Child Health & Safety News Roundup: 04-22-2013 to 04-28-2013
Welcome to Pediatric Safety’s weekly “Child Health & Safety News Roundup”- a recap of the past week’s child health and safety news headlines from around the world.
Each day we use Twitter to communicate relevant and timely health and safety information to the parents, medical professionals and other caregivers who follow us. Occasionally we may miss something, but we think overall we’re doing a pretty good job of keeping you informed. But for our friends and colleagues who are not on Twitter (or who are but may have missed something), we offer you a recap of the past week’s top 25 events & stories.
- Loyola Adding Pediatric Fast-Track to Emergency Room Services http://t.co/pzhh5u0HIR Nice! 2013-04-28
- Bill asks EPA to reverse proposed phaseout of sulfuryl fluoride on food – only 2 western nations allow this http://t.co/va0uaq2bOE 2013-04-28
- Denver Health verified as a Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons http://t.co/p82bdlRbnX 2013-04-28
- Anti-HIV therapy appears to protect children’s hearts, National Institutes of Health network study shows http://t.co/RJWLJ3NY8q 2013-04-28
- How to effectively talk to your teen http://t.co/YF9zRVn0yj what do you think?? 2013-04-28
PedSafe Headline of the Week:
New teen and child health hazard: the Cinnamon Challenge http://t.co/R2x8KGJvN
- 40% of parents give kids <4 years old cough/cold medicine that they shouldn’t http://t.co/bIbTKl9ed5 Please read label warnings! 2013-04-28
- Do child safety seats have expiration dates? Yes! for more information check out this link http://t.co/hzKPOAr8zE 2013-04-28
- Joint Public-Private Effort Seeks to Expedite Discovery of Autism Drugs – http://t.co/tnnleqgXRl http://t.co/fzsq7GqJVC 2013-04-28
- Safety first: Tips to keep kids safe around dogs http://t.co/CxY9f7RPDm 2013-04-28
- How a computing startup and the cloud are enabling an umbrella of safety for school children in India http://t.co/8N2Q5Z59s2 2013-04-28
- On boosters, bad words, and giving screens the boot | Confessions of a Dr. Mom http://t.co/A3jBTtgClp 2013-04-27
- Safety feature that anchors child seats (the top tether) is often overlooked http://t.co/u5nlD2ROVg 2013-04-27
- How to Get Your Kids to “Hear” You: http://t.co/7K7R03I4Fn 2013-04-26
- New study by Colorado School of Public Health shows children routinely injured or killed by guns http://t.co/WEGfFwomKH 2013-04-26
- Child car seat violations are up – about 85% of child safety seats are not used correctly http://t.co/5MoR191sqN 2013-04-25
- Same-sex marriage cases before Supreme Court put the spotlight on children raised by gay parents http://t.co/X6UoW6HDXu 2013-04-25
- Help your child keep seasonal allergies at bay | Confessions of a Dr. Mom http://t.co/hxpwHGePTm 2013-04-25
- Study Shows Kidpower’s Program Improves Children’s Safety Skills Knowledge To Prevent Bullying, Abuse, And Abduction http://t.co/mZ6w9C0Z7F 2013-04-25
- Data Resource Ctr for Child and Adolescent Health – US data now available online for multiple surveys & topics http://t.co/J9f59eqO4w fantastic! 2013-04-24
- Dubai child safety campaign for 50,000 pupils gets underway http://t.co/3FnazyAxg8 2013-04-24
- FAA Thinks Flying With Lap Kids Is Unsafe, But Doesn’t Require Kids’ Seats http://t.co/D8Vk6gV8ZA If you fly with young kids, please read this! 2013-04-24
- Special Needs Etiquette | http://t.co/h5KMAhLzlE http://t.co/ZbZxpyujuC 2013-04-23
- Teen Sexting by West Springfield Students Led to Legal Troubles http://t.co/Nnt4zVcaqR Tks @marykayhoal for sharing! 2013-04-22
- New Post by EMS Safety Expert Greg Atwood: Personal WaterCraft & Kids: Can They Be Fast AND Safe?? http://t.co/VCDnVnYOMz 2013-04-22
Top 3 Ways to Get Your Child to Choose Healthy Foods
I spend a lot of time in my family nutrition practice helping parents with their “picky eaters.” That could be the primary reason for their visit, or the picky eating could be complicated by a diagnosis that requires a child to go on a special diet in which their favorite foods are no longer on the menu. This adds layers to their nutrition issues and it is my job to peel the proverbial onion.
How do we transition our kids to the right path with minimal conflicts? What are the underlying issues associated with food battles? Every child is unique, and that cannot be understated. But there are some common denominators with them and hopefully this post will provide you with some ideas to chew on.
