Danger for kids on the internet
Written by Michael Vass
I have a nephew that is pre-teen, and is on a social network. Recently I found that he had made changes to his page on that site. And I was amazed and upset by what I saw. And I wonder if other children have done the same thing. [By the way, all the things have been since changed and discussed with him by his father - so he understands why they were inappropriate.]
One of the first things that was on the site was the fact that he had pictures up that showed him and his friends holding up the moronic ‘westside’ and other similar gang signs. Beyond looking as bad as anyone who does this, it alarmed me to think that some fool was trying to recruit him and his friends into the dead-end life that is a gang member.
As it turned out he and his friends had no understanding of what the symbols meant. They had just seen them many times on television and thought it looked cool. Which is the idea I suppose. But he also did not realize that fools that believe in this kind of lifestyle also might hurt or kill him and his friends, because it was an insult to their gang or he represented an invasion to their ‘territory’, or simply because he had no connection to their abusive, illogical, warped group.
Another problem was the fact that his age was incorrect. This was done because he and his friends did not want to be seen as kids. For some reason they felt that being their actual age was a bad thing. That they were left out of some major positive the website provided only to adults.
They had no idea that this minor act helped to put them in danger of the pedophiles and other warped individuals that surf the net. They roam around enough as is, they need no help in finding children. And when my nephew mentioned that he would never be tricked into meeting with or otherwise contacting a stranger because he is too smart - I had to remind him that many adults are far smarter and have more experience than even the highly intelligent boy he is.
But the really big things that bothered me was the ease he had in finding and using graphics from a site that had an altered image of Microsoft’s Word package.
The Word graphic is a box that has the picture of 5 famous rappers on it. Each in a state of rapper ghettofabulousness. Underneath were the words “Yo it’s Word (n-word)”. This was thought to be funny. Yet when asked there was no reason why it was funny, it just was.
So I then asked a simple question.
“Does it make sense that all these rappers and people want to be ‘ghettofabulous’ but everyone in the ghetto, especially the rappers, all want to get out? How good can the ghetto be, and living a life based on the ‘ghetto’, when no one wants to be there - even with money - except drug dealers.”
His answer was simple as well. “It doesn’t make sense at all.”
I then asked the really big question.
“Do you know what the n-word means?”
He did not. He had no clue, though he has heard it in music and movies. He just thought it was another word.
That might sound great to some but that troubled me. Because the meaning of the word has not changed. If the CEO of Procter&Gamble used it in a interview he would be fired and sued if possible. The same would happen to the record executive that rappers work for (many of whom will not allow that word to be used in their own home). Because the meaning never changed, no matter the color of who says it.
So I told him about the fact that the n-word was used to describe slaves. That it was used to describe people just like him and I that were treated worse than dogs. And I told him about all the people that died so that he would never have to be called that word. Like uncounted numbers of slaves, Blacks that fought in the Civil War, WWI & II, Korea, Vietnam. Men like Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. All those that died in the civil rights movement and so many others.
I told him the truth of the meaning of the word, and how it is defined in part as the single worst word in the english language. That to be called that has no comparison or equivalent come-back.
And then I told him how lucky he was to be alive today. Because he has never been called that. But I have been, as has my mother and father and so on. That he never has to fear being called that (I hope) because he was playing in school with a White kid, or because a White girl liked him. The world is mostly better than that, but not entirely.
And I told him the truth that the legal system once said that if a White person called a Black person that word, and the Black person hit them they would not go to jail. Because it was an incendiary term, a provoking term. And that’s why the White owners of record companies can’t say the word, but pay rappers to do it for them. And I asked him this
“How important do you think it is that the law was made about this word? How big a word do you think it is?”
He thought it very important. And he understood it in a very different and unfunny way.
I say all that to bring up this point. It’s not enough to just watch what children are doing on the internet. We all, uncles and aunts, brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents, need to be involved. We all need to explain why some things are wrong, and what the history of these things are. Because if we don’t kids will use them, act on them, to their detriment.
You Give Thanks, Virgin Helps The Worlds Water Supply
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
Dr. Gwenn’s blogging break needs to pause to bring you this important message about a way you can help the world we all live in keep the water supply flowing in places that really need it.
Virgin Money has a campaign called “You Give Thanks…We give $1.00 for Clean Water”. It’s simple. You enter a photo with a caption of what you are thankful for this week and Virgin Money will donate $1.00 to the Give A Drop Clean Water Campaign to help bring water to places in the world that need it the most.
It takes no time at all and is a fun way to help an important cause. To go to the “You Give Thanks” page, click here. It’s simple - enter a message. Up load a picture. Hit the “Pass My Thanks” button and your thanks will be entered into the system and $1.00 will be donated to this important cause by Virgin Money. When you’re done, share the link with friends and family via email or your favorite social media website. The more we share, the more water we help create for people who really needed it.
Back to my blogging break…
Happy Thanksgiving!!
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Reclaim the Thanksgiving spirit at a kid event near you
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
Thanksgiving is a great holiday. It’s a glorified pause from reality day with good food, family and friends and no present pressure.
