Month: June 2012

Ask 6-year-old Alani Green her favorite song and she won’t answer “Yellow Submarine” or “I Like to Move It.” She likes “Piggy Piggy Piggy,” a song her dad, Clarence Green, made up for his kids, Alani and Tashi, 3, to dance to.

Music plays a big role in the Green household. Clarence is the singer/songwriter for local band The Downbeat Project, and has used music his whole life as a way to release and connect with people.

Now he’s passing on that musical appreciation to Alani, who practices on the pink guitar she received as a Christmas gift a few years ago. Still, Clarence said, “She likes to dance to my music more than play along.” 

As you head to the beach (or the backyard) this summer, camera in tow, arm yourself with these tips from local photog Jen Fariello, whom we asked to share a few shooting secrets.

Keep your background simple. Choose a pretty spot with open space and then let your kids play. If the background is good from all directions, you won’t have to worry about a trash can or other unsightly things getting in the picture.

Use your time wisely. Early morning or late day is the best time to shoot. Mid-day (when it’s bright and sunny) creates harsh shadows and can ruin a good photo. Overcast days are the best, Fariello said.

Get on their level. Don’t be afraid to lay on the ground or crouch down to get closer to your child.

Don’t be obsessed with smiles. “Kids don’t like to pose,” Fariello said. “Create an environment where they can be entertained” and the smiles will come naturally.

Avoid white. The light color tends to wash people out, and all that blank space distracts from the subject’s face.

Fariello’s next “Take Better Pictures” workshop, where you can learn more about these tips and others, is Saturday, June 9, from 10am-1pm at Falling Meadows Farm. Register at photolearningseries.com.

What should I know about bug bites and bee stings before our family goes on vacation?
With summer fun comes exposure to insect bites and bee stings. Most bites don’t result in significant problems, but there are a few things to look out for. First, if your child is stung by a bee, you want to be sure that the stinger is not left behind (wasps and hornets do not leave a stinger, only bees). If the stinger is visible, scrape the area horizontally with a credit card or your fingernail to remove it. A serious allergy (anaphylaxis) to a bee sting would result in symptoms like hives on the skin, difficulty breathing, lip or throat swelling, or fainting. If any of these symptoms arise, seek medical attention immediately.

Most bites and stings are best treated by keeping them clean with soap and water, applying a cool compress or ice pack and over the counter itch cream like calamine lotion. (Hint: Often the calamine is even more effective if it’s cold, so keep it in the refrigerator.) If a bite appears to be increasing in size or redness or if there is any red streaking away from the bite, you should call your pediatrician to have it looked at.

Prevention is always a good strategy (albeit difficult to achieve in the Virginia summer) but consider applying insect repellant before going outside. Be sure to avoid combination sunscreen/insect repellant products, as sunscreen needs to be continuously reapplied throughout the day and the insect repellant is not intended to be reapplied. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends DEET 10-30 percent for children over 2 months of age. Ten percent DEET provides protection for about two hours and 30 percent DEET lasts for about five hours. Choose the lowest concentration that will provide the required length of coverage.

What can I do about my child’s bedwetting?
Preparing for play dates, summer camps, and family travel always reminds families about the inconvenience of bedwetting. Thankfully, the problem is rarely caused by a serious medical condition and almost always gets resolved on its own with time. It can, of course, be a cause of worry and embarrassment for children and frustration (and extra laundry!) for parents.
The major factors at play for children who still wet the bed are family history (usually at least one parent was a bedwetter as a child), small bladder size and increased urine production at night, being a deep sleeper, and constipation. While a few families may find restricting fluids in the evenings and waking their children up regularly during the evening and night is helpful in preventing bedwetting, usually these strategies just frustrate parents and children alike. If your child seems motivated to work on the issue (talks about wanting to be dry, not wanting to wear Pull-Ups, or not wanting to go on sleep-overs because of bedwetting), that is a good time to go for it.

The single best strategy for bedwetting is a bedwetting alarm. For younger kids, I call this “magic underwear,” which helps to sense the smallest amount of moisture in underpants and then sounds an alarm to wake the child from his/her deep sleep so he or she can go to the bathroom. After several weeks, the brain is usually more “tuned in” to the bladder and your goal is accomplished. Don’t forget: No matter what your strategy, it is important to let your child know that there are lots of kids (an estimated 10 to 15 percent of 8-year-olds) who wet the bed. Try praise for success rather than punishment for wetting.