It is not a news flash to you that kids want to make their own choices. When parents force things on their children, the natural thing they do is push back. But does that mean we should give children all the decision-making when it comes to eating? Absolutely not. Parents often take this thought too far in allowing their children to make too many choices on their own. It’s all about guiding them. With food, provide acceptable choices from which they may choose. That is the main theme, and here are three of the most important ways in which you can implement them:
- Expose your children repeatedly. Expose your children to a variety of foods. This should start super early in your child’s life and continue as they grow older. Do not delete a food off your child’s menu because they reject it one time or even multiple times. Avoid saying statements such as, “He/she does not like (fill in the food).” A child’s body is growing and developing – and that includes their taste buds! Parents provide the healthy meals and the child gets to choose to eat them or not. If they don’t eat dinner because they don’t like how it looks, that’s OK! But don’t provide an alternate meal of their choice, and don’t allow them to have a snack after dinner of their own food preference. This will never encourage them to try new foods! Stay strong, Mom and Dad. If they are hungry later, you can tell them that you are more than happy to heat up their dinner plate. If you stick to your guns on this one and your kids see that throwing a tantrum does NOT get their way, they will eat the dinner. If you have this in place from the beginning, it’s less of a struggle. They don’t know any different. But if you have done this wrong in the past, communicate that this is the new way and we are not going back.
- Assess your home’s food environment. Each new year should involve going through the kitchen and doing a food balance assessment. When you look into your pantry and/or fridge, are 90% of the available foods healthy? If not, you may need to make some changes. We must fill our home with “always” foods and if there are any “sometimes” foods that are being over consumed, remove them from your home. Make healthy foods ready-to-eat so those snacks are as easy as grabbing a bag of chips.
- Involve your children. Your entire family must be a part of the entire feeding process. That includes planning, shopping (or growing!), preparing, eating and cleaning. The parents are in charge (and must stay in charge), but the children should be involved as helpers in age-appropriate ways. A toddler can help set the table while a teenager can be in charge of cooking one night. Involve your children in the “why’s” behind healthy eating as well. A family is a team and teams must work together to stay healthy so they can meet all their life’s goals. Food is literally the fuel for our precious bodies! Use the MyPlate visual as a guide to help plan meals, and have your children (school-age or older) make their own school lunches that include all the items. If they buy their lunch, go over the school menu and encourage them to use the MyPlate when choosing their lunch.
How ironic is it that being a parent is THE hardest job on the planet and there is no training manual? When it comes to raising healthy eaters, constantly be thinking about the behaviors around feeding children. Empower them to make the healthy choices so they will choose them on their own. That, my friends, is the key to raising a healthy adult.
Child Health & Safety News Roundup: 04-15-2013 to 04-21-2013
Welcome to Pediatric Safety’s weekly “Child Health & Safety News Roundup”- a recap of the past week’s child health and safety news headlines from around the world.
Each day we use Twitter to communicate relevant and timely health and safety information to the parents, medical professionals and other caregivers who follow us. Occasionally we may miss something, but we think overall we’re doing a pretty good job of keeping you informed. But for our friends and colleagues who are not on Twitter (or who are but may have missed something), we offer you a recap of the past week’s top 20 events & stories.
- Children and Teens with Autism More Likely to Become Preoccupied with Video Games, MU Researcher Says http://t.co/i1DzAScu8T 2013-04-21
- How to Talk to Children About the Boston Marathon Bombings | tips from a child psychologist http://t.co/nnZc7KXvV1 2013-04-21
- U.S. Ranks Low on Childrens Health – #26 of 29 wealthy countries http://t.co/RFXSQpvn9N 2nd highest kids living in poverty. Very Sad! 2013-04-21
- Concerns that children exposed prenatally to methadone may have problems when they start school http://t.co/sBOqvK7Uwh sad! 2013-04-21
- London’s children also at risk from measles epidemic currently gripping South Wales http://t.co/BqcVuVcCNL 2013-04-20
PedSafe Headline of the Week:
Parents, consumer groups raise awareness of dangers of deadly furniture tip-overs http://t.co/hzi5lFTBsk
- UN-backed global health conference seeks to save millions of newborns each year http://t.co/Pm4sefcEI1 2013-04-20
- Record-setting 20,000(th) Car Seat Installed at Packard Children’s Hospital http://t.co/Ogp4BdbKtS more than any other hospital in the US 2013-04-20
- Tenessee Dept of Children’s Services to improve training for abuse investigators http://t.co/wNwG21xywr 2013-04-20
- 40,000 children in Wales still not vaccinated against measles – # of cases has risen to 693 http://t.co/whFJG3veva 2013-04-19
- Are Dental Sealants and Fillings Safe for Kids? What about BPA?? http://t.co/GeTgnQeXTp 2013-04-19
- Got a teen on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter? Then you should be there too | Confessions of a Dr. Mom http://t.co/Zb3poC3eaG 2013-04-19
- Significant Improvement In Georgia Child Obesity Rankings http://t.co/W87K4mOlQM nice to hear good news!! 2013-04-18
- Recalls this week include baby socks, infant clothing, handgun vaults, and magnet sets http://t.co/ssWTi6bfXa 2013-04-18
- Shift to Medi-Cal Leaves CA Autistic Kids Without Adequate Care http://t.co/0EbMImvFKY hmmm… 2013-04-18
- Pesticide exposure in yr prior to conception & during pregnancy linked to children’s tumours – study suggests http://t.co/OxyYuoQ7TN 2013-04-17
- Are India’s city pools safe for your kids? http://t.co/mflkbzwkkO 2013-04-17
- McGill Univ receives $5M investment to research genomic biomarkers assoc w pediatric glioblastoma http://t.co/7c444hWSfZ 2013-04-17
- American Academy of Pediatrics Statement on President Obama’s 2014 Budget http://t.co/RlHpiUQkkc 2013-04-17
- Who is The REAL Lifeguard at Your Kid’s Pool This Summer?? http://t.co/F8GpSDGTE6 2013-04-15
Personal WaterCraft & Kids: Can They Be Fast AND Safe??
