Appropriate Medications for Children

You may have heard the statement, children are just little adults. Well that is true, but it’s also not true when it comes to medicine. You just can’t give the same drugs to children that you give to adults, and you can’t give half the dose, or anything like that. Many medications cannot be processed by children. Many medications given to children can cause problems in bone development, teeth development. All of these things have to be checked into. So if you have a medication at home that you think worked for you, just don’t give it to your child. Check with your doctor, and find out if they need their own prescription, or their own dose.

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Toilet Training Battle

It is a source of constant problems for parents. Should they toilet train their baby? Are they affected by the toilet training? Are they doing a good job? Many parents get upset about it. The bottom line is your child will learn to use the toilet. Don’t put so much pressure on your child that your child actually feels that they have to deal with the toilet training under a gun. The bottom line is this…this is one of the first times your child can exhibit independence and it will be a battle. It’s not done easily.

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Helping Kids Deal with Divorce

Divorce and children. You can not underestimate the role that divorce can play. The best thing to suggest to people who are suffering from divorce and dealing with those pressures is to not forget the children; to realize that when they seem okay, they may not be. In other words, you need to talk with them and consistently reinforce what’s going on. There is nothing better than communication. Communication can get you through a lot of those pressures and things you have to deal with under that stress.

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How Much Is Too Much TV?

How much is too much TV for your child? Well, if you think your child is watching too much TV, then it probably is too much. That’s one good way to tell. Secondly, are you using the television as a babysitter? Is the TV something which is on all the time, even when nothing else is going on? It’s kind of a background noise. What is on the television? Is it adult programming? Is it Dr. Phil? Is it news? Or are we talking about child appropriate shows? These are things you need to be aware of. You can’t trust the networks like you once did. They put virtually anything on the air.

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Alcohol Education for Younger Children

There is a report from the University of Pittsburgh which suggested that students should be exposed to knowledge of the dangers of alcohol as early as fourth grade. There are several reasons for this. First, kids watch TV and ads marketing alcohol. Those ads are more prominent than ever. Then there is the information from a review of state and national surveys which found that among typical fourth-graders, 10% had already had more than a sip of alcohol and 7% had a drink in the past year. The percent of children who have used alcohol increases with age and doubles between 4th and 6th grades.

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Study Shows Women of Young Children Eat More Calories

Are you having a struggle with weight loss?  Well, now you have someone to blame.  According to a study from the University of Minnesota, mothers of young children were heavier and ate more calories, fatty foods, and sugary drinks than women without children.  In addition, both parents were less active than those of the same age without children.  The study was not a small one.  There were over 1,500 adults with children younger than five and according to the report which is in the journal Pediatrics, mothers in this study with young children had a diet so poor, they'd have to walk three miles a day to not gain a pound. 

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The Correct Drug Dosages for Children

Drug dosing is very important in children because children don’t take the same amount of medicine as adults. When the doctor calculates what the child’s going to have, it’s very important that that is evaluated and looked at from the standpoint of not overdosing a child. Children respond very well to medications if given in the proper dosages. That’s why when you see the pediatrician or the family physician and they write the dosage, make sure you look at it and you take it to the pharmacy, and they closely look at it, so there is not a discrepancy.

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Do Children in Daycare Develop More Health Problems?

Over the years, there has been a theory that children who attend daycare tend to develop more health problems; things like colds, ear infections, and throat infections.  In the first few years of life, they can have more problems than the children who stay home, and it makes sense because there is an earlier exposure to problems.  The theory also suggests that as the children get older, they have fewer infections and problems than the kids who stayed home and are more likely to be exposed to the various problems.  A new study of 4,000 Dutch children from birth to eight years showed children who started daycare early were twice as likely to experience wheezing in the first year of life than those who didn't go to daycare.  By age five, daycare kids were slightly less likely to wheeze than non-daycare kids.  By eight, the effects evened out and daycare attendants had no association with the wheezing. 

