Posts tagged under Health. Show all posts.
It’s hard to avoid the topic of H1N1 these days—it comes up in the schoolyard and around the meeting room table—and if you’re like me, you’re trying to decide how worried you should be and what you really need to know. Generally, I’m not a ‘panicker’ when it comes to my kids so I am trying to develop a ‘pandemic plan’ that will work for my family—some basic things we can do to try to stay well.
All the kids’ schools seem to have given them handwashing lessons and their teachers have heighted their awareness of the importance of washing hands, so that’s making my job easier as I am trying to make sure we do a little more handwashing at home. We’ve added a ‘wash your hands right after you get home from school’ session to our routine and the kids all took a bottle of hand sanitizer to school (whether they ever use will remain to be seen).
And I am thinking of getting vitamin C & D supplements for everyone in the family as I have been reading that they can be helpful in boosting our resilience and ability to fight off illness.
Other than that, we’ll try to eat lots of fruit and veggies—like we always try to anyway—and keep active and outside as much as possible. And if anyone does get sick, one of our savvy readers told us about a great article on CTV Mednews Express that provides a great outline of what to watch for, when to take your kids to the doctor and how to treat the flu, and we’ve got that bookmarked for reference, if we need it.
Running a small business like we do at SavvyMom, we’re also trying to make sure we have a good plan in place at the office in case H1N1 gets as bad as some say it will—I’ll be sharing some thoughts on what we’re doing here about it next week.
What are you doing to help keep you family healthy this winter? I’d love to know.
SavvyMom was honoured to have been asked to participate as a judge for Willow Breast Cancer Support and Abraxis Bioscience Canada’s annual My Hero Contest. Michelle Tice, our Vancouver SavvyMom on the ground, was on the panel and has shared her thoughts on the contest.
It seems fitting to end National Breast Cancer Awareness month with a look at how breast cancer impacts not only those fighting the disease, but the children who are closest to those patients. Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada together with Abraxis Bioscience Canada, Inc. teamed up again this year to create a forum for children between the ages of 8 and 12 years of age to tell their own story, a story of the breast cancer-fighting hero in their life.
The My Hero contest has been running for three years now and is a great way to give children affected by breast cancer a voice. Each child who enters writes a short story about their real-life super hero who is battling or who has battled breast cancer, and by sharing their personal stories, these children may also be helping other kids who are watching loved ones fight this disease.
I had the honour, on behalf of Savvy Mom, of being one of the national judges this year. Reading about the disease from a child’s perspective is incredibly humbling. Children are not yet tainted by the perceived unfairness in the world, and they have a way of making us see the hopeful side of life. These essays are no exception. Each child, whether writing about their mother, grandmother, aunt, teacher or family friend, all spoke of their favourite activities with their heroes, how they adapted these activities when their hero was ill and what they learned from watching someone close to them fight a deadly disease. In my mind, all of the essays I read were winners. It takes courage to write about something so personal and something that evokes sad memories. Each of these writers gave me pause for thought about my own life and my relationships with my children, too. Thank you to all the contest entrants for being so brave and so honest!
As we move into November, and put National Breast Cancer Awareness Month behind us, remember that this year more than 22,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in Canada, affecting their family, friends and of course, their children.
Wow - must be something to read these kids stories. What an honor.
The coffee shops, water coolers, playgrounds, school drop-off areas and Facebook pages—all important mom gathering places—are abuzz with discussion of Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente’s piece on motherhood that appeared this weekend, Motherhood: the New Oppression.
In the article, she reviews what’s considered ‘responsible mothering’ today (no BPA, no gaining too much weight during pregnancy, no exposure to the sun—we’re all familiar with the list) and shares the thinking of French feminist writer Elisabeth Badinter, whose new book Le Conflit: La Femme et La Mère proposes that the social expectations of modern motherhood—especially the back-to-nature, eco-mommy trend (this was the part I found most interesting, shocking even, as it is so counterintuitive)—have struck a blow to women’s freedom, as these expectations come with long lists of tedious domestic tasks (such as making your own baby food) that become the domain of mom (whether she works outside the home or not), if she wants to be considered ‘a good mother’.
