How to identify, treat and prevent head lice.

By Amy Chinian
We’ve all been there – your child starts scratching her head or you hear that she has been around someone who has it. But don’t fret! We talked to lice expert Amy Chinian, owner of My Hair Helpers, to get the scoop about how to get rid of these little creatures for good.

Q: What’s the best way to check my child for lice?
A: In a spray bottle, add water and peppermint conditioner (lice hate mint), and spray your child’s hair thoroughly – this stops anything from moving in the hair. Then, use the Lice Eliminator Comb (a spiral tooth metal comb) to comb through each section of the hair, looking for evidence of eggs, nits, or live bugs. If your child does have lice, notify family members, schools, friends, and acquaintances. (more…)

By Scott Myers
The numbers are scary. I mean, am I really old enough to have been working with children for 30 years? All kidding aside, the numbers about our children’s health and fitness are scary. I want to share some of the numbers and information:
• Obesity is the most prevalent nutritional disease of children and adolescents in the U. S.

• A child’s potential to develop strength, endurance and physical skill increases at an exponential rate the first two years of life.

• Children are motivated by fun. They’ll do just about anything if it’s playful, including exercise.

• Children who are physically fit are absent from school less frequently and may perform better academically.

• Research shows that children’s muscles develop in many different ways and perform specific roles and movements. Exercise and activity help a child activate all the muscles in his body, which helps him become more coordinated and able. (more…)

How to know when your child needs glasses.

Q: When is the right age for children to have a proper eye exam?

A: Dr. Super has examined children as young as newborns however we typically recommend that children come in for their first comprehensive eye exam around the time they’re starting school – say 4 or 5 years old.

Please note that a comprehensive eye exam is very different than the basic vision test your pediatrician might do. An optometrist like Dr. Super uses state of the art equipment to scan eyes for medical health in addition to being able to detect some learning disabilities, and to provide more accurate vision assessments.

Q: How long does the initial exam take?

A: An initial comprehensive eye exam typically takes about 30 minutes to an hour. (more…)

By Nancy Macnamara, M.Ed.
Getting back to the routine and rigor of school after a summer break that’s been filled with relaxation and fun-in-the-sun activities can be quite an adjustment, even for those kids who love school. Change can be difficult, no matter how exciting and happy we are to be going through it. You can help ease some of the anxiety that comes with this change by taking steps to anticipate what will trigger uneasiness in your child as the first day of school approaches. (more…)

By Tanya Streeter
I can’t protect my children. It’s as simple as that. In fact, it’s worse than that. I have unwittingly poisoned them….BEFORE THEY WERE BORN. That’s the reality of the human health impact of plastic pollution.

This stark fact turned my stomach and made my head spin. I was already a mother of one very lovely redheaded daughter, and wading through yet another round of IVF in my journey to conceive our sweet son when, whilst shooting scenes for “A Plastic Ocean” (available on iTunes), I learned there is one way it’s thought that we are able to reduce toxins already accumulated in our bodies: by reducing our exposure to plastics…really. I suppose that’s a little piece of good news: the possibility that we can reduce our levels of those toxins, right? Well, when I say “we”, I mean us women. You see, men can’t. Want to know why? Because they can’t have babies. (more…)

By Elissa Goodman
Every mom I know has a vacation horror story…sick kid on the plane, a little one that either can’t go or can’t stop going, the whole family that ended up with food poisoning. In my own experience, I have one child who was born to travel and another child that gets very thrown off by the change in routine.

It’s a balancing act every time we hit the road.

The combination of stress, exposure to travel germs, changing routines, and nutritional challenges take a toll on the health of the whole family. Along the way of managing my own travel schedule and bringing the kids along, I’ve picked up a few tips that make the process a little less stressful. (more…)

By Jourdan Rystrom
The SaunaPod is a modern-day evolution of infrared wraps and wood saunas utilizing near and far infrared light therapy. Both fast and slow wavelength light permeate and heat the skin from the inside out, without heating the surrounding air. Traditional saunas heat the air, which in turn heats the body from the outside at temperatures that range from 180 to 220 degrees. The infrared SaunaPod’s novel heating method coupled with the fact that the user can breathe fresh room temperature air affords special healing properties. Benefits range from skin, detox, diet, pain and stress relief. Longer treatment times and greater detoxifying effects are just a few of the benefits reaped from this state-of-the-art heating method. The longer you spend detoxifying your body, the greater the tension is released. (more…)

By Kate Carr
We’ve all had personal or professional experiences that are so meaningful that we’ll remember them forever. I’ll never forget walking through South Africa with a group of people all working to make sure babies were born HIV-free and that their mothers stayed healthy and could care for their children. I’ve also walked hand-in-hand with brain cancer survivors and cheered on marathon runners to raise awareness for many worthwhile causes.

There is nothing more empowering than being part of a sea of people committed to saving lives. It’s those moments that inspired Safe Kids to find a way to highlight our cause by giving all parents a chance to come together around the one thing we care about most: our kids. (more…)

By Fern Langham
More and more women, especially hardworking moms, are experiencing thyroid and hormone imbalances – which manifest as unfavorable and un-sexy symptoms such as weight gain, brain fog and anxiety. Quickly and deservedly so, women become disheartened and down-trodden by these symptoms, perhaps even angry, confused or exasperated at the ways in which their body is ‘failing them.’ Yet oftentimes women keep pushing their bodies, going and going and going, in a desperate bid to keep up with all the things they wish to accomplish everyday… and who can blame us? Modern life calls for heavy expectations on women, both from society and frequently, ourselves too. Too often we are expected to be super-woman; donning our capes and flying off into the world, keeping everything running just-so. But what is providing our fuel? What is nourishing us? (more…)