Healthy Children

Find out how to get your child to talk about his school life and how you can help him finish his homework.School's back in session. Your child is back to living an entire life outside the home. You want to know what's going on in his school life. You also want to be able to help him with homework so he has academic success. That's It veggie bars. Save 10% NOW! Use code HealthyChildren. Click here to order. Helping Children with Homework When it comes to school work, it's important to teach your child habits they can use while working on homework. That means designating a regular location and time to work on daily assignments. Some children get right down to work without much encouragement. Others need help making the transition from playing to a homework frame of mind. Sometimes, providing a ten-minute warning is all it takes to help a child get ready mentally, as well as to move to the place she intends to work. There is no universally "right" time to do homework. In some families, children do best if they tackle their homework shortly after returning home from school in the mid-afternoon; other youngsters may do best if they devote the after-school hours to unwinding and playing, leaving their homework until the evening when they may feel a renewed sense of vigor. How can you help your children with homework? Bridging the Gap Between School & Home Constant feedback for your child and frequent communication between you and her teacher are necessary components in keeping your child on track, and can make an enormous difference in how quickly positive results are seen. Other than having a relationship with your child's teacher that allows for open and honest communication, it's also important to talk to your child about his/her school day. Fostering a positive attitude about learning and going to school is crucial; this can help encourage your child to do well in school and want to learn new things. How else can you help bridge the gap between school and home? Listen as Dr. Adrienne Weiss-Harrison joins Melanie Cole, MS to share how to help with homework and how to get your child to talk about what's happening at school. Sponsor: Head to www.thatsitfruit.com and enter code HealthyChildren to save 10% today!

Find out why your child needs the HPV vaccine.Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. It is most common in men and women in their late teens and early twenties. Because there are no symptoms for many types of HPV, it's easily transmitted. HPV can lead to cervical, mouth and throat cancer. Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, is given to children as young as nine. Stimulating the immune response through the vaccine can protect kids before they commence sexual activity. Boys and girls who are 11 or 12 should be vaccinated twice, six months apart. If your child isn’t vaccinated until age 15, three vaccines are needed at six months apart. It can be given as late as 23 years old, but will not cure any earlier exposure to HPV. A Pap smear is a test to look for early signs of cervical cancer. It is recommended that the first Pap now be done at 21. Based on individual health and sexual activity, Pap tests should be performed every two to three years. Adults who have not been vaccinated are likely to test positive for HPV due to unprotected sexual intercourse. The type of HPV exposure (low or high risk) is undetermined with a positive result. Talking to Your Child About HPV Taking every opportunity you can to talk about health, wellness or safety with your child goes a long way. It can be a short chat during an activity. Start talking to your child as early as you can to normalize discussions. Listen as Dr. Margaret Stager joins Melanie Cole, MS, to discuss the importance of the HPV vaccine.

Back-to-school means school sports are back in gear. Find out what your coach should know, how to keep your child safe and how to encourage good sportsmanship.School is back in session and it's time to think about keeping your child safe and happy during athletic activity. That's It veggie bars. Save 10% NOW! Use code HealthyChildren. Click here to order. Coach's Role in Your Child's Safety Your child wants to play a team sport. You're so thrilled about the voluntary urge for physical activity, that you sign the permission slip, pay the dues and expect the coach to take care of the rest. The coach will keep junior safe, right? Coaches have the enthusiasm and organizational skills to coordinate a rowdy group of sporty youth. But, now all coaches have the training to prevent and treat many injuries that occur in team sports. Great training for your child's sports coach to have includes basic first aid and CPR training and certification. Ideally, your child's coach will have access to and know how to use a portable defibrillator (AED). Having access to a child-size back board, neck braces, EpiPens, rescue inhalers and first aid supplies is very important in a team sports situation. Your child's coach should be able to instruct child players on how to prevent injuries. Inspecting equipment before, during and after practice and games can help prevent injury. Educating children on overuse injuries can help them prevent further suffering. Explaining that playing through the pain is a bad idea can help protect young bodies. Winning and losing can seem like everything to a child.  Winners get ice cream, while losers continue to mull over how they failed and let everyone down. Sports outcomes can be pretty black and white to kids. You probably remember the time you nailed it and saved the day. You probably also remember the time you felt terrible and still had to tell the winner, "good game." As you grow older, you usually learn to respect the game, opposition and officials. You discover it's about the love of the game and playing your best. It's not about trash talking the other team, and it's not about ice cream. Encouraging Good Sportsmanship Why didn't someone mention that when you were a kid? You might have enjoyed the game a little more. Children look to adults for their examples of good sportsmanship. Here's what you can do: Don't heckle, especially at your child's games. Discourage your child from trash talking the other team. Without opponents there would be no game. Support equal playing time. In order to learn game playing skill, everyone needs a chance to play. Kids can't improve if they're always benched. Teach your child to follow the rules and respect judgment calls. Sometimes officials make errors, such as missing calls or incorrectly calling penalties. That also happens in real life. Encourage your child to be a good teammate both on and off the field. Being part of a team means supporting other players. Maintain self control and an even temper. Educate your child on doing the same. Games are no fun when there are tantrums in the stands or on the field. When watching professional sports with your child, point out good sportsmanship. Many professional sports have exhibition games where players from many teams get to play together, forgetting their team allegiances. Show your child that players may be on different teams but they can still be friends and work with each other. Dr. David Hill joins Melanie Cole, MS to share how you can help your child have a safe school sports season. Sponsor: Head to www.thatsitfruit.com and enter code HealthyChildren to save 10% today!

