Important Conversations. Communication between parents and children should be a top priority in your family. Set aside time to talk, discussing the day’s and the week’s activities, sharing feelings and really listening to one an other.

Respect the privacy of each of your youngsters as they begin to assert their independence during these middle years; they may have certain problems and difficulties they may not want to divulge to their brothers and sisters. You should be able to have a one-on-one conversation with each child without all the other children listening to it. If you honor his wishes for confidentiality, this can build trust between you.

Some families establish a weekly time for a family meeting. When everyone is present, family issues, relationships, plans, and experiences are discussed, and everyone from the youngest to the oldest gets a chance to be heard and to participate.

Recreation and Cultural Activities. Family recreation is an important way to strengthen the family. Sports (participation and spectator), games, movies, and walks in the park are good ways to increase cohesiveness and reduce stress.

Cultural activities can be valuable too. Visits to museums, libraries, plays, musicals, and concerts can expand the family’s horizons and deepen appreci ation for the arts.

Shopping. Shopping trips can provide regular opportunities for parents and children to spend time together. Whether you are grocery shopping or buying birthday gifts, these excursions can be fun and exciting for youngsters in mid dle childhood. Let your children make lists, find items in the store, carry the bags to the car, and unpack them once you return home. Allowing your child some choices and assigning some meaningful responsibilities can help build his self-confidence.

Reading and Singing Aloud. Reading and singing aloud as a family promotes feelings of closeness and an appreciation for music and books. Parents should find out what stories their children like to read, and what music they like to lis ten to. It is lots of fun to take turns reading aloud, and to let the children hear the stories and songs you enjoyed when you were growing up.

Holiday Traditions. These are another source of fun family activities. By learning about the history, significance, and rituals of a particular holiday, chil dren will feel a greater sense of involvement in the holiday preparations and celebrations.

Spiritual Pursuits. For many families, religion plays an important role in pro viding a moral tradition, a set of values, and a network of friends and neigh bors who can provide support. Attending services is something family members can do together.

You do not necessarily need to go to a church, synagogue, or other place of worship regularly, however, to share moral values with your children and help them develop a sense of their history and the continuity of the family. Many families develop a strong spiritual life without the formal structure of orga nized religion.

• Repeated or chronic cold-like symptoms that last more than a week or two, or develop at about the same time every year. These could include a runny nose, nasal stuffiness, sneezing, throat clearing, and itchy, watery eyes.
• Recurrent coughing, wheezing, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and other respiratory symptoms may be a sign of asthma. Coughing may be an isolated symptom; symptoms that increase at night or with exercise are suspicious for asthma.
• Recurrent red, itchy, dry, sometime scaly rashes in the creases of the elbows and/or knees, or on the back of the neck, buttocks, wrists, or ankles.
• Symptoms that occur repeatedly after eating a particular food that may include hives, swelling, gagging, coughing or wheezing, vomiting or significant abdominal pain.
• Itching or tingling sensations in the mouth, throat and/or ears during certain times of year or after eating certain foods.

Common Allergies on the Homefront

• Dust mites (dust mites are microscopic and are found in bedding, upholstered furniture and carpet as well as other places)
• Furred animal allergens (dogs, cats, guinea pigs, gerbils, rabbits, etc.)
• Pest allergens (cockroaches, mice, rats)
• Pollen (trees, grasses, weeds)
• Molds and fungi (including molds too small to be seen with the naked eye)
• Foods (cow’s milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, fish and shellfish)

How to Manage Allergic Nasal Symptoms

• Nasal allergy symptoms can be caused by a variety of environmental allergens including indoor allergens such as dust mites, pets, and pests as well as outdoor allergens such as pollens.  Molds, which can be found indoors and outdoors, can also trigger nasal allergy symptoms.
• Allergy testing should be performed to determine what, if any, of these environmental allergens your child is allergic to.
  An important step in managing allergy symptoms is avoidance of the allergens that trigger the symptoms.
• If your child is allergic to pets, the addition of pets to your family would not be recommended. If your child has allergy symptoms and is allergic to a pet that lives with your family, the only way to have a significant impact on your child’s exposure to pet allergens is to find the pet a new home.
• If your child is allergic to pests, professional extermination, sealing holes and cracks that serve as entry points for pests, storing foods in plastic containers with lids and meticulous clean up of food remains can help to eliminate the pests and reduce allergen levels.
• Dust mites congregate where moisture is retained and food for them (human skin scales) is plentiful. They are especially numerous in bedding, upholstered furniture, and rugs. Padded furnishings such as mattresses, box springs, and pillows should be encased in allergen-proof, zip-up covers, which are available through catalogs and specialized retailers. Wash linens weekly and other bedding, such as blankets, every 1 to 2 weeks in hot water. (The minimum temperature to kill mites is 130 degrees. If you set your water heater higher than 120 degrees, the recommended temperature to avoid accidental scald burns, take care if young children are present in the home.)
• If your child is allergic to outdoor allergens, it can be helpful to use air conditioners when possible. Showering or bathing at the end of the day to remove allergens from body surfaces and hair can also be helpful. For patients with grass pollen allergy, remaining indoors when grass is mowed and avoiding playing in fields of tall grass may be helpful. Children with allergies to molds should avoid playing in piles of dead leaves in the fall.

