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Although vaccines are required to attend most schools in the United States, with the availability of exemptions, many kids attend without being vaccinated or fully vaccinated. Exemption based on religion is one of several reasons parents can claim to avoid giving their children vaccines in certain states. And of course, parents can always choose to not send their kids to school. Children who are home-schooled usually do not have to meet the same vaccine requirements as children who attend public or private schools....

Smokers often think of lighting up as an enjoyable pastime. Cigarettes offer comfort, entertainment, and companionship—or so you think. At the same time, you might relate smoking cessation to feelings of pain, misery, and sacrifice. These opposing feelings are reinforced on a subconscious level, below the surface of your thoughts. The result is that you might adopt unhealthy and inaccurate beliefs as facts of life when in reality they are only your distorted perceptions of the truth....

Teens using e-cigarettes, also known as vaping, is strongly associated with later daily cigarette smoking, according to a 2021 study in Pediatrics. Key Takeaways Adolescents and young adults who use e-cigarettes are much more likely to try tobacco products and become daily smokers.The perception that vaping is safe continues to be prevalent, making cessation efforts more difficult.About half of teens who vape have expressed a desire to quit, but tools tailored to their needs are not widely available....

What Is a Temazcal? History Temazcal ceremonies originated in South America, more specifically Mexico. It has been practiced by Mexicans in that part of the world and other parts of the world for thousands of years. Temazcal Ceremony A temazcal is a ceremony steeped in Mexican heritage. It involves participants sitting in a traditional sweat lodge for health and therapeutic benefits. Ceremonies usually last for two or more hours and are typically led by a sort of spiritual leader called a shaman or temazcalero....

Follow Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts Every Friday on The Verywell Mind Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Amy Morin, LCSW, shares the “Friday Fix”—a short episode featuring a quick, actionable tip or exercise to help you manage a specific mental health issue or concern. Friday Fix: Episode 214 There’s a lot of information out there about setting healthy boundaries. But sometimes, it’s difficult to get to the first step–saying ’no.'...

There’s nothing like getting children outside to play, but sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate. If your tweens are stuck indoors due to weather, illness, or other circumstances, you’ll need a few enjoyable indoor activities to keep them busy. These ideas help tweens stay active and engaged inside (no more cries of “I’m bored” or “Just one more YouTube video!”). Get Moving Even if your child is stuck indoors, that’s no reason to be inactive....

Being positive doesn’t mean you never feel negative emotions or struggle with pessimistic thoughts. Everyone has days when they feel down or discouraged. The difference is that positive thinkers don’t let their negative emotions control them. Positivity Positivity involves maintaining an optimistic outlook on life. It means being cheerful and hopeful, even when you are facing challenges. Positive people look for the good in every situation and are grateful for what they have....

Subscribe Now: Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts Every Friday on The Verywell Mind Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Amy Morin, LCSW, shares the “Friday Fix”—a short episode featuring a quick, actionable tip or exercise to help you manage a specific mental health issue or concern. Friday Fix: Episode 57 When you’re faced with a stressful situation, your brain might be quick to remind you of all the ways you’re not equipped to handle the challenge....

Despite the benefits of meditation, many people feel overwhelmed at the thought of learning how to meditate. Guided meditation makes it easier to get started because it takes a lot of the mental legwork away from the novice. Overview As the name implies, guided meditation allows you to be guided by someone else. A guide may help you drum up some specific mental imagery or they may walk you through a series of breathing exercises or mantras to help you practice meditating....

It’s no secret that Christmas is a popular holiday. In fact, it’s celebrated by over 2 billion people in over 160 countries around the world. According to a 2019 Gallup poll, 93% of Americans reported that they celebrated Christmas that year. Commercialization of Christmas often begins before the weather changes, with tree lights sometimes hitting the shelves as early as August or September. By the time Halloween is over, ornaments and gift wrap are in full view, if they weren’t already on display....

