Home > Health > MOMania > Archives > 2008 > February
February 2008
Who’s more important: the pediatrician or the nurses?
Did you pick your pediatrician’s office based on the doctor or the nurses? Would you switch practices if certain nurses left the office?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I got an email the other day from a mother looking for a new pediatrician. Her favorite nurse had left her current practice and she didn’t feel like it was worth sticking around without her. She said she liked the doctor OK but just loved that nurse.
I think you have to trust your pediatrician implicitly, even if you wouldn’t want to hang out with him or her on the weekends. But I do think a mother’s chemistry with the nurses counts for a lot!
I love the nurses at our pediatrician’s office — all except for one. She finally retired, and I was so relieved when she left. She made me feel stupid when I called in, and I felt like she was very impatient with me on the phone. All the other nurses are fantastic. They listen, they advise and they’re patient.
I could also see leaving a practice if you couldn’t get call backs and immediate advice about whether your child needed to be seen or not.
Our primary care physician is much closer than our pediatrician and is technically a family practice. We could be taking our children there, but they do not return phone calls in a timely manner. With children you need to be able to talk to a nurse immediately and know if you need to bring them in.
How did you choose your pediatric practice? What attributes weighed the most in your mind?
(By the way, if you’re currently searching for a doctor, our mom site has a link to more than 5,000 Atlanta doctors, including specialists for children and teens. Here’s the link, but you can always find it on the right side of this page.)
Permalink | Comments (28) | Categories: Health
How does your school test for the gifted program?
Do they test everyone or use some type of screening to determine who to move on? What percent at your school is in the “gifted program?”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There seems to be a vast difference in how schools around the metro area decide who to test for their gifted programs. I’m hearing very different testing protocols from my friends around the city.
For example, a friend in Forsythe County said when her daughter tested three years ago only 6 kids in her entire grade were tested.
Another friend in Atlanta City Schools told me the entire first grade was being tested. She was told that in the past the parents complained that the selection process seemed random, so now all the kids are tested.
In our school, with the first graders at least, they decide who gets tested based on results from a standardized test all the kids took in the fall. They had to score a certain percentage to move on to the gifted testing.
How do they decide who gets tested at your school? What do you think is the best way to identify children who should be in the gifted program? (A side note: here’s a link to an excellent parenting Web site that tells you how to spot a gifted student.)
Do you think parents strong-arm schools into testing their children? Do you think a school’s percentage of children in the gifted program reflects overly-assertive parents or a smart school district?
(By the way, you can look up in the AJC’s School Guide the percentage of students in your school’s gifted program. You can always find the link to the school guide on the right side of this page.)
Permalink | Comments (57) | Categories: Education
Kids, teens cussing more: Guess whose fault it is?
They’re dropping F bombs at school and at church, but guess who they’re picking that language up from?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Experts call it “conversational swearing” and they say preteens and teens are cussing more than the generation before them. Apparently, teens are having a harder time switching gears between talking with their friends and talking with adults, and cuss words are slipping out in all kinds of conversations. Read the full story.
Timothy Jay, a psychology professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and a leading scholar of cursing in the United States, estimates that teens use 80 to 90 swear words a day.
“ ‘Elementary … teachers report that children are using more offensive language at school than they have in the past,’ said Jay.”
“He said the Internet, TV and other media may be making adolescents more comfortable with swearing, but their parents’ own language habits are the biggest influence.”
” ‘It starts as soon as they learn how to talk,’ he said. ‘At a young age, they’re attentive to emotions. When you’re swearing to be funny or when you’re angry that just draws them right to it.’ ”
I have to admit to being a terrible cusser. There’s no way I am saying 80 to 90 bad words a day, but I do spout my fair share. I did pick the habit up from my dad and my brother. I rarely take the Lord’s name in vain, but I drop F all the time. I have slightly modified it to “freakin,” or “F-in,” but it’s just as terrible. I am truly trying to work on it because I don’t want the kids to pick it up.
How about you? Do you curse: at work, at home, in front of the kids? Do your kids, teen cuss? Do you punish them for it? What is your general punishment for bad language? How do parents break the bad habit of cussing when they have kids?
Permalink | Comments (70) | Categories: Ethics of rearing kids today
Bottom line: Family wealth can be detrimental to kids’ mental health
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
More and more, psychologists across the country are treating teens from affluent families who on the surface seem successful: They have good grades; are the head cheerleader or yearbook editor; are getting into good colleges. But they also are depressed, feel empty and are often self-medicating with drugs or alcohol.
