Medical Weed's Been Great for My 9-Year-Old

(NEWSER) - Marie Myung-Ok Lee gives marijuana to her 9-year-old autistic son and has no intention of stopping, she writes for doubleX, a new Slate spinoff for women. It’s working to calm him and curb his aggressive behaviors, writes Lee, who had her own misgivings initially. “I was already the weirdo mom who packed lunches with organic kale and kimchi,” she writes. “Now, I’d be the mom who shunned the standard operating procedure and gave her kid pot instead.” More»

All children should be evaluated twice by age 2

(NEWSER) - Children should be screened twice for autism by the time they are 2 years old, says a leading pediatricians group. Although there is no cure for autism, early therapy can help lessen symptoms, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in two reports released today. The group lists warning signs parents can watch for, including not babbling and not pointing to toys. More»

Yale professor warns against becoming a 'click-vegetable'

(NEWSER) - The Internet and iPads and smartphones are great for adults—but we need to take a hard look at what they're doing to our kids, warns a computer science professor at Yale. It may be tempting to let them sit down with an iPad come June, but such technology is preventing their minds from doing what they need to do: "rest and work," writes David Gelernter in the Wall Street Journal . Rest means "wandering freely," while work requires a climb up a "mental rope." More»

Adorable 'facial cues' fade at that age: researchers

(NEWSER) - No one's saying that 5-year-olds can't be adorable—but it appears that they're past their prime, in cuteness terms. Researchers in Canada and China polled adults on the cuteness factor of kids from infancy to 6 years old. Subjects called the younger children cuter, with a big shift at age 4½. At that point, key "facial cues" like big eyes and heads combined with small noses and mouths become less apparent, Time reports. More»

Bodies found at campground, handgun nearby

(NEWSER) - A mother and her three young daughters were found shot to death near a Missouri campground in what police believe was a triple murder-suicide. Each was killed by a single gunshot, and the weapon was found near the bodies, according to police. The four were not staying at the Bourbon campground, but the mother's vehicle was found nearby. They were identified as 37-year-old Christine Adewunmi, and daughters Lauren, 8, Samantha, 6, and Kate, 3. Christine's husband and the father of the girls reported them missing last week, according to KMOX-TV . "There was no indication of any problems," a neighbor told Fox2. More»