Your child does NOT need to get Chicken Pox

Cases of chickenpox — a childhood infection that was once nearly universal — have fallen 57% to 90% in communities across the USA since a vaccine was introduced in 1995, a new report shows. Before the vaccine, 4 million Americans a year came down with chickenpox, nearly 11,000 were hospitalized and more than 140 died, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in today's Pediatrics.

The vaccine has reduced infections in every age group, including among babies under 1 year old, who are too young to be vaccinated, says study author Jane Seward of the CDC's National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases. These babies are being protected by "herd immunity," which results when vaccines reduce the opportunities for infection in a community.

Deaths in children ages 1 to 9 have declined about 90%, the study shows. Hospitalizations and costs have fallen 75% to 88%. While the vaccine prevents 85% of general infections, it prevents 95% of severe infections, which can lead to pneumonia and a dangerous brain inflammation called encephalitis.

Even healthy children can develop life-threatening pneumonia or encephalitis, says Vanderbilt University's William Schaffner, a board member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America who was not involved in the study.

The CDC has revised its recommendations as experts have learned more about the vaccine, Schaffner says.

The CDC initially recommended one shot for toddlers ages 12 to 15 months. But a single shot prevents only 85% of infections, Seward says, allowing the virus to break out even in schools where nearly all the children were vaccinated. Chickenpox can spread through direct contact or through the air, as lesions burst open and spew viruses into the air, Seward says.

In 2006, the CDC suggested a booster shot for children ages 4 to 6. About 89% of children ages 19 to 35 months had received the shot by 2006, the study shows.

Even with two shots, vaccination still saves money, given the expenses of hospitalization and doctors' visits, the study shows.

Austin pediatrician Ari Brown says she actually sees more chickenpox cases these days — because today's parents no longer know how to recognize the disease themselves.

Sufferers develop hundreds of extremely itchy blisters or crusted spots that may last for two weeks. Parents traditionally have treated children by putting them to bed, trimming their fingernails and using calamine lotion, oatmeal baths or antihistamines to relieve itching.

Doctors continue to study chickenpox and how the vaccine is changing who gets sick — and when.

In 1995, the bulk of chickenpox cases hit children ages 3 to 6. Now that so many toddlers have been vaccinated, however, the disease is hitting hardest in those ages 9 to 11, who may have missed out on the shot when they were small, the study shows. Several states are considering whether to require chickenpox shots for kids entering middle and high school, to prevent outbreaks among teens who weren't vaccinated as babies and who've never been exposed to the "wild" virus, Seward says.

Doctors are also learning more about the vaccine's safety, Schaffner says.

Children who received a single combined vaccine — protecting against chickenpox as well as measles, mumps and rubella — were twice as likely to develop fever and seizures, compared with those who got the chickenpox shot separately from the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine, the study shows.

About 5% of negative reactions to the vaccine have been serious, causing problems such as pneumonia and hepatitis, the study shows. All of those problems occurred in patients with serious but previously undiagnosed medical conditions.

Because the vaccine is new, doctors don't yet know how long its protection will last — a question with all vaccines, Schaffner says. Doctors are closely studying how the vaccine will affect cases of shingles.

That condition occurs when the chickenpox virus — which has been hibernating in the body for years or decades — suddenly re-emerges, causing painful sores, Schaffner says. Shingles can affect both those who have had chickenpox as well as those who avoided chickenpox through vaccination. Experts recommend that adults over 60 get a shingles vaccine, because the condition becomes more common later in life.

So far, studies suggest that the shingles rate is lower among vaccinated children.

Doctors don't yet know how the vaccine will affect a community's natural immunity.

Before the vaccine was introduced, people might be re-exposed to chickenpox many times throughout their lives, Schaffner says. Those who had already had the disease didn't get sick. But their immune systems got the equivalent of a booster shot from each encounter with the virus. Those boosts probably helped keep the virus in check, preventing shingles.

With less exposure to wild chickenpox viruses, Schaffner says it's possible that the immune system may not remain as strong, leaving people more vulnerable to shingles. In that case, Schaffner says, doctors might recommend that the shingles vaccine be given to younger adults, such as 40-year-olds.

