Protecting Kids from Sun Dangers

With the hot summer we have been having, many of us are heading to the beach, pools or water parks to keep our kids cool, but being outside posses some risks that parents should be aware of.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, even one or two blistering sunburns can increase a child's risk for developing skin cancer later in life. With that said, you don’t need to hide indoors during daylight hours to protect your kids. Here are ways to play safe and play smart.

Consider scheduling playtime's before 10 am or after 3pm. These are times when the sun is less powerful. Even when you go outside during those hours, make sure you apply sunscreen paying close attention to their cheeks, backs, hands, and the tops of their feet. Also, encourage your kids to wear hats and t-shirts to protect their faces and bodies and sit in the shade under a tree or an umbrella.

Choose a sunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor) of at least 15 or higher. SPF refers to the length of time a person can remain in the sun before burning. The higher the SPF, the longer a person can stay out, but the amount of time is also influenced by skin type.

Just because you have sunscreen on it doesn’t mean you or your children won’t get burned. Make sure you apply it 30 minutes before leaving the house. Reapply after swimming or perspiring even though it’s water proof or reapply every 2 hours.

Many people don’t apply enough sunscreen, a quarter size dollop will cover one toddler’s arm and during the summer months you will go through a lot of sunscreen so keep the kids protected well. If you start good habits with your kids when they are young, you will be protecting and teaching them the importance of proper skin protection.

Keeping Kids Cool in the Heat

It’s the dog days of summer and parents are looking or ways to keep the kids cool and safe during this extreme heat. But you also need to keep them entertained, so sitting around the house just won’t do. Here are some great suggestions for summer indoor fun.

1.Go Bowling

A great way to be active and stay cool in air conditioning is to head to your local bowling alley. Your kids get some exercise while lifting and throwing the ball and the whole family gets some laughs as gutter balls fly. There is even a program where kids can bowl free Kids Bowl Free.

2. Discover a New Library Branch

If you regularly visit the library or, if you never have been before, you can find new and exciting things at each library branch. Often different branches have different types of media, books and kids programs. They often publish an events calendar for parents to see just what’s happening. So consider visiting a different branch of your local library for some new experiences.

3. Skate on Some Cool Ice

Many ice skating rinks stay open all year. Look for your local ice skating rink on the web to find open sessions. Some rinks offer learn to skate sessions and many have devices to assist new skaters around the rink. Make sure you bring a helmet for the young ones.

4. Roller Skate Indoors

Roller skating rinks are a great past time that kid’s love. This cool indoor activity lets your kids get some physical activity, practice balance and control and work those leg muscles. And best of all they stay cool and entertained. Most rinks also allow in line skates. Make sure you bring a helmet for the young ones.

4. Head to the mall

It’s air-conditioned, has lots of room, and is perfect for an A-Z scavenger hunt. Or whittle your hunt down to finding items with the letters of your children’s names. It’s a great stroller-friendly way to keep the little ones occupied in a climate-controlled environment with an added educational component.

What Is a Sea Shell Boat

It is everyone’s favorite past time to collect sea shells on vacation. At the end of a week at the beach you end up with tons of shells. Here is a craft that will use up some of these great sea shells and keep your children entertained for an hour. Here what you’ll need for this craft:

• Small triangle cut from a plastic bag, tablecloth, or other item
• Thin twig
• Modeling clay
• Shell

Directions

Trim the plastic triangle in the shape of a sail. Cut off the very upper tip (this will prevent the top of the sail from flopping over later), then snip a series of tiny openings along the edge where the mast will go.

Thread the twig through the openings. Press a small lump of clay (if you use too much, your boat might not float) into the shell hull and plant the mast firmly into its center.

Boat Races

With parental supervision, help your child fill up the baby pool or tub and let them have boat races with their new sea shell boats.

Recognizing Good Behavior

It’s common for all parents to recognize bad behavior more than good. At the point when your child is misbehaving is when you’ll reprimand them. Good behavior often goes unnoticed because it can be as simple as sitting quietly or doing chores. These are things parents are likely to miss and thus miss the opportunity to praise and reinforce the good. Here are some ways you can remember to reinforce good behavior.

Systematize Praise – Set up some time in your weekly calendar to reflect on what your child did well this week. If needed, list out the good behavior and when it occurred. Then, when you have the opportunity, let your child know what you noticed they did well during the week. If your child needs a little more work on behavior, set up a chart in your kitchen to track good behavior. Give them stickers for when they are good. After a week of good behavior, reward them with something they like.

Stay On The Positive Side – Instead of telling your child what you don’t want them to do, tell them what behavior you want. For example: You didn’t clean up your room or you didn’t take out the trash. Try telling them why you need them to take out the trash. Explain that this gives you time to get other things done around the house. Let them know that by pitching in they are benefiting the whole family and vice versa.

Be Specific With Your Praise – Don’t just tell your child good boy or girl. Tell them know exactly what they did that was good. For example, cleaning up your room today really helped me out and allowed me to help your sister/brother with their homework. The more specific the praise the more your child will respond to the positive encouragement.

