It may be National Internet Safety Month, but as a parent, online safety is on your mind every day. While we live in a tech-savvy world where grade-schoolers have email accounts and tweens are tweeting, you certainly don't want to ban your child from these ways of communicating, but you do want to impose some rules and limits. Here are some Kaboose and American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) resources to help guide you:

Grade-Schoolers & Internet Use

Internet Use & Teens

The AAP's SafetyNet

Disney.com's Online Safety Tips & Video

As if it's not hard enough for teachers to grab their students' attention, educators also have to compete with text messages now. Before cell phone family plans made it cheap and easy for every preteen and teenager to wield a mobile, a sneaky student would have to scribble a message on a conspicuous blue-lined, loose leaf paper, and try to get that missive in his friend's hand before his teacher could catch him in the act. And while some teachers may have eyes in the back of their heads, these days they actually need X-ray vision to spot a kid who is trying to text a message under the cloak of a backpack, while pretending to reach for a book.

What does this mean for education? How does all this texting and instantaneous communcation affect the way children learn and communicate, as well as how well they can pay attention?

This revealing New York Times article, Texting May Be Taking a Toll, asks these questions and offers insight from a pediatrician, a psychologist, and other experts into how texting too much and without limitations could be leading to anxiety, poor grades, sleep issues, repetitive stress injury (such as thumb cramping), and other harmful effects.

Do you think that preteens and teenagers should carry cellphones? How should parents restrict their use? If your child got his cell confiscated for use during school hours, how would you react?

With the number of swine flu cases being confirmed at an increasing rate across the U.S., it’s natural to feel alarmed and even scared, especially when you’re caring for young kids at home, who are most vulnerable to complications from the flu. But while it’s important to stay informed, don’t let the news reports create panic in your home. Here is some reassuring advice from Kaboose.com medical advisor and pediatrician Lawrence Rosen, MD, who is the found of The Whole Child Center, in Oradell, New Jersey.

Q: Dr. Rosen, what are your thoughts on this swine flu public health emergency, and what reassuring advice do you have for parents?

A: I think that we see alerts like this from time to time, and the U.S. is very well equipped to handle health crises. What’s most important is to have communication with your pediatrician, especially if your child is acting sick in any way. People feel most anxious when they feel they don’t have someone to talk to. Information changes every day, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has done a very good job of providing what they know, and they’re doing everything they can to make information available.

Read more of Dr. Rosen's advice in What Parents Need to Know About Swine Flu.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has declared a public health emergency in response to the 40 confirmed cases of swine flu in New York, Kansas, California, Ohio, and Texas. (There have also been six confirmed cases in Canada -- four in Nova Scotia and two in British Columbia.) While fatalities have been reported in Mexico, no deaths have occurred here in the U.S., although one instance involved brief hospitalization. Today, the CDC announced that Americans should avoid nonessential travel to Mexico for now, and in a news conference this morning, President Obama emphasized that this is time to be cautious but not alarmed.

So while you shouldn’t panic, here is the most current information -- as of today, April 27, 2009 -- from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help calm your nerves and protect your family:

>>As the swine flu name indicates, this type A influenza commonly infects pigs. Still, these current cases of human infection in this swine flu outbreak haven’t been the first to be reported in this country. In the last several years the CDC has received increased reports of swine flu in people with 12 cases being reported from December 2005 to February 2009, as opposed to one to two cases prior to that time period. Before this outbreak, the more likely cause of swine flu cases among people was direct contact with pigs, rather than human-to-human transmission, which did occur.

>>According to the World Health Organization “there there is no clear indication that the current human cases with swine influenza infection are related to recent or ongoing influenza-like disease events in pigs . . . ,” and the CDC has announced “that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it not known how easily the virus spreads between people.”

Symptoms of swine flu:

Symptoms are similar to the seasonal flu: fever (greater than 100 degrees F), sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, chills, headaches, body aches, and fatigue. “Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu, as well,” says Dr. Joe Bresee with the CDC Influenza Division in a CDC podcast.

Good hygiene habits help prevent infection:

>>Keep tissues on hand to cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze, then toss that tissue in the trash, and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and warm water for 15 to 20 seconds. Teach your kids to do the same. If you’re not by a sink, then use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

>>If you’re not sick, still wash your hands regularly and avoid contact with those who exhibit flu-like symptoms.