Summer is fast approaching and that means that thousands of children will be hitting the water looking to go fast! Summer is the time to think about the beach and being outside and speeding around oceans, lakes or canals in (PWC) or personal watercrafts. PWC have steadily risen in ownership in the U.S to well over a million and with that increase in ownership come’s an increase in operators and injuries to the tune of over 12,000 documented injuries annually. Most injuries seem to occur when PWC collide—either with other vessels including other PWC or with fixed objects such as docks or tree stumps. Behavioral factors cited in 3 studies include operator inexperience (most operators had <20 hours of experience in boat operation), operator inattention, and excess speed or reckless operation. Some PWC can seat as many as 3 people and hit speeds of 60 mph. PWC are the only recreational boats for which the leading cause of death is not drowning; most fatalities result from blunt trauma.
The answer to the question of how to keep our children safe on the water seems to be the same as it has been for quite some time. Education and hands on practice. We need to educate our children and ourselves on water safety, both in and out of the water and both for operating and riding on a PWC. The Personal Watercraft Industry Association has the following recommendations:
RECOMMENDATIONS
- No one younger than 16 years should operate PWC.
- The operator and every passenger must wear a US Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device.
- Alcohol or other drug use should be avoided before and while operating PWC.
- Participation in a safe boater course with specific information about PWC should be required before operating PWC.
- Safe operating practices, such as no operation between sunset and sunrise, no wake jumping, and observing posted speed limits or no-wake zones, should be followed. (No-wake zone means the craft speed is slow enough that no wake is formed behind the craft as it crosses a specific area.)
- PWC should not be operated where swimmers are in the water.
- If a PWC is being used to tow another person on skis, knee boards, tubes, or other devices, a second person must face the rear to monitor the person being towed.
- All persons who rent PWC should be required to comply with these recommendations.
- Protective equipment such as wet suits, gloves, boots, eyewear, and helmets may be appropriate to wear.
When it comes to PWC, owning and operating a PWC is the same as owning and operating a car and should be treated with the same amount of respect. Would you hand over your car keys to your child who has little to no driver training? Of course not and the same should hold true when it comes to any PWC. The numbers don’t lie. Everyone needs PWC drivers Ed. Putting in the time before hand will save a lot of pain and suffering during what should be the most fun time of the year for kids.
Thank you and be safe
Are Dental Sealants and Fillings Safe for Kids?
A couple of weeks ago, I told you if you had any questions for health experts to ask away — and I’d see what I could do. Well, the topic for today’s post is thanks to my friend Kristin, who asked me to find out about BPA (bisphenol A) in dental fillings and sealants. Kristin is the “greenest” of all my friends; she even has solar panels on her house and gushes about how much it has saved her family on utilities. I’ve got to admit I wish I had her electric bill!
Back to BPA: Kristin and I tossed our kids’ plastic cups and dinnerware years ago after some preliminary research suggested that the chemical could leach out of plastics when heated and cause health problems, especially for babies and young children. I’ve been buying BPA-free water bottles and other plastics ever since, but it never occurred to me that there would be BPA in those white composite fillings or dental sealants (used to protect kids’ teeth from cavities) until Kristin, fresh from her kid’s teeth-cleaning, asked about it.
