Tags
American Academy of Pediatrics has put out new guidelines for media use and kids. The new guidelines are age based and calculates their activity level to balance out the use of media.
21 Friday Oct 2016
Posted development, news, Uncategorized
inTags
American Academy of Pediatrics has put out new guidelines for media use and kids. The new guidelines are age based and calculates their activity level to balance out the use of media.
22 Monday Aug 2016
Posted development, Uncategorized
inWe hope everyone is adjusting to your back to school routine!!! This can make for an anxious few days but here are some tips that may help!
The following health and safety tips are from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Feel free to excerpt these tips or use them in their entirety in any print or broadcast story, with acknowledgment of source.
MAKING THE FIRST DAY EASIER
BACKPACK SAFETY
TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL
Review the basic rules with your student:
School Bus
Car
Bike
Walking to School
EATING DURING THE SCHOOL DAY
BULLYING
Bullying or cyberbullying is when one child picks on another child repeatedly. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social. It can happen at school, on the playground, on the school bus, in the neighborhood, over the Internet, or through mobile devices like cell phones.
When Your Child Is Bullied
When Your Child Is the Bully
When Your Child Is a Bystander
BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CHILD CARE
DEVELOPING GOOD HOMEWORK AND STUDY HABITS
© 2016 – American Academy of Pediatrics
31 Sunday Jul 2016
Posted medication, Uncategorized, vaccine
inTags
Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recently recommended to not use Flumist this year. This statement comes after the poor outcomes of the immunization over the last 3 seasons. Many people prefer this due to ease and painless administration for their children, but we highly encourage getting the injection this year. Our office will not be carrying the Flumist this year in accordance with ACIP recommendation. Please don’t let this prevent you from getting immunized!!
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/865535
| Hi. My name is Paul Offit. I’m talking to you from the Vaccine Education Center, at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
I want to talk about something that happened last Wednesday, June 22, 2016, at the meeting of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) when they made the following recommendation
[Editor’s note: The following is from a statement prepared by the ACIP on June 22]:
In light of the evidence for poor effectiveness of LAIV—the live attenuated influenza vaccine, otherwise known as FluMist—in the United States over the last three influenza seasons, for the upcoming 2016-2017 season, the ACIP makes the interim recommendation that FluMist should not be used.
How did we get here? Years ago, we preferred FluMist over the inactivated influenza vaccine, for a few reasons: (1) It worked better than the inactivated vaccine; (2) In children, it is easier to give and is often preferred; (3) It reproduces itself at the nasal mucosal surface and induces local immunity, which in theory should allow the recipient who is exposed to the natural or wild-type influenza virus to shed less virus and therefore be less contagious.
Unfortunately, over the past few years, FluMist has underperformed compared with the inactivated vaccine, reaching a new low last year when the efficacy was estimated to be 3%, a rate that was indistinguishable from placebo. Why did this happen? It is hard to know, but when you give an inactivated vaccine with 15 µg of hemagglutinin per strain into a muscle, the antigen is taken up by local lymph nodes, processed, and presented to the immune system. When you give the FluMist vaccine, you are giving live, attenuated viruses that contain nanograms, rather than micrograms, of hemagglutinin. To get an adequate immune response, those viruses need to replicate.
By definition, these viruses are not replicating well, because either prior immunity or a dominant strain is affecting their capacity to replicate. Switching from the trivalent FluMist to the quadrivalent FluMist has not been effective over the past few years, perhaps because one of the added B strains caused the other vaccine viruses to reproduce less efficiently.
These are answerable questions. For example, we can look at the shedding of these viruses. That was the case with the oral polio vaccine. In that vaccine, the type 2 virus was actually contained in larger quantities because the other two viruses were able to replicate more efficiently on the intestinal mucosal surface. This question should be answered because FluMist was an excellent vaccine and hopefully it can be redeemed.
Medscape Infectious Diseases © 2016 WebMD, LLC
Any views expressed above are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this article: The Rise and Fall of FluMist–Can the Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine Be Redeemed? Medscape. Jul 01, 2016.
https://static.cmptch.com/v/lib/mng.html?1469573891#´#Ũ#Ũ
29 Friday Jul 2016
Posted injury, news, safety, Uncategorized
in
Pokemon Go is all the rage right now!!! If your kids aren’t playing, I’m sure you know or have seen someone playing. We have heard of lots of scary injuries that have occured while playing this making many leary about the game. The following article has some great tips if your kids insist on playing!
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/866271#vp_2
Pokémon GO is a global phenomenon getting children and adults walking around outside with their smartphones hunting creatures.
It seems like the computer game parents have been waiting for – one you have to GO outside to use.
However, as well as encouraging healthy exercise, there are some safety concerns over children playing the game.
The NSPCC has issued advice for parents and has written to Nintendo UK saying the app “appears susceptible to being hijacked by users who wish to harm other players and as such raises fundamental child safety concerns”.
The game uses the phone’s GPS location feature to lead players to Pokémon using built-in maps.
Before the app launched in the UK, the charity says: “there have been numerous accounts of children being placed in dangerous situations because of the geo-location feature – in one instance it is reported that armed robbers lured teenagers to a particular spot using your game and in another that players are taken to a sex shop”.
Despite these concerns, millions of parents are likely to come under pressure by children wanting to play Pokémon GO, so what can be done to help kids play it safely?
Understand the Game
You’ll need to know your Poké Balls from your Pokémon Gyms to understand what kids will be doing when out playing Pokémon GO.
Pokémon are ‘pocket monsters’. They only exist inside the game – but you have to track them down in the real world outdoors. When one is spotted nearby, the app gives an alert and you use the phone’s camera to look in front of you – and the Pokémon is seen superimposed on the real life scene on the phone screen – called augmented reality.
