School Bags can cause back pain

 

Have you ever tried to lift up a junior high or high school student's backpack? If you have you may realize how heavy it is. Dr Lynch found a great article and wanted to share it. Click on THIS LINK for the study

Also here are Related Stories that are worth the read! Have a great weekend!

• School bags are a pain in the back
• Bungee schoolbag 'may reduce backache'
• Targeted back pain care 'better'

Study: Babies try to lip read

Last week we shared a post with you on how babies comprehend mother's tone of voice. Dr Lynch found this story in the Washington Post that suggest that babies don't just listen but they actually try to lip-read while turning babble into words. Read part of the article here and click below for the full article.

WASHINGTON — Babies don’t learn to talk just from hearing sounds. New research suggests they’re lip-readers too.
It happens during that magical stage when a baby’s babbling gradually changes from gibberish into syllables and eventually into that first “mama” or “dada.”
Florida scientists discovered that starting around age 6 months, babies begin shifting from the intent eye gaze of early infancy to studying mouths when people talk to them.

“The baby in order to imitate you has to figure out how to shape their lips to make that particular sound they’re hearing,” explains developmental psychologist David Lewkowicz of Florida Atlantic University, who led the study being published Monday. “It’s an incredibly complex process.”
Apparently it doesn’t take them too long to absorb the movements that match basic sounds. By their first birthdays, babies start shifting back to look you in the eye again — unless they hear the unfamiliar sounds of a foreign language. Then, they stick with lip-reading a bit longer.
“It’s a pretty intriguing finding,” says University of Iowa psychology professor Bob McMurray, who also studies speech development. The babies “know what they need to know about, and they’re able to deploy their attention to what’s important at that point in development.”
The new research appears in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It offers more evidence that quality face-time with your tot is very important for speech development — more than, say, turning on the latest baby DVD.
It also begs the question of whether babies who turn out to have developmental disorders, including autism, learn to speak the same way, or if they show differences that just might provide an early warning sign......Click here for the full article

**thanks to Washington Post for part of this article

Fact Friday : Kindergartners today Heavier overall

Dr. Lynch wanted to share this article he found. It is a sad reflection on the direction of our American youth, if we don't pay great attention to diet and exercise guidance. "Today's kindergarteners are heavier than kids brought up in the 1970s and 1980s and appear to be on the road to becoming overweight and obese in the years to come, a new study finds It's not just kids who are already overweight getting more and more so, there is an entire shift. Even those who are normal weight are gaining weight," to read the full article click HERE.

So what can you do to help this: We have several old post with great information so click on the following links.

• My plate is the new food pyramid
• F.U.N -Fitness Unity and Nutrition
• Improve Diet and Exercise 

The AAP has a great worksheet that you can down load to assess your child's eating. Click here for the link. What can you do to make sure your child is not becoming a "heavier" child?
**info from usatoday.com
**info from healthychildren.org
and www.willowcreekpediatrics.blogspot.com

Varicella-related deaths in US children plummet thanks to vaccine

Dr Lynch recently found this article and wanted to share it with you.

                         

The use of the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine in the U.S. since 1995 has reduced the death rate from this disease by 97 percent among children and adolescents, according to an analysis of data from the National Center for Health Statistics from 1990-2007.  Because deaths from varicella are relatively few, the major benefit of the vaccine is considered to be the reduction in lost work and medical care associated with cases and severe complications. Varicella deaths are a powerful reminder of the importance of vaccines for prevention. For most of the time period since 1995, a one-dose vaccine was used for children. Since 2006, a two-dose regimen has been recommended. This could possibly eliminate deaths altogether in this age group from the disease in the future. The full article can be read in th August 2011 issue of Pediatrics called  , “Near Elimination of Varicella Deaths in the US Following Implementation of the Childhood Vaccination Program."

Here is some basic information about the Chicken Pox vaccine and why it is important.

Why get vaccinated?

Chickenpox (also called varicella) is a common childhood disease. It is usually mild, but it can be serious, especially in young infants and adults.

• It causes a rash, itching, fever, and tiredness.
• It can lead to severe skin infection, scars, pneumonia, brain damage, or death.
• The chickenpox virus can be spread from person to person through the air, or by contact with fluid from chickenpox blisters.
• A person who has had chickenpox can get a painful rash called shingles years later.
• Before the vaccine, about 11,000 people were hospitalized for chickenpox each year in the United States.
• Before the vaccine, about 100 people died each year as a result of chickenpox in the United States.

Chickenpox vaccine can prevent chickenpox.

Most people who get chickenpox vaccine will not get chickenpox. But if someone who has been vaccinated does get chickenpox, it is usually very mild. They will have fewer blisters, are less likely to have a fever, and will recover faster.

Who should get chickenpox vaccine and when?

Children who have never had chickenpox should get 2 doses of chickenpox vaccine at these ages:

• 1st Dose: 12-15 months of age
• 2nd Dose: 4-6 years of age (may be given earlier, if at least 3 months after the 1st dose) 

To read more about the chicken pox vaccine please click HERE for the full article.
**info from http://www.aapnews.org/, http://www.healthychildren.org/ and http://www.cdc.gov/