Medications to Control Symptoms

Your child’s allergy treatment should start with your pediatrician, who may refer you to a pediatric allergy specialist for additional evaluations and treatments.

• Antihistamines – Ones taken by mouth can help with itchy watery eyes, runny nose and sneezing, as well as itchy skin and hives. Some types may cause drowsiness.
• Nasal Corticosteroids – Highly effective for allergy symptom control and are widely used to stop chronic symptoms. Safe to use in children over long periods of time. Must be used daily.
• Allergy Immunotherapy – Immunotherapy, or allergy shots, may be recommended to reduce your child’s allergy symptoms. Allergy shots are only prescribed in patients with confirmed allergy. If allergen avoidance and medications are not successful, allergy shots for treatment of respiratory allergies to pollen, dust mites, cat and dog dander, and outdoor molds can help  decrease the need for daily medication.
• Ask your doctor about additional therapies.

Managing Eczema (Atopic Dermatitis):

• Steroid creams are very effective. When used sparingly and at the lowest strength that does the job, they are very safe.
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory creams or ointments can be used for itching and redness and decrease the need for steroid creams.
• Antihistamine medication may be prescribed to relieve the itching, and help break the itch-scratch cycle.
• Long-sleeved sleepwear may also help prevent nighttime scratching.
  Soaps containing perfumes and deodorants may be too harsh for children’s sensitive skin.
• Use laundry products that are free of dyes and perfumes and double-rinse clothes, towels and bedding.
• Lukewarm soaking baths are good ways to treat the dry skin of eczema. Gently pat your child dry after the bath to avoid irritating the skin with rubbing. Then, liberally apply moisturizing cream right away.
• Eczema, particularly when severe, may be associated with food allergies (e.g., milk, egg, peanut).
• Launder new clothes thoroughly before your child wears them. Avoid fabric softener.

Helpful health and safety tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Making the First Day Easier

• Remind your child that she is not the only student who is a bit uneasy about the first day of school. Teachers know that students are anxious and will make an extra effort to make sure everyone feels as comfortable as possible.
• Point out the positive aspects of starting school: It will be fun. She’ll see old friends and meet new ones. Refresh her positive memories about previous years, when she may have returned home after the first day with high spirits because she had a good time.
• Find another child in the neighborhood with whom your youngster can walk to school or ride with on the bus.
• If you feel it is appropriate, drive your child (or walk with her) to school and pick her up on the first day.

Backpack Safety

• Choose a backpack with wide, padded shoulder straps and a padded back.
• Pack light. Organize the backpack to use all of its compartments. Pack heavier items closest to the center of the back. The backpack should never weigh more than 10 to 20 percent of your child’s body weight.
• Always use both shoulder straps. Slinging a backpack over one shoulder can strain muscles.
• If your school allows, consider a rolling backpack. This type of backpack may be a good choice for students who must tote a heavy load. Remember that rolling backpacks still must be carried up stairs, and they may be difficult to roll in snow.

Traveling To and From School

Review the basic rules with your youngster:

School Bus

• If your child’s school bus has lap/shoulder seat belts, make sure your child uses one at all times when in the bus. If your child’s school bus does not have lap/shoulder belts, encourage the school to buy or lease buses with lap/shoulder belts.
• Wait for the bus to stop before approaching it from the curb.
• Do not move around on the bus.
• Check to see that no other traffic is coming before crossing the street.
• Make sure to always remain in clear view of the bus driver.
• Children should always board and exit the bus at locations that provide safe access to the bus or to the school building.

Car

• All passengers should wear a seat belt and/or an age- and size-appropriate car safety seat or booster seat.
• Your child should ride in a car safety seat with a harness as long as possible and then ride in a belt-positioning booster seat. Your child is ready for a booster seat when she has reached the top weight or height allowed for her seat, her shoulders are above the top harness slots, or her ears have reached the top of the seat.
• Your child should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s seat belt fits properly (usually when the child reaches about 4′ 9″ in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age). This means that the child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with her legs bent at the knees and feet hanging down and the shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat; the lap belt is low and snug across the thighs, and not the stomach.
• All children younger than 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles. If you must drive more children than can fit in the rear seat (when carpooling, for example), move the front-seat passenger’s seat as far back as possible and have the child ride in a booster seat if the seat belts do not fit properly without it.
• Remember that many crashes occur while novice teen drivers are going to and from school. You should require seat belt use, limit the number of teen passengers, do not allow eating, drinking, cell phone conversations or texting to prevent driver distraction; and limit nighttime driving and driving in inclement weather. Familiarize yourself with your state’s graduated driver license law and consider the use of a parent-teen driver agreement to facilitate the early driving learning process. Click here for a sample parent-teen driver agreement.