As my girls get older, I become more and more thankful for the small gifts they bring to our lives. Watching them spread their wings and figure out what interests them is perhaps one of the best front row seats there is in life.
This past week, my oldest daughter was in a middle school production of Shakespeare’s King Lear. This wasn’t your basic “made for middle school production”, this was the real deal – the complete, unabridged real Lear. It’s an annual tradition for the 7th and 8th graders to perform a Shakespeare play each fall. Quite a task given most of these kids hadn’t known of Shakespeare except by name until they received their script.
Casting occurred last Spring and these kids have been working diligently all fall. My daughter loves being on stage and it does come naturally to her but she had never been in a Shakespeare play before and this was a challenge. Learning the lines. Learning the nuances. Learning to speak in the dialect of the time. Learn to act Shakespearan!
There were times the director wondered if he needed to whittled down the play – but he stuck to his original gut and kept it unedited, although he had altered some of the text to be middle school appropriate and changed a few parts from male to female.
There were times the kids, include my daughter, wondered if they could really do this – was it really coming together? It’s awfully long – would any one come?
Did they come? They sure did and in full force. Word spread quickly about the middle schoolers doing real Lear. There was the usual contingency of family, friends, teachers and towns people but as the show progressed over the 4 day run the auditorium slowly became more packed. The audience was rendered speechless. These tweens and teens put on a really credible Lear! Sitting in that auditorium, there were moments you honestly forgot you were watching a middle school production. And, you couldn’t help forgive the occasional flubbed line because of their age, too. If this is what they can do at ages 11-13, I can only imagine what the future holds for those cast members who end up catching the drama bug in high school and beyond.
As long as our plates are overflowing with many of these life moments, we’ll all end our lives very rich. These are the moments I’m thankful for. The rest is just fluff.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Dr. Gwenn Is In will be taking a brief blogging break for the holiday but will return next week as we prepare for the deep freeze of winter and the rush of the winter holidays.
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Nerf - too real or just right?
Written by Michael Vass
I was speaking with friends about the state of Black buying power, the economy, and what I noticed about the Audi television commercial when the subject of Nerf toys came up. It may sound odd but it made sense in the course of the conversation. With the holiday season about to go full blast with Black Friday mere days away, there is no end to commercials targeting the latest gadget that a kid today might want. But the question is what are they really getting?
I remember Nerf from almost the beginning. The first Nerf toy I recall was the Nerf football. They were spongy and small, but cheap and useful indoors as well as in the street. You only need to throw one bad pass that hits a car or a window to appreciate the Nerf foam. In the middle of the Bronx playing in the street you are bound to hit one or the other. So suffice to say I have fond memories of Nerf.
And then as I grew up, Nerf grew up faster. And not only for my generation, for all of the ones afterwards as well. Their were Nerf guns of every sort, but at first there was no comparison to an actual gun in any manner. On Saturday I noticed the latest toy commercial from Hasbro, the NERF N-STRIKE LONGSHOT CS-6 
What the hell has happened. Nerf is selling guns, military guns to kids. The abovementioned toy is a kids version of a sniper rifle. And there is the NERF N-STRIKE VULCAN EBF-25 YELLOW 
which I defy anyone from describing as not looking like a SAW or M60 machinegun. And people wonder if kids are getting violent because of video games.
Now I’m not against guns, nor do I think kids shouldn’t be allowed to rough-house. It’s part of growing up and it has it’s own lessons to teach kids. Within reason.
There is a big difference between kids playing cops and robbers, to planning out and executing small squad tatical assaults. There is a dramatic difference of teaching a kid to hunt and respect a weapon and sitting in the backyard with a foam sniper rifle waiting for the neighbor to get home. It’s just wrong. And there is no comparison to when I grew up.
Yes kids live in a world with terrorists, 24 hour news, drive-by shootings, and drug gang wars. Given. Still how helpful can it be when we are arming these children and sending them out to play wargames with weapons fashioned after the military? How can we be surprised when some of these same kids go out and use a real gun?
I’m not blaming Columbine, or the recent double murder committed by an 8 year old, on Nerf. Nor is it guns that I am upset by. A gun is no more dangerous than a rock, until it is picked up with intent. I’m upset with the media and parents.
The media selectively chooses to pick on aspects of the lives of children to blame when something goes wrong. Oblivious to the force-feeding they do in the name of marketing and advertising dollars. They blame video games for more violent kids, while advertising those games and more importantly these real world military assault weapon substitutes. And then say they have no connection to the problem at hand.
And parents that buy these toys for their kids. What are they thinking? That if they give little Tommy a gun similar to the one in their video game, and send them outside to shoot the neighborhood kids, it’s ok because they got him up from the television set? IF that’s the choice, leave them on the video game At least some of those games involve creatures that can never be confused with a human being.
