I have two small girls, who I can usually understand. But, as kids get older, I realize their language might get turned upside down by peer influence. That’s why I thought this article in the Chicago Tribune was so funny:

Word to your mother: Slang from the mouths of babes

I’m sure moms and dads of teenagers can relate. For example,

Friends and relatives report that they are doing their own linguistics studies. “Ig” means ignorant. “Tight” means cool. “Low-key” means “I’m telling the truth.” “Slow your roll” means, “Not so fast” as in jumping to conclusions or overstepping a boundary. “Sexiled” means put out of your dorm room because your roommate wants privacy with her boyfriend.

The last one made me laugh out loud. If only I’d known that one in college!

[Via PatsPapers.com]

Recently, the United States Preventative Screening Task Force released some new recommendations regarding breast cancer screening.  I heard this on the radio while driving to work, and my first thought was, “Excellent, one less thing to do this year.”

I just had my annual lady parts doctor visit, and I received my first lab slip ever for a mammogram.  And my reaction was to throw it into a file drawer and forget about it.  My reasoning?  None, really.  It’s just your basic level of personal denial.  I simply cannot believe I’m forty.  Mammograms seem like something for older people, and I’m not one of those.

The new recommendations are to start biennial screening at fifty.  This is a big change–going from an annual screening starting at forty to a screening every two years starting at fifty.  Naturally, since it is a big change, it has stirred up some controversy.

Orac explains the evidence behind the new recommendations  well, if you are interested in further reading. And Rebeca at Skepchick wrote a nice, succinct post, responding to some of the more hysterical responses to the new recommendations.

Interestingly enough, just hearing so much about this news on the radio, and reading about it on various blogs, has been enough to make me actually consider going to get this mammogram, which I apparently no longer really need.  The bottom line seems to be that you still should consult your doctor for advice about screening.  If you have a family history of breast cancer, for example, the annual screening at forty might still make sense for you.  But it looks like for a woman with no special risk factors, the extra screening doesn’t do much more good, and in fact it might actually cause harms like stress over a false diagnosis and extra unnecessary procedures.

This was meant to be part of a little series I was writing called, “The Good, the Bad, and the Frustrating.” I was covering a lot of H1N1 information. But honestly, I got pretty burnt out on H1N1. Not to mention, the entire discussion among parents about whether or not to get the vaccine is kind of pointless when it’s so difficult to get the vaccine in the first place. Our pediatrician still doesn’t have it, and the local clinics are screening carefully now to only give shots to those in high risk groups without regular medical care.  Our son is prone to getting croup, and since we fly every winter for the holidays, I just really wanted him to get that immunity. I would have gladly foregone getting shots for myself, but a month ago, the LA clinics were just doling them out to anyone. It didn’t seem like a big deal.

So the main side effect of my own H1N1 nasal spray has been a lingering sense of guilt that I took someone else’s dose.

Still, even when the vaccinations are hard to get, I hate to hear misinformation that scares parents away from getting them. So I wanted to go ahead and post this article, which I started a while ago, in response to an essay by Dr. Lauren Feder.

This essay by Dr. Feder popped up on my mom support board recently, posted by someone trying to be helpful and informative.  I went and grabbed it from Dr. Feder’s website, and here it is, with my comments.

» Continue reading “Some Notes on Dr. Feder’s Essay About H1N1 Vaccinations”

Oh, yes. It’s that time again. Time to take a peek at some of the bizarre kid-related products and services out there that are looking to take your hard-earned parental money.

iPhone Cry Translator Application
According to the company’s web site, “The Cry Translator is an easy to use iPhone app that quickly identifies the five distinct cries made by infants: hungry, sleepy, annoyed, stressed or bored. These five cries are universal to all babies regardless of culture or language.”

It’s basically the Dunstan Baby Language system for your iPhone. We already talked about this on Rational Moms. Not much (if any) science, all marketing. Save your $9.99.

» Continue reading “More Products to Waste Your Money On”

Recently, while out to dinner with my kids, a little girl with glasses on came up to say hi to my four-eyed child. This little girl had recently been diagnosed with similar eye issues to my daughter, and was just test driving her new specs. She kept trying to take them off and her father was doing a good job of getting them back on.

