Education

Cultivating Cultural Competency

Trina Moore SouthallBy Dr. Trina Moore-Southall

Have you ever used a product for your child that seemed incredibly challenging or frustrating to use? It is possible that the team used to create the product had no one who actually had children on the team. How about a product for women that is designed by men? A product to help seniors created by millennials that consulted no seniors in the design? It happens.

The most successful and productive teams employ the widest ranges of experiences, identities, and backgrounds. This multicultural skillset begins at a very young age. It is a valuable skill that strengthens throughout our lives. Your child will be a better friend, a better student, a better employee and ultimately a better person if they are culturally intelligent.

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Lifestyle, Travel

A Perfect Family Vacation to Israel

Vacation to Israel

Israel is a well traveled country for Jewish families seeking to connect to their heritage, religion and family roots. Numerous families return yearly to Israel to visit relatives and enjoy a vacation at the same time. Many families choose to also celebrate a Bar/Bat Mitzvah on this occasion.

Puzzle Israel travel experts skilfully built a 10-day winter tour itinerary designed for such families to tour together (this of course includes families that have never visited Israel).

Read more below to learn about this special opportunity for an exciting and meaningful family tour to Israel organized by the boutique travel company – Puzzle Israel.

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Health

Calming Allergies without Harsh Chemicals

Bill SearsBy Bill Sears, MD, America’s Pediatrician

For some children, even the thought of spring makes their eyes burn, itch and water. Their noses and throats also get itchy and uncomfortable. If your child’s symptoms are mild and do not seem to interfere with his life very much, then you really do not need to give any prescription medication.

The immune system plays an important role in the body’s reaction to allergens. Here are some natural, alternative approaches to supporting the immune system and relieving itch-causing symptoms. (more…)

Education

Being Kind is Good for Your Kids

By Dale AtkinsBy Dale Atkins, PhD and Amanda Salzhauer, MSW

Kindness is important because, among the many benefits, studies continue to support that it is positively linked to our happiness, mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health, overall well-being, AND it can give our life meaning. For kids who are engaged in service to others, research shows that they feel better about themselves, have better attitudes towards learning and school (and they do better in school), have improved social skills, and increased civic engagement.

The majority of parents say that they place high value on their children being kind, yet that message can be confusing for children, especially, because they are more often acknowledged for their academic, athletic, and artistic achievements than for their acts of kindness. But when we look at our children through a lens of kindness we see things that often go unnoticed. When we tell our son: “It was thoughtful of you to draw a “get well” picture for your friend Joey when he was in the hospital” or mention to your daughter: “I noticed you filling your hamster’s water bottle. You take good care of her”, we are paying attention to, and acknowledging our kids’ kind behaviors. When we take an extra moment to thank the person who bags our groceries, or when we hold the door for someone behind us, or put our phone away to fully focus on the person with whom we are speaking, we are practicing and modeling kindness. Having these interactions, brief as they may be, gives us an opportunity to connect with others. And our children observe us doing these everyday acts of kindness. (more…)

Health

Natural Ways to Prepare for Spring Cold Season

searsBy Bill Sears, MD

There’s never a convenient time for your child to get sick. While missed school (and work!) days are going to happen, there are steps you can take to minimize them. As a pediatrician and a parent, I’m eager to share strategies to support their immune system so they’ll be less likely to get sick in the first place. I’m also including simple ways to address your child’s cough and cold symptoms that don’t involve medication.

The best prevention strategy is simple regular exercise, sufficient sleep and good nutrition. Help your family maintain a healthy diet, packed with vitamins and nutrients including immune-boosting foods such as fish, citrus fruits and leafy vegetables, to help prevent the onset of illness. And stock up on items such as tissues, vitamin C, throat lozenges, hand sanitizer and disinfectant spray. Keep them in one handy place to make illness prevention even easier. (more…)

Health, Health & Beauty

The Mystery Around Perimenopause

By Dr. Sherry Ross
By the age of 45 or so, there’s a good chance you already considered how perimenopause would affect you. There’s no accident that this period of hormonal disruption has been referring to for years as “the change.” You’ve most likely wondered: how will “the change” change me?

It’s different for everyone, but the constant questions I hear are: Will I have crazy uncontrollable bleeding for weeks on end? Will drenching sweats come on when least expected? Will sex become painful and sexual intimacy a thing of the past? To you all I say hold on there. First let’s talk about what exactly happens in perimenopause.

Perimenopause happens when your ovaries cease to function consistently, thereby upsetting your normal hormonal rhythm. This hormonal change usually happens within a couple years of menopause, but for some it can happen much earlier. The erratic and disruptive symptoms of perimenopause tend, however, to mark the beginning of menopause. Every decade brings about some emotional and physical change, but for women, the decade of one’s forties may pack the biggest punches of all. Between the typical 40-something anxieties of shifting relationships (divorce and dealings with hormonal or college-bound teens), self-esteem issues, job challenges and other midlife stresses, one’s 40s are challenging enough without the hormonal upheaval. In your forties, it’s not just life’s stresses that are affecting you emotionally and physically, it’s “the change,” the symptoms of which include, unfortunately: (more…)

Education

What Do I Need to Know About Concussions

By Dr. Daya Alexander Grant
Daya Alexander GrantWe’ve all been there. Your child falls, hitting her head, and your mind immediately switches into overdrive: Does she have a concussion? Should I take her to the doctor? Will she have long-term brain damage?

With the heightened media attention on concussions in recent years, these concerns are natural.

Let’s address the most frequently asked questions: (more…)

Education

There Ain’t No Proper Way!

The best way to support grieving parents is to let them know that it’s ok to smile, laugh and dance again.

By Ruth Molinari

This is us, a month after Emilio’s passing. That’s right, a month, and there we were smiling. We were attending the Creative Emmys in support of our dear friend, who was nominated for Best Stunt Coordination. We got all dressed up, jumped in a Limo with our best friends, and began the night. I was happy to go! I was eager to step out again. I so desperately wanted to feel normal. That night, we laughed so much, we cheered on our friend, we drank and we DANCED for the first time together. An incredibly powerful moment for the both of us! I felt so grateful. Grateful to feel joyous enough to move my body and dance. I remember looking up at our friends on the dance floor, they rushed over to us and we all huddled together…no words were said…no words were necessary. I felt safe. It’s times like those that get you through it….friends like those who help you hurdle along, without judgement.

I recall around the same time, us having dinner with friends, when an acquaintance of my parents saw us enjoying ourselves at the table. The look on her face said it all! She was so shocked to see us and actually looked disappointed. What that acquaintance did not know is how much I cried that day or cried myself to sleep that night. Is there a proper way to go about all this??! Nothing is natural about outliving your children so I don’t think there is a proper way to go about your business and getting on with your lives. (more…)