All Search Results
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What to remember when parenting feels hard
With each new stage that my children enter, it’s a new reality for me as a parent. That’s especially true with my oldest. Every new milestone and new horizon for her means that I’m back to square one again trying to figure out this parenting thing. As I sort through the complexities of raising children, there are times when I am overwhelmed with the decisions I have to make and the doubts that linger in the back of mind. Am I doing this right?
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How to stay connected with your teenager
How is your communication with your teenager? Do you feel like they trust you enough to share anything with you? How would you know if something bad has happened to them? Pause for a moment and think about these questions.
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What To Know About Children’s OTC Medications
When it comes to calming fevers, quieting coughs or settling upset stomachs, parents often turn to over-the-counter (OTC) medications. These can provide immediate comfort for minor illnesses and ailments, but choosing the right medicine and giving the proper dose is key when it comes to your child’s safety.
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Panic Attacks: What Parents Need To Know
The unexpected, intense fear and physical symptoms of a panic attack can be terrifying for you and your child. But they are not unusual in teens and are treatable.
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Learning To Live with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
If your child is having trouble getting out of bed in the morning or is slow to rise after sitting for a while, it may not be procrastination. juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a disease that children most often say feels like stiffness and can curtail their movements. This condition affects about 1 in every 1,000 children.
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Encouraging your kids to brush their teeth… even when they don’t want to!
Blue or green? No, I’m not talking about candy. I’m talking about when the dental hygienist asks your kids what color toothbrush they want. Who knew choosing colors could be so exciting! The dental hygienist hopes to leave the child with a smile on his/her face, while the parents are secretly hoping that a new toothbrush will make the daily brushings at home go a little smoother. But, after a week or two, the newness of the toothbrush wears off and kids often become less enthused, and often resistant, to brushing their teeth.
How often should your kids be brushing their teeth?
Dental hygiene should begin even before your child has their first tooth. Begin cleaning your child’s mouth by gently wiping gums clean with a clean, moist washcloth. Your child’s teeth will usually begin to grow in at about 6 months of age. As soon as the first tooth appears, your child is at risk for tooth decay, which is why it’s important to brush his/her teeth (or tooth) with a child-size toothbrush and water. When kids reach the age of 2 or 3, they can graduate to brushing their teeth with a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste. It is recommended that children (and adults) brush their teeth twice a day, in the morning and before bed, for two minutes. It’s important to teach your kids good oral hygiene habits at an early age, so that they can establish a healthy routine as they get older. But, this can be hard sometimes when it seems the brushing battle never ends. -
Does providing alcohol to our children teach them to drink responsibly?
It is so hard for parents to know the right ways to help our children stay safe and out of trouble. It seems like everywhere we turn there are more tough influences for us to confront. Electronics invade our children’s sleep time, social time, and study time. Drugs, both illicit and prescription, are readily available. Sexually transmitted diseases are potentially life-changing, if not deadly, and are transmitted at younger ages at increasing rates. The list is long. But one of the big culprits is the same stuff we dealt with as kids- the age-old problem of alcohol. We know the mistakes we made. We know the potential consequences of excessive alcohol intake: automobile accidents, drowning, unintended pregnancies, alcoholism, even death. We want to teach our children to navigate the hazards of this culturally accepted drug so that they end up safe and sound in adulthood.
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Everything you need to know about sending a kid with food allergies to school: Part 2
I shared with you some important things to consider as you send a child with food allergies to school.
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How to empower your teen to find reliable health information online
Written by Anne Rosebrock, Library Services Team
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The benefits of getting involved in team sports
Summer is almost over and it’s already time to start thinking about the new school year! There seems to be many decisions parents are faced with as their child heads back to school- which classroom will he/she be in, what classes will my child be taking, what after-school activities will my child get involved in? While all these questions are important, there is one question that every parent should be asking their kids- “what sport do you want to play this year?”. Team sports can benefit your child in more ways than one: physically, socially, mentally, and behaviorally.
The Physical Benefits
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released a study highlighting the benefits that team sports have on children’s physical health. The study was used to compare weight status and the different forms of physical activity among teens. Researchers surveyed over 1,700 high school students and their parents, covering many areas associated with physical health including team sport participation, active commuting, physical education, recreational activity, screen time, diet quality, and demographics. What they found was that when compared with active commuting, such as walking or biking to school, participation in team sports had the strongest association to weight status. It was shown that participating in team sports could help decrease a child’s risk of being overweight or obese. As a result of this study, obesity prevention programs are encouraged to incorporate and increase team sport participation among all students.
