Booster Seats Are Safer

The journal “Pediatrics” published the results of a study, conducted by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia’s Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, confirming previous reports that it’s safer to keep children aged 4 through 8 in a booster seat during car travel.

The new study gives us solid figures: Children in belt-positioning booster seats are 45% less likely to sustain injuries in a crash than children using standard safety belts.

Booster seats protected children even better during side-impact crashes, reducing the risk of injury 68% for near-side impacts and 82 % for far-side impacts. The most common type of injury children sustain in vehicle crashes is a head injury, accounting for 65 % of all injuries regardless of the type of restraint used. The data did not show a difference in the level of protection using a high-back booster or a backless booster seat.

The good news?

The study considered injuries sustained in 21,943 crashes in which at least one child received medical attention, as well as crashes where no children were injured, and the vast majority of injuries were not fatal, whether children wore a regular seat belt or used a booster seat.

Car Seats for the Car Only

It bears repeating that parents should follow the American Academy of Pediatrics car seat guidelines to keep their children safe during road trips. But it’s equally important to note the danger that exists when parents keep infants in car seats for extended periods when they are not traveling.

In a related article, CBS News reported the results of a study presented to the AAP that shows 8,700 emergency room visits resulting from inappropriate use of a car seat/carrier.

Most of the injuries occurred when parents placed car seat/carriers on soft surfaces, like beds and sofas, or high surfaces like counters and tabletops. This causes a risk of suffocation in infants, but babies can also suffer injuries to the head or extremities if the car seat tips or falls.

If you do place your baby in a carrier:

• Place the carrier on flat ground only.

• Be aware in public places; do not place the carrier and baby in high-foot-traffic areas.

• Avoid keeping baby in the carrier for long periods of time every day; this can lead to weak muscles and flat spots on the head.

The Bottom Line on Car Seat Safety

Car seats are intended for use in motor vehicles to protect infants, toddlers and children from injury in a crash. Use a car seat or booster seat, for as long as possible with your child, for its intended purpose. But don’t leave your infant in a carrier/car seat for extended lengths of time when you’re not traveling.

More Information

If you leaf through your baby or parenting magazine you’d be sure to find one of those cute pictures of babies, pictures that will tug at any mommy’s heart. Unfortunately, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is not pleased with many of them. Not in the least, according to this US News report. Because most of the pictures, especially those of sleeping babies do not reflect the safety guidelines to prevent sudden infant death (SIDS) as recommended by the AAP. Great photos as they are, they nevertheless set a bad example to parents and care givers.

Baby Ad Inconsistencies in Regards to SIDS:

• Babies sleeping on their tummies. The AAP and other health organizations have been advocating the “Back to Sleep” campaign to prevent SIDS.

• Babies on soft surfaces. The AAP discourages the use of pillows and soft blankets to prevent suffocation and overheating. Overheating is another factor that causes SIDS.

• Babies co-sleeping with mommy. There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping Madonna and her child. The AAP doesn’t think so because it is strongly against co-sleeping even though many other groups advocate co-sleeping for the sake of mom-baby bonding and promoting breastfeeding.

• Babies co-sleeping with other babies. The picture of Jennifer Lopez’s twins Max and Em sleeping in the same crib was really a slap at AAP’s face. I have twins myself and I admit I never let them sleep in the same crib mainly for practical reasons – they slept better that way and were less likely to disturb each other when one wakes up. But I know twins who couldn’t sleep away from each other.

Clearly, there is a big difference between what is safe and what makes a good photo. From a photographer’s view for example babies may look cuter “bottoms up.” And ads are all about photos that are cute and appealing and nice to look at. Plus the artistic license, of course.

What do you think?

Do you think the AAP has the right to “police” baby photos in ads, print and web media for safety reasons?

OK, tell me something I don’t know. I hope the researchers from southern California didn’t pay too much money to learn that going to back to work makes it more difficult to continue nursing your baby.

