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Today’s moms and dads have a hard-won reputation for pushing their kids, at least when it comes to school and sports. Finish your homework. Study for that test. Don’t miss soccer practice. But parents may be less likely to stay on top of teens and preteens about matters that, in the scheme of things, are far more important than whether they make the varsity team or ace their SATs.
Consider the issue of road safety—which is truly a matter of life and death.
The Parent Pep Talk is a heartfelt and humorous podcast filled with advice and understanding from empathetic experts, honest parents, and teens who are willing to talk. It’s for all parents looking for a little perspective, a few well-tested tips, and the feeling that you're probably doing a lot better than you think, even if it doesn’t always feel like it.
The worst news you can hear involves the death of a child. It's only more upsetting when that death might have been prevented.
This spring, Nedao Abdelghani of Bridgeview, IL died after a relative backing out of a driveway backed over him. He was three years old.
"Back-overs" and "front-overs" are not new. When I was in high school, our neighbor ran over her daughter while she was sunbathing on the driveway. She was hurt very badly and, to this day, has a memory just as painful. Hard to call her "lucky," but families who have lost a child this way would.
We were in 7th grade when my friend Nicole experienced her first concussion. While playing soccer, another player accidentally kicked a ball at her head, but Nicole didn’t initially realize the severity of her injury and finished the game. When she awoke the next morning, however, her head was pounding and she felt so nauseous that her parents rushed her to the ER. The doctors told her she had suffered a “mild concussion.”
Every year the lives of almost 1.24 million people are cut short as a result of a car crash.
Most of us believe it could never happen to us. At least, I never thought it could happen to me. But, on April 12, 2014 as I was coming back from a high school leadership conference, our school vehicle was hit head on by a distracted driver.
For many families across the U.S., summer is not only the time enjoy the warm weather and a break from school, it’s also the time where families are relocating into new homes. Growing up in a military family, a summer move to a new city was the norm for me every two or three years. In all, I moved 11 times as a kid, and although my family has dubbed ourselves “professional movers,” each time was as stressful as the time before.
Before I begin this blog, I have a confession to make: When I was younger, I was never good about drinking water. I’m not proud of it, but it’s true.
I played basketball in high school and went on to play in college. I was often thirsty, especially after an intense workout, but still didn’t take the time to drink water. It wasn’t something my coaches talked about, so I never thought much about it.
It makes perfect sense that my job now includes teaching kids, coaches and parents about the importance of staying hydrated.
LAS VEGAS – With the start of summer quickly approaching, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today joined Safe Kids Worldwide and health professionals at Sunrise Children’s Hospital to discuss ways to prevent child deaths and injuries in hot cars. Earlier this month, four young children died of heatstroke in a seven-day stretch across the country, including two tragedies that occurred in school parking lots. NHTSA and other safety advocates urge parents and caregivers to think, “Where’s baby?
Check out the latest Children's Product Recalls from March 2017
Advice for new dads from a veteran (who is still learning)
Change every diaper.
That’s my first piece of advice for one of my best friends, Muppus, who just had a healthy baby boy. (We call him Muppus because that was the name of his band in high school.)