My children love their vitamins.  I'm talking about the ones that come in the shape of a cartoon character or action hero, not necessarily the ones that come in the form of a broccoli stalk.  They actually enjoy them so much that it is one of the first things they ask for in the morning and I can actually use it as an incentive for getting their teeth brushed and faces washed.  Of course, we go through the fights over who gets what color and which character, and how "it's never fair" because one brother inevitably always gets "red", the "best" color.

Now that being said, there is a big downside to this situation.  It has made me unmistakably aware of how easy it would be for my children or anyone's children to easily gobble up a bottle's worth of vitamins if presented with the opportunity.  The vitamins surely look like candy, and pretty much taste like candy as well.  Now, there are not only tablet vitamins, but gummies as well.  On the one hand, yes, kids love gummies and this will definitely increase the chances that they will take their vitamin, but it also infinitely increases the chances that they will see this "medication" as candy and seek it out to eat more, perhaps a lot more.

So, what to do?  Well moms and dads, we have to put these gummy and tablet vitamins up high, locked up, and out of reach so our kids can not get to them.  In addition, we need to verbally explain to our kids that these vitamins are NOT candy and that they can only be taken when an adult gives it to them.  Please do not leave bottles of vitamins out on the counter or even up in a shelf.  I've heard too many stories of parents finding their children on chairs and stools, pushed over to counter tops, in order to get into the cabinets to find the vitamins or "candy" (as our children see it).  Trust me, where there's a will, there's a way.  And of course this not only goes for vitamins, but for all medications (keep them up high, out of reach and literally in a locked container).

Recently Dr. Rachel told me an interesting "vitamin story" which really served as my inspiration for writing about this topic.  She was driving her younger son's carpool to camp and when she picked up one of the kids, the preschooler gave Rachel's son a "gummy".  Her intentions were good, but this gummy turned out to be a vitamin.  The young girl's babysitter thought it would be nice to share since the little girl had one as well.  It is clear from this one example how easily it is to mistake these vitamins (which are a type of medicine) for candy.  We would never even consider giving another child a medicine which was prescribed for our own child.  Yet, it's very easy to view vitamins as something they are not, candy.  

Please remember that all types of vitamins, whether tablet form, gummy, etc. are a type of medicine and should only be given to a child by the adult responsible for him.  And of course all parents should check with their own doctor as to whether or not their child needs a daily vitamin, or not!

The past four days have been rather intense in our household.  My husband has been battling a severe gastrointestinal illness (I guess that's what happens when you work in a pediatric emergency room) and I have been trying to keep the kids entertained over this July 4th weekend with the main goal of keeping everyone as far away from Daddy as possible.  Now this may seem like an easy task to someone who does not know my family, but for those who do, they will very much appreciate why this is so difficult.  The bottom line is: my boys love my husband/their father, and pretty much worship everything he does and says and when he is around they want to be by his side at all times.  In fact, there is no other place they'd rather be, than with Dad.  Normally, this is a wonderful thing.  However, it makes things a bit tricky when they can't be with him.  It's especially hard because they know he is right upstairs...so close, yet so far!

I've tried to set very strict limits on how close they can get to him.  They are allowed to walk into our bedroom and stand by the opposite side of the bed from where my husband sleeps, but they can't touch the bed.  And using the master bath is off limits (I'm not even using it).  I really do not want them to get sick and we all know how contagious these GI bugs can be.    The last thing we need is for the boys to come down with this awful virus.

Fortunately things are looking up in our house.  My husband is making a steady recovery (I insisted he drink liter upon liter of Gatorade and even go to the hospital for some fluids).  As one can imagine, a doctor never wants to show up in their place of work sick himself.  He's not used to being the patient.

And the great news is that this morning when my boys came into our room when they woke up and asked if it was okay to get into bed and snuggle with Daddy, we could finally say, "Come on in".  The smiles on their faces were priceless.

Let's just keep our fingers crossed that the rest of us don't get sick over the next few days!!

I was a good camper.  I’m not talking about the “roughing it” part of camping in the great outdoors (too many bugs for me).  I’m referring to going to summer camp.  I loved camp.  I loved the activities, and the songs, and the friends I made.  I loved those art projects, and learning archery, and swimming, and paddling the canoe with that large orange life jacket around me. 

