Yes, mold can grow inside a child’s sippy cup

Healthline and New England Cable News report parents across the country are outraged after discovering mold on their child’s Tommee Tippee sippy cups despite following cleaning instructions.

Dr. Claire McCarthy, a pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital, explains mold growing inside a sippy cup is — while startling — likely quite common and not all molds are toxic. McCarthy adds if a child is having new, unusual symptoms or an unexplained rash, it is worthwhile to call a doctor.

HPV sharply reduced in teenage girls following vaccine, study says

The New York Times reports a vaccine introduced a decade ago to combat the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer has already reduced the virus’s prevalence in teenage girls by almost two-thirds, according to federal researchers.

Should Massachusetts high schools begin classes later in the morning?

The state legislature is considering a bill to study the issue of pushing high school start-times later statewide.

Boston Children’s Dr. Judith Owens is in favor of the later start-times, telling The Boston Globe, it’s not healthy if you are asking teenagers to get up at 5:30 or 6 a.m. — their lowest point of alertness in their 24-hour cycle. The Barrington Courier Review (Chicago) also covered the subject and interviewed  Owens.

Learn more about the HPV vaccine.