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We all know that when you have kids you cant take your eyes off them; sometimes when you do funny things happen as demonstrated in the article don’t take your eyes off them but sometimes tragedy occurs. One of the most recent examples of this was 18 month toddler Brad Kremer who fell from a first floor balcony whilst on holiday in Sardinia. His parents had gone to get changed when he wandered onto the balcony and fell to his death. Another is that of Madeline McCann who was abducted in 2007
So here a few tips to keep your little one safe because we all know that it is impossible to watch them every second:
- If you are in a flat or apartment ensure that there is no way that the toddler can get onto the balcony without supervision, whether you put your child in a playpen, put them in a different room or lock the door is up to you
- Never leave your child alone near water
- If you go on holiday NEVER leave your child unattended
- At the beach set clear boundaries as to where your child can go
- When out and about always arrange a rendezvous point where everyone is to go to if seperated
Whilst it is important to be aware of the potential hazards there is no need to wrap your child in cotton wool otherwise your child will be permanently living in fear.
I don’t know if anyone else has noticed but one of the main assumptions people seem to make is that if the child is bright then they must have pushy parents. In other words a child that is only just above average intelligence is being forced to become a genius. I bet Georgina’s parents got accused of being pushy when she became the youngest member of Mensa! The parents also are accused of applying pressure to the schools to get special treatment. It is not necessarily the case that if you have 2 intelligent parents that the child will be bright. However the odds are greatly increased if the parents are bright, this is usually down to nurture. At present there is no genetic cause for intelligence.
We all know some parents are pushy, these are the ones who will do anything to ensure that their child gets into the best schools etc. That’s not to say that all parents who want the best for their child is pushy I mean the parents who will move house purely to get their child into a specific school.
Some parents have a very able child, and can find it difficult, the easiest way to identify a pushy parent is to listen to the way they talk about their child they are often very smug about their child’s ability. Those that aren’t pushy parents often blame themselves when their child becomes the target of bullies.
Teachers don’t always know how to deal with the children who are exceptionally bright and often deny that the child is bright instead they claim that the child is naughty. In some cases children do act up as a result of boredom if the tasks they are set are not challenging. That is not say that all children who are labelled as naughty at school are exceptionally bright, but you know your child better than anyone else so will be able to tell if they are “being disruptive” as a result of intelligence. Some children are bored by school because the pace is too slow as can be seen in the article about an 8 year old who got an A* in maths!
If anyone reading this has a bright child it can seem hard particularly if your child is constantly needing constant attention and mental stimulation. All I will say to you is don’t worry this is perfectly normal and don’t anyone who tries to tell you that you are pushy any of the other nonsense associated with having a bright child is probably either jealous or don’t understand what it is like to have a very bright child; take it from someone who knows.
The chemical DEET which is found in many insect repellent sprays has been shown to be toxic and can cause fits in children, the current advice is that it should not be used by pregnant women. In research studies DEET blocked the enzyme cholinesterase, which is essential for sending messages between the muscles and the brain which can cause muscle spasms and in severe cases death. Other side effects of DEET are excessive salivation and eye watering.
DEET, is also known as diethyl toluamide, and is used in a many repellent sprays. Initially it was thought that the DEET simply altered the insects sense of smell to prevent them from detected the smell of the human. However on further study it was found that it acts on the enzyme which is present in both insects and mammals. Therefore the idea that it simply modifies insect behaviour is false as it directly inhibits enzyme activity in both mammal and insect nerves, research also shows that DEET interacts and strengthens the toxicity of carbamates, a class of insecticides also known to block acetylcholinesterase.
This research raises questions with regards to the safety of insect repellents, however at present it is mainly based on theory and tests on animals if you are at all concerned speak to a pharmacist or a doctor. Alternatively try alternatives from your health food shop
If their mothers are obese the statistics show that the daughters are 10 times more likely to be overweight; with sons the chance is 6 times more likely that they will be overweight if their father is overweight.
These results came from a study into whether childhood obesity was linked to environmental influences instead of genetic ones. The study involved looking at BMI’s for 226 five-year-olds and their parents. The researchers noted a relationship between the BMI of the children and the same sex parent. However no link was found between the children and the parent of the opposite sex. This suggests that the link is environmental as if it was genetic it would be unlikely to be gender selective.
These findings are not really surprising as it is a logical step that the parents eating habits and lifestyle would influence the child but what is surprising is that it seems to be gender specific. One possible explanation for the relationship between children and same sex parents is that the children use their parents as role models and so model their behaviour on the parent of the same sex.
If this is the case you would have thought that the parents would ensure that they are a positive role model for their children. Also they should take into consideration that the “fat kids” are usually singled out by bullies and are more prone to health problems such as diabetes and heart problems, add into the mix the psychological problems such as low self esteem. It is also worth pointing out that your eating habits can be passed down through the generations so not only are your children affected but your grandkids and great….grandkids.
