Parenting Children

I have written before about how I think Gardasil is basically just a way for Merck to earn more money to pay off the Vioxx debts it has. I don’t believe in making a vaccine, like Gardasil which was brand new on the market, required for all teens. Now nearly 8,000 reports of adverse reactions to the Gardasil vaccine have been filed with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since June 2006.

Reaction totals for the vaccine included 15 reports of death and 10 confirmed deaths, but none of the deaths has been tied to the vaccine, CNN said. Other adverse reactions include reports ranging from injection site pain, nausea and dangerous blood clots to paralysis stemming from a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome. The CDC said it is studying these reports.

The vaccine was approved in 2006 for girls as young as 9 years old. Merck said more than 26 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed worldwide, including almost 16 million in the United States.

The company said the vaccine is safe and effective. In a statement Merck said a report of an reaction “does not mean that a causal relationship between an event and vaccination has been established — just that the event occurred after vaccination.” Just a big coincidence right?

HPV is believed to be the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease in modern times but only a relatively small number of those infected go on to develop cervical cancer.

What do you think of these severe reactions to the Garsdasil vaccines? Do you think our government should be able to make a vaccine mandatory when it is so new?

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Now that I am caring for just one baby, I look back on my first kids, twins, and think “how did I do that?” Maybe I am wiser now, and I understand what taking care of babies entails or maybe it was because I was five years younger than I am now. I do know this: taking care of twins was challenging and I am glad I had them while I was young. I am glad I am not the oldest woman to ever have twins.

A 70-year-old from Muzaffarnagar, India, became the world’s oldest woman to give birth after she delivered twins this past Friday! The woman, who has two adult daughters and five grandchildren, wanted a male heir so badly that she underwent in-vitro fertility treatment. Her husband, Charan Singh Panwar, 77, mortgaged his land, sold his buffalos, spent his life savings and took out a credit card loan to finance the treatment.
The twins were born one-month premature and weighing only two pounds but they are healthy and expected to survive.

I want to know what doctor in his right mind would treat a 70 year old woman with IVF? You may have your own opinions about parents who are older having babies, but 70 is a whole different ballpark. Imagine the things that could have gone wrong, not only with the woman but her unborn children also. How are you going to care for the children if you sold all of your buffalos and used your life savings?
Perhaps IVF would have been a better choice 20 years ago, when she was a spry 50!

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At least once a day one of my children will come to me and ask for a bandaid for a tiny red dot on a leg, a teeny scratch on a toe or a boo boo that is non existent to the naked eye. I give them the band aid and kiss the “boo boo”. The band aid makes them feel better and for $1.99 for a box of 20, I have found a way I don’t have to listen to them hem and haw about a freckle they swear is a cut. It is a harmless way of making my children feel all better. A recent NY times article examines giving children placebos and if there is any harm to it.

A woman and her husband have even founded a placebo company, Efficacy Brands. They will make chewable, cherry-flavored dextrose tablets, Obecalp, for placebo spelled backward. They go on sale on June 1 at the Efficacy Brands Web site. “This is designed to have the texture and taste of actual medicine so it will trick kids into thinking that they’re taking something,� Ms. Buettner said. “Then their brain takes over, and they say, ‘Oh, I feel better.’ �

Sure I think that some foolery comes with parenting, but this might be a too-easy go to. What if you mistake your child’s earache or stomach ache with them just crying wolf and give them a placebo? You could make your child more ill or have them suffer needlessly. While I do think we over medicate ourselves as well as our kids, there must be an alternative then lying to our kids about their medication.
What do you think about giving children a placebo? Would you do it?

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My pediatrician always told me that my infants didn’t need water, they got enough hydration from breast milk or the formula they had. Now I read that is exactly true. Babies under six months old should not drink water. Consuming too much water can put babies at risk of a potentially life-threatening condition known as water intoxication.

Because babies’ kidneys aren’t yet mature, giving them too much water causes their bodies to release sodium along with excess water. Symptoms of water intoxication can include irritability, drowsiness, low body temperature or swelling in the face. If you think your baby may be dehydrated or constipated and needs water in addition to formula or breast milk, consult your pediatrician.
If you think your child may have water intoxication, or if an infant as a seizure, they should seek medical attention immediately.

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I realize I am still in the beginner phase of parenting with my kids only being five years old. On some days I don’t know how I will survive parenting teens never mind the five year olds I have that act like teens sometimes. Statistics like the ones that have come out this week just make me doubt my future parenting even more. A new study finds that one out of every four teen girls has a sexually transmitted disease.