Specifically, they learned that when women go back to work in less than six weeks, they are up to four times more likely to quit breastfeeding. And, if they go back to work somewhere between six and twelve weeks, they are at twice the “risk” of weaning the baby. The findings were published in January in a report titled “Juggling Work and Breastfeeding: Effects of Maternity Leave and Occupational Characteristics.”

Of course, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for a full twelve months. And of course, the authors of the study say women should take longer maternity leaves. That might be possible in France, where, by law, women are given four months of PAID leave (six weeks before birth and ten weeks after). But here in the US, the Family Medical Leave Act promises full-time working moms (and dads) that their jobs will be there when they return from up to 12 weeks of UNpaid leave. Women who work part-time are not protected by the FMLA.

Actually, researchers from Canada’s McGill University surveyed 168 countries, and learned that the United States, along with Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland, and Papua New Guinea were the only countries without any paid maternity leave. As many as 98 nations pay 14 weeks or more! Of course, it’s a matter of great debate whether or not we should pay for maternity leave here in America–a worthwhile debate that I don’t want to get into right now.

I actually just wonder how many women do manage to continue nursing after returning to work. My son was born in December. Since I was a teacher overseas, I lost my job for the rest of the year. We returned to the US and I began teaching part-time again in August. And, in fact, my son quit nursing soon after. For me, I couldn’t do the pump. I felt like a dairy cow when I hooked up to that thing. Now, with my daughter, I intended to return to work this month, but due to budget restraints in our local school district, there is no job for me. So I’m not teaching, and I am still breastfeeding. Probably not a coincidence. I had two friends/colleagues who would go into the restroom at lunch and pump breast milk, put it in the refrigerator in the office and use it for the next day’s bottles at the sitter. Whew! I admire them. I couldn’t keep that up.

Do you think that going back to work affected the duration of nursing your baby? Would paid leave make a difference for you as far as breastfeeding goes? Is it necessarily “bad” to quit nursing your baby after you go back to work at 6 or 12 weeks?

Because baby girls are gorgeous without any jewelry. Because I think it’s something that is a permanent alteration and is something that your daughter should be able to decide to do for herself. Because it could even be dangerous.

I’m not anti-piercing, I have 8 in my ears and a stud in my tongue. But I had every one of them done because I wanted to.

I had my ears pierced for the first time when I was about 8. My mom, my sister and me had a “girls day out” to have it done. My sister and I both picked out the earrings we wanted, and got our ears pierced together. Then, I think, we went for ice cream. Very corny, I know. But it’s a nice childhood memory.

I know a five-year-old who’s ears were pierced as a toddler and while she loves wearing earrings, she’s a little sad that it wasn’t something she chose to do. I got a new piercing last week and she wanted to get one too. It seems like she wanted to have been involved in the decision to have her earlobes pierced.

I’ve heard moms say they get their daughter’s ears pierced to make them look more feminine. Strangers tell moms of girls that their son is adorable all the time. Strangers told me what a pretty girl my baby son was all the time too, it’s a little grating but ultimately not something to be upset by. Actually it’s quite hard to tell small babies apart. But if you don’t like strangers thinking your baby is a boy, isn’t that what pink outfits, dresses, hair bows and barrettes are for?

Piercing, while fairly safe, does have risks like infection and allergic reactions. If you have to have your baby’s ears pierced, wait until she is at least 3 months old and better able to deal with any possible complications. And have the piercing done hygienically at your doctor’s office. Not the mall. Why? Here’s a video of a typical mall ear piercing. How unhygienic does this look! First a superficial cleaning. The women doing the piercing aren’t wearing gloves, and goodness knows what kind of germs and dirt are lurking under the first woman’s nails? It makes my skin crawl. At least your doctor will use sterile equipment.

The American Association of Pediatricians recommends “postpone the piercing until your child is mature enough to take care of the pierced site herself.” Then you can treat yourself, and your daughter to a mom-and-daughter day out and have her ears pierced done then, and make a memory for you to share.

The most fun age to take children trick or treating may be when they are toddlers. But that can also be when they are most in danger. This is partly because they are very mobile, but also uncoordinated, leading to the three most common preventable Halloween injuries. Dr. Brian Keaton, President of the American College of Emergency Physicians says, “Every year you see kids injured while trick-or-treating, and it’s always frustrating because the injuries are easily prevented.” What do ER doctors see most often? Eye injuries and burns, and children hit by cars as they go through the neighborhood.