Why is this happening? And how does the wealth of parents affect their offsprings’ mental health?
A new book, “The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids,” by psychologist Madeline Levine, does an amazing job explaining what is going on with these affluent families and how parents can reverse this trend. Here is the busy parents’ guide to some of the book’s highlights:
THE TREND: “In spite of their economic and social advantages, (affluent teens) experience among the highest rates of depression, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, somatic complaints, and unhappiness of any group of children in this country,” Levine writes.
Thirty to 40 percent of 12 to 18 year olds from affluent home are experiencing troubling psychological symptoms, she reports. Even more alarming, the latest data indicates 10 to 15 percent suffering depression eventually commit suicide, according to the book.
“It appears that affluent girls are at particularly high risk for depression and anxiety beginning at about age 12,” she writes.
WHAT IS AFFLUENT? It varies depending on who you ask, she writes. Researchers use $120,000 annual income as the starting point while marketing executives say $75,000.
WHAT’S CAUSING THE PROBLEM: “We are overly concerned with ‘the bottom line,’ with how our children ‘do’ rather than with who are children are,” Levine writes. Many affluent teens never develop an authentic sense of self; they don’t know who they truly are or what makes them happy, she says.
They have no internal drive to learn and achieve. Instead, their motivations are to please mom and dad or to gain as money, prestige and good grades.
They are over-scheduled with activities by parents who don’t truly connect with their kids. If the parents do listen to their child’s problems, they try to fix the problem rather than helping the child develop the ability to deal with bad things.
WHAT CAN PARENTS DO? I don’t want to oversimplify Levine’s answers, but these are some of the broad strokes I took from the book:
Help your child develop an authentic self: Levine suggests giving them time to dream, down time to figure out who they are, what they enjoy and encourage them to pursue those interests.
Provide quality parent time:Quiet times with children allow them to open up. Levine is a big promoter of family dinners, citing children’s love of ritual and the feeling of security rituals bring, along with the benefits eating (and talking) together each night.
Deal with materialism:She defines materialism as placing more value on things than people. Too often families focus on prestige, money, grades and electronics instead of purpose and altruism. She said parents should not discuss the family’s wealth.
Buying their kids things to make them feel better sets a bad example. It teaches kids to use external things to alleviate stress, which can lead to drug or alcohol abuse later. She says kids should work. They need to experience success as a function of their efforts.
Instead of talking about your next purchase, share your enthusiasm for activities that make your feel productive and energetic. Teach your children altruism and concern for others.
Help kids help themselves:Kids have to find their own ways to deal with problems (but parents can help them find those ways). She says everyone should have a mental safe place to retreat to when they are upset and need to think.
Kids need to develop self management so they can control themselves in high school and college when parents aren’t around.
Do moms need Blackberries for home life?
Just another status symbol or something mothers really need to keep a handle on their children’s schedules?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Obviously moms and dads use Blackberries all the time for work, but are they useful tools for organizing their home lives as well?
For years mothers have carried thick paper organizers listing all the kids’ events, their kids’ friends’ phone numbers, the baby sitters’ phone numbers, and even their grocery lists.
But lately I’ve heard from several moms — stay-at-home moms included — who have dumped their paper organizers in favor of Blackberry-type devices. They say it only make sense. They have a ton of stuff to keep track of and don’t want to lug around big calendars.
At a recent luncheon with college friends (all moms), two of the five had personal digital assistants. One had her photos of her kids loaded on it; the other was still working on that.
I was talking with a marketing expert earlier this year who focuses on studying women. She mentioned that she thought moms were the next big market for Blackberry-type products. She in fact said she couldn’t believe that companies hadn’t already targeted them more.
What do you think: Are moms just keeping up with the Joneses getting PDAs or are they a quick, easy way to keep their home lives organized? Do you own one to use for your family? Do you see yourself getting one?
Permalink | Comments (56) | Categories: Family Life
A sex exhibit for kids?
Too embarrassed to talk with your kids about sex? No problem! Just take them to the local sex exhibit. They can pick it up there.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
According to a Los Angeles Times story that ran yesterday, a new sex exhibit, aimed at 9- to 14-year-olds, has opened in northeast Paris.
