Preparing Children for Disaster

I think this article brings to light some interesting points about what your child would do in this situation. I have never really talked to my son about this. It does make me want to get him a cell phone at a young age-just for emergencies!

Imagine it is the middle of the day. Your kids are in school, you are at the office. The building begins to sway and then the lights go out. You grab your phone and call your child’s school, but you cannot get through. The building starts to shake violently, like nothing you’ve felt before. Is this the quake they’ve been warning everyone about? Where is your child? Is she safe? Who is taking care of her? Is she as frightened as you are?

Most parents work to make sure their children are prepared to cope with whatever the world throws at them. We help them with their homework to make sure they are ready for school. We try to make sure they eat the right foods. And, we want to keep them out of harm’s way. But do parents really teach their children what they need to know in the event of a disaster? Many parents in California have an emergency kit in the house and car, but are our children ready? Would they know how to cope and keep themselves safe if they were separated from us?

Dr. Jeffrey Upperman is director of the Disaster Preparedness project at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. He has spent years making sure public health institutions are prepared to address the needs of children in an emergency. Through his practice he has also learned a good deal about what families can do to prepare themselves—and their children—for the consequences of a disaster.

Experts say that children as young as age three can begin to understand earthquakes, floods, fires and other disasters. They should also be able to understand some simple steps you can take together to ensure they stay safe if you are not there to help them. Dr. Upperman’s top tips for you and your children:

Create a “business card” for your child just like yours. Include their name, address, phone number on the front, and a list of emergency contacts on the back, including out-of-state relatives and your pediatrician. Make them promise to keep the cards in their pocket or backpack.

Coordinate with other parents to arrange for each of your children to have a “buddy” – another child in their class or playgroup that they should stay close to in an emergency. Get parents and buddies together every six months to review family disaster plans.

Make sure your children know who to call if they cannot reach you – designate an out-of-town friend or relative to be a point of contact. Once a month, schedule a time for your child to call that relative just to say hello. The more regularly they communicate, the more comfortable they will be calling in an emergency.

Every household has features that can be dangerous in the event of a disaster—things like overhead lights, unsecured water heaters or bookcases, toxic or flammable household cleaners or chemicals. Get your children to help you search the house and make a list of potential hazards. Use the search as an opportunity to teach them about the importance of household safety.

Volunteer to work with your children, their classmates and their teacher to create a checklist the class can use in the event of an earthquake or other emergency. Create the checklist as a group, and produce pocket-size copies of the checklist for your children to keep in their desks at school.

Create a list with your children of all the “helpers” they can count on if there is an emergency and you are not together. The list would include teachers, doctors, nurses, firemen, policemen. With young children, create a collage with pictures of the helpers. The goal is to ensure kids will feel comfortable and safe with caretakers and emergency workers.

Have your child create a shopping list for the family’s disaster preparedness kit and shop for the items together. Have them help you pick the storage place, and put them in charge of one of the items in the kit.

Role play with your children—act out what might happen at school. Let your child be the adult, and you play the child who needs to be told what to do in an emergency.

Talk to your children and make sure they talk to you. When there is news of a disaster or emergency in the world, use the news as a “teachable moment,” a way to remind your child how to prepare so that your family will be safe.

Thanks to Dr. Jeffrey Upperman, Director of the Pediatric Disaster Preparedness project at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, for this information.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Too old for Santa

When are kids too old for Santa? Can believing in Santa for too long cause problems?

Yahoo Answers asked people "When is a child too old to believe in Santa?" The average answer seemed to be around 8 years old.

Topix parents say to wait until they ask you whether Santa is true to tell the truth. (My five-year-old already asked me, so that doesn't work at our house.)

When did your kids find out about Santa? Will there come an age where you will tell them if they don't figure it out for themselves?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Diluting Baby Formula

I could hardly believe it when I read this story from ABC. A five month old baby almost died because his mom was trying to save money on baby formula. It is just so sad. The mom was watering down her baby's formula to make it last longer.

As if unemployment numbers weren't enough, the story of an infant in Florida really hit the country as a sign we are in desperate economic times: Five-month-old La'Damian Barton almost died Monday from watered-down formula because his mother tried to cut costs. Child care and poverty advocates say poor families have always had to make dangerous decisions to cut back. Now, with the economy in trouble, experts say more families are likely to try cutting doctor visits or skipping their own meals so the children can eat.

One of our reporters-Nishi Gupta-wrote this story for HOI.

Pediatricians say parents should never dilute their baby formula with more water than what's recommended. They have seen babies who have become deficient in nutrients. It can even affect their hearts and cause seizures. They say the recommended amount will give your baby the right amount of nutrition, fats and proteins.

Doctors say don't mix scoops between formulas either because they are not all the same. Baby formulas can be expensive, but there are community and church services like shelters and food pantries that can help.

I had to stop nursing my first child at around 4 months due to some medication I was taking. When I started buying formula, OMG! It was so expensive. I think it was about $27-$28 a week. Going from $0 when you breastfeed to that is insane! I have been encouraging people I know who are nursing and supplementing to start drinking more water and pumping or nursing every 3 hours to increase their milk supply. Not just to save money, but because the FDA last week said they found trace amounts of melamine in baby formula. The FDA says it's so small, there's no concern. But still!

