Lately, my seven-year-old has shown an interest in playing a rather bloody video game. It's not exactly violent, but involves a skateboarder who bleeds profusely whenever he wipes out. I refuse to let her play because I don't like the way the bright red blood oozes realistically across the pavement. Of course it isn't real, but I am uncomfortable with the idea that she will become desensitized to the sight of massive amounts of flowing blood.

Clearly there are many parents who have no such qualms when it comes to blood, gore and assorted acts of violence. According to the journal Pediatrics, an estimated 2.5 million kids ages 10 to 14 watch R rated movies, often with parental permission.

The researchers gave 6,522 kids a list of movies, 40 if them rated R and chosen for their extreme graphic violence. When asked to list which ones they had seen, an average of 12.5% indicated that they had seen each of the R rated movies. The researchers didn't ask where they saw the films, but did include a question about whether or not their parents allowed them to watch R rated movies. One third said their parents were okay with it "sometimes" or "all the time". 22.6% of those who weren't allowed still managed to see at least one anyway.

Studies have shown that exposure to violent media can increase aggression and desensitize a person to real violence. For that reason, the researchers believe that violent movies should have an explicit warning that they "should not be seen by young adolescents" and they encourage pediatricians to talk to parents about the risks involved.

Of course, there are those who see no harm in exposing children to horror. Gerard Jones, author of Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Superheroes and Make-Believe Violence, says these experiences are "a classic, vital part of teen culture." I think the key phrase in the sentence is "teen culture". A ten-year-old is not a teen.

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When Gardasil, the relatively new vaccine for the human papillomavirus, was announced, a lot of people worried that the effect of inoculating teenage girls against a sexually transmitted disease would be rampant sexual activity and that eliminating the possibility of getting certain types of cancer just wasn't worth it. Well, according to one news station, promiscuity may not be the biggest concern.

Close to nine thousand reports of side effects from the HPV vaccine have been made, ranging from nausea and light-headedness to paralysis. A handful of girls have become paralyzed after receiving the vaccine and their parents are placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of Gardasil. Given the low numbers of serious problems -- eight thousand cases out of eight million doses of the vaccine, and that includes the minor side effects -- I'm not sure that the vaccine needs to be recalled. I do think there should be -- and hopefully is -- ongoing testing and research, however. It would be nice to know whether or not the more serious issues really are linked to the vaccine or just a coincidence.

Of course, there is the alternative to Gardasil -- more than eleven thousand cases of cervical cancer each year, with four thousand women dying from the disease. It should be noted that pap tests are generally effective at identifying HPV and cervical cancer -- which, if caught early enough, can be prevented or treated. Having a daughter of my own, you can be certain I will be keeping a close eye on any findings of serious side effects to this vaccine.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 1,300 Mother Hubbard's Cupboard cribs. The cribs fail to meet federal safety standards in that the distance between the mattress support bracket in the lowest position and the top of the side rail in the highest position is less than the required 26 inches. This poses a fall hazard to children.

The recall involves wooden full-sized cribs in the following models: Enchantment (model #210), Hush A Bye (model #215), Once Upon A Time (model #320) and Rock A Bye (model #1900-359). Only cribs with date codes from 0306 through 0308 are included in this recall. You can find the words "Mother Hubbard's Cupboards", the model number and date code printed on a label on the bottom inside of the right side of the crib.

The cribs were sold at juvenile product stores from March 2006 through March 2008 between $500 and $650 each. More pictures of the recalled cribs can be found here.

If you have one of these cribs, you should stop using it immediately and contact Mother Hubbard's Cupboards to receive instructions on how to reinstall the support brackets and eliminate the hazard. You can reach them by calling (888) 661-8201 between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday, or by visiting their Web site.

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The British have long had a reputation for bad teeth, but now the government has a plan that may address that in future generations -- they want to add fluoride to nearly half the nation's water supply. (There's no word on how they'll keep it separate, however.) Currently, only the West Midlands and the North East have fluoridated tap water.

Opponents, however, are calling the scheme "mass medication" and claim that fluoride causes cancer, lower intelligence, and a whole host of other ailments. Is there any validity to these claims, however, and if there is, do the risks outweigh the benefits of fluoridation? Chief dental officer Barry Cockcroft dismissed the concerns as "scaremongering" and noted that "A total of 170 million people in America drink fluoridated water and it is the most litigious country in the world."

