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School & Family

5 Simple Ways to Grow Good Behavior With Time-Ins, by Meghan Tuohy Walls, PsyD, Powered by Nemours Children's Health System

5 Simple Ways to Grow Good Behavior With Time-Ins

We all know about time-outs: Sending children to their room or removing them from enjoyable people or activities. But how well do we practice time-ins, which help reinforce good behaviors? And why should we work on quality time together? Why Time-Ins and Quality Time? Quality time with parents provides many benefits to kids. An important thing to remember is that quality really does matter over quantity. It’s not necessarily how many minutes you spend with your children, but that you’re present and make the time matter when you’re together. Research suggests positive quality time with parents results in a number of positive outcomes, including: strengthening the parent-child relationship fostering communication improving behavior decreasing later risks in adolescents for both mental health and health outcomes You’re also modeling positive relationships for your children and helping them understand the importance of being engaged and consistent. Start Simple 1. Snuggle. Be generous with your […]

Teens Don’t Need Performance-Enhancing Substances. Here's Why, Powered by Nemours Children's Health System

Teens Don’t Need Performance-Enhancing Substances. Here’s Why.

The term performance-enhancing substances brings to mind elite athletes, doping trials and drug tests. But substances like creatine, protein supplements and caffeine are commonly used by teenagers who are driven to perform-and look-their best. It’s a trend that has pediatricians concerned, and one that parents should be aware of. What Are Performance-Enhancing Substances? Performance-enhancing substances, also called sports supplements, are products that claim to use natural products to enhance athletic performance. The claims include increasing muscle mass, strength, speed, endurance, fat loss or recovery time. Most are available over the counter. They may include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, or botanicals (plants)-or any concentration, extract, or combination of these ingredients. Creatine One of the most popular supplements on the market, creatine, is easy to obtain and comes in a variety of forms (like powders, tablets, energy bars). Creatine is a natural substance that we usually get from protein-rich foods in […]

8 Easy Ways to Create Eco-Friendly Holidays, by Kate Cronan, MD, Powered by Nemours Children's Health System

8 Easy Ways to Create Eco-Friendly Holidays

The hustle and bustle of the holidays is fully upon us. The family gatherings, the dinner parties, the shopping, the gifts, the … trash! Have you ever noticed how your trash cans are overflowing in the days following your holiday get-togethers? While there’s no need to radically change your holiday traditions, there are simple things you and your family can do to create eco-friendly holidays. You can “green” up your holidays and – bonus – save some green too! 1. Choose eco-friendly gifts. While out shopping for family and friends, why not shop with the environment in mind? Look for items made from recycled materials like glass, metal, plastic, or paper. Or give gifts that get used up, like soap, food, or candles. You can also give gifts that help people cut down on waste. Reusable grocery or produce bags and refillable water bottles come in a large variety of […]

Sorting Out 7 Common Sports Injury Myths, by Alfred Atanda, Jr., MD, Powered by Nemours Children's Health System

Sorting Out 7 Common Sports Injury Myths

“No pain, no gain.” “Walk it off.” “He has a high tolerance for pain.” I’ve heard each one of these quotes and more during my many years as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine. Many of them are actively detrimental to the health of your child, not just at that moment but when they grow into a professional athlete as well. As you already know sports injuries can be life-changing, that’s why many professional athletes take out long term disability insurance in case they are left permanently out of action. Would you be willing to put your child at risk of permanent injury because of a few false preconceived notions you can easily avoid? The answer should always be “no”. How many sports injury myths do you believe to be true? Here’s a list of the most popular things I hear regarding preventing and dealing with sports injuries, […]

Boccia: A Game for All Abilities, by Brie Sheppard, PT, DPT, Promise, Powered by Nemours Children's Health System

Boccia: A Game for All Abilities

The 2016 Rio Paralympics just came to a close, and the USA is celebrating its most successful Paralympic performance in recent history. A whopping 289 American Paralympic athletes brought home a total of 115 medals, and the USA finished fourth in the medal count. Independent of standings, results, and rankings, the Paralympics and Team USA never fail to remind us of what the body is truly capable of and what impossibilities the spirit can overcome. It’s this motivation and inspiration that was the driving force behind the creation of our Paralympic Boccia program in 2014, with Nemours becoming an official U.S. Paralympic Sports Club in 2015. What Is Boccia? Boccia is a game, similar to backyard Bocce, created especially for the Paralympics in 1984. The object of the game is to score points by propelling your team’s balls closest to the target ball on a long, narrow, indoor playing court. In Boccia, all […]

Coffee and Kids: Keep the Caffeine in Check, by Kate Cronan, MD, Promise, Powered by Nemours Children's Health System

Coffee and Kids: Keep the Caffeine in Check

On these cool autumn days, there’s nothing I enjoy more than a fresh cup of hot coffee. And with fall comes the bevy of tantalizing flavors – pumpkin, spice, caramel, and more – to liven up our morning cup of joe. Many of us even get combination CBD Bulk coffee wholesale to help us have high energy levels with less amounts of stress. But these tasty treats aren’t just being consumed by adults. More and more, I’m seeing teenagers enjoying coffee – and the caffeine that goes with it – on a regular basis. Coffee and kids: Is this a good idea? A 2010 survey of 11,400 teenage students by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that: 15% of high school students drank a serving of coffee, coffee drink, or any kind of tea every day. 24% were also drinking regular soda daily. More than 16% drank […]

Promoting a Healthy Weight: What Can Parents Do?, by Danielle Haley, MPH, Powered by Nemours Children's Health System

Promoting a Healthy Weight: What Can Parents Do?