Swimming is a family activity. Follow these tips to keep your family safe in the water.Children can drown in only a few inches of water, even if they’ve had swimming instruction. Summer’s trips to the lake and swimming pool demand water safety. First, drowning is not a loud, dramatic event. The mouth slips below the water first, making shouts difficult. Drowning typically looks like quietly slipping under the water. It’s subtle. Pay close attention to your flock in the water. Second, enroll your child in swim lessons when she is developmentally ready. There is no evidence to support infant swim classes prevent drowning. Be sure you are comfortable in the water so you can help any child in trouble. Third, you must exercise constant supervision when your child is around water. This includes bathtubs and kiddie pools along with larger bodies of water. Designate a water watcher to engage only in watching the kids in the pool. No cell phones or alcohol for the water watcher. Little ones must be within arm’s reach in the water.  Finally, mind these additional tips for water safety: Lifeguard presence does not excuse you from watching your children in the water.  Water wings are not a substitute for a life jacket. Use a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket. Always swim with a buddy, no matter what level of swimming ability. Don’t dive where the depth is unknown. Inspect for hazards before diving. If you own a pool, you should have some basic first aid and CPR knowledge. There is no replacement for adult supervision. Listen as Dr. Sarah Denny joins Melanie Cole, MS, to share how to exercise water safety this summer.

Is it okay to share breast milk?Human milk has been shared since the olden days. Informal milk sharing takes place when one mother has a surplus of breast milk and another has a need. These moms get together so their babies both receive sufficient nourishment. Formal milk sharing or milk banking takes place when moms donate their surplus breast milk to a profit or non-profit agency. That agency then screens, pasteurizes and distributes the milk. With informal milk sharing, there are some risks. The health of the donors is the primary concern. Moms should be in good health after a healthy pregnancy. Blood testing is valuable to prevent the passing of hepatitis B or C or HIV. Current eating habits, smoking and alcohol consumption are also concerns. Toxin exposure, regular medications and supplements are good to know. How is the milk expressed and stored? The milk should contain no additives (like cow’s milk) or be watered down. You want your baby to have the safest, best possible sustenance. If you are considering informal milk sharing, an in-person conversation with the donor mother should help you assess her fit as a donor for you child. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has a policy statement for pre-term infants in a hospital setting, strongly endorsing the use of pasteurized donor milk. There isn't currently a policy statement regarding informal milk sharing for healthy infants in the home setting. The AAP doesn’t currently endorse the practice, but it is common. You should discuss it with your pediatrician if you are considering participation in informal milk sharing. High-risk infants have an immature immune system and are at high risk for infection. Pre-term infants should stick to pasteurized donor milk from a milk bank where donors are screened. Listen as Dr. Margaret Parker and Dr. Michelle Brenner join Melanie Cole, MS, to share their best advice for milk sharing.

