Special Needs Children Really are Special

I have been taking care of a special girl by the name of Kelly who has Angelman's Syndrome. She is non-verbal but communicates nonetheless. She makes it clear when she doesn't want to get out of bed by moaning and groaning. No different than most of our kids right? She is always smiling and giggling and is very mischevious. Last night whe I laid down my bedding and climbed in to go to sleep, she was giggling up a storm and I couldn't figure out why until I felt my blanket being pulled off of me. Then I felt a thump as she threw her stuffed animal at me. Non-verbal yet saying so much. She appears so happy and content. Her quality of life and level of happiness in its simplicity is a lesson for us all. Each and every moment she is happy and longs for human interaction and touch. This is what brings her happiness. Human contact and human interaction. How simple. Let us learn from this special child about what is important in life and what should drive out happiness.

Teens rate driving behaviors in terms of risk

If you have high school age children in your house this study might be of interest to you. 5,665 kids were asked to rate the riskiness of behaviors during driving such as drinking, having unruly passengers in their car, using cellphones and text messaging while driving, driving with lack of experience, and speeding. They were also asked how often they witnessed such behavior. They rated lack of experience behind the wheel as midly risky behavior. Hold onto your hats for this one....they overwhelmingly reported that they had rarely seen a teen driver who was inexperienced. The researchers note that teens likely equate "experience" with the mere fact of having acquired a license. Teens feel that talking on a cell phone while driving wasn't all that risky and if you look around you their parents must not think so either. Experts disagree and say that driving while on a cellphone is equivalent to driving under the influence of alcohol in terms of impairment. Teens do see that texting while driving is extremely risky. A carload of teenagers from Rochester, NY died right after the driver's cell phone sent a text message to the car behind her. They ranked racing as just as risky as texting while driving. They rated having adolescent passengers as barely risky but when these passengers start acting "wild", the teenagers realize the situation becomes very risky indeed. I am glad to hear that nearly all the teens recognized that drinking and driving as a very high-risk proposition but alas very few teens reported that they had ever seen any of their peers drink and drive. Yeah right! To read the study click on the following link: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/ content/abstract/121/5/e1391

10th-12th grade kids rate risky behaviors

If you have high school age children in your house this study might be of interest to you. 5,665 kids were asked to rate the riskiness of behaviors such as drinking, having unruly passengers in their car, using cellphones and text messaging while driving, driving with lack of experience, and speeding. They were also asked how often they witnessed such behavior. They rated lack of experience behind the wheel as midly risky behavior. Hold onto your hats for this one....they overwhelmingly reported that they had rarely seen a teen driver who was inexperienced. The researchers note that teens likely equate "experience" with the mere fact of having acquired a license. Teens feel that talking on a cell phone while driving wasn't all that risky and if you look around you their parents must not think so either. Experts disagree and say that driving while on a cellphone is equivalent to driving under the influence of alcohol in terms of impairment. Teens do see that texting while driving is extremely risky. A carload of teenagers in Rochester, NY died right after the driver's cell phone sent a text message to the car behind her. They ranked racing as just as risky as texting while driving. Ready for another surprise? They rated having adolescent passengers as barely risky but when these passengers start acting "wild", the teenagers realize the situation becomes very risky indeed. I am glad to hear that nearly all the teens recognized that drinking and driving as a very high-risk proposition but alas very few teens reported that they had ever seen any of their peers drink and drive. Yeah right! http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/121/5/e1391

Working Moms Wonder Where to Pump? Not iron but milk.

Nursing moms find it difficult to express breast milk at work. When returning to work, they bring a breast pump but have no place to use it. Parked cars, restrooms, a telephone booth, and a basement storage room are some places women have had to choose to pump milk for their baby. Do these places sound comfortable in any shape or form? Some jurisdictions such as Washington D.C. have passed laws requiring employers to provide female workers a private, clean space, outside a restroom, to express milk. Their law is called The Child's Right to Nurse Act and it also gives women the right to breast-feed, covered or not, in ANY place, public or private, where she has a right to be.

BENEFITS:
This law came from a national movement that encourages women to give their children breast milk until age 1 as medical experts recommend. Babies given breast milk are 21% less likely to die in the first year and breast milk helps protect against many infectious diseases according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Some studies show that breast-fed infants have a decreased chance later in life of developing problems such as diabetes, asthma, and cancer. It also appears to improve cognitive development. For moms the benefits are a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer as well as weight-gain.

