Polite Parents Warn Fellow Passengers About Their Newborns with Candy Gift Bag

Polite Parents Warn Fellow Passengers About Their Newborns with Candy Gift Bag - Almost everyone knows that feeling of dread we get when a person with a crying baby boards our flight. Try doubling that, and watching parents get on with twins. At that very moment, most of us think "'wouldn't it be nice if there were a mute button for life?"' Well, one couple decided to ease the tension and stress of their fellow passengers by being polite while on their flight.

A Reddit user posted a photo from a recent flight with the headline, "'Brilliant and thoughtful parents handed these out to everyone to everyone on my flight."' The image is of a small bag of candies with a message written within. The message reads, "Hello! We're twin baby boys on our first flight, and we're only 14 weeks old. We'll try to be on our best behavior, but we'd like to apologize in advance just in case we lose our cool, get scared, or our ears hurt." The message also offers to earplugs to anyone who requests them, which the parents could provide.

As would be expected, this gesture earned the parents a lot of fans who praised their concern for their fellow passengers. One user on Reddit wrote, "Extra props for somehow finding the space in their carry-ons to fit all of this with whatever materials you may need to console twin infants on a plane ride." Not everyone lauded the parents with applause, suggesting they went overboard, "This is considerate, but aren't we all adults who can understand that babies are prone to bouts of crying?"

The flight itself apparently was not too bad, one passenger commented, "The parents were fantastic, and the kids were better than would be expected. Saw them meeting the dad's parents at baggage, who were seeing babies for the first time, and got a bit teary."

Who knows, maybe the parents' heartfelt gesture will set an example for others and lead to more random acts of kindness.

Reddit User Gigantomachy

Text From the Parents' Note:

Hello! We're twin baby boys on our first flight and we're only 14 weeks old! We'll try to be on our best behavior, but we'd like to apologize in advance just in case we lose our cool, get scared or our ears hurt. Our mom and dad (AKA our portable milk machine and our diaper changer) have ear plugs available if you need them. We are all sitting in 20E and 20F if you want to come by to get a pair. We hope you have a great flight! ( Trending Now )

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Arab-Muslim to join 'Green Lantern' comic series

Arab-Muslim to join 'Green Lantern' comic series — When DC Comics decided to blow up its fabled universe and create a brave, diverse future, Geoff Johns drew from the past for a new character: his own background as an Arab-American.

The company's chief creative officer and writer of the relaunched "Green Lantern" series dreamed up Simon Baz, DC's most prominent Arab-American superhero and the first to wear a Green Lantern ring. The character and creator share Lebanese ancestry and hail from the Detroit area, which boasts one of the largest and oldest Arab communities in the United States.

 

This image provided by DC Comics via Bender/Helper Impact shows interior panels of the November 2012 issue of the latest Green Lantern series featuring the character Simon Baz, DC Comics most prominent Arab-American superhero and the first to wear a Green Lantern ring. The character and creator share Lebanese ancestry and hail from the Detroit area, which boasts one of the largest and oldest Arab communities in the United States. (AP Photo/DC Comics via Bender/Helper Impact)

"I thought a lot about it — I thought back to what was familiar to me," Johns, 39, told The Associated Press by phone last week from Los Angeles, where he now lives. "This is such a personal story."

The Green Lantern mantle in DC Comics is no stranger to diversity with its ranks made up of men, women, aliens — animal, vegetable and mineral — from across the universe.

Earlier this year an alternate universe Green Lantern was reintroduced as openly gay.

Baz's story begins in a standalone "zero issue" available Wednesday that's part of a companywide effort to fill in the gaps or tell the origins of a character or team. Johns has no plans for Baz to fade into the background — the character in February is bound for the Justice League of America, one of DC's premier super team books, to fight alongside Green Arrow, Catwoman and Hawkman.

Johns said he took economic as well as ethnic cues for the character from his native Detroit area, with Baz resorting to stealing cars after being laid off from his automotive engineering job. He steals the wrong car, which inadvertently steers him into a terrorism probe and, eventually, an unexpected call to join the universe's galactic police force.

