Parent Extremis

Have you gotten a flu shot yet? Have you gotten one for your children? The Flu is more dangerous for children than a common cold. When they are under the age of five influenza can frequently send children to the hospital for dangerously high fevers and dehydration. Complications occur most often in children younger than two. Children with asthma and diabetes are at especially high risk for complications. The CDC reports that during the 2007-2008 flu season, 86 children died from flu-related complications.

You do not have to get the flu.

There is a vaccine. You have to get vaccinated every year for a new strain of flu. The virus mutates from year to year and that is why a vaccine from last year won’t protect you this flu season. The CDC recommends that all children over the age of six months get a flu vaccine.

The first time a child under the age of nine gets a flu vaccine he will need two doses of vaccine given at least 28 days apart or more. The first dose “primes the immune system and the second dose provides actual protection. My own pediatrician explained to me that young children have immature immune systems and in order to have complete immunity to the flu virus, they need two doses of vaccine.

The sooner you get vaccinated each year the better. If you find it is November or even December you can still get a vaccine. The peak of flu season isn’t until later in the winter. It’s never too late. Get the vaccine. You can get it at your doctor’s office or even more easily at a local grocery store pharmacy or local drug store flu clinic.

SOURCE

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in conjunction with Carter’s are advising parents that their clothing with tag-less heat transfered labels are causing rashes in some children. A small percentage of babies and children have developed rashes on their upper back and neck. The affected clothing was manufactured in various countries and sold at Carter’s stores and other retail chains as well.

The clothing that is causing this rash is associated with the Carter’s Fall 2007 line of clothing. It uses a label on the inside back of the garment that has a raised surface with a solid background. This advisory does not apply to the current product lines that use a label with a stenciled background. See the photo below for an image of the label.

If your child develops a rash stop wearing the garment and if the rash persists contact your pediatrician. Some doctors will recommend applying a little bit of anti-itch cream or a moisturizing cream like Aquaphor.

These labels are safe and are not the ones included in this advisory.

Babies and young children are also very susceptible to rashes and a variety of skin conditions including baby acne, eczema and impetigo.

Babies and children have very delicate skin and soon after birth it is common for them to get minor rashes and bumps on their skin that don’t offend them.  However, more severe rashes and allergies are also all too common and require diet modification and sometimes antibiotics.  If you aren’t sure what is appearing on your baby or child’s skin you should see your pediatrician for a diagnosis.

Once again I am taking a break from parenting issues to pass along some serious information that might help save your baby or the life of a baby you know.  Please please read below and make sure you do not have any of these products. These recalls are direct from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC.  You can click on the link for further information about what to do if you have one of these recalled products.

First, there was a recall of 2,000 Convertible Cribs by Playkids USA.  This crib can entrap and suffocate an infant, and in fact, a five-month old baby in Brooklyn died in August as a direct result of this faulty product.  The sides of these cribs are made of mesh that expands.   A gap can open up between the mattress and the side and an infant can slip between the side and mattress.   With any crib or pack n’ play be sure that the mattress is very tight fitting.  Mesh sides are designed so that a child who rolls over and cannot roll back is able to breathe through the mesh siding.  But that mesh should be very tight.

There was also a recall of about 800 Baby Walkers made by the My Way Corporation of San Juan, Puerto Rico.  These walkers were sold exclusively in Puerto Rico too.  The hazard of this walker is that it does not meet the voluntary standard size and can fit through a standard size doorway.  It is also not designed to stop at the edge of a stair as most walkers are nowadays.

I’m not a big fan of following any “method” of parenting to a -T-. I feel more strongly that each child’s personality needs different kinds of care and stimulation and when you claim to follow a certain method you are closing off your options to other parenting resources that might actually make sense to you.

Authoritative Parenting is often seen as the evil step-sister of Attachment Parenting. Authoritative Parenting is built on two components, Parental Responsiveness and Parental Demandingness. This can be seen as love, warmth and nurturing VERSUS discipline and control. The parents have to choose how they balance this concept. Some opt for much more demanding and control and others act with a majority of love and warmth with only occasional control.

