Parents' Resources

We all know that being a parent can be a frustrating and very rewarding job. We've gathered information and web links to help you make the best of this wonderful experience whether this is your first or your fifth.

Our thanks to the Oregon State Health Division, the Multnomah County Health Department and others for their sites.

Physical Health

We've supplied several links to sites that provide valuable information on keeping your child in the best of health. If you find that a site is no longer functioning, please let our web site manager know. Also, if you know of sites that we should link to, that would be appreciated as well.

Safety with Medicines

Here are some important things to remember:

1. Do not refer to medicine as candy. Do not make a game of taking medicine.
2. Only adults should give medicine.
3. Keep medicines locked up.
4. Talk with your child about taking medicine and what it is for.
   Children like to imitate - be sure they do not imitate using real medicine or look alike candy.
5. Always turn on the light and read the label before taking medicine.
6. Vitamins are medicine too.
7. Purses are a treasure bag for kids and result in a lot of medicine related poisonings.
8. Always keep a bottle of Syrup of Ipecac in your home, but do not use it except on the advice of the Poison Center or your physician.
9. Use child-resistant packaging. It deters children and has helped greatly to decrease the number of accidental deaths due to poisonings.
10. Remember thought, these containers are child-resistant, not child-proof.
11. Clean out old medicines regularly and dispose of them carefully.
12. Write the purchase date on the container label of over-the-counter medicines such as vitamins.
13. Do not take any prescribed medicine, which was not prescribed, especially for you.
14. Take only the amount prescribed - twice as much does not mean twice the result.
15. Do not mix medicines unless directed by your doctor.
16. Remember alcohol and tobaccos are drugs. Find out if it is safe to drink while on medication.
17. Keep medicines in their original containers.
18. Over-the-counter medications require the same precautions as prescription medicines.
    
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Reducing the Risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
What You Can Do

The following are ways to reduce the risk of SIDS for healthy babies:

1. Sleep Position: SIDS Resources of Oregon follows the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation to put healthy babies on their backs to sleep. If your baby was born with a birth defect, born preterm, frequently spits up after eating or has a breathing, lung or heart problem, be sure to talk to your health care provider about which sleep position is best.
2. Bedding: Make sure your baby is sleeping on a firm mattress or other firm surface. Don’t use fluffy blankets or comforters, and don’t let your baby sleep on a waterbed, sheepskin, a pillow or other soft material. Keep the crib or sleeping area free of stuffed animals and other soft objects.
3. Smoke-free: Create a smoke-free environment for your baby. Maternal, paternal and second hand smoke are significant risk factors for SIDS.
4. Overheating: Make sure your baby’s room is not kept overly warm.
5. Prenatal Care: Maintain good health for both mother and baby by receiving early and ongoing prenatal care.
6. Health Provider Visits: Maintain regular immunization schedules. Communicate with your baby’s doctor regarding any changes in health and behavior.
7. Breastfeeding: If possible, breastfeed for healthy babies.

Source: leaf· let/Quarterly Newsletter of SIDS Resources of Oregon, Inc., Spring 1999.

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Safe in the Sun

Common sense can protect your children's skin this summer.

Who can forget the billboard of the golden-bodied little girl and the mischievous puppy tugging on her bathing suit to expose a patch of stark white skin? Playing outside and getting a tan used to be considered a natural part of summer for healthy, active kids. But with our new awareness of the dangers of the sun - especially the increasing risk of skin cancer - enjoying the outdoors now requires extra precautions. Children in particular require special care.

"Young skin is much more sensitive to ultraviolet light than adult skin, which is harder and thicker," explains William Dobes, M.D., associate professor of dermatology and director of the Skin Cancer Project at Emory University in Atlanta. And directly exposing young skin to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays can have severe consequences.

"The damage that the sun causes on a child's skin can result in skin cancer later on," says Darrell S. Rigel, M.D., clinical assistant professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center in New Your City. In fact, Dr. Rigel maintains, damage to the skin may not be apparent until 10 to 20 years after it is incurred. In other words, the sun's effects are cumulative; with every sunburn and tan, the skin "remembers" damage that has occurred. "There is no such thing as safe tan," Dr. Rigel goes on to caution. "Tanning and damage are synonymous," agrees Dr. Dobes, who also warns of the sun's dangers even when the sky is overcast: "You are still exposed to a significant amount of UV light on cloudy days." Similarly, swimming and playing under an umbrella offer poor protection from the sun. Because of reflection and deflection, a large percentage of the sun's UV rays still reach the skin.

