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Recently, Malia Obama made the decision to take a gap year – a hiatus of 12 to 15 months between the end of high school and the start of college. While this news brought a spate of reactions from critics and supporters alike, Malia is among a growing number of students making this decision. In the past year, more academic proponents, including Ivy League schools, have come out in public support of gap years and more students are picking up on the trend. One of the most debated themes about the gap year is how young adults can afford a year of non-educational leave. The American Gap Association publishes annual statistics on gap years. Data show 35 percent of “gappers” attend private school (10 percent of students attend private high school nationwide) and indicate they have the support of their parents. Costs vary depending on the types of programs students […]

A hospital stay can be a challenging experience for patients and their families. For children used to the comforts of their home and bedroom, the environment in a hospital can feel strange or foreign. Often, the arts can help make time in the hospital less stressful. So the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children’s Creative Arts Therapy team developed an Arts in Medicine program as a way to help patients and families feel more at ease while they visit and/or stay at the hospital. This spring, the Arts in Medicine program welcomed visiting artist Catherine Czerwinski to work with patients and families in our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Catherine’s project focused on the installation of a mural in the PICU solarium. The mural project was inspired by the experiences of patients, families and staff from the PICU. Together, they were involved in the creation of the mural. The process […]

A brave contingent of donors had their heads shaved to raise funds and awareness for childhood cancer at a recent Nemours-sponsored St. Baldrick’s Foundation event, held at Iron Hill Brewery on the Wilmington Riverfront. St. Baldrick’s supports the Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children by supplying all new patients and their families with a “day pack” filled with bilingual resource materials to help guide them through the overwhelming experience of a childhood cancer diagnosis. Among the “shavees” was Candice Morris, a home health nurse from Magnolia, Del., who was inspired by one of her young patients’ bravery in the face of cancer. About 30 minutes after Candice submitted to the razor, her mother and son went for it, too! Many thanks to the volunteer stylists from Currie of Wilmington, Iron Hill for providing a private room, and event organizers/Nemours oncology nurses Nicole Roselli and […]

Whether you send your kids to sleep-away or day summer camp, there’s a lot of preparation that goes into getting them ready. As another school year comes to a close and camp season approaches, we thought we’d go over some camp readiness tips. Before Summer Camp Finding the Right Fit Pick a summer camp with your kids, not for them. Camp is a time for your children to have fun and stay active in the summer, while learning new things or pursuing an interest. Maybe your child wouldn’t like the same camp as an older sibling but, instead, would like the kind of camp you went to growing up – or maybe an entirely different one. Follow your kids’ lead. Encourage them to be excited, but don’t discount their worries and fears. There’s no need to freak your kids out by discussing emergency pick-up plans and homesickness, but if these […]

What can inspire more than 100 people to gather at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children on a beautiful Saturday morning in June? “The opportunity to share common concerns [and] feelings with other families.” That was the overwhelming response from participants of the 3rd Annual Patient and Parent Mentoring Event, hosted by the Nemours Spine and Scoliosis Center. This event was open to families with children who have adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, the most common form. Three people out of 100 have scoliosis, a condition that causes the spine to curve from side to side, like an “S” or a “C.” For some, no treatment is necessary, just periodic monitoring of the curve by a doctor. For others, the curve of the spine is large enough that treatment is required, which can include bracing to halt or slow down the progression of the curve and/or surgery to correct the curve. The […]

Hurricanes can be pretty scary events – for grown-ups and kids alike. From a developmental standpoint, we know that children learn how to respond to situations based on the behaviors and attitudes of those around them. So here are some tips to help them – and you – be ready this hurricane season. Talk about hurricanes. Kids might be confused about what a hurricane is, so use simple age-appropriate descriptions of what they might expect if one is coming your way. For a younger child, you might say, “A hurricane is a tropical storm with very strong winds and lots of rain, lightning and thunder.” It’s also important to stress to kids that grown-ups will do their best to keep them safe. Try to remain calm yourself. Kids are sponges and can easily sense the emotions of those around them. When a parent seems overly upset or worried, this may […]