You catch them by flicking Poké Balls at them. The captured creatures are logged in the player’s Pokédex. Once you have reached a high enough level in the game you can visit Pokémon Gyms in your area where you can train the creatures and take part in competitions. PokéStops are other places you can visit to collect items for the game.
Before letting kids out on their own with the app, join them for their first Pokémon adventure – and play along yourself if you can.
It Is Free… But…
The game is free to download and play – but there are tempting in-app purchases available to help players reach higher levels. Check the settings on your child’s phone and store account to prevent these extra charges or limit them to avoid a bill shock later. A boost of 14,500 virtual Pokécoins will set you back £79.99 in real money.
The game only works on smartphones, so be ready for pester power from children insisting they need a costly upgrade this summer.
The app also uses mobile data—so keep an eye on this mounting up and going over spending limits on your account or pay-as-you-go top ups.
Set Limits
A child will probably find a couple of Pokémon close to home, but will need to go some miles to keep finding more. Talk to children about how far you are happy for them to go while playing, and specify areas you want them to keep away from.
Keep Concentrating
You can get very immersed in the game and forget about real dangers around you. Make sure children understand road safety dangers – and make sure they concentrate near traffic and look out for physical risks, such as cliff paths.
The NSPCC says there have already been cases of children being lured into unsafe places.
Respect Boundaries
The Pokémon maps mostly follow real life pavements and paths, but the creatures can appear to tantalisingly close, but in graveyards, someone’s garden or on other private property. Make sure kids know where they can and can’t go.
Stranger Danger
At the moment Pokémon is a single player game, but PokéStops and gyms, and the location of the creatures themselves will bring people together to certain places in your area. Some of the strangers your children will meet will be other kids, but the game is also popular with adults. The NSPCC warns “you never know who they might meet”.
Theft is another risk, with reports of phones being snatched from players as they turn up at known locations in the game.
Is It Age-Appropriate?
You’ll know best whether your child is old enough to play the game and also understand the risks. Make sure younger children are accompanied by an appropriate older child or adult while playing.
Privacy Concerns
To play Pokémon GO, you’ll need an account – and the app asks for personal information, such as date of birth and email address. It is possible to opt out of some uses of this information outside of playing the game through the game’s privacy policy.
Spare Battery
Playing the game uses the phone’s screen, GPS tracking and mobile data – and that runs the battery down far quicker than normal use. So that kids can always get in touch with you when they are out and about, consider investing in a special spare battery pack to plug in if the phone goes dead. Stress that this is to keep them in touch with you – not just to extend playing time!
Safety First
When the game starts up the first screen warns players: Remember to be alert at all times. Stay aware of your surroundings. Niantic and The Pokémon Company who make the game have told players they take safety seriously.
They advise players to be aware of their surroundings especially when exploring unfamiliar places. They suggest playing with friends and family, and respect local laws and the locations visited.
SOURCES:
NSPCC: Pokémon GO: Our open letter to Nintendo UK,
Apple App Store
Pokémon GO app game play
Niantic and The Pokémon Company
BBC News
WebMD Inside Health News: The Pokemon GO Pick-Me-Up
WebMD Health News © 2016 WebMD Inc.
This news article was written and produced by staff at WebMD Health and is intended for a consumer audience. Questions or comments? Email newstip@webmd.net.
Cite this article: Pokémon GO Tips for Parents. Medscape. Jul 18, 2016.
https://static.cmptch.com/v/lib/mng.html?1469573891#´#Ũ#Ũ
25 Monday Jul 2016
Posted diet, news, Uncategorized
inThis is a topic that we have posted before as we saw a lot of research surfacing on the benefits of a plant based diet. Obese people with high inflammatory markers (making them suceptable to heart disease), show significant improvement in their markers after following this plant based diet. It may be worth trying for those with heart disease or even our teens with high cardiac risk!
19 Tuesday Jul 2016
Posted news, safety, Uncategorized
inTags
It saddens me to turn on the news these days. Police officers being shot to the wars in the Middle East, there seems to be an overwhelmingly lack of good news. I have to question, “why is there so much violence?” There is not one answer to this question, but I can’t help but think the virtual world our children our constantly exposed to may contribute to this. I look at the video games advertised and can’t believe the extensive violence portrayed! What happened to Pac-Man and Frogger? When kids spend HOURS and HOURS on these games, this becomes their reality. We as parents need to stand up and take responsibility for what we allow our kids to see and do!
I love the following article that gives parents helpful tips and how to steer our kids away from the violence. Well worth the read!
14 Thursday Apr 2016
Posted development, Uncategorized
inTags
As I see children daily and assess their development, I find many that have not been taught people skills. What happened to looking someone in the eye when talking with them? Where have our manners gone? Technology is definitely a culprit to this. Our children don’t have to interact with others when they can text. Can you imagine what the next generation will be like if we don’t pass these skills on? The following link is a great article on how to teach your child people skills:
29 Friday Jan 2016
Posted development, Uncategorized
inTags
Stress expression on little blond kid’s face
Some children have a tough time coping with stressful situations. They may respond in their behavior by acting out, complain of stomachaches, headaches, etc. We as parents need to stop and address what the root of the problem is. If you have an anxious child, you may find this well written article very helpful.
13 Wednesday Jan 2016
Posted diet, Uncategorized
in
Please read the following article published in Midland Reporter Telegram by one of our physicians, Dr Sari Nabulsi. Some scary statistics!!
13 Wednesday Jan 2016
Posted injury, sports, Uncategorized
inTags
The following article is a great guideline for kids with concussions or even if you suspect a concussion. Please consider taking note of these guidelines especially if your child is playing a sport where they may be at risk.
http://www.parents.com/health/injuries/new-concussion-rules/?sssdmh=dm17.865482&esrc=nwpdbk011316