What should you do now to get the kids ready for school?Summer’s ending. It’s time to start those back-to-school preparations! Preparation for the First Day Get your child back in the mental mindset of reading. Older children can get ahead by reading assigned books before school starts. Adjust bedtime by an hour every few days until you’re back to the regular bedtime. Get back to the correct awakening time by adjusting the alarm clock bit by bit. Help your child remember positive school experiences in the past to help conquer nerves. Normalize any nervousness. Your child isn’t the first person to have first day of school anxiety. Get a well-fitted backpack for your child. The bottom should fit at the waist, ideally with a strap that wraps around the waist. Make sure it’s padded on the back and shoulders. He shouldn’t carry more than 10-20% of his body weight in the backpack. Teach your child bus safety. Seat belts should be used if they are available. Staying in view of the bus driver means your child will be seen. Teach her not to walk behind the bus for safety. Make sure you child eats breakfast. Protein is ideal. Stick to snacks that aren’t sugary. Create a good homework space. No phones or devices when it’s homework time. Set up a distraction-free zone so your child can get down to business. Breaks are okay and important when there’s a lot of homework to be done. School Start Times The AAP recommends that middle and high schools should not commence before 8:30 a.m. Adolescents and teens need the extra hours of sleep. Their bodies aren’t ready for sleep before 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. so it’s tough for them to get enough sleep for an early school start. Listen as Dr. Katherine Williamson joins Melanie Cole, MS, to share tips to get your child back in the school groove.

Share a love of reading with your entire family.It’s imperative to encourage reading in your family. Reading to your young child can boost vocabulary and reading skills before entering school. Cultivating a love of reading in your older children can open up a world of imagination and opportunity. Time spent reading with your infant is actually conversation time. You can still read the words in the board book, but interact with your child by talking about the pictures. Make time to read as a family. Younger children will enjoy the tale. Look up information about topics with older children to learn more about the story. Build excitement for reading by taking your child to get a library card. Encourage older children to belong to a book club. Share books that are meaningful to you so you can discuss them. Make reading important in your home. Listen as Dr. Corinn Cross joins Melanie Cole, MS, to share how you can create lifelong readers. Book recommendations from Dr. Cross: Picture books The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba (teenager from Malawi who makes a windmill and helps save his village) Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews (famous musician as a child) The Little Piano Girl by Mary Lou Williams (Jazz legend as a child) Salt in His Shoes (Michael Jordan as a child ) Goodnight Gorilla Sam’s Sandwich Young Readers The Rickshaw Girl  Anne of Green Gables  Little Women  Little House in the Big Woods (the Little House on the Prairie series) Fudge series and Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers Pippi Longstocking Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda by Roald Dahl Chronicles of Narnia A Wrinkle in Time Secret Garden Wolves of Willougby Chase The Little Princess Harry Potter series  Rebecca Wonder by RJ Palacio (about a boy with facial anomalies -- going to be a movie soon)

Send the kids outside to play. Avoid and treat issues from pests, allergies and heat with these tips.How do you deal with summer skin issues from pests, heat and irritants? Bug Bites & Stings The most common bug bites come from mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are out at the beginning and end of the day. They can swell but can’t prompt the allergic reaction that bee stings can cause. Treat with a cold compress, oral antihistamine or hydrocortisone ointment. Bee stings can be a bit more dangerous, particularly with those who are allergic. Wasp and bee stings are painful and local swelling is likely. A cool compress, oral antihistamine and topical hydrocortisone should ease the pain. An anaphylactic reaction won’t occur until the second sting or later. If the reaction to additional stings is worse, speak with your pediatrician right away. Tick bites are also dangerous. Ticks are on the rise in 2017 due to a warmer winter. They usually need 24 hours of attachment to transmit any disease. Use a credit card to scrape along the skin to remove the head and jaw. Save the tick in a bag. You may need that carcass for diagnosis. Don’t be afraid to call your pediatrician with questions. Pest Prevention Ticks love wooded and grassy areas. Wear long pants and tuck them into the socks so ticks don’t have access up the legs. Use a DEET-containing bug spray. It’s better to avoid the pests than deal with bites. Don’t apply DEET to anyone under six months old. Avoid hands and face; getting it into the mouth can cause health issues. Only apply once per day. Use a “deep woods” version if you’ll be immersed in nature. Wash it off before bedtime. Do a full body check after outdoor adventures. Check tender areas and hair for bites and ticks. Rashes It’s easy to get exposed to poison ivy, oak and sumac when playing in the woods. Shower immediately with soap to prevent the oils from spreading. Wash under the fingernails as well. An oral antihistamine and topical steroid are recommended. Avoid a topical antihistamine. If necessary, contact your pediatrician for an oral steroid. A rash can develop from anything applied to the skin. Perfumed lotion or sunscreen may be the culprit. You may need to use sunscreen for sensitive skin. Lightweight cotton clothing and hydration can reduce risk of heat rash. Listen as Dr. Andrew Bernstein joins Melanie Cole, MS, to share tips for what might make your child itchy this summer.

