14 OCTOBER ISSUE
• 2011
FLORIDAHEALTHNEWS-ONLINE.COM
Will the Flu Kill Your Child This Year? We know that there are certain risk factors for the flu and that some of these can increase a child's vulnerability to the more severe consequences, such as death. Most parents are unaware, however, that simply being younger than 5 years old is one of the risk factors for severe flu. "Children only rarely die of flu. But the illness can be much more severe than most parents think. Just under half of the reported child flu deaths -- 49 percent -were in kids with no underlying illness or other risk factor for severe flu,". Do I Have to Take My Child to the Doctor? Not all cases of the flu will require a doctor's treatment for your child. It is always better to be safe than sorry, though, so calling your child's doctor is always a good
idea because the symptoms of the flu could possibly either be something else, or get bad quickly, especially in young children. Then, if your child has any underlying conditions, definitely call your pediatrician right away. These include anything from asthma to diabetes because the flu may temporarily worsen these diseases and may cause issues that a doctor needs to treat. Your child's doctor may simply tell you which overthe-counter medications to use and which signs to look out for, or she may ask you to bring your child in.
Regardless, leave the decision up to the doctor and if you feel that your child needs a doctor even though your child's doctor said not to bring him in, bring him in anyway. In a nutshell, go with your gut, to be safe. Is It the Flu? There are some general flu symptoms that you should be looking out for. These include fever, stuffy or runny nose, chills, sore throat and/or coughing, body aches and/or headache and fatigue. Closely monitor these symptoms. If they worsen or do not get better in a day or two, call your child's doctor again. If your child has a rising fever, take him to the emergency room. Preventing the Flu For children older than 6 months old, there is the flu vaccine. For most people, including children
over six months old, this vaccine is safe and effective against this virus. Talk to your child's doctor about this vaccination for full details. "More than four out of five kids who died of flu were not fully vaccinated," reports NewsFeed Researcher. That is a big number
that could certainly be reduced with vaccination. Children should also avoid other sick people, develop hand-washing habits and stay home from school when they are sick. All of these methods will help to prevent the flu, as well as major flu complications.
Less Play Time = More Troubled Kids, Experts Say Kids Can Enjoy Halloween Candy, Still Protect Teeth Sugar creates the perfect breeding ground for bacteria that cause tooth decay, expert warns. Children can enjoy some Halloween candy and still avoid sugar-related tooth decay, according to Dr. Margaret Mitchell, a Chicago dentist. Mitchell said the key to preventing tooth decay lies in limiting not only the amount of candy children eat, but also how long the sugar remains in the mouth. Brushing teeth as soon as possible after eating candy may keep harmful bacteria from developing, she said, and eating the candy quickly in one sitting decreases the amount of time it is contact with the teeth. Children and parents can take several additional steps to protect their teeth, said Mitchell, owner of the Mitchell Dental Spa. These include: Take inventory. Parents should examine their children's candy and remove anything they consider unacceptable before allowing them to eat it. Avoid anything tacky or gummy. This type of candy can stick to teeth and cause decay. Be consistent. No matter what time of day children eat candy (day or night), they should remember to have good dental hygiene. Take precautions. Before Halloween rolls around, a dentist can put sealants into children's teeth grooves to protect them against corrosion caused by too much sugar.
with their own play when they were kids. While about 70 percent of the mothers reported playing outdoors daily as children, just 31 percent said their own kids did. Mothers also said when their kids played outside, they stayed outside for less time.
Adult interference may deprive children of needed challenges, not to mention fun
F
rom hide-and-seek to tearing around the neighborhood with friends, playing is one of the hallmarks of childhood. But in this era of hyper-vigilant parenting, researchers find that children in the United States have far less time to play than kids of 50 years ago, a trend that may have serious consequences for their development and mental health.
"Into the 1950s, children were free to play a good part of their childhood. If you stayed in your house around your mom, she'd say 'go out and play.' The natural place for a kid was outside," said Peter Gray, a research professor of psychology at Boston College. "Today, it's quite the opposite. Parents are not allowing kids the freedom to play. And even if they do, there are no other kids out there to play with, or the mother may have such restrictions on the child, such as 'you can't go out of the yard' that the kids don't want to stay out there," added Gray. When kids are allowed to play, they make up games, negotiate rules and make sure others are playing fair. All of that helps to teach children how to make decisions, to solve problems and gain self-control. Children who have too many emotional outbursts or who insist on getting their way too often quickly learn they need to change their behavior if they want to continue to be welcomed into the group, Gray said. Through free play, "they are acquiring the basic competencies we
If anything, that trend has accelerated in the ensuing decade, Gray said. So what's keeping kids indoors? Fear of abduction is a big one, followed by worries about kids getting hit by cars and bullies, surveys have found. ultimately need to become adults," said Gray, author of two studies published recently in the American Journal of Play. But since the mid-1950s, adults have played an increasingly larger role in their children's activities, to the detriment of their kids' mental health, Gray said. And, playing organized sports with a coach or other adult directing the activity doesn't replace "free" play that's directed by kids, he noted. Research suggests that today's children are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, feelings of helplessness and narcissism, all of which coincides with a decrease in play and more monitoring and managing of children's activities by parents, he wrote in this special journal issue devoted to the decline in free play. For boys, in particular, rough-andtumble play helps teach emotional regulation, said Peter LaFreniere, a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Maine, in a separate article. Boys learn that if they want to
keep their friend, they can't let things go too far or truly hurt the other child -- a skill that helps boys grow into men who keep aggression and anger in check, LaFreniere said. "It's better to make the mistakes when you're 4," he said. "Children learn there are consequences to their actions; they learn to regulate the aggression even in the heat of the moment." Despite a growing chorus from experts about the importance of play for kids' mental and physical wellbeing, research indicates the amount of time kids are playing has declined significantly. One survey Gray cited asked a nationally representative sample of parents to keep track of their kids' activities on a randomly selected day in 1981 and another in 1997. The researchers found that 6- to 8year olds of 1997 played about 25 percent less than that age group in 1981. Another study from about a decade ago asked 830 U.S. mothers to compare their children's play
Those fears have created legions of overprotective parents rearing "wimps" who are unable to cope with the ups and downs of life because they have no experience doing so, said Hara Estroff Marano, the New York-based author of the book A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting. "The home of the brave has given way to the home of the fearful, the entitled, the risk averse, and the narcissistic," Marano said. "Today's young, at least in the middle class and upper class, are psychologically fragile," Marano said in an interview published in the journal. Hovering parents, these researchers said, also deprive their children of something else -- joy. One survey found that 89 percent of children preferred outdoor play with friends to watching TV. "Parents have to remember that childhood is this special time. You only get it once, and you don't want to miss it," LaFreniere said. "Mixing it up with other kids in an unrestrained manner isn't just fun. It isn't a luxury. It's part of nature's plan."