As you know, we developed KidKupz to not only help children “take the ick out of sick”® and chase away the harsh taste of liquid medications,  but also to help parents ensure their child is always getting the proper dosage.  That is why KidKupz are made using standardized dosage cups with clearly marked measurements – no room for error and the cups can be used with ANY liquid medications.

Clearly, The Journal of the American Medical Association supports our concerns.  Here is the JAMA study, released yesterday.  Important reading for all parents and caregivers.

“ Evaluation of Consistency in Dosing Directions and Measuring Devices for Pediatric Nonprescription Liquid Medications ”

Also, here is the video from WABC and the esteemed Dr. Jay Adlersberg.

If your family is anything like mine, then summer throws your normal school year routine right out the window.  Of course, our kids aren’t heading out to class but that’s not the only thing that changes at my house. Sleep schedules, bedtime routines, meal times, reading time, eating habits and some semblance of a dress code…all of these things seem to take on a life of their own at my house come Summer vacation.

My kids still need to get wake up early so that I can drive them to day camp, but let’s face it, it’s camp and wandering in late in your flip flops is just fine. Meal times and schedules slide around and I even find myself allowing ice cream to sneak in more frequently during the week.  It is Summer, after all, and the ice cream and the fresh corn and the cookouts with smores, well aren’t they just a necessary part of childhood?

So, with summer slowly winding down, what is the best way to gradually start transitioning our children, and ourselves, back into more of a routine that will prepare us for back to school? Take a look at WebMD’s Ask the School Nurse for some practical advice that may not have crossed your mind while you were relaxing on the beach.

If your children are old enough to begin taking on some basic household chores then you may want to take a look at this article from WebMD for some great perspective on why assigning chores is so important for raising independent and confident children.

Somehow it seems that many parents of today have things a bit backwards. We all love our children so much and want them to be joyful and free of stress 24-7. After all, kids have so much going on in their lives today with schoolwork and after school activities, how can we expect them to be pitching in with the laundry or the gardening on top of their own “stuff?” The truth is, kids need to feel that they are an integral part of their household and that in turn will provide them with the crucial self-esteem that so many kids lack. Read on for some super suggestions!

If your child is in elementary school then chances are they were given suggestions for Summer reading from their school.  My son and daughter were each provided with a long list of age appropriate book titles broken down by category, i.e. Adventure, Science Fiction, Biographies etc.. My kids are not the world’s most enthusiastic readers so I found it really helpful that they could take some control and read through the brief descriptions to decide for themselves what 5 or 6 books to read.

Sit down with your kids, or better yet, let them sit down at the computer, and take a look at these age appropriate book titles complete with brief summaries from www.FamilyEducation.com.  Allowing your child to map out her own reading plan might just make all the difference this Summer!

If your children are approaching their “tweens” then for certain they have already been asking you some pretty sticky questions over the last few years. Regardless of the topic, our kids want to know about what we were doing at their age and the more juicy details the better. My kids get such a thrill out of hearing stories from my childhood and my husband’s childhood that involve us doing something naughty or getting in trouble at school or with our parents. Not only do they find it highly entertaining, but it’s also great ammunition to use against us at a later date when they are being scolded for the identical behaviors.

Let’s face it, we all have some stories about our adolescence that we would prefer to keep to ourselves…especially when it comes to sharing with our children.  When our kids do come to us with questions about pre-marital sexual activity or about experimenting with drugs and alcohol, how honest should we be? How can we preach to our children about never taking a sip of alcohol until the age of 21, and yet be truthful about our own experimentation as teens? Is rewriting our own history in the best interest of our children or is there a way to be honest with them and still get a message across?

See what pediatrician, Dr. Perri Klass has to say on the subject and avoid feeling like a deer in the headlights the next time your child hits you up with a tough question.

Now that school is out, our children should ideally be spending more time outdoors and involved in some sort of physical activity. Whether your kids are at camp or just hanging out at the beach or in the backyard, chances are they are spending less time in front of the TV.

As incoming 5th and 6th graders, my son and daughter were assigned a summer reading list from which they are required to read at least 5 books. They were also given some math review websites on which to spend some time doing summer review. The good news is that, after a long day at camp and some reading time, showering and dinner, there just aren’t that many hours left in the day for TV or video games or even computer time. I find my kids are so much less interested in begging to play on my computer or in emailing  with their friends. Still, it is called summer vacation for a reason and we have to cut them some slack and just let them chill out a bit. More than likely, that chill time will be spent playing video games of one kind or another. While I’m okay with being a bit more lax during the Summer, it is still important to maintain some type of rules and guidelines as far as the videogames go. If the time spent playing gets too out of hand during the summer months, it will be near impossible to reign it in come September.