But what if your child has already spent many hours unprotected in the sun? "It is never too late to protect a child from skin cancer," says Dr. Dobes. "If parents start the protection at any stage in their child's development, it will be a benefit down the road.

Common-Sense Solutions

How do you keep your kids from overexposure without locking them indoors all season? "Use common sense," says Dr. Rigel. "Don't let your children lie out in the sun and bake, and don't let them go out in the sun unprotected." To further protect your children's skin, he advises:

1. Choose sunscreen carefully. For maximum safety, select a sunscreen that is unscented, is gel or alcohol-based, contains no paraminobenzoic acid (PABA), and has a sun-protection factor (SPF) of at least 15. Such products won't wash off easily when children perspire or swim; they also will not cause skin irritations or attract stinging insects.
2. Apply sunscreen properly. For the best protection, cream or lotion should be applied 20 minutes before your children go outside. This gives the sunscreen time to be absorbed into the skin. Use about one-half ounce (one tablespoon) of lotion on your children to cover every possible exposed area. That includes their palms, soles, ears, and noses. An oil-based, PABA-free product can even be used on lips. Reapply to the body and face about every three hours, and don't forget to use it in the shade and on cloudy days.
3. Dress your child in lightweigth; light colored, tightly woven clothing. Cotton works best because it absorbs perspiration. In combination with sunscreen, a T-shirt and baseball cap offer good protection. (When at the beach, have your kids wear T-shirts as bathing suit tops.)
4. Avoid prolonged sun exposure during the hours of greates UV intensity: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (daylight savings time), 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (standard time).
5. Treat any serious sunburn promptly and properly. To ease the pain, flush your child's skin with cool water. (Cool compresses or a cool bath or shower work well.) Do not apply butter, greasy ointments, or any other oil-based substance. Have your child drink plenty of fluids to promote healing. With your physician's permission, you may give your child acetaminophen (e.g., Tylenol) to relieve the pain.
   

One last bit of advice for parents: Follow these safety rules yourself. If you show a healthy regard for the sun's power, you will encourage your children to do so, too.

Source: "Parents' Guide" by Jeanette Leardi.

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Nutrition Affects Learning

New research shows that even mild under nutrition is a barrier to learning. Malnutrition can even affect learning before slowing down growth. Here are some facts about malnutrition and learning:

• Under nutrition increases the risk of illness, its frequency and severity. In conjunction with being absent from school, illness impairs learning as sick children do not interact well with their environment.
• Under nourished children lack traits that make healthy children successful. Poorly nourished children tend to be less physically active, less curious, less attentive, less independent, less responsive socially, and more anxious. These traits keep them from developing reading, verbal, and physical skills, among others.
• Iron deficiency and resulting anemia occur among significant numbers of children. Anemic children do not do well on math, reading, vocabulary, problem-solving, or psychological tests. Even mild iron deficiency causes fatigue and a shortened attention span.
• Feeling hungry, perhaps from missed meals, affects learning. Hungry children tend to be irritable, disinterested in learning, nervous, timid passive, and unable to concentrate.
  

Tips for Parents

1. Be flexible. For variety substitute different foods from the same pyramid group. If your child prefers carrots, or peaches to apricots that is great. All fruits and vegetables provide vitamins and minerals (a variety is important however so that a variety of vitamins and minerals are eaten).
2. Keep offering different fruits and vegetables, even if they are rejected at first. Usually a child will try a new food if they are served without them being forced to eat it.
3. Encourage your child to experiment with different tastes and textures. Children learn about foods by tasting, touching, and smelling. Offer your child different shape, sizes and textures of foods to stimulate interest. Let the child help fix foods into a variety of sizes or shapes.
4. Do not worry about how much your child eats at a single meal or even in a single day. Over a week, the choices should even out - and provide a balance of nutrients that best meet his or her needs.

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Healthy Eating

• Eat with your child during mealtimes and snacks.
• Encourage children to taste all food served.
• Help your child to learn to recognize new foods and know how they are grown
• Encourage your child to drink three to four servings of low fat milk each day.
• Avoid high sugar, high fat foods (sweet desserts, Kool-Aid, soda pop, chips, sausage, etc.)
• Encourage your child to eat vitamin C rich foods. These foods significantly improve the absorption of iron from the intestinal tract.
• Check to see that your child receives a last one high vitamin C food every day and a vitamin A food at least three times a week to help your child grow and be healthy.
• Encourage your child to participate in active play so that the child's appetite will be good and your child will feel like trying new foods when you introduce them.