I admit that I like the Nerf Longshot. Then again I am a 40 year old man, that served in the military, and find the resemblence of the toy to a sniper rifle appealing on a level. I can’t begin to imagine what a 6 year old (which this toy is recommended for) is going to think. I can’t imagine how a parent can convince that child that their toy is not like the gun in the attic that looks the same. How they might explain why it’s ok to shoot someone with this rather realistic toy but wrong to do the same with its real counterpart.
I’m not against guns. But I am for the responsibility that goes along with gun ownwership – which in my mind includes replicas and toys made in that same image and style. And I can’t see a responsible way to own these toys and not create a conflict.
I’m single, my friends I spoke with on this subject are all adults some with grown children. None of us either have kids in the range of 6 – 15 or at all. So this is a question we could not resolve. But some of my readers surely do have kids in that age range right now. So I want to know what do you think.
Are these Nerf guns too realistic? Is there a difference in a kid’s mind? Is there a way to play with this toy that is not indicative of harm to fellow human beings? Can young children understand the difference?
Teaching Kids to Save Energy…and Money!
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
The US Department of Energy and Disney have joined forces to produce two websites for kids about energy conservation. With the tough financial times we are facing, these sites are incredibly timely as we can help our kids learn how to save our resources while helping our bank accounts avoid shrinking too quickly.
Lose Your Excuse is helps kids learn about conserving energy while having fun. The site has areas where kids can participate in activities about conservation as well as create their own “go green” message signs. The site also has links for more resources and a down-loadable action plan. The plan contains tips we know already - like turning of lights and TV sets when leaving rooms - and also contains a few tips that you may not have considered. Two of the best tips is for kids to remind us parents to use programmable thermostats and to work on home improvements in areas that result in lost energy (leaky windows, lost insulation). You can find the action plan here.
Kids Saving Energy is geared for 8-9 year olds and features the Disney character, Tinkerbell. It is very similar to Lose Your Excuse in features but those features are designed for this very impressionable age group.
The two sites compliment each other well and are worth spending a few minutes on with and without your kids.
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Listen Up! Unplug headphones if walking or driving…it could save your life.
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
This week a Boston College student was hit by a mass transit (MBTA) trolley in Massachusetts. By all reports, the trolley operator honked the horn to get the student’s attention but to no avail. The student was solidly connected to his MP3 player and listening to music so loud he couldn’t hear the honking trolley. As a result, he was hit by the trolley and injured.
How often do you see people walking in your area plugged into their MP3 player or phone? How about driving? There is great value to tuning out to music or a good book on tape but the very purpose of tuning out is to distract and that is exactly what we can’t allow to happen when we are walking in public or behind the wheel or a car where our lives and others are in jeopardy if we fade away too far from the task at hand.
It’s important to talk with our kids as soon as they are old enough to use headphones about safe use of the headphones. This BC student’s run in with the T-train is a good lead-off point for just such a discussion. There are health issues to consider - we don’t want our next generation of adults to have hearing loss. But the bigger issue is is volume - with a simple bottom line. We have to not be so tuned out we are not aware of our surroundings. The only way to do that is to make sure the volume being pumped into our ears does not exceed the volume of what is going on outside our heads! And, we have to keep our eyes engaged on the world around us when we are walking…always.
The BC college student should count his lucky stars his injuries were not worse. Hopefully next time he crosses the path of a train or trolley he’ll be completely unplugged and 100% in the moment.
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When Your Baby Has a Fever
Submitted by Childn’Parent
The information in this blog is for information purposes only. For medical diagnosis or treatment, always consult a physician.
Babies have underdeveloped temperature control systems. Mosquito bites, bee stings, allergic reactions, viral infections, bacterial infections- all of these can cause an infant to burn. Usually, a fever occurs when the body detects an unwelcome presence. By raising the heat, the body makes itself inhospitable to germs and wakes up white blood cells. Fever also activates the body’s immune system.
Normal body temperature is 98.6 , but it may vary by a few degrees. A feverish infant will be cranky, sluggish or look flushed. Then it is time to take the temperature. Wait 20 minutes after a bath to take it, since the warmth of a bath raises the body heat and will distort the temperature reading.
Newborns and very young infants should be evaluated by a doctor for any fever that reaches 100.4? Fahrenheit (38? Celsius) or higher. For other babies a reading of less than 102 is less than serious. Give them plenty of fluids and keep them in a cool well-ventilated room. Re-check their temperature at intervals to make sure it is going down. A cold compress will make the baby more comfortable and help lower their temperature. Keep an eye on the child for twenty-four hours. If it has not subsided by then, call your doctor.
Consult a doctor immediately when your baby runs a fever of 102 or above. If the fever reaches 104 , it is serious, and the child must get to a hospital as soon as possible. If the fever is accompanied by runny nose, sensitive eyes, red spots, or itchy red spots, consult a doctor, since these symptoms are indicative of measles or chicken pox.
For medicines, you can give children’s acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol) or ibuprofen (e.g., Advil) for fevers above 102?F (39?C), if your child is uncomfortable. Fever medicine usually lowers the fever by 2 to 3?F
Never, ever give a child aspirin, as it has been associated with Reye’s syndrome. Reye’s syndrome is a series of flu-like symptoms that set in right as the patient begins to recover from a virus. The symptoms include vomiting, delusion, combativeness, dizziness, listlessness, and signs of brain dysfunction.
