It may be tempting to pierce your little girl’s ears in her first few weeks of life. This way, she won’t remember the pain. And just think how cute and pretty your little angel will look in a pair of gold studs. Think again, warns Kenneth Gottesman, M.D., an attending pediatrician at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital.

Newly funded research that will occur right here in New York City hopes to shed light on and unravel the genetic and environmental causes of autism.

From pulling or scratching at the ears, to crying, fever and hearing problems, most — if not all — parents have lost at least a night’s sleep when their child has a middle ear infection. One of the most common infections in children ages 3 months to 3 years old, acute otitis media (an infection or inflammation of the middle ear) is now the number one cause for doctor visits, accounting for about 30 million trips to the pediatrician each year.

A bottle of Ipecac syrup is about as common in homes with children as rubbing alcohol, a thermometer or a box of bandages. For decades, parents have been encouraged to keep a bottle on hand to induce vomiting if their child swallows poison. But now new research suggests this may do more harm than good, and the research is so convincing that the syrup may soon no longer be available over the counter.

Mother-of-three Karen Maulen, of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., is grateful for many gifts in her life, including her two-week stay at the new children’s epilepsy management center at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, in the Bronx. Those two weeks in February, she says, helped turn her daughter’s life around, and onto the road to a more productive life.

Playing — especially the outdoor type where kids run around playing tag, chase, street and ball games — is good for children and should be encouraged, child health experts say. But a national survey recently revealed a radical lifestyle difference and decline between children’s play today and that of their parents a generation ago.

A new interactive device — one that’s about the size of an answering machine or a clock radio — is helping New York City kids get a better handle on their asthma.

Children and adults across the country are desperate for their next fix. But don’t worry, this craving isn’t for anything illicit. It’s for Harry Potter. And the good news is, the wait is finally over.

Environmental pollutants in New York City — including combustion by-products and a commonly used pesticide — may increase the risk of low birth weight babies and babies with smaller heads, both which may be linked to lower I.Q. and poorer school performance, new research suggests.

Menstrual periods may soon be passé, according to several leading women’s health experts. Sound too good to be true?

Conventional advice used to steer pregnant women away from antidepressant drugs, but new research suggests there may be more risk to the child if the mother's depression isn't treated during pregnancy.

'National Children’s Study’ to Reveal Role of Environmental Toxins in Children’s Health

When Sarah*, an 18-year-old brunette who resembles actress Katie Holmes, speaks, you have no clue that she spent one Christmas Eve in prison, was charged with two felonies, and was expelled from an elite prep school — twice.

New research that shines light on an ongoing national shortage of the vaccine that prevents meningitis and pneumonia in children has left some local doctors scrambling to provide even a minimum number of shots to those at risk.

The teacher calls to say your son seems withdrawn and never raises his hand. Your daughter gets a stomach ache when you suggest she go play with the neighborhood children. Your son feels short of breath and jittery as you drop him off at an after-school playgroup. Sound familiar? These may be red flags that your child is more than just shy, says Sebastian Zimmerman, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist and an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Responding to alarming new research that shows more than one-third of children are developmentally unprepared to enter kindergarten because of limited exposure to language in the home, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently endorsed a new language development program called Bright Beginnings, for children under 3 years old.

When it comes to her health and well-being, Alsuna Roland, a 49-year-old Staten Island-based nutritionist, doesn’t like to take chances. A two-time breast cancer survivor, she gladly sings the praises of a new, non-painful and highly accurate breast imaging technique called Miraluma.

In today’s world, parents are faced with protecting their children from growing threats which include biological and nuclear warfare.

Using Ground Zero and its surrounding areas as their Petrie dish, a team of Columbia University researchers have been working around the clock to determine precisely how the attack on the World Trade Center affected pregnant moms and their newborns. And so far, so good, researchers report of their progress.

New studies suggest that pet ownership may actually protect against allergies and asthma

New studies suggest that pet ownership may actually protect against allergies

Local battle highlights skyrocketing rates of ADD/ADHD and depression drug use in children.