The olive-skinned, burly Baz hails from Dearborn, the hometown of Henry Ford and the capital of Arab America. His story begins at 10 years old, when he and the rest of his Muslim family watch their television in horror as airplanes fly into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Events unfold from there as U.S. Arabs and Muslims find themselves falling under intense suspicion and ostracism in the days, months and years following the attacks.

"Obviously, it's affecting everybody," said Johns, who grew up in nearby suburbs in a Lebanese Christian household and got into comics when he discovered his uncle's old collection in his Arab grandmother's attic. "One of the things I really wanted to show was its effect on Simon and his family in a very negative way."

Baz is not the first Arab or Muslim character to grace — or menace, as has historically been the case — the comic world. Marvel Comics has Dust, a young Afghan woman whose mutant ability to manipulate sand and dust has been part of the popular X-Men books. DC Comics in late 2010 introduced Nightrunner, a young Muslim hero of Algerian descent reared in Paris. He is part of the global network of crime fighters set up by Batman alter-ego Bruce Wayne.

Frank Miller, whose dark and moody take on Batman in "The Dark Knight Returns" in 1986 energized the character, took a different tack in his recent book, "Holy Terror," which tells the story of The Fixer and his efforts to stamp out Islamic terrorists. The graphic novel initially took root as a look at Batman's efforts to fight terrorism, which grew out of Miller's experiences of being in New York on 9/11.

A broader mission to bring Islamic heroes and principles to the comic world comes from Naif Al-Mutawa, creator of "The 99." The U.S. educated psychologist from Kuwait has been gaining followers across the globe since the 2006 debut of the comic book that spawned a TV series. "The 99" is named after the number of qualities the Quran attributes to God: strength, courage, wisdom and mercy among them.

The series gained a wide audience in 2010, when it worked with DC on a six-issue crossover that teamed the "The 99" with The Justice League of America.

Johns, who also has written stories starring Superman, The Flash and Teen Titans, said going diverse only works if there's a good story, and he believes he found that with Baz. But don't mistake him for a hero in the beginning: Baz disappoints both devout Muslims — his forearm tattoo that reads "courage" in Arabic is considered "haram," or religiously forbidden — and broader society by turning to a life of crime.

"He's not a perfect character. He's obviously made some mistakes in his life, but that makes him more compelling and relatable," he said. "Hopefully (it's) a compelling character regardless of culture or ethnic background. ... But I think it's great to have an Arab-American superhero. This was opportunity and a chance to really go for it."

Of course, Johns hopes Green Lantern fans accept Baz, who joins other humans who have been "chosen," including Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner. The overall relaunch has been good for DC, which has seen a solid gain in sales and critical reception — as well as some expected grumbling — since coming out with the "New 52" last year.

Johns also sees the debut of Baz as a chance to reconnect with people in his home state: He's scheduled to visit Dearborn this weekend for events related to the release that include a signing Friday at a comic book store and a free presentation Saturday on his career and characters at the Arab American National Museum. He worked with museum staff to make sure he got certain details right about his character and the Arab-Muslim community.

"It doesn't completely define the character but it shapes the character," he said. "My biggest hope is that people embrace it and understand what we're trying to do." ( Associated Press )

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Children's headaches rarely linked to vision problems

Children's headaches rarely linked to vision problems - If your child gets recurring headaches and you think they might need glasses, you may be mistaken - a new study says children's headaches are rarely triggered by vision problems.

The study, presented Monday at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's annual meeting, was conducted by researchers at the ophthalmology clinic of Albany Medical Center in New York. They evaluated medical records of nearly 160 children under the age of 18 who were being seen at the clinic for frequent headaches.

Researchers compared the exams of children with headaches to their earlier vision exams and other medical records. In 75% of the children, the vision test results were the same. No significant link was found between the headaches and a need for glasses - even if the headaches happened when the child is doing a visual task like homework.

"We hope our study will help reassure parents that in most cases their children's headaches are not related to vision or eye problems, and that most headaches will clear up in time," said Dr. Zachary Roth, who led the research team. "The information should also be useful to family doctors and pediatricians in caring for children and parents who have this common health concern."