Parents, especially new ones, are often worried when their little one gets sick. Don’t be alarmed. Babies often get fevers; but they are rarely life threatening or dangerous. Just follow procedure and have the number of good doctor on hand.
If there are ever any serious concerns, ask a doctor.
Find more help with your baby’s health at Child n’Parent.
By Stephanie Moore
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Top Ten Worst Toys of 2008
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
It may look cute and cuddly. It may seem like the perfect gift for the biggest Pooh fan in your family. But, did you know this toy is actually dangerous and is on this year’s W.A.T.C.H. (World Against Toys Causing Harm) list? It turns out, this toy is a choking hazard. And, many other popular toys have hidden issues you need to be aware of before you hit the stories and fill your holiday wish list.
The World Against Toys Causing Harm (W.A.T.C.H.), Inc, released it’s annual worst toys list earlier this week. This year’s list includes:
- Animal alley purse set
- Ninja battle gear - Michelangelo
- Walk n’ Sounds Digger the Dog
- Pucci Puppies: My own puppy house golden retriever
- Meadow Mystery Play A Sound Book With A Cuddly Pooh
- Inflatable Giga Ball
- Spider-man adjustable toy skates
- Sportsman shotgun
- Extreme spiral copters
- Go Go minis pull back vehicles
Pictures of each toy with a description of warnings and why they are on this year’s list can be found here.
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Holiday Giving Makes You Happier!
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
In the November, O, The Oprah Magazine, I noticed a 1/2 page “O Stats” (page 56) that read:
“People who volunteer are 42% more likely than people who don’t to say they are ‘VERY HAPPY’ with their lives.”
The editors then listed three ways to think about giving during this holiday season that I wanted to pass on:
1. Think Locally: www.volunteermatch.org - links you with organizations in your area that share your interests.
2. Think Globally: www.volunteerabroad.com - connects you with organizations around the globe that share your interests in giving back to the world.
3. Think Together: www.change.org - online social networking site to connect with other volunteers in your area of interest. This site could be used to connect with others to start your own group or to find people working in a group that may interest you.
With our world in the shape it is today, locally and globally, every little bit counts.
My family “thinks together” and “locally” around Thanksgiving time. We do two things. We buy “charities pies” from a group who funds the holiday soup kitchens in Massachusetts so others in need can have a holiday meal. And, we give to our home town’s food bank. Thanksgiving is a time to pull people together so we try to find ways to do that in our community.
If you have a way to help your community, I’d love to know about it. Email me at ideas@pediatricsnow.com with the subject “ways to give”.
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What do your kids understand about the economy?
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
With our country facing one of most challenging economic crisis in most of our life times, it’s easy to go into protection mode and want to shelter our kids from our adult stresses. With the holidays on our heels, though, our stresses will very soon become their stresses as holidays become quickly modified in homes coast to coast. Among the people in my circle of friends, families and neighbors, people are uniformly altering their plans. It seems to be the rare few who are shopping, traveling and gift giving as they had even a year ago.
As with most tough issues in life, honesty is always your best policy with kids, kid-appropriate, of course. Kids have an amazingly fine-tuned radar for knowing when a parent is worried. More than that, they are very good in picking up on gigantic world issues from their friends and worrying themselves about their own world.
Barbara Meltz, Boston Globe columnist, agrees. In her article, Helping kids understand family finances, she discusses not only how kids react to tough societal stresses, but ways parents can not only discuss these tough issues and be on the look out for signs that kids are having trouble coping with the enormity of situation.
The article opens with the story of a family that could be any of us - a basic nuclear family trying to plan for the future but is otherwise financial ok at the moment. For this family, they focused their conversation on “saving money by not wasting”. In the father’s words:
“‘Countries have financial ups and downs. This is a down time. Our family is not in trouble, but as a precaution, we are rearranging our budget. You guys can help.’”
Their kids help with reminding the family to turn off lights and the TV. Those small actions can add up for all of us over time!
We take the same tact with our kids and are learning that their middle school is actively teaching the girls about the environment and saving in school. “Go green” has been our families motto for a while but at the moment has taken on an interesting financial twist at the economy continues to sour.
By the way, keep in mind that that kids’ reactions to tough times are independent of their families tax bracket and that isn’t something parents always understand. So if you are one of the lucky families who won’t have to worry about this financial crisis, your kids are still worried, or at least worried for their friends.
Meltz and I have always shared a vision of being proactive about parenting and needing to balance information with reassurance. Her current article hits the nail on the head with not only the tone of the conversations we need to have with our kids right now but ways we can step in when we sense trouble.
The printed Boston Globe article contains a small chart with a trouble-shooting guide to help you intervene if your child is showing signs of stress. Here are the highlights to be on the lookout for:
- Changes in behavior. Meltz suggests initiating an age appropriate discussion and try and get your child talking about what he or she has heard at school.
