Tree climbing can be dangerous and should only be done under close supervision
The warm weather is finally here, which means many kids will be spending more time outside. Playgrounds are a great way for children to get exercise, but while there they should be watched closely to make sure the running and climbing doesn’t end in injury. To keep kids safe while playing outside:
Make sure an adult is always watching
When possible, visit playgrounds built on a soft surface like rubber, bark chips or sand
Dress them in safe play clothes. Scarves, hood draw-stings, necklaces and other dangling accessories can get caught on play equipment. Also, helmets should only be worn during the activity it was designed for. Playing and running with a helmet could cause an accident because it could limit the child’s range of vision.
Riding a bike, skateboard or scooter is another great summer activity, but only when done safely. Most accidents involving children and bicycles, in-line skates and skateboards happen because the child broke a traffic or safety rule. If your child uses a wheeled toy be sure he or she:
Knows the rules of the road:
Always ride on the right side of the road, going the same direction as traffic
Use hand signals to let others know which way he is turning
Stop at all stop signs and red lights
Look both ways before crossing a street or sidewalk Full story »
TheBoston Globe featured a study last week associating frequent dental X-rays with benign brain tumors called meningiomas. Despite the findings, says Man Wai Ng, DDS, MPH, Boston Children’s chief of Dentistry, you should still focus more on your child’s teeth than his or her brain when they’re in the dentist’s chair.
That’s because it’s unlikely that most children will have dental X-rays frequently enough to raise their tumor risk. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), the American Dental Association and the Food and Drug Administration all offer recommendations and guidelines for dental X-rays in children, with a big focus on minimizing X-ray exposure. Full story »
Dr. Claire McCarthy is a primary care physician and the Medical Communications Editor at Children’s Hospital Boston. Along with her blogs here on Thriving, you can find her at the Huffington Post and Boston.com. Follow her on Twitter @drClaire.
A couple of months ago, we sat down as a family to watch the five o’clock news. We never do this, but my 11-year-old had been interviewed and we wanted to watch it together. We were told it would be on in the five o’clock hour, but of course it didn’t come on until 5:55. In those 55 minutes, my 6-year-old watched news about:
A shooting at a school
A suicide bomb in Afghanistan that killed civilians
A policeman shooting another policeman and then shooting himself
A video of teen girls fighting in a high school
A man who escaped from a mental hospital, prompting the community to tell all children to stay inside
A child molester on the loose, including a picture of him
A trial of two men accused of killing four people, including a toddler. Full story »
On June 6, 2011, the Boston Bruins were playing the Vancouver Canucks in game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. Bruins forward Nathan Horton had passed the puck to his teammate Milan Lucic when he was blindsided by the Canucks’s Aaron Rome, who buried his left shoulder into Horton’s face. Horton’s head was spun backwards, down towards the ice. The back of his head was the first part of his body to make contact with the ice. He was knocked unconscious. His arms became rigid. His eyes rolled back in his head. He had a convulsion.
Nathan Horton was concussed.
Concussion is all too common in sports, particularly those, like ice hockey, that involve body-to-body collisions. Yet it’s still somewhat of a medical mystery. Until the last 10 to 15 years, most medical professionals didn’t think concussions posed enough risk to warrant much research. Thus, we know very little about it today.
Although the signs and symptoms of a concussion can be serious, as seen in the case of Nathan Horton, it can be hard to see them when you look at images of concussed brains; CT scans and MRIs often don’t clearly show how a concussed brain has been injured. There’s no bruising, no bleeding and no swelling. Full story »
If your child were being bullied, would you know about it? Most of us would like to believe that if our kids were being targeted at school they’d tell us right away, but unfortunately that’s not always the case. Data shows that many bullying victims fail to report their harassment. This could be for any number of reasons, but in many cases the victim stays silent because he’s scared that telling someone will make the bullying worse, is embarrassed about being picked on or thinks the adults in his life can’t do anything to stop it.
It’s a difficult cycle to break, but it’s not impossible. To help, Children’s Hospital Boston has teamed up with teachers, administrators and students in one Boston school to empower kids to take a stand against bullying. Full story »
Bad weather kept Marc Savard from watching last night's game in his donated box, so teammate Brad Marchand came up to hang out with Children's patient Patrick and family.
