How to Help Your Child Overcome Exam Stress for Good

Last updated on December 12th, 2016 at 03:09 pm

Editor’s Note: *clarification provided for our US readers.

Are Thumb-sucking and Pacifiers Bad For My Child’s Teeth?

Last updated on March 7th, 2018 at 07:27 pm

Thumb-sucking and pacifiers have both been a natural source of comfort for children for decades. It’s an instinctual habit; sucking on thumbs, fingers, pacifiers or other objects often help babies relax, boosting their moods and leading to soothing sleeping patterns.

However, as comforting as thumb-sucking may be, these habits can be detrimental to your child’s oral health. The intensity of the sucking, or how aggressive your child is sucking on an object, is the determining factor between a harmless practice and a damaging dental issue. For children who passively rest their thumbs in their mouths, dental damage is rare. On the other hand, for kids who vigorously suck on their thumbs several hours a day, there’s a high risk of developmental problems in baby teeth, proper growth of the mouth, alignment of the teeth and changes in the roof of the mouth.

Pacifiers can affect your child’s teeth in the same ways, but it is usually an easier habit to break compared to thumb-sucking. Children should stop sucking on objects and fingers around the age of two, or by the time the permanent front teeth begin to erupt through the gums.

If your child is a vigorous thumb-sucker, try the following:

• Reward or praise your child when they are not sucking.
• Thumb-sucking is often a subconscious solution to feelings of insecurity or boredom. Focus on solving the source of the thumb-sucking, rather than breaking the habit itself.
• For an older child, involve him or her in the decision to stop sucking. Explain why it is harmful to their teeth, as well as their overall health, due to the intake of unnecessary germs.
• Bandage the fingers or thumb.
• Coat the fingers or thumb in a safe, bitter-tasting coating.
• Ask your dentist about a mouth appliance.

If you have any other questions regarding thumb-sucking or pacifier use, please do not hesitate to contact your dentist, or leave us a comment below!

New Research into the Impact of Digital Media on Homework

Last updated on November 14th, 2016 at 11:38 am

How does the amount of time spent on digital media affect a child’s well being and development, including the ability to complete their homework? New research provides additional insight into this question.

THE PROBLEM:  In today’s ever-changing world of technology, how does a parent deal with the pressures of time constraints?  When all around you, people are no longer communicating with each other without some kind of digital screen in front of them, how do you make a decision about how much digital media is okay for your child? When does it become too much, so that it interferes with the other facets of a child’s healthy emotional and mental development?

THE STUDY:  That was the question that pediatricians from Brown University School of Public Health sought an answer to when they analyzed data on media use and homework habits of 64,000 children aged 6-17 from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children’s Health. This survey, which uses parental and caregiver reports of their children’s activities, is sponsored by the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau and completed every few years by a group at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers presented an abstract of the study, “Digital Media Exposure in School-Aged Children Decreases the Frequency of Homework”, at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Convention in October.

Overall findings were specific and abundantly clear:  “Children who spent four to six hours on digital media had 49 percent lower odds of always or usually finishing their homework than those with less than 2 hours per day.” Even 2 or 3 hours a day resulted in a significant negative impact on homework completion.

Note: “Digital media” included:  TV, computers, tablets and smartphones, and the research separated out time spent on school work projects.

Facts:  Percentage of digital media exposure of the study group.

• 31% were exposed to less than two hours per day.
• 36% were exposed to two to four hours per day.
• 17% were exposed to four to six hours per day
• 17% were exposed six or more hours per day

THE RESULTS:  The effects of digital media exposure on homework completion by children, when compared to children with less than two hours of usage per day:

• Two to four hours of media usage: children had 23% lower odds of completion.
• Four to six hours of media usage: 49% lower odds of always or usually finishing their homework.
• Six or more hours of media usage: 63% lower odds of completion.
• For every additional two hours of any digital media usage, there was significant decrease in the probability of always or usually completing homework.

Other negative side effects of over-exposure to digital media and the ability for children to flourish, surfaced in the lack of

• Caring about performing well in school
• Completing tasks started
• Interest in learning new things
• Staying calm in the face of challenges

“Parents should consider these combined effects when setting limits on digital media devices.” according to Stephanie Ruest, MD, FAAP, an author of the study.

Note: The statistics remained the same regardless of child’s age, sex or family income level.

MY THOUGHTS:  As a Grandmother of five grandchildren between the ages of eleven and fifteen, I have certainly had the opportunity to observe the problem many times over – and from my perspective, the bottom line is clear.  Parents need to pay attention to this study.