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Air Quality Testing

I got this email and I think it's an interesting topic to discuss.

Hello Jen,

A friend brought this article to my attention today. I'm hoping it gets plenty of coverage here. The second link is for a map showing the locatons of schools likely to have very bad outdoor air quality; there's a great big red dot right over Peoria. At the very least it would be nice to see some actual air quality testing.

USA Today

Here's the map of the schools that ranked the worst

The specific schools listed: Blaine-Sumner, Franklin-Edison, Garfield, Irving, Kingman, Peoria Alternative, Peoria High, Roosevelt Magnet, St. Mark's, Valeska Hinton, White, and Whittier.

What do you think about this? Should your city be testing the air quality standards-especially around your child's school? Would you be willing to pay more taxes to see this happen?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Safe Holiday Toys

FROM CNN: 

Last year at this time, American consumers were grappling with a massive toy recall following safety concerns. Today, we're looking at the  benefits of buying green toys. Now that's not from china? Neddie Bishop has a dilemma. She's shopping for a toy for her one year old nephew. She wants one made with safe, environmentally friendly materials-- but that's not too expensive. "See, $65, wow." Pediatrician Alan Greene, author of Raising Baby Green has some advice about what to look for. 

Choose natural toys and those things might be toys made out of solid wood, especially if it's not finished and has a non-toxic finish.  Greene says he worries about toxins that may be found in certain plastic toys. The phthalates that are plasticizers that make things soft, especially things that are made out of vinyl or PVC, and BPA that's used as a hardening agent in some things. 

Some parents aren't taking any chances. "I will pay more to ensure that my daughter is not playing with something that contains harmful plastics or lead in the paint. " That means doing some homework on which manufacturers use safe materials and reading labels, even if they're on the bottom of the box. 

I do pay attention to what I am buying for my kids, but my five-year-old has a list for Santa. So, I am checking to see if the things he wants are okay instead of the other way around. My little one just wants Thomas everything, so I just check and make sure it isn't one that has been recalled.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Winners! Pick up your FREE STUFF!

Here is the list of people who won prizes during our November holiday give-a-way who have not claimed them yet! Yikes! Please take a look at the list and bring your photo I.D. with you to the station to claim your prize!

Thursday, November 20th

1. Andrea Winkler-Soderstrom Skin Institute Gift Cards
2. Jennifer Schneider-Methodist Medical Center Body Gem
3. Brooke Atwater-Berean Bookstore Gift Card
4. Julie Huelsman-Rainbow Play Systems Birthday Party
5. Christina Bunton-Fired Up Gift Card

Wednesday, November 19th
1. Natalie Smith: Soderstrom Skin Institute gift cards
2. Beth Wallace: Methodist Medical Center
3. Janis Russell: Britches 'N Bloomers
4. Shannon Hibbens: Berean Bookstore
5. Shelly Bicksler: Rainbow Play Systems
6. Sarah Franks: AAA Duffle bag/Collector's car

Tuesday, November 18th

4. Jenn Moore: Berean Bookstore
5. Michelle Anderson: Britches 'N Bloomers
6. Tracie Lowder: Methodist Body Gem

Monday, November 17th

5. Jennifer Bannister: Berean Bookstore
6. Catherine Hopkins: Britches 'N Bloomers

Sunday, November 16th

1. Terri Anderson: Soderstrom Skin Institute gift cards
2. Heidi Abbott: AAA Membership Chicago Auto Club Group

Please pick up your prizes at WHOI: 500 North Stewart Street Creve Coeur, IL 61610 If you can't come by during normal business hours, please call me (Jen Christensen) to make arrangements: (309) 698-1950

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Celebrity Baby Names

Kyd, Pilot, Inspektor, Coco, Apple, Fifi... any of these ring a bell? They are some unique baby names picked by celebritities. I think there's a fine line between unique and just plain strange when it comes to kid's names. I definitley like the names that are different, but don't make me go, huh? Really?

Here's a link to more Celebrity Baby Names:

How about you? What kinds of names did you choose for you kids?

1. Biblical

2. Traditional

3. Trendy

4. Rare, but not shocking

5. One of a kind

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.

Working Moms Depressed

A new study shows 91% of working moms say they have felt the symptoms of depression. CNN interviewed the editor and chief of Working Mother magazine. According to their survey, depression is alarmingly present among working moms today. About 500 women answered the on-line survey to get these results. Nationally, 1 in 5 women are depressed.

The magazine editor says she was surprised by which women reported depression. She said it wasn't necessarily those with newborn babies suffering from post partum depression. It was women with kids older than two years old. Fifty-two percent of the women who responded said they did not seek professional help for depression.

The survey found the women who do the most: work, take care of kids, cook and are great wives, tend to suffer the most depression. Talk therapy, medication and self care seemed to be what brings most of these women out of depression. Self care can include having a cup of coffee with a friend, getting massage or just taking a bath without interruption.

Signs of Depression:
1. Someone is not taking joy out something they usually get a kick out of.
2. If someone seems stressed and lacking their usual personality
3. Lack of sleep
4. Lack of appetite

If you or someone you know fits these symptoms, it might be a good idea to make an appointment with your doctor. The holidays certainly can be stressful. I think it's sometimes hard to distinguish between stress and depression.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.