Top news stories of the day for parents

The mood around H1N1 has shifted this week. It's as though the death of 13-year-old Evan Frustaglio made a light go on for parents all over Ontario. Worried moms and dads across the GTA have flooded vaccine clinics as they opened, prompting York Region to essentially cry uncle late yesterday afternoon with news that the clinics could only hope to vaccinate those currently in line.

Wondering where and when to get your family vaccinated? I've pulled together a list of links to H1N1 vaccine clinic hours at all the public health regions in the GTA. Canada's chief medical office of health, Dr. David Butler-Jones is one of many leading health authorities who express frustration at the number of vaccine myths circulating around the blogosphere and playground circuits. He likens believing that vaccines cause harm to blaming umbrellas for the rain.

I found a good overview of common vaccine myths and why they're not accurate from the Canadian authority, the Public Health Agency of Canada yesterday.

It's also available as part of my list of frequently asked H1N1 questions, including tips on when to call the doctor, how to care for a flu patient, and more.

Parents who think their child has H1N1 should be prepared for a bit of a health-care odyssey. This woman's story of trying to get care for her son, tells the tale.

But it's also important not to panic at every cough (I'm reminding myself this as much as anyone else, because I've got a child home from school with a cough and fever, and it's hard not to worry). Health reporter Joseph Hall's story, No matter what, kids always get the flu, gives us some important direction on when to go to the doctor and when to stay home, but also clarifies the likelihood that if your child has the flu, it is likely H1N1.

Some other news stories not to miss:

'Alarming' weight gain for kids on psych drugs

Catherine Porter's column on the swine flu vaccine and pregnancy

East York flu clinic opens a few hours early to meet demand

Ann Douglas's Mother of All Parenting Blogs on how H1N1 is affecting Canadian parents

Some fun diversions from all this heavy stuff:

How news stories influence Halloween costume choice

Stella McCartney's new line of kids' clothes for the Gap

Today's top news stories for parents

Today is a bit of a big day on the H1N1 story. Sadly, a 13-year-old boy has been confirmed to have succumbed to complications of swine flu.

If you're wondering where to find a clinic in your area, go to our swine flu page and look under "Swine flu Info Links" on the left. Absenteeism from H1N1 is now on the rise in Ontario schools, which is an important indicator of influenza spread.

We've also got an update for pregnant moms. Canada will import 200,000 adjuvant-free H1N1 shots from Australia, rather than wait for our version to make it through our regulatory system. Pregnant women are four times as likely to develop severe complications from swine flu.

Other major news stories you'll want to read:

The 10 least nutritious breakfast cereals Note, they're all the type marketed to kids.

Teenagers at risk for heart disease are on the rise. A two-decade study of teens in the Niagara region of Ontario found that the number with risk factors for heart disease - obesity and high cholesterol - had risen to 21 per cent of all kids in Grade 9.

Price tag for all-day kindergarten rises by $500 million The Ontario government has decided to ignore the Pascal Report's suggestion of using early childhood educators to round out the kindergarten day, and instead put teacher's in charge for the full day. Follow this story on our Early Learning page.

School boards' backers blast 'achievement reform'  They say a bill that would amend the Ontario Education Act would limit the powers of school boards to set education priorities, making those second-fiddle to standardized test results.

New column on women's issues Former environment reporter Catherine Porter has launched a new column. Today she share a little about the juggle between motherhood and work.

A couple of things from yesterday when I was off sick:

Disney will be refunding money to Canadians who purchased Baby Einstein DVDs. That's because it turned out to be such a crock that any form of screen time is good for baby brain development. Talk about a fall from the mom-preneur pedestal for creator Julie Aigner-Clark.

Curriculum examines what puts kids on the street York University has developed lessons plans - including gritty skits performed by students - aimed at busting stereotypes and misconceptions about homelessness.

Some fun diversions:

Parentcentral's Halloween Guide

Fun-filled family events for this week

The Star's Halloween page

Today's top news stories for parents

Have your kids had to miss school or daycare yet this fall because of a cold or flu? Both of mine have had sick days, but luckily, their illnesses have been the minor sort that can be managed with small doses of Advil and large doses of television.

But something we've come to take for granted - in this world of 24-hour pharmacies - is that we'll be able to get the meds we need for our children, when we need them. I guess that's why this story is so shocking:

Angry parents can't believe lack of H1N1 meds for kids  With all the time to anticipate the H1N1 pandemic, these parents are wondering why a solution needed to administer Tamiflu to children is in such short supply.