- Your child starts to discuss friends going through tough economic times. Hit the nail on the head by reassuring your child about your families situation.
- You started a discussion and now your child seems very unhappy.Be reassuring and help your child see that your family’s situation stable despite any modifications that have to be made due to the economy.
- Nothing you say seems to “get through” (especially for a middle schooler). Meltz said it best “offer hope”. The age group needs to know the truth so don’t candy coat it but be careful not to make statements that place blame on the child inadvertently. This is the age of moodiness so this group will brood and stew while readjusting to a new reality.
- Holiday expectations are becoming unrealistic. This is one area you just have to be clear about. Kids always get carried away with their holiday lists but this is a year where most kids just won’t get a huge pile.
I find it helps kids to know that all their friends are going through the same exact thing. It also helps kids to give to other kids in need. I’ll be blogging more on this soon but kids love to give back and by finding ways to tap into that a bit, it will remove the focus from your own situation and help them develop a sense of community and altruism.
One thing is for sure, this is one situation that is touching everyone, although some much more deeply that others. We don’t know how long this will last so we have to be honest, realistic and help our kids understand there is more to being a family than the tangible things we have inside our houses…and that their world won’t end wearing last year’s clothes.
For more information on talking to kids about tough world events, click here.
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Friday Fun: Cell Phones and Kids
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
Good lessons always start young!
Happy Friday!
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Teach Kids About Phone Safety
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
We’ve been getting a ton of weird phone calls lately. Some are from 800 numbers. Some are from 866 numbers and some seem like “real” phone numbers. What all these numbers have in common, though, is no names pop up on caller ID. We typically don’t answer calls without identifying names figuring they are scams or telemarketers, even though we are on the “no call” list. But, after seeing a few of these numbers a few times over, we picked one up last weekend.
The caller, a male, said “Is she home? I want to ask her about the form she filled out about the online college degree?”
I said “First, who are you? Second, no one filled out a form about a college degree. Third, who is she?”
The caller would only give his first name and then repeated “So, is she home?”
My response was firm and simple: “If you call again, we are reporting you to the feds.”
Well, he called again, so we reported the number to the feds.
After this experience, I wondered if my kids, a tween and teen, would know what to do if the recipient of a call like this. Would your kids know?
If kids are old enough to be on line and answer the phone, they need to learn to see through calls like this. Why in the world would a home with kids and adults who have gone through college be receiving a call about a college course? If your kids are on the receiving end of one of these calls, it’s important that they understand how much that sort of call doesn’t make sense and what to do quickly and simply. Here are my thoughts:
1. Help them to know that people try to get information from people and may sound innocent on the phone.
2.Reinforce to them to never, ever given their name or age over the phone or to let the caller know a parent isn’t home. They just have to say the parent or “she” is busy.
3.And, to feel free to just hang up. It isn’t rude to hang up on a stranger who is making you feel funny.
Did you know that it’s illegal for telemarketers to call? And, were you aware there’s a reporting system in place through the Federal Trade Commission?All you have to do is go to this page and a wizard walks you through the reporting system. That page, by the way, is the same page for the well known “do not call list”. Violating that list is also illegal so be sure to report those calls, too.
What do you do if you feel you or your family are in danger some how? Call the police for advice. They’ll know who to go to next whether it be another federal agency or the Attorney General in your state. But, closer to home, you have to start first with teaching kids how to be safe on the phone, as well as on line.
I’m a big believer of Caller ID with kids because you can counsel them to not pick up the phone if they don’t recognize the name, number or both. One of the best ways to help kids figure out “safe” phone numbers is to make a list that you can post near the phone or on the frig. That’s the safest way to protect them. And, in addition, reinforce to your kids to never pick up calls without names, 800 calls or calls they don’t recognize in any way. We all have phone machines or voice mail. If a call is that urgent from someone we know and they were calling from a number we didn’t recognize, they’ll leave a message and if we are home we can pick up then. Remind your kids that we are in control…not the caller. And, the really urgent calls will be from people we know, and people we know will leave a message.
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Can “Dr. Google” track the flu?
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
I saw the headline yesterday and heard the reports all over the news today but had to check it out with my own eyes: Google claims to be able to track the flu 10 days earlier than the CDC flu surveillance map we all know and love by now.
Eventually there will be so much flu activity that both maps will look exactly the same but right now flu activity is relatively low nation-wide. So, comparing the two maps is rather eye opening, at least to me.
Here’s what you need to know about each type of tracking map so you know what you will get from each:
Google Flu Trends
- The map is very interactive: you roll over the state and a nice description emerges.
- The map relies on shades of colors which deepen as the “activity” worsens.
- The information is extrapolated from search terms which, interestingly, seem to be ahead of the CDC data by 2 weeks. Here’s a link to a page that demonstrates Google compared to CDC from last year’s flu season.
- Google admits this system is still “experimental” so we have to be open to the fact that search trends may change and the strong interest in everything flu may be creating an interesting coincidence.