This article was written by Liz Szabo for USA Today.

Healthy lunches for your child? Prepare it at home

USA TODAY asked two registered dietitians to give parents ideas for healthful meals to pack at home. Elizabeth Ward is a Boston nutritionist and the author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Feeding Your Baby and Toddler. Her daughters are 9, 12 and 13. Bonnie Taub-Dix is a New York nutritionist who serves as spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association and as a Cartoon Network nutrition consultant. Her kids are 13, 18 and 21.
"Children can't make it three or four hours in the morning on just sugary cereal or pastry," says Ward.

"At breakfast, I try to make sure my kids get a decent dose of protein (egg, cottage cheese, peanut butter), as well as complex carbohydrates like whole-grain toast or oatmeal, fruit, and dairy, such as skim or 1% milk or yogurt.

"I'm a big fan of school lunches, but you have more control over the cost and what your child eats if you pack lunch at home. Think outside of the box. Lunch can be more than a sandwich. Consider leftover pizza, soups, stews, pasta, chicken Caesar salad or even breakfast foods, like cereal with milk.

"I like to get my kids involved in preparing their own lunches. For five minutes the night before, we put our lunch together for the next day. It reduces the chaos in the morning." Her suggestions:

Breakfast

•Yogurt parfait: Layer 1 cup low-fat yogurt, 1 cup berries or ¼ cup raisins, and 1 cup whole-grain cereal in a tall glass.

• Scrambled egg pocket: Scramble one egg or two; place in half a whole-wheat pita pocket; add salsa, black beans and grated cheese. Serve with fruit or 8 ounces of 100% fruit juice.

• Banana Ants-Under-The Dog: Take 1 white whole-grain hot dog roll, spread with 2 tablespoons peanut butter or sunflower seed butter (good for kids who are allergic to peanut butter), then sprinkle ¼ cup raisins or dried cranberries on top. Peel banana and put in hot dog roll. Have with 8 ounces of 1% low-fat milk. "This is one of my favorites," Ward says. "This can also be lunch if the child brings the banana unpeeled and peels it right before eating. If you want this to be lunch, add some other food to the meal."

• Smoothie: Place 4 ounces plain low-fat yogurt, 1 cup berries or 1 medium banana, ½ cup of 1% low-fat milk and 2 ice cubes in a blender or food processor. Serve with one or two pieces of whole-grain toast.

• Hard-cooked egg (or two), whole-grain roll or toast with jam, sliced apple and 8 ounces of 1% low-fat milk. This can also be made into a lunch. You can make eggs on the weekend for the week ahead.

• Quaker Oatmeal to Go bar, banana or other piece of fruit and 8 ounces of 1% low-fat milk.

Lunch

•1 slice of leftover thin-crust cheese pizza, a peach or pear, 8 ounces 100% fruit juice, and a single-serving bag of low-fat popcorn (already popped).

•Turkey and cheese roll-ups: Wrap deli turkey around string cheese. Serve with whole-grain pretzels, carrot sticks or cherry tomatoes, fruit and 8 ounces 1% low-fat milk.

•Mediterranean wrap: Place hummus, tabbouleh and feta cheese on whole-wheat wrap and fold. Serve with a can of pineapple juice, an ounce of pistachios, a carton of low-fat yogurt and a Quaker chewy granola bar with protein.

•Bagel sandwich: Leftover cooked, chopped chicken tossed with grapes and low-fat mayo on a 2-ounce whole-wheat bagel. (You can buy these frozen and keep on hand for lunches.) With a single-serving carton of raisins and 8 ounces 1% low-fat milk.

•Whole-grain crackers, hummus, string cheese, single-serving carton of raisins (1 ounce), 8 ounces 1% low-fat milk and a Quaker chewy granola bar with protein.

•Hard-cooked egg (or two), whole-grain roll, single serving of mandarin oranges, single-serving carton of raisins, 1 ounce of in-shell pistachio nuts and 8 ounces of 1% milk.

