Manufacturers pediatric cold medicine will add a new label warning parents not to use the products for children under age 4, reported the New York Times. Certain antihistamine products will also carry a new label warning against use for making a child sleep. On October 2, the FDA held a public meeting on pediatric over-the-counter cough and cold medications. The agency is exploring expanding a ban of such for children under age 6. So what are parents of sick children to do? Check out our story on safe remedies for sick tots. And take aim at prevention with these tips for kids ages 2 and up.

My kids are past the trick-or-treating age, but food allergies are still on my mind a lot, with my son continuing a gluten-free and dairy-free “experiment” to see if it will clear up his persistent nausea. With Halloween coming up, I’m wondering how difficult it must be for those kids with food allergies to enjoy the fun. (I know, I know, they should all want to get toothbrushes instead of candy … but that’s another story.) The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) just posted this helpful checklist to help your allergy-needs child enjoy the holiday without getting sick. Among the ideas:

–Before Halloween, distribute safe snacks to neighbors and request that they be handed out to your child.

–Instead of trick-or-treating, host a party that focuses on costumes, pumpkin carving, games and other Halloween-themed fun.

–Remember that small candy bars passed out to trick-or-treaters may have different ingredients than their regular-size counterparts. Even if a certain candy is safe for your child, the ‘fun size’ version might not be.

–Teach your child to politely refuse offers of home-baked goodies like cookies or cupcakes.

–Consider participating in a charity trick-or-treat event to raise money for a good cause, rather than collect candy.

What other ideas do you have for helping kids during the Halloween craze?

Good news on the food scene: A new law called COOL (Country Of Origin Labeling) has just gone into effect — and not a moment too soon, especially given the recent scary and appalling news about melamine being added to foods in China (intentionally!!), including baby formula (apparently melamine makes a product look like it contains more protein). With COOL, we’ll all be able to see where everyday food comes from, including raw meat, wild and farmed fish, fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, peanuts, pecans, macadamias, and whole ginseng (the goal was to label high-volume items, apparently). Of course, many fresh foods already had U.S.-grown labels (such as Vidalia onions and Florida grapefruit), so those won’t change; and of course, not all imports are bad. But it’s new power for the consumer to know what they’re buying and where it’s from, and to choose local whenever possible.

Starting school can be tricky for kids with peanut allergies. Writer and allergy-free mom extraordinaire Kelly Corbett — who wrote a food feature on allergy-free cooking that appeared in our March 2007 issue — puts out a great e-newsletter, and this week’s installment featured helpful tips for peanut-allergy kids at school.

And thanks to those of you who sent me ideas for my son’s new gluten- and dairy-free diet. He is already feeling much better! Still not completely healed, but we’re very hopeful. Now he’s at college, so it’s a little more challenging (he says even the breakfast eggs have dairy in them!) … so he’s learning how to speak up for what he needs.

Sure, it’s best if kids don’t drink soda at all … but sometimes it’s helpful to have a transitional option to retrain a bad soda habit (I’m always alarmed at how many kids drink Coke for lunch … or dinner.) And if you’re going to drink something bubbly, it’s clearly better to go natural (look at Izze’s meteoric rise, for example!) than to settle for artificial-everything typical sodas. Now there’s a new kid on the healthy soda scene: all-natural Fruit 66. The pros: each 8-ounce can has only 95 calories; it’s 100 percent juice with sparkling water; it contains nutrients adding up to the equivalent of one fruit serving, including 100 percent of daily vitamin C; and a portion of proceeds goes to the School Nutrition Foundation. It’s healthy enough that it’s been approved for sale in schools in Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and will soon be available in retail stores. Oh, and did I mention that they taste great? Check out Kiwi Strawberry, Apple Berry, Fruit Punch, and my fave, Orange Tangerine.

Easy ways to get more eco-friendly in the kitchen come up all the time–it’s mostly a matter of paying attention and not doing things the way I’ve always done them. My latest simple switch was getting rid of (or rather, not replacing) plastic cutlery. My teen daughter takes yogurt in her school lunch every day, and up to now has taken a plastic spoon; but when we ran out recently, I told her I wasn’t going to buy new ones. Instead, she could just take a regular spoon, throw it in her purse after lunch, and bring it home to wash. She put up a tiny objection, but then dropped it … and voila, no more plastic spoons. (In a real pinch there are also recycled and recyclable plastic utensils, such as those made by Recycline.)

Simple, huh? What other ideas do you have to reduce waste?

Yes, now it’s our turn: My son is trying a dairy- and gluten-free diet to see if that will clear up the persistent nausea he has had for a year and a half. We’re thinking a food intolerance could be the culprit. He’s also taking probiotics and DGL for inflammation. So far (after 4 days), he’s feeling better than he’s felt in a long time, but not perfect yet. Any other ideas out there?

This morning I bought Food for Life brown rice bread, which is dense but really yummy.

I’m never more tempted to throw in the towel and order pizza than when I’ve worked a long day, picked up the kids, and am faced with a half-stocked fridge and about 45 minutes before the family begins to melt down. You know the feeling. It’s DINNER BURNOUT. In capital letters. Sometimes I give in. (It’s inevitable.) But mostly I muster my creative spirit and start by ransacking the freezer. more

My latest snack fave: Justin’s Nut Butters are awesome. You may have seen our inclusion of the nut-butter packets in a recent issue; they are tidy and perfect for squeezing onto apple slices or celery sticks, even in the car, when you or your kids need a healthy after-school boost on the way to soccer practice or piano lessons. I’m such a nut butter fan, and there are so many great nut butters out there … pick one up today and have fun taking your PB&J to the next level.

Dairy and healthy bones have long been equated, and a brand new study from Boston University published in the Journal of Pediatrics again correlates dairy intake and mineral density in kids’ bones. In fact, on average, kids who consumed two or more servings daily had bone mineral content 175 grams higher than those who did not. But what if your kid doesn’t LIKE dairy? more