How to recognize a BULLY

Recently we had a question on our facebook account about how to recognize bulling at school. Here is some great suggestions on how to see if there is a problem. Remember that any of our doctors would be happy to help you with any situations or questions that you may have. We hope you are having a good end to summer or start to school

Bullying 
Bullying is when one child picks on another child repeatedly. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social. It can happen at school, on the playground, on the school bus, in the neighborhood, or over the Internet.

When Your Child Is Bullied

• Help your child learn how to respond by teaching your child how to:
• Look the bully in the eye.
• Stand tall and stay calm in a difficult situation.
• Walk away.
• Teach your child how to say in a firm voice. 
• "I don't like what you are doing."
• "Please do NOT talk to me like that."
• "Why would you say that?" 
• Teach your child when and how to ask for help. 
• Encourage your child to make friends with other children. 
• Support activities that interest your child. 
• Alert school officials to the problems and work with them on solutions. 
• Make sure an adult who knows about the bullying can watch out for your child's safety and well-being when you cannot be there.

When Your Child Is the Bully 

• Be sure your child knows that bullying is never OK.
• Set firm and consistent limits on your child's aggressive behavior. 
• Be a positive role mode. Show children they can get what they want without teasing, threatening or hurting someone. 
• Use effective, non-physical discipline, such as loss of privileges. 
• Develop practical solutions with the school principal, teachers, counselors, and parents of the children your child has bullied.

When Your Child Is a Bystander

• Tell your child not to cheer on or even quietly watch bullying. 
• Encourage your child to tell a trusted adult about the bullying. 
• Help your child support other children who may be bullied. Encourage your child to include these children in activities. 
• Encourage your child to join with others in telling bullies to stop

Teach your child to be safe around dogs

Each year, almost five million people are bitten or attacked by dogs. Children are frequent victims of dog bites. In fact, 60 percent of all dog bites victims are children under the age of 12. Tragically of the 33 dog bites that resulted in death last year, 20 of these fatalities were young children.

Remember these two things to teach your children
- Teach young children to be careful around pets and to NEVER approach a dog they do not know.
-Always ask the dog's owner for permission before petting any dog.

For more information visit American Veterinary Medical Association at AVMA.org

**Thanks Dr Lynch for this great reminder

Reminder to use correct booster and car seats

A new article out by the American Journal of Preventive Medicines says : Few Americans follow recommended us of child passenger restraints:Researchers analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 2007 to 2009 and found that the number of Americans using appropriate automobile child restraints was low. The AAP recommends that children use rear-facing car seats until age 2, but the study found that few of them remain in those seats after age 1. The findings appear in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

To read the full article click HERE

As a reminder:
Utah has Child Safety Seat Inspection Stations in every community throughout Utah that work to educate families about the proper use of child safety seats.  Many of these Inspection Stations offer child safety seats and booster seats at a reduced cost to low-income families. To find the nearest location, call the Primary Children's Car Seat Hot Line 801-662-CARS or visit these informative web sites:

• Safe Kids Utah
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Utah Department of Public Safety
• Keeping Kids Safe During Crashes

We know you want to keep your children safe and we want to help. If you have any questions please ask your pediatrician or visit one of these great websites.

Back to school check list

Back to school is here! Some of you are already back in school while others have just a few short weeks! No matter what grade your child is about to enter, there’s the yearly back-to-school checklist of to-dos: shopping for school supplies, filling out permission forms, and the pediatric checkup.
While it may not seem as urgent, a yearly physical exam by your pediatrician is an important part of your child’s health care. The back-to-school season is a convenient time for putting the exam on your family’s schedule. The AAP has some great suggestions on why you need a Well Child Exam. Please call our office to schedule one today! You never know when you will need one and to be better prepared is always the best route to go.

Beyond the Athlete’s Physical

“Back-to-school checkups are often the only visit most kids and teenagers have with their doctor every year,” says Paul Stricker, M.D., FAAP, and author of Sports Success Rx! Your Child’s Prescription for the Best Experience. “The annual physical gives the pediatrician a chance to give the child a thorough physical exam. It’s also a good chance to address important questions, especially with teenagers, including adolescent issues of drinking, smoking, drugs, sexual activity, and depression.”
Children involved in school athletic programs often receive a sports-specific exam through the school. These exams are good at screening for potential athletic health problems. But Stricker points out that the school sports physicals alone tend not to address the child’s overall health.
“The mass school physical can certainly provide a quick identification of immediate danger to a child in relation to the child’s participation in sports,” he says. “But it is not a substitute for a general physical performed by the family pediatrician. Mass physicals are not as detailed or in-depth as a pediatrician’s exam. Of course, there’s nothing wrong at all with the child having both a pediatric exam with the family doctor and the school-sponsored sports exam.”

