When to Use a Humidifier or Vaporizer Beyond cold symptoms, a humidifier or vaporizer can be helpful for a number of other common childhood illnesses. While these devices won’t cure your child, they can help your little one feel better. Precautions In general, humidifiers and vaporizers are not recommended for children with asthma. Talk to your physician beforehand to get her recommendations. If they are used for children with asthma, it’s important to keep the humidity level between 30 percent and 50 percent....

Provide an individualized, written schedule that your child can refer to when needed. Assign your child a “study buddy” if he needs one-on-one attention to complete assignments. Stabilize the school environment as much as possible, making sure that school supplies are in the same location each day. Provide a second set of textbooks for your child to keep at home. Consider keeping your child in the same classroom all day or moving her learning environment as necessary, depending on her needs....

Sore Nipples You can expect a little bit of nipple tenderness during the first few weeks of breastfeeding. That’s normal. However, very sore, cracked, and bleeding nipples are not. They’re a sign that something is not quite right. If your nipples are so sore that it’s painful to breastfeed, that’s a big problem. You’ll want to try to prevent sore nipples as much as possible, but if they do develop, continue breastfeeding and treat them right away....

Lose the lectures Nobody wants advice. And don’t nag! The minute you start getting “that tone” in your voice, you become inaudible. From a long distance way off in his head, your child sees your mouth moving, with nothing audible coming out. Tell the truth Remember that childhood b.s. meter! Truth-telling with kids doesn’t mean confessing all, but it does mean not lying. Use active listening Remember that active listening means listening to and trying to understand the child’s thoughts and feelings....

If you find yourself feeling excited one moment and in tears the next, you’re far from alone. Learn more about mood swings during pregnancy and how to cope. Pregnancy Hormones and Mood Swings One big reason for pregnancy mood swings is your rapidly changing hormones—specifically estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen levels soar during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, increasing by more than 100 times. Estrogen is associated with the brain chemical serotonin....

Empty key chain or plastic shower curtain ring Long lengths of brightly colored ribbon or plastic Directions

Using data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), researchers found button batteries caused 85% of the recorded injuries that listed the type of battery involved, though not all reports included this information. The study also revealed that 84% of patients in the last decade were 5 years of age or younger, and they tended to have more severe injuries than older children. “We’re seeing more and more of these injuries come into our ERs and hospitals around the country,” said Kris Jatana, MD, a professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, leader of the National Button Battery Task Force, and co-author of the study....

Many parents feel relieved to move past the “terrible twos” phase, and hope that their child will become a little easier to manage and less prone to meltdowns. But 3-year-olds can still be difficult to parent at times, as they learn to control their emotions and sort through their big feelings. So if you are finding this phase challenging, you are not alone. Let’s take a look at what developmental milestones to look forward to at 3-years-old, how to nurture your child and keep them safe, and when to be concerned about your child’s growth and development....

What Do Tutors Do? Tutors work with your child one-to-one. Tutoring sessions are typically half an hour to an hour long, once or twice a week. However, tutoring frequency can vary depending on your child’s needs. Since a tutor is the only one teaching your child during a session, rather than working with a large class or a small group, they can put all of their attention on helping your child....

Constantly having to tell your toddler “No!” will do exactly the opposite. It pointedly discourages your child from exploring her environment-at least parts of it. In addition, the sternness and suddenness with which you say, “No!” will probably frighten your child. Many toddlers burst into tears, falling apart whenever their parents say, “No!” In general, your toddler doesn’t like to do anything that displeases you. Oh, your child certainly has a will of her own....

Have Sex Even When You Aren’t Ovulating You’re most fertile the day you ovulate, when one of your ovaries releases an egg into a Fallopian tube where it becomes fair game for a sperm, as well as for two days after. If you aren’t sure when that is in your case, you can pinpoint your ovulation period by using ovulation predictor kits, charting your body basal temperature, and checking cervical mucus changes....

Sports and exercise therapists are specialists who are trained to identify, manage, and prevent the pressures and negative stressors in sports and athletics. These therapists recognize the role of stress and the pressures that active women at all levels of competition and achievement face with the realization that stress can become overwhelming enough to interfere with other aspects of life. They can provide training in the most effective way to gain the “mental edge” needed to excel....

“I have three kids, which boggles my mind, truly,” Chen says. “It’s been quite an adventure. I love being a mom. I love being a parent. I could not have imagined the infinite, heart-burst ways that I love these children.” In addition to working her 9-to-5 and being a wife and mother, she’s also an author who co-designed a collection with Janie and Jack inspired by her newest book, “I Am Golden....

You have an open adoption, and the child already knows the birthparents. The child was the result of a rape, or the child of a birthparent with severe problems, such as drug addiction or mental illness. The birthparent’s parental rights were involuntarily terminated by the state (usually in a foster child situation) because the parents were abusive or neglectful, or because they abandoned the child. Open Adoption Many people think that if an adoption is open (and especially to the extent that the child actually knows and has met with his birthparent), then there is no need to explain anything....

Age: Preschool through elementaryTime: 30 minutes Type of activity: Seasonal arts-and-crafts Materials needed:· Washable tempera paints· Clean margarine tub or plate to mix paints· Paint brushes· Cup of water · New kitchen sponge· White or pastel construction paper· Newspapers· Old t-shirt or art smock Take time out for an activity that starts with a walk in the park – and ends with your child making a unusual autumn painting. What to do: Step One: Take a walk with your child and ask her to show you which trees she thinks are the most beautiful....