The story says, it “attempts to respond playfully to the serious questions tweenagers ask about sexuality and romantic feeling. Inspired by a guide to sex by the popular cartoonist Zep and writer Helene Bruller, the exhibit also encourages children and their parents or teachers to shed all modesty and embarrassment about touchy topics and start talking.”
Please read the full story here. (If you can read zee French like me, check out the exhibit’s site.)
The story goes on to say that: “Zep’s popular character Titeuf, a sort of French version of Calvin of ‘Calvin and Hobbes,’ and some of his classmates, such as the brainy Nadia, guide the visitors. They ask questions such as, “What does making love mean?” and “If a pregnant woman eats spinach, does the baby in her tummy taste it too?” (Adults are cautioned to respect bashful young visitors, giving them space to view the displays.)”
It continues, “The characters treat sexuality with humor and sometimes sarcasm. There is a ‘love-o-meter’ to measure the strength of romantic feelings, a ‘pubermatic’ that shows bodies transformed during puberty, and a pinball machine where tiny balls in the shape of sperm race for eggs.”
The story explains that often sex is taught in schools and at home focusing on anatomy, reproduction and the prevention of disease. The curator of the exhibit hopes to bring emotion into that mix.
“ ‘We don’t want to replace the French family,’ said the exhibit’s curator, Maud Gouy, ‘but we want the exhibit to be another view of what goes on between men and women without it being … raw. Instead, we promote respect, romantic feelings, pleasure.’ ”
We all know the French are pretty open about sexuality, but is it appropriate to have a sex exhibit aimed at 9- to 14-year-olds? Could you see yourself using it to help teach your kids about sex? Is this something that is uniquely French or do you think it could work in other countries, including America?
Permalink | Comments (20) | Categories: Ethics of rearing kids today
We’ve given birth — to an improved Web site
MOMania now offers new features to help you take care of your families!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dear Moms — If you look closely, you’ll notice we’ve changed!
We have expanded our MOMania blog site to include lots of information we know mothers want and need to help them take care of their families. (Basically, it’s all the stuff I need!)
We wanted to give you a home page — an easy one-stop shop — for information to help you feed, entertain, educate and protect your kids. We have databases, links, blogs and news articles all relevant to being a MOM.
On the left hand-side of the page, you’ll find:
A kid-friendly calendar of events focused on family activities. (So you can stop hunting around for stuff to do with your kids!)
A kid-friendly restaurant database that only lists restaurants where kids are welcome.
A guide to 30-minute meals and a recipe database to help you get a healthy dinner on the table quickly when you get home from work.
A brand-new blog from food writer Jeanne Besser focused on balancing work, family and food. A mother of two, Jeanne writes among other things our 5:30 Challenges each week and will be talking about feeding your family in her new blog.
And just to stir things up, we have created a new space for DAD on the MOMania Web site. We have invented the DAD Vent. This can work both ways: Dads can come and vent or Moms can vent about Dads. Either way, it should be fun and maybe even helpful. So tell your husband, boyfriend or significant other to stop in and check us out. He can leave you a love note — or not so love note.
On the right side of the page, you fill find links to:
The AJC’s School Guide.
The AJC’s Get Schooled Blog.
Comprehensive recall lists for toys and children and baby products.
A database to 5,700 metro Atlanta doctors.
Women’s health issues.
Ideas to help your kids in shape.
And the local allergy report.
We will be updating and adding content throughout the year. Bookmark this page and use it to help you plan your day. Let us know what you think in the MOMania blog or feel free to send me an email at ajcmomania@gmail.com
Permalink | Comments (22) | Categories: Site News
RightRail
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Helpful health Web sites
Important Health Phone Numbers
- Questions on poisons, medications, allergic reactions?
Georgia Poison Center: 404-616-9000 or 1-800-222-1222 - 24-hour nurse line
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Call Center: 404-250-5437
Permalink | | Categories: RightRail
left Top Rail
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Names »
See how Georgians name their children!
Permalink | | Categories: leftRailTop
What’s For Dinner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fast and tasty: Five quick dinner recipes for tonight
Hot Plate / Meridith Ford Goldman: Local chefs share their favorite kitchen tools
Meet Atlantans who blog about food
Permalink | | Categories: ForDinner
Feeding Frenzy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Blog: Hunger for food mags remains strong
Blog: What’s the secret to organizing recipes?