>>Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth if you haven’t washed your hands after touching something that an infected person may have handled. It’s nearly an impossible feat to keep kids from touching everything in sight, but do your best to stop them from sticking their little fingers up their noses, and at least wash their hands after they’ve been in public spaces.

CDC ADVICE: COMMON QUESTIONS, ANSWERED

Should you avoid pork?

Don't worry, you can continue serving ham sandwiches to your child for lunch or pork roasts for dinner. Swine flu isn’t transmitted by eating pork, when prepared properly. "Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses," says the CDC.

Suspect swine flu?
>>If you don't feel well, and you live in an area where swine flu cases have been confirmed, contact your physicin by phone.

>>In addition to covering your mouth when you cough and washing your hands frequently, stay home and minimize contact with other household members. If your illness is confirmed to be swine flu or if your doctor feels that it's probably you have swine flu, you may need to voluntarily quarantine yourself to an area of your home.

>>If you're sick and need to leave your home to seek medical care, wear a face mask, or make sure you cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing.

Live in a community with confirmed cases of swine flu?

>>Avoid crowded settings. If that's impossible, limit your time in them, and practice good hand hygiene. When in a crowded area, you should also consider using a facemask (a disposable mask that the FDA clears for use as a medical device), but remember that it doesn't eliminate the need to wash your hands, to avoid clost contact, or to reduce your time in the crowded setting as much as possible, explains the CDC.

>>If you're caring for a infectious family member, you may want to use a respirator, which could possibly help reduce your chances of getting sick too.

Is there a treament for swine flu?

"Laboratory testing has found the swine influenza A (H1N1) virus susceptible to the prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir," says the CDC. These medications should be taken within the first 48 hours of the onset of symptoms to be most effective. If you've been near someone who had the illness, these antiviral drugs can also be used to prevent swine flu.

EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

Seek immediate medical help if you see any of these warning signs in your child, advises the CDC:
• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
• Fever with a rash

Likewise, adults should receive urgent medical attention of they experience any of the following:
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting

MORE RESOURCES

CDC: Swine Flu

CDC Podcast

As the Dow drops and employment opportunities narrow, the number of hours we sleep decreases too, according to a new poll from the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). In fact, one-third of Americans are sacrificing sleep to stress over the economy and financial concerns. While it’s difficult to get some shut-eye when you’re worried about losing your job or finding a job, it’s crucial that you’re well rested when you get in a car to drive to your office or any appointment. But we’re pushing ourselves beyond our limits: The 2009 NSF poll found that 54 percent of drivers (as many as 110 million people) have driven drowsy at least once in the past year, and 28 percent have actually nodded or fallen asleep at the wheel!

Don’t put yourself and others at risk, so get your Zzzzzzzzzs. If you typically feel groggy when you wake up in the morning, start with trying to get an extra hour of sleep tonight. Adults should aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night, depending on the person. And this weekend, plan ahead to get an additional hour Saturday night. Why? Daylight Saving Time kicks in Sunday morning and our clocks will "spring forward" one hour.

For more slumber solutions, these NSF experts offer advice to help you doze off and this sleep-better Kaboose guide offers plenty of pointers too.

And if you think you’re suffering from insomnia or another sleep disorder, there are sleep professionals who can help you get some much-needed rest.

Sweet dreams!

Chocolate is just as complex as love and equally sweet. From picking the cocoa bean to making the chocolate bar, lots of time and devotion is put into this popular dessert. Not only are there different types of cocoa beans, but the flavor of your chocolate is affected by many factors, including where the cocoa beans are grown, how they’re harvested and processed, and how much cocoa powder is used to make the chocolate. But on top of tasting good, when eaten in moderation, it has health benefits too, and Kaboose.com contributor Shara Aaron, RD, and Monica Bearden, RD, devoted chapters to that in their recently published book, Chocolate: A Healthy Passion. In it, they cut through the conflicting studies and digested the research to serve up the sweet facts. Here are some highlights from it: 

>>Did you know? About 50 percent of the cocoa bean is fat, known as cocoa butter, which is mainly made up of saturated fat. “Interestingly, one of the saturated fats found in cocoa butter, called stearic acid, does not increase cholesterol levels in our bodies as a typical saturated fat would,” say the authors. “Instead, it is metabolized by our bodies into a healthy unsaturated fat. More than half of the saturated fat in cocoa butter is from stearic acid. This might explain why research shows that chocolate does not negatively impact our cholesterol levels.”