Researchers found in most cases, the children's headaches resolved over a period of time regardless of whether the child got a new prescription for glasses or not. And those who did get new glasses were no more likely to have their headaches get better.

It's highly unusual to find something wrong with the eyes when a child complains of headaches, says Dr. Daniel Neely, a professor of ophthalmology at Indiana University who specializes in pediatrics and the chairman of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus' vision screening committee.

"The study is consistent with everyone's clinical practice around the country. If the child has headaches the first stop should be their primary care doctor, and they will assess whether or not a comprehensive eye exam would be indicated."

According to Neely, vision screenings - whether someone just measures the vision with an eye chart or with a vision screening device (camera-type devices called photo screeners) - should be part of a pediatric well-child visit .

"Some of them are very good about doing it and some of them are not very good about doing it, but the recommendation is that it should be done every year or two," he says. " ... What we don't recommend is that everyone get a comprehensive eye doctor eye exam unless they fail a screening or unless there is something in their family history that puts them at increased risk."

Neely says if vision screening is not being offered as part of the well-child visits, ask for it - sooner rather than later.

"The reason that there's a time factor on these screenings is because of a condition called amblyopia," he says. "Young children less than age 7 are neurologically immature and if you have something significant affecting their vision, their brain will actually stop using the eye or both eyes and that becomes permanent loss of vision if not detected and treated. So the younger you identify them, the more easily you can treat them."

Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is very common in children and is responsible for more vision loss than all the other causes combined, according to AAPOS. It happens when the eye sends blurry images to the brain, confusing it and causing the brain to learn to ignore images from the weak eye.

And Neely says as children get older they are less likely to respond to corrective treatment. "So if you detect something at age 10 that was serious, it would be too late. And that, again, is why we want the pediatrician doing this, because by the time the kid gets to school that window of opportunity is closing. So a vision screening by the school nurse in first grade might be too late."

Most pediatricians will do some variation of the screening at every visit, Neely says, but AAPOS recommends children have a documented vision measurement by age 5. ( cnn )

Blog : Beautiful Scene | Children's headaches rarely linked to vision problems

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The Real Reason Your Kid Wets the Bed

The Real Reason Your Kid Wets the Bed - In late 2010, Zoe Rosso and her mom, Betsy, were escorted off the premises of Zoe’s school in Arlington, Va. The principal told them not to return until Zoe stopped having potty accidents. Zoe had wet her pants more than eight times per month, the school’s limit, and therefore was considered “not potty trained.” Zoe was 3½ years old.

The incident made the front page of the Washington Post and incited extremely hostile (and foolish) comments. Betsy, who fought to keep her child in school, was called a “lazy person who wants to dump the kid off so she can shop” and told to “quit blaming others for her failures.”

Zoe is now 4½, and my patient. I can tell you it’s not Betsy Rosso who failed; the system failed her. Not just the Arlington Public School system, which operates the preschool Zoe attended, but also the medical system, which failed to detect something actually was amiss with Zoe.

Zoe’s pediatrician told the Rossos their daughter was fine. Unconvinced, Betsy took Zoe to a pediatric urology clinic, where Zoe’s urine was tested for infection and her belly examined. According to the clinic’s report, Zoe’s abdomen was soft, with “no masses palpable.” The report indicated Zoe “may have some underlying constipation contributing to her urinary symptoms” but concluded that “aggressive evaluation and treatment is not recommended.”

Turns out, everyone involved in Zoe’s case had it wrong. Zoe was fully potty trained, but she had no chance of staying dry because her entire colon was stuffed with poop, including a mass in her rectum the size of a Nerf basketball. This mass, visible in an X-ray I requested, was pressing against Zoe’s bladder and had caused the nerves feeding her bladder to go haywire. Constipation wasn’t “contributing” to Zoe’s urinary symptoms; it was the main cause.

Our culture has two reactions to potty problems: Either these problems represent a parental failure, or they are not actually problems but rather a normal (if bothersome) part of growing up. Parents are led to believe that kids are kids—they get busy playing and forget to go potty. They wet the bed, but that’s normal for their age.