 And now I’ve got kids, and so we all know that means I get to live vicariously through them.  Just kidding (sort of).  So you can imagine my excitement when I signed up Ben for “big boy” summer camp.  And, this is no shocker to my husband…he is going to the same summer day camp I went to and loved.  Ben, who is 5, takes the bus to camp.  During his first week of camp, I literally had to carry him on the bus kicking and screaming.  That’s no easy feat, when your 5 year old child is basically stronger than you are.  I felt bad; I felt bad because he was so sad that he actually had to throw a little tantrum in front of his friends.  I felt bad because he told me his stomach hurt right before he got on, and maybe there really was something wrong, not just “the butterflies.”  I felt bad because he told me he actually felt unsafe on the bus—it’s way different than being strapped into a car seat.  But I got him through that first week of camp, and the second week was much easier.  He tells me camp is fun, it’s just that the bus ride (already paid, can’t change now) bothers him.  Well now it’s the beginning of the third week.  Mondays can be tough, and today was no exception.  This morning brought back memories, and an imitation, of that first week.  So there I was, carrying out my 50 pound child, putting him on the bus, and telling him he would be okay.  

 That’s because I know he will be.  I’m not just saying that to make myself feel better.  In a moment of neurotic weakness, I called the camp and told them my tale of bus-riding woe.  They told me that Ben was happy as a lark—he was participating in activities, and singing, and having fun--and they would never have known he had a tough time getting on the bus.  So now we’re going to work on his bus-taking skills.  Because Ben is a good little camper after all. 

Both of my boys started camp last week.  Fortunately, they are going to the same place which makes like easier for everyone and the bus picks them up right in front of the house (it's so convenient!!).  This is their first time going to this camp and it is entirely outdoors in the woods.  I'm actually very happy about the fact that it is in a forest, because that means LOTS of shade.  However, it also means LOTS of bugs, including ticks.  The camp does a pretty good job keeping the kids on the main paths and out of the brush, but there is still a very good chance a lot of the campers are going to have ticks crawling around on them and even biting  this summer.

There are some things we can do to help keep those awful ticks at bay.  I just bought some insect repellant which contains DEET (really the most effective on the market).  Keep in mind that the percentage of DEET is really a measure of duration of action, not potency.  So the higher the percentage, the longer it works.  It's important to pick the lowest percentage you feel you need to protect your family for the amount of time spent outdoors.  Also, don't go higher than 30%.  A few other tips when using DEET:
-never put on underneath clothing, only on exposed skin (sparingly) or on clothing
-don't use around a child's eyes, nose, mouth, or on the hands
-AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends not to use under 2 months of age
-apply outdoors
-don't reapply
-avoid using a combination sunscreen/DEET product (use separate products)

Other tips to avoid the bugs include:
-appropriate clothing: long pants, long sleeves, and long socks and tuck pants into socks to keep ticks outside of clothing
-lighter clothing allows easier spotting of ticks
-avoid wooded/bushy areas
-stay on paths
-don't sit on the ground
-treat your pets with flea/tick repellant and do tick checks on the family pets

Lastly, PLEASE do tick checks on your children (and yourselves) every single night.  Go through their hair very carefully and check over the entire body including the armpits, scalp, and groin.  Remember that ticks can be very small, so look closely.

Good luck and hopefully it will be a tick free summer!

Lately, I've become more aware of too many babies, toddlers, and children not being properly secured in appropriate car seats.  It doesn't matter if it's a newborn in an infant seat facing backwards, or an older child who should be properly restrained in a booster, everyone needs to be safe in the car.  I know that when my boys were babies, we always went to a professional car seat installer and had the infant seat permanently secured in the back seat, so that we had piece of mind that it was put in correctly.  Believe me, it's actually not so easy to get them in right!  In fact, there are reports that show that 96% of parents think their child's safety seats are in correctly, but in reality it is believed that 82% are not installed and used correctly.  This percentage is unreal!

So what does this mean?  Either moms and dads need a lot of education and hands on training in installing car seats, or parents need to be bringing their safety seats to professional installers.  All over the country there are places which do this for free...that's right, it's free!  In some jurisdictions the local police or fire departments do it, and in other places certain stores and businesses sponsor this.  There are actual courses which people need to take in order to be certified to install car seats. 

In order to find out where to go in your area, there is a very useful website called www.seatcheck.org, or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm.

We are in the Washington DC area and a local car dealership has been doing car seat checks and installations for years.  Fitzgerald Auto Mall (www.fitzmall.com) has certified child passenger safety technicians who are available to help people in the community either by appointment or on certain designated days where they set aside a few hours and have a first come, first serve child car seat check up.  I highly recommend that everyone in the Washington DC area utilize this service.  Every child should not only be in a properly fitted car seat, but a properly installed car seat, as well.

The next Car Seat Check Up is on June 19th.  Here are the details:
                        When: June 19th
                        Where: Fitzgerald Auto Mall, White Flint location (see website for directions)
                         Time: 10-12:30 p.m.

If you don't live in the Washington DC area, please check out the websites above to find out where you can go to have your child's car seat installed properly.

Please don't take any chances!