RPOC stands for retained products of conception. This is where all or part of the placenta or membranes are left in the uterus during the final stage of labour. In most cases this is detected following the examination of the placenta after delivery.
Retained placenta can be caused by:
- failed separation due to failure of uterine contraction or morbid adherence e.g. to a fibroid or scar
- separated but retained due to e.g. a snapped cord contracted uterus, closed cervix
Reports suggest that retained placenta is one of the mosts common causes of postpartum haemorrhage.
There are a number of options for treating RPOC here is the most commonly used
Women with a retained placenta oxytocin injection into the umbilical vein with 20 IU of oxytocin in 20 ml of saline is recommended, followed by proximal clamping of the cord. If the placenta is still retained 30 minutes after oxytocin injection, or sooner if there is concern about the woman’s condition, women should be offered an assessment of the need to remove the placenta. Women should be informed that this assessment can be painful and they should be advised to have analgesia or even anaesthesia for this assessment
It is worth pointing out that this is very rare and that it very rarely causes any problems however in few cases a hysterectomy may be needed as a PPH occurs or a severe infection.
There are claims that over half of the children taking Tamiflu to cure swine flu suffered side effects such as nausea, insomnia and nightmares. The statistics show that 1 in 5 children had a neuropsychiatric side effect, such as poor concentration, inability to think clearly, problems sleeping, and feeling dazed or confused. The research that was carried out was flawed as there was no control group therefore it is impossible to say whether the symptoms were a result of the drug or the virus; however, there were no serious long term side
Participants for the study were selected differently in the three schools. In two schools (one primary and one secondary school) the researchers selected all the classes who were offered prophylaxis, (age 4-11 years in the primary school), and all of one year group in the secondary school (age 13-14 years). In the other secondary school, the questionnaire was offered only to pupils in four of the classes in the year group (age range 11-13 years). This is a flawed sample as there is no fixed criteria for selecting the participants for the research.
Here are a few of the questions that were asked to the sample:
- Whether children who had been offered Tamiflu had taken it?
- How long they took it for?
- Were they taking any other medication with Tamiflu?
- Were there symptoms after taking Tamiflu (including specific gastrointestinal and neuropsychiatric symptoms)?
Out of 256 schoolchildren, 103 replied which is 40% of the participants. The number of responses from the secondary school were higher than those from the primary school. The results show that only 48% of the primary schoolchildren in comparison to the 76%of the secondary schoolchildren. The most common side effects were nausea and vomiting, followed by mild neuropsychiatric effects such as difficulty sleeping, nightmares and poor concentration.
It is worth pointing out that Tamiflu has not been withdrawn and is still used to treat swine flu. All drugs come with side effects and not everybody experiences them, thus suggesting that Tamiflu is no different to any other medicine.
As a parent I know how hard it is to keep a child entertained, especially when money is tight. So here are a few ideas to keep your little one busy without making a massive dent in your wallet:
- Baking – you can make all kinds of things; fairy cakes, crispy cakes and cheese straws.
- Painting, Drawing and Sticking -you can either let them just use water in the garden on a fence or paving slabs or use paint on paper, supermarkets and stationary stores sell all you will need for your little ones to create masterpieces to put on your fridge.
- Playdough – it’s great fun for them and you can use it as a stress relief, here is a recipe to make your own
- Have a few friends round – simple you can relax and catch up with your friends and your child has someone to play with
If you fancy venturing out there are a few ideas ontrips out on a budgetother options include visiting your local library, many of them do story time for toddlers and some organise activities such as treasure hunts or craft sessions.
Another thing I do with my toddler is taking her on nature walks, which is essentially a walk where you point out things like butterflies or other animals and different plants I take a carrier bag with us and some paper and wax crayons. We collect things like acorns, pine cones, leaves etc. The paper as you have probably already guessed is to do wax rubbings, my daughter loves it and we use the things we’ve collected to make collages or we make Christmas tree decorations out of pine cones.
I also take my daughter to indoor play areas these are not usually very expensive and will allow your child to burn off energy when the weather isn’t great. I also take my daughter to a farm, this can be expensive but it depends on the farm, we found one near us that is only £1 per person and if you pay an extra £1 you get a bucket of feed for the animals.
Generally speaking there is plenty of things that you can do without it costing the earth, alot of the things I do with my daughter I found from researching my local area on the internet or talking to other mums or things I enjoyed as a child. It is basically a case of trial and error. If you are new to an area you wont necessarily know anyone there so it may be worth looking for mother and toddler groups or playgroups. When I first moved I found that my health visitor was a great source of information with regards to which groups were good in my local area. The important thing to remember when entertaining your child is to have fun.