According to a University of Minnesota publication here is the core of Authoritative Parenting:

Parental Responsiveness (love, warmth, nurturance): Parental responsiveness is the extent to which parents respond to the child’s needs in an accepting, supportive manner. It is a very powerful force in the development of children, and most children probably do not get enough. Nurturance helps children feel loved, secure, and cared about, and it fosters children’s acceptance of discipline and parental demands. There are many ways to respond and nurture children, including listening attentively spending time with children, being available, and giving more attention to that which pleases and less to that which does not (”catch them being good”).

Parental Demandingness (discipline, control) Demandingness is the extent to which a parent expects and demands responsible behavior from children. This dimension includes both setting and enforcing rules or limits on children. In order to be enforced, rules must be clear, reasonable, developmentally appropriate, fair and just, mutually agreed upon, flexible, and emphasize what to do rather just what not to do. Enforcement of rules is much more than just punishment. Indeed, punishment is probably the least effective of the alternatives available. Monitoring and understanding children’s behavior, preventing misbehavior, rewarding good behavior, and guidance are more effective tools.

Links are, in my opinions the BEST baby item out there. Of course everyone has a favorite item but I found these to be endlessly useful for a long period of time. They are a safe toy, a simple toy, with many uses.

You can link a few of these together and they are perfect little textured-multi-colored easy-to-hold “toys” perfect for newborns, babies and toddlers.  I love these multi-purpose, all-age toys.

They are made from molded plastic which is not known to have lead, a common concern these days. You can clean them with a disinfectant-wipe or just toss them in the dishwasher or a pot of boiling water for a few minutes.

I keep a few links hooked together in the car as a toy while we drive. I also keep a few in the diaper bag, a great distraction when we’re in line at the grocery and the baby just needs a distraction NOW! And they also are excellent when you are in the teething stage because the plastic is easy for little hands to hold onto and “chew”.

Links are also good for LINKING other toys to an object for entertainment purposes. You can use a few links to hold a stuffed animal toy to the edge of a stroller. And since you can “link” them toys won’t drop on the floor.

There are a bunch of different brands that make a variation of the link: Fisher Price, Kids II, and Sassy’s links are BPA-free.

They retail for between $3.99 and $5.99 a package.

It’s no secret that I like to make a big deal about product safety. It’s a big concern of mine for many reasons of which I won’t bore you with now except to say that my dad is kind of a big deal and he makes decisions that are saving lives. Children’s lives.

When I come across some good data I like to share that with my readers. The best way to keep kids safe from inevitable product failures and product misuse is to spread the word.

There is no end in sight to the number of options you have when looking for baby gear. The stroller, crib and car seat options are endless and often mind-boggling for a mother-to-be. The price ranges are vast too, but expensive DOES NOT MEAN safer. There are $500 highchairs that collapse with kids in them. There are also $60 car seats that get recalled because the LATCH straps fails to tighten correctly.

There are 7,300 injuries a year caused by high chairs. (7,300 is the number that is REPORTED, there could be more) Most often, babies will tip over, and slip out through the bottom and get strangled by the waist belt in the process. When you are in the store looking for a high chair, ignore what the store says is the “mot popular” chair. Also ignore the cutest chair. There are more important safety guidelines to consider before you look at superficial details like pattern and style.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE IN A HIGHCHAIR

* Make sure the chair has a wide base, that the legs are spread out and sturdy, this gives the chair a lower center of gravity and a reduced chance of tipping over. In the store, give the chair a push and see if it can tip easily.

* Always lock the chair before putting your child in it.

* Buckle all the crotch straps and keep them comfortably snug.

* Don’t stray too far from a child in a high chair. It is only a semi-restraint. Children are flexible and curious and determined. Often they will get one leg out of a strap and then they can climb over the top.

* Don’t let other children play around the high chair while a baby is in it.

* Don’t trust a high chair to keep your child safe, you must keep an eye on the kid at all times.

SOURCE: Parenting Magazine April 2008

I have one car seat.  And we own two cars.  Nevermind that fact because we just keep the car seat with the baby, by which I mean the CRV with the professionally-installed car seat stays wherever the baby is staying.   Also, Marc’s car is a two-door and I cannot imagine crawling into the back seat with a twenty-two pounder, kneeling on the floor and wrangling him into the seat without completely losing my sanity.