PROBLEMS:
Pumping at work poses many challenges for women: time to do it (need 10-15 minutes 2-3 times per day), space to do it, storage of the expressed milk, and refrigeration of it. Co-workers aren't always sympathetic to the issue either. They wonder why women who are breast-feeding should receive "special treatment." All of this leads to decreased rates of breast-feeding among working women. There are laws about breast-feeding but not about pumping. Legal protections are needed so that all the benefits mentioned above can be taken advantage of by women. If she doesn't have a chance to pump, her supply will dwindle and she won't be able to produce enough for her child. But a restroom? No! This sends a message that breast-feeding is an embarassing bodily function that should be kept away from others.

SOLUTION:
Women need a private space. If they have a private office space, they can shut the door but not all have their own private office. One woman places a picture of a cow on her door so her co-workers know what she is up to and why her door is closed. :o) The ultimate is for businesses to provide a lactation suite.

Pregnant? Eat Chocolate.

Women who are pregnant have to worry about everything they put in their mouths because they are literally eating for two. They worry about fish because of mercury. They worry about blue cheese or feta on their salads because soft cheeses can carry bacteria. They no longer have a couple of glasses of wine with dinner. So with all these worries and "no can do" it is exciting for women to hear a big resounding "YES" to chocolate. Chocolate seems to protect a pregnant woman from preeclampsia, a serious but common complication where high blood pressure and high levels of protein in the urine are symptoms. It can be very dangerous, even deadly, for the mom and baby. Okay I know there are some doubters so where does the evidence come from to prove this good news? Elizabeth Triche of Yale University and her colleagues studied 2,291 pregnant women who gave birth between 1996 and 2000. They asked these moms-to-be about their chocolate consumption during their first and second trimesters and then tested the blood from their umbilical cords for theobromine which is a component of chocolate. Women who ate the most chocolate about a candy bar a day were 70% less likely to develop preeclampsia than those who ate the least. The study results can be found in a search of articles at www.epidem.com/pt/re/epidemiology.

Real Heroine for our kids not a sports figure

Irena Sendler, a gentile social worker in Warsaw, Poland, saved thousands of children in WWII. She was a Polish Catholic social worker who helped lead a smuggling operation that rescued thousands of children from Warsaw’s Jewish ghetto. She was part of the clandestine group Zegota whose members faced execution if caught. She helped spirit children out of the ghetto in ambulances by hiding them under blankets, in burlap sacks and toolboxes and sometimes in coffins. To distract German guards, she kept a barking dog on the front seat of her ambulance to drown out the cries of young children who feared separation from their parents. Mrs. Sendler used her contacts at orphanages and convents to keep Jewish children safe until the war’s end, often under Christianized names. To alert nuns to a new group of children ready for pick up, she would write, “I have clothing for the convent.” Her intention was to return all the children to their parents, although the death rate of the adult population made the task largely impossible. But for years, she guarded the real names of the children and their parents, writing them on tissue paper and burying the lists in jars under an apple tree at an associate’s home. As more children were saved the bottles were dug up and new names were added to the list. The Gestapo arrested her and took her to prison where subversives were tortured and killed. Over three months, her detainers used clubs and other devices to fracture her legs and feet. She did not inform on Zegota leaders and was sentenced to death by firing squad but a bribed guard helped her escape and marked her as having been executed. She remained incognito for the rest of the war- she could not even risk attending her own mother’s funeral- and she continued to help Zegota. The number of children saved by Mrs. Sendler and her group is more than 2,500. Mrs. Sendler said, “Every Jewish child who survived due to my efforts has justified my existence on this Earth but is no cause for praise. We who were rescuing children are not some kind of heroes. That term irritates me greatly. The opposite is true. I continue to have qualms of conscience that I did so little. I could have done more. This regret will follow me to my death.” Mrs. Sendler was recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations,” the designation for gentiles who aided Jews during the war.

A DILEMA: WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
Irina Sendler stated, “We witnessed terrible scenes. Father agreed but mother didn’t. Grandmother cuddled the child tenderly and , weeping bitterly, said, “I won’t give away my grandchild at any price.’ We sometimes had to leave those unfortunate families without taking their children from them. I’d go back there the next day and often found that everyone had been taken to the Umschlagplatz railway siding for transport to the death camps.”

DARFUR: TODAY Choose to be like Irina Sendler and get involved
A woman hanged herself from a tree with her shawl because she could not feed her children. Their tiny corpses were found around her. A militiaman lowered his bayonet into the belly of a 4-year-old girl as she ran toward him, impaling her. The gunman pranced around as her blood drained down upon him. The girl’s father sobbing in horror and in shock said, “What was he? A man? A devil? He was painted red with my little girl’s blood and he was dancing. What was he?”

