A team of scientists at Oxford University in England have identified a gene linked to dyslexia, a learning disability that often leads to reading and spelling difficulties. If not addressed early on, children can fall behind in literacy skills and spend the rest of their lives trying to catch up. With this new discovery, however, children may be able to get help in coping with the condition sooner.

"On average," notes Dr. Silvia Paracchini, of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford, "people carrying this common genetic variant tended to perform poorly on tests of reading ability. However, it is important to note that this is only true for reading ability and not for IQ, so it doesn't appear to be connected to cognitive impairment." In other words, dyslexia does not affect intelligence, just the ability to process certain types of information.

It's estimated that about fifteen percent of the people in the UK carry the gene, so it seems to me that identifying it and being able to check for it is a very good thing.

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Last winter, the FDA put out an advisory warning parents and caretakers that children under the age of two shouldn't be given over-the-counter cough and cold medications. A leading physicians group, Public Citizen's Health Research Group, thinks that the ban didn't go far enough. They'd like to see the FDA ban all OTC cough and cold medications for children under 12.

According to the group, there is little evidence that these medications work in children. Not only that, there have been 123 deaths associated with these meds between 1969 and 2006, and 7,000 kids a year are treated in emergency rooms due to problems with OTC cough and cold medications. "In the absence of direct evidence that a product is effective," said Dr. Alejandro Necochea, a research associate with the group, "No amount of toxicity is acceptable."

The FDA isn't in a rush to ban the medications, however. Calling for more data, they fear that if children's cough and cold medications are pulled from the shelves, the problem will be made worse by parents who will give kids adult medications instead. We cleaned these kinds of meds out of our medicine cabinet a long time ago, treating colds with fluids, a vaporizer, and lots of TLC, though I do keep Benadryl around in case of an allergic reaction.

What about you?

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Would you hand your preschooler a bag full of live ammunition?

Now you know how parents of kids with food allergies feel about Halloween. The treats so many children look forward to with glee can be deadly for those who suffer from reactions to peanuts, tree nuts and dairy. But who wants to tell their child that trick or treating is forbidden?

Never fear -- with a few common-sense precautions, kids with food allergies can enjoy the holiday without risking their health.

First and foremost, remember that your normal food-allergy rules still apply: read the label of every piece of candy your child collects before they eat it, make sure he or she carries their medication with them while trick-or-treating, and check that he adult in charge knows how to administer the medication if the need arises. Also, give your child a small packet of hand wipes, so they can clean their hands if they accidentally come in contact with an allergen.

These simple rules don't mean your child can't have fun. Rather than trying to read the fine print on candy labels with your flashlight, bring a small bag of "safe" candy from home, so your little trickster can snack along the way. You can also invent new Halloween traditions, such as a "Halloween fairy" who brings safe treats or non-food presents.

Afraid your little one will get into the stash you plan to hand out? Don't give out candy -- try stickers or pencils. Or skip the door-to-door candy collecting altogether, and attend a local event that doesn't focus on food. Local zoos or farms often host Halloween parties loaded with activities.

And remember, your child can always say "no, thank you."

Last but not least -- don't panic. Taking care to follow your normal food-safety rules will help everyone enjoy a fun holiday.

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Presidential nominee John McCain allegedly had a date set with actress Jenny McCarthy. The topic of their discussion? Not love but, rather autism, and specifically the link between the condition and the use of thimerosal in the vaccines McCarthy believes cause autism.

McCarthy was eager to meet with McCain after learning he believes there may be a link as well, and apparently flew herself out for a meeting with the Republican senator to try to make autism a major part of the presidential campaign.

According to reports, however, McCain backed out after his flack decided the subject matter was too controversial. Right, like presidential nominees should avoid discussing anything controversial! If they did all they'd end up doing at debates was drinking Yoohoos! Although not attributed anywhere, the post on IMDB claims McCain also bailed after learning there is no hard evidence linking vaccines with thimerosal and autism. Either way, McCain declined to meet with the former Playboy centerfold (huge mistake, dude!) and McCarthy has now set her sites on meeting with Senator Obama.

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Given the spate of media bs floating around the Internet these days part of me finds it hard to believe a rumor that anyone would want to botox their kid's feet. Then, part of me realizes the drama is surrounding Sharon Stone and thinks there could be a kernel of truth to the rumor. After all, the actress and one-time sexpot has basically gone off the wall in recent years, making crazy statements and acting crazy in general--and it no longer seems like a publicity stunt to draw attention and viewers to Basic Instinct 2.

Stone is mom to eight-year-old Roan, and her custody of him is currently under question. Allegedly she has lost custody of her son after overreacting to his foot odor by thinking he should get botox in his feet. According to reports (rumors!) the judge agreed that Stone was overreacting and causing pain to her child, and has granted primary custody to the actress' ex, Phil Bronstein. Sharon will get to see him one weekend a month.

