Four Ways to Prevent Infections This Winter
When it comes to avoiding viruses, pediatricians say that these are four essentials.
Vaccines
In addition to making sure your child has a flu vaccine, keeping her up-to-date with all her regular immunizations will protect her from pneumonia, meningitis, ear infections, and whooping cough.
Clean Hands
Wash them often — especially before eating or after coughing or sneezing. Tell your child to scrub with soap or use alcohol-based hand gel. Also teach her to keep her hands away from her face so she won’t transmit germs into her eyes, nose, or mouth, says pediatrician and Parents advisor Ari Brown, M.D.
Good Food
Serve a variety of fruits, veggies, whole grains, dairy products, and other nutritious foods. If your child gets less than 400 IU of vitamin D daily from her diet, she should take a supplement. A vitamin D deficiency could increase the risk of many illnesses, including a cold and flu.
Sleep Well
Rested children are less likely to get sick, so make a regular bedtime non-negotiable. A lack of sleep can disrupt the function of white blood cells called T cells, which play an important role in helping fight off infections.
By Sharlene K. Johnson
Originally published in the November 2009 issue of Parents magazine.
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Is There Mercury In The Flu Vaccine? Should I Be Concerned?
While mercury-free brands of the flu vaccine are available, the majority of flu shots still contain some thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that used to be found in a number of vaccines — and that some people have claimed may cause autism.
However, more and more evidence — via larger, better-designed studies — has failed to find any link that thimerosal in vaccines is responsible for the onset of autism in babies and children. Most recently, a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry found that cases of autism in California continued to increase every year from 1995 to 2007, despite the fact that thimerosal was removed from most vaccines by 2001. Experts believe that if thimerosal were responsible for autism, cases would have dropped significantly after that time.
If you’re concerned, more and more versions of thimerosal-free flu shots are available each year, and many pediatricians currently offer them. And children older than 2 can receive the nasal spray form of the vaccine, which does not contain thimerosal either.
Health 101: The Flu Vaccine
The flu vaccine protects against the flu (influenza), which is a very contagious infection of the respiratory system. Flu germs spread through the air (from coughing, sneezing, etc.) and from contact with infected objects and surfaces. The flu can make your child feel very achy and tired, causing fever, chills, loss of appetite, coughing, runny nose, and sore throat.
Though the flu is common, it can be uncomfortable and dangerous, especially for young kids. The flu can lead to complications like pneumonia, staph and ear infections, and fevers that may cause seizures. Though some parents might consider the flu a more serious cold, the virus sends more than 20,000 children under 5 to the hospital each year; children under 2 face the most serious risk.
Because complications from the flu can be so serious, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that children ages 6 months through 19 years receive the flu vaccine annually, as well as parents, caregivers, and anyone else who has close contact with kids . The vaccine is also very important for pregnant women.
The flu vaccine is especially recommended for kids and adults who are at higher risk from getting very sick should they contract the flu, including:
- Children aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday
- People who live in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities
- Pregnant women
- People who live with or care for those at high risk for complications from flu, including:
- Health care workers
- Household contacts of persons at high risk for complications from the flu
- Household contacts and out of home caregivers of children less than 6 months of age (these children are too young to be vaccinated) - People 50 years old and older
- People of any age with certain chronic medial conditions
2010 Flu Vaccination News
Everything you need to know about the Flu Vaccine in 2010
Keep your family healthy during flu season by staying informed. We have the latest updates. Please note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its recommendation for an annual flu shot to include everyone over six months old.
Seasonal flu vaccines now include H1N1 strains: Doctors anticipate H1N1 will still be circulating during the fall and winter months of 2010, but a new flu vaccination formula means, for the most part, you and our little ones will only each need one flu shot. The exception? Kids under age 9 who haven’t had a seasonal flu shot before, and kids under 9 who didn’t get the H1N1 vaccine in 2009 will still need two doses of the combined vaccine, administered four weeks apart.
Everyone over the age of 6 months should get the vaccine: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expanded its recommendation for an annual flu shot to include everyone over 6 months old — last year the vaccine was only recommended for children under 18, adults over 49, and those at special risk because of a medical condition. Even if you received both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 vaccine last year, receiving a new vaccine is recommended since immunity decreases over time and this year’s shot includes protection against a new strain. Unlike last year, all pregnant women are also recommended to have the vaccine, regardless of what trimester they are in.
