Filed under: Health and Safety, Toddler, Preschooler, Pre-teen, Teenager

A new study indicates many children with breathing difficulties are being misdiagnosed with asthma when they are actually suffering from vocal cord dysfunction (VCD). This should be of great interest to parents and medical providers alike, as the treatments for the two are completely different.

In an asthma attack, the airways in the lungs narrow and the muscles around them tightly contract. The membranes lining the inner walls of the airways become swollen and inflamed, and the glands within these walls produce excess mucus. Steroids and inhaled medication are essential to controlling an asthma attack.

A person with VCD has vocal cords that spasm and remain closed during inhalation instead of separating to allow air in and out of the windpipe and down to the lungs. This creates an obstruction in the throat that makes breathing difficult. VCD can be controlled through speech therapy, massage, relaxation techniques, and botox injections to relax the muscles.

The cause of VCD isn't known, but the spasms can be brought on by stress, post nasal drip, gastroesophageal reflux (backward flow of stomach acids into the esophagus), shouting, singing, exposure to tobacco smoke, strenuous exercise, and exposure to chemical fumes.

While questioning a doctor might be the last thing on your mind as you're watching your child struggle for air, asking if they've considered VCD could save your child an unnecessary medications and a hospital stay.

A simple breathing test called spirometry can tell doctors the difference between an asthma attack and VCD.

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Filed under: 12-18 months, 18-24 months, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, Toddler, Preschooler, DVDs and Videos, Blogs, Marketing to kids, Brands

"Is that Grandpa?"

"No, honey, Grandpa doesn't have a monkey."

If that exchange is familiar to you, then you must have a child who loves Curious George. Or you might know about Littlefoot, Cera, Petrie, Ducky and Spike--all characters from The Land Before Time. Both series are produced by Universal Studios Family Productions.

I've written before about my youngest son Bennett's love of Curious George, and I'm always interested in learning more about things my kids love. Daddy Daze has an interview up with Ellen Cockrill, Senior Vice President of Animation for Universal. In it, she talks about what it's like to write the two different story lines, about the challenges of creating educational entertainment for kids, and she provides links to several websites about the shows.

Thanks to Dave for the tip!

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Filed under: 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6-7 years, Books

I just finished reading a book where Mama gets sawed in half and courted by a rather strange artist. Before she marries famous-artist man, she and her wide-eyed daugher Clara visit a gringo's house with a picture of a watermelon and a fly and go to fancy dinners. It's kind of strange and whimsical and the best kid's book I've read in a while.

So many kid's books display the traditional family unit: Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Brother and Sister. Not that there's anything wrong with the -- on the contrary, I believe it's ideal. But it is refreshing to read a kid's book where the family unit is outside the norm. Clara is an only child, Mama works -- and eventually, Mama gets married to a kind man who understands her childish and powerful imagination, She paints along with him and he claps his hands, telling her that she and he know "real magic".

The illustrations in the book are beautiful and imaginative -- a flying cat, a frog-man, odd perspectives, so Nolan is enthralled throughout, even though it's longer. Clara and Senor Frog is a refreshing departure from stories about cats, hats, bears and dinosaurs.

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Filed under: Elementary school, Going to school, 4 years, 5 years, 6-7 years, Toddler, Preschooler, Literacy, Likes and dislikes

At the beginning of each new school year I'm always struck by how significantly parents impact their child's success--socially and academically every day. Children certainly bring their own unique stamp to the world, but parents play a significant role in the way this is manifest. The kids I teach are directly the result of the parents who raise them.

Children learn by watching and by doing, rather than by being told. They do, rather than analyze. They live through their emotions.. They are in the world, and of it, not removed from it. They are not capable of analytical reasoning the way adults are. They absorb. They watch, and follow suit.

When I am kind and gentle, and I celebrate the positives in my classroom, I notice the children trying harder to be kind and gentle with each other. They attempt to replicate the positive behaviors I point out. When I am punitive, and focus on the negative behaviors, I watch the class become a group of exasperated, nagging kids who tattle on each other and routinely enact negative attention-getting behaviors.

But it is a delicate, and sometimes difficult task to seek out the positives, and to reward them, when, during the first few weeks of school, the children test boundaries and resort on the negative behaviors they may have acquired at home.

Every year, I can see how the bases are loaded from the get go. I can see difference between the kids who sit down for dinner with their families and the kids who do not. The kids who play board games at home, and the kids who don't. The kids who regularly read with their parents and the kids who do not. The kids for whom TV is a regular babysitter, and the kids for whom TV is a monitored and limited pastime. And mostly, I can tell which kids have boundaries at home, and which do not.

