To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate: National Infant Immunization Week

Since 1994, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been celebrating National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW). NIIW is about awareness and action in hopes that all infants can be fully immunized against the fourteen vaccine-preventable diseases. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses this week to celebrate the advancements made in both the creation of vaccinations and immunization programs. Many states and politicians are even getting in on the action, for example Governor Brownback of Kansas signed a bill to make NIIW officially recognized in the state and Illinois is even providing free vaccinations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics asserts that vaccines are one of the best health tools available to the public—they are cost effective and have a track record of success. Still, vaccines are one of the most talked about and controversial issues when it comes to keeping children healthy. Data does suggest that providing children with vaccinations is in the best interest of their health. Yet many families, especially in the West and Northwest United States believe that immunization is too dangerous and refuse to put their children at risk; many even suggest it may be a cause of autism (though that assertion has not been medially confirmed). As a result, the United States is now seeing the highest rates of whooping cough and measles that has existed in decades.

As a parent or caregiver, what are your thoughts on vaccination? Will you help to increase awareness of immunization this week? Have your children or charges been vaccinated, or alternatively, would they be if the choice was yours?

Philadelphia's National Nanny Training Day

Nannies, make sure you register for & attend Philadelphia's National Nanny Training Day TOMORROW! The event, in King of Prussia, is co-sponsored by us, The Philadelphia Nanny Network, Inc., and Nannypalooza.com. Registration is only $20 and includes breakfast, lunch, networking, presentations by Wendy Sachs & Sue Downey, an opportunity to join INA at a discounted rate AND prizes & bonuses. Click the link below to register. Can't wait to see you there!

http://nntdphilly.eventbrite.com/

Earth Day—Educate and Participate

This upcoming Sunday, April 22^nd, more than 175 countries across the world will celebrate Earth Day together—making it the most widely celebrated day on Earth. Since the very first Earth Day in 1970, a large part of the focus has been on teaching children. After all, those with the most time left to spend on this planet, also hold the most responsibility for protecting it. As a result, many schools are very involved in educating children about the environment and what they can do to help, but there are many things you can do with your child or charge to celebrate Earth Day at home as well.

Plant a tree. It may seem like the simplest of answers to an Earth Day activity but you can explain how plants help create more oxygen, keeping the air clean.

Recycle. Both by putting items into recycling bins rather than the trash AND by finding ways to reuse items you already have to reduce materials used in the first place.

Sing a song. Or color a page or do an activity. The internet is full of educational Earth Day activities for kids. Find one that works for you (or check out some of our favorites at this link: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/earth.html)

Write a letter. Let the local politicians know how much your child or charge cares about the environment and that they are working hard to preserve the Earth.

Clean up the community. Each Earth Day, most communities have neighborhood activities, such as a park clean-up. Getting involved in these types of activities will make your child/charge feel that they’ve made an impact.

Whatever you choose to do this Earth Day, make sure to pat on the back all of the kids that are making this planet a cleaner and greener place!

In Your Own Words, What Is Autism?

That’s a question that most people probably can’t answer. And those who can will produce a myriad of different responses.

Why?

Because the term autism has morphed time and again throughout the years. It has been applied to the truly autistic but also the developmentally delayed and even those children who are just a little left of center. To confuse matters more, there are several “types” or “levels” of autism that doctors use to classify the level of the disease in their patients, the most common being Asperger’s disorder. Today, 1 in 88 children in the US are diagnosed as autistic, leading many to believe that autism is heavily over-diagnosed. As a result, a portion of the medical community is suggesting it’s time to redefine autism.

The proposed redefinition would eliminate classifications such as Asperger’s with all cases falling under the new “Autism Spectrum Disorder”. Children who are diagnosed will exhibit three types of communication problems and two limited, sometimes non-typical, interests or repetitive behaviors.

Both proponents and opponents of this redefinition have exceptionally strong opinions, as one would probably imagine. Opponents include some parents that are worried their children will lose treatment and other benefits and the “mildly” autistic who suffer from Asperger’s or PDD-NOS (Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified) that do not want to be categorized by umbrella terminology. Proponents include many members of the medical community, including a panel of the American Psychiatric Association.

As a nanny or a parent, has a child you love been diagnosed with Autism? If so, does this emotional connection produce a strong opinion regarding the validity or benefits of the proposed redefinition? What are your thoughts? Will this be beneficial or detrimental to Autistic children?

No matter the outcome, in our opinion there is one glaring benefit of this proposed redefinition—a very important increase in Autism Awareness.

How To Stop A Bully.

Make a difference.

