Although North Carolina's vaccine compliance rate is higher than all other states except Massachusetts, nearly one in five North Carolina toddlers fail to get properly vaccinated against childhood diseases. A recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study measures compliance according to strict guidelines for vaccines and booster shots among N.C. children.

The study reveals that the increased schedule of shots and confusing requirements may cause parents to skip them. Pediatricians also say many parents decide not to have their children vaccinated because
they fear potential harm from vaccines. In particular, the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella has come under suspicion for its link to autism.

I have written twice earlier about the controversy surrounding childhood vaccinations and autism. Most pediatricians contend that a link between the MMR vaccine and autism

Parents looking to avoid an emergency room visit with an injured infant need to pay close attention to their child’s latest development strides during that amazing first year of life to prevent a fall.

According to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, half of the estimated 328,500 infants age 1 or younger who were treated for injuries in hospital emergency departments each year from 2001 to 2004 were hurt because of falling.

Falls were the main reason infants were injured for every month during the first year of life, with each month posing a different injury risk as baby learned roll over, sit, stand, crawl, walk and run.

I once found myself in a hospital emergency room with my 1-year-old for this very reason. An early walker, he seemed to pride himself on being an escape artist. One day, for no apparent reason, he took off running up the

Bob Herbert is an Op-Ed columnist for the New York Times. I like the way he thinks on most issues, and I found a recent piece of his not only interesting but sadly true. Herbert believes that the most serious challenge facing America today is education. It's also the hardest to fix, with the exception of health care, but at least the presidential candidates are attempting to tackle the national health problem. We don't hear many specifics on the campaign trail about fixing the public school system in America.

Herbert cites statistics showing that an American kid drops out of high school every 26 seconds--that's over a million a year who will struggle to keep up in an era where college education is a necessity for maintaining a middle class lifestyle. Just as alarming is the number of teenagers who graduate, but are not prepared for the next stage of life--either productive work or some form of post-secondary education.

A recent survey of teenagers by

Four out of five American 21-year-olds drink alcohol to celebrate their birthday. The legal drinking age in the United States is 21 and many consider celebrating this milestone with alcohol to be a right of passage. Unfortunately, new research indicates that many of these neophytes aren't drinking just to celebrate--they are drinking to extremes.

Among the 2,518 students surveyed by University of Missouri researchers, 34 percent of the men and 24 percent of the women reported consuming 21 or more drinks. The report, published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, is believed to be the largest study of the drinking ritual, which often involves shots of alcohol. The data is likely to reflect the drinking culture at large, public universities.

While researchers admit it's possible some students overstated how much they actually drank, the consistency of the answers suggests that students are

Girls on the Run of the Triangle is hosting its annual Spring Run on April 19 at Meadowmont in Chapel Hill.  The race is open to anyone, but especially for the girls who are completing their 10-week Girls on the Run program. The girls' families are encouraged to run the 5-kilometer (3.1 mile) race with them.

Girls on the Run was founded in Charlotte in 1996, and the organization now has more than 140 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The program targets girls 8 to 12 years of age and encourages self awareness, strong personal values and healthy lifestyles.

The Triangle branch, founded in 2000 and led by executive director, Kelly Hurter, hopes to prepare girls for the mean behavior they often encounter in middle school. Different lessons are taught each week to the 500 girls training in 20 Triangle locations. After discussions about