If you're wondering where your family can get vaccinated, watch our Swine Flu page. I'm adding links to the clinic hours and locations of each public health unit as the information becomes available. Look for it on the left under "Swine flu info links." For up-to-the-minute swine flu news bulletins, please follow me on Twitter.

Yesterday I saw a tweet asking for prayers for a seven-months-pregnant woman in hospital isolation with H1N1. If you're pregnant or know someone who is, you may want to read Why pregnant women need to be at the front of the vaccine line. We've also got an article that looks at how prepared the hospitals are to handle the demand that swine flu may present.

Other news stories you don't want to miss today:

Plan for all-boys school creating controversy  See how opinions are differing on Chris Spence's efforts to improve school performance of boys. To get an idea of how passionately people are reacting, check out the comments on this story.

Quebec English school law quashed A court has overturned legislation that limited immigrants' access to English education.

iPods in the classroom. Should these be confiscated and returned at the end of the school year? Or incorporated into the way material is taught? The Calgary Board of Education is experimenting with the latter.

Barbie needs a kink in her hair Mattel has come out with some new darker-skin Barbies, but critics say the hair isn't what it should be.

Boy named "Chief Play Officer" for Toys "R" Us What do you think of corporations using kids as mini product ambassadors?

How young is too young for a frightening, blood-smeared Halloween? Have you been surprised at the level of Halloween gore in costumes marketed to kids? Check this out.

Other fun diversions:

Some cute, non-gory Halloween costumes

Tell your spouse to vacuum: Couples who do more housework also have more sex

Crazy Halloween decorations for the front lawn

Balloon Boy Halloween costume

Complete Halloween Guide

Balloon boy Halloween costume

If you're looking for a clever Halloween costume with a timely news hook, look no more.

The people at Pantraco Microflight - who usually make model airplanes - have come up with the Balloon Boy Hoax Halloween Costume. Only the costume isn't a hoax. You can buy it for US $19.95.

For more costume ideas, check out our Halloween costume photo gallery or go to our Halloween Guide.

Today's top news stories for parents

Among the most-read topics on thestar.com right now is single-sex classrooms. Toronto District School Board education director Chris Spence said earlier this week his new academic plan will include a raft of initiatives aimed at addressing the unique learning needs of boys, including more single-sex classrooms.

There's been strong reaction to this notion, both for and against. If you want to read what people are saying, check out the comments on School plan calls for boys-only classes and Boys-only school 'issue of choice,' not segregation, director says.

I'm pretty new to being a school parent, so I'm not quite sure where I stand on this. But I've been raising my two boys long enough to get the idea. There is a unique exuberance in boys. Many are not big on sitting still. Based on the number of times I say, "Two bum cheeks on your chair," or "Belly button facing the table," over the course of dinner, I can appreciate the job it is to get a dozen or more boys to sit at desks completing worksheets for long stretches. For her latest story in this series, Louis Brown takes us into a school with sex-segregated classes to see how it works. What do you think?

Here are the other major stories you're going to want to read today:

Students to protest police role in schools  A student's arrest at Toronto's Northern Secondary School, which made the rounds on YouTube, has become a point of controversy between those for and against having police and students under the same roof.

A hospital clerk has been fired after turning away a mother and her 7-year-old son The Mexican refugee family was refused help at Humber River Regional Hospital even though the boy had suffered a head injury.

The new bill to protect nannies includes jail time. Legislation introduced yesterday, following a Star investigation, includes a maximum fine of $50,000 and a year in jail for those caught charging a fee for work in Ontario.

Some fun stuff not to miss:

Michelle Obama performed 142 swivels of a hula-hoop at a healthy kids fair yesterday. How many can you do? Vegetable gardening...hula hooping...how are we ever going to keep up?

Love Joe Fresh? Here's some budget fashion inspiration. A photo gallery of Joe Fresh spring 2010 fashion from Toronto Fashion Week.

Ann Douglas's round-up of baby naming tools and advice on naming your baby Check it out, and make sure you subscribe to the RSS feed for The Mother of All Parenting Blogs while you're at it.

How to stylishly declutter your kids' art There's some good advice here on sorting the masterpieces from the, um, non-keepers.

The pop culture influences on this year's Halloween costumes. Learn about this year's best-selling costumes, and find all kinds of other tools on our Halloween Guide.

UPDATED: Today's top news stories for parents

Boys learn differently. That's something I'm just starting to sort out as a relatively new "school parent."

My first son is in Grade 1, so I've only been supervising homework and helping him prepare for spelling tests for just a few weeks. But already I have a pretty clear picture why the Toronto District School Board's new education director is introducing a raft of initiatives aimed at addressing the unique learning style of boys.