Should I take my teenager off his ADHD meds over the summer?
Many families see the summer as a time to take a vacation from daily medications used for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). If your school-aged child has ADHD and is on daily medication, though, you may want to reconsider. First, an incredibly important safety issue for teenagers with ADHD is driving. All of us worry about distracted teen drivers and those with ADHD are particularly prone to driving distraction. If your driving teen is on a medication that is successfully treating his or her inattentive, impulsive, hyperactive, or distracted behavior during the school year, it is a good idea to keep her on the medication throughout the summer.

Kids of all ages attend summer camps, participate in swim teams or other sports camps, or stay with a babysitter or summer school. Your child is most likely to succeed and have fun in these ventures if the symptoms that require treatment during the school year are also controlled during the summer. Either way, it is a good idea to discuss this issue with your pediatrician and your teenager so everyone is on the same page.—Paige Perriello

Paige is a general pediatrician practicing at Pediatric Associates of Charlottesville. She is married, with a 2-year-old daughter.

Give your toddler a piece of broccoli or bite of salad, and it’ll likely end up on the floor. So how do vegetarian and vegan families cope with finicky palates at mealtime? According to two Charlottesville moms, planning and creativity are key.

“My biggest challenge is not having enough time to cook,” said Renee Bricker, a longtime vegetarian. Because she and her husband work full-time outside the home, Bricker cooks each weekend for the upcoming week. Preparing meals for the whole family, including her 2-year-old daughter, Giana, means hiding the veggies.

“She won’t eat many vegetables plain but will eat them mixed in a soup or stir fry,” Bricker said. Giana’s parents try to give her at least one fruit and vegetable at each meal, sometimes in the form of a fruit smoothie mixed with spinach or kale.

For stay-at-home mom Robin Fetter, an integral part of living vegan is letting other families know it’s possible. On her blog, The Real Vegan Housewife, she writes, “I don’t consider myself to be a ‘granola’ or ‘hippie’ kind of mom. I like to call my style of raising a vegan child ‘realistic.’”  
Rather than spend a lot of money on mock meats or frozen meals, Fetter buys fresh produce and thinks of ways to “veganize” popular dishes. That means making “chicken” nuggets for her 16-month-old daughter, Raegan, by baking tofu marinated in soy sauce.

And if they had any doubts, Fetter assures her readers that, “Yes, vegan kids do have more fun!”

I spent most of the summer between fourth and fifth grades in the Long Lake public library. It was hot in Minnesota that year, and the library was one of the few air-conditioned buildings I got to visit. The librarian, who played bridge with my mother, was quite good at suggesting books I’d enjoy. What follows are a few of my own.

Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking is a favorite because, seriously, what 9-year-old can resist something that opens: “Way out at the end of a tiny little town was an overgrown garden, and in the garden was an old house, and in the house lived Pippi Longstocking…she lived there all alone…and that was of course very nice because there was no one to tell her to go to bed just when she was having the most fun…”?

Another can’t-miss for children ages 6 to 9 years old is The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales, Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith’s hilarious and sarcastic take on familiar stories. In one chapter, Jack accuses the giant of “wrecking my whole story,” and suggests that he “climb back up the beanstalk. I’ll be up in a few minutes to steal your gold and your singing harp.”

For kids (and parents) who’re after something on the sweeter side, you can’t go wrong with frog and toad. Specifically, Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Are Friends, an I Can Read chapter book that chronicles the adventures of two amphibian pals who help one another with a variety of everyday tasks, including getting out of bed, waiting for mail, finding a lost button, and—toughest of all, if you ask me—appearing publicly in a swimsuit.

Finally, there’s Kevin Henkes’ irresistible Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, a colorfully told (and illustrated) tale of a mouse-girl who loves fish sticks, pointy pencils, and the clickety-clickety-click sound her boots make as she struts down the hallway. And don’t even get me started on the Monday morning when Lilly shows up for school with a new pair of movie star sunglasses, three shiny quarters, and “a brand new purple plastic purse that played a jaunty tune when it was opened.” Admit it, people: We’d all be better off with noisy red boots, rhinestone-encrusted sunglasses, and a jaunty tune on demand.