Blog Posts by Parents.com

Parents are more sensitive than ever to the dangers of allergies. Each year, allergic reactions put about 30,000 Americans in the emergency room.

Some moms are so concerned about their child acquiring a life-threatening peanut allergy that they avoid peanuts during pregnancy.

They have good reason for worry: Between 1997 and 2002, surveys done by the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai in New York showed the number of children reporting a peanut allergy doubled.

But peanuts aren't the only dangerous allergen. And not all peanut allergies are equal. Allergic reactions can vary from mild irritation - the sniffles or a mild rash - to life-threatening reactions - anaphylactic shock and death.

Do you know all 20 of the Most Deadly Allergies?

While allergic reactions vary from person to person and almost any food can cause an allergic reaction, some common eats are more likely to cause severe reactions. The foods most likely to cause problems for children

Babywearing, a hot parenting trend embraced by moms who want to strengthen the parent-child bond, is now a safety concern due to recent reports of sling-related deaths caused by suffocation and the recall of more than 1 million Infantino slings.

Own an Infantino sling? Find out about the recall.

In recent years, many moms have purchased baby slings, using the snuggly devices in lieu of strollers, to breastfeed, and to keep babies close as they tackle other activities. The Infantino SlingRider and Wendy Bellissimo slings are the only sling brands specifically recalled. Owners of these slings should stop using them immediately. But the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that parents practice extra care when using any sling with a baby under 4 months of age.

"The CPSC warns that you should be especially careful with babies who are preemies, twins, in fragile health, or who have low birth weight," says Rebecca Felsenthal Stewart, health news editor at

No time, no sleep and lotsa swelling have a way of messing up a girl's beauty routine. Unfortunately, these things tend to accompany pregnancy and momhood, along with a host of other not-so-delightful side effects.

We spoke with Aveda's director of spa education, Shelley Bawiec, who specializes in skin care and is herself pregnant. She addressed some of the biggest beauty side effects and how to fight back against the less desirable changes motherhood can cause.

21 Inexpensive Beauty Savers: Our Favorite Drugstore Picks for Beauty!

Puffiness and Swelling: Especially late in pregnancy, bloating, swelling and puffiness are a common complaint. "The biggest thing to help this is the consciousness of the wellness routine and maintaining it. There's that extra fluid retention, so I'm making sure I'm continually exercising and doing lots of yoga and drinking lots and lots of water," Bawiec says.

Bawiec also uses facial massage to ease these symptoms.

For swollen

Could you watch your baby for any sign she needs to poop, then rush your tot to the toilet? Would you get rid of all obvious "girlish" or "boyish" toys and clothes in your house? Or allow your child to dictate his own schedule?

These actions are part of three unusual parenting philosophies: intense attachment parenting, independence-minded hands-free parenting, and gender-neutral parenting. A new special on Discovery Health, Radical Parenting, spotlights three families whose radical parenting styles go way beyond the norm. The special airs March 3, 8 p.m. Eastern, part of the network's Baby Week.

Dr. Jenn Berman, a psychologist and author of "SuperBaby" and "The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy Confident Kids," says these extreme styles are partly a result of the amount of information available for modern parents.

"One of the great things about parents today is they do their homework and there's so much more information available," she says. "Parents have a great wealth of

Click here for must-read tips for your first week with baby!

Three years ago Melissa Moog was pregnant with her first child and clueless as to what kinds of items she'd need to help welcome her new daughter into the world. She'd just moved from California to Oregon and didn't have any close friends with children to point her in the right direction. To her relief, her sister-in-law came to the rescue and took her shopping. But somehow, at Babies "R" Us, things took a turn for the worse. "By the fourth aisle, when I saw 200-some-odd strollers I was completely overwhelmed. On top of that I was pregnant, bloated, had swollen ankles, and had no desire to keep shopping the whole store."

Psst: Want to know 12 things no one ever tells you about babies?

That's when her business plan was born: Moog decided to create a concierge service for expectant mothers. Just as brides benefit from wedding planners, mothers-to-be could benefit from baby planners. So in 2006, she opened up her

Kids are cute. So why is taking frame-worthy photos of them often so impossible?

Blurry motion. Weird expressions. Bad light. And we still haven't figured out how to avoid the red-eye effect. So we approached professional children's photographer Rachel Hudgins, based in New York City, about her advice on taking fantastic, beautiful, charming, and, of course, well-lit photos.

We asked Hudgins to help us with all our frequent amateur photo problems.

Already taking beautiful photos of your tot? Enter them in the American Baby Cover Contest!

Parents: I own a basic digital camera. Is there any one setting or mode I can change on my camera that will make my photos look better?

Rachel Hudgins: You can read a lot of books and tips, but it really sinks in when you physically do it. Turn your flash off and experiment. Shoot the exact same thing in every mode. You may find a favorite.

Parents: I can never tell whether the lighting is any good. Any simple tips

Between picking perfect gifts, finding a restaurant still accepting reservations and navigating dating etiquette, Valentine's Day can be a tricky holiday for adults.

To help us all, Parents.com collected thoughts on love, marriage, and the opposite sex from some particularly insightful toddlers.

My 3-year-old daughter asked, "Mommy can I have a kiss?" Me, as my heart swells with emotion and my eyes well up at the beautiful request: "Sure honey!"

As I lean down, she says, "NO, NOT THAT KIND! The chocolate kind!" -- Parents.com member MonkeyCheeks

My 7-year-old daughter was asked in her second grade class, "If you were a gift, what would you be?" Without hesitation, she replied, "If I were a gift I would be a necklace so I can stay with my mom!" That was enough to about make me cry. -- Parents.com member stcydunlap

I was disciplining my 4-year-old son today and he looked at me and said, "You give love a BAD name" After choking down a laugh, I told him he

Following three infant deaths, Generation 2 Worldwide and "ChildESIGNS" drop-side cribs are being recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

This recall could affect 500,000 cribs, according to CPSC estimates. As in other recent drop-side crib recalls, the hardware on the crib can break and cause the drop-side to detach, creating a space that can trap an infant or toddler. The flaw has resulted in suffocation deaths of three infants. The cribs have experienced additional problems with the mattress support detaching and creating a space that can entrap a child.

Do you own this product? Find out what to do next.