Permalink | | Categories: FeedingFrenzy
Child Eateries
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Child-friendly eateries »
Permalink | | Categories: ChildEateries
Vent Left Rail
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dad Vent »
Permalink | | Categories: VentLeftRail
Germ warfare: New twist on battle of the sexes
In our family, Dad's do-it-himself protection plan means he rarely gets sick. Who gets sick more often - you or your husband? And who takes care of the dear little germ spreaders otherwise known as children?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You all know the story: Boy meets girl. Boy marries girl. Girl has babies. Babies bring home germs. Boy runs away to office so he won’t catch germs. Girl cares for babies and also gets sick.
Sound familiar?
Our whole family has spent the entire last week with fevers, coughs and snotty noses —- except for my husband Michael, who amazingly manages to stay well despite the onslaught of germs in the house.
While it’s nice to have at least one well person in the family, it does get annoying that I literally spend more than half my time sick and he rarely catches it. Even if all three children don’t come down with it, I still get it because I cared for the one who did have it.
Don’t get me wrong, Michael is helpful with the children but he draws his line at hugging them, holding them, or rocking them when they are sick. He literally said to the baby Thursday morning, “Baby I love you, but I’m not touching you.” This of course becomes my main job because any mother worth her salt is going to comfort her ill child even at the risk of her own immune system.
It’s not just luck that keeps Michael well. He’s very cagey about avoiding illness. He has a systematic approach to purifying his environment that would impress even the CDC. He hides his pillow during the day so they don’t climb on our bed and sneeze into it. He hides towels in bathrooms so he won’t have to dry his hands on the same ones we’re using. No nose tickle, eye itch or facial tick could compel him to touch his face while we’re sick.
His greatest fear is an ambush in the middle of the night while he is sleeping. Walsh routinely visits our bed at 4 in the morning. On sick nights, Michael sets up an alternative bed for Walsh on the floor — Batman sleeping bag and pillow. But often our sick, cold 4-year-old doesn’t take the hint and still tries to sneak in. Even asleep, Michael’s instinct is too block him with a half-conscious stiff arm that would make Herschel Walker proud.
Beyond just the basic constant washing of hands, wiping down of remotes, phones and computers and ingesting copious amounts of Vitamin C, he takes it so far as to gargle with mouthwash when he has a questionable germ encounter with the kids. It couldn’t hurt, he reasons.
When we are all sick, like this week, he clutches his pillow, clad in his pajamas, wandering the house searching for the safest bed in which to sleep. In the past, he’s frequently absconded downstairs leaving me sick and alone to care for the children. (I don’t really approve of that plan.)
This week he decided the upper bunk in Walsh’s room was the best safe haven. Even though Walsh was sick, he was in our bed, leaving the upper bunk germ free.
Another thing that helps him stay well is running away to his private office at work for 12 hours a day. As he’s beating a hasty retreat through the garage he yells, “ I love you all. I hope you all feel better.” I swear under his breath there’s a “See ya. Wouldn’t want to be ya.”
He claims that’s really how long he needs to work but it seems awfully convenient that he returns home after all the germ machines have gone to bed and the coast is virus clear.
Besides his germ fighting techniques, I will have to give him credit for having a fantastic immune system. I attribute this to two things. I have heard that when your parents come from different parts of the world they pass along to you immunities to different types of germs. His parents were born in Italy and in the Philippines so I think he got a wide range of immunities.
I also think because his dad was military and had to wait in a rediculously long line to see the military doctor, his parents rarely took him in. They let him get over his illnesses on his own which in the end has benefited his immune system.
I think as mothers this is our fate. Of course we are going to care for our children no matter how ill they are even if we can predict within hours when we’ll be sick too. Who gets sick more often you or your husband? Does he have clean environment plan too or just lucky? How can mothers better protect themselves from illness and still care for the sick children? Log onto ajc.com/momania to share your anger and advice. Theresa Walsh Giarrusso lives with her husband and three children in Gwinnett County.
Kids legally named Bubba? Cinnamon?
Check out the AJC’s new database of Georgia baby names to see the most unusual and the most common.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The AJC has put together an amazing database of the baby names Georgians choose. You can search by year, by name or by category.
I learned there are 2 boys named Walsh in Georgia. I am shocked. I can’t believe someone else would choose that name. And there are 284 Roses born in the state. (I would buy that.) And two Lilinas??? What? I want an investigation.
