Is your Babysitter too young?

How old is your babysitter? Ours are all college age or older. However, I have three little boys and I need someone who will really pay attention and know how to solve problems. So I don't think a young person without a lot of experience would be able to handle them. As the boys get older, I think I will consider younger babysitters. The baby just turned one and he needs constant attention. He is into EVERYTHING! I think I do worry about older girls texting or playing on the Internet, but my oldest would most definitely tell me if that was happening. When I tell them a babysitter is coming over, they hear "something is coming over to play with you." How old are your babysitters?

FROM NBC: It's a tempting idea for desperate parents, letting a pre-teen babysit their children. but some wonder if tweens are simply too immature to take on such an important responsibility. Now doctors say they have brand new insight into what young babysitters are capable of. Donielle Martin thinks 11 is way too young to babysit. This mother of 5-year-old Noah says she'd only use someone that age as a mother's helper when she's in the house too. Donnielle Martin said, "At 11 you're really not good at making the proper judgment calls."

"You're not ready for it at that stage in your life. I mean, you're still a kid yourself." Late last month a two year old died from head injuries and blunt force trauma to her body. Police near Atlanta where the incident happened say her 11-year-old babysitter is responsible. Although police don't say what led up to the alleged beating, new research is helping doctors understand how prepared tween babysitters are in difficult situations.

Dr. Heather Orman-Lubell/ Pediatrician "I think what it did do was give us a little snapshot of what we can do better with these kids." Pediatrician doctor Heather Orman-Lubell says some of the findings in the survey of preteen babysitters are reassuring. Researchers from Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital say almost all young sitters know what to do if there is an intruder or a sick or injured child. But a whopping 40 percent admit they've left an infant in their care unattended, 20 percent say they have opened the door to strangers.

Babysitting classes are common these days, but less than 20 percent of younger babysitters have taken one. Half know first aid and CPR and most know where to find first aid supplies. 911 calls from preteen babysitters are uncommon but serious. Most involved children who had a significant fall. Fires, profuse bleeding, and head trauma are other reasons paramedics were called.

Donielle worries that older babysitters have baggage, too. Donnielle Martin/ Mom "I find people that are at least 17 or 18, but the problem you have with those ages is they are often times texting or on facebook." Dr. Orman-Lubell says parents should tell younger babysitters exactly what's expected of them, even when it comes down to something as simple as never leaving a child alone. Observe them with your children before you leave them alone. The doctor says, in general, tween babysitters are best for older children, not infants.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Drinking Alcohol while pregnant not so bad?

FROM NBC: A British study shows children born to women who drank lightly during pregnancy appear to suffer no behavioral problems. Researchers say women who indulged in one or two alcoholic beverages a week had children with no more social or emotional difficulties than those who abstained from drinking during their pregnancy.

A drink was defined as a very small glass of wine, eight ounces of beer or an ounce of liquor. But researchers stress they are not recommending that expectant moms drink. Because it's not clear what amount of alcohol is safe -- pregnant women are strongly advised not to drink at all.

FROM THE TIMES ON-LINE
Women who drink alcohol occasionally during pregnancy do not harm their unborn babies – in fact their children may even benefit, a large study suggests. Research involving more than 12,000 children showed that mothers who drank lightly during pregnancy – defined as one to two units, or a single drink a week – did not increase the risk of having babies with mental impairment or behavioural problems.

Rather, children born to light drinkers were found to be less likely to have problems and performed better in some tests compared with offspring of mothers who did not drink at all. The findings run counter to government guidance, which advises pregnant women and those trying to conceive to cut out alcohol altogether. The latest study is the most comprehensive examination so far of the effects of light drinking by expectant mothers.

However, doctors reiterated warnings last night of the risks of heavy drinking during pregnancy, and expressed concern that women should not be “lulled into a false sense of security”. Researchers at University College London examined data on the behaviour and mental skills of 12,495 three-year-olds.

I still think there is no reason to drink while pregnant so why do it? What do you think?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an acne emergency? Soderstrom Skin Institute can help. We treat acne seriously and in most cases will see you within a week. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. Call 309-674-SKIN and make your appointment today.

Her baby was not dead

Please tell me this is extremely uncommon! It makes me sick to my stomach. A British woman was told her baby no longer had a heartbeat and would need to be aborted. She insisted the baby was still alive. She was only a few weeks pregnant, but she says she just knew. Another sonogram was taken days later and the baby's heartbeat was just fine. The hospital says it is a teaching hospital so the original test may have been wrong. Can you believe that? That is truly shocking to me. I hope doctors routinely do sonograms before DNCs for women with miscarriages. I just can't imagine being told my baby was dead and then discovering it was a mistake. Crazy!

