Education

Coping with Pregnancy Loss and Infant Death

By Fran SolomonFran SolomonWhen a baby dies before it is born or soon after birth, parents face a difficult emotional task: they must try to say goodbye to someone they had little chance to know. They must accept that a life has ended, even though it barely began.

Common Feelings
Guilt is a common reaction to loss of a child and can be particularly acute for parents who lose an infant or an unborn baby. Parents of unborn babies who die often mistakenly blame themselves for the death. The mother may believe she harmed her baby. Both parents may tell themselves they should have sensed something was wrong. While this is a normal reaction, eventually one must find compassion for themselves and realize that this was not their fault. They were not responsible. (more…)

Health

The Food Battle

By Carol Bovill
carol bovillNutrition is one of the many topics that parents often come to see me about. Questions range from, “How do I know if my child is getting enough nutrition and how can I help create a healthy eater?” to “Can you tell me how I get him or her to eat more fruits and vegetables?” Many pediatricians say to relax; chances are that although your child may be a fussy eater, he or she is still getting adequate overall nutrition for his or her needed growth and development. Parents are still capable of teaching children good eating habits in their formative years. (more…)

Education

Why Are Some Kids Better Readers Than Others?

Three Things Parent Can do to Help

65312487: This series of numbers would be hard to remember.
12345678: This series of numbers is easy to remember.
valChildren who have exposure to a wide range of experiences and information are better readers than children who are not. When people have prior knowledge about a subject, they connect to the words on the page they are reading. If they don’t know anything about the subject, the words have very little meaning.

At Learning Encounters, we see a lot of children who are up on the latest news in sports, music, tech devices, and in general pop culture. Many children, however, have limited knowledge about the world outside their inner circle, and there’s a direct correlation between the exposure a child has to the world and a child’s reading comprehension skills. (more…)

Health

Staying Healthy During the School Year

Are your children prepared to return to school?

By Peter S. Waldstein, M.D., F.A.A.P and Julia A. White, M.D., F.A.A.P
Julia WhiteBack to school time is upon us, which is a great opportunity to make sure your child is ready from a health perspective. It is also a great time to refresh on illness prevention while being at school.

Staying Healthy
Maintaining proper health begins at home. Back to school time is a good excuse to refamiliarize your children on the importance of hand washing at home and school. Most illness is spread through contact, and hand washing has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to prevent your child from becoming ill while at school. Washing before eating, after playtime, and anytime before touching the face, mouth, or eyes is key. If you are not able to wash, you may use hand sanitizer instead. You can consider packing a small travel-sized Purell bottle in your child’s bag to encourage proper hygeine. Also remind your child to cover coughs with the arm. Should your child become ill, he or she should stay home to prevent others from becoming ill. Check with your pediatrician if you are unsure if they should stay home. (more…)

Education

Preparing Your Kids for the School Year

By Nicole Sadighpour
Nicole SadighpourParents can help their children start the school year on the right track by planning ahead, being realistic, and most importantly, by maintaining a positive attitude.

1. Review the materials sent by your child’s school as soon as it arrives. These packets include important information about your child’s teacher, room number, school supply requirements, sign ups for after-school sports and activities, school calendar dates, bus transportation, health and emergency forms, and volunteer opportunities. (more…)

Lifestyle

Fun in the Kitchen with Kids

Teach your kids healthy cooking while they help in the kitchen.

By Joyce Oliveto
Joyce OlivetoI have found that kids like making food. Whether it is kids and their friends, my grandchildren, or when I teach classes for kids on how to prepare healthy foods. They love it. It is easy to have fun in the kitchen with kids. AND it is easy to make food taste good, be nutritious and be healthy at the same time.

Have them wash the veggies and give them a little education while you are preparing. Let them know why we wash veggies. Show them how to use a knife and safely chop veggies.

Here is a recipe created by my granddaughter Alivia. You will also find this recipe in my blog, Living Simply Raw. Have them mix the healthy cookie dough with their hands and shape into individual cookies before baking or dehydrating. All food can be healthy and snacks can be easy to make, delicious and very nutritious at the same time. (more…)