The names and lists are pulled from the Georgia Department of Human Resources birth records from January 1990 through July 2007.
The AJC has also divided the names into categories such as cars, cities, presidents, trademarks, ladies, lords, and hyphens.
Check out the list and see what you find out about your child’s name and what category they might fall into.
Looking for the love you once shared? Better rethink your dates
New research suggests that a novelty date instead of a pleasant, same old date will actually increase felicity in a married couple.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(Sorry I’ve been offline. Two of my kids have had fevers since the weekend and now I have it, but the blog must go on!)
The New York Times reported in a story yesterday that married couples going out to their favorite restaurants or heading to the local movie theater aren’t doing as much for their relationship as they could be. Here’s the full story.
It reported that through lab studies, real-world experiments and the ever-exciting brain scan, scientists have determined that couples who pursued new and different activities on dates could bring back the types of feelings they had early in their relationship.
The story reports: “The goal is to find ways to keep injecting novelty into the relationship. The activity can be as simple as trying a new restaurant or something a little more unusual or thrilling — like taking an art class or going to an amusement park.
“The theory is based on brain science. New experiences activate the brain’s reward system, flooding it with dopamine and norepinephrine. These are the same brain circuits that are ignited in early romantic love, a time of exhilaration and obsessive thoughts about a new partner.”
“Most studies of love and marriage show that the decline of romantic love over time is inevitable. The butterflies of early romance quickly flutter away and are replaced by familiar, predictable feelings of long-term attachment.”
But several experiments show that novelty — simply doing new things together as a couple — may help bring the butterflies back, recreating the chemical surges of early courtship.”
What do you think? Do you try to do unusual things for dates or do you go to the same places and hang out with the same people? Give us some of your best date night ideas! (I personally would just like to leave the house. That would be nice.)
The New York Times also offers us this lovely quiz to find out how deep your passion is for your spouse. Tell us how you scored. (I’m too sick to even take the quiz. I’ll report back on it later.)
Permalink | Comments (22) | Categories: Relationship
Basement plays top role in family life
What room in your house attracts the most family action? What do games your children play with their toys tell you about their personalities?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When we were choosing a new house last year, we knew we wanted a basement for extra storage and to stash the kids’ toys out of sight. But what we have found is that the basement has become the heart and soul of our new house. It’s where our family plays, cuddles, wrestles and watches movies together. It’s also where our kids’ imaginations can run wild no matter what the temperature is outside.
I love walking downstairs and discovering what my kids have been working on. Their toys are physical artifacts of how their minds are working. For example, last week, I found four of my 6-year-old daughter’s dolls sleeping on individual steps one after the other. She didn’t have beds for them and didn’t need beds. In her mind, the stairs looked like perfect twin mattresses and there they slumbered until she returned from school to play with them.
At the foot of the steps was a parade of vehicles rivaling the Rose Bowl. The parade-goers included a 1970s Tonka camper, a Cinderella carriage, several dump trucks, a Diego SUV with attached trailer, a Little People bus, plane and multiple cars. I stood there for a while wondering what my daughter’s plans were for that parade? What was she thinking about when she created it? (I’m still not sure, but she played with it for days.)
The basement wasn’t always so kid-friendly. When we first toured the house, the previous owners had created a fantastic adult retreat in their newly refinished basement. In the larger room to the left of the stairs they had a gigantic pool table, a pub table and chairs and a flat screen TV mounted in the corner. In the smaller area to the right side of the stairs, they had a cozy seating area with new red couches and a freshly built-in bar.
My husband loved it just the way it was. He had great fantasies about his friends coming over to drink single malt scotch and play poker while watching a flat screen TV. He begged to keep the basement as a play area for adults.
I told my mother, “It’s like he’s in denial that he has three kids. That is their play room.”
He knew the kids needed the space more than he did. And so it became the giant toy box that it is today — as well as the family’s most favorite place to be together.
We have made the right (smaller) side of the basement a baby-safe zone. It is gated and has only large, non-chokable toys. There are couches from Michael’s bachelor days and the first TV we ever bought together. The larger side of the basement (the old pool table side) has multiple bookcases, toy boxes and tiered toy bins. Despite these storage units, the floor is often littered with whatever the kids were playing with when they were called up for dinner.
In the far left corner of the basement is the 6-year-old’s Barbie area — Barbie castle, Barbie car, piles of clothes and shoes and accessories, and, oddly, scores of naked Barbies. I don’t know why Barbies are always naked, but they are.
