During this time education is important to be aware of the best practices for a healthy pregnancy and healthy child.

The Hernando County Health Department will host the World’s Greatest Baby Shower event on May 19 starting at 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for expectant and new mothers, fathers including friends and family held at the Spring Hill location at 7551 Forest Oaks Boulevard. The event is free and pre-registration is not required. Light snacks and prize drawings will also be a part of the excitement.

Janet Marshal, RN, BSN, event coordinator for the Hernando County Health Department discussed the event being designed to reduce the risks and increase successful, healthy pregnancies.

“We as a community can increase the number of successful pregnancies for moms and babies by recognizing risks and taking steps to reduce these risks through education and referral,” Marshal said. “The event is an opportunity to reach many families and provide quality resources all in one event.”

The event is designed to provide information and resources to pregnant women and families of newborns and children up to 1 year old. Over 25 local organizations will be participating. In addition, four guest presenters addressing topics such as breastfeeding, the role of the father, preparing for emergencies when there is a baby in the home, and common parent concerns regarding newborns.

Local pediatricians and gynecologists will be on hand at the event to speak with attendees about questions pertaining to doctor visits for both mom and baby, she added.

Dr. Suzanne Smith, D.O., medical executive director for the Hernando County Health Department discussed the importance of co-parenting and parents need to support each other. “Children grow best when mothers and fathers share parenting responsibilities and support each other’s efforts,” Smith said. “Parenthood is a partnership whether parents live together or not.”

Dads can play an important role in feeding, bathing, teaching, storytelling, soothing, and protecting their child, she added.

“A dad who knows his baby well has learned how to feed, diaper, and burp his baby,” Smith said. “These can include knowing the daily routine, how the baby prefers to held, comforted, what to do to stay calm when the baby won’t stop crying, signs of sleep and hunger, safety, plus knowing when the baby is sick and identifying unsafe environments.”

Luis Leon, parent/male involvement coordinator for Hernando and Sumter Counties, Head Start provided statistics on how important having a father in a child’s life is and the benefits. “There’s a very high percentage of children that are affected when they grow up in a father-less home. Statistics show 80 percent of youth incarcerated come from a father-less home; 85 percent of teens who have become sexually active come from a father-less home; and 83 percent of high school drop outs come from a father-less home,” Leon said.

Dads have a window of opportunity that they cannot take lightly, he added.

“When there is male involvement children are more likely to get better grades in school, stay out of the juvenile justice system, more prone to graduate, over all they will have a higher self-esteem,” Leon said.

He added, children need their fathers, this Saturday I will be discussing these and other issues with all the dads who attend the event.

New babies do not have instruction manuals. Thanks to friends, family, partners, education and community resources such as this event, new parents can learn strategies that will help ensure a safe and happy environment for their newborn.

Car Seat Safety

Your newborn is safest in an infant car seat with a five point harness. An infant carrier is not the same thing as a car seat and will not protect your newborn adequately. The Hernando County Health Department car seat installation technician will be at the event to discuss proper car seat fitting.

Sleep Safety

Research has shown that tragic accidents can happen if babies sleep in the same bed with adults; sleep on their stomachs; have pillows, comforters, and soft toys in their beds; or if there are smokers in the house. Additionally, don’t place babies on waterbeds, bean bags, sofas or chairs to sleep.

Babies should sleep on their back on a firm mattress. Only a lightweight cover or blanket should be used in the baby’s bed or a sleep sac. Crib sheets should fit tightly over the mattress.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, cribs should have a firm, tight-fitting mattress so a baby cannot get trapped between the mattress and the crib. There should be no missing, loose, broken or improperly installed screws, brackets or other hardware. Crib slats should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart so a baby’s body cannot fit through the slats; no missing or cracked slats. There should be no corner posts over 1/16 inch high so a baby’s clothing cannot catch and there should not be any cutouts in the headboard or foot board.

Regular medical check ups

In the first year of life, doctors recommend a series of check ups to make sure your baby is developing as expected and to address any problems early when treatment is most effective. Check ups are usually scheduled at the following ages: two weeks, two months, four months, six months, nine months, and 12 months.