  High Iron Foods	Beef, pork, liver Dark turkey meat Molasses Dried beans and peas Dark leafy greens Whole grain bread Eggs Figs, prunes raisins Dried apricots
  High Vitamin C Foods	Citrus fruit Tomatoes Cantaloupe Broccoli Cauliflower Cabbage Dark leafy greens Strawberries
  High Vitamin A Foods	Carrots Spinach Sweet potato Pumpkin Winter squash Dark Leafy Greens Cantaloupe Dried apricots

  
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Calcium

Calcium helps build strong bones and teeth. Calcium is constantly being taken from bones to meet other bodily needs (the transmission of nerve impulses, the clotting of blood, the regulation of the heart muscle rhythm and the absorption of vitamin B12). When there is extra calcium it is put back into the bones. Hormones and vitamin D control how the body uses calcium and helps in its absorption. If a child is deficient in calcium, growth is retarded and often bones are brittle and deformed. Dental caries (cavities) increase. Adults develop osteoporosis (fragile bones) and there is an increase in dental caries. A very high protein diet, a high intake of salt or caffeine along with a lack of exercise will all speed the calcium loss in the body. Children 3-10 should have about 800 mg of calcium a day to meet all their bodily needs.

Good Sources of Calcium Are:

• All dairy products, except butter.
• Dried peas and beans
• Most dark leafy greens (beet and turnip tops, kale and collard)
• The soft bones of canned fish.
  
  (One glass of milk has approximately 300 mg calcium and 1/2 cup of beet greens has about 80 mg of calcium)

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Reducing Fat Intake

• Increase the use of vegetables and fruit and use only small servings of meat and poultry.
• Buy lean cuts of meat and trim off all visible fat.
• Remove the skin from poultry.
• Refrigerate soups, stews, and gravies before eating, and remove the fat.
• Roast and broil meats on a rack so fat will drip away
• Never fry!
• Use lower-fat or nonfat spreads and salad dressings.
• Look for "low-fat" and "nonfat"claims on food packages.
• Use vegetable oils and margarine in moderation when cooking.
• Sprinkle lemon juice and herbs/spices on cooked vegetables instead of cheese, butter or cream based sauces.
• Enjoy reduced fat or nonfat cheeses.
• Drink nonfat or one percent milk.
• Try lowfat yogurt or nonfat sour cream and chives rather than regular sour cream and margarine on baked potatoes.
• Substitute reduced fat or nonfat mayonnaise for the regular variety.
  
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Fruits and Vegetables: Take the "5 A Day Challenge"

What is "5 A Day"
More is better when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables is the simple "5 A Day" message, and a smart strategy for better health. Fruits and vegetables taste great, give you energy throughout the day, and in general, are:

• colorful and crunchy
• easy to prepare
• low in fat
• low in Calories
• cholesterol free
• full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber

Take the "5 A Day Challenge"
The "5 A Day Challenge" is a simple and easy way to help improve your health. By taking the challenge, you will see how easy it is to add fruits and vegetables to your eating plan - first for a day, then for a week, and ultimately for a lifetime. Invite a group of friends, family members or coworkers to challenge you in eating more fruit and vegetables - and in sharing good health! Try some of these fun and creative ways to involve your group in the "5 A Day Challenge":

• Find out who has the largest selection of fruits and vegetables in his/her house or pantry.
• Count the number of fruit and vegetable servings each person has eaten at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Award a special prize to those who have eaten at least five servings each day.
• Make snacking more interesting by competing with friends to see who can snack on the largest variety of fruits and veggies.
• See who can plan the most interesting "5 A Day" menu.

Easy "5 A Day" Tips
Most people eat about three servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Use the following tips to build your fruit and vegetable intake up to the minimum of a day:

1. Start the day with fruits and vegetables. A 6-ounce glass of 100 percent juice, such as orange or grapefruit, and a sliced banana or berries on your cereal can give you a delicious, low-fat, high-fiber head start.
2. Fruits and vegetables are portable. They can give you a quick boost of flavor and energy anytime. Pack an apple or a bag of carrot sticks, raisins, or dried apricots in your glove compartment, purse, or briefcase.
3. On the run? Keep fruits and vegetables within easy reach. Put a bowl of fruit on the counter in the kitchen. Make sure fruits and vegetables are clearly visible when you open the refrigerator. Cut up your favorite vegetables to store in recloseable plastic bags. If you see it, you may be more likely to want some.
4. Stock up for the week. Keep a variety of fruits and vegetables - fresh, frozen, canned, dried - in your refrigerator, cupboard, and freezer.
5. Fixing a meal in a hurry? The microwave is a quick and easy way to prepare vegetables while preserving nutrients. Pop a potato in the microwave at the end of a hectic day, and top it with salsa for a quick meal. Add microwaved broccoli and corn to your zesty spud and you've got a colorful, tasty and nutritious meal. For dessert, have a scoop of low-fat frozen yogurt topped with fresh berries or sliced peaches.