And in our basement, the Barbies mingle with The Hulk, Ben 10 bad buys, Robin, Bizarro and much of the X-Men team. They hang out. They chat. They await their next missions.
Dinosaurs roam the front left side of the basement. They were in two years ago and now not so much. They often play backdrop to the Diego rescue action.
Scattered by the stairs are tiny University of Georgia plastic football players, a teeny-tiny referee and one goal post. I don’t think they ever get to finish their game.
On a kid-size red table and chairs sits a small gumball machine with the top removed. The 4-year-old spends hours transferring primary colored gum balls back and forth between a plastic jug and the machine. Since handling small items are good for his dexterity, I don’t balk too much about the gum, but I sure as heck don’t ever eat it.
My husband only has 18 more years to go until he can have the basement back the way he wants it, but I’m pretty sure he’ll enjoy the amazing displays of imagination and wrestling matches along the way.
What rooms in your house attract the most family action? What artifacts of play do you find in your basement? What do you determine about their games based on the set-up of their toys? Log onto to ajc.com/momania to share.
Is there pressure for moms and tots to be cuter intown than in the suburbs?
Do you and your kids have to look fancier inside the perimeter?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I recently signed up for a mommy and me class with my two youngest kids inside the perimeter. And I noticed that I was spending a heck of a lot more time getting ready for this class than I normally spend to pick up my children at school or to go on playdates outside the perimeter. I was planning outfits for me and the kids. I was putting on make-up and making sure bags matched shoes.
Outside the perimeter, you’ll usually find my 4-year-old is in sweat pants, me in jeans with often a stained shirt and the baby in her footed sleepers because they are cozy. But I wouldn’t dare show up like that to our new class. We need to look cute.
What’s up with that?
Do you feel more pressure when you head downtown for kid activities to look cuter than normal? Is it healthy to once and while work a little harder at being put together or is it putting on airs and competing with other mothers?
What about the mothers who live intown? Do you feel pressure to look cute all the time? Will you go to carline without make-up on?
Permalink | Comments (110) | Categories: Family Life
What would your family do with a tax rebate?
Would you buy a flat-screen TV, put it towards college, invest in retirement or just use it get by?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So it looks pretty likely that American families will be getting back some amount of money this spring in the form of a one-time economic stimulus payment. (Technically, it’s not a rebate of past taxes or of future taxes, but a one-time payment to spur the economy. Try using that term in a headline — impossible!)
Depending on which bill passes (the House or the Senate); it could be $1,000 to $1,200 for couples filing jointly with an additional $300 per child. (Here’s a link to the latest news on the proposal.)
According to the Dallas Morning News, in the House plan:
“The checks would be phased out for individual taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of more than $75,000 and couples with more than $150,000. The plan also provides short-term tax breaks for businesses to encourage spending and investment.”
“The Senate plan would give $500 per individual, $1,000 per couple and $300 per child.”
“It would lower the payments so more people would receive the benefits, including about 20 million low-income Americans living only on Social Security benefits and about 250,000 veterans dependent on government benefits. None of them would receive checks under the House plan, aimed mainly at wage earners.”
So the question is: How would you spend your one-time economic stimulus payment? Do you think the amount would help your family? Do you think it would help the economy overall?
Permalink | Comments (56) | Categories: Family Life
Taking your kids to vote?
Do you have to take them or want to take them? Is the civics lesson worth standing in line with them?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Are you taking your child or children with you to vote today? Why are you? Do you lack childcare or do you think it’s something important for them to experience?
While it is a miserable experience to wait in any type of line with three children, I feel very strongly about my children seeing the voting process. It would be easier for me to take my younger two in the morning time after the business crowd rush, but I really want my 6-year-old to be involved too. I’m thinking about checking her out of school at the very end of the day so she can go along also. My husband thinks that is nuts, but we’ve been talking so much about the election I don’t want her to miss out.
I remember taking my double stroller to the last general election. Rose would have been around 3 and Walsh would have been 1. I brought Play-Doh along for Rose to play with it in the stroller. I think I brought Cheerios to keep Walsh busy.
I think this election I’ll be bringing an MP3 player for the two oldest to share and some books and coloring books. And probably Cheerios to keep our new baby happy.
I’m sure it won’t be fun in line, but I want them to see and understand the act of voting.