Personally, I am in favor of adding fluoride to drinking water, and I'm glad our tap water has fluoride in it. We also have a water cooler for which we get fluoridated spring water. Some may think me insane, but I want my kids to have healthy teeth.

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Schools have banned tag and other chase games. Playground equipment is safe and non-threatening. Swings are short so they can't swing too high. Climbing a tree is a lost art. Keeping kids safe is important, but are we protecting our children too much? There does seem to be a bit of a backlash against over-protection. First, there was The Dangerous Book for Boys, then Gever Tulley's TEDTalk, and now a new study from Play England, part of the National Children's Bureau in England says that children are missing out on an essential part of childhood -- risk.

The study found that half of all children are not allowed to climb trees and one in six is not allowed to play tag or other chase games. Adrian Voce, director of Play England, says that kids "are not enjoying the opportunities to play outside that most people would have thought of as normal when they were growing up." He also noted that nearly three times as many kids ended up in the hospital after falling out of bed as after falling out of trees.

Now, I know it can be difficult for parents to watch kids get themselves into dangerous situations and the natural reaction, when they get hurt, is to ban the activity that caused the accident, but the truth is kids can run into poles walking through the mall (as my son did the other evening) just as easily as playing "tickle pirate" at the playground.

Sure, you don't want your kids to suffer serious damage, but a few bumps and bruises, if you ask me, builds character. My kids are forever running into things and falling down and they've learned you just get up and get on with it. That seems to me like a good attitude to take.

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Opponents of violent video games often express concern that impressionable players may try recreate the violent crimes of the games they play in the real world. On the flip side, others feel that violent video games are harmless and in fact provide a healthy emotional outlet for kids to express themselves. I would be willing to bet that the family of a 54-year-old cab driver in Thailand falls into the former category.

The taxi driver was stabbed to death last weekend and 18-year-old Polwat Chino has been charged with the murder. Chino confessed to the crime and admits that he was trying to recreate a scene from the Grand Theft Auto video game. 'He said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game,' chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak said.

The backlash has begun with Grand Theft Auto's Thailand distributor halting sales of the game. New Era Interactive is also asking retailers and video arcade establishments to pull the games.

Thailand's Culture Ministry has been working toward tougher regulations for video games, including a rating system and restrictions on hours that kids can play the games in public arcades. An official with the Ministry says this murder proves that the time has passed for authorities as well as parents to deal with the issue of violent video games. "This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the ministry's Cultural Surveillance Centre, said. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."

As for Chino, he may have found it easy enough to copy a pretend murder scene from Grand Theft Auto, but the consequences he will suffers will be real. If found guilty, he faces death by lethal injection.

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Officials in the UK have chosen to ban the word "obese" from letters being sent to parents about their children's weight. Instead the parents of these children will receive a letter saying such children are "very overweight." The move is being called both "prissy" and "namby pamby" by Tam Fry, a member of Board of the National Obesity Forum. Namby pamby? Regardless of what you call it, Fry feels a better approach is to just come clean with parents.

In the United States, we've tried to ban the word "fat" and have replaced it with the word "obese." This may or may not be having much of an impact on our nation or our youth as our waistlines continue to get bigger (while our wallets become smaller!). One person I know quite well, however, was in denial about his weight as a teenager until he saw a doctor write the word "obese" on his report during the physical he was required to get before he left for college. That person, at that exact point, took charge of his weight and his life.

As for the UK, Primary Care Trusts, or PCTs, are being guided to measure children's height and weight at ages five and eleven. Parents can choose not to participate, and so can their children. In the event that both do choose to participate, the measurements will be sent by letter to the parents and not the children. Naturally, a good portion of the obese children are not participating in the measurements, thereby negating the attempt to correct the situation. Children as little as seven years of age are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which was unheard of in the UK a decade ago.

What do you think? Should we go back to calling people fat? Should we call them obese? Should we only be telling their parents? Is there a good approach to any of this? I'd have to go with a quote from Aaron Neville on this one: Tell it like it is.