"With breakfast, it's all a matter of timing," Taub-Dix says.

"Breakfast doesn't have to be elaborate. It's quick, not fast food. It can be something like mozzarella string cheese on a piece of bread. If you grab a glass of milk, that would be great.

"A big thing with kids is the lunch can't be smelly. That's why many won't take a can of tuna fish for lunch.

"It's good to interview your kids. Sit down with them and ask them what kind of things they like in their lunch and what they toss in the garbage or trade with other kids. That way you don't waste your time and your money. You can even have a taste test at home. Buy several kinds of low-fat cheese or whatever you want to taste test and figure out which one they like best." Her menu ideas:

Breakfast

•Whole-grain bagel with 1 tablespoon crunchy almond butter and 2 teaspoons of apple butter, 1 fresh pear and 1 cup of skim or 1% milk.

•Greek-style quesadilla: Place 1 seven-inch, whole-grain tortilla on a piece of foil wrap and sprinkle with ½ cup low-fat cheese, such as shredded mozzarella-type cheese, and sliced tomatoes, then cover with another tortilla. Carefully place the combo in the toaster oven until cheese melts. Top with ½ cup low-fat Greek-style yogurt.

•A whole-grain frozen waffle toasted with 1 slice of part-skim cheese melted on top of it sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, 1 cup of skim or 1% low-fat milk and 1 fresh peach.

•1 cup whole-grain cold cereal (preferably with less than 5 grams of sugar a serving and at least 5 grams of fiber) topped with fresh or frozen berries. With 1 cup skim or 1% low-fat milk.

Lunch

•Multi-grain bread with 2 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter and 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam, melon wedge and 1 cup low-fat yogurt.

•2 slices of raisin breadwith 2 slices of low-fat mozzarella cheese, fresh sugar snap peas, 1 banana, handful of almonds and 1 cup of skim or 1% low-fat milk.

•1 cup of cooked whole-wheat pasta (cooked the night before) tossed with cubes of grilled chicken, carrots, zucchini, and pine nuts, and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Serve with an individual serving of crushed pineapple in its own juice and 1 cup skim or 1% milk.

•Mixed green salad with grape tomatoes, sliced yellow peppers, shredded carrots, ⅓ cup chickpeas, 1 tablespoon sunflower seeds and mandarin oranges and grilled lean meat, such as chicken, turkey or fish, with 2 tablespoons of salad dressing. With 1 cup low-fat yogurt.

Backpacks a burden to fill up with supplies

The downturn in the economy is hurting our children's education as families, many of them for the first time, can not purchase the required supplies for their children. Social organizations that give away stuffed backpacks say the demand is up from last year so much so that they are worried about having enough donations to fill the backpacks. We can not allow our children who are our future to suffer from the downturn in the economy. Those of us who have MUST give to those in need so that our future isn't sacrificed to fill the gas tank and out food on the table. Get involves, go to school board meetings, vote for officials that will provide for our children. Already the arts, music, and P.E. have been taken out of some schools due to budget constraints. What's next? Subject by subject we'll cut teachers? Stop the madness. Our children need the basic supplies to write and complete school projects.

Helicopter Parents Need to be Grounded for the Children's sake

What is a helicopter parent? One who hovers over their kids, micromanaging every aspect of their lives. They fly into school in attack mode ready to confront the teacher or coach for "unfair" treatment of their kids. They obsess over teacher assignments. Some demand that their child be moved to another class before the school year has even begun.

One problem with this approach is that it doesn't help teens develop their own decision-making skills. Kids gain confidence if they can solve problems themselves. Plus if we solve our children's problems like bringing in homework they forgot at home, we are not teaching them responsibility. Even worse, some kids then learn to feel a sense of entitlement to be taken care of this way when they drop the ball.

Parents should help kids learn to make their own decisions. Our role as parents is to prepare our children for life where they will be on their own in the big bad world. When I see parents whose children cower under their skirts or in between their legs, I worry about that child's future as an independent member of society. We need to build confidence and independence in our children even if it is emotionally difficult to do so. As parents we want to be needed by our kids but fostering this to extreme degrees is bad for the child.