A recent survey by Nemours Children’s Health System, the Delaware Survey of Children’s Health (DSCH), showed that 36 percent of children in Delaware are overweight or obese. From the survey, we also learned that there’s a gap between how parents perceive their children’s weight and the reality of their actual weight. According to the DSCH findings, 80 percent of all overweight children and 53 percent of all obese children are considered by their parents to be “normal weight.” A key first step in helping children achieve and maintain a healthy weight is to understand exactly what that means and why it’s so important to their overall health. How Do I Know if My Child’s at a Healthy Weight? Calculate your child’s body mass index (BMI). BMI is a measure of your weight compared to your height. Calculating BMI on your own can be complicated, so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created an easy […]

Youth Soccer: What's the Goal, , by Jessica Laniak, PT, DPT, OCS, Powered by Nemours Children's Health System

Youth Soccer: What’s the Goal?

This fall, young athletes will line up on soccer fields with new cleats, uniforms, teammates, and coaches. But for many, fall isn’t the beginning of a season — it’s merely the continuation of playing youth soccer year-round. The sports epidemic of specializing in one sport too early (under the age of 12), has been widely publicized. However, these days it’s more than likely that you and your young athlete spent most of your summer at travel soccer tournaments, team camps, and soccer preseason. I know, I’ve been there with you. I’m a mother of four boys and a travel youth soccer coach for my 10-year-old. And I very often grapple with my reality of raising a soccer family and my professional responsibility as a pediatric sports medicine physical therapist. When I integrate my current daily life with my former life, as a collegiate soccer player, I totally understand the perspective of the […]

Sports Specialization or Variety: Which Is Better for Kids? - From the experts at Nemours

Sports Specialization or Variety: Which Is Better for Kids?

As the seasons change, we all look forward to an exciting change of pace. With fall comes the bombarding of pumpkin spice, red and yellow hues, and, of course, — football. Remember when we could associate all seasons with specific sports? Fall — football and soccer. Winter — basketball and swimming. Spring — baseball and lacrosse. But more and more athletes are pursuing the opportunities that year-round sports specialization training provides. Long gone are the days of children playing a favorite sport for only a couple months a year. As parents invest more time and money into sports, the pressure to maximize their children’s opportunities for success is higher than ever. This often means dropping secondary sports at a younger age so that children can focus more on the sports at which they excel.  Parents and children may feel they’re expected to dedicate nine to 12 months out of the year […]

Mom feeling forehead of daughter with fever

The Top 5 Facts About Fever

As a pediatrician, I know that parents’ panic can set in pretty quickly when it comes to a fever — especially if they have a baby or toddler. Even the calmest of moms and dads can find themselves frantically debating at 1 a.m. whether to give their child medicine and go back to bed, or to call the doctor despite the time. As strange as it may seem, fevers are a good thing. They’re the body’s way of fighting off infections. Often times, a fever left to do its job will go away on its own within a few days. However, it’s still completely normal to be worried when your little one’s temperature starts to climb. To help reduce your worry and prepare you for what to do next time the thermometer reading begins to rise, know these top five facts about fevers. 1. A fever in babies under 3 […]

Gymnasts like girl stretching have back pain

Olympics, Gymnasts and Back Pain

With the summer Olympics underway in Rio, thousands of eyes are turning to the TV to see athletes run, swim, jump, flip and more. Gymnastics is always a highlight of the games, putting a lot of pressure and attention on the U.S.A.’s team. As a former gymnast myself, I take a special interest in gymnastics. And as a pediatric sports medicine physical therapist, I find myself treating a lot of gymnasts for back pain. A lot of gymnasts who are injured turn to self-medication too, so I have learned a lot about that over the years. For example, CBD products (from websites like OrganicCBDNugs) are a popular option when it comes to treating pain at home. These products are known to suppress aches and pains, especially in large parts of the body such as your back. Many people do attend therapy, though. So this begs the question: How do Olympic […]

Kids and Sports: ACL Tears on the Rise

I don’t think anyone would deny all the benefits of kids playing sports: the social aspect, teamwork, building confidence, improving focus, overcoming obstacles — the list can go on and on. But there are some downsides, perhaps the most obvious being the myriad injuries kids can sustain. And recent studies show that ACL tears, one of the most serious types of knee injuries, are on the rise in athletes (specifically girls) 6–18 years old. With the school year about to start and kids gearing up for fall sports, let’s take a closer look at what causes ACL tears, the symptoms to look out for, and how these common injuries can be prevented. What is the ACL? The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a rope-like band of tissue located in the center of the knee that helps keep the knee stable and from excessively rotating. It actually connects the knee to […]

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