News of Interest for Late-in-Life Moms August 22, 2008

News to know:
Latest celebrity Mommy-Come-Lately:Singer Gwen Stefani, 38, gave birth to her second son on Thursday. Zuma Nesta Rock joins big brother Kingston.

Vaccine-wary parents spark public health worrySmall but growing clusters of parents seek exemptions to keep their kids from being vaccinated.Skeptical of government mandates and leery of feared links to disorders from asthma to autism, parents say they’re exercising their rights to protect their kids from risk.But health officials say there’s no question that the risk of vaccination is far outweighed by the benefits of inoculation. Officials also believe that children who aren't immunized are at risk, while also endangering the collective resistance that keeps everyone else safe, too.

France ban broadcast of TV shows for babies Concerned about channels dedicated to 24 hours a day baby-targeted programming, France's broadcast authority has banned French channels from airing TV shows aimed at children under 3 years old.

Want to boost kids' grades? Get them movingMiddle-school students who performed best on fitness tests — which gauged aerobic capacity, strength, endurance, flexibility and body composition — performed better academically as well, according to recent research linking physical activity with better academic performance.Results from the study, which included 317 students in grades six through eight, showed that the fittest group of students scored almost 30 percent higher on standardized tests than the least fit group.