Babies can be protected from many serious diseases by getting immunized (vaccinated). Babies often cry when getting a shot and the shot may be fussy later in the day or run a fever. If the fever or fussiness lasts more than 24 hours, contact your pediatrician.

Your doctor may recommend something like liquid Tylenol to help ease discomfort. Never give aspirin to your baby.

Crying

When a baby cries, the child is trying to communicate something. When the crying won’t stop, it can be very upsetting for parent and others. Crying is normal and understanding ways to calm your baby when he does cry may minimize caregiver concern and stress.

Often basic needs such as hunger, a dirty diaper, temperature and the need to burp may be the reason the baby is crying. Strategies such as rocking the baby, singing or placing the baby in a safe place and allowing him to cry, while checking on him every five or 10 minutes, are methods that may help parents calm crying that is not alleviated by addressing the basic needs.

Never shake a baby. Crying is the most common reason that someone shakes a baby. Violent shaking causes bleeding and massive swelling in the brain and can cause severe harm and even death to the baby.

Picking your baby up when he cries does not mean you are spoiling him. Babies who receive lots of hugs and love from their caregivers early in life are generally better adjusted when they grow up. Being held and cuddled helps babies learn to soothe them self and feel more secure. This sense of security will make it easier for him to do things on his own when he is older.

Helping siblings prepare for a new baby includes preparing discussing the changes the new baby can bring to a family. Parents spend a lot of energy on preparations, and after the baby arrives, much of the family’s attention involves meeting the newborn’s basic needs.

Older siblings may have feelings of jealousy which can result behavior issues. Parents can help prevent some of the insecurities that older children may feel by reminding them how important they are to you and how much you love them. Telling them about how they were born and how you took special care of them may help them adjust to these changes.

Setting out baby photos at their eye level so they can see themselves as babies and when appropriate, allowing them to go to a prenatal visit with you. After the baby comes home, siblings can help with simple tasks such as talking to the baby while the baby’s diaper is being changed or helping to push the stroller.

Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke can greatly increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and respiratory complications in young airways. Infant environments such as homes and cars should be smoke free. Pregnant moms who smoke deliver nicotine to their baby which can hinder physical development and result in premature and/or low birth weight deliveries. Babies can also be exposed to nicotine through breastfeeding. Nicotine in breast milk can interfere with infant sleep; increase colic and fussiness; and may cause the baby to refuse the breast. Additionally, breastfeeding women who smoke may produce less milk than non-smoking moms.

INFORMATION BOX:

Courtesy of the Hernando County Health Department

Tips for mom before baby comes to help ensure a healthy pregnancy:

Keep all prenatal appointments; eat foods that are good for you and your baby;

Avoid alcohol, tobacco, and drugs and herbal supplements not recommended by your physician; take care of teeth and gums;

Unless your doctor advises you otherwise, be active during pregnancy;

Avoid douching;

Talk with your doctor about warning signs of pregnancy complications and know what to do if you experience them.

Article source: http://www2.hernandotoday.com/lifestyles/health-4-you/2012/may/17/baby-shower-event-ar-404753/

WASHINGTON —
For the first time in 20 years, U.S. health officials have lowered the threshold for lead poisoning in young children.

The new standard announced Wednesday means that hundreds of thousands more youngsters could be diagnosed with high levels of lead. Too much lead is harmful to developing brains and can mean a lower IQ.

“Unfortunately, many, many more parents will be getting bad news,” said Rebecca Morley, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, a Maryland-based nonprofit focused on hazards to kids in homes.

The standard is for children younger than 6. Recent research persuaded experts and government officials that young children could be harmed from lead levels in their blood that are lower than the old standard.

Really, “there is no safe level of blood lead in children,” said Christopher Portier, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He heads the agency’s environmental health programs.

The CDC announced the change Wednesday, adopting recommendations made in January by an advisory panel of experts. At the same time, CDC officials acknowledged they don’t have additional funds to help doctors or local health departments do more testing of children or find and clean up lead contamination.

Lead poisoning is detected through a blood test. The change means poisoning will be defined as 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The old standard was 10 micrograms.

