Author: David Hartley

For children over 6 months old

Ten things you should know about flu vaccinations for your child

Chances are you’ve had the flu during you’re lifetime, so you know how horrible it can be. The flu can be worse than a week in bed. According to the American Association of Pediatrics, at least 200,000 people – including kids – were hospitalized last year, and serious complications can occur.

healthychildren.org offers ten reasons why everyone (with some important exceptions) over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated now.

Among the 10:

1. Anyone at risk should be vaccinated, especially those with asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and weakened immune systems, for example. Out-of-home caregivers, too.

2. Get vaccinated right now! The flu season usually begins in the Fall.

6. You can still catch the flu (but not from the shot!), but the symptoms are likely to be a lot less severe.

8. The flu vaccine does not cause autism. The research is robust.

10 reasons why everyone over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated. 

A loved one may be suffering. You can help.

Take a free Mental Health First Aid training on December 8 & 15 or a Youth Mental Health First Aid training on December 2 & 9

Truth is, you’re more likely to face a friend, colleague, or loved one in a mental health crisis than you are one who needs CPR.

And if you work with kids – as a counselor, educator, coach, juvenile officer, or the like – then you may be the first to note something different in their behavior.

Truth is, you’re more likely to face a friend, colleague, or loved one in a mental health crisis than you are one who needs CPR.
Consider, then, Mental Health First Aid training and its companion Youth Mental Health First Aid as your opportunity to help.

In two four-hour classes, you’ll learn how to identify when someone you know is struggling, the right questions to ask them (and yourself), how to stabilize the situation – if necessary – and when and how to refer them to professional services.

There are two trainings in December.

We’re offering a Youth Mental Health First Aid training at Westerly Hospital on two Saturdays, December 2 and 9, from 8 am-12:30 pm.

Our next Mental Health First Aid training is over two Fridays, December 8 and 15, 12:30-5 pm at South County Hospital.

South County Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds offers regular trainings for people who work with kids (Youth Mental Health First Aid), for all of us (Mental Health First Aid), and specialized suicide prevention (QPR). All are designed for non-mental health professionals.

Register for the December 2 & 9 Youth Mental Health First Aid training at Westerly Hospital. Contact Dr. Rob Harrison by email or at (401) 316-4134.

Register for the December 8 & 15 training at South County Hospital. Contact Donna Greene by email or at (401) 788-2371.

Fun, “moving”, indoor activities

What if the hokey-pokey IS what it’s all about?  And other indoor activities for a rainy day.

It’s fall and it’s been raining for both days of the weekend. Your kids are even tired of playing on the computer!

Yes, indeed, there’s a lot of fun activities you can do, with the emphasis on “active”. Basketball, for instance, with a stuffed animal and a laundry basket. Musical chairs. And the hokey pokey, a crowd pleaser at any age.

Lots of ideas and activities from the Shasta County, CA WIC office on our website. 

More sugar in soda than we thought possible

Do you really want your kids drinking 60 pounds of it every year?

Okay, the statistics really are hard to believe: how can soda be THAT bad for you? After all, we’ve been drinking it FOREVER and we still have (most of) our teeth and we’re not (too) overweight.

But that’s you. Consider your children and their future health risks, from obesity to diabetes. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta reports that drinking just one 20-ounce bottle of soda a day for a year is the equivalent of eating 6,570 cookies or 61 pounds of sugar!

Children’s Healthcare offers some realistic alternatives for you and your child.

“How was school today?” “Okay.”

The right way to get better answers from your back-to-schooler

A lot goes on for your child during the first days of school, and you’d probably like to hear about it. But ask your child how school is and you’ll get the answer: “Okay”.

Good news. You can get better and more useful answers by asking better questions. Just make two changes.

One, ask questions that can’t be answered with one word. Don’t ask, “How was school?” Ask, “How was school different from last year?” Don’t ask, “Do you like your teacher?” Ask, “What’s the most interesting thing she said about what’s coming?”

Two, ask questions that allow your child to express his or her concerns. But don’t ask in a negative way; that’s likely to end the conversation. “Describe your daily schedule for me.” “Was there anything you wished you had at school today that you didn’t?”

Learn more about open-ended questioning here. 

Bradford middle schoolers look into their futures

Camp iAM introduces them to professions and local people’s stories

Those doors are still closed for lots of kids, so Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds was pleased to partner with the Westerly Public Schools to bring “Camp iAM” to some of them this summer.Other than “astronaut”, “firefighter”, and “doctor”, few of us knew what we wanted to be when we grew up. In fact, few of us were even exposed to the bigger world and its opportunities.

In its first year, Camp iAM introduced several Bradford (Westerly) middle schoolers to hear local people explain their backgrounds and careers.