To safeguard their eyes, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other similar organizations have suggested that wands, swords, and other accessories should be blunted. Also make sure they are short enough that your little one does not trip over it. And, in case he does trip, make sure it is flexible enough to bend under him. The University of Michigan Health System also recommends that you take the lenses out of decorative eyeglasses.

Because of the burn risk, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission urges parents to only purchase costumes that are flame resistant. Of course, if you make your own costume, keep in mind that some fabrics are more flammable than others. The University of Michigan Trauma Burn Center says that the most flammable fabric is 100% cotton. The safest is polyester. Don’t let little trick-or-treaters wear capes and other billowy costumes that can come in contacts with burning jack-o-lanterns.

When it comes to traffic injuries, have your children wear reflective tape no the their costumes, even if it “spoils” some of the look. Keep them always at arm’s length and make them carry their own lights.

Of course, there are other common sense advisories, such as making sure shoes aren’t too big, and that you don’t obstruct airways, vision or hearing. Infant costumes should not have accessories that can cause choking. For this reason, many parents use face paint for little children instead of masks. That is a smart choice, but can have its own potential downside. To avoid allergic reactions with a child’s sensitive skin, use only FDA approved cosmetics (note that zinc sulfide is the only luminescent color approved for skin).

Eleven years ago, with my first child, I didn’t have the wealth of information available to moms today. I didn’t really have internet access, and I lived a few hours away from my family. In many ways, this was a good thing.

Some information is good, but too much can be overwhelming. And, I think it taught me to doubt my own instincts. My son has obviously survived, but with my daughter, I’m afraid to try something until I know I’m doing it ‘right.’

Take, for example, solid foods. I read once that the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t think parents should start solids until 6 months of age. But then at my daughter’s four-month check up, her pediatrician suggested we start offering her some food. Then online there are all kinds of ‘readiness’ checklists. So I was perplexed. There is so much advice that it is confusing, and it was difficult to find what I really wanted to know. So here is my contribution to all the parents out there with a 4-6 month old baby who aren’t quite sure how to do the whole ’solids’ thing.

Turns out, the AAP has a bit of a mixed-message. Their Section on Breastfeeding recommends nursing exclusively for 6 months. On the other hand, the AAP committee on nutrition supports feeding age-appropriate solids to babies as young as four months. And though the previous generation was inclined to give babies as young as two months some cereal in their bottles to help them sleep, this is a very bad idea for several reasons. Most importantly, their digestive systems aren’t prepared to handle it. Second, feeding solids in a bottle lead to obesity. But it’s also just not true that solids at bedtime specifically help babies sleep longer. (Sleep physiologists say that getting adequate calories over the course of the day is what helps sleep.)

I felt better about buying a box of rice cereal after being certain on all fronts that she was ready. But then I wasn’t sure if I should give it to her after I nursed her or before I nursed her or instead of one breastfeeding. I got a few different stories there, too. But the advice leaned heavily towards solids after milk. You definitely don’t want to skip a bottle or nursing. She still needs to get her nourishment from her milk. So give her a bottle or breast, and then when she is not ravenously hungry, offer her something from a spoon.

So I started with some rice cereal. And that was good until I asked a friend at church with a baby just two weeks older than mine if she was feeding her cereal. She responded that they were not feeding her cereal, but she was eating all kinds of solids. That made me feel insecure. I consulted my husband who assured me that whatever I had fed our son worked out fine. Trouble was, I just couldn’t remember! So, once again, I went to the experts, who didn’t agree.

Some say start with vegetables because once they’ve had bananas they just won’t want peas. Others say start with bananas because they are so appealing that the baby won’t reject them. Argh! I cheated. I bought some oat cereal. But it made her spit up every time, so I retreated to rice cereal for another week. I ended up following a plan I devised from a few sources, but mostly her pediatrician. Here’s what we did, which is working out great.