Under the old standard, lead poisoning in children had been declining in the U.S. Experts estimated that somewhere between 77,000 and 255,000 children had high levels of lead, though many of them are undiagnosed. The change could raise the count to 450,000 cases.

Lead – a metal that for years was common in paint and gasoline – can harm a child’s brain, kidneys and other organs. High levels in the blood can cause coma, convulsions and death. Lower levels can reduce intelligence, impair hearing and behavior and cause other problems.

Usually, children who get lead poisoning live in old homes that are dilapidated or under renovation. They pick up paint chips or dust and put it in their mouth. Lead has been banned in paint since 1978. Children have also picked up lead poisoning from soil contaminated by old leaded gasoline, and from dust tracked in from industrial worksites.

Most cases of lead poisoning are handled by tracking and removing the lead source, and monitoring the children to make sure lead levels stay down. A special treatment to remove lead and other heavy metals is used for very high levels.

Specialists describe children as having lead poisoning only at those very high levels, but others use the term more broadly to describe any child with levels that can impact intelligence or cause other harm.

The CDC’s threshold was last changed in 1991. The new standard was calculated from the highest lead levels seen in a comprehensive annual U.S. health survey. The CDC plans to reassess that level every four years.

Health officials have been focused on young children, who are most affected by lead poisoning. The CDC recommends testing for children who live in old housing or might otherwise be exposed to lead. About 15 percent of young children are tested, according to the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, a Baltimore-based organization.

For older children and adults, there is no lead poisoning threshold, although pregnant women should have blood lead levels below 5 micrograms to protect the developing fetus. Most cases in adults come from manufacturing jobs or hobbies, but those numbers have also been declining.

Some health officials consider the CDC’s action overdue. Cleveland and other cities in northeastern Ohio adopted a standard of 5 micrograms five years ago.

The CDC was following recommendations made to the agency in January by an advisory panel of experts. But Portier said the agency wasn’t able to do everything the panel suggested.

For example, the panel said the CDC should do more to make sure no children are exposed to lead hazards. It also said all doctors should report high levels to local health departments, re-test the children to see if they improve, and help teach parents how to find and eliminate lead sources. The CDC agreed that should happen, but doesn’t have the money or staff to bolster such an effort. Congress cut the CDC lead program’s budget from about $29 million last year to $2 million.

In many places, it’s up to city and county health departments to provide many of the services for lead poisoned kids, and those departments have lost more than 34,000 jobs in the last three years because of budget cuts.

The timing is unfortunate, Morley said. “But we wouldn’t want to keep information from parents just because there’s not money to provide the service,” she added.

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Article source: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/health&id=8665577

Pregnant women are already advised to eat healthily

Dieting in pregnancy is safe for women and does not carry risks for the baby, a review of research has suggested.

The British Medical Journal analysis looked at the findings from 44 previous studies involving more than 7,000 women.

The London-based team said following a healthy diet – and not eating for two – prevents excess weight gain and cuts the risk of complications.

But current guidelines do not advocate dieting or weight monitoring.

The advice from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), published in 2010, says: “Dieting during pregnancy is not recommended as it may harm the health of the unborn child.”

However women are advised to aim to reach a healthy weight before conceiving.

Babies’ weights ‘unaffected’

Half the UK population are either overweight or obese and the rates are rising.

And in Europe and the US, between 20% and 40% of women gain more than the recommended weight during pregnancy.

High weights are linked to complications such as pre-eclampsia, diabetes and high blood pressure as well as early delivery.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

We should be careful to note that the researchers are not advising women to lose weight during pregnancy”

End Quote
Dr Janine Stockdale,
Royal College of Midwives

This review, funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), compared diet, exercise or a combination of the two.

Dietary advice was based on limiting calorie intake, having a balanced diet and eating foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables and pulses.

The researchers then examined how much weight women gained during their pregnancies and if there were complications.

While each approach reduced a woman’s weight gain, diet had the greatest effect with an average reduction of nearly 4kg (8.8lbs).

With exercise, the average reduction in weight gain was just 0.7kg (1.5lbs). A combination of diet and exercise led to an average reduction of 1kg (2.2lbs).

Women following a calorie-controlled diet were significantly less likely to develop each of the complications considered, but the researchers say those findings need to be repeated in larger studies.