CDC Flu Chart
- The CDC maps lag behind real time due to the time needed to collect and evaluate the data. For example, this week’s map is for week ending November 1, 2008.
- The data presented are accurate and not extrapolated so we can trust what the map reflects and not worry about the type of error that could be present with Google Flu Trends.
Conclusions
Time will tell whether Dr. Google will be able to keep pace with the CDC as we move forward during this flu season but early signs are promising and the implications in clinical medicine very powerful.
But, this is really just the tip of the iceberg. If Google succeeds with the flu, this technology could be applied to other illnesses and public health issues. Just think of what we could accomplish if we could understand real time what is really happening in our communities and the communities we are planning on visiting?
In it’s article on Google Flu Trends, the New York Times covers this very issues and concludes with the following thought-proving words:
“…Google Flu Trends appears to be the first public project that uses the powerful database of a search engine to track a disease.
“This seems like a really clever way of using data that is created unintentionally by the users of Google to see patterns in the world that would otherwise be invisible,” said Thomas W. Malone, a professor at the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. “I think we are just scratching the surface of what’s possible with collective intelligence.””
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All Kids Have Abilities…And It’s Up To Us To Recognize That!
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
A former physical education teacher in my home town, John Passarini, once told me: “No child is disabled. They are all just differently abled.” That was his philosophy during his many years teaching generations of kids in our town and now teaching teachers how to coach and teach.
I thought about John and his motto last night while watching ABC’s Extreme Make Over Home Edition. The team was remodeling a home for a family born with a genetic disorder. Their old home was limiting for the child’s needs and didn’t allow a moment of peace for the parents who desperately wanted to allow this child, as well as their other two children, to reach whatever potential was with in each of their abilities.
Fast forward to the new home. Spacious. Filled with doors wide enough for wheel chairs and equipment to aid mobility. The home had stairs for those who could use them as well as an elevator. Each of the kids rooms had just what was needed. And, the home had a play room that also was a therapy room. You should click through the pictures to get an idea and also here the father’s own words:
At the end of the show, though, after seeing the house, with tears in his eyes, he echoed what John said to me many years ago. He said that he doesn’t feel that children, even children with major issues, are really disabled. He feels they all have something to offer and the key is recognizing that and not being held back by what they can’t do but by trying to see past that and looking at what the child can do. In other words, seeing that every child is abled…just in different ways. A good reminder for all of us.
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Helping Hands and Warm Hearts - Give Thanks this Holiday Season
Submitted by Childn’Parent
“Mom, why is that woman crying?” I took the newspaper from him and looked at the front page picture of a woman crying and another woman hugging her. I looked at the caption of the article stating that the woman’s apartment had caught fire and all their personal possessions had been destroyed. As I explained this to my eight-year old son, we both took a long look at the toys scattered around our front room. It was a time for both of us to give thanks.
I have always thought of Thanksgiving and Christmas as a time of friends, family, wonderful food and presents. I admit, I am the first one to run for the turkey and I can yell louder about presents than my five year old. However, as I’ve gotten older and a little wiser, I’ve learned to develop an attitude of gratitude which is something I hope to pass on to my children.
Experiences which have helped me:
During Thanksgiving, we try and take a moment to express thanks for something we appreciate about each other. The rules of this game are that you must be sincere and you cannot say anything negative. My daughter did this with her teenage friends at church and she came home with a big smile on her face and a thankful feeling for her friend’s kind comments.
Last Christmas a friend of mine organized her children to collect items for the local women’s shelter. She made it a neighborhood event, posting flyers and hosting an open house where people dropped off their donated goods. She even served hot chocolate. Not only is she protecting her children from the commercialism of Christmas, she is showing them that Christmas is a time to think about others.
I recently asked my children to be more polite when leaving the dinner table by saying “excuse me” and “thank you.” I believe that just saying the words “thank you” creates a more thankful feeling, inside and out. I also like to be thanked for the effort I put into preparing a delicious family dinner.
I like to regularly express gratitude to my husband for how hard he works to keep me home. I’ve been a stay at home Mom for fifteen years and that is largely due to his hard work and determination. When I openly express my thanks, my children see an example of a thankful person.
At Christmas it is our family tradition to help someone in need. Sometimes our church or a local store sponsors an angel tree. Paper angels are hung on the tree and the name of a child or adult who needs a Christmas present is written on the back with a short description of the item that they need. As a family we choose angels off the tree and make the purchases. We then return them to the organization to be given to those who are in need. This allows my children to experience the joy of giving and detracts them from the greed of getting.
This holiday season, create memories with your loved ones and take time to say thank you for all the joy they add to your life. Family and friends make life complete. My Mom is getting older and one day I decided to call her and just thank her for all the wonderful things she has done for me. It was a very emotional moment as I realized that I may not have much more time with her. I also realized that I would never be the person I am today without her. Thanks Mom, so much for everything.
Happy Thanksgiving and all the best from us here at Child n’Parent.