Bike

• Always wear a bicycle helmet, no matter how short or long the ride.
• Ride on the right, in the same direction as auto traffic.
• Use appropriate hand signals.
• Respect traffic lights and stop signs.
• Wear bright color clothing to increase visibility.
• Know the “rules of the road.”

Walking to School

• Make sure your child’s walk to a school is a safe route with well-trained adult crossing guards at every intersection.
• Be realistic about your child’s pedestrian skills. Because small children are impulsive and less cautious around traffic, carefully consider whether or not your child is ready to walk to school without adult supervision.
• If your children are young or are walking to a new school, walk with them the first week or until you are sure they know the route and can do it safely.
• Bright colored clothing will make your child more visible to drivers.
• In neighborhoods with higher levels of traffic, consider starting a “walking school bus,” in which an adult accompanies a group of neighborhood children walking to school.

Eating During the School Day

• Most schools regularly send schedules of cafeteria menus home. With this advance information, you can plan on packing lunch on the days when the main course is one your child prefers not to eat.
• Try to get your child’s school to stock healthy choices such as fresh fruit, low-fat dairy products, water and 100 percent fruit juice in the vending machines.
• Each 12-ounce soft drink contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories. Drinking just one can of soda a day increases a child’s risk of obesity by 60%. Restrict your child’s soft drink consumption.

Bullying

Bullying is when one child picks on another child repeatedly. Bullying can be physical, verbal, or social. It can happen at school, on the playground, on the school bus, in the neighborhood, or over the Internet.

When Your Child Is Bullied

• Help your child learn how to respond by teaching your child how to:

1. Look the bully in the eye.
2. Stand tall and stay calm in a difficult situation.
3. Walk away.

• Teach your child how to say in a firm voice.

1. “I don’t like what you are doing.”
2. “Please do NOT talk to me like that.”
3. “Why would you say that?”

• Teach your child when and how to ask for help.
• Encourage your child to make friends with other children.
• Support activities that interest your child.
• Alert school officials to the problems and work with them on solutions.
• Make sure an adult who knows about the bullying can watch out for your child’s safety and well-being when you cannot be there.

When Your Child Is the Bully

• Be sure your child knows that bullying is never OK.
• Set firm and consistent limits on your child’s aggressive behavior.
• Be a positive role mode. Show children they can get what they want without teasing, threatening or hurting someone.
• Use effective, non-physical discipline, such as loss of privileges.
• Develop practical solutions with the school principal, teachers, counselors, and parents of the children your child has bullied.

When Your Child Is a Bystander

• Tell your child not to cheer on or even quietly watch bullying.
• Encourage your child to tell a trusted adult about the bullying.
• Help your child support other children who may be bullied. Encourage your child to include these children in activities.
• Encourage your child to join with others in telling bullies to stop.

Before and After School Child Care

• During early and middle childhood, youngsters need supervision. A responsible adult should be available to get them ready and off to school in the morning and watch over them after school until you return home from work.
• Children approaching adolescence (11- and 12-year-olds) should not come home to an empty house in the afternoon unless they show unusual maturity for their age.
• If alternate adult supervision is not available, parents should make special efforts to supervise their children from a distance. Children should have a set time when they are expected to arrive at home and should check in with a neighbor or with a parent by telephone.
• If you choose a commercial after-school program, inquire about the training of the staff. There should be a high staff-to-child ratio, and the rooms and the playground should be safe.

Developing Good Homework and Study Habits

• Create an environment that is conducive to doing homework. Youngsters need a permanent work space in their bedroom or another part of the home that offers privacy.
• Schedule ample time for homework.
• Establish a household rule that the TV set stays off during homework time.
• Supervise computer and internet use.
• Be available to answer questions and offer assistance, but never do a child’s homework for her.
• Take steps to help alleviate eye fatigue, neck fatigue and brain fatigue while studying. It may be helpful to close the books for a few minutes, stretch, and take a break periodically when it will not be too disruptive.
• If your child is struggling with a particular subject, and you aren’t able to help her yourself, a tutor can be a good solution. Talk it over with your child’s teacher first.

But on a daily basis, where is the proper guidance to steer through the numerous food choices?

