MySDMoms.com

For San Diego Moms and Moms-To-Be

Nurtured and made possible by KSON, Sunny 98.1, FM 949 and Kaiser Permanente

Soccer Clinic For Children With Autism

By Leave a Comment

Our ongoing 6-week soccer clinic supports children, ages 4-10, with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to build confidence and have fun!

Children will learn soccer and teamwork skills in a non-competitive environment. Our soccer clinic is based on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) skills training and is led and supervised by our team of adult experts.

Soccer clinic is held each Saturday for one hour with a FREE TRIAL session on Sept. 9.

Soccer clinic is every Saturday from 9 – 10 a.m., Sept. 9 – Oct. 21.

*Rain date on October 28 if needed.
**Please call for group cost. New participants must attend a free trial. Scholarship opportunities available.

A Halloween Balancing Act

By Leave a Comment

When children hear the word Halloween I’d be willing to bet a good portion of their first thoughts are candy! Halloween is the time for spooky ghosts, jack o lanterns, witches and skeletons, but most importantly it’s about the trick or treating.

Children go out into the night once a year with a bucket, or pillow case in hopes of returning home with a glorious bounty of beautiful sugar treats. As the night progresses they are already revved up enough on enough sugar to bring down a bull rhino. Now let’s pile on top a lack of sleep, lack of healthy food and the most dreaded of all – the inevitable sugar crash. God help a parent when the sugar crash hits. This is the Halloween tradition, or at least it has been. There are ways to minimize the sugar intake, without completely taking it away. After all – it is Halloween and it only comes once a year.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t keep your little ones balanced out this Halloween steering them as far away from that sugar crash as you can.

John Downs, president and CEO of the National Confectioners Association, said. “It’s a fall tradition that Halloween brings fun and enjoyment to neighborhoods across the country, and we know that chocolate and candy are often the centerpiece of Halloween celebrations. Our members make treats that embody everything that is fun about the holiday, and while there’s no doubt that chocolate and candy play a crucial role in seasonal festivities, we know Americans will enjoy our products with balance in mind as they do throughout the rest of the year.”

To read about this Balance on CISION.com – CLICK HERE!

Kids, Smartphones & Depression

By Leave a Comment

Technology is something to embrace for sure, but one of the most negative associations we have with increasing technology is kids and smartphones.

When was the last time you saw or even knew of a youngster who didn’t have a smartphone? For that matter, when was the last time you saw a youngster not staring at their phone? Kids as young as 9 or 10 years old have the best and most current smartphones. They become an extension of themselves and are always within reaching distance of their phone. Other than the constant texting of friends, kids love to peruse social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram. Sites like these can be a fun distraction sometimes, but unfortunately for our kids it becomes an essential part of their lives. Every spare second they have is usually spent on social media sited on their phones. Is this something that we as parent’s need to be concerned with? This particular teenage girl would probably say yes.

Nina Langton had no right to be depressed. At least, that’s how she saw it. She had friends, lived in a great neighborhood, and was close with her parents. Like most 16-year-olds she spent much of her free time on her smartphone. Nina says, “Part of what made my depression so difficult was that I didn’t understand why I was feeling so sad.” After Nina’s attempted suicide, her and her therapist got to the root of her depression. Nina states – “I was spending a lot of time stalking models on Instagram, and I worried a lot about how I looked,” Nina would stay up late in her bedroom, looking at social media. Poor sleep along with an eating disorder—eventually caught up with Nina. She finally felt that suicide felt like her only option. “I didn’t totally want to be gone,” she says. “I just wanted help and didn’t know how else to get it.” Nina’s mom, Christine Langton, has a degree in public health and works at a children’s hospital. Despite her professional background, she says she was “completely caught off guard” by her daughter’s suicide attempt. “Nina was funny, athletic, smart, and personable. Christine said “Depression was just not on my radar.”

To read the rest of this article on Time.com – CLICK HERE. 

 

Halloween and Common Sense

By

Yea…we know it’s kind of early, but Halloween will be here before you know it. Heck the stores are already stocking the shelves with creepy Halloween merchandise and costumes. Even though school just started,  I would be willing to bet your little one has even started in on you about what they want to be for Halloween this year. Well – its never to early to start thinking about costume ideas, but more importantly – Halloween night safety. The most important part of Halloween. When we talk about Halloween safety, we should keep in mind that it’s not just for the kids, but adults as well.

Every year there are thousands of pedestrian deaths on Halloween night. The National Safety Council states that pedestrian deaths and injuries vary by age. 70% of deaths occur from running into the road for ages 5 to 9 and about 47% of incidents for those 10 to 14 years of age. Wow…that is just sad. While preparing your children for a fun, spooky Halloween night, please keep in mind that there are safety precautions for you to follow as an adult as well. First and foremost…PUT YOUR PHONES IN YOUR POCKET. You cannot properly supervise your child while you’re staring at the latest youtube that your friend just sent you. There will be plenty of time for that when you get home. You will survive the hour of tick or treating without checking your phone every 12 seconds. Tell your friends or spouse unless it’s an emergency during a certain time frame, please don’t call or text. You will be busy keeping your child safe. Watch for children walking on the streets…and curbs and drive SLOW…under the speed limit if necessary. You never know when a child will decide to dash into the street to cross it. Kids have a habit of not paying attention no matter how many times we tell them – even when an adult is by their side. It’s Halloween and they are wound up. Also enter driveways and exit ways with major caution. Remember…kids don’t always look both ways. That’s your job as a motorist. Always at dusk and dark…be extra, extra cautious. Where ever you are going can wait. Remember, it’s going to be hard to celebrate future Halloween’s from a prison cell – SLOW DOWN.

For the kiddos, if your children are old enough to trick or treat on their own, tell them to stick to familiar streets and neighborhoods. Instruct them NOT to eat any treats until they get home, but show them how to check treats in the case that they get caught up in the night and feel like eating candy anyway. Do not just assume they will listen to you. Teach them how to look for open wrappers, pin holes…etc. Do not let them eat anything not properly sealed by a candy distributor. Some people like to bake treats or hand out rice crispy treats. Although it’s a very nice gesture, it’s best not to consume those items. We don’t know what is in them, how long they’ve been sitting out etc. Remember…Common Sense.

For the important, Full Article from the National Safety Council…CLICK HERE! 

For the Halloween Safety Tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics….CLICK HERE! 

 

Categories

RSS Kaiser Permanente: Health Research