In reality, potty-trained kids should not have accidents any more often than you or I do. And while overnight dryness often happens well after a child is toilet trained, bedwetting at age 6 should not be dismissed with, “You’re a deep sleeper. Be patient—you’ll grow out of it.”

Accidents and bed-wetting have the same root cause: chronically holding poop or pee or both. A rectal poop mass squishes the bladder and messes with its nerves; holding pee thickens the bladder wall, shrinking the bladder’s capacity to hold urine and triggering hiccuplike contractions. The upshot: wet undies and bed sheets.

These problems cause more than stress and extra laundry. Left untreated, some kids develop chronic medical problems, including damaged colons and, eventually, pain with sex. But toileting troubles are highly treatable—if only the medical profession would treat them.

The notion that constipation causes wetting is hardly new. This link was demonstrated in the 1980s by Sean O’Regan, a pediatric kidney specialist baffled by his 5-year-old son’s persistent bed-wetting. Back then, bed-wetting was considered either a psychological issue or an anatomical problem of the bladder. O’Regan, practicing at the Montreal’s Hôpital Ste.-Justine, didn’t accept either explanation.

Suspecting constipation, O’Regan had a colleague perform a balloon-inflation procedure, anal manometry, on his son to find out whether the boy’s colon had been stretched by impacted stool. Using a catheter, the colleague inserted a small balloon into the child’s bottom and gradually inflated it, waiting for the boy to report discomfort. But the child felt nothing. O’Regan’s colleague reported, “The kid’s got no rectal tone.”

O’Regan gave his son an enema nightly for a month, then every other night. Within two months, the boy had stopped wetting the bed. Figuring he was onto something, O’Regan tried this therapy with several hundred wetting patients and published a series of remarkable studies. These showed convincingly that children with wetting problems were severely constipated and that treating constipation resolved the wetting in dramatic fashion.

Here’s the interesting part: O’Regan noted in his papers that the parents of his patients had no inkling their children were backed up. Yet these kids were so clogged that they could not feel, in their rectums, the presence of balloons inflated to the size of a small cantaloupe.

O’Regan’s research tells you why constipation is so easily missed. Often, the rectum simply expands to compensate, like a squirrel’s cheeks or a snake’s belly. So much poop builds up that even though the child may still poop regularly, she never completely empties. Many severely clogged kids poop two or three times a day. Parents and doctors are fooled into thinking all is well.

In the years following publication of the O’Regan papers, urologists and pediatricians began to recognize the link between constipation and urinary problems. But they missed one of O’Regan’s main points: Constipation is associated with a stretched-out rectum, not the frequency of bowel movements. Doctors routinely ask parents whether their children are pooping regularly, but since most constipated children do poop daily, nothing gets solved.

And so, few doctors diagnose constipation in children who come in with wetting problems. When docs do suspect constipation, they rarely order X-rays to see the extent of the problem, and they fail to prescribe aggressive treatment. They may recommend a small daily dose of laxative, fiber supplements, and frequent trips to the potty and call it a day.

Intrigued by O’Regan’s studies, a colleague and I conducted similar research. In one study published in Urology, we reviewed the records of 30 bed-wetting patients, average age 9. Few of these kids demonstrated signs of constipation; all were shown by X-ray to be severely constipated. Aggressive laxative therapy cured all five of the teenagers in our study within two weeks. Laxatives and/or enemas stopped the bed-wetting in 20 of the 25 younger children within three months. Based on O’Regan’s studies and my own, as well as my years of experience, I am convinced that the majority of bed-wetting cases are due to a rectum stuffed with poop.

Many parents don’t want to hear this. I’ve upset more than a few folks after evaluating their children for wetting issues and then sending the family home with a therapy for constipation. “But my child isn’t constipated” is a common response, followed by, “What does constipation have to do with accidents, anyway?”