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Sleep Difficulties in Children

In trying to help their children fall back asleep, parents may be setting them up for poor sleep patterns later on. Researchers surveyed parents of 987 children from the ages of five months until the children turned six and found that many things parents did early on when their children woke up, like giving them food or drink, or moving the children to the parents’ bed, led to sleep difficulties later on. Some of the problems included bad dreams, inability to fall asleep, and the inability to get a full night sleep. This is from the University of Montreal.

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A Traumatic Childhood Can Have Long-Term Effects

A traumatic childhood can definitely have a long-term effect.  You hear many stories about people saying they had a traumatic childhood and issues in childhood that lead to problems years down the road.  The fact is it's true.  A traumatic childhood can have an effect.  That's why early counseling is important.  If someone is having issues as a child, developmental issues, or problems at home, it's essential that those things are looked into and that the childhood problems are dealt with on a serious level.  

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Kids Need Plenty of Sleep

Kids need sleep…plenty of sleep. So, if you’re a parent and your children are up late, get them to bed. They really function better if they sleep well. They’re less irritable and they’re able to perform better in the day. A lot of children don’t want to hear that. They don’t want to hear that they can sleep and take it easy, but the bottom line is they need to. They need their rest, and as parents, you need to control it. Your child will eat better. They will feel better. They will do better if they are getting plenty of sleep.

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Invisible Friends Are Normal

They are called “invisible friends.” A lot of parents get upset if their child has an “invisible friend,” wondering when it’s going to go away and when they’re going to forget about it. Here’s the bottom line…there is nothing wrong with having an “invisible friend.” It’s actually a normal phase of development and it shows that imagination is actually working well. If your child has an “invisible friend,” you can encourage it. Let them know that they’re using their imagination, but don’t tell them they can’t do it. You can bring them back to reality to let them know there is a reality.

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Childproofing Your Home

One of the toughest things a parent can do is childproof the house. It takes a lot of work, but what doctors often recommend is that you talk to someone who has children already. Let them go over with you what they have done to childproof their own house. You can find a lot of key steps. The other thing you can find, which is very important, is the ability to be able to get professional assistance in childproofing. You can also find a friend or acquaintance who now has older children because they might be able to give you some of the things they’ve used since their children have now outgrown that stage.  It can make a big difference!

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Parents in Denial about Children’s Obesity

A University of Michigan survey looked at the fact that many parents are not aware their children are obese, despite the fact they're extremely overweight.  It has gained a great deal of attention because many looking at the issue from the outside wondered how can a parent not know an obese child has a weight problem?  But this is not unexpected.  Parents are often not the most objective appraisers of their children.  Whether its sports, academics, or appearance, parents want to see what they want to see and they often hope there might be big changes.  One of the big issues with obesity is there is a great deal of denial. 

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Childhood Obesity and Health Risks

Obesity is a major issue in this country, and in particular, in children. Childhood obesity is huge because we have to worry about the fact that it could increase the risk of a child getting diabetes as well as other health problems. Some of those other health problems we have to be concerned about are heart disease and stroke down the road. All of these things occur at a more rapid rate when children are overweight. If children exercise and if they have an opportunity to eat appropriately, in proper time they’ll do much better.

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Definition of Autism

We hear a great deal about autism and many people think they have a handle on what autism is, but maybe the definition from the Autism Society of America is the best. According to the group, autism is a severely incapacitating lifelong developmental disability that typically appears in the first three years of life. It occurs in approximately 15 out of every 10,000 births, and is four times more common in boys then in girls. Symptoms include disturbances in the rate of appearance of physical, social, and language skills.

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Pediatric Dosages of Medicine

There’s been a great deal of information about dangers related to certain cough and cold medications in kids, and it brings up a key point…the need to know about pediatric doses. People talk about pediatric dosages of medicine. Well, the bottom line is this; there are many ways to take medicines, but not a lot of studies have been done in kids. We do studies in adults and then we try to relate them to children. That may not be the most effective thing. You need to talk with your pediatrician. Talk about dosages and the different medicines. Not just the prescription medication, but over-the-counter products as well. If you do that, you will have an opportunity to evaluate them and you clearly put them in a position where they’re getting the best thing for them. Again, these are good ideas because it gives you an opportunity to communicate and talk about questions that you otherwise may not have considered. It’s definitely worth looking into.

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