Did you know that September is officially Baby Safety Month? This little-known but important celebration seeks to educate parents and caregivers about the latest guidelines in baby safety standards, tackling new topics every year, from car rides to safe sleep to playtime and baby proofing. Working together, our community can help take important strides to keep […]
Health
Posted inBend Nest
Career-Changed K9 Finds a Forever Friend
10-year-old girl finds comfort with canine companion, Zinny
Abby Durrell, a 10-year-old homeschooler in Sunriver, Oregon, was struggling with anxiety and stress due to various medical conditions that caused speech delays, balance issues and blurred peripheral vision. “In May of 2020 we ended up in the ER where she was diagnosed with chiari malformation [a condition where brain tissue invades the spinal canal],” […]
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The Wisdom of Fever
With seemingly endless options of over-the-counter medications readily accessible, it’s easy to reach for something to try to manage just about any symptom the body can create. The seasonal colds and flus that are so common this time of year always come with discomfort, and it is tempting to reach for a pain reliever or […]
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New Year, New You!
Local gyms offer parents and kids time to move together
As the new year approaches, many local parents are making resolutions to get more physically active and improve their health. As difficult as it can be to schedule self-care time and childcare, indoor gyms can be a real lifesaver when it comes to meeting those new goals. Not all gyms are created equal, though. At […]
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Generation Resilient
How to help pandemic babies thrive
As we approach the second anniversary of the pandemic, parents of children born during this unique time may have questions about their child’s social and emotional development. Questions like: How has social distancing affected my infant? Has my baby received enough human contact to recognize facial emotions? Will my toddler’s speech and language development be […]
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Music Therapy
Where Words Fail, Music Speaks
Dr. Debasish Mridha once said that “music can heal the wounds that medicine can’t touch.” If this is true, then music therapy can provide the healing balm to soothe a troubled soul. Many people have experienced better emotional well-being from their relationships with music. Instinctively we know how good it feels to listen to a […]
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Love Wins
Your Child Just Came Out as Non-Binary, Now What?
For many parents, the term “non-binary” is relatively new. Over the last handful of years, more and more celebrities like Janelle Monáe, Miley Cyrus and Ruby Rose have come out as identifying as something other than the gender they were assigned at birth (female), helping to shine a light on the non-binary experience and giving […]
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Handwashing: A Family Activity
Tips from the CDC
Handwashing is an easy, cheap, and effective way to prevent the spread of germs and keep kids and adults healthy. When your family is healthy, you don’t have to worry about missing school, work or other activities. Help your child develop handwashing skills Teach kids the five easy steps—wet, lather, scrub, rinse and dry—and the […]
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Back-to-School: The New Normal
How parents can help children prepare for the uncertainties that lie ahead
The question of how school will look this fall looms large this summer. Will classes be in-person or via remote learning? If an in-person option is available, will it be safe? How does a family weigh the risks of social and academic setback against a virus we know so little about? How will kids thrive […]
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How to Talk to your Child about their Weight
The simple answer: don’t do it.
In the past it was believed that discussing weight with children would decrease rates of obesity (a word defined by BMI standards). However, breakthrough studies in mental health and its association with food demonstrate that it does harm instead of helping. We now know that these conversations can lead to increased body dissatisfaction, binge eating, […]