The article really struck a chord for me. As hard as we all try, I know we’re all occasionally racked with guilt for allowing too much junk food, using chemical cleaners to clean the kitchen counter, being unaware that there was a lead water pipe coming into your house for the last decade, which included your three pregnancies (true story – just found out, serious guilt factor on my part when I know other moms won’t even buy a lunchbox unless it is clearly marked lead-free and hockey sticks are being recalled because of a little lead in their paint).
So let’s give ourselves a break and use the thinking of Elisabeth Badinter to cut ourselves a little slack this summer. I won’t forget the sunscreen but you may see the ketchup chips on the table instead of the quinoa crackers!
Did you read the article? I would love to know what you thought.
I totally agreed with this article and the notion that women are allowing themselves to be limited to ridiculous extremes as mothers. The term ‘mother guilt’ is ubiquitous amongst today’s moms who feel the need to apologize for things even beyond their control (BPA, lead, salmonella in spinach etc.).
There is also a trend toward child led parenting and extremely early schooling (Montessori, CEFA, My Baby Can Read) which gives mom another responsibility. If her child isn’t reading by Kindergarten then her child’s future will be forever marred by underachievement. I’m obviously exaggerating slightly but sadly the competition amongst mothers has eroded the support networks we used to enjoy.
Despite all the fresh local produce available to us during the summer, it’s not always easy to produce healthy, well-balanced meals three times a day. A quick dog here, a few fries there, a trip to the ice-cream store and the never-ending series of barbeques (aka: burger bonanzas). What is a savvy mom to do?
The rule in my house is to make sure the kids eat healthy at home so that when they are out at summer parties or events, they can enjoy the treats that go with them. But you want to make sure the meals you are producing at home really are nutritious and delicious and that’s not always easy, either. That’s where it’s good to know about one of our partners, Mission Nutrition. You can find lots of nutritional information there, but you can also enter into the Healthy Eating contest. One lucky winner will have a nutritionist visit their home, advise them of what to buy/replace in the kitchen and then go on a $300 grocery shopping spree. Now that’s a mission I would like to go on.
How do you make sure your kids eat and stay healthy during the summer?
It’s National Drowning Prevention week and the timing is critical.
As of July 16, there have been 197 drownings in Canada this year, versus 163 at the same point last year, according to the Lifesaving Society. With a number of recent deaths, that toll has now been raised to over 200 drownings. According to the Canadian Institute for Health, seven people per day visit Ontario emergency departments with water-related injuries in the summer months, and children under five are at greatest risk.
As a competitive swimmer (in my youth), lifeguard and swim instructor, I thought I knew a lot about water safety. My most recent research taught me something new, however, and I think it’s worth sharing: SILENCE IS DEADLY. If you can’t hear your children playing in the water, they could very well be under the water. The point here is that drowning victims do not always splash around and call for help because they don’t often have the ability to if they are choking on a huge gulp of water (it’s very similar to choking on land—where the victim is silent). So if you have rambunctious kids like I do, you already know that when things are quiet, that’s not necessarily a good thing—on land or in water.
The best way to avoid major accidents is to insist the kids wear life jackets. Not water wings or one of those fat bathing suits—a proper, certified life jacket.
If your kids can swim, great. But don’t leave them with someone who isn’t watching closely. Send that older sibling, grandparent or friend in to make the sandwiches and you keep an eye on the swimmers.
For more water safety tips, read the SavvyMom article on drowning from earlier this week (just in case you missed it).
What are your water safety tips?
Nice to read this post. I want to give you thanks for valuable suggest on the basic of kids swimming.
Trips to the ice cream store, barbeques featuring burgers and dogs…these are the treats that summer brings. It’s right around now that you start thinking about getting ready for back to school, or just back into the normal routines.
If you need a little help in the area of nutrition, look no further than Mission Nutrition, a program developed by registered dieticians to encourage healthy eating, physical activity and positive self-esteem among school-aged children.
We like it so much that we partnered with them for an exclusive contest available to SavvyMoms only. It’s called the Mission Nutrition* Healthy Kitchen Cupboard, Healthy Eating Contest. One lucky family can win a healthy living consultation with a registered dietician right in their own home. The dietician will assess what’s in your cupboards and help maximize your family’s healthy eating habits. She’ll provide quick and tasty recipes for the whole family to enjoy and take you on a $300 healthy eating shopping spree at your local grocery store.
