With a long summer of mowing ahead, parents of teens and pre-teens may be wondering when it's safe for a child to take over this chore. Children under 18 suffer 13 percent of the 68,000 mower injuries treated annually in emergency rooms, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. With that in mind, the AAP recommends that no child younger than 12 operate a walk-behind mower, that no teen younger than 16 drive a riding mower and that children never be allowed to ride along as passengers.

Visiting the annual American International Toy fair in New York last month I found myself wondering: Was this a toy fair or an electronics expo? There was no shortage of technology here!

Most parents routinely strap their young school-aged kids into boosters, even for a 1-mile trip to the supermarket. But when it comes to carpooling, parents are a lot less consistent in their use of booster seats, according to a study published online in January 2012 by the journal Pediatrics.

February may be the shortest month of the year but it packs a pretty heavy punch! There’s Valentine's Day, President's Day, the Super Bowl, and of course my eagerly awaited excursion to the annual American International Toy Fair.

Arsenic has been found in some foods that use organic brown rice syrup as a sweetener, including infant formula and cereal bars, according to a new study by researchers at Dartmouth College. The majority of the detected arsenic, a contaminant often found in rice, was the type that is known to be a human carcinogen.

Although melanoma is one of the two most common cancers afflicting young Americans, with sunburn at an early age almost doubling the risk for developing the disease in adulthood, the lure of tanning seems to outweigh tweens’ desire to protect themselves.

At an event at New York City's Guggenheim Museum today, Apple announced its intention to dive into the education market: The company plans to enhance the textbook experience on the iPad tablet computer, making e-textbooks cheaper, interactive, accessible, and easily navigable, adding elements like video, rotatable 3D imagery, and more.

As part of on-going efforts to deal with potential safety hazards in children’s toys, ASTM-International has recently sent revised specifications to the Consumer Product Safety Commission for adoption. These revisions primarily deal with heavy metals and how to measure those quantities; the stability of ride-on toys; strangulation concerns in squeeze toys, cords, straps, elastics, and strings, and rigid projections on bath toys that could potentially puncture a child’s skin or cause other impalement injuries if he were to fall on it.

Kids’ birthday party guests often look forward to the goody bags they get at the end. But some parents may not like to spend money on disposable trinkets, or overpriced favors on top of the cost of a party.

Welcome to winter. For much of the country, ‘tis the season of snowstorms, icy road conditions and power outages. It’s a good idea to be prepared, especially if you have a baby or toddler.

It’s high season for politics, and if your school-age kids are keeping up with the 2012 election, they may also be curious about our national geography. If so, State Capitals for Android is an app that can help.

Winter months in cold climates are a time of dry skin and itchy eyes as we retreat into the dry air of our heated homes. For babies and young children, especially those who are too young to know how to blow their nose, dry indoor air may make them feel even more uncomfortable. Having a good humidifier can provide some relief.

A recent study abstract reveals that fewer than half of children who suffered injuries from car crashes were restrained, with the lowest rate found among blacks, Hispanics, and native Americans.

Visiting relatives for the winter holidays is a treasured and time-honored tradition for many families. Few experiences, after all, can compare to the shared delight of grandparents and grandchildren celebrating each other, along with seasonal festivities. To be sure that your little ones are as safe away from home as they are under your own roof, here are some steps you can take:

An in-depth look at our tests that found arsenic in apple and grape juice, health tips for the New Year, and more family news and consumer updates from the January 2012 Consumer Reports.