Permalink | Comments (149) | Categories: Ethics of rearing kids today
The 411 on breastfeeding
Calling in the lactation consultant turned me from poster child for nursing problems to pro
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A few weeks before Christmas, I got a call from a dear friend who had just had her first baby. The baby had been crying non-stop and spitting up a lot. A first-time mom and a novice breastfeeder, she didn’t know what was going on. She wasn’t sure if the baby was getting too much breast milk, not enough or if her trouble wasn’t related to that at all.
I told her to first call her pediatrician; second to make an appointment with the lactation consultant at the hospital where she delivered.
She was reticent about calling the lactation consultant, and I couldn’t figure out why. Finally she said, “Well, I think you’re allowed to call the lactation consultant for free but if you go in to see her then they charge you by the hour and it’s a lot.”
Her phone call was disturbing to me. It was very different from my own experience with local lactation support, and it made me wonder: Do women in Atlanta not have access to affordable lactation care? Are they worrying if their insurance is going to cover the help they need while their babies are screaming for milk? Are they worrying about paying out of pocket?
I delivered all three of my children at Piedmont Hospital and have visited and called the lactation consultants there many times. I have never paid a dime for their invaluable information.
The expertise of Julie Duncan, the head of perinatal education program for Piedmont, and her team is available free to moms who delivered there or are referred by their pediatrician.
I was the poster child for nursing problems with my first baby, and I don’t think I would have stuck with it if Julie had not been there to help me. (I don’t think my husband would have stuck with it if he had to pay out of pocket for as much lactation help as I needed.)
From painful yeast infections on my breasts to a teething baby who kept biting me to trying to wean a toddler, Julie was there for me every step.
Even after nursing my other two babies 18 months each, I still need Julie’s help with this baby. I recently had an inner ear problem that was making me dizzy and I couldn’t drive. The doctor told me I would have to stop nursing to treat the dizziness. I told him I wasn’t cutting off my baby, and I would call my lactation consultant and get back to him with some other ideas. Julie named several drugs that would be safe for me to take while nursing that should help my ears. The doctor called in a prescripton for one, it fixed my problem, and I didn’t have to stop nursing. Thank goodness for Julie.
Besides helping with the mechanics of nursing, Julie was the only medical professional who noticed with my first baby that I might be having post-partum depression. Julie worried about my bonding with the baby and how we were doing as a couple. She said, “Every time I talk to you, you’re crying. This is not good. You need to feel better and stronger every day. We need to get you help.” Just having someone care about my well-being during this huge transition meant more than any insurance company could ever know.
My experience with Piedmont’s lactation support has been so positive I wondered what other hospitals offered. So I called five hospitals located around metro Atlanta — DeKalb Medical Center, Emory Eastside Medical Center, Henry Medical Center, Northside Hospital and Piedmont Hospital — to find out.
What I learned was very encouraging. Any mother can call all five of these hospitals for advice over the phone. Three of the five (Emory Eastside, Henry and Piedmont) hospitals do not charge mothers who delivered at their hospitals to meet with lactation consultants after they have left the hospital.
All of the hospitals offered breastfeeding classes and all had breastfeeding support groups. Here are all the details on each hospital’s services. Tell us about your experiences with lactation help.
DeKalb Medical Center- North Decatur
Number of mothers delivering: 5000
Number of lactation team members: 8, staffed with 2-3 lactation consultants or lactation educators daily
Charge to call consultants: Free to call the Warm Line 404-501-5787. Calls returned 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Charge for outpatient visits: $35 for about an hour for any mother. Never goes through insurance
Breastfeeding classes: Prenatal breastfeeding class $35 for a one time class. Class size limited to 10 couples. Classes offered every two to three weeks. To sign up for classes 404-501-WELL or www.dekalbmedical.org
Breastfeeding support group: Meets every Thursday 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Women’s Center, 3040 Classroom. Free. Baby weight checks also available during support group.
On-site store for breastfeeding supplies: Medela breast pumps, rental pumps, nursing bras with certified fitters, hands-free pumping bustier and other products.
More info: 404-501-5787
Emory Eastside Medical Center
Number of mothers delivering: 2500
Number of lactation team members: 3
Charge to call consultants: Will accept calls from any mom
Charge for outpatient visits: No charge. It is part of delivery fee. Moms who didn’t deliver there will be referred to their obstetrician.