How do you enter? Simply read through the new Fibre Up* Your Family section. Then click the ‘Enter Now!’ button where you’ll be prompted to submit your favourite tip on how you try to get fibre into your family’s diet. It’s that easy!
It’s not surprising that children who develop healthy-eating habits and physical-activity patterns will enjoy health benefits throughout their lives. And guess what? Healthy-eating habits start at home.
Good luck getting back into that routine!
At our Monday morning staff meeting this week, there was a lot of talk about the Globe & Mail’s new series on work-life balance around the table. It definitely struck a chord with all of us busy moms—busy with our work here at SavvyMom, busy with our kids’ schedules and now, busy with holiday prep. (There was a time when holiday prep started in December but now it’s the day after Halloween if you haven’t noticed!)
The headline that caught my eye the most from the various articles in the series was the one entitled “Hoping to get sick in order to rest”. It’s been a long-time fantasy of mine to get sick enough to be bedridden for a few days, but not so sick that it would prevent me from finally reading the many unfinished books on my bedside table. But if you know me or my family, you will know that I have to be VERY sick before I slow down and even MORE sick before any of them will happen to notice that I am sick and suggest that I take a break from my caregiving, chauffeuring or organizing duties. (Even a full-blown bout of H1N1 last November didn’t get me off the hook much, other than a few nights to bed early).
But I also feel very fortunate to have the crazy, busy life that I have—the thriving business, the children with innumerable interests and activities (better than staying home all day watching TV) and the friends and family to stay connected to. And so in a weird sort of way, I enjoy the frantic rhythm of the seasons and the transition from one crazy stage to the next, whether that’s soccer to hockey or back-to-school shopping to holiday shopping. I just count my lucky stars that I seem to be OK only getting six hours of sleep a night, every night.
The interesting parts to the Globe series are not the expert tips, although they are helpful, but the real-life stories and tips readers are sharing. My personal favourite was the family who sits down on Sunday night to pre-decide which parent will take each day of the week off should it be necessary due to a child being sick or some other unexpected situation. It sounds like a great way to share some of the burden.
I’d love to hear some of the ways you manage to get a little work-life balance in your life.
As a reflexologist I teach my clients how important it is for the body to maintain a state of balance for optimal health and wellness. A 1 hour session of reflexology on the feet, hands, ears or face will contribute toward creating a balance between work and life.
Getting up before the kids get up gives me a little peace and quiet to get stuff done and start the day off right. I try to exercise then too!
To keep you healthy this winter, we’ve got a fantastic giveaway courtesy of Swiss Natural™, Canada’s trusted provider of naturally sourced nutritional supplements for more than 40 years.
The Swiss Natural gift pack is valued at over $150 dollars and includes seven different solutions for better health:
Enter now for your chance to win the gift of wellness!
Contest closes January 15, 2010. For complete rules, click here.
Congratulations to Joanne K., of North Bay who will be keeping healthy this year thanks to Swiss Natural™ and her new gift basket containing seven different Swiss Natural Solutions® for good health, valued at $150.
I would love to try these products - especially Solutions Sleep. A good night’s sleep in our house is a rare thing - this might be just the ‘solution’ we are looking for.
It’s a boy! It’s a girl!
Rarely do you hear: We’re not telling.
There has been a lot of discussion in the media recently about Derek Stocker and Kathy Witterick, a Toronto couple who made the decision to keep their third child’s gender a secret and raise him or her as, well… an X. The older siblings have free reign at clothing stores, choosing from boys and girls clothing as they please. They started the family trend of living ‘gender neutral’ but are still acknowledged as boys. This prompted the parents to take the plunge with their last child. Their rationale? They feel they’re giving him the true freedom to be who he wants to be without being ‘branded’ by gender conventions. The debate? That the parents are forcing their own ideological values on a child who has to struggle now against bullying and other issues that come with having no ‘gender’. There is also a strong point in favour of the fact that by taking a stand against gender, they are drawing much more attention to the identity issue.