“It’s great for students to see that at any age, they can take what they love and do it for the rest of their life or for a small part of their life, and then do something else that they love,” Brenda Holmes told The Westerly Sun. Holmes, a teacher at Westerly Middle School, helped lead and organize the camp, whose curriculum was based on one developed by Barrington’s Youth Substance Abuse Task Force.

Brooke Constance White of The Westerly Sun wrote an excellent article about Camp iAM, and included several photographs, like the one shown here.

The best way to stay hydrated this summer? Water!

And some other tips from LetsGo/5210

Ah, water! By the time he or she (or you) is thirsty, your child is already dehydrated. Water’s best, best, best to keep the system running. Sports drinks and sodas are worst, worst, worst.

For a twist, add a bit of squeezed fruit (like the suggestions to the right) to some water or seltzer. Watermelon and blueberries? Your child will be weaned from sugar drinks forever!

South County Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds sponsors Let’s Go/5210 locally.

Visit the LetsGo website for the best ways to hydrate this summer.  

Read about South County’s 5210 effort, overseen by the tireless Cindy Buxton. 

The vegetables (and cheeses & honey) are in

Everything you need to visit South County’s 12 farmers markets

The growing season may not be as long as we’d like here in Rhode Island, but oh, those fresh tomatoes, corn, carrots, broccoli, peppers, melons and more.

The best place to buy local food is at one of South County’s 12 farmers markets or directly from farms or farm stands. And the best place we know for information about all of Rhode Island’s farmers, farmers markets, and restaurants that use local produce is Farm Fresh RI.

You can also visit our website for South County’s 12 farmers markets, with hours, locations, dates of operation, and benefits.

Farm Fresh RI’s website will tell you everything about farmers markets in Rhode Island (and a bit of Massachusetts and Connecticut, too). 

Our website tells you specifically about South County’s 12 farmers markets. We partner with Thundermist Health Center to encourage local farmers to accept WIC and SNAP benefits, and residents to shop there.

Show us your (child’s) favorite playground

And a link to your town’s parks & rec department

Did you have a beloved playground when you were a kid? One with a jungle gym, slide, seesaw, and enough activities that you never got bored? Where you made new friends every time you went?

You probably didn’t know that you were getting lots of exercise and that you were learning how to socialize.

Where are your child’s favorite playgrounds in South County? Take a photo and post it on our Facebook page. We’ll list it on our website, too.

Visit bodiesminds.org to find what your town’s parks department has scheduled for your family this summer.

Post a photo of your favorite playground on the Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Facebook page. Or one you think needs some loving care.

Six easy ways to keep pills out of your little one’s reach

Put them “up & away”, lock the caps, alert guests, educate your kids

Approximately 60,000 young children are brought to the emergency room each year because they got into medicines that were left within reach.

That’s the daunting statistic from the Up & Away initiative, which offers six easy-to-implement (and commonsense) activities you, as young parents, should begin today.

The easiest and most obvious? Make sure you re-lock the safety cap after each use and put those pills WAY out of reach of innocent but probing hands.

To prepare for an emergency, Up & Away counsels that you add the Poison Help number (800-222-1222) on all your phones, right now.

Read all six ways to protect your young children from accidental medication poisoning; visit the Up & Away website.

Add the Poison Help number – (800) 222-1222 –  to all your phones right now and visit the Poison Help website for other useful information. 

Summer farmers markets are nearly here

You buy some great lettuce, corn, carrots, tomatoes (no, we can’t wait either) from your local farmers market. Perhaps you bought more than you should have, because, well, it just looked that good. Well, CHOP CHOP advises how to store everything from okra and mushrooms to peaches and eggplant for maximum life and flavor.

We’re pleased to partner with Thundermist Health Center of South County to encourage all our farmers markets to accept WIC and SNAP benefits and more.

Two great weeks in one: May 1-7

Children’s Book Week & Screen Free Week

Here’s a pairing as natural as… well, you decide. Turns out that Children’s Book Week and Screen Free Week both take place the first week of May. One helps you and your family give up your TV, laptop, gaming device, and smartphone for a few hours. The other offers a pretty spectacular option: sitting together with some great books.

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood offers a wealth of screen-free activities, for your family or for your whole community.

Children’s Book Week, established in 1919, is managed by Every Child A Reader.

Clear your schedule for Saturday, May 6

It’s planting (and eating) time!

You can’t get your food any fresher than from a local farmer…or your own garden plot. The URI Spring Festival on Saturday, May 6 offers you help with both, plus lots more. The packed morning (9 am-1 pm) will include:

• the annual plant sale (not just vegetables)
• the South Kingstown Farmer’s Market (SNAP & WIC benefits accepted, thanks to a Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds/Thundermist Health Center partnership)
• free soil pH testing
• gardening demonstrations
• “e-waste” recycling, and
• live music and food

Visit URI’s website for all the details, including all the participating farmers and what the heck “e-waste” is.And parking and admission are free!