Babies’ birth weights were not affected by dieting.

‘Simpler and easier’

Dr Shakila Thangaratinam, a consultant obstetrician at Queen Mary, University of London who led the study, said: “We are seeing more and more women who gain excess weight when they are pregnant and we know these women and their babies are at increased risk of complications.

“Weight control is difficult but this study shows that by carefully advising women on weight management methods, especially diet, we can reduce weight gain during pregnancy.

“It also shows that following a controlled diet has the potential to reduce the risk of a number of pregnancy complications.”

She added: “Women may be concerned that dieting during pregnancy could have a negative impact on their babies. This research is reassuring because it showed that dieting is safe and that the baby’s weight isn’t affected.”

But in a commentary in the journal, women’s health experts from St Thomas’ Hospital in London – including Lucilla Poston who helped develop the NICE guidance, said it would be “premature” for the current guidance, which only recommends women be weighed at their first pregnancy check-up, to change.

Dr Janine Stockdale, research fellow at the Royal College of Midwives, said: “We should be careful to note that the researchers are not advising women to lose weight during pregnancy; this is about managing excessive weight or weight gain.

“If a woman is on target to gain the right amount of weight during her pregnancy, then ‘dieting’ and ‘calorie-controlled dieting’ as we commonly understand these terms, is not for her.

“We need to reassure women that under the care of a midwife or other health professional, weight management is safe.”

Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18101423

My partner talks a lot about her diets, about losing weight and taking in fewer calories, etc. We have talked about this and she says the more we hide it, the bigger deal it will become, which I do agree with.

Body image has been such a painful issue for both of us. I don’t want to pass that on to our daughters in this already diet/body image obsessed world. What are your thoughts? — New Moms

DEAR NEW MOMS: The contrast between your kids’ two moms — with you being ashamed and your partner being obsessed — means you would pass along your anxiety without offering healthy solutions. I applaud your determination to find another way.

For young children, learning how to feed themselves and how to make good food choices gives them an important sense of dominion over their own bodies.

The best thing is for you two parents to get on the same page and agree to create the healthiest environment possible at home. You and your partner should see a professional nutritionist together.

Learn how to involve your children in making healthy food choices. Plant a garden together. Visit farmers’ markets and choose a range of healthy whole foods for meals and snacks.

Your meal times should be (chaotic) celebrations of togetherness, with everyone pitching in (even very young children can shell peas or put apple slices and cheese on a plate), and with all of you eating the same type of meals at the same time — together.

You should never criticize your own body (or anyone else’s) in front of your children. Any dieting you discuss should be framed in terms of being healthy and feeling good.

For inspiration, check out the book “Real Food for Healthy Kids: 200-Plus Easy, Wholesome Recipes,” by Tanya Wenman Steel and Tracey Seaman (2008, William Morrow Cookbooks).

DEAR AMY: My sister and I are the family historians.

While getting all of my other siblings’ information about their children, I was asked if I would put the adopted children down as children born to the family. I said I would add them, but not as born to the couple. This has caused a real problem.

Am I right (I would add them as adopted and the year in which they entered the family unit)? I’ll stand by your answer. — Family Historian

DEAR HISTORIAN: I solicited opinions from several different family historians and received opinions across a wide spectrum.

You don’t say exactly what sort of family history you are pulling together.

My own view is that you should include all children in your family as children in your family, no matter the circumstances of their birth.

For you to do otherwise, and to note the date of their entry into the family but not their actual birth date makes it seem that on the one hand you are denoting them as not quite “real” and on the other hand you are implying that their lives started not on the dates of their birth but on the date they entered the family.

Include all children of the family in your family tree. If you are compiling a “key” or narrative to accompany the family tree you can note adoption dates, etc.

You want to tell as complete a story as possible, but adopted children are “real” family members — actually and legally — and your history should acknowledge this reality.

DEAR AMY: In your answer to “Unsure,” you noted that people can ask their local fire department for help in installing a child’s car seat.

I did exactly this, and I was told that liability prevented them from doing this, though they did point out the various tether points in the car. — A Reader

DEAR READER: Readers can locate a certified safety seat installer in their area by checking safercar.gov. When I typed in my ZIP code, the nearest certified installer was — you guessed it — at my local fire station.