The other day a mom whose 7-year-old son chronically wet the bed insisted I prescribe bladder medication for her son. I explained that clearing up his constipation was a necessary first step and medication a last, and usually ineffective, resort. She told the checkout nurse she wasn’t going to bring her son back for follow-up. This happens all the time.

Fortunately, Betsy Rosso was willing to treat Zoe’s constipation aggressively, with high doses of laxatives and physical therapy to retrain her pelvic-floor muscles.

Zoe and her family have experienced multiple setbacks and frustrations, and Zoe’s bladder continues to spasm, though only on occasion. Her case has been among the most difficult I’ve encountered and illustrates the serious and persistent medical consequences that can develop when “accidents” are dismissed as normal.

Not long ago, I tracked down Sean O’Regan, who today treats adults outside of Mesa, Ariz. He said he was not surprised that his message has been overlooked by doctors and dismissed by many parents.
“If a discovery is made,” he told me, “and the world wants to take notice, they will. But constipation is a distasteful subject. People don’t even want to think about it.” ( slate.com )

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Heavy metal solo? That's child's play: Meet the 8-year-old girl whose guitar skills have become a worldwide internet hit

Heavy metal solo? That's child's play: Meet the 8-year-old girl whose guitar skills have become a worldwide internet hit - An eight-year-old British girl whose guitar skills have impressed music fans across the world has released another awe-inspiring video.

In the latest clip, Zoe Thomson, from Thatcham, Berkshire, showcases her talents in a solo piece playing along to a guitar track from Finnish symphonic metal band Stratovarius.

She makes the speedy fretwork look effortless as she moves her fingers along to the Stratosphere and the video has already have over had 500,000 views.

Talented: In the video Zoe Thomson, from Thatcham, Berkshire, showcases her talents playing along with a Stratovarius backing track

Born to perform: At the end of the impressive solo, the eight year old looks up proudly

Since she was six years old, Zoe has performed in a series of solo clips playing the electric guitar.

She was recently signed by guitar company Daisy Rock artist roster earlier this month. Here's the skinny from a recent press release:

In a recent interview with Newbury Today, Zoe’s mother Collette said:

'Zoe is really excited; she is overjoyed. For someone of her age to get an endorsement is a massive achievement. I think you have to have something special to be endorsed, and it's really nice that someone has recognized her talent.'

Inspiration: The solo piece she played called 'Stratosphere' was from Finnish symphonic metal band Stratovarius

After watching her latest video internet users commented: 'Holy guitar prodigy batman! Outstanding :) Eddie Van Halen has nothing on you!'

Another wrote; 'Her hands are so tiny, that must make it a little harder for her, but she still shows mad skill!'

The talented youngster is part of the child group Mini Band who became an internet hit last year with a cover of Metallica's Enter Sandman.

The band made up of eight and 10-year-olds - were performing at the Bucklebury Beer Festival and a video of the song on racked up more than three million hits.

As a band the group had posted a variety of music videos online filmed in scenic locations.

The US band were so impressed with the young music stars they posted a one-minute video online singing their praises.

But it seems that age can sometimes affect musical progress as on the Mini Band Facebook page it states that the grip were removed from a competition 'by the organisers because they are too young! You gotta laugh, but hey, that's rock n roll for ya!' ( dailymail.co.uk )

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Why a mother's love really is priceless: It prevents illness even into middle age

Why a mother's love really is priceless: It prevents illness even into middle age - You comfort them over a skinned knee in the playground, and coax them to sleep with a soothing lullaby.

And being a nurturing mother could well pay dividends in later life by protecting your child from serious illnesses, scientists say.

Tender loving care in childhood was found to reduce a person’s risk of conditions including diabetes and heart disease in adulthood, according to researchers at Brandeis University in Boston.

Happiness = health: Mothers who nurture their children help them develop self-respect and coping strategies to ensure they are healthy in later life

They examined 1,000 people from low-income backgrounds, which has been shown by a wealth of previous research to be related to poorer health in later life and lower life expectancy.

However, they found some people from disadvantaged families managed to buck this trend – and they tended to have had a loving mother.

Participants were recruited at an average age of 46 and had a full health check in hospital.

