All Search Results
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School Days
As the back to school ads began appearing a few weeks ago, I remembered the days when my son was in elementary school and how we greeted each new school year with hope, determination and some anxiety. To say my son was an “active” child is putting it mildly. Except for the growling, he resembled the Tasmanian Devil from Bugs Bunny cartoons in terms of his activity level and his attention span.
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Trampolines aren't just fun and games
“Watch this!” cries your youngest child, as his older sibling bounces him high into the air on the backyard trampoline. Your child is all giggles and smiles as he quickly flies into the air and lands with a big bounce on the trampoline’s giving surface. Your child bounces a few more times, until he finally comes to a stop. What may seem like all fun and games at the time, can quickly take a turn for the worse when someone gets hurt.
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Why I'm not riding the organic bandwagon
On Fridays, my daughter and I participate in a playgroup. We have an informal group of moms and kids that get together to do fun activities. It’s a great way for the kids to socialize and learn to play well together, while having the opportunity to do something fun. Once in a while, the moms even have a chance to have a conversation, too.
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Free Down Syndrome Clinic at the Howard Phillips Center
The 18th Annual Down Syndrome Clinic, presented by the Developmental Center for Infants & Children/Early Steps, provides free resources for infants, children and adults with Down Syndrome. Participating families can see dozens of developmental specialists including dentists, cardiologists, eye doctors, therapists and more. The clinic provides a unique opportunity to access resources and network in one convenient location absolutely free.
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Learning to read nutrition labels
Do you find yourself confused over all the nutrition info and marketing on food? With practice at label reading, we can become smarter nutrition detectives. Reading the nutrition panel tells us what is in our food and allows us to easily compare products so that we can make healthier choices.
To get started, we must look at the serving size.
The serving size on the nutrition panel shows how much of the food item we should eat to get in all of the nutrients listed on the label. For example, if the serving size is 1 cup. The label will tell you how much nutrition you will get per 1 cup. (NOTE: Many packages contain more than one serving, so measuring out the serving size amount is important. If you eat double servings you have to double the nutrition stats).Do you know the 5/20 rule?
When looking at the nutrition label, the far right hand side lists the percent daily value of each nutrient. Daily value is based off of a 2,000 calorie diet and represents the total amount of each nutrient to eat over the course of an entire day. -
Talking to Teens about Sex
As an adolescent medicine specialist caring for youth at a time of life when first crushes, first dates, and first loves (and for some youth, the first time) happen, I cannot help but notice the obvious lack of communication between parents and teens about sexuality, and quite frankly, sex. For many parents, sex in the teenage years is something to be feared and forbidden and is often a source of family conflict. Many parents cringe at the idea of talking about sex with teens. And when they do talk to teens, conversations usually focus just on the dangers of sex and romance -- STDs, pregnancy and heartbreak.
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Potty-training woes? Sometimes we just need to laugh
Have you heard about my potty-training woes?
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The Puzzle Theory
Are puzzles in your toddler’s toy basket? If not, you may want to reconsider. These challenging games are a great tool to keep your child entertained and help stimulate their minds. Unlike a toy truck or baby doll, puzzles are interactive and keep children interested and willing to try and try again until they get the perfect fit. Now, not saying toy trucks or baby dolls are a bad thing; they’re great! But we all want our babies to grow up to be little Einsteins right? Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves.
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What goes on at your dinner table?
Dinnertime is not what it used to be. It used to be a time for the whole family to sit down around the table and spend an hour of quality time together. It was the one time of the day where everyone could sit down to a nice home-cooked meal and share stories from their day, catch up, and have meaningful conversation that otherwise wouldn’t happen on-the-go. It was the normalcy and the time of the day that parents looked forward to.
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Time to shape up your plate
March is National Nutrition Month, sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which makes it a great time to get your family’s plate in shape. We tend to do what we’ve always done when it comes to food. We eat familiar foods, sometimes over and over, and usually consume the same quantity of food.
