Young Children

Young children -- especially those who are baseball fans -- doubtless will enjoy Everyone's Hero, the animated adventures of a young boy who tries to reunite Babe Ruth with his bat so that the Yankees can win the 1932 World Series. Parents, even as they groan at the film's overbearing simplicity and forced sense of whimsy, also are likely to embrace its message: Believe in yourself. Never give up. Always remember that miracles can happen. Everyone's Hero (20th Century Fox) Featuring the voices of Rob Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, William H. Macy, Robin Williams.

Summer sure seems to be hurrying by, but there's vacation ahead for many. For families who still have places to go and things to see, here are some ideas from Harbor Hospital Center in South Baltimore to make the trip safe and enjoyable -- for everyone.* Be sure to pack tweezers, bandages, an antibiotic cream, syrup of Ipecac (use only after checking with a pediatrician or poison control center) and acetaminophen and a dropper or medicine spoon to measure doses.* If you're traveling by car, keep children secured in a safety seat at all times and stop driving when you are tired.

I am sad and sick to my stomach about the death of Phylicia Barnes ("Teen's family is left with a heartbreaking puzzle," April 25). Why did someone do this to her? Whoever committed this terrible crime knows that they did not have to take this young girl's life. My prayers go out to her family and friends. I know someone out there besides the killer knows what happened to this young lady, and I pray that this person will come forward soon. I really am tired of hearing about our young children losing their lives over nothing.

Marion Jean had just started bringing her young children back to the playground at the old Memorial Stadium site in Waverly. An intentionally set fire at the playground in 2008, as well as more recent reports of a stabbing, had caused her to take her children to other YMCA sites in the area. So on Tuesday, she was shaken when she learned that a man had been shot in the head just steps from the playground. On Wednesday morning, the 30-year-old man died from his injuries at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Baltimore's health commissioner, Joshua M. Sharfstein, and schools CEO Andres Alonso are rightly urging parents, particularly low-income parents, to read to their young children. That may sound like a no-brainer, but too many young children are not read to regularly, making them ill prepared even for preschool and decreasing their chances for academic success and healthier lives. That is as true in Maryland as elsewhere; some parents here need more support to give their children a better educational foundation.

GIVING young children the tools for learning in the initial school years is absolutely crucial. Yet far too many enter kindergarten woefully unprepared. Many never catch up. This is the motivation behind a bill in Annapolis, with powerful sponsorship, that aims to improve the early childhood education kids receive in day care centers. What's proposed is an $8 million program (double that amount is probably needed) of grants to local school systems that work with day care centers to come up with high-quality education programs for these kids.

I am an elderly woman who lives alone. A family with two young children just moved in next door. They seemed nice, and I knew the parents would be busy unpacking, so I invited the children over for milk and cookies and to watch a video. Now I have found out the children have pinworms! Am I going to get them?It is highly unlikely that you will get pinworms from your new young friends. Just wash your hands carefully before you eat. And do have the children over again! Pinworms are quite common among children, and the fact that your neighbor children have them does not imply that they are not clean.

The Board of Child Care, a non-profit group affiliated with the United Methodist Church, is seeking a zoning exemption so it can build anemergency shelter for abused young children, ages 2-12, in a rural-residential area near Fallston. The site at Harford Road and Reckord Road has been owned by the group since 1974 and is zoned agricultural.Some residents in the area contend the project may affect water pressure in the area and children sheltered there would crowd schools. Supporters say the county is in need of such a shelter because no such service exists now for young, abused children in Harford.

WASHINGTON -- Citing "overwhelming" scientific evidence that even low levels of lead exposure can harm young children's development, the federal government has reduced its poisoning threshold for the toxic metal by 60 percent and called for increased screening and prevention efforts.The move, announced here yesterday, vastly expands the number of children in Maryland and across the nation who are considered at risk of lead-related learning and behavioral problems.It also renews the debate over who should shoulder the staggering financial burden of responding to what federal officials call the No. 1 environmental health threat to young children.

To all you mothers who are starting to bend under the summerlong badgering from children too young to see Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park," let me offer this advice.Don't go.Send the kids if you want. But don't you go.The kid grapevine has transmitted every detail of "Jurassic Park," and by now the movie has lost its sting for the borderline bunch -- the 8- and 9-year-olds you weren't sure should see it. So send them if you want. But that doesn't mean you have to go.Trust me. You'll hate it.I take in these kinds of movies from time to time, not so much to pre-screen them for my children, but so that I can continue to be part of the cultural mainstream in some way. I'm so out of it in so many areas, I like at least to catch the movie everyone is talking about.