By Debby Hoffer
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When Kids Are Sick: What They Think, What You Need To Know
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
My 6 year old nephew had the kid crud this week. You know, that annoying and pesky illness that kids get in school where they are too sick for school but almost too well to keep home…yet that’s just what you have to do! So, home bound he was for a day and with his grand parents.
I had the opportunity to chat with him about his illness yesterday and here’s what he had to say:
Me: You feeling better today?
Nephew: Yup. Much better than yesterday - yesterday was the worst ever!
Me: What are you up to today?
Nephew: I’m building stuff with Grandpa.
Me: You looking forward to getting back to school?
Nephew: Yes!!
Me: What do you miss the most about school? What are you looking forward to the most when you return tomorrow?
Nephew: Lunch recess.
Well, it is first grade…but having a 6th grader and an 8th grader at home, I’m not so sure the answers change much more over time!
As tough as it can be, though to keep kids with even mild symptoms home from school, it is important for your child and the school community. Here are a couple resources to help you sort out when to keep kids home from school and for what conditions:
How to decided if kids are sick enough to stay home from school
Sick symptoms that often require a child to stay home from school
Happy Friday!!
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Are your kids milk allergic? Take heart…a new study reports it may be reversible!
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
Getting kids to drink milk past the infancy period is the bane of many parents existance. Between true milk allergies, milk intolerance and kids who just don’t like milk it becomes a true uphill battle to get enough milk into kids past the age of about 18months or so. Some lucky parents may be able to push that to 2 years of age but then it drops off considerably.
The problem, of course, is bone health. Growing kids, boys and girls, need Vitamin D and calcium.
Did you know that the amount of calcium kids need increases with age? Just check out this chart by the National Institute of Child Health’s Milk Matters Campaign. Roughly put, infants need approximately 250mg of calcium, toddlers 500mg, elementary school kids (ages 4-8) 800mg, and tweens and teens 1300mg. An 8ounce glass of milk has about 300mg of calcium to give you a sense of serving size.
Vitamin D amounts are now double what they used to be to 400 IU a day. This is the amount found to prevent rickets, other soft tissue disorders and to make up for dietary deficiencies. Because are not drinking as much milk as they should be, most kids will need a supplement starting in infancy.
But what about milk? For the kids milk allergic and milk intolerant, there may be hope. A new study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and Duke University suggests that exposing these kids to small amounts of powdered milk can over come the allergy. The theory is that the allergy may have evolved from lack of intake and that slowly increasing the amount of milk again will allow the immune system to not over react as it does in an allery.
As for the kids who just don’t like milk, flavoring is the way to go. According to the New England Dairy Council, flavoring nonfact milk only increases intake and not BMI. That is, kids will not add calories to their diet if we add a bit of chocolate or strawberry flavoring to their daily milk!
Bone health is important and it must start young. It’s great that we have ways to help our kids keep their milk consumption up throughout childhood but we must be realistic that we are dealing with kids and they just may not be able to accomplish all their calcium and vitamin D needs in their diet. That’s ok and why supplements were invented!
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Talking Politics With Your Kids
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
Wow! What a night last night was. For many people, including me, last night represented one of those nights that will be difficult to forget.
Today, two years of campaigning finally comes to a close and we can finally move forward. SNL has allowed us (and the candidates) to laugh, and to see the humor and lighter side and the very long and often frustrating campaign.
I was impressed last night by the behavior of both candidates. Both said what needed to be said but most impressive was the lack of usual fanfare and music on the winning side. Obama felt it was inappropriate for the tone of the country and the suffering people were experiencing. You can come to your own conclusions about that but I was impressed by his thoughtfulness barely out of the gate.
We can learn a great deal by how McCain and Obama behaved last night and act similarly today ourselves. We have to. The campain divided too many good people and today we all have to come together again and heal.
It’s also very important to pay special attention to our kids today and recognize that they are not just innocent bystanders in this political process. They have been watching our every move, picking up on our body language and hearing the tone of our voice as we discuss our views of the candidates and issues. If you’ve been carrying around frustrations or anxiety, your kids may have picked up on that so talk to them and ask them if they have any questions. They very well may not want to burden you if they feel you are worried. If you open the door, however, they will walk through.
You may have noticed some of your kids very engaged in the political process due to their own natural childhood intrigue and discussions at school. they’ve likely formed opinions of their own that need to be respected and heard. Allow spirited debate at home with you and try to guide them to the facts if they seem to truly misunderstand something but never shut down their ideas with the “you’re wrong because I’m an adult and you’re a child” card. They’ll never turn to you with concerns or questions about important issues again if you do that. In fact, that is really a form of bullying so tread lightly.
People have a habit of celebrating in the street for special holidays like New Year’s Eve or important ball games but presidential elections? Never in my life have I seen that before! Relate that to your kids. Explain to them that the tides are changing and there’s a new mood in the country today. If your kids see you put your best foot forward today and embrace it somehow, they’ll not only do the same today but some day in the future when faced with the same challenge as a parent themselves.
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Why be involved with your teen’s TV viewing? To avoid unwanted teen pregnancies!