That seems so terrible for a mother to lose custody of her child and to only be able to see him on a monthly basis. I would be crushed if that happened to me. Of course, as crazy and hormonal as I am in the last stages of pregnancy, I still wouldn't think it was a good idea to botox my son's feet. Poor Sharon--she really must be suffering from some sort of emotional disorder or complications from her brain surgery to make those sorts of decision (if they're true, and they appear to be).

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I'm a big fan of finding new uses for things, and this is a great example. A two-year-old Australian girl, born with biliary artresia, was undergoing surgery to receive a liver transplant when Dr. Albert Shun found a problem. It seems that the adult-size liver was too big and was putting pressure on the girl's blood vessels -- a potentially deadly situation.

Dr. Shun came up with a creative way to solve the problem. "I rang my wife and asked her to go to Big W and buy me some ping-pong balls," he said. The doctor used the ping-pong ball to keep the liver off the arteries and relieve the pressure. "There shouldn't be any complications. We are in a unique situation in Australia because we have a low donor rate so we have to be adaptable," he said.

The young girl is now up and running about like a normal two-year-old. "She is so normal now. She is a happy kid," said the girl's mother. Sounds like a good use of a ping-pong ball to me.

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Considering all we've heard about the childhood obesity epidemic, it really should come as no surprise that parents are turning to surgical procedures to help their kids lose weight. According to a 2007 study, nearly 800 U.S. kids had weight-loss surgery in 2003. Those surgeries range from gastric bypass operations to stomach banding.

While weight loss surgery for kids may not be surprising, it is rather alarming. Research has shown that one in every 200 patients dies from gastric bypass and one in every 1,000 patients dies from banding. Why would a parent subject a child to the risks associated with major surgery when perhaps all that is really needed is a better diet and more exercise?

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Mr. Aiken, welcome to the wonderful world of parenting. Sure, it's one filled with joy and happiness, but it's also, more than occasionally, one filled with fear. Clay Aiken learned about this less seemly side of parenting just weeks after the birth of his son. Aiken's son Parker was diagnosed with pyloric stenosis, which affects the gastrointestinal tract, the symptoms of which had the American Idol star fearing for his young son's health.

Parker was throwing up everything he was eating and Aiken feared he would become dehydrated. Prior to that he'd been gassy for several weeks. Aiken was concerned about taking his son to the hospital, but then realized that, as the child's father, he would be given access to the hospital and that he had a responsibility to ask the questions his baby could not.

See, parenting brings out the best in us (at least most of the time). Aiken is well on his way to being a great dad. And, it's thanks to celebrities, much of the time, that the public becomes aware of certain health issues. Before yesterday I'd never heard of the pyloric stenosis condition, nor was I aware of its symptoms, which not might seem that bad to a new parent unaware of the hidden dangers of such symptoms in newborns. Luckily, Parker and family are doing well and the little tyke is well on the road to recovery.

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Croup is scary. If you've ever woken up to the sound of your child barking like a seal, then you know what I mean. Though in most cases, croup can be handled at home with some warm steam or cool night air, it can occasionally be serious enough to warrant a trip to the ER.

Croup is almost always caused by a virus. But a recent small study found that recurrent cases of croup, or those that happen repeatedly in a short period of time, might actually be triggered by acid reflux. When doctors treated children with recurrent croup who also had symptoms of acid reflux, many showed improvement in the number of times they came down with croup and the severity of it.

Though researchers believe that this acid reflux/croup link only applies to a small number of children, there is growing evidence out there linking acid reflux with other respiratory disorders, such as asthma. If your child has symptoms of acid reflux, it might be worth mentioning to your doctor.

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England's Department of Health is recommending that everyone, starting at age fifteen, in some parts of the country be offered an HIV test by their doctor. The reason is to make the test seem more routine. "Until recently it was regarded as something exceptional that you needed special counseling for," explained Dr. Adrian Palfreeman, who authored the guidelines. "What we're saying is that, in these areas, anyone attending primary health care the offer of the test should be made - for example when the patient registers with the GP for the first time."

The testing would, of course, be voluntary. Still, if it becomes just one of the tests people take, then people are more likely to be diagnosed earlier on. "Without earlier diagnosis we will not see the reduction in transmission that we need to see, nor a further fall in serious disease," said Professor Peter Borriello, director of the Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, "Increased HIV testing under the new guidelines should lead to much earlier HIV diagnosis for those that are infected."

It seems to me that, given that teens are sexually active, despite their parents' best efforts, it makes sense to get them tested early on, and to make it routine that they continue to get tested so long as they are sexually active.

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Asthma is the result of an overactive immune system. When a benign substance, such as pollen, is inhaled by an asthmatic, their body reacts defensively, which creates inflammation and wheezing. Researchers have long thought that this over-response is in part due to the fact that we are not exposed to as many germs in modern society as we were in the past. They call this the hygeine-hypothesis.

