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young girl gamer sits at a computer with a Feel Free kratom drink

Feel Free Drinks and Kratom: Essential Information for Parents

People often assume that natural products are harmless or non-addictive. However, natural products can have side effects just like pharmaceuticals. In March 2025, Botanic Tonics’ CEO reported that Feel Free had surpassed a quarter of a billion dollars in annual sales profitability during its third year. According to NielsenIQ data, as of July 2024, Feel Free held the No. 1 spot for eight consecutive quarters in the ‘Shelf Stable Energy & Supplements in Convenience’ category. By August 2025, Botanic Tonics stated it had sold over 129.7 million servings of Feel Free. Yet, despite its commercial success, some users have begun to question the product’s true cost, with some even referring to it as “Feel Trapped” due to concerns over dependency or side effects. What are the ingredients in Feel Free CLASSIC? Unlike pharmaceuticals, natural products like Feel Free aren’t subject to rigorous regulation, leaving consumers uncertain about their actual composition. […]

Meet Allie Likely

Allie’s Light: Finding Support Through Nemours PATH

Meet Allie Likely. At just 12 years old, she was diagnosed with adjustment disorder with an anxious mood. Using the Pediatric Acute Telemental Health (PATH) program available at Nemours Children’s Health in Florida, Allie and her family found the care and tools they needed to move forward with confidence. Her mother remembers when she first noticed something was wrong. “It appeared as though she was losing her light,” she said. “As a parent, I tried talking to her but felt that she was holding back. I felt she needed to talk to someone, so I started looking for resources.” The changes in Allie’s behavior left her mom feeling uncertain and worried. “I noticed she wasn’t her usual self and was unsure if it was just the typical tween behavior, the newness of middle school, or the recent transition we had endured as a family. I felt as though I couldn’t reach my […]

Preventing Iron-Deficiency Anemia

What is Iron-Deficiency Anemia? Iron-deficiency anemia is a condition that happens when there isn’t enough iron in the body. An infant or child with anemia has a lower number of red blood cells (RBCs), and RBCs contain hemoglobin (HEE-muh-glow-bin), a protein that carries oxygen throughout the body. The body needs iron to make hemoglobin. Without enough iron, less hemoglobin and fewer red blood cells are produced, which leads to anemia. Unlike some types of anemia, iron-deficiency anemia (also called “IDA”) can be prevented. It’s also relatively easy to treat with things like iron supplements and dietary changes. Preventing IDA Symptoms and Screenings for IDA As part of routine wellness, you should have your child screened for anemia at the 12-month and 24-month well-child visits. If your child is showing signs of iron-deficiency anemia, ask your pediatrician to screen your child for anemia. Common symptoms a child may exhibit include would be things like: […]

Ways You Can Support the People of Ukraine

Ways You Can Support the People of Ukraine

Showing kids how to turn empathy into helpful action, they learn they can make a difference. You and your children may be anxious about the war in Ukraine. It’s important to answer any questions your kids may have. But you can also turn your family’s empathy into meaningful action by finding ways to support the people of Ukraine. Exploring how to help and explaining that our country is supporting relief efforts can make it easier for children to process these tragic events. Here are a few ways that families can offer support: Donate to a Verified Charity Kids can feel more of a connection to aiding in relief efforts if they understand who they are helping and how. Families can read about the charities that are accepting donations and choose one together. Below are a few organizations that are specifically assisting Ukrainian children and families. UNICEF: This humanitarian organization works to […]

How to Avoid Putting Too Much Pressure on Kids

How to Avoid Putting Too Much Pressure on Kids

We all want our kids to succeed, to be happy, and for things to go smoothly. It’s hard to see our kids let down, or disappointed, but as we just saw in the Olympics, disappointment and let down happen to even the most talented of humans. Instead of protecting our kids from feeling frustrated, or failing, or being disappointed, we should be encouraging it! Learning how to navigate tough feelings, especially feelings we know will occur throughout their lives, is important for kids. And parents can help! Let Things Go Wrong As hard as it may be, the first step to helping kids learn what to do when things go wrong is — let things go wrong. These can be simple things like: not forcing them to practice a sport more when they have a game the next day not bringing the homework they forgot to school even if it […]