I called Julie Anne Barna, a dentist and a spokeswoman for the Academy of General Dentistry, to find out what’s going on. She said that though sealants and fillings don’t contain BPA per se, they do have compounds that can turn into BPA when they’re first put in the mouth. However, she assured me that a quick wipe and rinse of the dental work — a routine practice — removes the potential hazards. In fact, a study published last year in Pediatrics by researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston found that scrubbing and rinsing sealants eliminates 88 to 95 percent of the BPA-causing compounds.
I wish it were 100 percent, of course, but 90-something is good enough for me. The real risk of having a cavity (and other dental problems that might lead to down the road) outweighs the theoretical risk from BPA. Now, please excuse me, I’m off to tell Kristin.
Child Health & Safety News Roundup: 04-08-2013 to 04-14-2013
Welcome to Pediatric Safety’s weekly “Child Health & Safety News Roundup”- a recap of the past week’s child health and safety news headlines from around the world.
Each day we use Twitter to communicate relevant and timely health and safety information to the parents, medical professionals and other caregivers who follow us. Occasionally we may miss something, but we think overall we’re doing a pretty good job of keeping you informed. But for our friends and colleagues who are not on Twitter (or who are but may have missed something), we offer you a recap of the past week’s top 25 events & stories.
- Victoria has some of the highest childhood vaccination rates in Australia and NSW among the lowest http://t.co/c7LWmqoviG 2013-04-14
- Air pollution during pregnancy linked to serious health effects including cancer http://t.co/ASsBGu8HuL 2013-04-14
- Too many fatal accidents involving Israeli children | backovers & falling from windows are world-wide problems! http://t.co/cpnO6Q2VuM 2013-04-14
- Turning facebook into a virtual Pinwheel Garden for Child Abuse Awareness month! http://t.co/HsdEes5nu4 via @causes 2013-04-14
- Quick tips on introducing your baby to solid food | Confessions of a Dr. Mom http://t.co/W6oPDcXFat 2013-04-13
PedSafe Headline of the Week:
Small children can’t describe headache pain | watch for hands on their heads or over their eyes as a sign http://t.co/JGLFWqyNEq
- Campaign to help Aussie kids become more literate http://t.co/TitoXGUtOt 2013-04-12
- Tips to keep NZ kids safe from burns at home this winter http://t.co/eigV6RvEka 2013-04-11
- Texas Children’s Hospital – When Should I Take My Child To The Emergency Center? http://t.co/rWhvQd5Z4R 2013-04-11
- Isolation Rooms in Schools for Special Needs Kids? Just Wrong! http://t.co/f3rQ0GSYMi 2013-04-11
- Eye safety in the home http://t.co/2k3aR4TSnZ Great checklist!! 2013-04-10
- ‘ What the (bleep)!’: 10 things parents should not say around children http://t.co/yMeQDsZ3dQ …yes you probably already know these but… 😉 2013-04-10
- Practical tips help address kids’ obesity http://t.co/2ejthVms3k Use smaller plates – kids eat more food with adult-sized plates 2013-04-10
- Public Health Wales is emphasising the need for kids to get the MMR vaccine as the # of measles cases tops 500 http://t.co/JMCSrmMbLu 2013-04-09
- Melanoma rates on the rise in U.S. kids http://t.co/WDsDYzEuAa Please read! 2013-04-09
- Lead poisoning toll revised to 1 in 38 young kids – approx 2x the previous estimates http://t.co/kcpGNJNlGg 2013-04-09
- April is Autism Awareness Month. Step 1. End Social Isolation, Talk with a Parent of an Autistic Child http://t.co/HrFyWynXQZ 2013-04-09
- Consumer Reports: Popular kids toys – balls & beads that expand in water – pose major safety hazards http://t.co/gBJVt9jWO3 VIDEO 2013-04-08
- Study finds parent behaviour training first-course-of-action for preschoolers at risk for ADHD http://t.co/zbLkn5rCIy 2013-04-08
- Schizophrenia may give early warnings – possibly as early as puberty http://t.co/pDvB859Nax great if enable early intervention 2013-04-08
- What Are The signs Your Child May Suffer From Sleep Apnea http://t.co/OYTGaqsh1F 2013-04-08
- How big is your baby? Doctors build “intuition” into the design of EHRs to uncover insights in children’s health http://t.co/M0N7Ioo0fr 2013-04-08
- Parents reminded of window cord safety http://t.co/22aeKfY4I4 parents urged to use only cordless window coverings!! 2013-04-08
- Canadian xchool-based “healthy living” programs may be triggering eating disorders http://t.co/skOYd7Vttj 2013-04-08
- ‘Disease’ Label Prompts Parents to Want Medication for Healthy Babies http://t.co/gi9tFwO01G 2013-04-08
- Terrific Article by MomRN: Tips for Potty Training Success http://t.co/jjnNKl1R6T 2013-04-08