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In this fifth mini holiday break episode of the 2024-2025 season of Talking About Kids, I am going to explain the differences between a preparticipation physical examination and an annual well child examination. Links to more information are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return soon.

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2025 is just a few days old and the United States has already seen old adults, young adults, and adolescents injured or killed in a mass shooting in New York City, a bombing in Las Vegas, and, what is being described as, an act of domestic terrorism in New Orleans. I think 2025 needs a restart, so, for this fourth mini holiday break episode of the 2024-2025 season of Talking About Kids, I am going to look at second chances. In particular, I will examine a recent update to a decade-old report from the Word Health Organization called, Health for the World’s Adolescents: A Second Chance in the Second Decade. Links to the reports I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return soon.

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In this third mini holiday break episode of 2024-2025 season of Talking About Kids and the final episode of 2024, I want to talk about kids and humor. In particular, I will present a little bit about what we know about humor’s importance to development, its role in establishing and maintaining relationships, and why at least one world leader thinks it is crucial to our survival. Links to some of the articles I cite are at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in 2025.

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In this second mini holiday break episode of the 2024-2025 season of Talking About Kids, I share some seasonal joy in the form of brand-new statics from the Monitoring the Future study, which is conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan and funded by National Institute on Drug Abuse. Here is a sneak peek: The substantial declines in adolescent substance use that started in the 1990s continue! A link to the Monitoring the Future study is at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in 2025.

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In this first mini holiday break episode, I share a brand-new article from Pediatrics. It is entitled “Children’s Understanding of Commonly Used Medical Terminology,” and it examines “jargon-oblivion” or the problem that some professionals who work with kids do not recognize that those kids do not understand all of the words or phrases that are being used in their care. A link to the article is talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes will return in 2025.

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This is the final episode in Talking About Kids’ four-part series on eating disorders. In the first episode, Bryn Austin described the prevalence and stigmas of eating disorders. In the second episode, Jean Doak explained the harm caused by them. In the third episode, Anna Lutz and I discussed preventing eating disorders and how to intervene when issues arise. My guest to wrap up the series and describe some of the federal and state-level resources that are available to help address eating disorders, body image issues, and nutrition in the classroom, program, or home is Noelle Veilleux Markham. Noelle is a registered dietitian and the Population Health Dietitian at the Arizona Department of Health Services. More information about Noelle and links to resources she recommends are at talkingaboutkids.com.

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This is the third of four episodes in Talking About Kids’ series on eating disorders. In the first episode, Bryn Austin described the prevalence and stigmas of eating disorders. In the second episode, Jean Doak explained the harm caused by them. In this third episode, we examine how to prevent eating disorders or intervene when issues manifest. My guest to provide her expert insights on these topics is Anna Lutz. Anna has a distinguished history as a dietician and eating disorder specialist. She is co-owner of Lutz & Alexander Nutrition Therapy, which focuses on eating disorders and pediatric and family nutrition, and she is the co-creator of Sunny Side Up Nutrition, which is a website and podcast that assists parents in feeding their kids successfully. More information about Anna - including links to Lutz & Alexander Nutrition Therapy, Sunny Side Up Nutrition, and a tool for finding treatment providers in your area - is at talkingaboutkids.com.

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This is the second of four episodes in Talking About Kids’ series on eating disorders. In the first installment, the preeminent Bryn Austin addressed the prevalence and stigmas of eating disorders. The core of this episode is on why we care. My guest to help us understand the harm to kids caused by body image issues, unhealthy eating behaviors, and eating disorders, is the amazing Jean Doak. Jean is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and the Clinical Director in the universally respected Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (CEED). CEED was founded to help ensure access to appropriate care for everyone, and, for over 20 years, CEED has been doing just that through its three pillars of research, training, and service. More information about Jean and links to resources she recommends are at talkingaboutkids.com.

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This episode is the first in Talking About Kids’ series on eating disorders. Over four episodes, leading experts and I will discuss prevalence, consequences, prevention, and the resources available to help you help the kids in your classroom, program or home. We will address body image, food, language, and when and how to intervene. My guest to start us off with a description of who is impacted, who is at-risk, and who is often overlooked, is the award-winning researcher, educator, and advocate, Bryn Austin. Bryn is responsible for some of the most-cited and most-impactful research on eating disorders. She is the Founding Director of the Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) at Harvard University, where she also is a Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences in the School of Public Health and a Professor of Pediatrics in the Medical School. More information about Bryn and resources hand-picked by her, including a tool for finding treatment providers in your area, are at talkingaboutkids.com.

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Sibling aggression and abuse are often described as “invisible” by experts because of society’s tendency to confuse them with sibling rivalry or dismiss them as a natural part of growing up. However, the consequences of sibling aggression and abuse are very visible and potentially debilitating. My guest this episode is Corinna Jenkins Tucker, Director of the Sibling Aggression and Abuse Research and Advocacy Initiative (SAARA) at the University of New Hampshire. Corinna and her colleagues at SAARA are working to increase awareness of sibling aggression and abuse and provide guidance on preventing and addressing their occurrences. More information about Corinna and SAARA is at talkingaboutkids.com.