Now, as vaccines become available and things begin to open up, school may still be a source of uncertainty. Will your kids be in school full-time, part-time, or not at all? While most schools plan to return to normal this coming year, some families found that distance learning or homeschooling worked well for their children. And others aren’t ready to send their younger kids back until a vaccine is available for them....
The newlyweds focused on school and getting their careers established. Meanwhile, Townsend experienced, as she calls them, ridiculous periods, sometimes lasting 30 days. It didn’t occur to her that these irregular periods might make it difficult for her to conceive. “I started to look around for blogs and I couldn’t find anybody that looked like me,” Townsend recalls. But in speaking and meeting more people who were experiencing similar situations, she had an epiphany....
Overview A 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 64% of Americans say parents do not put enough pressure on children to do well in school. Children might be less likely to perform at their best if they don’t get enough pressure from their parents. However, some kids might be under too much pressure. Adults have also expressed concerns that kids today “can’t be kids anymore” because they are pressured and expected to constantly perform well—such as getting into the most prestigious schools or getting the best scholarships....
However, experts have warned that too much caffeine could be having a detrimental effect on teenagers’ health. Anxiety disrupted sleep, caffeine withdrawal and even overdose are all associated with caffeine consumption in teenagers. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages caffeine intake for children and young adults, while other recommendations cap a teenager’s daily caffeine consumption at under 100 milligrams per day, which is equivalent to one very small cup of coffee or two small cans of soda....
Background Researchers at the Research Institute on Addictions at Buffalo, New York, Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, and Wayne State University developed the TWEAK as a short test that’s designed to be more sensitive to detecting alcohol problems in pregnant women. Follow-up research revealed that the TWEAK test may be more effective than the Tolerance, Annoyed, Cut-down, and Eye-Opener (T-ACE) test in diagnosing harmful drinking in women. TWEAK has also been used to screen for harmful drinking in the general population, outpatients, hospital patients, and in emergency room settings....
How to Present Puberty as a Positive If your tween is dreading the idea of being catapulted into being a teen, there are many aspects that you can point out to make the prospect of growing up and growing older a positive one. You don’t need a heart to heart—if that’s what you or your child is afraid of—but even lighthearted conversations that you have over time can help. Pointing out all the new experiences your child is going to encounter in the coming years can be reassuring to your tween....
Recently, a stranger referred to Anastasia Fujii’s AMAB (assigned male at birth) child as a “little boy.” The three-year-old immediately responded, “I’m not a little boy… I’m [his name]!” Fujii is a psychotherapist and clinical social worker in Philadelphia. Fujii and their partner are raising their child in a non-binary way. Fujii explains that he’s just starting to explore and name his identities as he gains access to and fluency of language....
Studies on the prevalence of sleep terrors are mixed, with results showing anywhere from under 2% to over 50% of kids experiencing them. Researchers speculate that the large variance may be due to underreporting, study design, age of participants, and mistaking a nightmare for a night terror or vice versa. However, research does show that these sleep disturbances, which are a type of parasomnia (abnormal behavior of the central nervous system during sleep), are most common in young children between the ages of one and four....
Heart Rate Monitor Changes in your body are one way to visually see progress, but it can take quite some time before those changes are noticeable to the naked eye. So why not try a heart rate monitor? This handy gadget will show you what percentage of your maximum heart rate you’re using as it keeps count of every calorie you torch. You know you’re working hard as you gasp for air....
Treatment for chronic hypertension during pregnancy depends on whether your high blood pressure is mild or severe, according to ACOG. Blood pressure typically goes down in the first half of pregnancy, and if hypertension is mild, it may stay at that level, or return to normal. In this case, your OB/GYN may decrease your blood pressure medication, or advise you to stop taking it altogether for the remainder of your pregnancy....