They were asked about their mothers with questions such as ‘how much did she understand your problems and worries?’ and ‘How much time and attention did she give you when you needed it?

A decade later half of the people had metabolic syndrome – a major risk factors for heart disease, strokes and diabetes.

It is a combination of symptoms including excess fat around the waist, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and insulin resistance, which affects around one in four people in the UK.

They found people in the lowest socio-economic category, with neither parent having finished school, had the highest rate of this condition – half of them were affected and regardless of their social mobility in later life.

‘The stresses of childhood can leave a biological residue that shows up in midlife. Yet, among those at risk for poor health, adults who had nurturing mothers in childhood fared better in physical health’ - Study author Professor Margie Lachman

But although this high risk seemed to be ‘embedded’ from childhood, the researchers said, those who said their mothers were very nurturing were far less likely to have it.

Psychology professor Margie Lachman said events in childhood seem to leave a ‘biological residue’ on health during adult life.

She said: ‘The fact that we can see these long-term effects from childhood into midlife is pretty dramatic.

‘We want to understand what it is about having a nurturing mother that allows you to escape the vulnerabilities of being in a low socioeconomic status background and wind up healthier than your counterparts.’

Anxiety: Children who grow up in stressful environments are more likely to suffer illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure as adults, scientists say

The authors suggest it could be a combination of empathy, teaching children ‘coping strategies’ to deal with stress so it does not affect their health and encouraging them to eat well and live a healthy lifestyle.

They did not look at how nurturing their fathers were but the authors believe they probably have a big influence too particularly for the next generation as parental roles are less rigid than they were when the people they studied were young.

Prof Lachman said the information could help devise training for parents about coping with their child’s stress, living a healthy lifestyle and having ‘control over their destiny’.

The study was published in the journal Psychological Science. ( dailymail.co.uk )

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4-Year-Old Can Be Sued, Judge Rules in Bike Case

4-Year-Old Can Be Sued, Judge Rules in Bike Case - Citing cases dating back as far as 1928, a judge has ruled that a young girl accused of running down an elderly woman while racing a bicycle with training wheels on a Manhattan sidewalk two years ago can be sued for negligence.

The ruling by the judge, Justice Paul Wooten of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, did not find that the girl was liable, but merely permitted a lawsuit brought against her, another boy and their parents to move forward.

The suit that Justice Wooten allowed to proceed claims that in April 2009, Juliet Breitman, 4, and Jacob Kohn, 5, were racing their bicycles, under the supervision of their mothers, Dana Breitman and Rachel Kohn, on the sidewalk of a building on East 52nd Street. At some point in the race, they struck an 87-year-old woman named Claire Menagh, who was walking in front of the building and, according to the complaint, was “seriously and severely injured,” suffering a hip fracture that required surgery. She died three months later of unrelated causes.

Her estate sued the children and their mothers, claiming they had acted negligently during the accident. In a response, Juliet’s lawyer, James P. Tyrie, argued that the girl was not “engaged in an adult activity” at the time of the accident — “She was riding her bicycle with training wheels under the supervision of her mother” — and was too young to be held liable for negligence.

In legal papers, Mr. Tyrie added, “Courts have held that an infant under the age of 4 is conclusively presumed to be incapable of negligence.” (Rachel and Jacob Kohn did not seek to dismiss the case against them.)

But Justice Wooten declined to stretch that rule to children over 4. On Oct. 1, he rejected a motion to dismiss the case because of Juliet’s age, noting that she was three months shy of turning 5 when Ms. Menagh was struck, and thus old enough to be sued.

Mr. Tyrie “correctly notes that infants under the age of 4 are conclusively presumed incapable of negligence,” Justice Wooten wrote in his decision, referring to the 1928 case. “Juliet Breitman, however, was over the age of 4 at the time of the subject incident. For infants above the age of 4, there is no bright-line rule.”

The New York Law Journal reported the decision on Thursday.

Mr. Tyrie had also argued that Juliet should not be held liable because her mother was present; Justice Wooten disagreed.