Snow No! I was super excited to watch TV yesterday so I could check out press coverage of Bruins forward Marc Savard, who was scheduled to publicly announce an AMAZING donation he’s giving to the kids of Children’s Hospital Boston.
Unfortunately winter storms in Toronto grounded his flight to Boston and Savy’s big announcement was postponed. The weather may have stolen some of Savard’s thunder, but it can’t take away the great things he’s doing for kids. Marc recently purchased an entire luxury suite at TD Garden, the home of the Bruins, and is donating it to Children’s patients for every home game of this and next season.
Children’s Child Life Services will be awarding the tickets to various patients throughout the hospital, with a special focus on children suffering from the medical and psychological effects of head trauma. It’s a cause dear to Savard, who has had to temporarily stop playing with the Bruins after suffering two concussions last season during play.
“Marc Savard understands firsthand the challenges faced by children suffering from the effects of head trauma,” said Beth Donegan Driscoll, director of Child Life Services at Children’s Hospital Boston. “The partnership with him is an exceptional opportunity for Children’s Hospital Boston patients and their families to experience the thrill of a Bruins game at the generosity of this very special man.” Full story »
As an attorney, Kristin Small, Esq., specializes in cases where the legal and health care needs of her clients cross paths. She recently worked with the parents of a 5-year-old child with autism.
The father had lost his job and the mother couldn’t work because of the time she needed to devote to her son’s care. Though the Social Security Administration (SSA) agreed that their son qualified for benefits medically, the family was deemed ineligible because they had “too many resources.” With both parents out of work and no means of income, legal counsel was the last option they thought was available to them.
Their pediatrician referred them to Small, a staff attorney for the Medical Legal Partnership | Boston (MLP) and liaison to Children’s for the newest MLP site in the Children’s Hospital Primary Care Center (CHPCC). Providing care for more than 13,000 children—65 percent of whom are covered by Medicaid—the CHPCC is well suited to host the MLP at CHB. “Our medical and social work staff already spend a lot of time advocating for our patients,” says Joanne Cox, MD, medical director for the CHPCC. “They’re writing letters to utility companies, helping families access food stamps and communicating with landlords about poor housing conditions.” Chronic illnesses such as asthma, cerebral palsy and diabetes are often exacerbated by environmental factors like lack of food, housing, education and employment. A child my be falling behind in school due to chronic illness, or a family may be forced to choose between medicine and food. By teaming with the MLP, the CHPCC can now offer their patients direct access to legal information and support to help them make sure their needs are being met. Full story »
Being a parent in a sluggish economy is tough. Raising kids is a demanding job on it’s own and adding money stress to the mix often makes things worse. It’s hard, but like it or not, these are the financial realities many parents are facing today.
To help make ends meet, more and more families are becoming dual-income households. Studies show that 80 percent of children have parents who both work full-time in the first year of life.
But that extra paycheck may come at a price. For every minute mom and dad spends at work, they need someone else to watch the children. For millions of American this involves placing their infant child in childcare, which often stirs up feelings of anxiety and guilt in parents. It’s a hard choice, but what effects does being in childcare really have on the child’s development? For decades, these questions have disturbed and even panicked parents. Fortunately there are experts who can help make that decision less stressful.
“Parents looking for clear information on how childcare affects children are given a bewilderingly diverse set of conclusions,” says Kevin Nugent, PhD, founder and Director of the Brazelton Institute at Children’s, a research and training organization dedicated to studying the development of newborns and young children. “But it’s not all bad news.” Full story »
Do you have a Children's Hospital Boston story you'd like heard? By sharing your Children's story you can be a great source of inspiration and encouragement to families who are going through similar situations. And it’s a great way to find support by connecting with others. Share your story today »
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If your child were being bullied, would you know about it? Most of us would like to believe that if our kids were being targeted at school they’d tell us right away, but unfortunately that’s not always the case. Data shows that many bullying victims fail to report their harassment. This could be for any number of reasons, but in many cases the victim stays silent because he’s scared that telling someone will make the bullying worse, is embarrassed about being picked on or thinks the adults in his life can’t do anything to stop it.
