Mommy Unplugged

It's a new way to show your friends you are thinking about them-mommy style. I think it's cute. Here's the link to all the Mommy Unplugged free ecards.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Closing Schools to Stop the Flu?

They key to stopping the spread of flu may be to close down schools. New research shows keeping kids out of the schools may decrease the spread by 50%. This article in CNN talks about how researchers came to that conclusion.

FROM CNN:

In June 2009, the new H1N1 flu strain was spreading like wildfire in western Canada, just as it was in dozens of countries around the world. But within a few weeks, the flames were nearly out, and a new study pinpoints a possible reason: summer vacation.

On June 12, high schools in the province of Alberta let out for the summer. On June 19, the middle schools finished, followed by the elementary schools on June 26. Researchers from McMaster University compared those dates to the incidence of new H1N1 cases in Alberta, and using a complex statistical analysis, estimated that closing schools reduced flu transmission among school children by more than 50%.

That, in turn, reduced transmission in the population at large. The findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, support the idea that closing schools could reduce or slow down a dangerous outbreak of influenza.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Dads who don't enjoy it

My heart broke as I read this post from Baby Center from who said her husband doesn't like being a dad. That would be really hard to handle. I don't think there's a way to make someone love fatherhood. What do you think?

Here's what she wrote:

"My husband and I recently had a heart-to-heart conversation, and he told me some disturbing news -- he no longer finds any joy in being a parent. I realize parenting's a lot of work and responsibility, but for me, it's fulfilling and I love it. I don't understand how he can feel that raising our sons is just something he has to 'deal with.' What can I do to help him regain the joy in parenting he once had?"

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Skin Dimensions, SB products are manufactured with Pharmaceutical-Grade ingredients. Products are not just "Feel Good Products," as they contain unique and innovative ingredients in concentrations that can assist you in the achievement of your own personal skincare objectives. Our products contain higher percentages of Glycolic, Vitamin A, C, E, Co-Q10, green tea than what you can usually purchase over the counter.

Football Concussions

They aren't typically caused by one hit. A new study shows concussions are the result of hit after hit. I don't if this will change anyone's opinion about the risk of concussions while playing sports like football, but I thought it was interesting. It seems like more fuel to the fire for people who believe any hit is dangerous. What do you think?

FROM SCIENCE DAILY:

Purdue University researchers have studied football players for two seasons at Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Ind., where 21 players completed the study the first season and 24 the second season, including 16 repeating players.

Helmet-sensor impact data from each player were compared with brain-imaging scans and cognitive tests performed before, during and after each season.

"The most important implication of the new findings is the suggestion that a concussion is not just the result of a single blow, but it's really the totality of blows that took place over the season," said Eric Nauman, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and an expert in central nervous system and musculoskeletal trauma. "The one hit that brought on the concussion is arguably the straw that broke the camel's back."

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Skin Dimensions, SB products are manufactured with Pharmaceutical-Grade ingredients. Products are not just "Feel Good Products," as they contain unique and innovative ingredients in concentrations that can assist you in the achievement of your own personal skincare objectives. Our products contain higher percentages of Glycolic, Vitamin A, C, E, Co-Q10, green tea than what you can usually purchase over the counter.

Parenting the French Way

I love this article about raising kids. I think the tips are great! I really think I sometimes give in to my kids' demands too soon because I don't have time or energy to deal with the discipline. It's not every time, but it certainly happens with me. How do you handle discipline?

FROM ABC:
Teaching kids patience and self-control through delayed gratification: French parents teach their children to wait for what they want from an early age - for a few minutes, usually – instead of immediately giving into tots’ demands.“I’m now convinced that the secret of why French kids rarely whine or collapse into tantrums – or at least do so less than American kids – is that they’ve developed the internal resources to cope with frustration,” Druckerman writes.