More shots at school: Don’t be surprised if your child’s school asks for your permission to immunize. In 2009, three of the four states with the highest children’s H1N1 vaccination rates — Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont — had school-based vaccination programs. School clinics save doctors’ offices from having to coordinate thousands of vaccines, and help reach children who otherwise wouldn’t be vaccinated and protected.
Tougher Tamiflu guidelines: No matter how much you may beg your doctor, physicians have been advised not to administer children an antiviral medication just to make sure they are healthy for your Disney vacation next week. Overuse of the drug could cause flu viruses to become resistant to the medication. The CDC dictates that top priority for Tamiflu prescriptions will go to sick children under age 2 (down from age 5 at the beginning of the 2009 flu season), pregnant women, adults over 65, those with a medical condition that puts them at risk, parents with an infant under 6 months old, and anyone who’s hospitalized with the flu. If you think your child may need an antiviral, visit your doctor within 48 hours of the virus’ inception — that’s when Tamiflu is most effective. FYI: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns the “generic” Tamiflu sold by unscrupulous online drugstores is unauthentic — call or visit your doctor for medication needs.
Originally published in the November 2010 issue of Parents mag
Images of Your Developing Baby: First Trimester
These images reveal all the intricate details of your baby’s growth — from a collection of cells to a full-term newborn. While most women may only receive one or two ultrasounds during pregnancy, which is normal, this slideshow of the 1st trimester of pregnancy gives you a look at each week of development.
Weeks 1 and 2
There’s no ultrasound image of your baby-to-be for weeks 1 and 2. While your health care provider counts these two weeks toward your due date, you aren’t really pregnant. Confused? Your pregnancy due date is calculated using the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). Obviously you weren’t pregnant at that time, but it’s the best reference your health care provider has for estimating baby’s arrival day (until you get an ultrasound, which may provide a more accurate due date).
Week 3 (1 week from conception)
Fetal Size: Not measurable.
Fetal Development Milestones: Fertilization!
What You’re Seeing: This week is when your pregnancy really begins. At some point, the sperm joins with the egg as it makes its way from the ovary through the Fallopian tube and then into the uterus. Fertilization takes place inside the Fallopian tube. Once together, the cells begin to divide rapidly so that next week, a sonographer may be able to capture baby-to-be’s beginnings during an ultrasound examination.
Week 4 (2 weeks from conception)
Fetal Size: Not measureable.
Fetal Development Milestones: Positive pregnancy test!
What You’re Seeing: The small circle at the center of the sonogram may not look like much, but that little sac is a kind of baby cocoon called a gestational sac. The cells that make up this sac will begin to specialize. Some cells will become part of the placenta. Some will form the amniotic sac that will fill with fluid to cushion your developing baby. Other cells are destined to form everything from delicate eyelashes to muscles and skin. But that’s still a long way away.
Week 5 (3 weeks from conception)
Week 6 (4 weeks from conception)Fetal
Size: 1/18 to 1/16th of an inch (about the size of the pen dot)
Fetal Development Milestones: Baby-to-be takes on a tucked, C-shape. Head, legs, and umbilical cord are forming. Blood is pumping through the heart.
What You’re Seeing: In this 3D image of the developing embryo, you can see a big change since last week. The baby-to-be curves inward, with the umbilical cord in the middle. The head appears at the upper right side of the image. Small buds can be seen where the arms and legs will eventually develop.
Fuel Your Child’s Desire to Learn
Stimulating your child’s curiosity is critical to helping her succeed in the classroom. Good news: It’s not only easy but also fun.
Kids who enjoy learning tend to explore things more deeply. So encourage observation: Point out details he might not otherwise notice, such as the whorls of a fingerprint or the patterns on a lace curtain. “Instilling a passion for learning is one of the greatest gifts you can give your kids,” says Linda Acredolo, Ph.D., a Parents advisor and coauthor of Baby Minds.
Leave time for independent play.
If you’ve ever watched a toddler endlessly fill, empty, and refill a bucket with sand, you know that all kids are scientists by nature. But this process of experimentation can’t happen unless you let your child check out the world on his own terms. “Give him time and room to do things on his own,” says Margery B. Franklin, Ph.D., professor emerita of psychology at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, New York. Resist the urge to jump in and help him at the first sign of frustration; children need to learn how to solve things themselves. “The answers, in learning and in life, don’t always come right away,” says Kyle Pruett, Ph.D., a Parents advisor and coauthor of Partnership Parenting. “Most kids need your help to develop perseverance.”
