Kids Say about Sleep
By Barbara P. Homejer, MD
August 13, 2009
If you’re like most kids (big yawn), you’d like to get some more sleep. Oh, you know that drowsy morning feeling. You’re all snuggly warm in your bed and in comes your mom, saying it’s time to get up for school. Your head feels like it’s full of wet sand and you beg for another 5 minutes. Then you fall dead asleep again and you hear your mom yelling, “Get up! You’re going to be late!”
We wanted to find out how kids felt about getting their zzzzs, so we asked 1,187 girls and boys a bunch of questions about their sleep habits. And though kids are famous for not wanting to go to sleep, 70% said they wished they could get more of it. And almost 50% of kids said they’d like to get much more sleep than they normally get. So it came as no surprise that 71% of kids said they felt sort of sleepy or very sleepy when it’s time to wake up for school. And 25% of kids said they felt tired at school every single day.
Know Your Sleep Needs
How can kids fix this? It’s easy and hard at the same time. The easy part is learning how much sleep you need. The hard part is getting that much sleep every night, especially when so much competes for your time. There are after-school activities, like sports, homework, chores you need to do around the house, and that great show on TV you just don’t want to miss. Any one or all of those can keep you from getting to bed on time.
Let’s start with the easy part. Only 32% of the kids we polled get the recommended amount of sleep for 9- to 12-year-olds. The ideal amount is 9 1/2 to 10 1/2 hours each night. But about 14% of the kids said they get less than 7 1/2 hours, which is way too little. Another 17% reported getting 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 hours, while 37% said they get 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours.
Now that you know your target sleep amount, how do you get it? Lots of factors can affect how much sleep a kid gets. First, there’s your normal bedtime. Most kids go to sleep around the same time during the school week. But who sets that time? About one third of kids say they set their own bedtime. That can be OK, if the kid sets it at a reasonable hour that enables him or her to get enough sleep. But it also can be a problem if the kid likes to stay up late (and who doesn’t?). But boy, you sure wish you had turned in earlier when that alarm clock starts beeping.
If you do a little math, you can figure out when your bedtime should be if you want to get at least 8 1/2 hours of sleep. Start at your bedtime and count the hours until the time you usually wake up. For instance, if you usually go to bed at 10:30 and wake up at 6, that’s only 7 1/2 hours of sleep — an hour less than the ideal amount. How important is that hour? Just imagine how great you’d feel if you rolled over on a school morning, looked at the clock, and saw you could sleep another whole hour. Sweet!
What Sleepy Kids Can Do
Say you do the math and it turns out you’re not getting enough sleep. What do you do? Well, we doubt your school will agree to start classes later just so you can get your beauty sleep. You need to change the time you go to bed. This is tough to do, but you can make a change if you are determined. Here are some steps to take:
Ask a parent for help. Your mom or dad can be a big help by keeping you on track in the evenings so you’re ready for bed earlier. Talk to a parent about how to get your homework done earlier and if after-school activities are too much for you. Also talk to a parent if you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep.
Organize yourself before going to bed. If your lunch is packed and your backpack is ready to go, you can rest easy and you don’t have to rush around in the morning.
Don’t have a TV in your bedroom. It can be too easy to turn it on and then too hard to turn it off when you really need to be sleeping.
Create a relaxing routine. Follow the same bedtime routine each night, such as taking a warm shower, listening to music, or reading. Doing this can get your body and mind ready for a peaceful night of sleep.
Once you’ve set a new bedtime, stick to it. If you’re going to stay up late on weekends, choose Friday to whoop it up. That leaves you Saturday night to get back in your sleep groove before the school week starts. Sleepovers, especially, should be planned for Friday instead of Saturday nights.
Follow this advice and you’ll be feeling rested and ready on Monday morning when your mom or dad says, “Wake up, sleepyhead!”
Source: Kids Health
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
Getting ready for school
by Alexander
August 12, 2009
Dear Alexander,
(Q) How do you get ready for the beginning of the school year?
(A) Well, I do what almost everyone does. First, I talk to my doctor. He knows if there’s anything special that I should do, and he reminds me of steps I may have forgotten.
Next, I talk to my teacher before the school year starts. If it’s a teacher I’ve never met before, I tell her about my food allergies and why I can’t have any peanuts. If it’s a teacher I’ve had before, I just double-check to make sure he remembers about my food allergies.
Then I talk to the school nurse. I make sure she knows where my medicine is kept, and I give her a copy of my Food Allergy Action Plan. That way, I can be sure that she will know what to do if I have a reaction.
Last, I talk to my parents. I help my mom bake a supply of safe treats for parties at school, and we check to make sure all my prescriptions are current. Once I do all of this, I get some paper and pencils – to take notes with!