Sleep training often begins at birth: In France, babies are expected to be sleeping through the night by the time they’re four months old. Parents don’t ignore their babies’ cries but they do pause before responding to them.“French parents believe it’s their job to gently teach babies to sleep well,” she writes. “They don’t view being up half the night with an eight-month-old as a sign of parental commitment. They view it as a sign that the child has a sleep problem and that his family is wildly out of balance.

Just one snack: French children typically have what’s known as gouter – a 4 p.m. snack – and that’s it. As a result, Druckerman says, they eat well-rounded meals because they’re “actually hungry.”

They don’t give in to guilt over spending time away from their kids: French women, Druckerman writes, have a conviction that “it’s unhealthy for mothers and children to spend all their time together. … Children – even babies and toddlers – get to cultivate their inner lives without a mother’s constant interference.”As for moms going back to work after giving birth: “French women work not just for financial security but also for status,” Druckerman writes. “Stay-at-home moms don’t have much in Paris. … They openly question the quality of life if they looked after children all day.”The book will be published Tuesday, Feb. 7.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Skin Dimensions, SB products are manufactured with Pharmaceutical-Grade ingredients. Products are not just "Feel Good Products," as they contain unique and innovative ingredients in concentrations that can assist you in the achievement of your own personal skincare objectives. Our products contain higher percentages of Glycolic, Vitamin A, C, E, Co-Q10, green tea than what you can usually purchase over the counter.

How to talk to your kids:A kid's perspective

I just read this cool article from THE NEW YORK TIMES about a book written by teenagers on how parents should talk to their kids. The 17-year-old authors give examples on how to rephrase sentences so they won't be offensive to teenagers. I feel like my 8-year-old already has a tendency to roll his eyes when I ask him about his friends, school, feelings, etc. I cannot imagine how tough it will be to get him to express anything when he is an adolescent. I should really start trying harder now.

Here's part of the article:

Ms. Frankel and Ms. Fox, both 17, are the authors of "Breaking the Code" (NewAmerican Library), a new book that seeks to bridge the generational dividebetween parents and adolescents. It is being promoted by its publisher as thefirst self-help guide by teenagers for their parents, a kind of "Kids Are FromMars, Parents Are From Venus" that demystifies the language and actions ofteenagers.

Both girls are seniors at Fieldston, the private school in the Bronx. Theybegan writing more than a year ago after hearing a talk at their school by apsychologist who aimed to help parents make better sense of their children. Thegirls thought they could do even better. Encouraged by a teacher who put them intouch with a literary agent, they offered themselves as scouts showing the wayacross the forbidding terrain of the adolescent mind.Their intention, they tell parents in their introduction, is to provide a"guide to what teens really hear when you speak, and how you can make them hearwhat you are actually trying to say."

Their efforts to explain why an apparentlyinnocuous remark so often elicits a tantrum or worse might be meaningful, Ms.Fox suggested in the interview, if the result is "one less week of silenttreatment from your teenager."Writing on consecutive Saturdays from November to June between homeworkassignments and preparation for their SAT's, the girls tackled issues includingcurfews, money, school pressures, smoking and sibling rivalry.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Skin Dimensions, SB products are manufactured with Pharmaceutical Grade ingredients. Products are not just "Feel Good Products," as they contain unique and innovative ingredients in concentrations that can assist you in the achievement of your own personal skincare objectives. Our products contain higher percentages of Glycolic, Vitamin A, C, E, Co-Q10, green tea than what you can usually purchase over the counter.

Educational Games for Kids

If it's on-line, my keeps seem to keep a little more interest in the game. They love the math games on ixl.com. I am looking for something new. I saw this one on running your own Lemonade Stand. And there are a bunch of games that look on this Kids Fun website.

Share your favorite educational games for your kids by posting a comment.


-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Skin Dimensions, SB products are manufactured with Pharmaceutical-Grade ingredients. Products are not just "Feel Good Products," as they contain unique and innovative ingredients in concentrations that can assist you in the achievement of your own personal skincare objectives. Our products contain higher percentages of Glycolic, Vitamin A, C, E, Co-Q10, green tea than what you can usually purchase over the counter.