Dr. Markides is quoted saying that there is “a story in social science that support systems and strong families are conducive to good health and longevity”.

George Bernard Shaw said “we don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stopped playing”.

Hepatitis Prevention is key

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are 100% preventable. There is no amount of any kind of alcohol during pregnancy that is risk free.

NASA will live screen the solar eclipse, so that a cloudy day will not foil your plans for viewing. You can also watch the live stream to see the total eclipse if you are not in the path of totality.

Memory is central to thinking or cognition, to the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

If blood pressure remains high, medications might be needed with careful follow-up. Sometimes a referral to a kidney doctor (nephrologist) is needed.

Either a lack or an excess of light can have significant effects on health and mood.

Death and dying seems unreal but bad things do happen. Many continue to believe that childhood is a time of happiness and joy but not always. No one is prepared for the experience of grief and there is no “right” way to live through it.

There are ongoing studies to evaluate how using digestive enzymes can improve behavior and gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autistic behaviors and attention deficit problems.

Healthychildren.org has some suggestions for a checklist to secure a safer environment in any home. As children will put anything in their mouths, it is important to store pills, inhalers, and other prescriptions out of reach. Move medicines in purses or at the bedside securely out of reach. Pets, pet food and pet medicines should be stored out of a child’s reach. (This is for the safety of both the child and the pet.) Unsafe cleansers and chemicals need to be moved to cabinets with safety locks completely out of reach. Be careful of leaving alcoholic drinks in easy reach of children at the same party.

We have much to learn about nature. Maybe through our gut’s microbes our diets can nurture behavior.

We have much to learn about nature. Maybe through our gut’s microbes our diets can nurture behavior.

Attitude is a choice. Concentrate on overturning whining and complaining into something positive.

Don’t forget those magic words, “thank you”, “good job”, “that was very kind of you”, “thanks for helping” and “I appreciate you”. Average ten new thanks a day. For variation you could say in French, “merci”, in Spanish, gracias” and in Italian, “grazie”.

All grocery shoppers need to be aware how their buying is influenced and know that children are not the only ones influenced about what they want by advertisements.

Can children become “addicted” to processed foods? This is an important question and the answers are important and scary. The World Health Organization has declared that there is a global epidemic of obesity.

Domestic violence is a tremendous problem. Healthychildren.org reports that “1 in 4 children are exposed to caregiver intimate partner violence within their lifetime”. That’s a lot of children and it is of great concern because this places them at risk of profound short- and long-term impacts on their physical and mental health and well-being.

Choking from hard candy is scary, be careful. Choking is the fourth leading cause of death in preschool kids and the leading cause of infantile death. In 19% of cases, candy is the culprit. Hands-on training is helpful for emergency situations, but prevention is the key.