>>“Chocolate is rich in copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. In fact, finished dark chocolate and natural cocoa powders have been estimated to contribute about 9.4 percent of the daily copper intake to a typical American diet,” Aaron and Bearden note in the book, explaining that “copper is believed to help maintain a healthy vascular system; potassium may decrease strokes and blood pressure; and magnesium may help maintain healthy blood sugar levels and a healthy cardiovascular system.”

>>“Cocoa is believed to be special because it contains both smaller and larger flavanols,” write Aaron and Bearden. “The structure of the different flavanol molecules plays an important part in flavanol’s action as an antioxidant (a substance that protects the body’s cells from the damaging effects of oxidation), which is one of the reasons that flavanols may protect against the development of diseases.”

 
For more information on flavanols and the health benefits of chocolate, click here.

The FDA recall of products that contain peanut butter because of the risk of salmonella has been expanded. For more information, and to check if any food products -- such as cookies, snack bars, and ice cream -- that you have in your home have been recalled, click here.

Suddenly you hear it—a hacking sound that’s coming from your child’s room. You’re across the house, but that doesn’t matter. You hear the cough as clearly as if your child was right by your side. Your mommy senses are on high alert, but now comes the tough part—figuring out what’s causing your kid’s discomfort. To do that, first you need to determine what type of cough is bothering her, and this cough decoder will help you do that. With its help, you’ll more easily be able to describe the problem to your pediatrician. Then you can begin to figure out how to give your child some relief.

Pediatricians are concerned about the increasing number of children who aren’t being immunized. That was one of the pressing topics of interest that was addressed at the annual American Academy of Pediatrics’ conference this week, in Boston. Edgar Marcuse, MD, of Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, in Seattle, gave a talk that included some alarming numbers. In fact, he said that approximately 20 percent of American parents now defer or refuse vaccines! And 69 percent of them think that vaccines cause harm, while 49 percent of them think that they overload the immune system, according to statistics Dr. Marcuse cited.

Parents' main fear: The unproven association between the MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) vaccine and autism. And although thimerasol was removed from the MMR vaccine long ago, worries over a link still abound. Because the medical and scientific communities still haven’t found an identifiable cause for autism, parents get discouraged and sometimes turn to other less credible individuals and organizations for guidance.

“There are unanswered questions about autism and profound unmet needs,” said Dr. Marcuse. One of the results of this situation, he pointed out, is that parents overwhelming take stock in their pediatrician’s insight when those issues are of low concern as opposed to when they’re of high concern. And according to a survey he highlighted, when parents did trust their pediatrician’s advice with important matters, fifty percent of them did so if they felt the physician was caring and personable.

The bottom line: “We must give parents guidance on how to best negotiate the immunization schedule,” said Dr. Marcuse, speaking to a hall full of hundreds of pediatricians. But he also emphasized that parents must bring their children to the doctor to get vaccinated on time. If parents choose not to immunize their children, kids will be at risk for contracting harmful diseases, leading to an increase of preventable illnesses.

Consider this: In the year 2000, measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. But according to data from the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention, on average, there were 63 measles cases each year during 2001 to 2007. Yet this year that number more than doubled in the first half of 2008 alone with 131 reported cases of measles from January to July!

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence, 3,900 American children ages 12 to 17 years start smoking with 1,500 of them becoming regular, daily smokers. To add to that, the Richmond Center points out that 36 percent of children and adolescents ages 3 to 19 are exposed to secondhand smoke in the U.S. The message: If you’re a parent who smokes, improve the indoor air quality of your home and lead by example by not lighting up.

Like most habits, smoking isn’t easy to kick. But you’re not alone: Of the 45 million smokers in the U.S., 70 percent want to quit, and 41 percent have tried to quit, said Cheryl G. Healton, president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation today at the AAP conference, in Boston. In fact, people try to quit eight to eleven times, she noted. No matter how hard it is, though, for your and your family’s health, it’s crucial that you don’t take another puff again.

Although the American Legacy Foundation’s truth anti-smoking campaign (it’s impossible to miss those hard-dose-of reality TV ads that show how cigarettes can affect your life) led to a 22 percent decrease in smoking among America’s youth in the first two years following its 2000 launch, change does need to start at home. And you can quit—you’re stronger than your need to smoke. Here are resources to help you:

Become an Ex 

Smoke Free Homes

Smokefree.gov

Learntoquit.org

1-800-QUIT-NOW

ASPIRE (A Smoking Prevention Interactive Experience)