Children's Health
Exclusive
Nutrition
‘Just a sweet drink’: Call for crackdown on sugary toddler milks and formulas
Baby formulas cannot be marketed, but toddler milks aren’t covered by the voluntary code. Health experts say that is not good enough.
- by Rachel Clun
Latest
Gastro cases hit 20-year high as parasite spreads disease to toddlers
A gastrointestinal disease caused by the cryptosporidiosis parasite has reached alarming rates, with daycare and school aged children picking up the infection.
- by Amber Schultz
Exclusive
Healthcare
Victoria’s primary care clinics face funding cuts in budget crisis
Priority primary care clinics, promised in 2022 as Daniel Andrews’ solution to the health crisis, are facing cutbacks as the Victorian budget grapples with debt.
- by Rachel Eddie and Kieran Rooney
The common but little-known virus causing disability in hundreds of babies
Every year, about 400 babies are born with physical and intellectual disabilities caused by a virus many pregnant women don’t know about.
- by Henrietta Cook
The highly contagious virus potentially linked childhood asthma cases
Cat Irvine believes her son, Parker, developed asthma as a result of multiple RSV infections. The five-year-old now carries an asthma puffer with him at all times.
- by Henrietta Cook
Exclusive
Healthcare
Chiropractors give themselves green light to crack babies’ backs after four-year ban
Doctors have slammed a national move by chiropractors to resume spinal manipulation on babies and children despite a report recommending an end to the practice.
- by Henrietta Cook
Exclusive
Cancer
When Scout was born with brain cancer, the key to fighting it was in her genes
Hundreds of children have had their tumours shrunk or eradicated completely in a world-first program giving hope to every child diagnosed with cancer in Australia.Â
- by Angus Thomson
A miracle solution for some, ‘barbaric’ for others. The truth behind the boom in cutting babies’ tongues
The number of babies having tongue-tie releases in Australia has skyrocketed over the past two decades. But debate continues to rage about the merits of the procedure.
- by Henrietta Cook
Exclusive
Coronavirus pandemic
‘The cough that keeps on giving’: Why your child keeps getting pneumonia
Doctors are urging families to revert to pandemic measures such as wearing face masks and using hand sanitiser to halt a pneumonia outbreak.
- by Angus Thomson
As Australia’s flu season kicks off, scientists make a breakthrough
Influenza vaccines have to be reformulated every year, but that could change thanks to work by Australian researchers.
- by Aisha Dow
Analysis
Social media
Should children be on social media? Too late, they already are
Are worsening mental health outcomes and social media related? The timing is suggestive: mental health began to slide just as smartphones and social apps took off.