We are going to Florida later this Fall to visit my in-laws for a week.  We will need a car seat, duh!  Florida may not have a helmet law but you can be sure that my child will be locked into a very safe car seat no matter what state-law requires.  Oh by the way FLORIDA, a four-year old is not large enough to be safely restrained by a regular seatbelt, but  that’s a discussion for another time.

You don’t have to get the Britax Marathon (retail: $299) to have a safe seat for your child.  There are seats for less than $100 that meet all necessary safety standards.   I am referring to convertible seats, they are the seats that are rated for a 5-pound baby up to a 40-50-or even 60-lb toddler.  They can be moved from rear-facing to front-facing,  when your child is over one year of age.   Most people really like these seats because of their versatility and the fact that they are useful for several years.

I am planning to get a second car seat for my in-laws car, an Evenflo Titan Elite maybe?  I particularly like this seat because it is rated front-facing for up to 50 lbs, and I think that will buy us an extra year of use with Noah.

For more in-depth information about this subject, this article published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration highlights some of the issues in finding a good safety seat for children and particularly, the types of injuries children often suffer.  There are some graphic pictures in this link.

What about you?  Do you recommend any particular car seats?  Do you strongly NOT recommend a certain one?  There are tons of different websites for safety ratings and personal reviews but from a simple usability standpoint, what’s your favorite? Why?

I just got an email from another blogger who has a baby the same age as Noah and after reading one of my postings about finally getting the baby to sleep for a nice long period of time, things are about to hit the fan because it is just about TEETHING time. Can I get a collective sigh of URGH.

I think the baby is starting the whole dreaded teething phase. He drools like a fountain and gnaws excessively on his hand, my hand, my shoulder, the dirty washcloth in the bathtub, you get the idea. His top row of gums have puffed up in the shape of little baby teeth. The bottom hasn’t shown too much action so far.

Babies can start teething as early as three months and some don’t show any signs of teeth appearing at their one year birthday but for most babies, the little nubs start cutting through that soft gum tissue somewhere around seven months of age, just for an average.

Sometimes breastfed babies will start to bite when they are teething. They are not doing it to hurt you, but rather because their gums are sore and biting down feels good but rest assured you can teach them not to bite. Moxie has written a good piece about breastfed biters.

The teething ring pictured at the top of this article is made out of all natural maple wood. It is made in the United States and is free of chemicals, most importantly, lead but also there is no potentially toxic gel inside. It is sold on Amazon.

When your baby starts teething and you want to offer some organic means of gum soothing, consider offering them a washcloth damp with cool water at room temperature or one that has been refrigerated for awhile. The cool sensation will gently and naturally numb their gums. Some babies will take to chewing on a pacifier. Even if the baby hasn’t liked a paci in the past, consider showing them they they can chew on it now. Sippie cup spouts are just about the right size to be chewed on. Overall, just choose something safe and large (READ: NON-CHOKE-ABLE) that your baby likes to chew on. Anything that takes the edge off of their discomfort is a good option.

There are also a hot of over-the-counter medicines including Tylenol and Orajel, a benzocaine-product. It is recommended that you speak with your pediatrician before offering any of these products.

I easily get addicted to various television shows although my loyalty is often short lived. Right now I am loving Jon & Kate Plus 8. They have eight kids, two sets of multiples, twin girls who are six years old and six, yes, SIX three year olds. Honestly, when I watch this show it makes me realize that if I am overwhelmed by my ONE baby I need to buck up baby ’cause this woman is managing EIGHT kids.

It’s human nature to compare ourselves to others and evaluate our performances. Why not do so with a reality-television family who really does make reality-tv. There is nothing easy about 8 kids. And if they had nannies and help it would be a television show. They are quite real and very inspirational at that.

I am always striving to streamline my life, get organized, plan ahead, shop sales you know and be a better perfect wife and mother. Kate is full of good tips and hints. I mean, you have to get good at time management with eight kids, no?

You can catch an episode on TLC. Visit the website for times.

Sometimes after you post something on the Internet the thing you swore has never happened, happens. And you feel like a total fool.

Behold the power of silicone: