Category: Parenting Tips

School is back in session and kids will be back socializing, sharing and, in some cases, spreading their germs. It is almost unavoidable – someone will get sick and it will spread with a sneeze or a sniffle or because he or she touched a railing or one of the other vast number of items kids use throughout the day. At least during the summer, parents can plan for their young ones being out of school. But for working parents, a child suddenly falling ill during the school year can be harder to manage, especially if he or she does not show any signs until it is time to catch the bus. 

To prevent this and maintain their children's health and wellness, families should try to instill a sense of good habits and hygiene into their kids, particularly during chilly autumn and winter months. 

One major habit parents should foster in their children is to stay clean. Many educational institutions offer hand sanitizer stations, which can help kill all the germs kids pick up throughout the school day. From desks to doorknobs, students' hands touch numerous objects that may not be hygienic. Washing their hands too many times can also be unhealthy, but parents who encourage them to do so before they eat and after recess or other physical activities can reduce the chance they get sick. 

Vaccinations are another important measure, and the more kids that are vaccinated, the safer that all of them will be, since sickness will have fewer avenues into a school. 

Children should also be reminded not to share combs, hats or other personal items. Parents who give their kids an extra comb on picture day may be thankful for the stress it saves them from later. 

When all else fails
Of course, sometimes sickness cannot be helped. When that happens, parents should strive to get their kids healthy as soon as possible. Some children may enjoy time off from school, but no one wants to be bedridden, and parents do not want to see their kids in pain. The Light and Champion recently suggested that parents should take their children to a doctor for an evaluation if they appear to be sick. Finding the cause of the illness will let families know the best course of action to speed up the kids' recovery. Making medicine taste better through options like FlavorX can also encourage them to happily accept their treatment rather than try and avoid it. 

While summer is not entirely gone, the first crisp, cool breezes of autumn have slipped through some parts of the United States. September is here and so is school. Even after the first day begins, though, parents may be wondering if they have prepared their children with everything they need. So, while kids may have already had their first day in class, families should double-check that there won't be any problems throughout the year.

Backpacks
In 2012, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that 13,700 kids needed to see a doctor due to backpack-related injuries. Too many children are carrying more than they should on their shoulders. To avoid injury, they should not tote more than 10 to 15 percent of their body weight.

There are a few things parents should do to help this. One is to ensure that their children wear an appropriately sized backpack. If it is too large, then more can be put into it, and the chance of an injury is greater. Additionally, they should always wear both arm straps and the waist strap if the backpack has one. This distributes the weight more evenly.

School lunches
While most schools provide lunch to students, they do not always have the healthiest options. The California Report recently noted that federal lunch reimbursement requires schools to serve vegetables to children, but that does not guarantee that everything else they offer is particularly healthy. Additionally, kids can occasionally be picky eaters, so preparing their lunch can improve the chance that they will eat right.

Another thing for parents to keep in mind is that the school may not be providing enough time for students to finish their lunch. The Report noted that while many states and organizations recommend a minimum of 20 minutes to eat, not all education providers follow that suggestion. So even as parents try and prepare healthy meals, they may also want to pack food that their kids can finish eating before heading back to class.

Sleep
This may seem obvious, but after a few months of enjoying the sun and free time, children may not be used to going to bed and waking up at a certain time. To make sure that they get to school on time – without missing the bus – parents should set a bedtime and be there to help kids wake up in the morning. Limiting television and video game time at night can also encourage them to sleep when they should. If they are active right up until their bedtime, they will have a more difficult time settling down for the night. A full night's rest is an important part of children's health and wellness, so families should try and shift from the summer schedule and back to the school one. 

Medication
When parents have children with chronic pediatric medical conditions, it is extremely important that they ensure that their kids take their medication throughout the day. Even if a family has discussed self-treatment in past school years, the summer months may have changed their routine, so it is helpful to remind children of their responsibilities again. Parents should also speak with the school about the disorder, since the staff may be unaware of it. Even if a kid is going to the same place he or she did last year, the medical professionals may have changed, and new teachers may not have been informed about the child.

One way that parents can encourage their children to take their medication is to give them an additional incentive that makes them want to use it. Making medicine taste better can turn what was once a chore into a treat.

Everyone's heard of the concept of the sugar rush, and some parents try not to give their kids sweet food and drinks to avoid affecting their children's health and wellness. However, the culprit may not be sugar, but caffeine instead. This is somewhat understandable – many people wake in the morning to a fresh cup of coffee to start the day. It revitalizes them, regardless of whether they've had a full night's rest or only a nap. So it makes sense that children would receive a similar burst of energy and act excited while under caffeine's influence. 

However, the effect of caffeine may extend beyond an energy boost, according to recent research published in the Journal of Pediatrics. The study found that kids who drink soda are slightly more aggressive than other children, based on the analysis of 2,929 children from 20 sizable U.S. cities. Mothers were asked to rate their children's aggressive behavior on a scale of one to 100 during the two months preceding their survey, and kids who drank four or more soda servings per day averaged a score of 62. Non-soda drinkers rated only a 56, while those who drank between one and three servings fell into a range between the non-drinkers and heavy soda drinkers. 

Children who drank four or more soda servings per day were also found to be twice as likely to fight and destroy people's belongings than kids who don't drink soda. 

"In children who consume sodas on a daily basis, we see an increased level of depression, anxiety, hyperactivity, and acting out," Judy Gaman, a health and wellness expert at Executive Medicine of Texas in Southlake, told the Dallas Morning News. "Caffeine is a drug and sodas are addictive, so don't be surprised if you and your family have to go through a detox period when you wean off. During such time, headaches, moodiness, and anxiety will rise, but should be gone in three to seven days." 

Soda on the decline, but parents may want solutions now
The Dallas Morning News also noted that soda sales have been declining for the past eight years. Although the popularity of the beverage may be decreasing, this does little good for parents who want to address the problem now. Gaman, as well as Wendy Rice, a Tampa-based psychologist, offered a few recommendations to families who want to remove soda from their diet. 

Gaman suggested not buying soda, regardless of where the family is, and that parents should also keep an eye out for artificial sweeteners. Rice added that substitutions such as seltzer water mixed with fruit juice can also help. However, the source noted that alternatives like diet soda are not a good answer, as the problem is with the caffeine, not the sweetener. 

Reuters reported that the study is not definitive, as the craving for soda may be tied to chronic pediatric medical conditions such as low blood-sugar levels, and that may result in the heightened sense of aggression. However, it added that soda still provides little nutritional value to children. 

Most people know how to live a healthier life. They need to exercise, eat right and take their medicine. Yet many individuals do none of these activities. They do not exercise, they overeat and, according to a recent survey from Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, about two-thirds of Americans sometimes miss taking their medication. This can result in a hospital visit or worse.

For a child, there is the added difficulty of trying to convince the kid to take his or her medicine, and the parents need to oversee the child's treatment. With many adults not taking their prescriptions when they are supposed to, the chance exists that kids may also miss their scheduled dosages. They are also less likely to monitor their own schedule, particularly if they don't like their medication.  Depending on their age, they may also not understand the importance of not missing a pill or injection. 

Give kids a reason to take their medicine
By encouraging children to take their medicine, parents can minimize the risk that they will forget about the treatment and increase the chance that their kids will remind them about the medication. This can be especially important when treating chronic pediatric medical conditions, as convincing someone to do the same thing every day can be problematic when he or she does not want to do it. 

By creating a fun situation for a child, routine activities can become more enjoyable. Medicine-flavoring services such as those offered by FLAVORx partner pharmacies provide a number of better-tasting options for children and can make taking their medication a joy. Different taste options can offer variety to an otherwise familiar medicinal experience, while more than a dozen flavors can help kids find something they like. 

Though most physicians and pharmacists are intent on maintaining children's health and wellness, improving how regularly kids take their medicine can also provide a considerable amount of savings. According to the 2012 Express Scripts Drug Trend Report, the United States loses about $317.4 billion in medical costs every year that could have been prevented by patients more rigorously taking their medicine. 

Chronic pediatric medical conditions like autism can be hard for parents to manage, but being prepared for these issues can create a better, healthier environment for the family. When mothers and fathers know what to expect and how to care for their child, they can avoid frustration related to not knowing what to do – and the earlier they know, the better. 

Parents with autistic children should be aware that there is an increased chance that younger siblings will also experience the condition. Reuters Health recently reported on a study from Aarhus University in Denmark that looked into the likelihood of autism occurring among multiple siblings. Researchers discovered that younger siblings are seven times more likely to have an autistic disorder if their older siblings were diagnosed with one. This includes half-siblings, who are more likely to have an autism spectrum disorder if they share the same mother. Half-siblings with the same father were only 1.5 times more likely to share an ASD. 

While there may be a genetic predisposition to ASDs, Therese Gronborg​, who led the study, noted that there would be a greater recurrence rate if it were solely a hereditary, biological issue. Lifestyle, environment and upbringing were all noted as possible reasons for why children may have ASDs. Researchers suggested that the parents' ability to recognize autism's symptoms may also be why their kids are more likely to be diagnosed with the condition. 

However, Reuters highlighted the fact that past studies actually found a stronger link between autism and sibling relationships. The Aarhus University research still found a correlation between the two, but it is not as likely as once thought. While younger siblings to autistic children have a greater chance of being diagnosed with the condition, this still only amounts to a 7 percent chance – rather than the 18 percent chance similar projects have found. 

Helping raise an autistic child
For parents to maintain their children's health and wellness and their own, the Mayo Clinic provided a few suggestions. This included working with social workers, doctors and teachers to find the best way to raise and educate the child. Meeting with other families that have autistic children can also help. As always, knowledge is power, so the source recommended staying up to date about the disorder and the most recent technologies and therapies devoted to managing it. 

For many parents, obesity is the most pressing issue for their children's health and wellness. The prevalence of fatty, sugary foods mixed with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle has caused many kids to gain excess weight with more frequency than ever in history. 

However, various communities have different needs and concerns. According to a recent poll from the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, most U.S. adults rank obesity as their main health concern. But when the results are segmented by racial and ethnic backgrounds, the issues troubling parents about their kids take on a different slant. For white and Hispanic parents, childhood obesity is their greatest health concern. Among white respondents, the condition was ranked the top problem by 38 percent of parents, while 47 percent of Hispanic respondents felt the same. However, their priorities quickly shift after that point. 

After ranking childhood obesity as the top problem troubling kids, white respondents to the survey stated that drug abuse and smoking were the most important issues to them, while Hispanic parents ranked bullying and drug abuse after obesity. 

Smoking of greater concern to African-American parents
Conversely, African American respondents ranked childhood obesity as their sixth main concern about their kids' health. They were more worried about their kids smoking, abusing drugs, being involved in school violence, testing positive for a sexually transmitted disease and teen pregnancy. 

"Childhood obesity remains a top concern, but it is essential to look at differences in perception based on race and ethnicity," Matthew Davis, M.D., director of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, said in a press release. "Medical and public health providers should be aware that different communities could have different priorities about what health problems are most important."

Taking preventative measures against these problems
Just as communities differ based on their history, environment and other factors, individual families can experience similar disparities from wider racial and ethnic trends. Paying attention to the needs of the child can also enable parents to take better care of their kids, or work together to avoid health hazards. Finding healthy alternatives to their favorite food can help with issues like obesity and potentially achieve better results than outright denying them the things they enjoy. Thankfully, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that awareness about the problem may be leading to a decrease in its frequency. 

Smoking and drugs are more difficult to find safe substitutes for, but the American Lung Association suggested that parents keep smoking out of their home – which may mean they must quit the habit themselves. The association also recommended against issuing threats or ultimatums, but instead talking with the child about the problem. Due to nicotine's addictive nature, it noted that parents should be patient while trying to get their kids to quit the habit. Meanwhile, the CDC listed tobacco use as a chronic disease, so preventing its use can stop a chronic pediatric medical condition early on. 

It's a sad fact that children with chronic pediatric medical conditions are often at an increased risk for illness than their peers. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, kids with asthma, heart disease, diabetes, liver disorders and a wide variety of other conditions are more likely to catch the flu than other children. During the last flu season, the CDC discovered that 53 percent of children hospitalized for the disease had previously existing health problems.

The CDC researched the long-term medical conditions possessed by the hospitalized children and found that asthma (20 percent), brain and nervous system disorders (13 percent) and non-asthma based lung diseases (6.3 percent) were their most frequently occurring medical conditions.

As if their preexisting medical condition and increased chance to be affected by the flu weren't enough, the CDC found that the flu can also make their chronic health problems even worse. The organization noted that asthma and congestive heart failure are particularly affected.

To combat the flu and avoid further health complications in kids with chronic pediatric medical conditions, the CDC recommended that they receive flu shots to ensure the children's health and wellness. The organization stressed that immunizations should not be delivered by a nasal spray.

Further preparation
Along with obesity, asthma is one of the most common chronic pediatric disorders in the U.S., and the Standard Speaker recently noted that it affects 7 million children. Along with flu shots, parents of these kids should also alert the local school system to the condition, as asthma is one of the most significant causes for hospitalization in children and they are also 39 percent more prone to asthma attacks than adults.

Handling chronic medical conditions often means finding ways to persuade kids to take their treatment or live a healthy lifestyle that won't worsen their condition. One way parents can achieve that is with flavored medication that they enjoy taking rather than avoid taking.

Many parents can have trouble getting their children to take their medicine, even when the kids are sick. The taste of cough syrup can be off-putting, and the strong odor of various ointments can also make it hard when giving medicine to children. But the bland nature of most headache medication causes few children to turn it down when they're experiencing a migraine or other head pain. Additionally, over-the-counter drugs may give the impression that they're relatively harmless. 

Although headache medicine is usually fine in small doses, overuse can lead to a variety of health problems. The Mayo Clinic noted that pain relievers such as ibuprofen can cause ulcers and intestinal bleeding. These problems can be even more pronounced in children. Aspirin should be avoided in children altogether due to its link to Reye's syndrome. 

The solution can become the problem
Another issue related to overusing pain medication is that it can cause additional headaches. HeraldScotland.com recently covered the efforts of Ishaq Abu-Arafeh, M.D., who runs a headache clinic at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Yorkhill. Abu-Arafeh just released a new book for advancing pediatric patient care and achieving better outcomes in the field of children's headaches. He noted that taking ibuprofen and paracetamol too frequently can cause short periods of pain and leave children's heads feeling sensitive and sore. This in turn can lead to kids taking even more pain relievers and suffering additional headaches. Once parents have resorted to that, they may need to stop giving their children ibuprofen altogether, despite the effect it will have on their kids. 

"We are seeing quite a lot of conditions that in the past used to be exclusive to adults, like medication over-use headaches," said Abu-Arafeh. "We see quite a lot of headaches in children because they are getting too many paracetamol. It makes it very difficult to manage them."

The source noted that Abu-Arafeh did not know why headaches were more frequent among children, despite one third of his patients experiencing the condition. However, he pointed out that a sedentary lifestyle can affect children's health and wellness.

A few alternate treatments
To help children alleviate the pain of a headache, the Cleveland Clinic suggested that people try to relax. Activities like taking a hot shower or stretching can alleviate some of the symptoms. Prolonged computer use or strenuous exercise can also cause headaches, but regular breaks can reduce the risk of suffering one. Convincing a kid to do any of these things might be hard, but informing him or her that they will help with a migraine should encourage them to act. Maintaining a healthier diet can also reduce the frequency of pain. 

Writing for the Chicago Tribune, Sue Hubbard, M.D., also suggested that parents may want to use triptans. She noted that they are frequently used to treat children's migraines and she considers them safe. She also suggested that caretakers should avoid using the same type of medication, both because of the related health problems associated with overuse and due to the differing types of headaches. 

When we consider the easy availability of fast food, soda, candy and other junk snacks in the U.S., it's no wonder that many people suffer from an obesity problem. Couple these facts with people often having a sedentary lifestyle behind a desk or counter and it's relatively easy for people to fall into the trap of weight gain with little recourse for improvement. Between avoiding the temptation of a quick, easy bite and willing ourselves into exercising regularly, staying healthy regularly takes an effort.