Write to Amy Dickinson at askamy@tribune.com or Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.

2012 by the Chicago Tribune

Distributed by Tribune Media Services

Article source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/ask-amy-these-moms-need-to-go-on-a-shame-free-diet/2012/05/05/gIQABjmRUU_story.html

Does your child shun the sun?
Does your child suffer from any milk allergy?
Is your family strictly vegetarian?
Well, your child could run the risk of suffering from vitamin D deficiency.

Why does your child require vitamin D?
This is an important vitamin for the strong development of bones. Research has revealed its importance in protecting the body against several health problems.

What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a steroid vitamin, a group of fat-soluble prohormones, which encourages the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous in the body. In other words, it is an organic compound required as a vital nutrient in tiny amounts by us. It is nicknamed the ‘Sunshine Vitamin’ because Vitamin D is produced by the body through exposure to sunlight. While this is common knowledge amongst most mothers, as per a survey conducted by reputed market research agency Ipsos Research, what is not known is that it can be obtained from food sources and supplements as well. In fact, there are products in the market now like Cadbury Bournvita that come with Vitamin D specially added to it.

Vitamin D is crucial to health as it is essential for the absorption of calcium from plain milk. However, as per the survey conducted by Ipsos, over 50 per cent of the mothers who were spoken to were unaware of this benefit of Vitamin D.

What happens if we have less vitamin D?
In most children and even adults, vitamin D deficiency does not show up for years. It has no initial symptoms. “Difficulty in waking up early, irritability and tooth decay are some of the early signs you should watch out for,” says leading physician and dermatologist, Dr Apratim Goel. Apart from these symptoms, if your child is prone to infections, especially respiratory ones and complains of muscle cramps, breathing difficulties and seizures, they could be suffering from vitamin D deficiency.

“Over a period of time, these could take on a serious turn. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with osteomalacia and rickets, a disease in which the bone tissue doesn’t mineralise properly, leading to soft bones, skeletal deformities and fractures. Kids could suffer from cardiomyopathy or diseases of the heart muscle and overall it leads to poor development and growth,” advises Dr Goel.

What you can do about it
The most accurate way to measure vitamin D levels in your child’s body is by measuring the vitamin levels in their blood. Treatment involves incorporating more vitamin D in your diet. While over 80 per cent mothers in the Ipsos survey ensure that their child drinks milk regularly, consumption of plain milk is often of no use if your child is vitamin D deficient.

In such a case, vitamin D should be consumed through supplements.

In the survey, almost double the number of mothers give their children Milk Food Drinks (MFD) over plain milk. With the market flooded with options, make sure you are making the right choice.

“In case your child is overweight, vitamin D requirements are higher. This is because fat does not allow vitamin D to get absorbed in the body. Try and take morning walks and help your child spend some time in the sun. Pregnant women must take sufficient vitamin D through prescription supplements to optimise an infant’s vitamin D and bone health at birth,” advises Dr Goel.

It’s imperative that today’s mothers analyse how much vitamin D is being made available to their children so that enough calcium gets absorbed.

Mission Nutrition
Many mothers in Nagpur were a happy lot on March 17 as experts taught them how to provide better nutrition to their kids. Mission Nutrition, as this interactive seminar was called, was organised by Cadbury Bournvita. The event was attended by model-turned-actor and doctor, Aditi Govitrikar and senior nutritionist Rita Bhargava, Head – Dietetics Dept, and IDA President of Nagpur Chapter Care Hospital. Dr Govitrikar spoke on the importance of vitamin D in a child’s daily diet and voiced her concerns as a mother on the impact of vitamin D deficiency. “As a mother, I want my child to succeed while making sure I don’t put undue pressure on her in terms of diet. Bournvita, which is an integral part of a better, more wholesome preparation, is the one thing that helps me achieve that,” she said.

(We invite queries on your child’s nutrition on the Cadbury Bournvita helpline number : 1800 22 8530 from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays) – Helpine No

A Consumer connect initiative

Article source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Vitamin-D-Vital-for-a-healthy-childhood/articleshow/13207959.cms

The new standard announced Wednesday means that hundreds of thousands more youngsters could be diagnosed with high levels of lead in their blood.