What is a Serving?
Eating five or more servings a day is easy. One serving is less than many people think. One serving is:

• One medium fruit, such as an apple, banana or orange.
• 1/2 cup cut-up fruit, such as fruit salad.
• 1/4 cup dried fruit, such as raisins, prunes, apricots, or dates.
• 3/4 cup or 6 ounces of fruit or vegetable juice, such as grapefruit or tomato.
• 1/2 cup raw or cooked vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, or zucchini
• 1 cup raw, leafy vegetables such as romaine or green leaf lettuce.

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Iron & Iron Deficiency Anemia in Children

Anemia is defined as a lower than normal hemoglobin or hematocrit. The most common is iron deficiency anemia, which is caused by a dietary deficiency of iron. There are other anemias which result in a lower than normal hemoglobin or hematocrit, and therefore, the specific cause of the anemia needs to be diagnosed by a qualified health care provider. All preschool children are at risk for developing iron deficiency anemia due to their rapid growth and typically low dietary iron intake. Children who are anemic frequently are irritable, tire easily, have headaches, experience poor weight gain, may be pale, and are less resistant to illness. Often an iron supplement is needed to correct the anemia; this will be prescribed by a qualified health care provider. It is important that all children receive adequate amounts of food containing iron. Those foods are:

• Red meats, such as beef, pork, dark meats of chicken and turkey, liver and liverwurst
• Dry beans, split peas, and lentils
• Dried fruits, such as raisins, prunes, and dried apricots
• Dark green and leafy vegetables, like mustard green, collard greens
• Whole wheat and enriched breads, grain and cereal products.

The iron from foods can be absorbed better by the body if eaten with foods that are good sources of Vitamin C, such as:

• Oranges, grapefruit, other citrus fruits and their juices
• Broccoli, raw cabbage, cauliflower, greens
• Cantaloupe, strawberries
• Tomatoes and tomato juice

References:
Committee on Nutrition, Pediatric Nutrition Handbook, American Academy of Pediatrics, 2nd edition.
R. Grand, J. Sutphen, W. Dietz, Pediatric Nutrition, Theory and Practice, Butterworths, Stoneham MA.

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Tips for Picky Eaters

1. Offer three meals and two healthful snacks a day with enough time between to build up an appetite.
2. Do not pacify with snacks while standing in line at the supermarket or give food to a picky eater an hour after lunch.
3. Give your child as much or as little food as he/she wants at each meal or snack.
4. If your child insists on the same food day after day, do not fight it. Offer other food as well.
5. Serve small portions of new foods. If they are not accepted, try again another time.
6. Make mealtime happy. Do not force, bargain, lecture or reprimand.
7. If mealtime behavior is unacceptable, send children away from the table for the remainder of the meal rather than turn your dining table into a battle zone.
8. Offer only water between meals and snacks. Save milk and juice for meals. Soda pop for special occasions only.
9. Serve small portions - they can ask for more if wanted.
10. Set a good example for your children. Do not expect them to eat spinach if you do not.
11. Distractions such a TV, arguments, playing at the table may interfere with a normal appetite.
12. Lack of exercise may be a cause of poor appetite.
13. Buy nutritious foods. Children cannot eat candy, chips, and soda if they are not in the house.

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Web Sites for Parents

Childslife.com
Help locate local businesses, activities and resources for children, plus offers articles and advice.

Familyplay.com
Provides hundreds of learning activities to do with your kids, advice, links, and other resources.

Mom.com
Resources on education, citizenship, and all kinds of stuff.

National Coalition of Parent Involvement in Education
Provides information and resources for parent to become involved in their child's education.

Parentsplace.com
Designed by two stay at home moms, this site focuses on pregnancy and the first year.

Parentworld.com
This site is designed for single parent and offers information on divorce, dating, survival, as well as newsletters and discussion groups.

Parentcenter.com
An on-line community with books, discussion groups, tips for paerent support, and more.

Parent.net
More information and articles for parenting children of all ages, but also includes movie review for the family.

Parenting.com
Focuses on the first three years. Experts, resources, shopping.

Parenting Matters
Provides information about parenting that work not just for the short term, but aid in that long term assist in raising self-reliant, responsible human beings.

Tammy's Step Parent Network
Created by a step parent, and offering resources and support.

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