So much is evident in the way they care for materials and classmates. The way they take turns and say thank you, or grab and push; the way they sit down with books--thumbing through them listlessly, or deeply engaging with the pictures even if they cannot read the text.

At the end of the day, everything comes back to this: the children who have adults at home who set boundaries, regularly engage in mealtimes, games and reading together, and who limit television to an hour or less per day, are the kids who are socially and academically competent right of the bat. They still may have individual learning and developmental differences or delays, but overall, they are well-rounded children who understand how to engage their peers, and recognize that learning is something deeply important and meaningful.

Yet every year there are always a handful (or more) of children who lack this support or modeling at home. They come to school empty handed. They have less skills, less empathy, and less understanding. They start the year making up for a deficit.

And every year I can't help wondering, how hard is it, truly, to sit down with your child and read before bed? Share a meal together? Play a game? Turn off the TV?

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Filed under: Feeding & Nutrition, Adjusting to childcare, Eating, 3-6 months, Being at work, Working moms, Child care, Breastfeeding, Pumping

Well, if daycare has taught me anything, it's that my son is a growing boy. This kid is now getting a lot more group attention and stimulation that he did at home. And it's making him HONGRY!

Several times this week the ever-attentive teachers at the daycare center have commented on the little one's voracious appetite. They noted how very physical he is, how he is always on the go. Since he's at daycare and doesn't compete with my need to get things done around the house, little Mercer is scooting and inching all over the place.

All this activity is wearing him out and making him hungry for more than I can provide him. The kid went through three bottles of breastmilk (4ish ounces each) and a meal from me when I drop by around lunchtime!

I am not able to pump this much every day. I've tried for the life of me and the most I can get is three bottles of breastmilk. I also can't stop by the daycare every day at lunchtime to feed him. The most I can pump is two, sometimes three 3-4 ounce bottles of breastmilk.

It's also very difficult to pump, but that's another blog.

I'm thinking, after a long discussion with my husband, that we may need to supplement our little guy with one bottle of formula a day while he is at daycare (four days a week). At five months old, he shows interest in our food more than ever, and really seems to want to eat "big person" food.

Our pediatrician's office normally recommends moving to solids such as rice cereal at six months, and little or no mention is made of formula. Luckily the ped office has a website that offers some information about feeding. I'm going to give them a call and see what they recommend at five months.

I'd wanted to be able to exclusively breastfeed the baby until he was six months old. It saddens me that I may not be able to do this. I also realize that plans are made to be changed. Life is rolled out full of things we didn't expect to happen. I didn't think I'd have to figure out something else if the pumping wasn't enough.

Looks like we're back to the drawing board on this one. At least we have the luxury of numerous options if we need them. I'm thankful for that.

At the daycare, the teachers advised that if I went the formula route they would only give Mercer the formula bottle as a last resort if he went through all three breastmilk bottles (and I wasn't able to stop by for another feeding).

This is not to say I think there's anything wrong with formula--there isn't. It was just my plan and my preference to try to stick with breastmilk. I want to do what is best for my son, however, and if that means supplementing his feedings with formula to ensure he's getting enough food, then so be it.

We're both far enough along in our breastfeeding that I don't think the little one would be confused by a bottle of formula. After all, he's been getting at least one bottle of breastmilk a day for months. I'm sure he may be a tad gassier or burp-ier or that his poo might change color, but if that's the worst of it then I'll take it.

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Filed under: Moms, 6-7 years, Discipline

There are some kids who always seem to be breaking things. You know these kids - they handle things too roughly and leave an unintentional path of destruction wherever they go. Ellie has a friend like this and while she's a nice enough kid, I always cringe a bit when she comes over. She doesn't even visit all that often, but she has destroyed countless dolls and toys.

A few days ago, Destructo-girl was over when I heard a crash coming from the bathroom. I found Ellie on the toilet, my shower curtain bent and lying on the floor, and this girl attempting to climb up the shower wall to peer out a high window. While I cannot comprehend why they must go into the bathroom together, this is nothing new. I scolded the girl and shooed her out of the bathroom. I was mad about the bent shower rod, but chalked it up to another case of accidental destruction.

This story would have ended with a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond for a new rod, except for the fact that I later learned from my husband that her wall-climbing trick wasn't new. He had caught her doing the very same thing a few weeks earlier and told her not to do it again. In my mind, that changes everything. Maybe she didn't mean to break the rod, but she broke it doing something she had been told not to do.

