By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Food and Drug Administration said recent research raises "valid concerns" about the possible health effects of triclosan, an antibacterial chemical found in a growing number of liquid soaps, hand sanitizers, dishwashing liquids, shaving gels and even socks, workout clothes and toys.

The FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency say they are taking a fresh look at triclosan, which is so ubiquitous that is found in the urine of 75 percent of the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The reassessment is the latest signal that the Obama administration is willing to reevaluate the possible health impacts of chemicals that have been in widespread use.

By Katrina vanden Heuvel
Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Michelle Obama is not at war with Twinkies. But she does want food manufacturers to "rethink the products that you're offering, the information that you provide about these products and how you market those products to our children." For this, she has been accused of "federalizing fat" and labeled "the first nanny." But it's not the federal government that's playing the role of nanny here.

After all, food and beverage marketers spend about $2 billion a year to reach children, and most of those ads hawk the least healthy foods. So when a child begs for fruit-free Froot Loops, he's simply doing what he's been commanded to do, clean-your-room style, by the marketing nanny.

30-3-2010 

The Customs & Excise Department has banned the sale of a type of baby pacifier which contained excessive N-nitrosomorpholine - a substance which is possibly cancer-causing in humans.

Customs officers recently conducted spot checks on children's products and found the pacifiers unsafe. They also failed to meet a warning requirement on their packaging.

A total of 43 baby pacifiers have so far been seized from a supplier and its four retail outlets. The supplier will also conduct a voluntary recall of the products. Investigations are underway
 

Source: http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/100330/html/100330en05011.htm

Tuesday March 30 2010

NEW YORK, March 30 — American children aren’t the only couch potatoes with nearly one third of children globally spending three hours a day or more watching TV or on computers, according to study of over 70,000 teens in 34 nations.

From Argentina to Zambia, Regina Guthold of the World Health Organisation in Geneva and her colleagues found most children aren’t getting enough exercise and it made no difference if they lived in a rich or a poor country.

Posted by Brad Tuttle Monday, March 29, 2010 at 12:02 pm

For a generation of adults accustomed to credit card debt and negative checking account balances, teaching kids about savings is a matter of do as I say, not as I've done.

Everyone knows that kids learn by example. Dr. Ted and Brad Klontz, in their new book Mind Over Money, describe the concept of "financial flashpoints": key moments in early life that have shape one's relationship with money forever. So, like it or not, your kids learn from watching you—how and what you buy, how you save, or how you don't save.