Family Health Matters

Family dynamics create varying degrees of emotional stress. From the kids first step, to their first car and then off to college or the workplace. A family goes through many cycles. One of our favorite web sites for families is managed by Shannon Minnick so plesae join us over there from time to time at Marriage Peace.Com

Best Pets for Children

For apartment dwelling children, smaller pets are the best, and are, often times, the only choice. Fish are beautiful and relaxing to watch, but do not really give the whole pet experience. Small birds can be trained to sit on a gentle finger, but are susceptible to colds and drafts and are messy beyond belief, something you might consider if you are a true neatnik. The rodent family offers many different types of options, some better choices than others. Rats are smart, if you can get past the fact that they are, well, rats. They can also be surprisingly affectionate and are rather easy to care for. Not ready to swallow your loathing of rats? Guinea pigs are another option to consider- less rat-like, the sweet natured guinea pig can be a really great first pet for most children to start with. The only thing to remember about them is the need for daily vitamin C to prevent scurvy.

If space is not a consideration and the entire family is in agreement, then a dog is a good choice as well. Remember that there are many factors to consider when choosing a dog breed, but there are several that will fit in with virtually any family. These include the gentle pug, the intelligent beagle and the ever-popular Golden Retriever. Of course, all families are encouraged to check their local shelter for their new family member first.

And, in the interest of fairness, there is the cat. Often given a bad rap for being too aloof, the cat is a very good pet, especially for those families that are involved in lots of activities. Properly fed, a cat will not really pout and mope if he is left for long periods of time- he will content himself to curl up on your bed until you get home. No matter what pet the family chooses, make sure it is a safe, loving choice for everyone, including the child that will bond with it stronger than anyone else in the household.

Why Do We Need Supplements?

The mere practice of exporting your cultural beliefs into a foreign country can be very exciting. It can also lead to being singled out as different and thus providing a less than favorable environment to prosper emotionally or economically. Children of families moving to foreign countries have both the easiest of times adapting to the most difficult. Once again, the stress that is present is multiplied on the families with older children in their early to late teens.

Parents should take special notice on their children of within this age range as they tend to suffer inwardly and not show a lot of emotion for fear of being viewed as a failure. The stress mounting on them can be far reaching and greatly effect the overall family health as a group.

Taking extra time to listen to their concerns and perhaps allow them to design family functions in and around their new surroundings can greatly improve their ability to feel localized and thus create a well rounded positive impact to the overall family health and happiness.

Many families use sports and recreation to start the blending process. This is a terrific way to allow your entire family to assimilate into their new surroundings. Sports tend to bring families together. Of course we are speaking of those on the same team of course, just kidding. By introducing your child to a new or perhaps existing sport you also combine the entire family into the exprience and the positive impact to the family and it will self promote a good solid family health foundation. Let's not forget the impact on health and fitness that sports provide either.

We are fighting a major battle against obesity in the pre-teen age range. This is so serious that most nations are forecasting this as the potential meltdown of their economic structure not terror! For more on obesity please see our section covering this topic.

Children Need A Good Mirror

Focus On Emotional Well Being

Our children are growing up faster than ever. They are exposed to things that we as parents never even heard of which can effect the overal family health concerns. Ok, for those who watched the space aged Jetson's I take that back. Our kids are way advanced and bombarded by things from all sorts of media platforms.

But when it gets back to their personality and their beliefs it's a real simple process. The family unit drives their mental outlook on life. Thus the reference to the mirror above. We as parents are mirrors to our children. What we say and what we do they are forever emersed in.

Childhood Obesity

Do as I say not as I do? I don't think so. If you say it and then do it differently they react to this in a confused manor. Perhaps making their own decisions. Physical acts are far more powerful than words so assume what you do is how they act not as you say.

By setting good role model examples your children will learn the right ways to behave. Behavior as we look at it from their respect of others to the way they treat their bodies and choose the right foods to build a solid lifestyle around. It all starts at the top so if you don't like the direction a child is going it's probably something you are portraying.

Peer group pressure is level two in most cases. A strong peer to our children can and will influence them. However, if you are communicative and open to listening to your child then even a strong peer can be managed effectively without creating an Us vs Them complex. A child with a strong peer group is most likely going to side wtih the peer vote if forced into a corner. Make it their choice and bank on your solid foundation and communicating skills to enhance their view point.

Also, before we leave this topic, don't be afraid to leave your kids time to think and be alone with their thoughts. We as parents tend to think we need to do everything for them and lay it out in advance. You know what? Drop that right here and now. They will be much better adults if they fail a few times on their own. Let them be bored every now and then.

Health Linked To Heredity

We believe that all families should work with their medical professionals in establishing solid family history plans and records. There are new finding in the medical community all the time that can lead to prevention and or treatment of some of the greatest killers of all time your family health is important so give this your personal focus.

It used to be that cancer was a death tag on a diagnosis. Not today and clearly not tomorrow. Knowledge and timely collection and management of the data is the key to prevention support or post diagnosis treatment. Each of us can help in this task as the better records we keep the more advanced management programs will become available based on the information throughout our family past and present.

Are We Getting Enough Sleep? Academics and Athletics

Uninsured: Is your Family at Risk?

The number of uninsured people in this country is growing in leaps and bounds.

Skyrocketing health care insurance costs are keeping many employers from offering it as a benefit, and private insurance can be even further out of reach for many struggling families. A recent study showed that 15% of employees were not even offered insurance at their place of employment, and that of the remaining number that were offered, up to 52% of them did not take the offered insurance because of cost.

Nearly one third of the population, or 90%, 65 years old or younger, spent at least a portion of 2006 without any form of health insurance at all. It is not just the poor, or the working poor that suffer without insurance however. Nearly 40% of the uninsured are from households that earn $50,000 or more per year. Realistically, if these people cannot afford adequate health insurance for their families, how can we expect a family pulling in half that or less to manage?

Of course, our children come in contact with more communicable diseases by their very nature, and they are more likely to be injured during play, but the number of uninsured children keeps growing every year.

Some children will qualify for Well-child, or similar state sponsored health care plans, but limited funding and impending budget cuts puts those programs at risk for termination. The number of children without insurance is well over eight million, and only increasing as the economy falters.

Without insurance, health concerns go untreated until they become a majorissue. Most uninsured people admit that they rely on local emergency rooms for so called "routine" care, making hospital charges increase, which in turn increases insurance premiums. This increased premium will then force yet another family to drop their insurance coverage and the vicious cycle goes round again.

Care in the emergency room costs more than in wellness clinics and doctors offices, but those places are more and more frequently asking for fees to be paid upfront.

If that money is not available, then the visit will be put off until it actually does become an emergency. An uninsured person is 30-50% more likely to be hospitalized for an avoidable condition, and the cost of that stay will be in the neighborhood of $3300. Maintaining your health and the health of your family is important, but if you truly cannot afford insurance, what can you do? Not all families will have employer insurance offered to them, and those that do have the offer, cannot afford their portion of the premium. Many of the so called "working poor" do not qualify for state sponsored health care, even for their children only, so what is the answer?