How do you know when it's just a tummy ache or when you should call the doctor?Tummy aches are common complaints for young children. How do you know when to call your pediatrician? What’s Normal? Infants spit up food and get constipated in early life. Make sure the child eats, wets plenty of diapers, and is growing. Symptoms should improve after three or four months of age. Constipation is normal when you introduce solid foods around six months. Transitioning to whole milk at one year also leads to constipation. It should even out soon after your baby is used to digesting whole milk. Potty training time can bring some constipation as toddlers learn muscle control. You can always put the diapers back on to relieve pressure and see if the pain goes away. If your child has hard stool, be sure he’s getting plenty of fiber and drinking water. Bowel movements at night, blood mixed into the stool, or vomiting with constipation are reasons to see a pediatrician. Keeping a symptom diary with notes on diet can help diagnose what may cause digestive issues in your child. This is a great way to pinpoint food intolerance. Dairy consumption, greasy foods and acidic diets can be altered to reduce digestive problems. If stomach pain lasts more than three months, it’s time to be concerned. Watch for rashes and weight loss. Keep family history in mind. Where Does it Hurt? Pain in the upper right area of the stomach may indicate gall bladder issues or gall stones. Diffused pain could be related to stress. Note when it is happening in your child’s life. Appendicitis typically starts with pain around the belly button. The pain is so intense the child will likely refuse food. There may be some vomiting. Pain will move to the lower right side that is tender to the touch. Light physical shaking can cause pain. Call your pediatrician or head to the ER right away. Easing the Pain There are physical activities that can ease tummy pain. Pulling the knees into the chest or doing bicycle exercises on the back may move gas.  Gentle abdominal massages are good for the digestive tract. Start on the lower right part of the belly with light pressure. Work your way up the right side of the stomach. Turn at the rib cage and continue with pressure at the top of the tummy as you massage your way to the left side of the body. Finish by moving your hands down the left side of the body. This should help release gas from the colon. Probiotics for Kids Probiotics can be beneficial for children. They can help reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea when your child is prescribed antibiotics. They’ve also helped decrease the duration and frequency of diarrhea from stomach bugs. Listen as Dr. Anthony Porto joins Melanie Cole, MS, to guide you through your child’s tummy troubles.

Being prepared for summer trips will make adventures easier on your entire family.It’s fun to travel with children. But, it takes a lot of preparation to have a successful trip with your young ones. Air Travel Air travel isn’t fun for adults. Consider how stressful it will be with children when selecting your flight times. Children under two don’t need their own seat but are safer in a safety seat. Rules are always changing with the TSA. Know airline policies about food and entertainment. Pack a sandwich and wipes so you’re prepared to address hunger. Review the TSA screening procedure with your children so they know what’s appropriate and what to expect. Dress your child for ease of passing through security. Make sure you’re well rested so it’s easier for you to manage your children. Traveling Medicine Cabinet Get savvy with international travel so you know what to bring. Check in with your pediatrician. The CDC has excellent advice for different destinations. Vaccinations and prophylactic medications are recommended for certain places. It’s better to see someone in-country when traveling than to self-diagnose. Take all of your child’s regular medications. Car Travel Have a media plan in place for travel. It’s hard to have a group experience if everyone is doing something different. Engage in car games to reduce car sickness. Talk about the destination with your children. Consider your child’s resilience with car sickness. Windy roads can be tougher on her than straight drives. Provide plenty of ventilation. Speak with your pediatrician if car sickness is severe. Looking out the window and not reading can help. Strange Sleep Environments It’s tough to sleep in a new environment. Consider taking a morning flight overseas that arrives at night so you can go to sleep shortly after you arrive at your destination. Rest up before your vacation. Listen as Dr. Lisa Asta joins Melanie Cole, MS, to advise on how to have a successful trip with your children.