ABC spinoff "SuperManny"

At Nanny Poppinz, we coined the phrase "manny" for our male nannies that help us with our Corporate accounts where we take care of hundreds of children at once including boys from birth to 18 years old. We need good strong fun males to help with the childcare. Some of our most creative and energetic childcare providers are our "Mannies." Families that consist of three-four boys are well-served by a male nanny who will bond with them and do all the "boy" things. Now ABC is getting in on what Nanny Poppinz has known from the beginning to be a good thing, "Mannies."

ABC hires 'Supermanny' for fall Male-based spinoff features child therapist Mike Ruggles. The network will air an episode of "Supermanny" as a back-door pilot in the fall. The spinoff's format will remain similar to the original, with a child-development expert lending a family in crisis some tough-love guidance. However, instead of professional nanny Jo Frost leading the living room intervention, gruff Chicago child therapist Mike Ruggles will step in. "With a guy, he can connect with dads in a different kind of way," executive producer Nick Emmerson said. "It's really powerful stuff." Ruggles' approach to diffusing family disputes will differ somewhat as well. Ruggles encourages parents to learn how to play with their kids and get to know them. "It feels different to have a guy come in to work with your kids," Emmerson said. "A woman has a woman's touch, and people are more accepting and ready for her advice. We had to find the right person who has real authority and a gentle touch as well." The project is from Ricochet Television, which also produces the original series. ABC plans to air the episode as a special in the new "Supernanny" time period, 9 p.m. Fridays. The spinoff has been in development since last year, with the network hoping to build off the sturdy reality veteran series that's performed competitively in various spots on its schedule.

Are sex differences genetic?

Anita Sethi wrote an article for Parenting.com about the differences between boys and girls. The following post contains my questions and information from that article.

Boys play with trucks and girls with dolls right? Is this genetic or environmental? Do we push boys towards "masculine" things and girls towards "feminine" things and worry about our kids' sexuality if they tend to like things that the opposite sex gravitate towards? Even if you try hard not to point your children to gender specific toys, it seems that they gravitate that way anyway. One study of 18 month olds found that when presented with a picture of a doll or a vehicle, the boys gravitated towards the vehicle and the girls the doll. Could we have already programmed our children by 18 months? Experts who study this issue believe these preferences are set at birth and are hardwired into us.

Gender research tells us the following:

BOYS:

Like motion: One study of 12 month old baby boys gave them a choice between watching mechanical motion and human motion making them pick between windshield wipers moving back and forth and faces of people talking, the boy babies picked the windshield wipers. Research shows that boys are about two month ahead of girls in figuring out the laws of motion.

Have the moves: boys squirm, kick, and wiggle more than girls and also wind up in the ER more because of it. They do not however walk before girls. Both walk around the same time.

Are more emotional: boys are more easily agitated than girls and have a harder time self-soothing.

Love a crowd: boys prefer to look at a group of faces rather than just one. Newborn boys would rather look at a mobile than a single face.

Are fearless: Boys express fear later and less often. Parents of boys ages 3-12 months report that their children startle less to loud noises or stimuli than girls of the same age. Another study had moms show a face of fear to their 12 month old when approaching a toy. The boys disregarded the moms' fearful face and went for the toy anyway. The girls hesitated and slowed their approach.

GIRLS:

Made to mimic: As early as three hours of age, girls excel at imitation, a precursor to back-and-forth interaction. Newborn girls did better than boys in trying to copy finger movements. As toddlers, girls zoom ahead of boys on imitative behaviors such as pretending to take care of a baby but, interestingly, are no different from little guys when it comes to pretending to drive a car or water the plants, actions that are much less about human interaction.

Good with their hands: Infant girls exceed boys when it comes to fine motor tasks, a head start that will stick with them until preschool. They're faster to manipulate toys; they use eating utensils sooner; and they write sooner (and more neatly), too.

Are better listeners: Girls are more attuned to the sound of human voices and seem to actually prefer the sound to other sounds. Shake a rattle and you'll see no difference between newborn girls and boys, but when you talk, the girls will be more likely to become engaged.