Wearing glasses is a big adjustment for kids. Also, many children require patching and eye drops (as mine did), which can be hard for everyone. (Try getting a two-year old to not rip a patch off his or her eye…it’s not easy!) We did a lot of bribing with gummies and lollipops when our daughter adjusted to patches, drops, and specs. I’m not saying it was right, but it worked.

Back to dinner. The father of the little girl asked me a lot of questions about the experience we went/are going through. I told him about this amazing site I recently discovered for parents of children with glasses: LittleFourEyes. It is a great resource for parents, both for those just discovering eye issues or those with experience. There are articles about all types of eye issues, photo galleries to show off your child’s bespectacled face, books for kids, and links to games and print-outs related to glasses. My favorite is this Backyardigans “Glasses are Great” printable sticker set.

So, if you have a child with eye issues, I can’t recommend this site enough. It’s a wonderful online community for parents that reassures, informs, empathizes, and celebrates being the parent of a child who wears glasses.

On Veterans Day, the husband was was working, but my son and I were off–no work for me, no daycare for him.  So I took him on his first trip to the LA Zoo.

We saw these guys.  Meercats.  They were really posing, so a big zoo hit.

You might think this is a Saturday Night Live sketch, but it’s really an Australian ad for diapers.

It’s pretty hilarious, and appeals to my love of scatological humor. Anyone who is grossed out by this must not have kids. While this is exaggerated, every parent has experienced a “poop out.” But, can you imagine the uproar this ad would cause here in the U.S.?

What’s the resale value on this car now?

[Via Adfreak]

Interesting research has just come to light from Germany, where scientists found that babies cry with accents. The cries of sixty French and German newborns, who were all within three to five days of life, were analyzed by researchers. They found that the babies cried in the mother’s tongue.

The French newborns cried with a rising “accent” while the German babies’ cries had a falling inflection.

Writing in the journal Current Biology, they say the babies are probably trying to form a bond with their mothers by imitating them.

The findings suggest that unborn babies are influenced by the sound of the first language that penetrates the womb.

Very cool stuff.

Photo

In contrast to Amy Wallace’s excellent article in Wired, there was a recently a fairly awful piece in The Atlantic entitled Does the Vaccine Matter?

This article has been making the rounds on my mommy board in that being waved in your face sorta way: “Oh yeah? Well what about this? Did you see this?” And more panic, confusion, and general mayhem ensue.  The article suggests that the H1N1 vaccine, as well as all seasonal flu vaccines, are not that effective.  Naturally this has moms in a tizzy.  Too much confusing information out there.  How are they supposed to know what to do?

As soon as I read this article, I emailed the friend who had told me she heard “somewhere” that the vaccines don’t work anyway, and here’s my email response, with the colorful bits edited. » Continue reading “The Good, the Bad, and the Frustrating…continued”

I asked Harriet Hall why kids need two flu shots a few posts back.

And then I heard through that pesky old grapevine that actually kids might only need one H1N1 shot. And it turns out that this is actually, sadly not true here in the US. From Effect Measure:

CDC says on the basis of clinical trials with the unadjuvanted vaccine used in the US that two shots, 21 days apart, are needed for children under 10. WHO, on the other hand, is telling its member nations that one will suffice. Why the confusion?

We may be comparing apples and oranges. Many countries use adjuvants in their vaccines which promote a quicker and more powerful response. It appears that a single dose is sufficient for children under 10 when there is adjuvant in the vaccine. Canada currently is using adjuvant, as are many other countries, although concerns from parents have forced the Canadians to offer an adjuvant-free option.

The US H1N1 vaccines do not contain adjuvant. An adjuvant increases immune response. I wonder if the adjuvants in the US were taken out because of anti-vaccine concerns. If so, that stinks. Our son will not have full immunity against H1N1 until about two weeks after that second shot. But we already know kids who have had H1N1.

While I am not at all terrified about Zack getting swine flu, I really, really, really would rather avoid it. But I guess we are just racing against it at this point. At least his seasonal flu shot has kicked in by now. One less thing to worry about.