It's not a perfect theory, but a new study is giving it more weight. Infants who go to daycare between the ages of six and twelve months were 35% less likely to develop asthma by kindergarten. Researchers speculate that being exposed to more germs as babies gives the immune system more work to do, so that it doesn't "get bored" and turn on harmless invaders like allergens.

The hygiene-hypothesis is just one theory about asthma. There's also pollution, smoking, poor diet, obesity -- the list goes on and on. But if your family has a history of allergies and asthma and you've got your baby in daycare, this study shows that the extra exposure to other children might be doing your baby's body good.

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Recently we at ParentDish reported to you that Naomi Campbell was ready to be a mom now that she's had some secretive corrective surgery to help her conceive. well, now all the walls are down and Campbell is being extremely open and detailed with the surgery, which occurred in Brazil and was until now kept pretty secretive. Apparently the supermodel underwent surgery to remove several cysts when doctors also repaired her fallopian tubes, which were damaged, meaning she would be able to have children.

Campbell said that in the year before the surgery she'd been in a great deal of pain and actually collapsed in her friend's apartment before following her pal's advice to see a Brazilian doctor. One of the two tumors (cysts) was infected and was leaking, and, according to the supermodel, would have put her in danger had it gone untreated. She says the doctors doing the surgery noted one of her fallopian tubes was blocked and took care of that issue as well. Campbell claims the surgery saved her life.

Perhaps it did. Perhaps it did in more ways than one. We've been quick to snark at Naomi's desire to have a child, now that we know all about her tantrums and violent behavior. That said, many a person has become changed after having a child--we tend to have more patience and generally be happier. Perhaps being able to be a mom will give Campbell a new lease on life (and more control of her temper!).

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When Linda Wright heard her eleven-month-old granddaughter, Amelia, answer the cellphone, she knew something wasn't right. The baby wasn't allowed to play with the phone, under normal circumstances, so when she heard her say "Who's that?" and "Mama", she decided to call for emergency assistance since her daughter has a history of fainting.

Elizabeth Boyle woke up when the paramedics arrived; she was examined and released. Still, it could have been much worse. "I went upstairs to get Millie some clothes. I came downstairs again and I was going to get her dressed up as normal," said Miss Boyle. "She was crawling around playing with some toys when I suddenly fainted between the hallway and the living room blocking the stairway."

Had she fainted while on the stairs, there might have been a lot more work for the paramedics to do. As for Amelia? "Millie does not seem to be fazed by it. She must have watched me open the phone - she is not usually allowed to play with it because she tends to stick it in her mouth," said her mum. "She is a very clever little girl. I was proud of her anyway but now she is even more special." She sounds like a special young lady indeed.

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Parents opting out of the chicken pox vaccine in hopes that their child will catch it naturally might find that a difficult thing to accomplish. Since the vaccine was introduced in 1995, chicken pox cases have fallen 57 to 90 percent. Before 1995, says USA Today, 4 million people developed the disease, 11,000 were hospitalized, and 140 died. Today, those numbers are reduced dramatically, and even infections in unvaccinated children under the age of 1 have dropped significantly.

What is still unknown about the chicken pox vaccine, however, is how long immunity lasts. Before the vaccine, children and adults were exposed to the virus naturally again and again, building immunity. So children may need booster shots when they enter middle school or high school, or even again as adults. Experts are also unclear how the chicken pox vaccine will affect a person's risk of developing shingles -- a condition caused by the dormant chicken pox virus -- when they are older.

My girls have been in playgroups and social activities since they were babies, and -- to my knowledge -- they've never been exposed to chicken pox. Though my kids are vaccinated, some parents go as far as to hold "pox parties" to expose their kids to the vaccine naturally. But with numbers falling as they are, finding a wild case of chicken pox might become a rare thing indeed.

Did you vaccinate for chickenpox? Or did you try to expose your child to the bug naturally?

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Dear heavens, save us all. Naomi Campbell is ready to be a mother. The supermodel with a well-established problem of violent behavior recently came clean about her close call in the emergency room, which she formerly said was to have a cyst removed. Now Campbell has fessed up that the reason for her visit was to actually correct an infertility problem.

Wow--who knew it was that easy? What the heck are they doing in Brazil, where Campbell was treated, that they're not doing here in the states? I'm sure we'll never know. Anyway, Campbell also admitted she is ready to take on the role of motherhood. My guess is she should probably invest in some anger management classes before she gets too far along.

She is, however, leaving it in God's hands, from this point on anyway, as to whether or not she'll have a child. I'd say there's always adoption, but given her track record I can't imagine an agency in the world that would consider giving the temper-tantrum throwing supermodel a child under pretty much ANY circumstances. That said, for most , parenthood makes them better people, so perhaps being a mamma would lighten Campbell up a bit. Nah--I didn't think so either.

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