Posts

Teaching the basics of proper personal hygiene is important for keeping kids healthy and clean. It’s especially important for grade-schoolers to practice good hygiene—handwashing, in particular—because they spend so much of their time in close contact with each other in the classroom, sharing everything from desks, to chairs, to crayons, to germs. When your grade-schooler reaches adolescence, hormonal changes will lead to increased oil production and body odor. That’s when you’ll be glad you didn’t wait until then to instill good health and hygiene habits....

What Is Cancel Culture? Cancel culture is a form of boycott. It is the removal or “canceling” of a person, organization, product, brand, or anything else due to an issue that a community or group disapproves of or finds offensive. One definition of cancel culture is “the popular practice of withdrawing support for…public figures and companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive.” This canceling is often “performed on social media in the form of group shaming....

Clomid’s (clomiphene citrate) primary purpose is to induce ovulation in women who are either not ovulating or ovulating irregularly. Between 70% and 80% of women will resume ovulation from treatment with Clomid. Of course, ovulation is only step one. Your chance of getting pregnant over several cycles of Clomid use is approximately 30%. If you don’t conceive after six months, it’s time to move onto another treatment. First Month Efficacy Depending on which research studies you reference, the odds of conceiving during any one Clomid treatment cycle are 5....

Research has shown that our attachment patterns are set in early childhood and persist throughout our lifetime. The patterns are either secure or insecure. If a child grows up with consistency, reliability, and safety, they will likely have a secure style of attachment. People can develop a secure attachment style or one of three types of insecure styles of attachment (avoidant, ambivalent, and disorganized). In order to cope with an insecure attachment style, you can work with a therapist to change your interaction patterns and develop more secure connections....

Some say that if you have to ask whether or not you have a drinking problem, chances are that you probably do. And if others in your life have told you that you have a problem, you probably do. If you have continued to drink in spite of negative consequences, that could be an indication of a serious problem. This article discusses some of the self-tests that can help you determine if you might have a drinking problem....

Is your age to blame for those pesky frosted strands? Or is something else going on? Simply put, stress can potentially cause grey or white hair. This article discusses the causes of grey and white hair, how stress plays a role in this, whether it is permanent and some tips to help prevent those premature greys. What Makes Your Hair Grey or White? The color of your hair is determined by the amount of melanin in it....

Given the association between low self-esteem and depression risk, people sometimes question whether or not depression and self-esteem are similar concepts. While low self-esteem is a risk factor for depression, this does not mean that the two are the same. Both self-esteem and depression are thought to work on a sort of continuum, or scale, ranging from high to low self-esteem, and no depressive symptoms to debilitating depressive symptoms. Overview Self-esteem is the way you view yourself—flaws, positive characteristics, and all....

If you’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19 and are wondering if you’re eligible for a booster shot, that depends on whether you meet certain criteria. Currently, if you had your second shot at least six months ago and are age 65 or older or at high risk for developing severe illness from COVID-19, you can get your booster. Key Takeaways The COVID-19 booster shot is currently available to people who meet criteria provided by the CDC, which includes those with underlying medical conditions and people aged 65+....

The COVID-19 pandemic, and all the life changes that came with it, has had a universally negative effect on mental health. For some, there has been a tangible loss of family or friends, or in income or jobs. For others, the loss is less tangible, and the effects are connected to a lack of routine and stability. Key Takeaways As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into the fall and winter months, there is growing concern about the combined effect on mental health....

A classic name steeped in Nordic tradition, the name Freya possesses a strong and modern vibe while giving a nod to Old Norse mythology. Derived from the name Freyja, it means “a noble woman.” It is the name of the Norse goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. She was a deity who practiced a form of magical arts and divination that allowed practitioners to see and change the future. Freya was also ruler over the meadow where she received slain heroes of the battlefield....

What Is Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia? Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is the fear of the number 666. Related to triskaidekaphobia, or fear of the number 13, this phobia has its origins in both religious belief and superstition. Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia is a specific phobia, meaning that someone with this condition would experience intense, irrational anxiety or fear when faced specifically with the number 666. To meet the diagnostic criteria for a specific phobia, your reaction to encountering this number has to be so severe that it’s disruptive to your daily life....

Daylight Savings Time (DST) ends in November, which means we lose an hour of sunlight as we turn back our clocks. While the routine was implemented in the U.S. nearly 100 years ago as a means of saving energy, that extra hour of darkness has proven a detriment to mental health. Key Takeaways Daylight Savings Time typically ends the first week of November.Setting clocks back an hour, effectively decreasing exposure to sunlight, can have seriously negative effects on mental health....

Gaining more independence and increasingly doing more things without parents is an important and natural part of growing up. But what can parents do to make sure their kids are getting the support—and if necessary, some nudging—that they need to become confident and self-reliant? The debate over “free-range kids” overlooks the fact that kids can be encouraged to be more independent and responsible in many different situations. Going to play at a public park or walking to school by themselves at age 6 is not the only way you can teach your child to be more independent....

Keeping masks on your kids all day can be a struggle, but it’s so much harder if they’re not feeling well. After all, the last thing they want to do is keep a mask over their face when their nose is itchy or runny. Unfortunately, while spring might have arrived, cold season isn’t over. Plus, spring allergies are upon us, which means we’re about to be right in the middle of sniffle season....

“I hate gym!” Probably for as long as schools have had physical education classes, kids have complained about them: “Gym class is boring/sweaty/scary/embarrassing!” Does your child feel this way? Try to change his tune; gym classes can be an important way for children to meet their daily needs for physical activity. In many cases, kids—especially teens and tweens—get most of their daily exercise at school. So if they’re hanging back during PE time or not attending, they’re missing out on an important opportunity to improve their health and fitness....

Congratulations! You are going to have twins. Being pregnant with two babies at once can be a lot of work, but the reward is an exciting one. Once you find out that you are expecting more than one baby, you might believe that you have to dramatically shift your thinking about pregnancy. This is often not true. All of the healthy behaviors that you would do during a normal pregnancy still ring true in a multiple gestation....

An intrauterine pressure catheter (IUPC) is a small flexible tube that is inserted into the uterus, lying between the baby and the uterine wall, making it a form of internal monitoring for contractions. It provides exact measurements of contractions, unlike external monitors. When an Intrauterine Pressure Catheter Is Used The IUPC is used when labor is progressing slowly or is stalling to assess that the contractions are strong enough but not too strong by looking at the intrauterine pressure (IUP)....

The effects of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, were inescapable and may have increased risk for PTSD in children and adults. Even people far away from the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were exposed to upsetting and traumatic images. This was largely due to the extensive television coverage of the terrorist attacks. A study in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, conducted by Dr. Michael Otto and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, examined whether this extensive media coverage may have put children at risk for the development of PTSD....

If you have been researching miscarriage, you’ll probably find that there is a lot of information to wade through—and that what you find might be contradictory. There is often a lot of confusion about the difference between causes and risk factors. What you might read as “fact” in one place could be called a “myth” in another. For example, one article may claim that stress causes miscarriages, while another says there is no evidence it does....

If you are expecting a baby or have a newborn in the house, you probably have many questions about coronavirus or COVID-19. This is a scary time for us all, but when you are pregnant or the parent of an infant, it makes sense that you might be especially protective and worried. If you are breastfeeding, you may have additional questions about the safety of your milk, and breastfeeding in general....