Do you have questions about what drugs really do to you? Get the inside information on how different drugs can affect the brain and body. Stretch your brain - play a game and test your knowledge. Read real stories about the challenges teens faced when turning their lives around. All of this can be found at the NIDA for Teens website where "science behind drug abuse" is shared.

Where can you find parenting and child health information 24 Hours a Day? Sometimes you just need a quick tip, a new idea, and another approach to help get past the bumps, bruises, and fusses so you can get back to laughing, growing, learning, and living. The Children’s Hospital’s Parent Advice Line provides you with the quick tips you need on over 275 topics related to the health of your infant, child or teenager. These free and confidential messages have been developed by Dr. Bart Schmitt, a pediatrician at The Children’s Hospital.

If there is an emergency, call 911. Do not use the Parent Advice Line to diagnose a health problem or substitute for a visit with your child’s healthcare provider.

How to Call the Parent Advice Line:
1. Find the topic you are interested in. CLICK HERE to view the .pdf list of topics.
2. Dial 800-613-4130.
4. Enter in the 4 digit code associated with your topic of interest to hear the recorded message.

According to the U.S. News and World Report, a new study cutting kids' TV and computer time by half reduced the amount of food they ate and helped them lose weight. Noting that more than sixteen percent of children ages six to nineteen are overweight, "television viewing is related to consumption of fast food and foods and beverages that are advertised on television," the study authors said in a prepared statement. "Viewing cartoons with embedded food commercials can increase choice of the advertised item in preschoolers and television commercials may prompt eating."

About one in 1,000 children have Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. The number of new cases each year is nine per 100,000 population. School can be a difficult place for children with arthritis - academically, socially, and behaviorally. Teachers can be great allies in keeping children with JRArthritis safe and successful in school. Author and parent Teri Mauro shares five things that all teachers should know.

Note: Missouri PTA adopted a resolution about food allergies/anaphylaxis and schools at the 2008 convention. Units and councils are encouraged to share ideas about how parents and schools can work together to ensure that students with food allergies have a safe and productive learning environment. This success story is written by the parent of a child with severe food allergies. 

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By Jaxon's Mother 

Ten years ago, food allergies had a very different meaning to me. I had heard of food allergies; who hadn’t? I’m sure I knew someone who knew someone else that broke out in a rash every time they ate strawberries. But what I didn’t know about food allergies was how this genetic disorder was about to change every day of the rest of my family’s life.