May 18, 2010
Sugar…. I like it… do you?
This whole Health Care Debate has me in a tizzy. The question becomes even when we have health care for all, are we looking at the fine print, and more importantly, what is the real issue here. Much of this issue is the state of our health in the nation. Juvenile diabetes is up, Up, UP!! Why you say,… well just take a walk into one of your weekly birthday celebrations. 
It is not enough for the children to run around and have little piece of cake. But now they must be provided with soda, juice, and goody bags full of sweets. No parent would ever deny a child more soda if they are thirsty, especially if it would make them look bad to other parents (do you know what is in a can of soda?)… and you know, these kids get thirsty. I guess water is hardly an option anymore unless the child specifically asks for it. Even at family celebrations, it is only polite to be serving cake, ice cream, and pastries for dessert. Dessert is taken to the next level and the snacks on the shelf in the grocery store qualify for the same category as desserts when I grew up. Parents profess to be aware, but when it comes to this celebration and that celebration we give in… it seems like every day!! I do not claim to be perfect… far from it. All I am saying is there is a lot of talk among parents agreeing on this but when it comes to focusing on your own children and family, it is hard to adjust. That is when the health of our children gets worse, and worse.
Get Informed -
Google It:
http://www.state.nj.us/health/fhs/shapingnj/partners.shtml
http://www.whale.to/v/sugar_q.html
http://www.facebook.com/SmartHabitsFans#!/SmartHabitsFans?v=wall
Get Cerebral:
http://www.techjackal.net/other/2010/04/22/sugar-is-not-so-sweet-for-your-health/
http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v10/n6/full/oby200266a.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63J69U20100420
http://www.princeton.edu/pr/news/02/q2/0620-hoebel.htm
April 18, 2010
Your child may not need that booster shot and the law is on your side.
I have a beautiful four and a half year old boy with autism. In our case he showed signs since birth, but was not diagnosed until after the age of two, after his initial MMR vaccine. After so much angst, expense, tears and most of all, effort we were making progress towards healing him. Our son Emerson, “Little Em” was finally starting to say words and look us in the eyes, then came time for his MMR booster shot. We were sick to our stomachs wondering if this booster would cause regression and thwart all our efforts. The vision of injecting him with something that could hurt him further literally brought tears to my eyes. After much research I found a few things out about the MMR “booster” and what our rights are in the State of New Jersey.
First, the MMR booster is not a booster at all. The initial vaccine inoculates approximately 94 to 95% of the population receiving it. The booster is later administered across the board to simply increase the percentage up a few points to about 97 to 98%. So out of 100 children who initially receive the MMR, about 95 already have enough antibodies and do not require the follow up shot. Secondly, you are allowed to get what’s known as a titer test. This is a blood test to measure the amount of antibodies in the blood stream. If they are high enough, your child is exonerated from the follow up MMR vaccine. All day care facilities and schools must accept this and cannot prevent your child from attending if your child passes the required antibody levels on the titer.
Don’t Be Surprised If Doctors Are Resistant.
In our case we waited until we were in the doctor’s office to receive the booster when I notified the nurse who came in with the vaccine that we wanted a script for a titer. She became quite flustered and insisted that the booster was required. I calmly requested to meet with the doctor. He complied without hesitation, but what I find so disturbing is even with the knowledge of my son’s condition, I still had to garner this information elsewhere. Long story short, my son’s antibodies were high enough and he did not require the booster. I can’t say that vaccines had any ill effect Little Em, but after all we have been going through we didn’t want to risk anything.
Because of Little Em’s autism we meet so many other parents in the same situation, with the same pit in their stomach when it comes time for booster shots, but to my surprise they don’t know of the titer. Why isn’t this common knowledge? With all the concern over vaccines how come school authorities and doctors don’t advertize this choice? Sadly I think it’s part economics, and part that the public is used to lining up like lemmings when it comes to doctor’s orders (imagine how much less money the Pharma companies would make if 95% of the population didn’t get their booster shots because they didn’t need it.)
The titer test is available for the following vaccines:
- MMR (measles, mumps, rubella)
- Hepatitis B
- Diphtheria, Tetanus
- H. Influenza (HiB)
- Hepatitis A
- Chicken Pox, (Varicella – zoster)
- Influenza A and B
- Polio
- Pneumococcal vaccines
So if you’re up at night worried about an upcoming vaccine shot for your child, research your state laws and see if a titer test is available. And spread the word. With autism now affecting 1 in 100 children, (1 in 66 if it’s a boy) everyone now knows someone who affected by this condition. Who knows, at the very least you may help save another parent from that awful pit in their stomach.
May 21, 2009
Planning for Summer Childcare
Planning for Summer Child Care by Sheila Marcelo. Sheila Lirio Marcelo is the founder and CEO of Care.com.
