Parenting Children

This month I am loving these kids aprons.

I love the fabric choices and the vintage feel to these aprons. They are great for fingerpainting, cleaning, helping mom in the garden or cooking. it has three oversized pockets for her garden tools or wooden spoons.

A great present for a “hard to gift” child. Also check out the hair snug. How adorable is that, your very own Lucille Ball!

I have wanted a vintage apron for myself and now I will be ordering one of my own and one for my daughter.

aprons, gifts for kids, kids, girls, moms, gifts, great gift ideas

Texas is the first state to mandate that all 11-12 year old girls be given the HPV vaccine before entering 6th grade. HPV is the human papilloma virus which can cause some types of cervical cancer.

Texas Governor Rick Perry signed legislature which mandates all girls get the vaccine of Gardasil which is manufactured by Merck, by the school year 2008. As of right now this is the only vaccine for HPV that has been approved by the FDA.

The shot which is given in three doses over six months, is not 100% effective in all cases and is effective only about five years. Each dose is $120 earning Merck $360 per vaccinated person.

I am not opposed to people being vaccinated if they want to be, I am not opposed to a vaccination that can stop people from transmitting a STD, but I am opposed to mandating a brand new vaccine.
Especially when we know how big Pharma is in bed with the government, including the lobbyist for Merck in Texas who was chief of staff for the Governor from 2002 to 2004.

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) maintains that Merck’s clinical trials did not prove that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, touted as preventing cervical cancer and genital warts, is safe to give to pre-adolescents. “There is too little long term safety and efficacy data, especially in young girls, and too little labeling information on contraindications,â€? said NVIC president Barbara Loe Fisher.

I want to know what you think. Would you give your daughter this new vaccine? Are you like me and wonder why there isn’t the same vaccine for boys?

HPV vaccine, texas mandates vaccine, Merck, STDs, teenagers, preteens, vaccine safety, vaccines, parenting

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We know that we live in a food and weight obsessed culture. Models who are too skinny, girls who want to keep up with their favorite celebrity and boys who have to drastically lose or gain weight for the sport they are playing.

More then half of American teenage girls and nearly a third of boys use unhealthy ways to control their weight. Here are some warning signs of anorexia and bulemia to make sure your tween or teenager is as safe or healthy as you think they are:

-obessesion with weighing themselves, always is on the scale
-preoccupation with caloric content and counting fat grams
-eating alone or avoiding eating at all
-thinking they are “fat” and has low self esteem
-use of laxatives or diuretics
-binge eating or purging
-dramatic weight loss

Although the onset of anorexia and bulimia is believed to be between the ages of 11-13 in girls, experts say it could take place as early as middle school.
It is important to remember that anorexia and bulimia are psychiatric illnesses and one with the highest death rate.

anorexia, bulimia, teens, teenagers, tweens, parenting, food obsession,

Super Bowl fever is not only all over the country it is also quite prevalent in my house. I use this to my advantage though and we use our knowledge or my limited knowledge of football to help us parent.

Confused? Let me explain.

My husband always says, play action always works, so we use it often in this house. You know how you always bribe your kids to clean their room, but one day the defense gets a little smarter, they are on to your ploy and they will only clean a little of their room, but still know you will give them their bribe?
One day you just switch it up and they have to clean their room with no reward, just for clean’s sake.
That is play action at it’s finest.

When my kids fight, and they do fight, we call unnecessary roughness and they get a penalty. Like going to their room, or losing the toy they were fighting over.

Sometimes kids have more energy then they know what to do with. Our solution is to take them outside and go deep. That means we tell them to touch that tree or fence 100 yards away over and over. They think they are in a race and we get to tire them out.

Of course if the coach doesn’t like the play that is running on the field, he calls a time out. In our house that consists of sitting on the second stair and thinking about why you are there. To get back in the game you have to apologize.

Lastly the best part of our football/parenting correlation is to call a holding. We do losts of holding, cuddling and talking with our kids. That is my very favorite call of all.

Super Bowl, parenting, football, kids, toddlers, Dads, parents

As wonderful as motherhood is, it is very common for new mothers to experience some baby blues after childbirth. The hormone driven wave crashes over 50-80% of women one to three days after giving birth.

Some women have mild symptoms and some last much longer and are classified as postpartum depression. Some common symptoms are tearfulness, sleepiness, fatigue, sadness, insomnia, or confusion.

You have a higher then average risk of experiencing postpartum if :
you have a family history of postpartum
You had a very short or very long period between pregnancies
you and your partner have relationship problems
You do not have family support or
you had multiples

If you suspect you are having postpartum depression it is important to tell your general doctor or your OBGYN. They can get you help or prescribe you a antidepressant. There are also many support groups.

Remember to take care of yourself first, so you can take care of your baby. Eat, try and get your sleep and keep yourself hydrated.

Also, remember the prognosis is great, 95% of women who have postpartum improve within three months of getting help!

postpartum, postpartum depression, baby blues, new moms, pregnant, new baby, moms