Like face time: Girls are more likely to establish and maintain eye contact, and are attracted to individual faces -- especially women's. They're also more skilled at reading emotional expressions; if shown a frightening face, for example, they'll look at Mom or get distressed, but they'll be fine if they see a happy one. Boys take longer to notice the difference.

Talk sooner: All that watching and listening pays off: Girls start using gestures like pointing or waving bye-bye earlier than their brothers, and they play games like patty-cake and So Big sooner, according to a study of children ages 8 to 30 months. Girls understand what you're saying before boys do, start speaking earlier (at around 12 months versus 13 to 14 months for boys), and will continue to talk more through the toddler years. At 16 months, they produce as many as 100 words, while the average boy utters closer to 30. Although girls remain somewhat ahead through toddlerhood, the gap does begin to narrow, and at 2 ½, both boys and girls have 500 words, more or less.

Congress responds to chemical threats to our children

As a follow-up to my blog yesterday which I hope raised some concerns for parents who might not have known about these potential dangers, today I want to follow-up with an article about our government and what they are trying to do to help.

By Liz Szabo, USA TODAY
Congress has passed sweeping legislation to improve the safety of toys and other consumer products. The bill — approved by the Senate Thursday night and the House of Representatives Tuesday — follows a rising tide of public concern over product safety, spurred by recalls of 45 million children's toys and products last year and growing worry over chemicals in plastic. The measure, which passed with "veto-proof" majorities, now goes to President Bush, who has not threatened to reject it.

The bill virtually eliminates lead in children's toys and bans six types of chemicals, called phthalates, that have hormone-like effects. Lead can cause both brain damage and behavioral problems in children. A number of animal studies and a few in humans have linked phthalates to early puberty in girls, genital defects and reduced testosterone production in boys and impaired sperm quality in men.

The bill requires that all toys be tested for dangerous chemicals before they're sold — a big change over the current practice, in which untested toys are sold and recalled if necessary, says Rachel Weintraub of the Consumer Federation of America. Outside companies will perform the tests.

The law also boosts the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission from $80 million to $118 million in 2010 and $136 million five years later. The commission will be required to set up a website where consumers can both register complaints and read reports posted by others.

"This is by far the most significant improvement in product safety since the Consumer Product Safety Commission was created in the 1970s," Weintraub says.

Congress is following the lead of several states — California, Washington and Vermont — which have voted in the past year to ban phthalates, used to add flexibility to rubber ducks, washable vinyl books and other plastic items.

Earlier this year, leading retailers and manufacturers, including Wal-Mart and Toys 'R Us, announced plans to phase out phthalates in toys nationwide.

The federal law would permanently ban three of the phthalates and ban three others temporarily, pending a scientific review. The phthalate bans go into effect 180 days after the law is passed.

Industry groups have had mixed reaction to the bill.

The Toy Industry Association supports the bill, noting that manufacturers will have an easier time abiding by national guidelines, rather than many different state laws. "We all want safe products," says the association's Joan Lawrence. "I'm a mom myself, and this gives me additional assurances."

The American Chemistry Council, which represents industry, supports strengthening the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but opposes the ban on phthalates, which it says are safe.

"Our children's health and safety is too important to rush through product restrictions without understanding their full consequences," said Sharon Kneiss, vice president of products, in a statement. "Restricting phthalates from children's products, when they have been deemed safe for use in those products by the CPSC, will do nothing to protect children's health."

Others say the reform is long overdue. Andy Igrejas, manager of the Pew Charitable Trusts' environmental health campaign, says environmentalists have been calling for a phthalate ban in toys for 10 years.

Some say Congress should go even further in banning chemicals. Igrejas says lawmakers should pass the Kid-Safe Chemical Act, introduced in May, which would require that all chemicals be tested for safety before being allowed on the market.

And Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said in a statement Friday that Congress should examine the safety of phthalates in other products, such as lotions and shampoos. She is also co-sponsoring legislation to ban another controversial chemical with hormone-like effects, bisphenol A, or BPA, from products intended for children under age 7.