GET SMART

Oh baby, it's a long life

Today's babies will be tomorrow's centenarians. A new report says that reaching the age of 100 may become ordinary for most American babies born since 2000. How will living for a century affect our kids? And what quality of life awaits those who live this long?

SWINE FLU

Study: Swine flu deadliest to healthy, relatively young adults

Doctors learn they don't entirely understand the H1N1 flu virus. New studies say it hits otherwise-healthy relatively young adults the hardest.

Rehab for kids hits South Florida sports scene

Shauna Davis dances every day, all styles. The teenager has been dancing since she was 3 -- and suffering the aches and pains that go along with it.

Helping children cope with the loss of a sibling

Beth and Brad Besner of Davie are still struggling with grief over the loss of their son Ian, who died 3 1/2 years ago at age 11 of complications from leukemia. But they have more than their own heartache to deal with. Their sons Grant, now 12, and Noah, 10, are also trying to make sense of the death of their big brother.

COMMENTARY | SUICIDE

Statistics obscure a tragic reality

Amid last week's news of the president indoctrinating our children to socialism and the release of a remastered Beatles catalog, I seem to have missed Suicide Prevention Week.

GET SMART

For asthmatics, it's the peak of wheeze season

We've heard of flu season, but wheeze season? That's right, as children head back to school in September, rates of asthma episodes quadruple, peaking about 17 days after Labor Day.

What every child should learn before you let them fly the coop

You walk into your bathroom, and the toilet paper roll is empty. On the back of the toilet sits a new roll, put there by a previous visitor who apparently never mastered the task of replacing a roll of toilet paper.

MEDWATCH

Doctor's test may be cheaper than LeadConfirm

Product: LeadConfirm Professional saliva lead screening kit, $79.99, at cvs.com, amazon.com and drugstore.com.

BODY IMAGE

She's getting those ideas from . . . me?

I was hanging out with my 12-year-old niece the other night when she suddenly pinched her inner thigh and declared she hated her legs. I was incredulous.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Lots of kids get jitters; some are overwhelmed

Wendy K. Silverman, director of the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program at Florida International University, has been teaching children how to conquer their fears for more than 20 years. As a researcher and board-certified clinical child and adolescent psychologist, she sees youngsters whose extreme anxiety can keep them out of the classroom. With school about to resume, we talked to Silverman about her research and about what parents can do to help fearful students.

UM camp teaches kids how to cope with fears, stress

This is not your usual summer camp scene: at the University of Miami, a group of 10-year-old children hold their arms out and spin for two minutes, then collapse on the floor in a heap of dizziness and nausea.

PARENTING

Night texting putting teen health at risk

To many parents, text messaging is an enigma -- a practice their children engage in when they could just make a phone call or walk down the street to their friends' houses. It seems to be a strange but harmless means of communication.

MEDWATCH

UVSunSense wristbands could get kids in habit of reapplying

Product: UVSunSense monitoring wristbands, $5.87 for a seven-pack, at www.amazon.com. The pitch: ''Convenient, reliable'' way to monitor exposure to harmful UVA and UVB rays for adults and children.

SKIN DEEP

When to take your child to see the dermatologist

There are a few skin changes that you should never ignore, even in children. Take your son or daughter to a dermatologist right away if you see any of these:

COLD MEDICINE

Parents ignoring FDA warning on cold medicines

Nearly two years after the FDA issued a formal advisory urging parents not to give over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to infants younger than 2 years old without a doctor's advice, a new study says many parents still are giving them to children as young as 13 months.

MEDWATCH

First Juice a good choice for little ones

Product: First Juice, organic fruit & veggie beverage, $4.99 for 32 fluid ounces at Whole Foods Market, Babies R Us, Target and http://firstjuice.elsstore.com.

There's help for children with sleeping disorders

You don't have to be an adult to have insomnia. Children can also have problems sleeping -- and no simple lullaby will cure them. Among the chief culprits, which also goes for adults: a skyrocketing obesity rate.

WLRN-MIAMI HERALD AUDIO REPORT

Surgeon general promotes childhood obesity awareness

The nation's Surgeon General made a stop in Miami to promote awareness of childhood obesity, focusing on the Latino community. WLRN Miami Herald reporter Jacqueline Fernandez was at the discussion.