This social experiment has received a lot of feedback from readers who are both highly critical or supportive of the couple’s decision, and the couple have finally issued their own response to the frenzy. Here’s some interesting discussion we found on the mommy blogs including Emma Waverman of embracethechaos.ca and Karen Green of The Bad Moms Club.
There are many potential ramifications for their decision on social, psychological and (let’s face it) logistical levels, but the question I pose is this: are they truly being ‘neutral’ by not allowing their child to have a gender?
The parents claim to be standing up against the societal expectations and pressures that come with gender labels: something that in the 1950’s I could see being an issue. But rather than actually make a ‘neutral’ decision, which would be to not put weight on whatever sex their child is and offer her or him a variety of options as s/he grows up (as they are currently doing with their first two sons), they are going to the opposite extreme and actually imposing a ‘non’ sex on their baby. By doing so, they are in fact putting major emphasis on gender, or ‘non’ gender as the case may be, rather than simply letting their child be a child which, they claim, is their ultimate goal.
Even more so, by introducing the idea to the public, they are adding even more pressure to both their baby as s/he grows up, and their current children who now have a secret to hold. Their psychological experiment has become a political one as well, and is that really fair to put that on the shoulders of a baby?
Parenting has become much more complicated in the past 30 years for a multitude of reasons, requiring all of us to make decisions about things like Internet exposure, organic food versus conventional and more. But there is a big difference between choosing to keep your kids away from watching TV as a learning experiment, and isolating your child in a society that (whether you agree or not) does indeed classify between males and females.
Is it fair to put Baby Storm in this situation? We’d love to know where you stand on the issue.
Just saying that Gender and Sex aren’t the same thing. Denying Gender is your prerogative: i.e. where dresses, play with dolls, if you are male; pretend to be batman, and refuse to wear dresses, if you are female. But denying sex is just stupid; you might as well deny you are of the homo-sapien species.
I think those parents are ridiculous. Whether they like it or not, there are differences between the sexes. Instead of celebrating their baby boy/girl, they’re depriving their child of it’s identity. I fear that this kid is going to require some therapy later.
Last week SavvyMom was invited on an exclusive and adventure-packed press trip to New York promoting an important campaign in support of Save the Children Canada and sponsored by Frigidaire.
To support Save the Children, Frigidaire has built a microsite which asks visitors to commit to eating fresh. Until September 20, 2011, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children Canada for every new registration. And everyone who registers will be eligible to win a Frigidaire Gallery French Door Refrigerator.
Members of the Canadian media, including Emma Waverman from Embrace the Chaos, Haley Overland from Today’s Parent, Irene Ngo from Chatelaine and myself spent a wonderful day at Blue Hill at Stone Barns Restaurant in Pocantico Hills, NY with Hollywood mom, Jennifer Garner (ambassador for Save the Children) and chef Adam Kaye at the Frigidaire Kids’ Cooking Academy Summer Session.
While we were there we had the opportunity to learn from Adam about the seasonality of fresh foods, tour their beautiful farm and enjoy the just-picked flavours of fresh food from the farm. One of the focuses of the campaign is to reinforce the importance of eating healthy and fresh at a young age. Along with the help of Jennifer Garner and Chef Adam Kaye, a large group of children took part in the cooking academy and had lots of fun preparing four of Adam Kaye’s delicious recipes using ingredients fresh from the farm. The Chilled Asparagus Soup recipe was my personal fave.
Here’s one more secret nobody tells you about being a parent until you’re in the club: that extra hour of sleep you used to enjoy every fall on the end of daylight savings time weekend is now actually one less hour of sleep. This weekend, instead of enjoying an extra hour of sleep in the morning, your baby will wake you up an hour earlier than she already does (like say, 5 am). It’s not her fault, she’s confused with the time change.
This small, one hour change in time can result in huge sleep disturbances for sleep obsessed families who have small children—and it can last for up to two weeks. Tracey Ruiz, aka the Sleep Doula, makes a living working with parents on their sleep routines and helping them find the easiest path in maintaining a regular sleep schedule.
Tracey makes the point that some parents welcome the change in time because if their child goes to bed late, they can take advantage of the opportunity to get them to bed earlier.
But it can also mean tough times for the parents of early risers. If your child is an early riser, you might have to be firm and have them go back to sleep.