Building a Medical History

Stricker reminds parents that the school sports exam doesn’t get into the detailed medical history that the pediatrician knows. “The continuity of regular physical exams is invaluable,” Stricker says. “Having a long-term history with a child or adolescent gives the doctor the awareness of the child’s progress and development over time. This helps the doctor detect emerging problems, as well as being informed by the detail of the patient’s history, such as important past illnesses or injuries the child may forget to mention on the sports physical questionnaire.”
That detail includes immunization records. “A school exam will generally include a check box asking whether all vaccinations are up-to-date, requiring the parents to remember whether or not they are. The family pediatrician will have accurate records.”

Total Teen Health

Adolescence is a time when vital changes are taking place. “It’s important to have your child see the pediatrician during the transition years from later childhood to puberty,” Stricker says. “That is in terms of both development and the aches and pains your child sometimes feels. It also provides the pediatrician a sense of your child’s level of self-esteem and emotional balance.”
The annual pediatric exam also offers the doctor time to provide wellness guidance and advice. This has become critical as the nation wrestles with the childhood obesity epidemic. “Certainly pediatricians are paying more attention to obesity and related issues,” Stricker says. In addition to monitoring heart and blood pressure and testing for diabetes, pediatricians can use this annual visit with your child to discuss diet and exercise options.
“We can talk with the child and the parents about safe approaches to transitioning from little or no exercise to a sound, achievable exercise program,” he says.

Examining the Young Athlete

The other side of the exercise issue is the student athlete who is already involved in an exercise and training program. “Overuse and overtraining injuries are huge problems,” Stricker says. “They’re on the brink of becoming a national epidemic nearly as large as obesity.”
The doctor’s annual exam of a young athlete should be similar to one for any other child, Stricker says. But he adds that most pediatricians will address some sports-specific issues, including injuries, nutrition, training and exercise programs, and even attitudes in the course of the exam.
“Sports can improve a child’s self-esteem,” he says. “But they can also harm it. If there’s too much pressure, if there are brewing emotional issues, if the child is involved in the sport because of parent or peer pressure — anything like this can become an issue that affects the young athlete’s well being.”

Getting the Balance Right

Stricker is quick to point out that those issues are not limited to children involved in athletics. “Whatever the child’s interest — sports, academics, the arts — we want to be sure that the interest is a healthy one, and that it’s balanced with the other aspects of the child’s life.” A healthy childhood and adolescence calls for balancing home life, school, social activities, sports, and extracurricular pursuits. This is not easy, especially during a time when the child is passing through the years of growth, learning, exploration, and emotional and physical development. Which is all the more reason to set aside one day during each of those years for your child to see the pediatrician.
This article was featured in Healthy Children Magazine. To view the full issue, click here.

**thanks to healthychildren.org for this great link

August is National Immunization Awareness Month

August is National Immunization Awareness Month. This month we will giving you different resources to highlight the importance of keeping all members of the family up-to-date on recommended immunizations. It is also a great time to remember to schedule your children for Well Child Exams so we can update there immunization status.

The following schedules indicate the recommended ages for routine administration of currently licensed vaccines, as of February 1, 2012, for children. Any dose not administered at the recommended age should be administered at a subsequent visit, when indicated and feasible.

CLICK HERE FOR CURRENT IMMUNIZATION GUIDELINES

Remember if you have any questions about immunizations your pediatrician would be happy to discuss it with you.

Educational Class rescheduled

We are going to be changing the Educational Class to Tuesday Sept 25 instead of  Weds, August 1st:)...We are so excited for this great night and needed to reschedule so more people can come when they are not off vacationing! School will be in soon and it will be a perfect time to give you more information about educational tools! More details to come soon :)....

Travel tip with children: AAP suggestions

Traveling with children can be a delight and a challenge. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has the following tips for safe and stress-free family travel.

