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  • 3 things you need to know about teaching honesty in your home

    Parenting would be a lot easier if it were limited to feeding, diapering and keeping your kids out of harm’s way. Those are the basics, but parenting involves a lot more, and often the “more” is the hardest part.

  • Baby gates send almost 2,000 children to the ER each year

    Many parents find that as their newborn gets older and becomes more mobile, the basic childproofing tactics throughout the home don’t provide enough protection anymore. What’s the solution? Cue the baby gates! Baby gates are commonly used to steer infants away from stairwells, doorways, or to keep them contained in a baby-safe area of the home. However, researchers are finding that these devices meant to keep infants from danger are actually causing an increase in injuries. But how can something meant to keep my child out of harm’s way actually increase their risk of injury?

    The Study

    The new study, conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, found that baby gates often lead to injury if used incorrectly. Based on data recorded from 1990 to 2010, an estimated 37,673 children under the age of seven were treated in an emergency department in the U.S. for baby gate-related injuries. To put this number into perspective – that is equivalent to about five children injured every day!

  • Living life to the fullest despite being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis: Emily's story

    Emily is a vibrant, happy-go-lucky 10-year-old. With white-blonde hair, sparkly blue eyes and a contagious grin, she’s likely to steal your heart as soon as you meet her. To look at her, you’d never know that she has been fighting a serious illness her entire life.

  • What you need to know about bicycle helmets for kids

    One of my favorite things about the neighborhood in which I live is that every weekday I see elementary and middle school kids riding their bicycles to school. The crossing guards take special care to help kids cross the street, and the children look thrilled to be embarking on a grand adventure. It reminds me that mine is a family neighborhood, and I’m so fortunate to live in a place where kids have the opportunity to ride their bikes to school safely.

  • A letter to other families battling childhood cancer

    Written by Colleen and JP Wright, parents of Ethan Wright, Ewing's Sarcoma Fighter and to date, SURVIVOR

  • Reading aloud to your kids affects literacy and school readiness

    Did you know that by the time your child reaches the 3rd grade, experts can reliably predict whether he will graduate high school?

  • Inspired to give back after becoming a childhood cancer survivor: Whitney’s story

    After meeting Whitney, you would never realize the hardships she endured by spending most of her childhood in the hospital, battling several childhood illnesses. Instead, you would see a sweet, quietly confident 16-year-old girl who is passionate about art and medicine, as well as fundraising, pursuing excellence in everything that she does. While most girls her age are interested in the latest fashion trends, boys, and the usual high school drama, Whitney is different. Although she thinks about these things, she is on a greater mission. A mission to educate people on childhood cancer and to one day, find a cure for this ugly disease.

    The diagnosis that changed everything

    At eight years old, Whitney was diagnosed with a T-cell post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), or a T-cell Lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer. In fact, it is so rare, that only one to two percent of the population in the United States is affected by this type of cancer today. Having been previously treated at a local hospital in Gainesville for a liver transplant that she underwent at the age of three, she began treatment for cancer there, so that her previous team of physicians could care her for. However, after three months of treatment, Whitney was not responding well, and her parents asked if she could be transferred to Arnold Palmer Hospital for treatment so that she could be closer to home. Once Whitney transferred, they started to see significant signs of improvement and she was finally responding to treatment. Over the course of her treatment, Whitney was a trooper and did extremely well. However, with the intensity of treatment that childhood cancer requires, there are good days and bad days. And some days, they feel so dark you wonder if there is a light at the end of the tunnel, according to her mom. Despite all of the trials and hardships that came her way, Whitney persevered through it all, and in April 2006 she was told she was “cancer-free!”

  • How to calm your child’s fears at nighttime

    At least once a week, my 3-year-old daughter will ask me to lie down with her at bedtime. She usually asks for “mommy to snuggle me,” but the past few times has been because she is scared of the dark. This fear is very common among kids, and there are a few things that we can do as parents to help our children overcome their fear of the dark.

  • How to raise emotionally healthy children

    As a parent of a two-year-old and an almost four-year-old and a stepparent to a 9-year-old and an 11-year-old, the difficulties and pressures of raising healthy kids are monumental. From societal pressures to familial expectations, the constant question of “Am I doing this right?” never quite goes away.

  • How I chose to discipline my son when he was a toddler

    To spank or not to spank?