Summer will be here before you know it. Our little ones are counting down the days until school lets out (less than six weeks in many school districts!). When that happens, families will have to fill anywhere from eight to ten hours a day of child care. Summer isn’t only a difficult time to plan and arrange child care, it’s also the most expensive part of the year. The average family can spend up $7,000 per child during the summer months. That’s half of their annual child care budget! I asked our Care.com members if they planned on cutting back for the summer. In this economy, it wasn’t surprising to see that 75 percent planned to find money-saving alternatives this year.
In the past, Ron (my husband) and I always put our boys into summer camps. But, this year, with the economic downturn, we’ve chatted about some other creative ways to cut costs while still making sure our 9-year-old son, Adam, enjoys his summer. For example, Adam would love to go to a baseball camp, but that quickly gets pricey. Our local town camp is a great alternative since it’s more economical and many of his school friends would be there, too. Of course, with the local camp, we’d have to figure out after-camp babysitting… planning just never ends, does it?
If you’re thinking about your child care plans for the summer, I’ve put together some ideas to keep the season fun for your little ones, while staying friendly to your family’s budget.
Enlist Backup Babysitters
We ran another poll within the last few weeks asking Care.com members what kind of child care they’ll need for the summer. The biggest response? A babysitter. Before you hire a sitter, make sure you check the market rate. With college students looking for work, babysitting rates may be lower than other times of year. This handy salary calculator can keep you up-to-date on the local babysitting rates.
In the summertime, schedules can get crazy between work and the kids’ activities, so prepare a backup list of caregivers. Sitters get sick (or take vacation), so you’ll need extra help. If you can, try using friends or relatives. Maybe they won’t be your primary babysitters, but just using them as alternates can save money. You’ll just have to help them out in return.
Share Sitters
Share the cost and split a summer sitter with a neighbor or two! This works great, especially if you’re like my family and only have one child who needs a sitter. With the economy the way it is, most regular babysitters are used to these cost-saving arrangements, but you still want to be sure not to overload them with too many children. Try not to have them watch more than three kids under age 6, four kids under age 12, or more than five of any age.
Co-operation is key!
Care exchanges or swaps are great for setting up playdates and saving some money. They help parents connect with other families looking to share sitter services (for kids and pets). They’re also an easy way to meet a family like yours and trade off babysitting shifts. However you set up an exchange, remember this–one day a week of free child care equals a 20 percent savings over the whole summer.
Summer Camp Savings
Many families are concerned about summer camp’s cost. There are low-cost alternatives, though. Day camps can be great money-saving alternatives to overnight camps. And church or community camps often attract a wide range of local children, are usually pretty affordable and have a ton of activities for kids of all ages.
School’s Out, Education Isn’t
It’s summer break for teachers too, you know. Many of them spend their summers as a tutor to pay the bills. Instead of camp, why not hire one for a day each week to teach hobbies and skills? Make it fun for your kids so they don’t think it’s a chore–pick a subject they’re already interested in and create playdates by inviting friends. They’ll enjoy themselves and their brains won’t go to mush (which makes moms like me happy).
I hope these tips have been helpful! Let me know what you’re planning to do this summer. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to help find answers that’ll fit your family.
Pasted from
May 5, 2009
Do your children believe what you say? Francis McSweeny PHD.
Do your children believe what you say?
If you’re reading this I know you care about your children, yet your love and caring doesn’t insulate you from problems. Occasionally or more frequently, your children will not listen to you. Why is that? You’re a reasonable person making reasonable requests, yet they don’t listen. There are many reasons why that may happen. Sometimes it is merely and age thing. Infants don’t have the control over their behavior so I’m not talking about them. Older children are exploring their world and finding their limits. Children of any age are finding out the rules of life and in your home. They will push until they hit a wall that doesn’t move. That is why they behave for some people and not for others. You can explain the rules to them but rules aren’t rules unless they are enforced, and many parents are so busy that many rules are sometimes overlooked. If you tell them something is a rule, and sometimes they don’t follow the rule and nothing happens, then it is not a rule. The wall keeps moving. They learn that they don’t need to listen.
I’m talking about consistency and the same can apply to good things as well. Your four year-old may ask, “Mom, can we go to the park?” “Sounds like a good idea” you reply. Your daughter is talking about right now and you, on the other hand, recognize that there is no way you can go to the park now but sometime in the near future, hopefully, you will take her to the park. When she doesn’t get to the park that day and maybe for a few days your word loses its value.
When you don’t enforce rules or there are enough occasions when you seem to say “Yes” but life gets in the way of things working out the result is she doesn’t believe you. Sometimes you follow through and other times you don’t. In your world that is what happens when the million little things of life come into play. Your daughter lives in a black and white world of right now and you don’t. Consistency seems so easy when someone talks about its importance but for a parent it is more complicated. There is also a difference between consistency and rigidity.
Pay attention to what you say to your children. Don’t make more rules than you will enforce and be clear when you agree to do something. Be specific. You understand all the things that happen in your life, but your child only sees things from her point of view and young children only see things in the here and now. Your child will believe your word when you are consistent. When your child doesn’t believe you, behavioral problems can develop later on. More on that next time.
Loving your children is a great starting point for parenting.
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