1. For the first two weeks, I offered her some rice cereal once a day after she nursed.
2. Then I introduced mashed avocado. I gave that to her once a day after nursing, in addition to the cereal once a day.
3. After a week I introduced cooked, mashed sweet potatoes, and alternated daily between the avocado and sweet potatoes.
4. For the rest of the first month we stuck to one new food every four days. I gave her the food in the mornings and the cereal in the evenings, always after she nursed. I discovered that pears made her spit up, so we quit those for now.
5. When she hit the five-month mark, I started feeding her solids three times a day, alternating foods.

As for which foods to choose for your baby, that’s another debate (though I personally have found this to be useful). But most sources advise against some things that are more likely to cause allergic reactions. Most importantly, do not feed babies under a year honey, dairy products or foods with a lot of acid (like citrus). Stay away from meats for a couple of months.

I feel more confident now, knowing I successfully navigated another milestone!

Last week, France banned television shows aimed at the under threes. US channels like BabyFirstTV and Baby TV air in France. Legislators, concerned about possible developmental delays in babies who watch too much TV, called the BabyFirstTV and Baby TV channels a “danger”, and these channels will be going off-air in France.

French cable broadcasters that show foreign channels with baby programming will have to broadcast a warning message that reads: ?Watching television can slow the development of children under three, even when it involves channels aimed specifically at them.?

According to the French legislators, ?Television viewing hurts the development of children under three years old and poses a certain number of risks, encouraging passivity, slow language acquisition, over-excitedness, troubles with sleep and concentration as well as dependence on screens.?

I can see their point, especially reading this from Baby TV’s website,

“Baby TV was conceived following a sleepless night spent rewinding a baby video at the demand of an unrelenting toddler. Our creators imagined a service which offered easy access to programming specifically designed for babies around the clock.”

Are you disturbed by this too? What reason could there be to stay up all night with a toddler who wanted to watch a video? Why wasn’t the kid in bed? Even if this toddler was sick, watching a video surely isn’t the answer? Wouldn’t it be more soothing to read a book, or listen to music instead? And when my toddler demands something, it doesn’t mean he gets it.

The American Association of Pediatricians concurs with the French: they recommend NO television for children under two, and limited viewing hours for pre-schoolers.

BabyFirstTV clearly disagrees. The subscription-based channel says that “BabyFirstTV is an interactive tool for parents to engage their infants and toddlers ranging from 6 months to 3 years.”

I don’t like being told what to do, or what not to do, and that responsible parents should be able to make their own decisions about how much television their children can and can’t watch. I think it’s somewhat draconian to say NO TV EVER as it’s occasional use has been very helpful in my house. My son doesn’t watch much TV at all, but when I got sick recently, being able to lie on the couch and doze while my son watched an hour of Barney was a blessing.

So I think the French legislation, while well intentioned, is ultimately going to be ineffective for keeping babies from television. Surely French parents are just going to sit their babies and toddlers in front of programs aimed at the over threes? Including programs with violence and themes that might be disturbing to very young children?

Here’s some tips for managing and limiting kid’s TV time.

What do you think? Was France right to ban baby television channels? Do you think America should ban baby TV shows too?

Parents everywhere have lost a champion. Dr. Julius B Richmond, a former US Surgeon General, died on Sunday, July 27, 2008. He was 91.

Dr. Richmond was the Surgeon General from 1977 through 1981. He was responsible for the release of evidence that connected smoking with harmful side effects. He was so influential in this movement that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) named a program in his honor. The Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence is committed to eliminating children?s exposure to tobacco and secondhand smoke.

He received his medical degree in 1939. Dr. Richmond had a long and distinguished career in medicine, first serving as a flight surgeon in WWII. He returned home to become a professor at the University of Illinois, SUNY and Harvard.

He impacted millions of people when he launched Head Start, a preschool program for low income families in 1965. Dr. Errol Alden, CEO of the AAP said, ?As the father of Head Start, he launched an incredibly successful program that would go on to help more than 25 million children develop the social and cognitive skills they need to succeed in school. He was an incredible man, and we will miss him terribly.”

