Cell phones have been a daily part of many American teenagers’ lives for years. By now, 80 percent of teens aged 13-17 have them, according to Nielsen Mobile. What is new and newsworthy is what some teens are doing with those phones these days.
In January, in Greensburg, Pa., two 14-year-old girls and a 15-year-old girl were charged with manufacturing and disseminating child pornography for sending their boyfriends photos of themselves unclothed. The boyfriends faced the same charges.
Read the full article online here at Today's Pentecostal Evangel.
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Immunity and Brain Development in Children
Several of my articles (13, to be exact) were published on the Juicy Juice Web site recently. Click each title to view the article:
5 Ways to Enhance Your Child's Thinking Through Play
Brush Up on Dental Care to Strengthen Immunity
How Music Inspires Your Baby's Brain
Finding the Right Preschool to Develop Your Child's Mind
Early Socialization Aids Brain Development
Your Child's Amazing Developing Brain
10 Signs Your Child Should Stay Home
5 Simple Games to Boost Your Child's Immunity
Sleep-A Key to A Healthy Immune System
The Link Between Laughter and Immunity
Physical Milestones Can Show Healthy Brain Development
Back to School: What I Tell My Own Kids About Staying Healthy
Good Health Begins with Good Digestion
5 Ways to Enhance Your Child's Thinking Through Play
Brush Up on Dental Care to Strengthen Immunity
How Music Inspires Your Baby's Brain
Finding the Right Preschool to Develop Your Child's Mind
Early Socialization Aids Brain Development
Your Child's Amazing Developing Brain
10 Signs Your Child Should Stay Home
5 Simple Games to Boost Your Child's Immunity
Sleep-A Key to A Healthy Immune System
The Link Between Laughter and Immunity
Physical Milestones Can Show Healthy Brain Development
Back to School: What I Tell My Own Kids About Staying Healthy
Good Health Begins with Good Digestion
Managing Your Child's Asthma
*This article appeard in General Mills Box Tops 4 Education Family Matters Web site in May 2009.
Raising a child with asthma doesn’t have to be scary. Consider the following as you work with your child’s doctor to develop a plan that will help you and your child breathe easier:
Stay on active duty
Look to the three P’s to help keep your child safe wherever she goes:
1. Plan. Compose a written Asthma Action Plan, says Allen Dozor, M.D., Associate Physician-in-Chief and Chief, Pediatric Pulmonology at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y. It should include:
• how often you can repeat medications
• signs it’s time to go to the doctor or emergency room
• signals it’s time to call 911
Keep it on hand so you can make clear decisions quickly.
2. Prepare. No symptoms lately? Prepare for attacks anyway by keeping medication with your child at all times, including sleepovers and trips.
3. Partner. Work with your doctor to identify partners in your child’s wellbeing, such as the school nurse and camp counselors. Share your Asthma Action Plan and extra rescue inhalers with them.
Call for reinforcements
The best line of defense against asthma is knowledge. In addition to his book The Asthma and Allergy Action Plans for Kids, Dozor recommends the following Web sites:
• American Lung Association: lungusa.org
• American Academy of Allergy and Immunology: aaaai.org
• AANMA - Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics: aanma.org
• American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology: acaai.org
• AllergyandAsthmaRelief.org
Your physician may also have additional educational materials and programs, including information on asthma camps.
Take the offensive
Make a preemptive strike against asthma attacks by eliminating triggers such as:
• Tobacco smoke
• Fireplace smoke
• Highly aerobic exercise (especially in cold or dry air)
• Dust mites
• Pet dander
• Pollen
• Mold
In addition, have an allergist evaluate your child’s triggers, recommends Dr. Marjorie L. Slankard, clinical professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Then go on trigger patrol: Use dust-proof bedding covers, keep pets out of the bedroom and keep windows closed when pollen and mold levels are high.
Most of all, pay attention to your child’s disease. “Asthma is so common, but so variable,” says Dozor. “Parents will learn over time what works best for their own child.”
Raising a child with asthma doesn’t have to be scary. Consider the following as you work with your child’s doctor to develop a plan that will help you and your child breathe easier:
Stay on active duty
Look to the three P’s to help keep your child safe wherever she goes:
1. Plan. Compose a written Asthma Action Plan, says Allen Dozor, M.D., Associate Physician-in-Chief and Chief, Pediatric Pulmonology at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y. It should include:
• how often you can repeat medications
• signs it’s time to go to the doctor or emergency room
• signals it’s time to call 911
Keep it on hand so you can make clear decisions quickly.
2. Prepare. No symptoms lately? Prepare for attacks anyway by keeping medication with your child at all times, including sleepovers and trips.