“A parent’s presence alone does not give a reasonable child carte blanche to engage in risky behavior such as running across a street,” the judge wrote. He added that any “reasonably prudent child,” who presumably has been told to look both ways before crossing a street, should know that dashing out without looking is dangerous, with or without a parent there. The crucial factor is whether the parent encourages the risky behavior; if so, the child should not be held accountable.

In Ms. Menagh’s case, however, there was nothing to indicate that Juliet’s mother “had any active role in the alleged incident, only that the mother was ‘supervising,’ a term that is too vague to hold meaning here,” he wrote. He concluded that there was no evidence of Juliet’s “lack of intelligence or maturity” or anything to “indicate that another child of similar age and capacity under the circumstances could not have reasonably appreciated the danger of riding a bicycle into an elderly woman.” ( nytimes.com )

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1 in 7 Americans Went Hungry in 2008

1 in 7 Americans Went Hungry in 2008. More than one in seven American households struggled to put enough food on the table in 2008, the highest number since the U.S. Department of Agriculture began tracking food security levels in 1995.

That's 14.6 percent of U.S. households, or about 49 million people. The numbers are a significant increase from 2007, when 11.1 percent of U.S. households suffered from what USDA classifies as "food insecurity" — not having enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.

"This report suggests its time for America to get very serious about food security and hunger," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the numbers could be higher in 2009 because of the global economic slowdown.

"This report suggests its time for America to get very serious about food security and hunger," Vilsack told reporters during a conference call.

The USDA said Monday that 5.7 percent of those who struggled for food experienced "very low food security," meaning household members reduced their food intake.

The numbers dovetail with dire economic conditions for many Americans. And they may not take the full measure of America's current struggles with hunger: Vilsack and the report's lead author, Mark Nord with USDA's economic research service, both emphasized that the numbers reflected the situation in 2008 and that the economy's continued troubles in 2009 would likely mean higher numbers next year.

The report also showed an increasing number of children in the United States are suffering food insecurity. In 2008, 16.7 million children were classified as food insecure, 4.3 million more than in 2007.

Hunger advocates said they were not surprised by the numbers, and said the numbers for children, in particular, were lamentable.

"What should really shock us is that almost one in four children in our country lives on the brink of hunger," said David Beckmann, the President of Bread of the World, a hunger advocacy organization.

Vickie Escarra, the president of Feeding America, another hunger advocacy group, said all indications were that numbers in 2009 would be even worse than 2008.

"(T)he escalating unemployment rate and the number of working-poor, lead us to believe that the number of people facing hunger will continue to rise significantly over the coming year," she said. "Research on previous economic recessions indicates that people who fall into the grips of poverty in a time of recession do not recover financially."

Vilsack said that it would take a concerted effort to reduce the number of Americans who face food insecurity and said he hoped that the stark reality of Monday's report would inspire action. He also said it was important to recognize that the numbers could have been much worse without adequately funded food aid programs, such as food stamps.

"There's an opportunity here for the country to make a major commitment to focus on ways we can improve this process and make sure that food is safe and available for everyone," he said.

Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI decried the steadily worsening tragedy of world hunger on Monday after a global summit rebuffed a U.N. call to commit billions of dollars a year for a new strategy to help poor countries feed themselves.

The meeting at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization did unite nearly 200 countries behind a pledge to increase aid to farmers in poor countries to help the developing world lessen its dependence on foreign food aid.

Only hours after the three-day summit began, some 60 heads of state and dozens of ministers rejected the U.N.'s call to commit $44 billion annually for agricultural development in these nations. The final declaration also omitted a pledge, sought by the United Nations, to eradicate hunger by 2025.

"Hunger is the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty," Benedict told the delegates after the document was approved. "Opulence and waste are no longer acceptable when the tragedy of hunger is assuming ever greater proportions."

The last previous papal appearance at a food summit in Rome came in 1996, when Pope John Paul II delivered a speech.

