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The morning after pill: what every parent of a teenager should know
In the United States, recent news about teenage sexuality is promising. Fewer teens are having sex, and less than half of girls have sex before they graduate high school according to data from the Florida Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Teen pregnancy rates are also falling, probably due to a combination of fewer teens having sex, better long-acting birth control options such as Depo-Provera, and condom use by teens. In spite of this great news, the U.S still has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy among developed countries. Nearly 80% of teen pregnancies are unplanned, a result of birth control failure or nonuse, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
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Helping your teen learn to make good decisions
I remember the day I graduated from high school: caps, gowns, diplomas, the whole deal. Questions that I heard over and over were, “So…what are you going to do now?” “Are you going to college?” “Where?” “What are you going to major in?” “What are you going to do with a degree in THAT?!”
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Preparing for Baby's Arrival... Continued
Earlier this week, we talked about several ways for new and expectant parents to become prepared for their new arrival. Here is some more helpful information that every parent should know:
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The struggle to keep your cool as a parent.
Have you ever watched those nature shows on television about animals in the wild? I love the ones with the mamas and their babies. Not too long ago, I saw one about a mama bear and her little cubs. They all (including mom) looked so cute and cuddly, until some other animal messed with them. My, how quickly things changed! Mom was immediately on her two back legs, lunging, clawing, and snarling, looking terrifyingly angry. She effectively sent the message that she is not to be messed with, especially when it came to her cubs.
Sometimes, I feel like that mama bear, too.
A few years ago, my son was attending a day camp. The camp went on a field trip, and there was a “miscommunication of sorts” between my son and the camp counselors regarding eating lunch. Long story short, he had his lunch with him but didn’t eat it when he was supposed to (he said he never heard them give instructions to eat), and when he asked to eat later, he was told that he couldn’t, and that he had missed lunch and lunchtime was over. -
Are my child’s speech and language skills developing normally?
Written by Faye Stillman, MS, CCC-SLP/ATP and Carla Hall, MA, CCC-SLP, Speech/Language Pathologists from the Outpatient Rehabilitation Department at Arnold Palmer Hospital.
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Putting Acceptance to the Test
Back in February, Susie Raskin wrote a great blog called “ and she talked about creating a balance between wanting the best for our children, encouraging them to achieve and allowing them to find their own path. When I read her post, I thought I should write about what it’s like to parent a young adult and put my good intentions about acceptance to the test as he makes his own choices. The truth is, though, I have been in the midst of NOT accepting my son’s choices and trying to rationalize my thinking. And now here I am, more than six months later, still wrestling with the dilemma.
Teaching your children to think for themselves is a good thing, right?
When Brandon first came to live with us, he would often try really hard to please us. We were concerned about it because we didn’t want him to feel like he had to be good enough to be our child. This can be a hazard for children who are adopted, especially if they are adopted after infancy when they can remember being in temporary care with relatives or a foster family. In those early days, he would try to be “really good” and he usually succeeded. However, there were times when he would get stressed or upset and melt down into a tantrum or fit of rage. After we came out the other side of those episodes, we intentionally reassured him and made sure we talked about us being a forever family, saying we were going to stick together no matter what. -
How you can use toys to develop your child’s language skills
Written by Faye Stillman, MS, CCC-SLP/ATP and Carla Hall, MA, CCC-SLP, Speech/Language Pathologists from the Outpatient Rehabilitation Department at Arnold Palmer Hospital.
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On Father’s Day, remember the fathers of sick children
When I was a little girl, my dad was my hero. He was strong and brave, and it only took his presence to make me feel safe and secure. I thought he understood everything there was to know in the world. I believed he could solve any problem, slay any dragon, protect me from all harm.
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Preparing your child for kindergarten?
Kindergarten is a big step in the life of a little person. Children are expected to get through their day with greater independence and meet academic standards. As an occupational therapist, I’d like to shed a little light on one of the “other skills” needed to be a great student.
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Postpartum depression in young fathers
A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics showed that young fathers, those who became dads at an average age of 25 years, have a 68% increase in depression symptoms within the first five years of becoming dads. This applied to young dads who lived with their children and their wives or girlfriends. Dads who lived away from their children and older fathers did not show that same increase in rates of depression. So why might “postpartum depression” happen to dads? Isn’t that a “hormonal thing” that happens to new moms? But now that we know that this is an issue, can we and should we do something about it?
What could cause postpartum depression in dads?
The study carefully made clear that these results only show an association between becoming a dad and an increase in depression. The results do not show that becoming a father actually causes depression in young dads, but it makes sense that it might. They don’t suffer the same physical changes that are going on in new moms, but lots of aspects of parenthood are very stressful for a young dad. First, they are sleep deprived; exhaustion is a known cause of depression. Second, they suffer a kind of loss of their mate. Now mom is busy loving another person, often more than she loves her partner/spouse. Young dads may feel displaced, jealous, and guilty about that at the same time. The relationship between mother and baby is so intense and so culturally unique and special, that a young dad may really feel like a third wheel. Young dads, in particular, may have been enjoying a sort of fantasy new-love relationship with their beautiful partner, and now all of a sudden the rest of life has to do with spit up, dirty diapers, less sex, and a great deal of long-term responsibility. Young dads are also less likely to be secure in their jobs and their income. They may not feel strong in their ability to provide for their new family. All of this can certainly contribute to depression.Why does this matter?
Depressed fathers “read and interact less with their kids, are more likely to use corporal punishment, and are more likely to neglect their kids. Compared to the children of non-depressed dads, these children are at risk for having poor language and reading development and more behavior problems and conduct disorders.” According to lead study author Dr. Craig Garfield, an associate professor in pediatrics and medical social sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, “Parental depression has a detrimental effect on kids, especially during those first key years of parent-infant attachment. We need to do a better job of helping young dads transition through that time period.”What can we all do about this?
Just being more aware of how dads might feel when their babies are born is a start. So much of our focus is on the baby and on how mommy is doing. Dads are usually assumed to be fine, and to be there to help mom. The solution can start with the family and friends. Grandparents, aunts and uncles can offer to change a poopy diaper or two so that dads are not the only ones doing that. It may be a proud role for some new dads to be the diaper guy, but some may really hate it. Friends can take mom out for a walk so that dads can have some quiet, loving, alone time with the new baby if they want that. Or, if dad just needs to get out of the house for a while, friends can offer to watch over mom and the baby so that dad can get a break. Nights can be tough too, especially if dads have to go to work every day. Many young dads cannot afford to take leave from work when a baby is born, so they work all day and then try to spell mom during the night. Family and friends can spend a night here or there filling in for dad so that he can get a few full nights of sleep if that is an issue.