Breastfeeding classes: Monthly, during evenings, $15 prenatal education classes — breastfeeding addressed.
Breastfeeding support group: Open meetings for moms and babies. They meet twice per month on Mondays. No charge.
On-site store for breastfeeding supplies: Not available
More info: 770-979-0200, ext. 2613 or www.emoryeastside.com
Henry Medical Center
Number of moms delivering: 2357 babies born
Number of lactation team members: 1 full time lactation consultant. Breastfeeding support available 24/7.
Breastfeeding support team includes nurses and techs and on each shift there is usually a strong nurse or assistant with “extra” breastfeeding knowledge/skills who is the “go to” person for that shift. Also have 8 nurses who are Certified Lactation Counselors who work as staff nurses.
Charge to call consultants: No charge for phone calls. All calls taken regardless of where caller delivered.
Charge for outpatient visits: No charge for outpatient visits, but only see people who have delivered here. If they did not deliver here, referral made to ttheir hospital or pediatrician’s office.
Breastfeeding classes: Breastfeeding classes offered as part of childbirth class series. A special breastfeeding class is available for moms only, cost is $25, and this class is offered quarterly.
Breastfeeding support group: Open meetings offered second Tuesday of each month. 10:30 - 11:30 a.m., in the North Tower, 4th floor classroom.
For more info: 678-604-4896 if for questions, classes, support group. A 24-hour help line is 678-604-4260.
Northside Hospital
Number of mothers delivering: More than 18,000 babies born.
Number of lactation team members: More than 60 internationally board certified consultants.
Charge to call consultants: Telephone advice complimentary .
Charge for outpatient visits: Lactation services included in Northside’s standard continuum of care for inpatient maternity services and typically covered by insurance plans. Outpatient consultations billed separately. For patients, whose plan does not cover outpatient lactation services, consultations are available for $131 for 1 ½ hours. Longer visits are available for $184.
Breastfeeding classes: Offered through Northside Hospital MothersFirst. Schedules and registration are available www.northside.com.
Pumping & Breastfeeding — How to maintain your milk supply while working. Review of options regarding pump choices, collection containers, bottles and storage guidelines. Fee: $24
Breastfeeding Couples/Moms Expectant parents learn breastfeeding essentials, such as infant latch-on and positioning techniques, and helpful hints to enhance success. Women only and couples classes Fee: $64
Breastfeeding for Multiples —Designed for couples who have made a decision to breastfeed. Registration per couple. Fee: $64
Breastfeeding support group: Mothers Express - For mothers of babies in Northside’s Special Care Nurseries. For more information, call (404) 303-3329.
Mom-Me Connection - Support for mothers of infants - newborn babies to 6 months (Group I) and 7 months to 12 months (Group II). Two locations. For more information, call (404) 303-3329.
On-site store for breastfeeding supplies: A Woman’s Place at Northside Hospital. Open Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. To schedule an appointment with a certified fitter or for more information, call 404-845-5125.
More info: For breastfeeding advice after leaving the hospital, to speak with a certified lactation consultants or to schedule an outpatient consultation, call 404-303-3329. Advice line answered 7 days/week, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; inpatient lactation support (in Atlanta) available 24 hours/7days per week; both outpatient locations (Atlanta and Alpharetta) offer appointments Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Piedmont Hospital
Number of mothers delivering a year: about 4,000
Number of lactation team members: 4 certified lactation consultants, several staff nurses also certified, and other nurses trained specifically to help breastfeeding mothers.
Charge to call consultants: Free to any mother who delivered at Piedmont or referred by their pediatrician — 404-605-2550. Calls are returned the same day.
Charge for outpatient visits: Free to any mother who delivered at Piedmont or referred by their pediatrician. Breastfeeding classes: Breastfeeding classes offered every other month. Register for breastfeeding classes at 1-866-900-4321. Free to anyone. Open to mothers and fathers.
Breastfeeding support group: Mother Talk, first Thursday of the month at 1:30 p.m., Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church. Mother discuss baby’s growth and development, share concerns and ideas. For birth to 6 months old.
Parent Talk, first Tuesday of the month at 1:30. Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church. For 7 to 19 months.
Special care support group — Call for details.
In-hospital store for nursing supplies: Bra fitting, pumps and other nursing supplies, third floor of the 77 Building of Piedmont Hospital. By appointment for bra fittings.
More info: 404-605-2550.
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