“Many more parents will be getting bad news,” said Rebecca Morley, executive director of the National Center for Healthy Housing, a Maryland-based nonprofit focused on hazards to kids in homes.

The standard is for children younger than 6. Recent research persuaded experts and government officials that young children could be harmed from lead levels in their blood that are lower than the old standard.

“There is no safe level of blood lead in children,” said Christopher Portier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC adopted recommendations an advisory panel made in January. But officials acknowledged that they don’t have additional funds to help doctors or local health departments do more testing of children or find and clean up lead contamination.

Lead poisoning is detected through a blood test. The change means poisoning will be defined as 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. The old standard was 10 micrograms.

Experts estimated that 77,000 to 255,000 kids had high levels of lead in their blood, though many are undiagnosed. The change could raise the count to 450,000 cases.

Lead can harm a child’s brain, kidneys and other organs. High levels can cause coma, convulsions and death. Lower levels can reduce intelligence, impair hearing and behavior and cause other problems.

Usually, children who get lead poisoning live in old homes that are dilapidated or under renovation. They pick up paint chips or dust and put them in their mouth. Lead has been banned in paint since 1978.

Children have also picked up lead poisoning from soil contaminated by old leaded gasoline, and from dust tracked in from industrial worksites.

Lead permanently damages hundreds of kids each year in Detroit, one of America’s most lead-afflicted cities because of its large stock of older homes and environmental contamination from heavy industry.

Thousands of addresses have been identified as homes with children who have had been found to have elevated lead levels. Problems within the city’s health department in 2010 made matters worse, according to a state audit.

In a short-lived program, efforts were focused on kids with more than 20 micrograms per deciliter of lead in their blood. That policy was later reversed, lowering the threshold to 10 micrograms.

The reversal came after the Free Press questioned why the limit was raised, cutting out most of the children in Detroit who had elevated lead levels.

Free Press staff writer Joe Swickard contributed to this report.

Article source: http://www.freep.com/article/20120517/NEWS07/205170685/CDC-adopts-tougher-rules-about-lead-poisoning-in-kids

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(ARA) – Summer vacation gives children a break from schoolwork, but for many, their participation in sports will continue in warm weather months. Parents, coaches and players need to keep injury prevention in mind to ensure sports stay safe and fun throughout the summer.

In a new survey commissioned by Safe Kids Worldwide and Johnson Johnson, “Coaching Our Kids to Fewer Injuries: A Report on Youth Sports Safety,” parents report one in three kids who play team sports sustain injuries severe enough to require medical attention.

“The report’s findings are particularly alarming because experts tell us more than half of these injuries are preventable,” says Kate Carr, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide. “There is a gap between what we as coaches and parents can do to keep our kids safe and what we’re actually doing. With some simple precautions, we can change these troubling statistics and keep our kids healthy and enjoying the benefits of sports.”

Safe Kids shares some advice for parents and coaches to help kids avoid injury while playing sports this summer:

Before the game begins:

* Give kids a break. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) say children should take a two- to three-month break from a specific sport each year to prevent overuse, overtraining and burnout. Yet, the Safe Kids survey found that nine out of 10 parents underestimate the length of time kids should take off from a particular sport. If your child plays soccer from August through May, for instance, switch to a different sport over the summer. Not only will it give your young athlete’s body a break, your child may enjoy discovering a new activity.

* If your child missed her pre-participation physical evaluation (PPE) at the beginning of the school year, take this opportunity to have her checked out. A PPE can uncover underlying conditions and prevent potential medical emergencies. Not sure what the exam should entail? Go to www.safekids.org/sports for a printable copy of the form.

* You probably know it’s important to stretch before physical activity, but did you know you should begin with a 10 minute cardio warm up? A light run, jogging in place and some jumping jacks can help raise the heart rate gradually. Follow up with stretches that work all the major muscle groups, holding each stretch for 20 to 30 seconds.

* Make sure your child wears the appropriate safety and sports gear. All gear should fit properly and be in good condition to help avoid minor and serious injuries.