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
You may have been surprised yesterday by the report of a new study from this month’s Pediatrics of a clear relationship between teen TV viewing and teen pregnancy. In short, teens who watched highly sexualized TV shows were twice as likely within 3 years to “experience a pregnancy”, as noted by the study’s authors. All the teens in this study were under 20 years of age.
Most people have a sense that TV teens are over sexed. Most people have a sense that teens shouldn’t be watching shows that glamorize youthful sexual relationships. But, those same people are also all too often to think “what’s the harm?” They desperately want to believe their teens will be different and make better choices.
The study’s results make sense given how teens think and act. Given the power of the hormone, TV shows which glamorize sex resonate with teens. Without showing clear consequence such as in movies like Juno or even on One Life To Live where a teen became pregnant following her heart, teens will follow their hormones and impulses and think about the consequences later on.
So, what can we do? A lot! This isn’t a time to point fingers but a time to step back and realize that the blame for this issue extends in and out of the home. Parents and the media all have a role to play in helping teens understand their bodies and emotions and helping them make better decisions so they stay healthy and safe.
The study author’s concur with their conclusion that “(l)imiting adolescent exposure to the sexual content on television and balancing portrayals of sex in the media with information about possible negative consequences might reduce the risk of teen pregnancy. Parents may be able to mitigate the influence of this sexual content by viewing with their children and discussing these depictions of sex.”
So next time your teens sit on the couch to watch TV, plop right next to them. We should all be watching more TV with our teens and helping them make better choices in their media lives, just as we try to in other areas of their lives. We need to be on hand to answer questions if they arise or editorialize if we feel a comment is needed. If nothing else, our teens will get the clear message that we care and want to be involved and that, in the end, may be what keeps them safe and sound more than any other action or study conclusion we can find. And, if all else fails…you still have that parent control on the cable box!
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The Flu Season Is Knocking In A Community Near You
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
It may not feel like flu season yet if you track weather changes across the country, but the CDC flu activity map gives a different story:
You may be thinking “but it’s not in my state yet” and that may be true. Keep in mind that people travel and so does the flu. It’s only a matter of time before those our entire country looks like a game board of a weird tic-tac toe board, and that pattern will soon be followed by various sweeps of seasonal fall colors all indicating varying degrees of flu activity. The darker the color, the more intense the activity.
What can you do now? Get a flu shot for you and your kids 6months and older, assuming no one has an allergy to eggs or had a prior reaction. There really are few people who can not get the flu shot these days and your pediatrician will let you know if your kids fall into those small groups.
Start talking to your kids now about smart cold and flu prevention. Simple steps such as washing hands before meals and when after using the restroom, after coughing or being coughed or sneezed on go a long way. This is a great time to stock up on water-less soap or products like Purrell so your kids have something instant and pocket size to use should the need arise.
What if your kids get sick? I’ll toss out more tips as the flu season gets more underway – there are many things we can all do to help our sick family members. Well before we get to that point, though, it’s helpful to understand the big picture. If you say the following three statements a few times over, I promise when the flu hits you’ll know what to do, and what not to do:
- “the flu is a virus and only cured by time”
- “antibiotics don’t help viruses”
- “over the counter cold and cough medications are dangerous for kids”
For now, step 1, be prepared: get everyone flu shots, and stock up on klenex, fluids and portable soap and cleansers. If you really want to get prepared: make some chicken soup and freeze it for later use. Really – that stuff is great for the flu or, as I learned recently, in rebounding from surgery! I’m partial to the homemade kind but canned works just as well.
For updates on the flu and more information on the flu shot, click here.
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Torch Passing
Submitted by Boys and Schools Blog
I’m sad to say that today’s is going to be my final blog entry with Boys and Schools. No worries, the blog will still be here, and you’ll still be able to find the news, insight, and discussion that we are so happy to bring you. We have a great team that will be taking over the blog, forum, newsletter, and the rest of the Boys and Schools program. This is, however, my last day as Director of Boys and Schools, and so I must bid you a fond farewell. My boys have interrupted the battle between Ironman and Obi-Wan long enough to send their best wishes as well.
I think that one of the things that I will miss most is the time I’ve spent talking to parents about their concerns for their own sons–as the mother of two young boys, this always touches my own concerns and hopes. So, as I move on, I’d just like to say a few things to the parents out there worried about their boys and what’s going on in their schools:
1.) Stay involved. Not just in what your son is doing in his own studies, but what is going on in the school and community as well. Working for widespread, national change through groups like Boys and Schools is one of the best ways to ensure real, permanent change.
2.) Trust your gut. You know your son better than anyone else. Don’t let yourself get pushed into a plan, program, or diagnosis that makes you uncomfortable–if you have doubts, look at other schools, programs, doctors. Get a second opinion if the situation calls for one.
3.) Speak up. Pretty self-explanatory, but there’s a lot at stake here. Let teachers, principals, other parents, politicians, and so on know what’s on your mind, what change is needed, and how we can get there.
So there we are. Thank you for reading me this last couple of years. I hope that you continue to enjoy our blog, as I’m sure I will.
Cheers,
Malia
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