It’s a phrase that’s thrown around a lot. People vow to do it. People encourage others to do it. But what is it that can really “make a difference”?

Well according to a nationwide petition, signed by everyone from Johnny Depp & Meryl Streep to 37,450 Facebook users, the soon-to-be-released documentary, “Bully”, may be just the ticket.

“Bully” is a documentary that features three pre-teens/teens that are suffering through verbal and physical bullying, as well as the parents of two boys who committed bullying-related suicides. The documentary, distributed by The Weinstein Group with a release date of March 30, 2012, is a part of the larger “The Bully Project”.  It was written & produced by Lee Hirsch & Cynthia Lowen and directed by Lee Hirsch. It is meant to educate and prevent future bullying. However, as a result of an abundance of crass language, the film has been given an “R” rating. This bars its intended audience from seeing the documentary that was made to both help and educate them.

Many people are upset by this rating and a petition has even been started to lower the rating from “R” to “PG-13”. The petition has 437,832 signatures (as of noon on 3/20/12) and many petitioners even suggest the film should be required for viewing in Middle Schools and High Schools.

While reducing violence and bullying in our schools needs to be a national priority, is there a cost associated as well? Is it not also important to protect children from things like language, violence and self-harm if they are not being exposed to such issues in their own schools?  Is 11-years old too young to introduce topics such as suicide and sexuality?

In your opinion, should this documentary called “Bully” be given a PG-13 rating?

Wii Need To Get Kids Outside & Involved

A few years back, the Nintendo Wii was being touted as a great form of exercise, especially for kids who would rather play video games than head outside. The games, such as Wii Sports with bowling and boxing, appealed to most everyone from toddlers to adults. Nintendo recognized the success and continued to build upon it. Next was the birth of Dance Dance Revolution and Just Dance. Then came the Wii Fit and Xbox Kinect—these new console add-ons allowed you to take a yoga class or go skiing in your own living room. Indoor exercising had officially become a craze!

Now, the thing about a craze is that it could just taper off into what was once a fad or it could have long lasting effects on culture. This craze is one that we may need to say goodbye to for a variety of reasons. Besides the very obvious lack of fresh air, US researchers are now finding that these games do very little in the way of physical exertion. In fact, the games deemed active (such as Wii Sports and Dance Dance Revolution) result in no more physical activity than those thought of as passive (Mario Kart or Disney’s Sing It). Another issue that has been addressed by experts is the lack of learning experiences children have by getting outside and being part of a team. Kids Sports NSW owner Steve Gordon commented to Fox News, “With real sports you also need to learn how to work with your teammates and you learn the life skills and social skills of how to play in a team.”

So if your kids aren’t getting the benefits of fresh air, exercise or social skills, should you just delete your Mii and call it quits on your love affair with the Wii?

Well, maybe not yet! While it may be lacking in some areas, the Wii can still be a great way for your family to bond and a perfect rainy day boredom buster. The solution is to define the Wii as a fun game to play on the side and ensure that your kids are getting enough fresh air, exercise and exposure to teamwork with relying on Nintendo’s popular gaming system.

Arizona School Sends Students to the Scream Room

Nationwide reports are beginning to surface about Desert Sage Elementary School confining students to a 5x5 padded room as punishment for misbehavior. The scream room, as the Arizona school calls it, even features restraints for especially “difficult” children, including a 7-year-old with special needs. Thankfully, this second-grader was brave enough to share the story of his punishment with his parents.

The young boy described being “restrained” in the room and said he’s been kept in there anywhere from a few minutes to the majority of the day. He went into detail about being forced to eat lunch in the padded cell and not being allowed out to use the bathroom. The Deer Valley School District denies that this special-needs child has ever been detained in the room for an excess of 15 minutes, though they admit he’s received this punishment 17 times between October and February.

Many parents in the school district are outraged at this alternative form of discipline.

It goes without saying that putting a child in a padded room for mildly misbehaving is not the norm in schools. But the larger problem, in my opinion, is that many of the parents were unaware this room existed and was being utilized as a form of punishment; the rest were surprised to find it was more of a cell than a quiet place to cool off. If Desert Sage Elementary School truly thinks this is the most effective way to discipline a disruptive child, they should have presented it more openly to the parents. Another missing piece of the puzzle, I cannot seem to find an answer regarding the school district’s awareness (or lack thereof) of this practice. Were they kept in the dark, as well, and are now scrambling to save face by defending Desert Sage Elementary?

Regardless of whether this is an acceptable form of punishment or not, it is not acceptable for 7-year-olds to be punished in ways their parents have not been made aware of.