All Search Results
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The most important thing you probably aren't teaching your child
One of the many hats that parents, caregivers, coaches, teachers, and child life specialists (like myself) wear is that of a cheerleader. We encourage kids to feel smart, capable, strong, creative, and to be kind to others. But what do we do to teach kids about being kind to themselves?
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What to tell your kids about vaping
One of the most challenging aspects of raising a teen or pre-teen is this: the environment in which they are growing up looks dramatically different than it did when we, their parents, were young.
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How swaddling your baby the wrong way can lead to hip dysplasia
Most people aren’t familiar with the term “hip dysplasia.” This little known condition is the leading cause of hip arthritis in young women and accounts for 10% of all total hip replacements in the United States.
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So your child has asthma, now what?
Asthma is a somewhat common childhood illness that affects nearly 1 in 10 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is a condition that affects the airway of the lungs, making it difficult for your child to breathe when they are having an “attack.” Asthma can look very different from child to child, with some children showing daily symptoms and others only with vigorous exercise. The most important aspect of dealing with your child’s asthma is control and prevention.
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The many ways teens act out to harm themselves - and what you can do about it. (Part 1 of 3)
Finding out that your child is harming themselves can be shocking, confusing and concerning. Often, parents react in a way that make things worse for the child and the family in general. Given the complexity and importance of this topic, we’ll talk about it in three separate blog posts. In this first post, we’ll discuss ways in which teens may self-harm. Second, we’ll look at contributing factors and reasons why they do it. Lastly, we’ll talk about common red flags and practical exercises to help teens who are struggling. Understanding the contributing factors will help you make adjustments to the “big picture” instead of assuming that all the responsibility lies with the child. The practical exercises are based on the reasons why they do it because teens self-harm for different reasons. Therefore, you have to make sure you match the exercise appropriately.
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What are the best developmental toys for kids?
It’s December, and that means one thing to many parents – the holidays are quickly approaching. With countless store ads, commercials and online articles about the ‘top toys of 2017,’ it’s hard to really understand what toys are both fun to play with and good for child development.
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“You have cancer.”
“You have cancer” are three words you never want to hear in your life, especially if you’re only twelve years old. That’s how old I was when I was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer and it flipped my life upside down. My worries were no longer about normal teenager things like what clothes I was wearing but instead, what new side effect was going to hit me after each chemo treatment. Having to quickly grow up and fight for my life was something I would’ve never anticipated as a child, but no one ever anticipates getting cancer.
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What do you do when your child just won't cooperate with getting clean?
What do you do if your child does not cooperate with hygiene tasks? Should you battle it out? Just let it go? Of all the tasks a parent must help their child with during a day, these can be the most challenging for parents and kids. They are often the “you have to” tasks for parents and the “I won’t” kind of tasks for the child.
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What every new parent needs to know about postpartum depression
Having a baby can be one of the happiest times of one’s life, but it’s not unusual for a mom to also experience some not-so-good feelings during this time. Approximately 80% of moms will experience “baby blues,” a mild state of emotional ups and downs that is of short duration and resolves on its own. -
10 Ways to Help Your Child Travel During the Holidays
Traveling during the holidays can add an additional layer of tasks to manage and challenges to overcome, especially if you are traveling with children. Whether by plane, train or automobile, here are some tips to supporting your child with the goal of minimizing their stress and ensuring a happy holiday for everyone.