Encourage observation.
Taking a closer look at everyday objects will make them seem more intriguing to your child. Point out details she might not otherwise notice, such as the whorls of a fingerprint or the patterns on a lace curtain. On walks around town, Marla Barr, of New York City, used to play “Tell me what you see” with her then 2-year-old daughter, Julia. “I showed her the American flag and asked her to point out all the flags she could find on our stroll,” says Barr. In turn, Julia asked her mom to identify any new thing she observed (such as a mailbox or a garbage truck) and then tried to find other examples of it.
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Do You Ask the Right Questions?
Teachers expect that you’ll have tons of questions about the year ahead, but try not to turn your first meeting into an interrogation. “You don’t want to overwhelm the teacher right from the start or go in with a preconceived idea of what your child should accomplish,” says Erika V. Shearin Karres, EdD, author of A+ Teachers: How to Empower Your Child’s Teacher, and Your Child, to Excellence.
Instead, ask just a few questions that show you’re a team player. Keep the first meeting upbeat — you might start off with a compliment, such as, “I really love the way you decorated the classroom.” Then, ask questions that focus on collaboration: “How can I help you in the classroom? Can I contribute any supplies you might need?”
Try to stay positive for the first few weeks and save judgments or critiques for later. After all, the teacher needs time to get to know your kid and identify her behavioral quirks and learning style, and that will take some trial and error.
Getting the Best from Your Child
Preschool teachers told us how to get the best from your toddler. Want to promote independence? Assign chores, and don’t redo your child’s work if it’s imperfect. Need better cooperation? Allow playtime freedom and turn work into games or set it to music.
Getting the Best from Your Child
What parent hasn’t occasionally wondered: Why is my child better for everyone else than for me? The simple answer: Your child tests her limits with you because she trusts you will love her no matter what. But that doesn’t mean you can’t borrow a few strategies from the preschool teachers’ playbook to get the best from your child. I worry that my 3-year-old, Sophie, has a split personality. At school she cleans up her toys, puts on her shoes, and is entirely self-sufficient at potty time. At home, she whines whenever I ask her to pick up anything, insists I join her in the bathroom whenever she has to go, and lately has started demanding that I spoon-feed her dinner. Clearly, her teacher knows something I don’t. We asked educators from around the country for their tips so listen up — and take notes!
Promoting Independence
While 3- and 4-year-olds still need plenty of parental help, our preschool experts agree that kids are typically able to do more than many of us think. Here’s how you can encourage them:
1. Expect more. Most people have a way of living up (or down) to expectations — preschoolers included. “At school we expect the kids to pour their own water at snack, to throw away their plates, to hang up their jackets — and they do,” says Jennifer Zebooker, a teacher at the 92nd Street Y Nursery School, in New York City. “But then they’ll walk out of the classroom and the thumb goes in the mouth and they climb into strollers.” Raise the bar and your child will probably stretch to meet it.
2. Resist doing for her what she can do herself. While it may be quicker and easier to do it yourself, it won’t help to make your child more self-sufficient. Quick hint: Appeal to her sense of pride, suggests Donna Jones, a preschool teacher at Southern Oregon University’s Schneider Children’s Center in Ashland, Oregon. “Whenever I’m trying to get kids to dress, put jackets on, sit on chairs during meals and so on, I’ll ask them: ‘Do you want me to help you or can you do it yourself?’ Those words are like magic,” promises Jones. “The kids always want to do it for themselves.”
3. Don’t redo what they’ve done. If your child makes her bed, resist the urge to smooth the blankets. If she dresses herself in stripes and polka dots, compliment her “eclectic” style. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t fix what your child accomplishes, says Kathy Buss, director of the Weekday Nursery School, in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. She will notice and it may discourage her.
4. Let them solve simple problems. If you see your child trying to assemble a toy or get a book from a shelf that she can reach if she stands on her stepstool, pause before racing over to help. “Provided that they are safe, those moments when you don’t rush in, when you give children a moment to solve things for themselves, those are the character-building moments,” says Zebooker. “It’s natural to want to make everything perfect, but if we do, we cheat kids of the chance to experience success.”