Twenty five percent of teenage girls! Only half of the girls admitted to having sex that were questioned for this federal based study. Out of the girls who did admit to having intercourse forty percent had an STD. This is a shocking statistic. Of course some teens define sex as intercourse only but acts like oral sex can spread STDs as well.
Disease rates were significantly higher among black girls, nearly half had at least one STD, versus 20 percent among both whites and Mexican-Americans.

Obviously teaching abstinence and the health classes at schools are not working. Especially because in last year the government reported that the teen birth rate rose between 2005 and 2006, the first increase in 15 years. Talking to our children about the truths about sex at home seems the way to go. We don’t want our teens or “tween” to get misinformation about STDs and sex from their friends. Of course it is an uncomfortable subject, but one that has to be brought up for the sake of our children. Many STDs have no symptoms and can cause infertility, cancer and some are not curable at all.

What do you think of these startling new statistics?

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Being at home with kids all winter long is not nearly as fun as it sounded like when I was working full time before kids. It is hard work, monotonous and boring. Getting housework done is nearly impossible when trying to entertain two kids and forget about trying to get to repairs and remodels. We have wanted to remodel one of our bathrooms since we bought our home. There is just never enough time or money.

You may not have enough time or money either but you can win the chance to “relax, restore and renew� and win a full room makeover from Kimberly-Clark products. Chances are you have Kimberly-Clark products in your home right now, they are the name behind Kleenex, Kotex, Scott, Huggies and more. From January 28 to February 15, one person per weekday will be announced on The View and win $25,000 to renovate any room in their house! Oh the possibilities! Enter daily here for your chance to win this amazing prize.

Tell me what room in your house would you renovate if you won this prize and why?

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My kids are very lucky and have no known food allergies. My husband’s father is allergic to seafood so we waited until our kids were three to introduce fish and they have never had a reaction. Since I have been pregnant I have eaten a ton of candy, which is what happens when you gestate through Halloween. Most of that candy had nuts in them which I never thought about until one day when it realized to me that maybe me eating all of those nuts may give my unborn baby a nut allergy. It wasn’t something my doctor told me to stay away from, but I remember that advice from other moms.

According to a new guidance report for pediatricians, in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics, I have nothing to be scared of. The only sure fire way to prevent allergies, food allergies and wheezing is to breastfeed your children. The report says:
-There is no convincing evidence that women who avoid peanuts or other foods during pregnancy or breast-feeding lower their child’s risk of allergies.
-For infants with a family history of allergies, breast-feeding for at least four months can lessen the risk of rashes and allergy to cow’s milk.
-There is some evidence for feeding hypoallergenic formulas to susceptible babies if they are not solely breast-fed.

Surprisingly to me, they say there is no convincing evidence that delaying the introduction of foods such as eggs, fish or peanut butter to children prevents allergies. They also state that infants should not get solid food before 4 to 6 months of age, just like pediatricians tell us.

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I am always looking for an alternative to traditional medicine or over the counter medicines when my children are not feeling well. I never like giving them anything even something as “safe” as Tylenol. Now a new study out of a Penn State College of Medicine research team found that honey may be a better alternative to cough medicine for kids.

The new study found that a small dose of buckwheat honey given to kids before bedtime provided better relief of coughs during the night and sleep difficulty in children, rather than no treatment or dextromethorphan. Dextromethorphan is the DM you see in many over the counter cough suppressants. There are dangerous effects of DM in young children like dystonic reactions, severe involuntary muscle contractions and spasms. Also DM is the drug of choice by some teens.

It also did a better job with job reducing the severity and frequency of nighttime coughs. This randomized study of 105 children was partially double-blinded. parents rated honey as significantly better than DM or no treatment for symptomatic relief of their child’s nighttime cough and sleep difficulty. there were a few side effects that were mild in the children who took the honey like hyperactivity.

This is good to know since the FDA recommended that OTC cold medicines not be given to children less than 6 years old. Honey has antioxidants and antimicrobials, which are good for you anyway. Also note, honey should not be given to babies under 12 months old because it may contain bacterium Chlostridium botulinum.
I bet it will be a lot easier to get kids to take their honey then it was to get them to take their medicine!

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We have heard that girls are going through puberty earlier because of the hormones in our food supply and because of environmental factors. In a survey of more than 17,000 American girls ages 7 and 8, 15% of Caucasian girls and 48% of African-American girls were experiencing breast development, pubic hair or both. And the median age for menstruation was age 12.
Now there is new research that says some girls may go through puberty earlier because of a stressful home life. In a study released today, researchers at the University of Arizona and the University of Wisconsin-Madison followed families of 227 preschool children through middle school. They were watching for the first sign of puberty.