Labor is hard work, there is no doubt. But these inexpensive birthing tools can aid you in reducing the amount of pain and discomfort that can come from giving birth. Rice Sock A rice sock is very simple and just what it sounds like, it’s a sock filled with plain rice. The rice sock is heated in the microwave and becomes a really great heating pad. In labor it can be used on your back, aching muscles in your arms or legs, to warm you up, or even to help with some pubic bone pain as that baby is coming down into your pelvis....

A lot of parents may wonder when it’s appropriate to introduce their baby to a cup. And while it really depends on your baby’s motor skills and interest level, anytime between 5 months old and 9 months old is the prime time for testing out a cup. In some cases, children who are already holding a bottle might take more readily to a cup than a child who has been fed exclusively from the breast....

It’s very common for hair to change in texture and thickness over the course of one’s life. Knowing this may not make it easier if you’re one whose hair is getting thinner seemingly with each passing day. If your hair is thinning or falling out, you are probably anxious to find out why. Is hair loss due to stress, heredity, or some other factor? The answer is “yes” to all three....

After homeschooling her children from March 2020 to September 2021 due to pandemic-related school closings, journalist Meg St-Esprit looked forward to them being able to go back in person. Her twin second graders and fourth-grader went back to public school this year, while her 3-year-old started daycare. The return to in-person schooling would allow her to get back to her full-time career. Then a COVID-19 exposure led to a two-week closure at her 3-year-old’s preschool, and it wreaked havoc with her ability to work....

Occupational and speech therapy catalogs offer a wide array of cool tools and toys, many of them carrying price tags more appropriate for a school district budget than a family’s pocketbook. Improvise with some homemade items that may give you a preview of how your child will respond to more expensive items, or keep you from having to buy them all together. Fidget Toys You can get sets of nifty fidget toys, of all kinds and sizes and shapes, from many occupational therapy catalogs, but you can also assemble a good batch of them yourself, from easy-to-find items....

You will find both classic and unusual baby names in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. They carry a history that can be appealing to have as part of your own child’s story. If the meaning behind a name matters to you, be sure to look up the stories associated with these names before bestowing them upon your newborn. While some of the meanings are quite noble (“great warrior”) or lovely (“full of grace”), others are a bit less so (“palm tree”)....

Spoiler alert! This article contains major spoilers for the first season of the series Wednesday, now streaming on Netflix. Mind in the Media is an ongoing series discussing mental health and psychological topics in popular movies and television Netflix’s Addams Family adaptation Wednesday, which focuses on the moody pig-tailed character Wednesday Addams during her teenage years, has become a major hit. The story centers on Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) as she enrolls in Nevermore Academy, a school for so-called “outcasts,” whose student body includes werewolves, vampires, sirens, psychics, gorgons, and all kinds of other teens with strange attributes and abilities....

When the subject of labor pain comes up, many women quickly steer the conversation to the epidural. Epidural anesthesia is a type of regional anesthesia that allows a mother to be awake for the birth of her baby and comfortable. Some moms feel completely numb while others have some feeling but it’s more pressure than pain. When you ask moms why they jump so quickly to the epidural the vast majority say that they don’t want to be in excruciating pain during the birth of their baby....

A perceptual set refers to a predisposition to perceive things in a certain way. In other words, we often tend to notice only certain aspects of an object or situation while ignoring other details. What Is a Perceptual Set? When it comes to our perceptions of the world around us, you might assume that what you see is what you get. However, in truth, research shows that the way you see the world is heavily influenced (and biased) by your own past experiences, expectations, motivations, beliefs, emotions, and even your culture....

Teens can experience all forms of mental illness, including psychosis. However, as with the signs of depression and other forms of mental illness in adolescence, the key indicators seen in adults may be missed or simply attributed to the normal stress of teenage development. What Is Psychosis? Psychosis involves a disruption to a person’s thoughts and perceptions that make it difficult for them to distinguish between what is real and what isn’t....