3. Partner. Work with your doctor to identify partners in your child’s wellbeing, such as the school nurse and camp counselors. Share your Asthma Action Plan and extra rescue inhalers with them.
Call for reinforcements
The best line of defense against asthma is knowledge. In addition to his book The Asthma and Allergy Action Plans for Kids, Dozor recommends the following Web sites:
• American Lung Association: lungusa.org
• American Academy of Allergy and Immunology: aaaai.org
• AANMA - Allergy & Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics: aanma.org
• American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology: acaai.org
• AllergyandAsthmaRelief.org
Your physician may also have additional educational materials and programs, including information on asthma camps.
Take the offensive
Make a preemptive strike against asthma attacks by eliminating triggers such as:
• Tobacco smoke
• Fireplace smoke
• Highly aerobic exercise (especially in cold or dry air)
• Dust mites
• Pet dander
• Pollen
• Mold
In addition, have an allergist evaluate your child’s triggers, recommends Dr. Marjorie L. Slankard, clinical professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Then go on trigger patrol: Use dust-proof bedding covers, keep pets out of the bedroom and keep windows closed when pollen and mold levels are high.
Most of all, pay attention to your child’s disease. “Asthma is so common, but so variable,” says Dozor. “Parents will learn over time what works best for their own child.”
Games that Help Kids Read
*This article appeared on General Mills Box Tops 4 Education Family Matters Web site in May 2009.
Boost your child's word power - and confidence-with these fun family activiites.
Create a signal for, “What does that mean?” Ask your child to use a special signal every time she hears a family member say an unfamiliar word. Whenever she uses the signal, such as a finger placed alongside her nose, the person who used the word has to define it. “Use new words now and then so she’ll have an opportunity to use her signal,” says Richard Bavaria, Ph.D., senior vice president of education outreach for Sylvan Learning. “You’ll be amazed at how this increases a child’s attention.”
Display a Word of the Day. Write new words on a chalkboard or post them on a bulletin board, suggests Dr. Vicki Folds, vice president of education and professional development for Children of America Educational Childcare. “Display the ‘word wall’ for repeated opportunities to point to a word, ask [the] child to say the word then give you a definition,” she says.
Host a family spelling bee. Showcase the new words your child is learning. Take turns being the judge—the one who has to correctly use the word in a sentence for the speller. Award the winner with a new book or a trip to a book store or public library.
Use new words in your own stories. Each time your son or daughter comes across a new word while reading a story, have her write it down on an index card. When she’s done, shuffle the cards and ask her to draw a card and start a new story, using that word in the first sentence. Take turns drawing cards and developing your story line, one sentence at a time.
Collect and use new words in conversation. Create a booklet in which each family member contributes words to learn and use, recommends Bavaria. When a person uses one of the new words in normal conversation, he gets a small prize, like the privilege of wearing a winner’s “crown.” Fill up the journal and save it as a family keepsake.
“Be a good role model by using new and expressive words, by reading to the child, by letting your child see you reading for your own pleasure and by pointing out new words you’ve learned,” says Bavaria. Soon learning new words will simply become routine.
Boost your child's word power - and confidence-with these fun family activiites.
Create a signal for, “What does that mean?” Ask your child to use a special signal every time she hears a family member say an unfamiliar word. Whenever she uses the signal, such as a finger placed alongside her nose, the person who used the word has to define it. “Use new words now and then so she’ll have an opportunity to use her signal,” says Richard Bavaria, Ph.D., senior vice president of education outreach for Sylvan Learning. “You’ll be amazed at how this increases a child’s attention.”
Display a Word of the Day. Write new words on a chalkboard or post them on a bulletin board, suggests Dr. Vicki Folds, vice president of education and professional development for Children of America Educational Childcare. “Display the ‘word wall’ for repeated opportunities to point to a word, ask [the] child to say the word then give you a definition,” she says.
Host a family spelling bee. Showcase the new words your child is learning. Take turns being the judge—the one who has to correctly use the word in a sentence for the speller. Award the winner with a new book or a trip to a book store or public library.
Use new words in your own stories. Each time your son or daughter comes across a new word while reading a story, have her write it down on an index card. When she’s done, shuffle the cards and ask her to draw a card and start a new story, using that word in the first sentence. Take turns drawing cards and developing your story line, one sentence at a time.
Collect and use new words in conversation. Create a booklet in which each family member contributes words to learn and use, recommends Bavaria. When a person uses one of the new words in normal conversation, he gets a small prize, like the privilege of wearing a winner’s “crown.” Fill up the journal and save it as a family keepsake.
“Be a good role model by using new and expressive words, by reading to the child, by letting your child see you reading for your own pleasure and by pointing out new words you’ve learned,” says Bavaria. Soon learning new words will simply become routine.
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