September 26th, 2010

Animal Assisted Therapies

c8eae9f4f2eaa23 Animal Assisted TherapiesAs early as the 18th century, AAT is being administered by people as a medical intervention for improving a person’s structural and postural balance. Aside from the physical benefits AAT gives, it has also been found out that animal companion also helps the person to improve and develop a sense of self-worth, ego strength, self-confidence and social competence.

Today, AAT is known to work well with children who have behavior problems as well to kids that are autistic, nonverbal, schizophrenic, inhibited, withdrawn, obsessive-compulsive and even to those who are culturally challenged. Because of this, AAT/nature education programs were created to be therapeutic for patients in residential treatment especially for those with attention-deficit/hyperactive and conduct disorders.

It has also been observed that canine companions included in the AAT program were effective in decreasing the patient’s agitated and aggressive behavior while improving their cooperation with the instructors, thus leading to engaged learning and behavioral control in a regular classroom setting.

September 23rd, 2010

Advocates Call for More Efforts To Enroll Kids in Public Health Coverage

Advocates are pushing for increased efforts to enroll California’s uninsured children in government health insurance programs such as Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, the Sacramento Bee reports. Medi-Cal is California’s Medicaid program and Healthy Families is the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Last week, the Urban Institute Health Policy Center released a study in the journal Health Affairs estimating that about 700,000 California children are uninsured and eligible for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families. The figure represents nearly half of the 1.5 million California children who lack health coverage, according to UCLA health policy researchers.

September 19th, 2010

Making the child understand child custody

For some, there is nothing more heart breaking than to see a child suffer from the decisions that adults make. However, since separation is a fact of life and usually happens with couples that can no longer fix their relationships, there is nothing more to be done but to make the child understand the situation. Here are some ways that may help:

1. Ask your child if you can have a serious conversation with him or her. The major reason why kids don’t understand child custody is because adults underestimate their skills to comprehend complex family issues. If you are involved an on going process of child custody or plan to start one, tell your child you want to have a serious conversation with them. Once a child feels that what you are about to discuss is no laughing matter, then he or she will pay more attention.

2. Never lie to your child because kids hate being lied to. They would rather be hurt knowing the truth than by being told with lies. When you are about to proceed with a child custody case, make sure that you explain thoroughly to your child what is happening and why this is taking place. Since it’s something that kids don’t understand fully, make sure that you are ready to answer all questions coming from them.

September 17th, 2010

Why Child Care is Necessary

Latchkey kids are a thing of the past and for good reason. Child care is a necessary part of parenting, and there are many services available today to assist with this tough challenge. Societies now encourage children to learn more, become responsible at an earlier age, and to put it simply, grow up faster. Parents are no longer encouraged to allow a child of seven or eight to take him or herself home after school and stay alone until Mom or Dad get home from work. Sexual predators are a very real threat; a child can be followed home from school and victimized. But if there is child care, this will be avoided.

Today, child care abounds. There is full-time, part-time, drop-in and day care centers. Child care doesn’t have to mean you’re away from your child all day from morning to night, missing the milestones we all enjoy. Depending on your child care needs, and your work situation, sometimes child care can be very minimal. Maybe several hours a week will be all you need from an in-home child care provider, with a backup of drop-in child care for those emergency or unplanned occasions; a drop-in child care provider can be a lifesaver. Get more information at free articles

September 15th, 2010

Whooping cough gets worse on Peninsula

With the state seeing its worst bout of whooping cough in decades, Santa Clara and San Mateo county officials are ramping up their efforts to combat the epidemic.

Peninsula schools are sending out information packets to students’ families. Public health departments are hosting free vaccination clinics. Even the state schools chief is joining the call to action.

As of Aug. 31, the state reported about 3,600 cases of whooping cough — the most since 1958 and a sevenfold increase from the 501 cases reported at the same time last year. Eight infants, all under the age of 3 months, have died of the disease this year in California.

“The deaths of eight babies and the confirmed or suspected cases of 3,600 whooping cough bacterial infections in the state may have been prevented with childhood vaccinations against this and other diseases,” state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said Tuesday in a statement urging families to get vaccinated to avoid spreading the disease.

September 11th, 2010

State Lags in Health Care for Low-Income Children

South Carolina is one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to enrolling eligible children in health insurance coverage, according to a report released last week by the Urban Institute, a research and policy nonprofit.

“Of the estimated 7.3 million uninsured children age 18 and under in this country, we find that about 4.7 million, or 65 percent, are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP [the Children’s Health Insurance Plan], but not enrolled,” said Genevieve Kenney, an author of the report, in a Sept. 3 conference call with reporters.

South Carolina ranks among 11 states lagging behind the national rate of enrolling kids, according to the report. It is one of only 13 states with a participation rate under 80 percent.

Currently, families of four or more with annual income levels up to about $45,000 are eligible to enroll their children in CHIP or Medicaid in nearly every state, but an estimated five million children who are eligible are still not enrolled.

September 10th, 2010

Four million child deaths avoidable in past decade

f9b5d63159f61ab Four million child deaths avoidable in past decadeUNITED NATIONS — Four million children have died in the past decade because governments have not spread major medical advances to the poor, a leading aid group said Tuesday.

A highly critical report by Save The Children was the latest shot across the bows of world powers before they meet at the United Nations this month to discuss how to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set at a major summit 10 years ago. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICF) released a parallel report calling for greater fairness in health spending and saying that millions of lives could be saved by targeting more care at the poor.

“Some notable progress has been made in reducing child deaths in recent years, but 8.8 million newborns and children still die each year,” said Carolyn Miles, Save the Children’s executive vice president. “Too often, where children live or how much money their parents have determines whether they will receive proven, low-cost, lifesaving care. We must all work to end these fatal inequities — not only between countries, but within countries themselves.”

Save the Children looked at data from 42 “high-mortality countries.” It found that poorer children are far more likely to die. If all children had the same risk of death as the top 20 percent in their country, four million child deaths could have been prevented in the last 10 years, the report said.

September 9th, 2010

A Unique Way Of Helping Kids With Behavior Problems

Today, many experts have realized that there is one effective way to help children veer away from the possible development of behavior problems—this is by giving the child a pet companion.

Experts agree that pets—specifically dogs—are effective companions that can bring physical and emotional benefits especially to young kids. Studies show that dogs are quite effective companions especially in dealing with mood disorders and other behavior problems.

Possessing calm, loyal and intelligent qualities, canine companions are said to be ideal for those people who go through mood swings and disorders because these animals can provide the peace and tranquility the person needs to soothe his or her nerves. When it comes to psychotherapy, canine companions usually serve as clinical bridges and distractions using uncomfortable sessions. Get more information from article directory

Studies show that a strong psychological and emotional attachment between people and animal companions have resulted to lasting and strengthened human-animal bonds. Reports also show that canine companions help their owners have a positive outlook in life by minimizing the tension amongst people and family members.

September 5th, 2010

Behavior Problems

The human body—specifically the human personality and the human mind—are among the most interesting territories anybody can explore. Aside from being a constant topic for research, the human body is also one of the fields that experts continue to delve into because of the unending mysteries and possibilities such as the occurrence of various behavior problems.

But as time goes by, more and more findings are being linked to the human body that can affect its major parts like the brain. These major developments or possibilities continue to be under the observation and study of the leading institutions in the world right now.

Among the age brackets that are prone to developing behavior problems are kids that are in the grade school level. This is because they often lack guidance from their parents and understanding from their teachers and peers.

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