlamydia and other sexually-transmitted disease every year, and …read more

Oh no! It’s as much as everyone fears. Children do lesser physical activity as they grow older, a study reveals.
Children are getting more lethargic, and falling behind on the recommended amount of physical activity of one hour or more each day. Girls have it worse than boys but both ages are still in peril of declining activity by the time they reach age 15.
Unfortunately, it’s harder to establish fitness once a child has gotten so used to being unfit when they were younger. Blame it on the video games and television all day long, I say. But …read more

Premature babies, or infants admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit, most often go through as many as 62 painful procedures each day. Anyone seeing these children being pricked, stubbed, and poked would likely cry “Ouch! STOP!”. Since an infant can’t say anything yet, one would at least expect some form of reaction – the eyebrows bulging, eyes squeezing or other facial expression indicating pain.
However a recent study has revealed heartbreaking news: Because a premature baby still has immature and uncoordinated facial muscles, the facial expressions may not accurately show the level of discomfort the infant is actually …read more

In Utah, 25 babies are born each year with a type of hernia called gastroschisis. Gastroschisis is a birth defect in which an infant’s intestines stick out of the body through a defect on one side of the umbilical cord. The defect is clearly seen during routine ultrasound of the mother, but surgery to repair this type of hernia can only be done after the baby is born.
Researchers interviewed mothers from 10 states, including Utah, where it is more prevalent than the rest of the nation. The study showed that women who had UTI and STD infections one …read more