While in the field or on the court:

* The health impact of concussions on children is drawing attention across the country. The Safe Kids survey found that more than 50 percent of coaches believe there is an acceptable amount of head contact that’s OK during play. The truth is, bumps, blows and hits to the head need to be taken seriously, and parents, coaches and players all need to take preventative steps, including learning about concussions and the policies for their state and/or sports league. Learn the signs and symptoms of concussions at www.safekids.org.

* Four out of 10 parents underestimate the amount of water a typical child athlete needs per hour of play, according to the Safe Kids survey. Kids should drink 30 minutes before they start to play, and every 15 to 20 minutes during physical activity to avoid dehydration.

* Rest is essential. In addition to taking one season away from any given sport every year, kids should get rest breaks during practices and games and take off at least one day from sports activities every week.

* Consider attending a sports safety clinic. Safe Kids offers free Youth Sports Safety Clinics for parents and coaches that teach ways to keep young athletes healthy and injury free. Go to www.safekids.org to find a clinic.

“Culturally, there’s an attitude that injuries are a natural consequence of sports and that good athletes tough it out when they suffer an injury,” says Carr. “But that attitude is hurting our kids. By adopting some basic, proven practices, we can protect our kids and help them stay healthy and active in sports throughout their lives.”

Article source: http://www.jsonline.com/sponsoredarticles/health-wellness/keep-kids-injury-free-while-playing-their-favorite-sports-this-summer8065340202-151613285.html

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Sure, Time magazine’s cover photo of a woman breast-feeding her 3-year-old is generating debate about how old is too old. But examples like that are pretty rare.

About 44 percent of U.S. moms do at least some breast-feeding for six months. But only 15 percent follow advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics that babies receive breast milk alone for that time span. And fewer still stick with breast-feeding for a year, also recommended by the academy.

About three-quarters of mothers say they breast-feed during their baby’s first days and weeks of life. Then it drops off fast.

By their first birthday, fewer than a quarter of children are getting breast milk, according to the government’s latest national report card on breast-feeding.

That’s a public health issue, because breast-feeding brings so many benefits to babies.

By 2020, the nation’s health goals call for more than a quarter of babies to be exclusively breast-fed through their first six months of life, and for more than a third to still be nursing when they turn 1 year old.

To help reach those goals, the surgeon general last year issued a call to ease the obstacles that make it harder for women to breast-feed _ from the hassles of pumping milk at work to a general lack of understanding about how super-healthy it is during that critical first year.

“We have a lot more work to do,” says Academy of Pediatrics’ spokeswoman Dr. Tanya Altmann, a pediatrician near Los Angeles. “It would be much more beneficial to focus on breast-feeding infants and young toddlers,” she said, than on the rare older examples like Time found for its cover.

Not every mother can or chooses to breast-feed. And the surgeon general’s report said they shouldn’t be made to feel guilty.

But the academy’s latest update, published in March in the journal Pediatrics, lists the benefits of breast-feeding for at least several months and up to a year: Breast-fed infants have a lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome. They suffer fewer illnesses such as diarrhea, earaches and pneumonia, because breast milk contains antibodies that help fend off infections until their own immune systems become robust. They’re also less likely to develop asthma, or even to become fat later in childhood.

Moms can benefit, too, decreasing their risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer.

How old is too old for the child? The pediatricians’ guidelines say breast-feeding should continue along with solid foods to age 1 _ “or as long as mutually desired by mother and infant.”

The World Health Organization recommends continuing “along with appropriate complementary foods up to 2 years of age or beyond.”

Toddlers sometimes make clear that they prefer a cup, but Altmann says if both mom and child are comfortable, there’s no harm in going longer than average.

Still, the clear nutritional benefit wanes as youngsters start getting most of their nutrition from solid food, and Altmann says parents need to teach their tots to soothe themselves.

“At some point it’s less about nutrition and more about comfort,” says Altmann, who breast-fed her own two sons until they were 1.

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Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

Article source: http://bismarcktribune.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/time-cover-masks-problem-too-few-kids-breast-fed/article_eece4d71-2bd2-5f68-bccb-d514d62949f0.html