“Don’t let 4 am become the new 5 am”, says Tracey (I don’t think we’ll find much opposition there).
To make the time change easier and help avoid bedtime chaos, the Sleep Doula has shared her top five tips for an easier transition.
Remember they are just children and don’t understand time changes. But you do, so be smart and make sure you put yourself to bed earlier if you’re concerned about having to wake up an hour earlier.
Good luck!
Chickenpox lollipops? Absolutely gross and so not savvy.
Last week, the parenting news sources were all a-buzz about parents who don’t want to vaccinate their children with the chickenpox vaccine and have resorted to more ‘natural methods’ of ordering lollipops previously licked (or as my kids would say: ‘gobbed on’) by an infected child, in the hopes of catching the disease that way.
This is just wrong. Before the vaccine for chickenpox was readily available, moms deployed the old-school tactics like hosting a ‘chickenpox party’ and inviting the kid with spots over to infect the rest of the gang (so it would be done and over with). But that’s not immunizing, because the kids actually get the chickenpox. It’s just a way for the parents to control when it happens so they can manage it with their schedules. Fair enough. I understand the desire for parents to control things as much as they can (and I wish them good luck with that).
Today’s parents are now reaching further than their immediate communities for help. No more local parties. They now have the Internet and their vast social communities to make connections and solve problems. Apparently the latest solution to natural immunization was offered up on Facebook in the form of dirty lollipops.
Parents ordered and paid for the lollipops online, then had the infected treats mailed directly to them. This is not just disgusting and very risky, it’s ineffective and it’s actually against the law. Chickenpox is not spread through oral secretions but by the respiratory route so there is very little chance these kids could catch the pox from a dirty lollipop, but they do have a good chance of catching some other kind of infection.
This is seriously not savvy. But it begs the question: Do you vaccinate or not? We’re interested to know.
I just threw up a little..
Vaccinate. I had the chickenpox as an adult and it was horrible! I’ve never been so sick in my life!
Two winters ago, my youngest son suffered a concussion and it was very stressful for both of us. I know there are a lot of parents out there right now experiencing the same thing during hockey and ski season. Concussions can happen anywhere, anytime but they are making a lot of headlines lately.
I thought this amazing and simple video about concussions, and how to care for them might be helpful if you or someone you know has a child suffering from one this year. It’s made in a kid-friendly way, so you can share it with your child.
It was created by Dr. Mike Evans, a good friend of ours at SavvyMom, and we’re pleased to present it to our readers. I hope it helps, but I hope you don’t need it!
Concussions from Dr. Mike Evans on Vimeo.
We are dealing with post concussion symptoms in this house too. My 13 year old was tripped in basketball and landed on her head. Her concussion signs were obvious immediately. She missed more than a month of school and is finally returning to non contact sport. It has been very frustrating because you cannot see the injury or the healing. I am not sure what would have helped us deal with it better… Perhaps an MRI. The wait for that test is more than 7 months in YVR though.
This is a GREAT video Minnow, I am sharing on to all our fans.
In October, my 13 yo suffered a concussion that was NOT diagnosed (Drs said it was whiplash). We were totally guilty of not recognizing the symptoms and most importantly, when we did, not recognizing the severity or knowing what to do.
I’ve learned NOT many Doctors know much about how to diagnose or treat concussions.
I suggest if you are going through this, finding someone who specializes in and is familiar with treating concussions.
It was not until weeks after, that we began piecing it all together, and at that time, because she did NOT rest her brain as she should have, things got worse, headaches whenever she tried to concentrate or even think of anything, she was confused and angry, she’d forget what was said minutes before, could not communicate what she was thinking, annoyed by noise and light, and little things like windshield washers and crowded rooms drover her crazy. Her personality had changed too, she no longer ‘got’ jokes or sarcasm, things often went right over her head, it was like her personality had been drained from her.
All the time we took her to Drs who said she is fine (maybe minor concussion they said), and that we should be introducing activities slowly and steadily to strengthen the brain. This was not helping and we had more set-backs.
We were fortunate to find a massage therapist who specialized in concussions, he diagnosed her immediately with having a ‘severe concussion’ (a brain ‘injury’ he kept calling it), She was put on full 100% ‘shut down’, so no TV, no computer, no texting, video games, no stimulation at all, and she was not to go to school.