I feel like her mother should know about her behavior, but I hesitate to rat the kid out for several reasons. First, this isn't a woman I run into on a regular basis. To share this information with her, I would have to make a special visit or call for the express purpose of telling her about it. This, to my mind, gives the situation a lot more weight than I think it deserves. Also, a quick survey of my friends reveals that some might be mightily offended and assume I am looking for reimbursement for the rod, which I am not. I don't wish to ban the girl from my house - she and Ellie play well together. But I do think she should be held accountable. What would you do and how would you do it?

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Filed under: Celebrity babies, Child Custody, Parental relationships, Divorce, Celebrity parents

Britney Spear's former manager was served papers by Kevin Federline's legal team when he visited a tanning salon yesterday.

Larry Rudolph had admitted to on Ryan Seacrest's radio show that he was actively avoiding being subpoenaed because his testimony wouldn't be flattering for Spears. Although he no longer works with the trainwreck of a pop star, he didn't want to be disloyal to the woman who fired him and blamed him for forcing her into rehab.

So far the subpoena list includes Britney's cousin Alli Sims, Britney's body guard Daimon Shippen, Promises Rehab Facility, and Britney's former assistant Shannon Funk.

When Alli was served, she started crying and with Larry admitting to have been hiding out to avoid getting served, it really makes you wonder how horrible the stuff they don't want to talk about is.

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Filed under: Lifestyle, Size Six, Moms

The days are shorter, the nights longer. The sunshine on my face isn't as hot as it once was. There's a crispness to the air that makes me think: autumn. The summer is almost over, and these are the things I'm grateful for:

1) No more fights over suntan lotion. No more bug spray, either.

2) I don't know where yellow-jackets go, but they've gone. I won't miss them!

3) No more sticky puddles of melted Popsicles in unexpected places.

4) I can temporarily put away my intense, ever-present fear of drowning.

5) There's a giant pumpkin growing in the garden and soon enough, it will be time to pick it. That means pumpkin-ginger soup, pumpkin pies and roasted pumpkin seeds.

6) I'm ready for the slower pace of fall--long walks in the afternoons, crunching through piles of leaves, and mugs of apple cider.

What are you looking forward to?

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Filed under: Health and Safety, Middle school, Family togetherness, Pre-teen, Teenager, Making a Difference

It's always nice to be able to share something positive with you. Generally here at ParentDish you read about how parents are trying to positively influence their children, but according to this recent report children may be able to influence their parents as well.

According to Reuters, a recent study conducted in Denmark concluded 7th graders sent home with CPR training materials may be able to teach their parents CPR. Seventh graders are old enough to understand the specifics but less reluctant to demonstrate the technique than teenagers. Children this age are generally thought to have a parent or relative in the 40-50 age group who is likely to suffer from cardiac arrest.

The seventh graders were sent home with resuscitation kits including training DVDs and CPR mannequins. The results of the study showed that these students taught CPR to an average of 2.5 people.

Imagine if every seventh grader in the world were able to teach at least two people the fundamentals of CPR! The lives saved would be innumerable.

I also think the drama and emotion of having to give CPR is a little less with kids this age. I know when I took an infant CPR class I was terrified almost to the point of tears thinking that anything could happen to my baby. It was almost too hard for some parents in the class to handle the emotional side of having to give CPR, so much so that some of us found it difficult to absorb the fundamentals.

If this study proves anything, it's that children can affect their parents easily as much as we affect our children. And that's a good thing!

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Filed under: Siblings, Adventures in Parenting, Birthdays, Birth announcement

The odds of having a set of triplets without the aid of fertility drugs? 1 in 8,000.

The possibility of following it up with a second set? 1 in 64 million. Victoria and Tim Lasita of Cincinnati, Ohio beat the odds to become parents to their second batch of three babies yesterday.

"I guess we should have been more specific and said one more child, not one more set," said Victoria, 39, who delivered the babies at 34 weeks of pregnancy. The three boys, Casey Alexander, Caden Bradley and Carson Charles all appear healthy and weigh over 4lbs each. It's not certain when they'll be allowed home to join their 4 year old siblings, Jessica, Jillian and Brian.

It seems like a bargain to get six kids out of just two pregnancies, but the thought of having to deal that many birthdays on just two dates makes me twitchy.

Congratulations and best wishes to the Lasitas!

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