FROM NBC: A British woman who was told by doctors that her unborn baby was dead, says "mother's intuition" convinced her they were wrong. Sofia Taylor was offered a termination after medics couldn't find her baby's heartbeat at a check-up. But Sonia demanded a second ultrasound or scan. "I wanted to believe it. I saw the heart beat, you know, it was there, but after being told the baby had died I was thinking, 'how's it come back alive again?'" Nine days after being told her unborn baby was dead and should be aborted a second scan brought amazing news, an unthinkable transformation from what she was first told.

"They said that basically that they're really sorry but the baby had died and the pregnancy couldn't go ahead. They showed us a screen on the t-v with a yolk and a little baby with no heartbeat." She was offered an immediate termination, but insisted on a second scan. Sofia said, "He then told me the best thing to do was to take the tablets. i was crying and asked him if could have another scan. I don't know why, I just felt the baby was still there." This mother's instincts saved her unborn baby's life as she discovered nine days later.

"When he said all this I was thinking, 'you're joking, there can't be heartbeat' and he said, 'yeah, there's a heartbeat there.' And he just showed us a screen and and this baby's going from one side to another side. It was really nice, but also what went wrong then? Why did you tell me the baby had died?" Duncan Selbie/Sussex Univ. Hospital "It shouldn't have happened.

We are a teaching hospital so we're training and teaching students of all sorts all the time and in this instance, we got the supervision wrong." Sophia's joy is tempered with apprehension given what she's gone through. "I think now it's going to be a quite hard pregnancy because everyday I'm still a little bit, 'I wonder if everything's okay? I wonder if it's, I wonder if the baby's still growing?"

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an acne emergency? Soderstrom Skin Institute can help. We treat acne seriously and in most cases will see you within a week. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. Call 309-674-SKIN and make your appointment today.

Sleep Positioners

The FDA is calling sleep positioners unsafe. This article says they are to keep a baby on his/her back, but I used it to prevent a flat head. My second child had to wear a helmet because he always tilted his head to the right when he slept. His head became lopsided. Anyway, my new baby did start to scoot down on the sleep positioner as he got a little older and his face would be dangerously close to the little side pillows. That is when I stopped using it. I just don't think you can use them for very long. However, if you use them all the time, the baby may get used to it and won't sleep without it. That's a problem! Did you use a sleep positioner? Do you think they are safe?

FROM U.S. NEWS/HEALTH BUZZ:

Government Calls Infant Sleep Devices "Dangerous," Warns Against Use

Some anxious parents rely on devices to keep sleeping babies on their backs, a position which experts say protects against sudden infant death syndrome. But these so-called sleep positioners are "dangerous and unnecessary," and should no longer be used because they pose a suffocation risk, the government warned today. In the past 13 years, sleep positioners have caused 12 infants—all between 1 and 4 months of age—to suffocate, according to a statement issued by the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Sleep positioners are typically sold as flat or inclined mats with side bolsters, designed to hold infants in one spot. In most cases, suffocation occurred after the child rolled from a side position to a stomach position, or became trapped between the device and the side of a crib or bassinet. The agencies say they've received dozens of reports about infants who were placed in sleep positioners and were later found in potentially dangerous positions, either within or next to the device. The FDA has never approved sleep positioners as safe.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an acne emergency? Soderstrom Skin Institute can help. We treat acne seriously and in most cases will see you within a week. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. Call 309-674-SKIN and make your appointment today.

Choosing your baby's sex

Of course, when I saw the title of this story, I had to find out more. Is there really a sure fire way to choose the sex of your baby? Of course! The problem is, you can't do it without creating other embryos you know you will never use. :( Bummer! Personally, I just don't like that idea. I am happy, overwhelmed and broke with my three boys. Still, I do have people ask me if there's a way to choose your baby's sex. Some couples are doing it and according to the doctor in this article, it will become more common. What do you think? Is it unethical?

FROM NBC: SOME PEOPLE DREAM OF HAVING A BABY GIRL OR A BOY. IT USED TO BE THOSE MATTERS WERE LEFT TO CHANCE. BUT NOT ANYMORE. TODAY MORE PEOPLE ARE CHOOSING THE SEX OF THEIR CHILD, A PRACTICE THAT'S RAISING SOME EYEBROWS.