U.N. officials say roughly 1 billion people — one of every six people on the planet — don't get enough to eat. ( cbsnews.com )

READ MORE - 1 in 7 Americans Went Hungry in 2008

Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated

Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated. Bangladeshi Girls Joined at Top of Head, Shared Blood Vessels and Brain Tissue. Twin Bangladeshi girls who were joined at the top of their heads and shared blood vessels and brain tissue were successfully separated Tuesday after 25 hours of delicate surgery, hospital officials said.

In this August 2009, image provided by the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, 2-year-old Bangladeshi orphan, Trishna, is seen at the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne in Australia. (AP Photo)

It is too early to know whether the two-year-old girls, Trishna and Krishna, suffered any brain damage during the marathon operation - an outcome doctors said had a 50-50 chance. The girls will remain in an induced coma for monitoring for several days after the completion of the surgery.

A team of 16 surgeons and nurses began the work Monday morning on separating the girls, who were brought to Australia as infants by an aid organization.

"The teams managed to separate their brains and they are both very well," Royal Children's Hospital chief Leo Donnan told reporters. "Now we have the long task of the reconstructive surgery, which will go on for many hours."

Plastic surgeons will reconstruct the girls' skulls using a combination of their own skin, bone grafts and artificial materials.

"Their bodies have to recover from this, and we've got a lot of unknown territory we're moving into," Donnan said. "All I can say is that everything is in place for the best possible outcome. The main thing is that the girls are healthy."

Earlier Tuesday, Ian McKenzie, a member of the surgical team, said the girls were improving as their bodies began to work individually.

"The twins are actually in better condition because the degree of separation has increased and this problem we've had with their circulation affecting each other has actually gotten less," he said.

The girls shared parts of their skull, brain tissue and blood flow.

Before the surgery, doctors had said there was a 50 percent chance the girls could suffer brain damage and a 25 percent chance one of the sisters would die.

They were found in an orphanage in Bangladesh in 2007 by a representative from the Children First Foundation, who brought to them to Australia. ( cbsnews.com )

READ MORE - Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated

Tips for Preventing Your Children from Getting the H1N1 Virus

Tips for Preventing Your Children from Getting the H1N1 Virus and What to Do if They Get Sick

General Tips

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.
• Emphasize to children that they should wash with soap and water long enough to finish singing the alphabet song. Also, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, and instruct children to do the same.
• Boost natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C.
• Don't allow sharing or trading of costume masks.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

About the Vaccine:

• People 6 months to 24 years old should be first in line for a vaccine. Also a priority: pregnant women, healthcare and emergency service workers, people who live with or care for children under 6 months old and people with chronic health disorders. Flu.gov has an interactive national map to find a flu shot near you.
• Children 10 years and older and adults will need 1 dose.
• Children younger than 10 years of age will need 2 doses, at least 1 month apart.
• Infants younger than 6 months of age are too young to get the 2009 H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines.
• Immunity doesn't happen immediately; it takes a week or two after the last shot for the vaccine to take full effect.

Symptoms

Symptoms May Include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Body aches
• Headache
• Chills
• Fatigue
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• It's important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

Treatment

General Care

• Keep your sick child at home until at least 24 hours after there is no longer a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of a fever-reducing medicine).
• Call the school or daycare to notify that your child has flu symptoms.
• Do not take your child to the mall, grocery store, or any place where he or she might expose others to the flu.
• Do not give aspirin or aspirin-containing products (like Pepto Bismol) to children 18 years of age and younger. This increases the risk of Reye syndrome.
• Children older than 6 months can take acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Nuprin) for relief of fever.
• Do not give over-the-counter cold medicines to children younger than 4 years of age. The safest care for flu symptoms in children younger than 2 years of age is using a cool-mist humidifier and a suction bulb to help clear away mucus. -Your doctor may prescribe a drug called Tamiflu.

Seek Emergency Care If You Child Has:

• Fast breathing or trouble breathing.
• Grunting noises or wheezing
• Bluish skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that he or she not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
• Fever with a rash
• Dehydration: difficult to awaken, no urination in past 8 hours, dry mouth and lips, no tears when crying
• Ear discharge

( cbsnews.com )

READ MORE - Tips for Preventing Your Children from Getting the H1N1 Virus