Traveling by Airplane

• Allow your family extra time to get through security - especially when traveling with younger children.
• Have children wear shoes and outer layers of clothing that are easy to take off for security screening.
• Strollers can be brought through airport security and gate-checked to make travel with small children easier.
• Talk to your children about the security screening process before coming to the airport. Let them know that bags (backpack, dolls, etc.) must be put in the X ray machine and will come out the other end and be returned to them.
• Discuss the fact that it’s against the law to make threats such as; “I have a bomb in my bag.” Threats made jokingly (even by a child) can delay the entire family and could result in fines.
• Arrange to have a car seat at your destination or bring your own along. Airlines will typically allow families to bring a child’s car seat as an extra luggage item with no additional luggage expense.
• When traveling on an airplane, a child is best protected when properly restrained in a car seat appropriate for the age, weight and height of the child until the child weighs more than 40 lbs. and can use the aircraft seat belt. The car seat should have a label noting that it is FAA-approved. Belt-positioning booster seats cannot be used on airplanes, but they can be checked as luggage (usually without baggage fees) for use in rental cars and taxis.
• Although the FAA allows children under age 2 to be held on an adult’s lap, the AAP recommends that families explore options to ensure that each child has her own seat. If it is not feasible to purchase a ticket for a small child, try to select a flight that is likely to have empty seats.
• Pack a bag of toys and snacks to keep your child occupied during the flight.
• In order to decrease ear pain during descent, encourage your infant to nurse or suck on a bottle. Older children can try chewing gum or drinking liquids with a straw.
• Wash hands frequently, and consider bringing hand-washing gel to prevent illnesses during travel.
• Consult your pediatrician before flying with a newborn or infant who has chronic heart or lung problems or with upper or lower respiratory symptoms.
• Consult your pediatrician if flying within 2 weeks of an episode of an ear infection or ear surgery. 

International Travel

• If traveling internationally, check with your doctor to see if your child might need additional vaccines, and make sure your child is up-to-date on routine vaccinations.
• In order to avoid jet lag, adjust your child’s sleep schedule 2-3 days before departure. After arrival, children should be encouraged to be active outside or in brightly lit areas during daylight hours to promote adjustment.
• Road travel can be extremely hazardous in developing countries. Make sure each passenger is buckled and that children use the appropriate car seat. Let your driver know you are not in a hurry, and that you will reward safe driving.
• Conditions at hotels and other lodging may not be as safe as those in the U.S. Carefully inspect for exposed wiring, pest poisons, paint chips, or inadequate stairway or balcony railings.
• Stay within arm’s reach of children while swimming, as pools may not have safe, modern drain systems and both pools and beaches may lack lifeguards.
• When traveling, be aware that cribs or play yards provided by hotels may not meet current safety standards. If you have any doubt about the safety of the crib or play yard, ask for a replacement or consider other options.

Traveling by Car

• Always use a car seat for infants and young children. All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car seat until 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the car seat manufacturer. Once your child has outgrown the rear-facing height or weight limit, she should ride in a forward-facing car seat. Click here for updated recommendations on safe car seat travel.
• Most rental car companies can arrange for a car seat if you are unable to bring yours along.
• A child who has outgrown her car seat with a harness (she has reached the top weight or height allowed for her seat, her shoulders are above the top harness slots, or her ears have reached the top of the seat) should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belt fits properly (usually when the child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age).
• All children under 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles.
• Never place a rear-facing car seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has an air bag.
• Set a good example by always wearing a seat belt, even in a taxi.
• Children often become restless or irritable when on a long road trip. Keep them occupied by pointing out interesting sights along the way and by bringing soft, lightweight toys and favorite music for a sing-along.
• Plan to stop driving and give yourself and your child a break about every two hours.
• Never leave your child alone in a car, even for a minute. Temperatures inside the car can reach deadly levels in minutes, and the child can die of heat stroke.
• In addition to a travelers’ health kit, parents should carry safe water and snacks, child-safe hand wipes, diaper rash ointment, and a water- and insect-proof ground sheet for safe play outside.

Sources:

• AAP policy statement: Restraint Use in Aircraft
• HealthyChildren.org: Car Safety Seats, A Guide for Families
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Centers for Disease Control

**info from the AAP and healthchildren.org