THE JOHNSON HOUSE IS FULL OF TESTOSTERONE. FOUR BOYS!
FOUR MONTHS AGO THE "ALL MALE" STREAK WAS BROKEN. BABY AVA ARRIVED, BUT NOT BY CHANCE. NOLANA JOHNSON, MOTHER "We wanted a girl and we did what we had to do to have a daughter".

THE JOHNSONS CHOSE "GENDER SELECTION", NOLANA SAYS SHE WENT TO THE ONLY FERTILITY CLINIC IN TEXAS THAT OFFERS IT, THE SHER INSTITUTE IN DALLAS.
DR. WALID SALEH, SHER INSTITUTE "I have had hundreds of cycles and haven't had one give us the wrong gender"

DOCTOR WALID SALEH COULD ALMOST GUARANTEE THEM A GIRL. THROUGH IN VITRO FERTILIZATION, EGG CELLS ARE FERTILIZED BY SPERM IN A LAB.

(REPORTER STANDUP: MEREDITH LAND:42-:52)
"After three days of growth in this incubator, the embryos are taken out. They are then biopsied and at that point doctors can tell how many girl and how many boy embryos they have."

"COMPARATIVE GENOMIC HYBRIDIZATION" OR "CGH" TESTS ALL 23 CHROMOSOMES IN THE D-N-A. HEREDITARY DISORDERS, BIRTH DEFECTS AND YES, GENDER CAN ALL BE REVEALED ALLOWING THE MOTHER TO PICK WHICH EMBRYO OR EMBRYOS TO TRANSFER BACK INTO HER BODY.

NOLANA JOHNSON, MOTHER"When they called us that morning, they said, 'you have 4 girls and 2 boys.' I was very excited about that." NOLANA SAYS DOCTORS TRANSFERRED THREE GIRL EMBRYOS.

NOLANA JOHNSON, MOTHER )
"One took, and that was miss Ava" DR SALEH SAYS MORE OF HIS PATIENTS WANT TO SELECT THE SEX OF THEIR CHILD, NOW 20 PERCENT OF I-V-F CYCLES IN HIS PRACTICE. COUPLES PAY BETWEEN 10 AND 15,000 DOLLARS.

TOM MAYO, SMU ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ETHICS "Science is out ahead of ethics and law all the time" TOM MAYO, THE DIRECTOR OF THE MAGUIRE CENTER FOR ETHICS AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY AT S-M-U QUESTIONS THE PRACTICE .

Q: "ETHICALLY SPEAKING, IS THIS OKAY?"

TOM MAYO, SMU ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ETHICS "I think that the consensus is that it is potentially problematic, that it does raise serious ethical issues, but the balance so far favors autonomy on the part of the parents in making reproductive decisions that work for them"

MAYO SAYS TIME OFTEN CHANGES MINDS.

TOM MAYO, SMU ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ETHICS "The technology will move even further, the numbers will increase. Our comfort level will probably increase over time and we'll move on to other issues" TO PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE WITH HIS PRACTICE, DR SALEH SAYS THIS;

DR. WALID SALEH, SHER INSTITUTE "Number one: I don't make those babies. The miracle of life is the same. They are boys or girls on their own. The only thing we are doing is freezing the boys and transferring the girls or vice versa." DR SALEH SAYS HE DENIES PEOPLE WHO WANT A BOY OR A GIRL FOR CULTURAL REASONS. HIS RULE: YOU MUST ALREADY HAVE AT LEAST ONE CHILD AT HOME, YOU CAN THEN SELECT THE OPPOSITE SEX. HE CALLS IT "FAMILY BALANCING".

DR. WALID SALEH, SHER INSTITUTE "Through rebalancing, you maintain the 50-50 ratio between men and women and i really think that's what's important for society"

NOLANA JOHNSON ISN'T JUST A MOM. SHE'S A NURSE. SHE SAYS "CHOOSING" TO HAVE THIS LITTLE GIRL WAS A THOUGHTFUL PROCESS. NOLANA JOHNSON, MOTHER:
"I believe in god and I believe in science and I think they work together. I can't imagine anyone looking at Ava and saying, 'This is bad, you shouldn't have done this".

NOLANA HOPES THAT BY TALKING ABOUT IT SHE ISN'T JUDGED, BUT CAN HELP OTHER FAMILIES, YEARNING FOR THAT GIRL OR THAT BOY.
"If we can help another family, I want to help another family. This is amazing."

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Are you having an acne emergency? Soderstrom Skin Institute can help. We treat acne seriously and in most cases will see you within a week. Evening and Saturday appointments are available. Call 309-674-SKIN and make your appointment today.