Pic by bethography - melting mama.

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When company comes to visit, it's natural for kids to want to show them around. That's all 12-year-old Grace Bergere was doing when she climbed the chimney ladder on her Manhattan apartment building's roof, eager to show off the view to her visiting cousin. What she didn't bargain for was what she'd find at the top, the huge mouth of the chimney. Grace fell in -- possibly head first -- and fell 14 stories to the bottom.

Luckily (perhaps miraculously), Grace was not seriously hurt, with the exception of an injured hip. Authorities theorize that the two feet of soot and ashes at the bottom of the chimney broke her fall.

I'm guessing that once Grace's parents get over their shock, fear, and relief, they'll be putting some pretty firm limits on future rooftop behavior. Though they probably won't need to; a 14-story fall is probably lesson enough for Grace.
Are you a parent to a risk-taking kid? How do you keep them safe without dampening their adventuring spirit?

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Gummy bears. They're small, chewy, colorful, and, when they get hot, rather gooey. They stick to your teeth, and they're full of sugar. That may soon give way to a new breed of bear, the sugarless gummy. These gummy bears contain an ingredient I've long been noting with raised eyebrow in sugarless gum: Xylitol. I don't trust anything "gummy," and I certainly don't trust anything that I can't pronounce (or spell without the aid of spell check). So you can imagine I suspect a claim that sugarless gummy bears fight cavities.

While not all dentists are readily hopping on the ursine sugarless gummy wagon, researchers are suggesting sugarless gummy bears could be used to target cavities. Xylitol is a sugar that comes from plants and berries, and does not provide energy to the streptococcus bacteria responsible for cavities like other sugars. In a study of 154 school-age children, who were given daily doses of sugarless gummy bears containing either xylitol or maltitol, a different sugar substitute, both sets of kids showed a reduced level of bacteria in the kids' mouths.

What remains to be seen is whether or not the sugarless gummies actually prevent cavities. It should also be noted that the sugarless, xylitol gummy bears are not currently available on the market. No information was available as to whether or not the sugarless variety are as likely to get stuck in your teeth.

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I don't know why the teachers at The Family Development Center at University of Colorado would take away a child's pillow right before nap time, but for some reason they did. And the child who lost his pillow was not happy. In fact, 4-year-old Kyle kind of went over the edge into what can only be described as a misdirected temper tantrum. Instead of giving his teacher a piece of his mind, he threatened his fellow classmates. With a gun. According to staff at the day care, what he said was this: "I am going to go shoot all my friends!"

If an older kid says this, you should definitely call the police. But a 4-year-old? I think a good talking-to would be in order. Kyle did get a talking to - right before the university police arrived. They questioned his parents about whether or not there were guns in the home. They assured the police that not only were there no guns at home, Kyle isn't even allowed to play with toy guns or watch television.

I don't know if Kyle got his pillow back, but he did get expelled from the school in which had been enrolled for the past three years. His mom thinks the situation was handled unreasonably and I tend to agree with her. I know that in this day and age we all freak out when a kid threatens violence - often with good reason. And I may not know all the facts regarding Kyle and his home life, but I do think a four-year-old is too young to comprehend what a threat like that really means.

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When you're pregnant, chances are we do everything in your power to take the best care of your unborn little one as possibly. Many of us (try to) give up our bad habits and assume good ones, avoiding things and being cautious just in case. Things that seemed easy before we were pregnant get harder, and require us to pay more attention, which we generally give. And, I guess, some things we just take for granted. Like WALKING.

Yesterday I fell. Big time. I was looking in front of me rather than at the ground below and I was on my knees before I even knew I was falling. It hurt, a lot, and still does. My knees are bruised and I am pretty sure I sprained my wrist, but thankfully the rest of me is ok. Question is, how do I really know? Pregnant women, are prone to falls. Pregnant women tend to have less balance (after the fourth month) so we are cautioned to take things slower. We're also cautioned to wear flat shoes--not only because they're more comfortable than heels, but because it's easier to maintain what sense of balance we have without leverage.