Good luck!
Your friend,
Alexander the Elephant
Editor’s Note: The information above is not designed to take the place of a doctor’s instructions. Patients are urged to contact a doctor for specific information regarding guidelines for care.
We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
Source: Food Allergy
Safety Tips for our Kids
August 13, 2009 by Dan
Filed under One Person's View
By Safekids
August 13, 2009
Washington, D.C. – In the injury prevention community, summer is known as “trauma season” because of the dramatic increase in the number of children injured from May through August.
Sadly, by the end of this summer, more than 2,000 children will die because of injuries that could have been prevented, and children ages 14 and under will be rushed to emergency rooms nearly 3 million times for serious injuries resulting from motor vehicle crashes, drownings, bike crashes, pedestrian incidents, falls and other hazards.
Summer safety tips from Safe Kids USA:
At home
- If you have a pool or a spa, it should be surrounded on all four sides by a fence at least four feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates, and it should be equipped with an anti-entrapment drain cover and safety vacuum release system. An inflatable pool needs to be surrounded by a fence, just like any other pool, and parents need to empty these pools when not in use.
- Make sure your home playground is safe. Keep 12 inches safe surfacing, such as mulch, shredded rubber or fine sand, extending at least six feet in all directions around the equipment. Remove hood and neck drawstrings from your child’s clothing.
- Keep children away from the grill area while preheating and cooking, and while the grill is cooling.
- Remove potential poisons from your yard, including poisonous plants, pesticides and pool chemicals.
At play
- Actively supervise your child when engaging in summertime activities, such as swimming and playing on playgrounds and backyards.
- Use the appropriate safety gear for your child’s activities, such as a helmet for wheeled sports and sporting activities, a car seat or booster seat as appropriate, and a life jacket for open water swimming and boating.
- Make sure your child drinks plenty of water. A child who seems tired or achy should rest in the shade or go inside for a while. Get immediate medical help any time a child’s skin is hot to the touch (with or without perspiration), if a child has a seizure, or if they become disoriented in hot weather.
On the way
- Never leave a child unattended in a vehicle, even with the window slightly open. Place something that you’ll need at your next stop – such as your phone or a briefcase – on the floor of the backseat where the child is sitting to help prevent you from accidentally forgetting a child.
- Parents should properly restrain their children in the child safety seat that is appropriate for their height and weight in the back seat of the car. Keep unused seat belt straps out of reach of children riding in a back seat.
- Role model proper safety behavior. Children are more likely to follow safety rules when they see their parents doing so.
- Walk all the way around a parked vehicle to check for children before entering a car and starting the motor. Don’t let children play in driveways, streets, parking lots or unfenced yards adjacent to busy streets.
- Apply sunscreen rated SPF 15 or higher to your child’s exposed skin 15 to 30 minutes before going out, and reapply frequently.
Active supervision, proper protective gear, and other simple prevention steps will help your child avoid danger. For more information about summer safety, call 202.662.0600
Source: USA Safekids
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
More Dairy Your Child’s Life
August 13, 2009 by Dan
Filed under One Person's View
By Creative Years
August 13, 2009
Study beginning in 1930s suggests link, but experts unsure.
A 65-year-long study finds that people who took in lots of calcium and dairy products as children tended to avoid stroke and live longer than those who didn’t.
“This study shows a modest protective effect of dietary calcium intake in childhood against stroke risk later in life, and a modest protective effect against mortality from any cause from higher intake of milk in childhood,” said Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. He was not involved in the study, which was published in the July 28 online edition of Heart.
Risk factors for heart disease start in childhood, but there is little evidence of the effect dairy foods have on these risks. Some dairy products, such as whole milk, butter and cheese, have a lot of saturated fat and cholesterol. Studies have also shown that eating these foods in adulthood contributes to heart disease, researchers say.
For the study, a research team led by Jolieke van der Pols from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia, collected data on children from 1,343 families in England and Scotland. All of the families took part in a survey of diet and health conducted in Britain from 1937 to 1939.
The researchers were able to track the adult health of 4,374 of the children between 1948 and 2005. By 2005, 1,468 of these individuals had died, including 378 who succumbed to heart disease and 121 who died from stroke.
The researchers looked at two main outcomes: deaths from stroke and cardiovascular disease. They looked at the associations between dairy intake and mortality and the associations between individual dairy foods and mortality.
They found no clear evidence that dairy products were tied to either coronary heart disease or stroke deaths.
However, children in the group with the highest intake of calcium and dairy products had lower overall death rates than those who ate less dairy.