Talking to Your Child About the War in Ukraine

Talking to Your Child About the War in Ukraine

As conflicts in Ukraine escalate, children may see and hear things about the crisis through news headlines, social media, friends discussing the topic at school, or overheard conversations from adults. Situations like this can lead to feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, and fear. Children might have questions about the images, stories, and conversations they are seeing and hearing. Parents and caregivers should address them. Here are some tips on how to approach these conversations with children: Find Out What They Know Ask your kids questions to find out what information they already know about. They may have formed a completely different picture of the situation than you have. Take the time to listen to what they think, and what they have seen or heard. Consider your child’s age and development. Younger kids may not grasp the difference between fact and fantasy. For most kids, it’s not until they are 7 or […]

To Mask or Not to Mask? Good Question.

To Mask or Not to Mask? Good Question.

Across the country, states are beginning to lift universal mask mandates, including in schools. However, COVID-19 still poses a risk for many families, especially for children too young to be vaccinated. What is a parent to do? Dr. Salwa Sulieman, an infectious disease specialist at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware and a mom of three suggests looking to the numbers to help you make a decision about whether to continue wearing a mask, despite the lifted mandates. Look at the Numbers “I base masking recommendations on what the numbers in the community are doing. I tend to think about incidence of COVID-19 infection per 100,000 persons, which you can find on most state health department websites,” says Dr. Sulieman. Dr. Sulieman recommends considering optional masking when your state begins reporting an incidence rate of 50-100 cases per 100,000 persons. When your state gets to less than 10 per 100,000, there’s very […]

Summer Slide: Tips to Beat the Seasonal Academic Slump

Summer Slide: Tips to Beat the Seasonal Academic Slump

As kids enjoy the lazy days of summer, there’s no pause button for the brain. If you don’t keep your kids’ minds active, they could actually rewind a bit academically in what is known as the summer slide. What, exactly, is the summer slide? The summer slide is the academic setback kids sometimes experience over the long break from school. The seasonal vacation can allow the brain to forget the information learned and the skills gained during the previous school year when those skills aren’t being practiced or put to use. Just as our bodies need physical exercise to stay fit, our minds need mental exercise to stay stimulated and sharp. Research has shown that reading, math calculation, and other skills can be affected by summer learning loss. This past school year, the pandemic brought additional learning challenges for children as their routines were disrupted and they lost opportunities for engaging with […]

Top 5 Summer Safety Tips

Top 5 Summer Safety Tips

Great summer weather means lots of opportunities for fun activities with family and friends. But with these activities can also come some not-so-great summer injuries and issues for kids. Here are some of the most common reasons for summer emergency room visits, and how you can avoid them by keeping these summer safety tips in mind. 1. Sunburn Every child needs sun protection, either from sunscreen or by covering up. All kids, regardless of their skin tone, should wear broad spectrum (protects against UVA and UVB rays), water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. Reapply often, especially if your child is playing in water. For babies under 6 months of age, the best sun protection is shade and clothing. Also, ask your doctor or pharmacist if any of your child’s medications increase sensitivity to the sun so that you can take extra precautions. 2. Bites and Stings In […]

Home Learning Projects

There are exciting “extracurricular” projects that we should be completing with our kids to help stimulate their creativity and keep them engaged with the learning process. We put together a list of educational activities that will also help teach your young ones basic life skills.

How to Get Kids to Listen Without Yelling

How to Get Kids to Listen Without Yelling

How many times have we told our children to do something (put on their boots, come down for dinner, put away the phone) and they just don’t do it. Frustrating?  You bet. As parents, we sometimes escalate the situation by yelling. It’s a knee-jerk reaction to get louder when we give commands that are ignored. Kids of every age will test limits. When you tell them to do something (or stop doing something) they often won’t comply with the first command.  They want to see what you’ll do next. Their goal is to get what they want – to keep doing something they like, to avoid something they don’t.  Try these techniques to get kids to listen without yelling, keeping in mind the child’s age and developmental level. Get on Their Level Go to their space and get on their level.  It’s probably not effective to yell from the kitchen,  […]

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