5. Assign a chore. Putting your preschooler in charge of a regular, simple task will build her confidence and sense of competency, says Buss. A child who is entrusted to water the plants or empty the clothes dryer is likely to believe she can also get dressed herself or pour her own cereal. Just be sure the chore you assign is manageable and that it’s real work, not busywork, since even preschoolers know the difference. The goal is to make your child feel like a capable, contributing member of the family.
Expert Tips for Better Nutrition
As your baby graduates from purees to finger foods, it’s important to build a solid foundation of good nutrition. But don’t stop there. The older your child gets, the more important it is to teach (and practice) smart eating habits.
Smart Advice: When to Start
Start solids at 4 to 6 months. Up until then, your baby’s digestive system can’t handle anything besides breast milk or formula. But don’t wait much longer to start, or your baby may get so accustomed to her liquid diet that she loses interest in learning to chew and swallow solid foods.
Smart Advice: No Cereal in the BottleYour baby doesn’t need the extra calories that it adds to formula — unless your pediatrician advises it. Plus, thickened formula can cause babies to gag or inhale the liquid into their lungs.
Smart Advice: Intro One Food at a TimeWhen you wait two to three days between offering new foods, it’s easier to spot allergic reactions like diarrhea, vomiting, or rash — though most symptoms appear within four hours of eating.
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Similac Baby Formula Recall Has Parents Seeking Answers
A voluntary recall of Similac baby formula has parents across the country up in arms as they seek answers, fearing their children may fall ill after insects were found at Similac’s Sturgis, Mich., manufacturing plant, spokeswoman Kelly Morrison told The Associated Press.
WIC agencies across New Jersey received word of the recall from the state Thursday afternoon along with instructions to issue concentrate formula to participants who have tainted formula, Donna Leusner of the state health department told NJ.COM.
The New Jersey WIC program serves approximately 180,000 mothers and children, although the number of families using Similac was not “readily available,” Leusner said.
Sandra Lee, founder of ParenthoodNJ.com, said she purchased Similac’s powdered infant formula and was relieved to finally “get through online with one container after an hour and 15 minutes (and luckily it wasn’t recalled). But still trying to get information on a second package so I suspect that it will be hit or miss for people for a while.”
Lee advised parents worried they might be in possession of tainted formula to keep trying the company’s toll-free number and website.
The recall, which stands to cost the company approximately $100 million in sales, affects powder products offered in 8, 12.4 and 12.9 ounce cans in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and some Caribbean nations.
The bugs were small common warehouse beetles found sometime last week, Morrison said. Once the discovery was made, production was stopped and containers of formula from the tainted line were tested. Morrison said 99.8 percent of the tested product had not been contaminated, The Daily Record reported.
The company issued a statement Thursday saying although it is unlikely any of the formula already sold is tainted, Abbott, the company that makes Similac, wasted no time launching the voluntary recall of 5 million cans and plastic containers.
“Chances are really, really remote” that beetle parts made it into formula that was sold to consumers, but the products were recalled just in case they might contain beetle parts or larvae, Morrison told The Associated Press.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that while the tainted formula poses no immediate health risk, there is a possibility that infants who consume bettle tainted formula or their larvae could experience GI tract irritation and/or gastrointestinal discomfort for a few days. If the symptoms last any longer, parents should consult a physician.
That did little to comfort parents, many whom bombarded the baby formula maker with telephone calls and took to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to voice their ire. Some have switched to rival formulas.
No other Abbott liquid infant formulas were affected by the recall. Those products include all Abbott Nutrition liquid ready-to-feed and concentrated infant formulas and all powder and liquid specialty formulas, such as Similac Expert CareTM Alimentum®, Elecare ®, Similac Expert CareTM Neosure ®, Similac® Human Milk Fortifier, and metabolic formulas for inherited disorders.
Anyone with affected lot numbers mentioned in media reports should return them to Abbott at no personal cost. Visit www.similac.com/recall/lookup or call Abbott’s consumer hotline, (800) 986-8850, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Parents will find specific details on how to begin the return process at the website and through the consumer hotline.
To find out if the product you have is included in the 2010 recall, visit www.similac.com/recall/lookup, and type in the lot number on the product to determine if it has been recalled or call (800) 986-8850.
BY ALICIA CRUZ
Baby to Kids Boutique