Of course, maintaining a good diet and a regular exercise regimen is easier when people start these habits from an early age. The habits we learn while we're young can stick with us for a lifetime, so emphasizing our children's health and wellness now can set kids on a path for better living for the rest of their lives. 

Even the best parent can have trouble watching over his or her child all of the time, though. Between school, time with friends, field trips and all the other activities that parents may not participate in, the ability to guide our children's health is limited. Thankfully, the trend toward childhood obesity may finally be on the decline, according to health officials from the Women, Infants and Children program. 

Preschoolers found less frequently suffering from obesity
Based finding from a study on 18 states, low-income preschoolers were found to be less likely to be affected by obesity than kids studied in previous years. This is notable because children in this demographic can be at greater risk for weight problems than their peers due to limited access to healthy food. While health officials noted that one in eight U.S. preschoolers are overweight, the problem is even more prevalent among black and Hispanic children. Overall, one-third of all children are impacted by this problem.

Still, the problem recently declined in states such as Washington and Mississippi. The most significant decreases were in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey and South Dakota, which each reduced their obesity rates by one or more percent, according to the study.

"I'm hoping it's a trend. We're really trying hard," said Laurie Riegert, a nutritionist for the WIC. 

What may be contributing to this recent decline is the assistance of groups such as the WIC, which offers vouchers for healthy food and nutritional advice to low-income families. The group's policies eliminated sugary drinks like juice and reduced the amount of saturated fat from low-income children's food packages. The WIC has also pushed for more breast-feeding, which may factor into the improvements. 

"People are more aware of sugars," said Riegert. "They're trying not to give their kids soda, and they're starting to become aware of physical activity – that's hard for some families, because they're working full time."

Left untreated, childhood obesity can cause chronic pediatric medical conditions that continue into adulthood. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that it can lead to diabetes, bone and joint problems and an increased risk of heart disease in adulthood. 

As much as parents strive to keep their children healthy, some factors are outside of their control. They can make sure they eat right and encourage them to exercise, but the environment and genetics can both affect a child's health and wellness despite a parent's best efforts. For many parents, their child's development of asthma is one such problem. 

Asthma is the most common chronic pediatric medical condition in the United States, where it affects one in 10 kids. While parents have a number of options for managing the problem, there is some hope for recovery in the long term. Based on a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, 20 percent of children may overcome asthma in adulthood. This differs depending on the sex of the child and his or her specific type of asthma. For example, children are less likely to overcome fur allergies, and the condition is more likely to persist in girls than it is boys. 

The study noted that while doctors are unlikely to say that a child no longer suffers from asthma, many will say that the disease is in remission after a prolonged period without any symptoms. Patients were considered to be in remission if they did not use asthma medication for 12 months. 

"This study can give parents some hope, but there's no guarantee for any child," said Jennifer Appleyard, M.D. 

The condition may not be fully outside a parent's control
However, there are a few ways parents can minimize the effects of asthma on their children. Kids who stay fit are less likely to suffer some of the worse problems associated with the disease. Recent findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that obese children are 1.16 to 1.37 times more at risk of developing asthma than other kids, and the chance increases with a higher body-mass index. Obese girls between 6 and 10 years old were especially vulnerable to the affliction, who were 1.36 to 1.56 times more likely than their peers to develop the disease. 

Asthma symptoms were especially pronounced among obese children, and overweight kids usually had to use their inhaler more often than other asthma sufferers. Researchers also suspected that body fat plays a role in inflammation, and that the additional stress placed on a child's chest by the extra weight could also worsen the condition. 

The study took advantage of Kaiser Permanente's database of 623,358 children when establishing the link between asthma and weight. 

"When they have difficulty breathing, it seems more extreme to them than to kids with normal weight," said Mary Helen Black, Ph.D., a research scientist biostatistician at Kaiser Permanente. 

Because of this, researchers suggested that parents and physicians should watch for asthma symptoms in overweight children. Families can also motivate their children to exercise more often and eat healthy meals, which should minimize the risk of developing the condition.