I very much underestimated the ants-in-pants factor, for one thing. He'll be doing a worksheet and will just randomly fall of the chair - likely because he's been leaning it so far in one direction or the other. "Boys thrive in environments that are hands-on and where there's opportunity to move around," says Chris Spence, an educator and former CFL-er who is now the TDSB's new education director.

Education reporters Louise Brown and Kris Rushowy have the whole story in, Schools plan calls for boys-only classes. Let us know what you think by commenting on this blog.

Other important news stories for today:

Where to get your H1N1 shot. Toronto Public Health has named 10 sites where flu vaccines will be available, in anticipation of starting the program in early November. It's worth taking a look now to find one on the list that's close to your home. It may be that individual family practices will not be administering the vaccine.

Michael Ignatieff makes daycare a key campaign plank. This is an interesting development in light of the Pascal Report on early learning that the Ontario government is now sitting on, apparently contemplating how to implement in part or whole. We have a whole page dedicated to Early Learning, so please check it out.

Exploited nannies win fee battle. Thanks to a Star investigation, legislation will be introduced today that makes it illegal for anyone to charge a fee to domestic workers hoping to find work in Ontario.

H1N1 turns up at turkey farm. The important thing for parents to note here is that this incident posed no risk to Ontario's food system. The turkey you had at Thanksgiving was fine, and you'd be perfectly safe - though not perfectly sane, perhaps! - if you choose to roast another one this weekend. These were breeder turkeys used for their eggs, and even if they weren't, such viruses would be killed during the cooking process.

Sperm donor passes on heart defect to 9 of his 24 children. Yes, I said 24. This story sheds new light on the need for rigorous screening of donors.

Fun diversions:

Halloween Guide

Researchers identify giant new spider species

Games

How well do you know your sperm donor?

His profile says he's 6' 1", a software engineer who does triathlons and enjoys reading Nietzsche.

But what about his ticker?

A sperm donor passed on a potentially deadly heart defect to 9 of the 24 children he fathered, according to an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The San Francisco sperm bank affected now gives electrocardiograms to all potential donors. The report's authors say the findings point to the need for more rigorous screening.

Read the whole story here.

Cute kid quote of the day

Cameron, 6: "I'm GOING to get a wiggly tooth today. I want EIGHT apples in my lunch."

Today's top news stories for parents

It's no surprise that I'm getting a lot of questions from parents about swine flu these days. Whether or not you choose to vaccinate is a personal choice, but I'm urging parents to make informed decisions based on facts. Please take your advice from family doctors and public health authorities. I'm seeing all kinds of factually shaky and misguided emails and YouTube videos making the rounds in mommy circles, so it may be wise to consider the source.

Here are some news stories that may help you get informed:

Health reporter Theresa Boyle has compiled a list of common questions about swine flu.

Here's the latest on when swine flu vaccination is likely to begin.

This story contains information on the availability of adjuvant-free vaccine for pregnant women, and this one answers more questions regarding the vaccine and pregnancy.

In other news:

Food editor Jennifer Bain takes a critical look at the school cafeteria in a profile of a unique pilot project called the Good Food Cafe. Run by FoodShare, this place is whipping up yummy lunch choices and helping city kids make a real connection between what's grown in the field and what lands on the table.

In the latest in her series on the state of children's aid societies, Tanya Talaga takes a look at the sad state of Family and Children's services in Rainy River.

Fun diversions:

Michele Henry's hilarious blog admission of baby milestone jealousy

A Halloween craft you can make from those little cereal boxes

Our Halloween Guide

Please let me know if you think I've missed something that should be included in this list.

Pregnant women and swine flu vaccine

Pregnant women who have been struggling with whether or not to have a swine flu vaccine will want to note something mentioned in our latest story on the delivery of swine flu vaccine.

In it Chief Public Health Office David Butler-Jones said pregnant women should consider getting the first available version of the H1N1 vaccine, rather than waiting for the unadjuvanted version to arrive at "a later date."

Pregnant women have been identified as more likely to develop severe complications from swine flu. Women, generally, are more affected by H1N1 than men.

The adjuvant - or additive - in the swine flu vaccine is a mix of fish oil, water and vitamin E. It boosts the strength of the vaccine and makes the available supply of antigen go further, as less is needed for each person. This story addresses the common concerns about the vaccine.

Reminder: Kids older than 10 need 1 swine flu dose; under 10 need 2.

For all the H1N1 updates and resources you need, please bookmark our Swine Flu page.