KidsTIPS

Tips for new and expectant moms. Suggestions on baby-care, toddler care, preschool and early schoolage issues.
Cholic problems, prickly heat, teething (you know the list!)
Share your solutions! I'd love to hear from you. Your input would be most helpful to new and expectant moms. Email me with your suggestions, tips and/or insights. I'll post them on this page. Anything you've discovered, through your experience with your kids, that really worked...please pass it on! AND GRANDMAS, this means you!
And always consult your doctor before trying new things or new techniques.

Get ProActive with your kid's Internet Safety

If you're serious about your children's safety on the Internet, consider the world's leading parental control Internet filter.

In Aug. 2004, Disney selected ContentWatch to provide the Internet Filter for their Disney Dream Desk PC.
Now, you can enjoy this protection on your home computer!
Best yet, it's easy set up... doesn't require lots of intricate configuration settings... perfect for parents who aren't computer or Internet savvy! Install in less than 10 minutes. Online help and support if needed.

Some cool features: You decide what is objectionable and have the ability to block it. You can create customized lists of acceptable and unacceptable sites for each member of your family. Receive email notifications if a child tries to access objectionable sites. Keep track of the Internet activity of your kids through Flash-enhanced reports. You decide when and how long your kids can access the Internet. You customize this software to suit your needs while protecting your kids from Internet pornographers and predators.

Read the labels and be vigilant!
There's a precaution when giving Tamiflu to kids.
According to postmarketing reports, kids may be at risk for disorientation leading to possible self-injury after taking Tamiflu.
Keep a watch and monitor any changes in your child's behavior.
If there are any signs of something unusual, contact your pediatrician/doctor immediately.

Recommendations for kids immunizations

Hepatitis A vaccine is now recommended for universal administration to all infants 12 to 23 months of age, with a second dose six months later.
A single dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine, a vaccine to prevent sepsis and meningitis, is recommended for all 11-to 12-year-olds, for adolescents at high school entry or 15 years of age, and for college freshmen who will be living in a dormitory.
A single dose of an adolescent preparation of tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular petussis (Tdap) vaccine is recommended for 11- to 12-year-olds, provided they have not received a tetanus and diphtheria (Td) booster dose, and for adolescents 13 to 18 years of age who missed the 11- to 12-year-old Td or Tdap booster dose.
This info is a result of joint recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).
Always check with your physician.

REMINDER—: Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis Vaccines

Five doses of DTandP vaccine:
2 mo...one dose
4 mos....one dose
6 mos...one dose
15-18 mos...one dose
4-6 yrs...one dose

Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the US Dept. of Health and Human Services. Always check with your physician.

MEDICINE ALERT for kids
UPDATE!!

INFANTS

 DIAPER RASH: Throw away the Vaseline when it comes to baby's bottom. The ONLY thing that worked for me was Desitin. My kids grandmother was a nurse. She told me to forget everything else and stick with Desitin. I never regretted it (and my kids never had sore bottoms...of which I remind them on Mother's day.)

PRICKLEY HEAT: After baby's bath, consider smoothing a little CORN STARCH into those little folds of skin and other external places that are prone to rashes (e.g. neck area). It's silky, soothing and worked for me. ALSO, a teaspoon of baking soda in baby's bath will help soothe that prickly skin and make baby a lot happier.

PACIFIERS: The American Academy of Pediatrics is now endorsing and recommending the use of pacifiers. How come? A review of 7 studies indicate that there's a 61% reduction in SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) risk when infants use a pacifier at nap and bedtime. Sadly, the studies show that 1 SIDS death could have been prevented for every 2,733 babies who use the pacifier while they sleep.
NOTE IF BREAST-FEEDING: don't offer the pacifier until breast-feeding is well established (usually at 1 month).

NURSING

PREVENT SORE NIPPLES: Keep the Vaseline! 'cause a little dab will do you. After nursing, place a daub of Vaseline on a sterile gauze square and place it so the Vaseline surrounds the nipple (with the gauze over it). Your nursing bra will keep it in place. When ready to nurse, remove gauze squares and cleanse the nipple. After nursing, repeat process with the gauze and Vaseline. I did this with 3 babies. Never had any cracking, bleeding or soreness.

GOT MILK? To stimulate the production of mother's milk, drink plenty of water. And a good habit to form: have a tall, cool glass of water handy to polish off after each feeding. Simple and effective!

KIDZ TEETH

HOORAY FOR CHEESE! Did you know that cheese, as an in-between snack, helps minimize tooth decay? Besides being a healthier choice for kids than sweets, cheese CLEANSES the teeth.

Not the same-old-same-old! This info could save you & your kids lives.

thank you Alan.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters.

In 1996 we made a film which proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my "triangle of life" survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to buildin collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover. There would likely have been 100 percent survivability fo people using my method of the "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA, Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under their desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life". The larger the object, the stronger, and the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings on television, count the "triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building. They are everywhere.

TEN TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
1) Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" when buildings collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls of Buildings or Outside of Them If Possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had bee able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word to everyone YOU care about and save someone's life!
John D. Adams, Ph.D.
Director and Executive Faculty Organizational Systems Ph.D. Program
>> Saybrook Graduate School
>> Voice & Fax: 415 753 6668

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