That's all great advice, but what to do when you've already fallen? Well, if you have any control over the fall, make sure you avoid your belly. Also, take comfort in knowing that your womb is designed to keep your baby as safe as possible, so more likely that not, if you fall you won't have harmed your little one. Make sure everything feels "normal"--whatever that is to you--in terms of how you feel and what is going on inside there with your baby. Fetal kicks should be the same, etc. Of course check for bleeding. And, honestly, if you are even the least bit freaked out, just call the OB or go in for an appointment. Research on the web turns up little other advice other than to contact your doctor if you feel even the least bit out of sorts or in pain. Honestly, an extra trip to the doctor is well worth it, even if just for piece of mind.

Pregnancy silhouette by mahalie.

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Miley Cyrus is starting to get a reputation as a bit of a naughty girl. She proudly professes her love of Sex and The City and allows herself to be photographed in all manner of undress. And when she is fully clothed, her outfits are sometimes more appropriate for a 25-year-old than a teen girl. Maybe all that is why the folks at LifeStyles Condoms think she would make a perfect spokesperson for their products.

Despite the fact that Miley is under the age of consent in most states, LifeStyles says they offered her $1 million to shill their products. "Pop culture proves that teens are more ready than ever to discuss the subject of sex," says Carol Carrozza, LifeStyle's VP of marketing, . "We believe that Miley is both influential and relatable to this afflicted set - and is the obvious choice to get the message of safe sex out to teens across America."

I can't argue with that. If Miley talked about safe sex, you can bet there would be lots of girls paying attention. The problem is that Miley can't talk about sex because she is a virgin and intends to stay that way until marriage. I know this is true because she has a purity ring to prove it. At any rate, Miley's rep say they haven't even received such an offer and would reject it if they did.

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Brickhouse Child Safety and Duracell have teamed up in a new ad, one that starts out ominously, "It was a beautiful day in the park, that turned to panic in an instant..." A mom loses her son at the park, but fear is quickly turned to relief when she grabs her Brickhouse monitor and quickly finds her boy.

I had no idea such a device existed. Do parents really use these on their kids? Do they give you peace of mind? Or do you feel kind of weird about it like I do? When did a day at the park start requiring electronic monitoring?

It's not like this device would work for us. We'd be the family frantically searching through their bag for the device, arguing over who was supposed to bring it and why is it MY JOB TO REMEMBER EVERYTHING? while our "lost" child would suddenly reappear behind us and ask, "Hey, what are you guys doing?"

Watch the commercial below, then share your thoughts with us in comments.

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Yes, hard to believe but also true. Well, perhaps not that hard to believe after all. I mean, hey, women are in the workforce now--even and especially while pregnant--and being a prostitute is a profession, so it's expected that somewhere down the line you're going to come across a pregnant prostitute, right?

The Kansas City police recently came across several pregnant prostitutes. They recently busted a prostitution operation at a Camden County hotel and arrested four women, three of whom were pregnant. According to police, they were acting on a tip that pregnant women were advertising the prostitution on the Internet.

The three ladies with child were six months, eight months and three months pregnant. Now, it was not clear to me if the gals were trying to sell sex with a pregnant woman or if they were just trying to sell sex and happened to be pregnant. Not that it matters. In Canada another, similar sting went down wherein twelve prostitutes were apprehended, two of whom were pregnant.

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It seems like a day doesn't go by that we don't hear about another recalled toy -- lead paint, dangerous chemicals, magnets -- but that will, hopefully, become less common, due to legislation making its way through congress. It's been hailed as the "most aggressive overhaul in decades of America's consumer safety system" and comes after months of haggling where, in almost every aspect, safety came out on top.

The bill calls for stricter limits on lead in toys, beginning with 600 parts per million after six months and decreasing to 100 ppm after three years. There will be new safety standards for all-terrain vehicles and a half-dozen compounds will be banned from use in plastics. In order to make sure that companies comply with the new rules, the Consumer Product Safety Commission's budget will get a boost, state attorneys general will have the power to pull products off store shelves, and violators will face fines as high as fifteen million dollars.

Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky called the legislation "a really strong, strong bill" and said of the plans for the CPSC that "it really, in many ways, is the birth of a new agency that will have much broader authority, particularly to keep our children safe." It's a shame that this is at all necessary, but I'm glad it's in the works.

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