Dr. Richmond helped President Johnson set up Neighborhood Health Centers. Fourteen million people in the US can still get medical care in nearly 1000 federally approved community health centers. These clinics provide services such as prenatal care, cancer screenings, and diabetes treatment. Unlike many other federal programs from the 1960s, this one is alive and well, and still growing.

In addition to Dr. Richmond?s anti-tobacco campaign, he also established the first health goals for the nation as Surgeon General. He returned to service after his tenure as Surgeon General until 1988 when he retired.

Not many doctors can earn the status or the acclaim of Dr. Richmond, but hundreds of family physicians plod away, treating ear infections and signing athletic check-up forms day after day. They deserve our thanks and appreciation for the tireless work they do on behalf of our children. Take a moment and tell us about your wonderful doctor!

Just released from the American Academy of Pediatrics: travel tips for little kids. All I can say is: THANK YOU!!!!!!!

I suppose if my family bopped in and out of airports every other month, I might figure out some of these on my own. But we don’t travel very much so I’m not a seasoned pro. That makes the trips we DO take so much more meaningful, and in some ways, it raises the stakes. When we take one trip every other year we want it to be good.

The following ideas were compiled by the AAP from their own literature as well as the Transportation Security Administration, Federal Aviation Administration and the Centers for Disease Control.

A few of my favorites are summarized below. Happy Trails to You!

Driving

- Of course, follow all car seat laws. Better yet, follow all of the suggestions (which are more stringent). That means:

• facing year until one year AND 20 pounds.
• in a belt-positioning booster until 4′9′ in height.
• in the back seat until age 13.
• Plan to stop every two hours (This one is difficult for me. I get so impatient?)
• Bring lots of toys and CDs and snacks for the trip.

Flying

• It takes longer to go through security with children. Leave early, and make sure the kids know someone will be handling their things.
• Let older kids know that it’s not a funny joke to say, ‘My dad has a bomb in his bag.’
• Buy your child under 2 his own ticket and strap him into his carseat. You’ll both be happier.
• For once, you can let the kids blow bubbles through the straw-it helps pop their ears.

Going overseas

• Make sure everyone’s vaccines are up-to-date.
• Start adjusting for jet lag a few days before you leave.

As if I didn?t have enough to worry about? Flame retardant pajamas just aren?t enough to keep my little ones from foreseeable disaster. Earlier this week, the American Academy of Pediatrics told me that I need to worry about my son?s cholesterol. (For more of the details, see Dawn Allcot?s blog or go here .)

Somewhere between the ages of two and ten I should have had my son?s lipids screened, since my own dad died of complications from heart disease and diabetes. But you should see my boy. He?s perfect?all 61 pounds of him.

But now they?ve got me worried. I need to buy him low fat foods. And if he does have an elevated LDL concentration, he ought to be on cholesterol lowering medication! Even if he?s fine, he should go back again in 3-5 years, just to make sure. Are there truly cases where an 11-year old had a heart attack?

Forget conspiracy theories for the moment. I?m sure they?re just trying to ward off preventable trouble and keep an eye to our precious ones? health future, but come on. If I keep worrying about everything that could possibly be wrong with my children, I?m afraid I?m going to have a heart attack myself?and soon.

When I brought my daughter home from the hospital, I was determined to do things differently this time. This baby was not going to be held 24/7. She was going to learn to soothe herself when upset. Baby #2 was going to sleep through the night well before 9 months. And she was definitely going to learn to fall asleep (and stay asleep) in her crib, rather than in my arms.

Maybe you have two children, and are thinking, ‘HaHaHa.‘ But before you chide me for my obviously well-intended but misguided idealizations, let me defend myself. It’s going pretty well (it helps that my daughter is the most laid-back, easy-going baby God ever created). But maybe some of it – just a teensy bit – is due to some things I’ve learned. One thing in particular has helped with all of these goals: I swaddled her.

And when I say swaddle, I don’t just mean I wrap her in a blanket. I mean she is practically in a straight jacket.