The next month was hard (she did sneak in a bit of TV and computer time here and there) but for the most part she pretty much did nothing and stayed at home, slept and read periodically (which, if you have to do something that is the best choice - because your brain will turn itself off and you’ll close your eyes and drift when you’ve had enough, unlike TV which, when you’re brain is ready for shut-down, continues to stimulate).
More than 8 weeks since the accident, she returned to school, first 1/2 days, then full.
That long, boring, ‘100% shut-down’ did, I am happy to say, allow her to recover!
She has recovered 100% and is now able to function as best we can tell, at the level she was before. It was difficult to watch your straight A student suffer through this, we had many down times and frustrating moments, but the key to her recovering, I have no doubt, was the 100% shut-down and rest period!
It was explained that sometimes kids need 1 week, sometimes more ‘shut-down’ time to fully recover, but parents, please take note and pass on to everyone you know, that if you suspect your child is going through this, you NEED to find someone who specializes in concussions and you absolutely NEED to have shut-down for your brain to heal and recover (which, unfortunately, was, the opposite of what we were originally told).
Thank goodness she is OK, that is a scare I hope none of you have to go through, hopefully our experience will help others.
Debbie
You might have watched the concussion video I wrote about two weeks ago by our good friend and doctor Mike Evans. He developed another video that has gone viral—it’s amazing. It’s all about finding the single most important cure or medicine for preventative health. He asks the question: What makes the biggest difference to our health?
The secret is in 23½ hours. Watch this video for the answer. It will make you think every time you sit down.
Ah, it’s spring. The birds are chirping. The grass is long and green. The city’s streets and sidewalks are torn up and the Bond family, hand in hand, blissfully skips into yet another season. All smiles people!
I’m known to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. So, in appreciation of the last week’s ‘cold toss,’ allow me to sum up some recent events:
The Cold Toss, the Circle Sniff, the Sick Cycle—every family has a name for it (I just made those three up!), but the result is the same—one family member falls ill, then the others fall on top of them. If executed correctly, the timing should coincide with the month’s busiest schedule and most important meetings.
Baxter is a miserable sick child. Sure, there’s snot and a cough and changes in his digestion (I’ll leave it at that—you’re welcome), but there is also a new found awareness of this sad state. This metacognition paves the way for a kind of baby depression manifest through exhaustion, impatience, fidgeting and a constant blubbering, or as my father would say, ‘pissing and moaning.’ It makes for a long day.
Baxter’s ‘growth’ is phenomenal. No doubt. He’s practically walking and his babble linguistics are impressive. He’s not afraid if we leave the room and he’s more focused during playtimes. Unfortunately, he’s lost his taste for baths. By lost his taste, I mean he screams bloody murder and now that he can stand and move about, escape attempts are constant. I wonder if Oasis Relaxation Aromatherapy candles come in a log form?
Lastly, to those moms that just smiled smugly when I bragged that Baxter eats anything you put in front of him, I am now at the table eating those very words. Yesterday’s favourites are today’s cod liver oil. Some foods must precede other foods lest the planet go off axis. There is little confusion as to what Baxter will eat, and what is refused. Merely look on the floor or curtains.
That concludes the Bond State of the Family Address. I shall resume the white washing next week.
Comments
Hi,
I agree too that we really need to be careful especially when it comes to our kids. I have an 18 month old boy who’s involved in a lot of group activities so I’m used to colds/coughs. This past weekend though he had a fever in addition to these symptoms and I was so worried it was the H1N1 flu. I had a doctor come to my house (who knew they still did that?) from MDHomeCall who assessed my son and luckily it was an ear infection that we could easily treat. I don’t think you can be too careful these days.
Hi…I just read your post and you’re absolutely right we need to be doing all those things to protect us from H1N1 and other flus and viruses out there - one thing no one ever mentions- is cleaning the air in your home that you & your children breathe. In your home you have thousands of particulates, caused by dust, pet dander, allergens etc. these ultra fine particles are the most harmful…If you begin by giving your family clean air, it will help their immune system naturally and they will be able to fight off colds and flus - but more importantly giving them better air to breathe.