Parenting.org has come up with some common sense guidelines for parents to follow that will help keep our kids on track while still allowing them some time to enjoy their favorite pastime.

Along with the tasty outdoor barbecues and the breezy days spent at the beach summer also brings some crazy laundry challenges.When my children return home from day camp each afternoon I am horrified by the daunting laundry challenges with which they present me. Their clothes are invariably covered with some, if not all, of the following stains: grass, mud, paint, markers, ketchup, melted Popsicles and of course some blood here and there. So far, red wine hasn’t been an issue but I’ll keep you posted.

I consider myself somewhat of a laundry fanatic. At home during the school year, I have some help with the laundry, but come summer I’m on my own. I like to pre-treat each item of clothing before it goes into the hamper so I can get  a jump on treating the stain. Tackling tough stains and keeping summer whites white is not for the faint of heart so here are some product reviews that should set you on the right path. Just remember, summer vacation just isn’t any fun for  our kids if they aren’t free to roll around in the dirt and let their popsicles drip where they may so, as my son says, “Chillax!” and let the stains fall where they may.

It has been nothing less than blisteringly hot and humid here in New York over the last couple of weeks. My children are  finishing up the school year and summer camp is just around the corner. I guess it’s time to prepare for the great outdoors! I have always been pretty much of a city girl, and to this day I envy those families who can pack up a cooler on a summer morning and head to the beach for the entire day. You know who you are…running in and out of the ocean to cool off, playing Kadima and jogging up and down the beach with your totally even, golden brown tans. My husband and children and I are a fair skinned bunch and no matter what we do, we burn. A burn, by the way, that never turns into a tan, but rather dries up and peels off. We are the family at the beach cowering under our big umbrella. My kids love the ocean but they sure don’t love the sunscreen protocol that preceeds it.

Every year it seems like the brands and types of sunscreens on the market triples exponentially. It’s hard to make sense of all the buzz words and the latest and greatest new technologies. I always wind up buying 6 different sprays all promising to be “sweat-proof” and “long-lasting” and it always seems as though the second my kids get in the water, the product washes right off. I slather the thick, white SPF 70 pastes on their chubby cheeks and noses as they leave for camp in the morning and what comes home are 2 red faced, freckled lobsters.

Take a look at this ABC News video featuring Consumer Reports choices for this year’s best and most effective sun protection products. I have already stocked up on 2 of the sprays one lotion and I will let you know how we do. The results and the prices may surprise you. And remember…life’s a beach!

My brother and sister in law had their first child almost 2 months ago and from the minute she was born, even before they brought her home from the hospital, the advice and the tips from friends and family were coming fast and furious. My sister in law had already read several books on nursing and sleep habits but, at least in my case, when that baby arrived, I was like a deer caught in the headlights. Your mind turns to mush and you feel as though you are a useless and hopeless excuse for a mother. It seems so picture perfect when other women give birth and bring their angelic, swaddled angels home from the hospital, but when it’s you, things just never feel quite so smooth.

The only advice that I was prepared to give to my sister in law  (and I say, “prepared” because I have yet to be asked for any) was to take a deep breath and just give into the chaos and the panic and it will all fall into place. It takes longer for some than others but eventually, all first time moms get their groove on. I was reminded of all of these old feelings from my own experience by a recent article which addresses 10 controversial parenting issues with feedback from 4 top childhood experts. Topics such as whether to spank as a form of discipline and whether or not to vaccinate your child are among the subjects and it’s comforting to note that there is support for all sides of most of these issues. Take a look and see where you stand and remember that there is no such thing as a perfect parent.

Back in February I weighed in on an article in USA Today about the American Academy of Pediatrics’ urging to the FDA that certain foods pose serious choking hazards to young children and should therefore be required to carry warning labels. The public response was passionate on both sides of the argument. Clearly food manufacturers of products like hot dogs, popcorn and gumballs feel strongly that parents need to be more vigilant as to what they give to their children and how they prepare it for them. On the other end of the spectrum, there are countless horror stories of mothers and fathers who innocently gave their child a little piece of popcorn or a sunflower seed assuming it was small enough not to constrict the airway only to have the child inhale the object into their lungs or bronchial tubes. In many cases, despite CPR and calls to 911, these children die.

Laurie Tarkan’s recent NY Times article outlines the recent developments in what is clearly a surprisingly controversial safety issue…truly food for thought.