“Children whose family diet in the 1930s was high in calcium were at reduced risk of death from stroke. Furthermore, childhood diets rich in dairy or calcium were associated with lower all-cause mortality in adulthood,” the researchers concluded.
But there is only so much we can learn from this observational study, Katz said.
“Dietary assessments were [done] in Britain before WWII, at which time low-fat and fat-free milk were all but nonexistent,” Katz said “Thus, any benefits of dairy intake were likely mitigated by its high content of saturated fat.”
Furthermore, “dairy intake was higher in households with higher socioeconomic status, which may itself account for a health benefit,” he noted.
Studies using the American Heart Association-recommended DASH (dietary approaches to stop hypertension) diet suggest there are health benefits from dairy intake, Katz said. But, “there are some concerns as well, such as a potential association [of high dairy intake] with increased risk of prostate cancer. Unfortunately, I don’t think we can find a resolution to the persistent controversies about dairy foods from the current study.”
Another expert, Dr. David J.A. Jenkins, a professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, noted that those who ate the most dairy also ate the most fruit and vegetables, so they had the healthiest diets overall.
“To put it all down to increased dairy products in young life seems to be a marker for those who had a more reasonable diet,” he said. “If you have good nutrition in childhood it is important for longevity, but I would be wary about saying this was due to milk consumption,” he said.
Another expert advocated dairy products for kids, but suggested sticking to low- or non-fat products.
“The saturated fat in dairy food is what we are concerned about, not so much the calories,” said Samantha Heller, a Connecticut-based registered dietitian, clinical nutritionist and exercise physiologist. “A lot of times kids are not getting the calcium they need because they are replacing calcium-rich beverages with sugar-sweetened beverages, which have no nutritional value,” she said.
SOURCES: Samantha Heller, M.S., R.D., registered dietitian, clinical nutritionist, exercise physiologist, Fairfield, Conn.; David J.A. Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., department of nutritional sciences, University of Toronto; David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director, Prevention Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn.; July 28, 2009, Heart, online
Source: Creative Years
Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com
BRANDON LEE WADE
August 13, 2009 by Kim
Filed under Missing Kids
Age Progression
| Case Type: Endangered Missing | |
| DOB: Jul 15, 1999 | Sex: Male |
| Missing Date:Oct 14, 2002 | Race: White |
| Age Now: 10 | Height: 2’9″ (84 cm) |
| Missing City: VALDOSTA | Weight: 33 lbs (15 kg) |
| Missing State : GA | Hair Color: Brown |
| Missing Country: United States | Eye Color: Hazel |
| Case Number: NCMC953466 | |
| Circumstances: Brandon’s photo is shown age-progressed to 8 years. The child and his mother, Paula Ann Wade, were last seen at their home on October 14, 2002. They have not been seen or heard from since and are believed to be endangered. Brandon’s nickname is Munchkin. Paula has a birthmark on the upper part of one of her legs and her top canine teeth protrude in front of her other top teeth. She may also use the last name McGrath. | |
PAULA ANN WADE
(Companion)
| Case Type: Endangered Missing | |
| DOB: Oct 30, 1976 | Sex: Female |
| Missing Date: Oct 14, 2002 | Race: White |
| Age Now: 32 | Height: 5’7″ (170 cm) |
| Missing City: VALDOSTA | Weight: 150 lbs (68 kg) |
| Missing State : GA | Hair Color: Brown |
| Missing Country: United States | Eye Color: Brown |
| Case Number: NCMC953466 | |
| Circumstances: Brandon’s photo is shown age-progressed to 8 years. The child and his mother, Paula Ann Wade, were last seen at their home on October 14, 2002. They have not been seen or heard from since and are believed to be endangered. Brandon’s nickname is Munchkin. Paula has a birthmark on the upper part of one of her legs and her top canine teeth protrude in front of her other top teeth. She may also use the last name McGrath. | |
HASSANI CAMPBELL
August 13, 2009 by Kim
Filed under Missing Kids
| Case Type: Lost, Injured, Missing | |
| DOB: Sep 24, 2003 | Sex: Male |
| Missing Date: Aug 10, 2009 | Race: Black |
