Healthy Children

Keep your child safe from sunburn.Summertime means soaking up the sun. Sun safety is important for your child’s skin health. Clothing precautions, sunscreen and preparation for sunburn will help your kiddo throughout the summer. Dress your tiny babies in long sleeves and pants. Limit sunscreen on babies under six months of age. Shade is best between 10 am and 4 pm. Little kids can wear hats for shade. There is new clothing available with rash guard for sun protection. Sunglasses are also helpful for children. Spray sunscreen works well for bodies. Use cream, lotion or a sun stick from the shoulders up. For older kids and last-minute situations, use sunscreen wipes for arms and faces. Reapply when coming out of the water. When your teen doesn't want to use sunscreen, enlist examples of premature aging to educate her. Appeal to the vanity. If your child becomes sunburned, you can use pain relievers, cold compresses and aloe. Check in with your pediatrician if there are blisters. The greatest concern with a bad sunburn is infection. It's important to stay out of the sun until the burn heals. Listen in as Dr. Corinn Cross explains what you need to know about sun safety.

Prepare your child for large crowds with tips on being found when lost.Summer is popular for theme park experiences. With large crowds, long lines and lots of noise, it’s very important to keep track of your children. Even when you try to keep everyone together, your child can still get separated from you. You must talk to your children about what to do if they get lost. Your child should know his name, your phone number with area code and your home address. You can provide your child with this information on a card to keep in a jacket pocket or backpack. That card can be handed to an adult to expedite reconnecting. Your child should know the name of the hotel where you're staying. Your kids should also know to look for another mom with children or a person in uniform for help. Be sure they know NOT to go anywhere private with someone. They need to stay in a public place. When you travel, you may dress your kids in "team colors" so you can easily find each other. Use t-shirts or hats to make it easy to identify one another. Take a photo of your family before heading out for the day so you have a photo of what everyone is wearing that day. You may have to educate your child on how to behave when lost with a story. Big kids need to know not to wander off. Even adults use the buddy system and tell people where they're going. If your child disappears in a crowd, tell security immediately. Call 911 after 10 minutes have passed if needed. Use a recent photo to help locate your child. Listen in as Dr. Corinn Cross advises on how to educate your child on being found if lost in a crowd.

Summer parties bring special concerns for keeping your children safe.With summer almost upon us, it’s time for outdoor parties. There are special safety concerns to keep in mind with outdoor dining and activities. Firepits and grills are dangerous. You must practice good fire safety habits. Supervise children around any open flame. Keep games and activities away from the fire. Cover fires to avoid spark burns. Keep the food fresh so no one gets food poisoning. Cold foods need to stay cold, so keep ice on hand to chill food. Hot food should be in insulated containers to keep it hot. Refrigerate perishables as soon as possible if you are able. Be sure kids are old enough to use a trampoline. Put the safety net around the perimeter. Watch your children in bounce houses. Be cautious of summer pests. Get some bug repellant and a first aid kit. Apply sunscreen, and apply it often. Heat stroke is a risk. Stay hydrated. Adults should be cautious of alcohol consumption and drink plenty of water. Get an app to contact a driver if you are too tipsy. Dr. Deborah Mulligan joins host Melanie Cole, MS, to share how to keep your children safe at summer parties.

Keep your children safe around swimming pools and other bodies of water.The main reasons for drowning deaths are lack of swimming ability, lack of barriers, lack of supervision, location of where swimming, failure to wear life jackets on boats, and alcohol consumption. If your child plans to swim, plan to be a participant. Nominate another adult as a supervisor. Make sure the kids know who is the "water watcher" and give that adult some kind of garment or badge to make it easy for the kids to identify who is on duty. Enroll your children in water safety classes. Install a pool alarm, locks and covers on your own pool. Learn basic CPR. Keep a mobile phone near the pool to call emergency services. Put up a fence around the pool. If a child goes missing, always check the swimming pool first. The lifeguard can't watch everyone at the beach. Be sure you or your adult friend remains near the children when they are in the water. Learn the colors of the flags to avoid dangers. Teach kids about swimming parallel to the beach to survive rip currents. Make sure your children get your permission before diving. Dr. Deborah Mulligan joins host Melanie Cole, MS, to share how to keep your child safe around swimming pools and bodies of water.