Water Safety

Summer is also about water. Pools can be a lot of fun but you need to follow the rules to stay safe. Here are some helpful water safety rules from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

• Never leave children alone in or near the pool or spa, even for a moment.
• Install a fence at least 4 feet high around all four sides of the pool. The fence should not have openings or protrusions that a young child could use to get over, under, or through.
• Make sure pool gates open out from the pool, and self-close and self-latch at a height children can't reach.
• If the house serves as the fourth side of a fence surrounding a pool, install an alarm on the exit door to the yard and the pool.
• Keep rescue equipment (a shepherd's hook - a long pole with a hook on the end - and life preserver) and a portable telephone near the pool. Choose a shepherd’s hook and other rescue equipment made of fiberglass or other materials that do not conduct electricity.
• Avoid inflatable swimming aids such as “floaties.” They are not a substitute for approved life vests and can give children and parents a false sense of security.
• Children ages 1 to 4 may be at a lower risk of drowning if they have had some formal swimming instruction. However, there is no evidence that swimming lessons or water survival skills courses can prevent drowning in babies younger than 1 year of age.
• The decision to enroll a 1- to 4-year-old child in swimming lessons should be made by the parent and based on the child’s developmental readiness, but swim programs should never be seen as “drown proofing” a child of any age.
• Whenever infants or toddlers are in or around water, an adult – preferably one who knows how to swim and perform CPR – should be within arm’s length, providing “touch supervision.”
• Avoid entrapment: Suction from pool and spa drains can trap a swimmer underwater. Do not use a pool or spa if there are broken or missing drain covers. Ask your pool operator if your pool or spa’s drains are compliant with the Pool and Spa Safety Act. If you have a swimming pool or spa, ask your pool service representative to update your drains and other suction fitting with anti-entrapment drain covers and other devices or systems. See PoolSafely.gov for more information on the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act.
• Large inflatable above-ground pools have become increasingly popular for backyard use. Children may fall in if they lean against the soft side of an inflatable pool. Although such pools are often exempt from local pool fencing requirements, it is essential that they be surrounded by an appropriate fence just as a permanent pool would be so that children cannot gain unsupervised access.

Source: http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/summertips.cfm

Summer Learning

Summer is fun, but often your child starts to forget what they learned in school. You can help exercise your child’s brain by taking time out of your summer schedule for some skill building.

• Reading – 30 minutes a day of reading will keep your child’s mind sharp and their reading skills even sharper. Relax the reading rules and let them read something fun and out of the normal. Let them stretch their skills by reading up a level or let them read down if they just want to get through reading time and back outside to play. Just keep them in the habit of reading so it’s not a shock to their system when school starts.
• Indoors and Air Conditioning on Hot Summer Days – the museums are air conditioned and not so crowded during the summer. It makes summer a great time to visit. Avoid the crowds, keep cool and exercise your child’s brain.
• Pick a Number/Any Number – to practice math skills establish a number of the day and do activities around the number. If the number is five let them have five pieces of candy for the day. Challenge them to jump rope five times or throw an imaginary tea party for five guests. You get the picture and so will they with this number and counting reinforcing activity.
• Study Nature – it’s summer time and being outdoors is what summer is all about. Take a nature hike. Let your children spot animals and look them up on the computer when you get home to find out all about them. Let them pick flowers or capture butterflies or fireflies. Get a book from the library that tells all about the animals or plants you saw on your hike.

Wetting the Bed – Normal or Not?

Even the best potty trained child can have a nighttime accident. Nearly half of all children still wet the bed at age 3. Even at age 5 doctors consider bed wetting normal, as one on five kids still wet the bed. (Source: WebMD). So when is the right time to be concerned about bed wetting? Generally, if your child still can’t stay dry overnight by age 6, it might be time to consult your pediatrician.

Reasons

There are many causes of bed wetting. Generally, bed wetting is caused by a child's normal, under-developed bladder. It can also be caused by your child simply lacking the trigger to wake from sleep to empty their bladder.

Sometimes kids can regress during or after potty training due to stress such as a new sibling, a death of a close family member, a change in school or other event. It could also be a call out for attention, particularly during stressful times.

A Few Quick Tips To Help

· Limit liquids before bed

· Have your child visit the potty several times before bedtime

· Don’t punish your child for the accident

· Have them participate in cleaning up but not as a punishment

· Use positive encouragement and rewards for staying dry at night

If you suspect that your child has a urinary tract infection, diabetes, or some other medical problem, take them to your pediatrician.

Moving with Kids

Moving is stressful on everyone in the family. As parents you’re trying to find the best home, select the best schools, possibly transition into a new job and generally reorganize your whole life. For kids, moving can be even more traumatic. Leaving all they have known in their life, friends, surroundings and all they find comfort in. In addition, it is easy for kids to feel left out. Here are some tips to help manage this change for your children.

Talk, Talk, Talk
• Break the news of the move gently. Be prepared for tears from young ones. Be understanding and avoiding justifying or debating the decision with your children. Give them time to cope with the decision.
• Talk to your children about what to expect the day of the move and once you arrive at your new home.

Involve Them in the Move
• Let them pack their items and watch them go into the moving truck. Let them unpack so they know the items important to them have not been left behind.
• Let them pick out their room and personalize it to make their own (paint, new furnishings, arrangement of furnishings). This will create excitement and give them ownership of their new surroundings. But remember to make their new room familiar. Hang up their pictures and personal items as soon as possible.
• Visit the new neighborhood with your children ahead of the move. Point out the benefits of your new surroundings (lots of kids, close to the playground).
• If possible, tour your new home with your children. This will make move in day a little less scary.

Keep Your Routine
A routine is very important to young children. Keep sleep and wake-up times consistent. Try to keep your schedule as similar as possible. Reinforce to your children that life is the same, just in a new place.
If your child seems to be taking longer to adjust, seek out professional help through your pediatrician.