Friday, August 10th, 2012
You’ve heard it before: Schools across the U.S. just aren’t at the same academic level as other global leaders, including China, South Korea, and Finland. Although some state-led initiatives have made their way into the mix, some schools are deciding to put the students’ — and our future leaders — fate into their own hands.
Cities such as Chicago, Boston, and Phoenix are lengthening their school days and school years in efforts to increase the amount of time students spend in the classroom. Lengthening the academic year by 10 days or more, schools hope shorter summer vacations will help kids better remember what they learned during the school year.
And according to a report from the National Center on Time and Learning, it’s starting to pay off. Schools with longer academic years report higher graduation rates and higher test scores than those still abiding by the 180-day year.
With all that extra time in the classroom, your child is bound to bring home an endless list of yucky germs. Take a look at our tips to keep him healthy here so he can spend more time at school and less time on the couch (and we know you like that idea!).
Image: Children at school classroom via Shuttershock
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Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Note: This guest post is by Dr. Alanna Levine, a pediatrician and mom of two children. She is partnering with Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, makers of Children’s Advil®, this cold and flu season on a fever education program.
With cold and flu season underway, many parents will have concerns when caring for their sick, feverish children. New national surveys of parents and pediatricians reveal that the actions many parents take to alleviate their child’s fever are not always in line with the most current recommendations made by doctors. Recently, the makers of Children’s Advil® conducted two online surveys, one given to 1,000 parents to find out how they treated their children’s fevers and a follow-up survey given to 250 pediatricians on their views of parents’ misperceptions and where education was needed. Based on the “Dose of Reality” study, follow the advice below to treat your child’s fever in safe ways.
DO:
1) Dose based on weight. The preferred way to dose a children’s fever reducer is to dose based on your child’s weight, yet more than one-third of parents (36 percent) surveyed dose based on their child’s age. Follow the dosing instructions on the medicine label, but if your child’s age and weight don’t match up, follow the weight dose. If you don’t know your child’s weight, follow the age dose.
2) Use a long lasting fever-reducing medication. Remember that the main goal of giving your child a fever reducer is to make him more comfortable, not to bring the temperature down to normal. It’s important to consider how long a medication will last. For example, products containing ibuprofen (like Children’s Advil®) provide up to eight hours of relief with just one dose.
3) Wait 24 hours after the fever breaks before sending a child back to school or daycare. More than half of the parents surveyed admitted to sending their child back to class less than 24 hours after the fever broke. Pediatricians advise that parents keep their child home from school or daycare until the she is fever-free for at least 24 hours.
DON’T:
1) Worry. Fever is the body’s normal response to an underlying infection and parents should talk to the pediatrician about the proper treatment. Definitely call the doctor if: a child is under three months of age and has a fever of 100 degrees or more; a child has a high fever over 103 degrees; or a child has had a persistent fever for more than a few days.
2) Give adult medication to a child. Nearly a quarter of the parents from the survey gave their child an adult over-the-counter medication and estimated the dose. This is dangerous. Children are not mini-adults and should only be given medication that has been formulated for them, unless specifically advised by the pediatrician.
3) Wake a child at night just to give fever medication. Pediatricians believe that feverish children who are sleeping comfortably should not be awakened to take fever medication. Instead, close monitoring is a good idea and parents should always check with the pediatrician.
For more information and a $1 coupon for Children’s Advil, visit www.childrensadvil.com or Facebook.com/ChildrensAdvil.
More about treating your children’s symptoms on Parents.com
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Children's Advil, cold and flu season, colds, fever, fever treatment, flu prevention, health, Health & Safety, sickness, treating fever | Categories:
GoodyBlog, Health & Safety
Monday, November 30th, 2009
Slow down: The response to the rise of the helicopter parent. Time
Your pediatrician’s necktie: Could it be making your child sick? Wall Street Journal
It’s time to stop smoking! The decline in the smoking rate among Americans has stalled and there was even a hint of an increase last year, according to the CDC. New York Times
Cafeteria scare! Agriculture chief promises to tell school districts when the government suspects food supplies are contaminated. USA Today
Four percent of U.S. kids now have food allergies, according to a new study. Los Angeles Times
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