Encourage your children to pursue whatever career paths appeal to them, regardless of gender stereotypes.The fastest-growing jobs in the United States right now are in the most gender-segregated industries. Companies are seeking employees for science, technology, engineering and math positions. These high-skill, high-wage jobs are typically held by men. Nursing is also one of the fastest-growing professions. However, less than ten percent of nurses are male. Encourage your children to find their bliss and ignore gender stereotypes as they grow. Expose your children to opportunities and potential interests, regardless of outdated gender roles. Support your children as they pursue their dreams. Listen in as Dr. Corinn Cross discusses how to stimulate your children to ignore gender stereotypes as they look toward the future.

Don't let gender-targeted toys and games limit your children.In the animal kingdom, young animals learn about life through play. Survival skills and relationships are worked out as they play with parents, siblings and peers. Playtime for children works the same way. Children learn how to relate to the world through play. With gender stereotyping in toys and activities, we limit their viewpoints on how to relate to the world. Encourage your children to play with different toys, regardless of gender-targeted marketing. Dolls are great for working out interpersonal relationships. Blocks are wonderful for engineering. Your children may request toys that make it easier for them to interact with regular playmates. Listen in as Dr. Corinn Cross shares how gender doesn't matter in early childhood play.

When should you start solid foods? What should you feed your baby when you do?Rice, oatmeal, or barley? What infant cereal or other food will be on the menu for your baby’s first solid meal? And, have you set a date? At this point, you may have a plan or are confused because you have received too much advice from family and friends with different opinions. Dr. Tanya Altmann advises starting your baby on solid foods at six months. The goal is for your child to eat at the table with the family at one year. You can try out different foods, but do not give your child honey in his first year. Infant botulism is a concern from feeding your baby honey too soon. Dr. Altmann recommends avocado as the best first food. Add a little breast milk and blend it to a smooth consistency. It may take a few tries for baby to catch on to the eating process. Other foods Dr. Altmann recommends: Eggs. You can scramble them the night before and feed them to your baby cold. Dairy. Greek yogurt is full of probiotics. Prunes. Getting your baby used to prunes will give you an easy constipation solution during toddler years. Fish. Your baby can use those omega-3s for brain development. Peanut butter. Mix 1 tbsp. with 1 ounce of oats and some breast milk. If you have another child with a nut allergy, be sure to talk to your pediatrician before trying nut butter. Chicken. Don't start your baby on nuggets. Mash up some home-cooked chicken so baby is used to the taste of what the family eats. Beans and lentils. These are great if you're a vegetarian family. Berries and citrus. Be cautious of seeds. Green vegetables. Cooking veggies will make them easier for your baby to chew with only a few teeth. Stop feeding a particular food and call your pediatrician if you notice a rash. If your baby experiences swelling, vomiting or wheezing, call 911. Listen in as Dr. Altmann discusses what you need to know about starting your baby on solid foods.

Learn tips for getting your kids to play outside.In the past ten years, the dynamic of child’s play has changed. Today’s adults grew up in a world where outside activity was a normal part of daily life. Meanwhile, today’s children have the world at their fingertips... all from their devices. They don’t see the value of a run for fun in the sun. It’s gotten so bad that some parents have to force a technology time-out, making outdoor playtime seem like punishment. Start a daily routine of going outside early in your child's life. Don't allow screens outside. Free play and running around are great for family involvement. As your child gets older, encourage sports participation. If Junior isn't interested in team sports, karate, cycling and gymnastics are great options. Physical education in school may be restricted by the drive for improved academics. Be sure your child has some outdoor activities after the school day ends. Bad weather? Create an indoor obstacle course or have a dance party. Active video games are another fun way to get the whole family moving. Listen in as Dr. Tanya Altmann shares tips on how to get your kids to play outside.

Where does your child learn good sportsmanship? From you.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. 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. David Hill, MD, discusses how you can teach your child how to be a good sport.

Sports coaches are trusted with the safety of your child. They deserve the emergency training and safety education to preserve that trust.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. David Hill, MD, shares what your coach needs in order to keep your child as safe as possible.