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How to Make Sure the Toys You Buy Are Safe
Although the winter holidays are a major time for buying children’s toys, the truth is, we buy toys year round. We buy for birthdays—whether for our own children, relatives or our children’s friends. We buy gifts to celebrate achievements, like preschool graduation, or to encourage a skill or interest. We even stock up on toys based on the season, such as buying beach toys and sidewalk chalk in the spring.
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5 Ways to Keep Your Kids Active in Bad Weather
If you can’t take young children to a park or allow them to run around the neighborhood, consider coordinating with other nearby parents for playtime. Encouraging your children to have friends over can lead to indoor games of tag, hide and seek, and even more unique activities. Just make sure to take any screens away, which can diminish imaginative play.
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Helping Your Son Navigate Puberty
It’s a moment that both parents and sons dread: the “what is happening to my body” conversation. As your child enters puberty, you may wonder if he is prepared for the changes occurring, if he has questions, and how both you and he will adjust.
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Kids (and Adults)—Wash Your Hands!
From turning door knobs to pushing elevator buttons to sharing toys at a playdate, children are constantly touching items that are covered with germs. And then, when they touch areas like their noses, eyes and mouth, they introduce those germs to their bodies, which can make them sick. Think of your child picking up germs while touching the handle of a grocery cart, then popping their thumb into their mouth or rubbing their eyes.
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A Day in the Life of a Child Life Specialist
For a child life specialist at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, no two days are the same. The Child Life Program offers
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It’s Time for School Sports, Do Your Kids Sign Up?
Thinking about getting your kids involved in organized sports, but concerned they don’t have the skills? Or maybe that they’re too young? Not to worry, says the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In June, the organization released a report recommending that parents enroll their children in organized sports, no matter what their skill level.
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10 Ways to Ensure Your Kids Are Ready for the School Year
The start of the school season is upon us! It’s time for parents and caregivers to consider some of the health and wellness issues that arise when kids return to the classroom. By going over a checklist ahead of time, families are more likely to prevent problems rather than having to tackle them later.
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If you have a picky eater, try food chaining
Have a picky eater in your house? Don’t fret. I have a few tools that have created successful mealtimes for kids and their parents time and time again.
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What you should know if your child is double-jointed?
As an occupational therapist, I work with kids and their parents who have been told they have joint hypermobility, sometimes known as being “double jointed.” This might make it sound like the child has twice as many joints, but it simply means that a child’s joint is moving past the expected range. Joint hypermobility occurs when the soft tissues that surround and support each joint (also known as connective tissue) stretch more than usual and cause the joint to go beyond the normal range of motion. This can cause pain or discomfort and is often confused with or dismissed as general growing pains. Joint hypermobility is common in childhood, occurring in eight to 39 percent of school-aged children. Girls are generally more hypermobile than boys.
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Help your kids get a healthy breakfast, even when short on time
The morning alarm sounds as your sleepy teen rolls over and hits the snooze button for the third time, and then dozes off to sleep again. When the I-will-be-late alarm goes off, they are in a rush to shower, brush their teeth, get dressed, grab last night’s homework assignment and then make a beeline for the front door so they won’t be late for school.