It started when my friend sent me a blanket as a baby gift that was twice the size of normal receiving blankets, with this little tag of swaddling instructions and the phrase, ‘Swaddled babies sleep better.’ Always one to ask the question, ‘Who said it and why should I believe them?‘ I looked it up. Turns out, it was the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In May 2005, they again published research indicating that babies who are wrapped sleep more efficiently; that is, they wake up less often (unless there is noise). And then there was that phrase about how swaddling helps excessive crying. That was good enough for me to try it.

On her second night of going to bed drowsy but awake (let’s not talk about the first night), I bundled her awkwardly, stuck a pacifier in her mouth and voila! It worked. She was out cold in 15 minutes. She’s three months old now and she still can’t resist the ‘burrito’. If she wakes up in the middle of the night, I rewrap her, find the pacifier, and we’re good until 5:00 am.

Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to do when she’s old enough to turn over?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has broadened its guidelines for cholesterol screening in children, according to this report from Reuters Health. The APP recommends cholesterol screening guidelines for children as young as two years of age, if there is a family or personal history of obesity, high blood pressure or diabetes.

The AAP also recommends prescribing statin drugs for children over 8 years of age who are shown to have high LDL (‘bad‘) cholesterol levels. The report states that the first goal should be to lower bad cholesterol levels to below 160 mg, or even as low as 110 milligrams in children with a family history of heart disease or other risk factors, such as obesity.

The AAP also recommends reduced or non-fat dairy options for children as young as 12 months old with high cholesterol or with risk factors such as obesity and diabetes in the family. Because I’m sure it’s all the milk and yogurt that is making today’s kids fat not sugar-laden cereals, fast food and soft drinks.

Forgive my sarcasm, but I can’t help but wonder if the extended screening guidelines are primarily an attempt by big pharma to expand the market for statin drugs. After all, as fellow Babies Online blogger Science-Mom reported at PharMed News, by 2011 the prescription drug industry could show negative growth for the first time in history.

With the pharmaceutical giants facing pressure from successful alternative medicine treatments tighter drug regulations and competition from generics, it makes sense to cast a wider net for prescription drugs and focus on raising a new generation of consumers who believe the solutions to all of life’s ills lie in little blue, purple or pink pills.

It’s a lot easier for parents - and more profitable for the drug companies - to prescribe medication than it is to instill healthy eating habits and promote daily exercise for youngsters. Why tell kids to turn off the Xbox and go outside and play, or stress that McDonalds is not one of the four food groups, when they can take a pill for the rest of their lives, instead?

It may take a bit more work to change your family’s lifestyle into one that promotes activity and certainly, eating healthy means spending a bit more time reading labels at the grocery store and planning meals that include natural, whole grain foods and fruits and vegetables. But isn’t it worth it to raise children who can grow up prescription drug-free?

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The American Academy of Pediatrics says that children under two should not watch any TV. Thanks for the extra mom guilt, AAP.

This recommendation was clearly not written by a single mom who needed to cook dinner, and considered it the lesser of two evils to plop her toddler in front of Bob the Builder so he would stay put and not get under her feet and have boiling water tipped on his head.

I don’t know if there’s an AAP recommendation against dropping boiling water on your kid, and whether it was considered when they drafted the TV recommendation, but they should have.

I’m not in favor of unrestricted TV watching, or having it burbling in the background all the time. Just about the only time my son watches television is ten minutes every other day when I’m cooking, or when I had a horrendous cold and ear infection and couldn’t move without the room spinning.

I just think it’s a bit draconian to say no TV ever. Sitting until their eyes go square and their brain starts dribbling out of their ear = bad. A couple of minutes of child-friendly TV = not bad.

Especially if you watch it with them, and talk about the show, ask them questions, and talk about what the message of the show was – most kids programs have one, like sharing or helping. If your kid starts picking up stuff he dropped because someone in Clifford the Big Red Dog did, that’s great, and it doesn’t matter where he got the idea.

I think my job as a parent is to set an example of healthy TV watching – turn it on for a particular show, watch that show, turn it off, go do something else. And I hope that will stick with him, and he won’t be a couch potato when he grows up.