They found that young girls with families who were more supportive during these years tended to hit puberty later than the girls with less supportive family environments. Children who grow up in environments that are dangerous and unpredictable tend to grow up faster,” he said. “In the world in which humans evolved, danger and uncertainty meant a shorter lifespan, and going into puberty earlier in this context increased chances of surviving, reproducing and passing on your genes” said Ellis a professor at in the Division of Family Studies and Human Development at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

This is alarming on so many levels. There have been instances I have read about where a five year old girl has started menstruating. Girls who start puberty early are at higher risk for breast cancer, teenage pregnancy and depression.
We all know how stress can effect adults, weight loss or gain, problems sleeping etc, it is reasonable to think that stress can physically hurt young children as well. What do you think of this new reasearch?

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A 42-year-old women in Siberia gave birth to a 17.05-pound baby girl, the biggest newborn ever recorded in Russia. The baby was delivered by Caesarean section on Sept. 17. This baby was the 12th child for for Tatiana Khalina.

The biggest baby ever born was a 23.12-pound baby born in the United States in 1879. The baby died 11 hours after it was born.
That is one big baby!

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When I was very young my mother worked part time in retail. One night she came home and warned us to be very careful on escalators. That night she had seen a boy get his sneaker caught in the teeth of the escalator and it took a long time to free him and his poor toes. I am still aware of that story as I teach my children how to use the escalator.

Apparently if you wear the popular shoe Crocs, your chance of getting your shoe caught in the escalator is elevated. In the past couple of years “shoe entrapments” have happened all over the world. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said escalator accidents caused more than 10,000 injuries last year, but there is very few records of specific shoe problems. Now subways and some stores are warning to be careful on escalators if you are wearing soft sole shoes.

Have you heard of these escalator/shoe problems before? My daughter loves them so I will still let her wear them wherever we go, but I will take the escalator!

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Sophie Currier is a Harvard medical student who asked for longer breaks during her medical exams so that she could pump breast milk for her four month old daughter. The National Board of Medical Examiners initially refused her request, saying that all students must receive equal treatment when taking the exams. She then decided to sue.

Yesterday a judge rejected her request for longer breaks saying that she does not deserve extra breaks during the nine hour test. Sophie had already asked for and received special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act for her dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, allowing her to take the one-day test over two days. The board has also offered her to take the test in a separate room so she could pump right there.

Interesting how a medical school, where I assume they teach people how to become doctors, who in turn promote breastfeeding and the benefits of it to both mom and baby are quite negative about a mom pumping milk for her baby. Should she have to wait until she is done nursing her child to take the test thereby putting her career on hold?
Do you think the judge is right in this case?

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Researchers say first born children are smarter then their siblings and are more successful in business. Whether it is a bigger drive or higher IQ, firstborns succeed more and it doesn’t matter what gender you are or where you are born.

Many CEOs of large companies are the first born. USA TODAY took a small survey of CEOs on its own panel. It received responses from 155, of which 59 percent were first born, 18 percent were the youngest and 23 percent fell in the middle.

I wonder what the difference is. Is it undivided attention from parents the first years of life? Do they have higher expectations placed on them by their parents? I also wonder what that says about my first born children who are twins. Will my son who was born 1 minute first be smarter, or will they both be successful. I know they are both smart and will succeed, I will not accept failure.
That is because I am a first born.

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Government figures now show that U.S women are dying in childbirth at the highest rate in decades. “The U.S. maternal mortality rate rose to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2004, according to statistics released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics.”
In 2003 the rate was 12 per 100,000 live births, the first time that rate has risen above 10 deaths since 1977.

The deaths are a small number, but still a scary statistic to be faced with. Experts think that maternal obesity and the rise in Caesarean sections are partly to blame. Caesarean sections should not be taken lightly, it is major surgery, I know, I had major complications with my C-section and was minutes away from having a hysterectomy and could have died. Experts point to the rising C-section rate, now 29 percent of all births! Much higher than what public health experts say is appropriate and the highest C-section rate in the world.

Besides obesity and caesarean sections, other risks include:
Age, many mothers are waiting until their late 30s or 40s to give birth

Race-studies show that the maternal death rate in black women is at least three times greater than is it is for white women.

Quality of care- many deaths could be prevented with good medical care and good prenatal care.

Would you elect for a C-section even if it was not medically necessary? What do you think we can do about this rising mortality rate?

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A 35 year old Canadian woman has just given birth to a very rare set of identical quads! Karen Jepp of Calgary, Alberta, delivered Autumn, Brooke, Calissa and Dahlia by Caesarian section Sunday afternoon.
She carried the babies for 31 weeks and three days which is a huge feat for a mother carrying four babies! The babies were born about two months early and were conceived without fertility drugs.

They each weighed between 2.6 pounds and 2.15 pounds and listed in good condition.
The chances of giving birth to identical quadruplets is about one in 13 million!

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