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What Parents Need to Know Now

7 Things Kindergartener’s Need to Know Academically

In the rush to get your child outfitted for that first day of school, don’t overlook the value of exposing your child to the Kindergarten curriculum.  These are the 7 things that most Kindergartener’s need to know:

 

List of Early Childhood Skills Required for Kindergarten

Parents ... do you know what early childhood skills your child needs to know before going to Kindergarten?

Here is a list to refer to.  Introduce and practice these skills at home and school:

 

What Parents Need to Know About Kids and Lice and the AAP’s Recommendations

Head lice. Two words that make anyone’s head start itching almost immediately.

Head lice are incredibly common, especially among school-aged children. There aren’t any good numbers on infestations, but it’s somewhere in the millions every year (just in the U.S.)—and these tiny bugs end up costing the country millions of dollars, if you include not just treatments but lost wages. The American Academy of Pediatrics just issued a clinical report on head lice to educate parents about what should—and should not—be done while battling lice in the home.

In some parts of the world, it’s normal to always have a few lice on your head (now that makes me itch!) It’s not a hygiene thing—washing more just gives you cleaner lice. They are hardy little buggers, and in some places people just get used to them. Here in the U.S. we get freaked out. We’ll try anything to get rid of them—and we don’t want to be near anyone who has them.

The diagnosis and treatment of head lice has moved away from doctors over the years. It’s mostly school or daycare staff, parents, friends, neighbors and other assorted people who are deciding if children are infested—and what to do about it. This worries the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), who just issued a clinical report on head lice. They have three main concerns:

Children are being diagnosed with lice when they don’t have them. This happens in two ways:

Cocooning May Protect Newborns From Whooping Cough


Vaccinations have weakened, but not eradicated, many once fatal diseases

Vaccinations have weakened, but not eradicated, many once fatal diseases.

Polio. Scarlet fever. Typhoid. Today, this list does little more than conjure up old memories of iron lungs, crutches and maybe one sad velveteen rabbit. But less than a century ago, these words were enough to make most parents go white with dread.

Thanks to advancements in medicine and vaccination, these diseases have been all but eradicated. But as powerful as modern medicine has become, there are still holes in its defenses, as proven by a recent Californian outbreak of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, that is well on its way to being the most widespread outbreak the state has seen in 50 years. So far over 900 cases of pertussis have been confirmed, with a death toll of at least five, prompting state health officials to declare it an epidemic.

The sheer volume of whooping cough cases has many parents worried and wondering how a commonly contained disease like pertussis could experience such a powerful revival.

The Pros and Perils of Online Symptom Checkers for Parents

Your child has a fever and a stomachache. You’re not sure what to do. So you reach for—your laptop?

kidsdocsymptomchecker

The AAP just launched the KidsDoc Symptom Checker, which helps look up specific symptoms by body part.

More and more, that’s what many parents are doing. Over the past few years, the amount of health information available on the internet has skyrocketed, and many sites offer to help you make diagnoses, whether it’s through specific health information, quizzes, or a “symptom checker” that allows you to look specifically at what might be causing the fever or stomachache—or rash, or whatever.

Parents – Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning


The new captain jumped from the cockpit, fully dressed, and sprinted through the water. A former lifeguard, he kept his eyes on his victim as he headed straight for the owners who were swimming between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. They had been splashing each other and she had screamed but now they were just standing, neck-deep on the sand bar. “We’re fine, what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled, waving him off, but his captain kept swimming hard. ”Move!” he barked as he sprinted between the stunned owners. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their nine-year-old daughter was drowning. Safely above the surface in the arms of the captain, she burst into tears, “Daddy!”

Kellogg Recalls 28 Million Boxes of Cereal

Kellogg recalled 28 million boxes of Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks cereals, "saying a 'waxy' smell and flavor coming from the package liners could make people sick," reported the AP.

A Kellogg spokeswoman said about 20 people complained about the off odor, and five reported nausea and vomiting, but Kellogg maintains that the potential for serious health problems with the affected cereals is low, and the problem comes from the lining of the cereal boxes. Kellogg is working on identifying the specific substance in the liner that's causing the problem.

AAP Releases Guidelines for Young Athletes with Hypertension

Young Player Waiting to BatEarlier this month, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued new guidelines concerning young athletes with mildly elevated blood pressure. The guidelines state that youth with high blood pressure are safe to participate in sports, but notes that kids with more serious blood pressure problems need to make training and lifestyle changes before taking part in high-intensity sports or workouts.

“The decision on when an athlete with high blood pressure can safely participate in sports is based on the sport they play and the severity of their blood pressure,” says Bridget Quinn, MD, of Children’s Hospital Boston’s Sports Medicine Program. “High static exercises, like weight lifting and gymnastics, may increase the blood pressure, whereas dynamic exercise, like long distance running and tennis, require more oxygen uptake but have less effect on blood pressure.”

High blood pressure is measured in three categories: pre-hypertension, stage 1 hypertension and stage 2 hypertension. A child with elevated blood pressure is assigned one of these categories based on their blood pressure levels when compared to other kids of the same age, sex and height. Quinn says the level of activity safe for young athletes with hypertension should be based on which category best defines them.

Splinters Scrapes and Stings: Summer Solutions Starring Dr. Mom

Being a mom means always being on call.  Whether it’s splinters, stings, or scrapes, if blood or pain is involved kids blow right past dads to us.  Then they freak out and give accusing glances when it hurts while we fix it.  Totally unfair.

OK, since I am an emergency doctor, perhaps in our family the mommy preference is reasonable.  However, it only recently occurred to me to use the same techniques at home that Children’s Hospitals use to cut pain by half!  Duh.

Here are a few specfic tips for some common summer maladies, then general pain management ideas which can cut boo-boo pain in half. 

SPLINTERS:  Splinter removal is easiest immediately, or a day after it gets in. The redness that develops in the first few hours around the splinter can make it hurt more, so if it doesn't come out easily consider putting antibiotic ointment on for a while and trying later. The body will have a chance to make fluid and infection-fighting white blood cells that can make next day removal easier.

Children’s Expert Pushes for Concussion Safety


Asian football playerWhen a child athlete gets a head injury during a game it’s a scary moment for everyone. After the downed player gets back on his or her feet the sense of relief is tangible. And when the still-woozy player jumps right back into position, the support from the sidelines can border on electric. Comments on the player’s “toughness” or abundance of “heart” are often made, sometimes shouted above the applause and cheers of the approving crowd. This attitude is supported in professional sports where concussions are often mentioned in the same breath as “back spasms” in terms of severity.

Yet, the more doctors and researchers learn about concussions the more they realize that players who immediately return to the game after a head injury (and the coaches who sanction it) are engaging in very risky behavior. Brain injuries, including concussions, can cause serious cognitive and neurological damage and can even be fatal. Kids who suffer a concussion are also more vulnerable to suffer a second one, especially if they’re roughed up before the original injury has fully healed. Repeated concussions suffered over the course of a few days or weeks can compound the neurological damage and greatly increase the chance of permanent brain damage or death.

According to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control,  135, 000 kids aged 5 to 18 are treated at emergency rooms every year for sports related head injuries, including concussions.

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