They need to make the adjustments to their parenting by not following a “Do as I say, not as I do!” mentality.  The study quite clearly answers the question:  Yes, there will be damage to children from long-time exposure to digital media.  The more the exposure, the more the damage there will be.  It WILL have a negative effect on their ability to complete their homework and other projects, get a good night’s sleep and to remain calm in the face of a crisis.  The parents are the examples.  Will they be willing to make the changes in their own and their family’s lives to be able to nurture stable, responsible, well-adjusted children by making the harder, more adversarial choice to limit their child’s usage of digital media?

Reference

The abstract was presented by co-author Max Rubinstein, MD., a copy of which can be obtained from the AAP Department of Public Affairs at:  commun@aap.org.  Senior author Annie Gjelsvik, PhD, can be contacted at Annie_Gjelsvik@Brown.edu.

Click here for a link to an AAP article on this study.

Holiday Decorations & Kids: Hidden Dangers You Need to Avoid

Last updated on November 14th, 2016 at 11:39 am

The holidays are fast approaching and the preparation has already begun for Thanksgiving and eventually Christmas.  Family will be coming over to your home or you will be traveling to theirs for food and festivities.  While this time of year is a joyful one please keep in mind the little things that pose a danger to the children.  Things like electricity from lights and decorations, breakable objects that can be knocked over onto a child or create sharp edges.  Choking hazards are greatly overlooked during the holidays.  While we are all aware of toys having choking hazards and warning labels , holiday decorations can have parts that are easily swallowed if found by a child such as small light bulbs, parts from battery operated decorations,  holiday village scenes, snacks in snack bowls,  and a host of other things that need to be secured and checked.

When I teach CPR classes for new parents, soon to be parents and even grandparents, I encourage everyone to go home and lie on the floor and see the world from a child’s perspective and see what a different world it is.   I do this to emphasize a point that there are hidden dangers under furniture and that the children will find anything you have lost like pills, money and other objects.  I encourage this around the holidays as well because it will give you a perspective of your home that will allow you to see how easily the holiday decorations and electrical cords can be reached by small children.   Give it a try, I promise you it’s an eye opening experience.

I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!

Guided Play Means a Chance to Return to Your Childhood

Last updated on November 6th, 2016 at 06:02 pm

Parents out there you know how it goes: you play the same game over and over again with your toddler or you help them put together a puzzle. This is the daily “stuff” of parenting and you may feel it doesn’t make a difference. Well, turns out, it does make a difference! A recent study from the University of Montreal and the University of Minnesota shows that how parents interact with young children helps them develop crucial cognitive skills. Here’s a brief overview of the study: – researchers studied 80 pairs of moms and their one-year-old children – the study focused on how moms interacted with their children in tasks such as playing games or putting together puzzles – the researchers examined how these interactions predicted children’s “advanced cognitive functions”–those are things like controlling impulses, remembering things and having mental flexibility It turns out that how moms interact with their children in these tasks help the child develop these important cognitive skills. Children whose moms who interacted in the following ways had better cognitive skills at 18-26 months: – provided guidance and scaffolding in tasks that were difficult for the child but did not take over the do the task for him/her – followed the child’s lead and pace in completing the task or playing the game – used a warm and sensitive tone when interacting with the child One of the most important findings of the study was that these types of interactions helped support the child’s autonomous behavior–that is, the child learns to do activities on their own.

This is a great skill for kids to learn, but it does take some practice and help from parents to start. This is really the essence of the idea of “guided” play. Play really is the “work” of childhood and research has shown repeatedly how play-based learning fits better with young children’s developmental capabilities than rote learning. Play-based learning, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that kids should be left to their own devices all the time; some adult guidance is useful in helping kids structure their play and learn new concepts. This doesn’t mean you have to instruct your child how to play, but offering some ideas or a starting point is often helpful.

I have found in playing with my son (age 2.5) that he will often come up with an idea of something he wants to create or imitate based on something he saw in a book or video, but he doesn’t quite know how to implement it. Once he mentions an idea, I will then help him come up with the tools (usually whatever toys are lying around) to create his vision. For example, he recently read about a combine in a farm book so he wanted to play with one. Since we didn’t have a toy combine, I showed him how to create one out of Legos. Luckily, kids have great imaginations and almost any combination of Legos can turn into the desired object. Once he had his creation in hand, he was off and playing with very little intervention from me.

I think one of the main messages of the study is this idea of guided play. Playing with toys in itself is not magical, it’s the guidance and vocabulary offered by adults that really seems to make the difference in children’s learning. “Guided play” may sound like a daunting task, but it’s really just a return to your childhood and in the process helping your child discover his or her world.

 

Tell Your Teen: “Stop Smoking…Start Shopping”

Last updated on October 31st, 2016 at 02:32 pm

Editor’s Note: *clarification provided for our US readers.

« Previous Page — Next Page »