Consequently, a new genre of books is coming to the surface that recounts the trials, tribulations, and tensions of motherhood. The purpose is to let women of childbearing age in on the secrets before going through the initiation rites, and to alleviate the guilt one might incur reconciling the image of motherhood with the reality of it. Susan Jeffers, Ph.D., in her book, “I’m Okay, You’re a Brat!” (Renaissance Books, 1999) touts the idea that women deliberately have been kept in the dark about how hard it is to be a mother....
Your child can learn the lingo in many ways. Hearing you speak it is certainly the easiest way to go, but there are other ways to consider. For example, there’s a self-study course called Investing for Life designed for kids under 18 by the National Association of Investors Corp. NAIC, an educational organization, also offers a youth membership that includes a newsletter and other benefits. What Kind of Investor Will Your Child Be?...
Contraindications While it might seem like a quick and easy solution to potential problems you might have when flying with young kids, the American Academy of Pediatrics and most pediatricians discourage parents from giving kids anything to sedate them on an airplane. The benefits usually don’t outweigh the risks. Here are a couple of good reasons why you might not want to give your child an antihistamine like Benadryl: The sedative effects of Benadryl may last a good 4 to 6 hours, which may be longer than your flight, and even after your child wakes up, they may be drowsy or groggy for several hours afterward....
Subject Trees A subject tree lets you browse through topics. It organizes sites into subject areas – like in a card catalog at the library. This can really help narrow down a search. If you’re looking for info on Memorial Day, for example, go to Yahoo. Click on “Society and Culture,” then on “Holidays,” and so on. The subject tree helps you go from the general to the specific. Sometimes you’ll find answers right away, and of course, sometimes you won’t....
Some of the most common questions parents have for her are about vaccinations, especially the vaccination schedule for kids. Dr. Williamson says it’s important to know that vaccine schedules are determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is comprised of public health physicians and researchers whose aim is to keep children and adults healthy. It’s a national schedule, and there is no variation between states, which helps keep things simple for families who might move frequently....
(Broken) Hearts and Flowers Howard Carlin* and Diane Richards* sat at their fourth-grade desks, trying to pretend they didn’t care about receiving only a couple of valentine cards. It was Valentine’s Day card exchange time in Miss Peterson’s class. I had put a card in each of their valentine card boxes and I guessed that my best friend, George Wright had done the same. The rest of the kids were chattering and giggling, comparing all the cards they had received – the funniest, the anonymous ones with “I love you” written on top....
In a velamentous insertion, the umbilical cord inserts itself into the amniotic membrane rather than in the placenta. The baby’s blood vessels stretch along the membrane between the insertion point and the placenta. As such, the vessels are unprotected because the substance that typically surrounds them, Wharton’s jelly, is missing. The cause of velamentous cord insertion is unknown, and this abnormality is not the only one of its kind. There is also the possibility of a marginal insertion, in which the placement of the umbilical cord is less than 2 centimeters sideways of the placental margin, or edge of the placenta....
10 to 20 minutes Materials Brown paper shopping bagsShallow pan of water Directions Extensions Do this activity on the pavement on a warm (but not too hot) day and compare the stride of walking to running.Repeat the activity making hand prints.Try to cover the entire page before the prints evaporate.Challenge your child to find other objects outside that they can use to make prints.
The Sound of Croup Cough Many upper respiratory infections can cause a cough and parents often use the term “croupy” to describe those coughs, but there is really only one croup cough sound. But for those of us who have never heard a barking seal, the above description isn’t necessarily helpful. A croup cough has also been described as the yelping of a fox or the barking of a dog. In 1814, John Cheyne, a British doctor, described a croup cough as a “most unusual cough, rough and stridulous....
The key is for parents to remember that the tween years are a time of transition. Not only are they maturing physically, emotionally, and socially but they also are starting to develop a sense of self. So, as your tween begins to explore what that means for them, it’s only natural that an interest in dating would start to emerge as well. That said, try not to be overwhelmed by your tween’s budding interest in dating....