| Age Now: 5 | Height: 3’0″ (91 cm) |
| Missing City: OAKLAND | Weight: 40 lbs (18 kg) |
| Missing State : CA | Hair Color: Brown |
| Missing Country: United States | Eye Color: Brown |
| Case Number: NCMC1129016 | |
| Circumstances: Both photos shown are of Hassani. He was last seen on August 10, 2009 at approximately 4:15p.m. Hassani was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt and gray pants. He wears braces on his legs. | |
ELVIA MORALES
August 13, 2009 by Kim
Filed under Missing Kids
| Case Type: Non Family Abduction | |
| DOB: Jan 30, 1995 | Sex: Female |
| Missing Date: Aug 5, 2009 | Race:Hispanic |
| Age Now: 14 | Height: 4’5″ (135 cm) |
| Missing City: WOODBURN | Weight: 110 lbs (50 kg) |
| Missing State : OR | Hair Color: Black |
| Missing Country: United States | Eye Color: Brown |
| Case Number: NCMC1128719 | |
| Circumstances: Elvia was abducted from her home on August 5, 2009 by Juan Martinez. A felony warrant for Kidnapping was issued for the abductor on August 5, 2009. They may have traveled to California in a dark colored car. Elvia has a birthmark on her left arm. Juan has a scar on the top of his head. | |
JUAN MARTINEZ
(Abductor)
| Case Type: Non Family Abduction | |
| DOB: Dec 27, 1972 | Sex: Male |
| Missing Date: Aug 5, 2009 | Race:Hispanic |
| Age Now: 36 | Height: 5’6″ (168 cm) |
| Missing City: WOODBURN | Weight: 145 lbs (66 kg) |
| Missing State : OR | Hair Color: Black |
| Missing Country: United States | Eye Color: Brown |
| Case Number: NCMC1128719 | |
| Circumstances: Elvia was abducted from her home on August 5, 2009 by Juan Martinez. A felony warrant for Kidnapping was issued for the abductor on August 5, 2009. They may have traveled to California in a dark colored car. Elvia has a birthmark on her left arm. Juan has a scar on the top of his head. | |
MAX-GIAN ALCALDE
August 13, 2009 by Kim
Filed under Missing Kids
| Case Type: Family Abduction | |
| DOB: Oct 31, 2001 | Sex: Male |
| Missing Date: Nov 26, 2008 | Race: White |
| Age Now: 7 | Height: 4’0″ (122 cm) |
| Missing City: BOISE | Weight: 55 lbs (25 kg) |
| Missing State : ID | Hair Color: Lt. Brown |
| Missing Country: United States | Eye Color: Blue |
| Case Number: NCMC1111151 | |
| Circumstances: The photo on the left and in the center are of Max-Gian. He was allegedly abducted by his mother, Margaret Dunbar. An FBI Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution warrant was issued for the abductor on December 11, 2008. They may have traveled out of the country. Max-Gian has a scar on the top of his head. Margaret may use multiple alias names. | |
| Case Type: Family Abduction | |
| DOB: Oct 30, 1950 | Sex: Female |
| Missing Date: Nov 26, 2008 | Race: Hispanic |
| Age Now: 58 | Height: 5’1″ (155 cm) |
| Missing City: BOISE | Weight: 110 lbs (50 kg) |
| Missing State : ID | Hair Color: Brown |
| Missing Country: United States | Eye Color: Brown |
| Case Number: NCMC1111151 | |
| Circumstances: The photo on the left and in the center are of Max-Gian. He was allegedly abducted by his mother, Margaret Dunbar. An FBI Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution warrant was issued for the abductor on December 11, 2008. They may have traveled out of the country. Max-Gian has a scar on the top of his head. Margaret may use multiple alias names. | |
PEBBLES JACE
August 13, 2009 by Kim
Filed under Missing Kids
| Case Type: Endangered Runaway | |
| DOB: Jun 10, 1994 | Sex: Female |
| Missing Date: Dec 17, 2008 | Race: Hispanic |
| Age Now: 15 | Height: 5’7″ (170 cm) |
| Missing City: CATHEDRAL CITY | Weight: 120 lbs (54 kg) |
| Missing State : CA | Hair Color: Black |
| Missing Country: United States | Eye Color: Brown |
| Case Number: NCMC1112533 | |
| Circumstances: Pebbles was last seen on December 17, 2008. She may be in the company of an adult male and an adult female. They may still be in the local area or they may travel to Tucson, Arizona. | |
AARON DANIEL BROWN
August 13, 2009 by Kim
Filed under Missing Kids
| Case Type:Family Abduction | |
| DOB: Jan 30, 1995 | Sex: Male |
| Missing Date: Apr 13, 2009 | Race: Biracial |
| Age Now: 14 | Height: 5’9″ (175 cm) |
| Missing City: ALBUQUERQUE | Weight: 150 lbs (68 kg) |
| Missing State : NM | Hair Color: Black |
| Missing Country: United States | Eye Color: Brown |
| Case Number: NCMC1121596 | |
| Circumstances: Aaron and Derrick may be in the company of their mother. They are Biracial. Aaron and Derrick are Black and Hispanic. | |