Getting to Know MyPlate

Since 1894, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been providing Americans with dietary guidelines. In general, they have focused on eating from specified food groups and emphasized moderation, proportionality, and variety. An updated version of the USDA’s guidelines is called MyPlate. It shows the image of a dinner plate divided into colored sections:

• Orange—grains (eg, wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley)
• Purple—protein (eg, meat, chicken, fish, beans, eggs, soy products, nuts, seeds)
• Red—fruits (eg, apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, oranges, peaches)
• Green: vegetables (eg, broccoli, romaine lettuce, spinach, corn, carrots)

Plus, there is a blue cup to the right of the plate to symbolize dairy foods (eg, milk, cheese, yogurt).

An important feature of MyPlate is that each section is a particular size. This is to highlight the proportions that Americans should aim for when planning their meal, for example:

• Half the plate should be fruits and veggies!
• About a quarter of the plate should be grains (especially whole grains).
• The rest should be protein.

Before Your Next Shopping Trip…

MyPlate provides parents with important concepts that virtually all experts agree on: making healthy food choices and practicing eating in moderation. So before hitting the grocery aisles with your little one, take the time to catch up on the suggestions found on MyPlate! The USDA’s main messages include:

• Encourage your child to enjoy his food, but to eat portions that are right for his age and activity level.
• Fill half of your child’s plate with fruits and vegetables.
• Have your kid drink fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.
• Read food labels! Find out how much sodium is in packaged food. Choose lower sodium options!
• Encourage your child to drink water. Leave the sugary drinks behind.

If you keep the pantry, refrigerator, and kitchen table stocked with plenty of low-fat, low-sugar snacks from the 5 major food groups, that’s what she’ll reach for. Of course, occasional treats like ice cream are fine. But for those snacks that your child typically grabs on her own, make sure they’re nutritious ones such as:

• Fruit
• Fresh strawberries
• Low-fat/frozen yogurt
• Air-popped popcorn
• Celery stalks
• Low-fat cheeses
• Low-fat oatmeal cookies
• Frozen juice bars (without added sugar)
• Cucumber slices
• Crackers
• Frozen bananas
• Sugar-free cereals
• Baked potato chips
• Unsalted pretzels
• Bran muffins
• Dried raisins or apricots

Adding a protein food with these snacks can make them more satisfying. Try adding a boiled egg, cheese stick, yogurt, natural peanut butter, or nuts (if your child is old enough so choking is not a concern).

All OTC medicines have the same kind of label. The label gives important information about the medicine. It says what it is for, how to use it, what is in it, and what to watch out for. Look on the box or bottle, where it says “Drug Facts.”

Check the chart on the label to see how much medicine to give. If you know your child’s weight, use that first. If not, go by age. Check the label to make sure it is safe for infants and toddlers younger than 2 years. If you are not sure, ask your child’s doctor.

Call the doctor right away if..

Your child throws up a lot or gets a rash after taking any medicine. Even if a medicine is safe, your child may be allergic to it.

Your child may or may not have side effects with any drug. Be sure to tell the doctor if your child has any side effects with a medicine.

Over-the-Counter Medicines

Type of medicine

What it’s used for

What else you need to know

Aspirin

Never give aspirin to your child unless your child’s doctor tells you it’s safe. Aspirin can cause a very serious liver disease called Reye syndrome. This is especially true when given to children with the flu or chickenpox.

Hydrocortisone (high-druh-KOR-tuh-zohn) or cortisone cream

Treats insect bites, mild skin rashes, poison ivy, and eczema (EGG-zu-muh).

Ask the doctor how often you can put it on your child’s skin. Don’t put any on your child’s face unless the doctor says it is OK.

Never use this cream on burns, infections, cuts, or broken skin.

Pain and fever medicine

Helps fever and headaches or body aches. Also can help with pain from bumps or soreness from a shot. Examples are acetaminophen (uh-SET-tuh-MIN-uh-fin) and ibuprofen (eye-byoo-PROH-fin). Tylenol is one brand name for acetaminophen. Advil and Motrin are brand names for ibuprofen.

Saline (saltwater) nose drops

May help if your baby is having trouble eating or sleeping because of a stuffy nose.

Put 1 to 2 drops into each side of the nose. Then use a bulb syringe to suck our the drops and mucus.

Using a bulb syringe can make the nose sore, so try not to use it too often.

Stomach medicines

Treats problems like heartburn, gas, not being able to pass stool (constipation), or loose, runny stools (diarrhea).

There are different kinds of medicines, depending on what the problem is. Talk with your child’s doctor before using any of them.

Most of these problems go away on their own. Sometimes just changing your child’s diet helps.

Some stomach medicines also contain aspirin, which can harm your child. See “Aspirin” on the first page of this handout.

via HealthyChildren.org – Choosing Over-the-Counter Medicines for Your Child.