Nanny or daycare

Many people think that childcare outside their home is their only option even though they would prefer to keep their child or children in the comfort of their own home. Not to mention the Herculean task of getting everybody ready to just get out the door every morning. Imagine being able to just worry about getting yourself ready and then walking out the door when your nanny gets there. Cost is usually one reason some think a nanny is not an option for them. I read recently that parents pay as much as $1,800 a month to send their children to one of the childcare chains. Well that is only $200 cheaper a month than an average nanny's salary. Parents call Nanny Poppinz all the time saying their pediatrician wants them to remove their child from daycare (especially infants) because the child is getting too many illnesses. The main reason I myself as a parent would consider the nanny option for only $200 more a month is because I have 3 children and when they were little it truly was the most difficult part of my day getting them out the door and to the daycare with everything packed that they might need for the day. Invariably I would forget something in the diaper bag. If they were home that wouldn't be an issue. Peace of mins for an extra $200???? Where can I sign up?

America's Top Baby Names

For the last nine years, parents have been picking the same two names more than any others for their little boy or girl. What names you ask? Emily and Jacob. Nine years running. Wow. My kids names are Jonathan, Joshua, and Sara but they are 17, 18, and 19 so I named them in a different era. Emily has been the most popular girl's name since 1996. TWELVE years. My own name Susan is a dinosaur name. No one names their daughter Susan anymore. Come to think of it, I haven't met a nanny yet with my name and I have interviewed thousands. But here's why.....the nannies I meet have all been born after I graduated high school. There is nothing to make you feel old (and I am only 44) than to interview young beautiful vivacious nannies who were not even a twinkle in their dad's eye when I was valedictorian of my graduating class of 1982. These days I meet nannies for interviews with a briefcase full of old lady glasses, Milk of Magnesia, and hearing aids. Isn't getting old great? But back to the name thing. There was only one name in the top ten that was different from last year....Elizabeth which just squeaked in at number 10. So I salute all the babies out there by the names of Emily, Jacob, and Elizabeth. But my hat really gets tipped for the Susan's and Karen's out there as we are an endangered species.

Working Moms Really Do It All

When surveyed in a Harris Interactive poll, working moms say they check work email off hours, take work home, and stay late if work requires. Working moms feel managing their careers is easy compared with the details of family life. I know that more than a few of our nanny agency owners "do it all" in their households. They run their nanny agency by interviewing and screening nannies, making matches between families and nannies, marketing, and everything else that goes along with owning your own business (dealing with attorneys, CPAs etc). On top of this, they run their households managing the children (some of them have four children) taking them to school or daycare. They pay the bills and manage the finances wearing the heavy weight of the burden of making sure the family is taken care of financially and otherwise. They cook dinner and do all the housework as well so you can see why working moms might say work is actual where they relax. More than 2/3 of the respondents to this poll stated that managing family affairs is tougher than managing their careers. Just as many also said their work spills over into their family time.

Some other interesting stats are 1/4 state that becoming a parent enhanced their career path while 6 in 10 said it had no effect. There are over 82.8 million mothers in the US and most of them work. Only 5.6 million stayed at home full-time especially those with infants (more than 4 in 10). To any of these moms reading this blog, my hat is off to you and our services at Nanny Poppinz were created just for you. If you just need a night off and a date with your husband, call us because we have date-night babysitters (nannies). If you just need "another set of hands", "another me", or the best one I hear frequently from moms is "I need a wife," then Nanny Poppinz was created for you because we customize our service to meet whatever unique needs your family has at any given time. We are here for you 24/7 including holidays because childcare emergencies do not happen Monday through Friday 9-5 but in the middle of the night or early in the morning. We have a staff who will answer the phone anytime you call and we can dispatch a background checked CPR certified nanny within an hour of your call anytime of the day or night. We are as our tagline in our logo says "created by moms for moms."

Bottle Warmers Recalled

Munchkin is recalling about 5,000 deluxe bottle and food warmers with lot number TP-1487, sold between June 2007 and April 2008. The products can overheat, posing a risk of fire. Call 866-619-8673 or visit www.munchkin.com or www.cpsc.gov

Marketing to toddlers and children

My business partner forwarded me the following blog: "TV Karts" keep kids happy, quiet, and kinda stupid so parents can enjoy shopping from Parents for Ethical Marketing http://www.parentsforethicalmarketing.org/. Many parents are overwhelmed by all the marketing geared at them concerning their kids. This blog is about the marketing geared directly at our children. Reading this will make you even more aware of the millions of times a day that big dollar corporations are marketing their products towards your children. Will anyone debate the fact that Hannah Montana isn't Disney's most brillant piece of marketing a "brand?" You can teach your children alot about marketing and that putting Dora the Explorer on toothpaste does not mean that it will clean their teeth better but you can rest assured it will cost more than the store brand. Teaching our children about what these companies are doing might help them develop into better consumers as they grow into adulthood. The real travesty is that these companies inundate small children with their seductive ads counting on the fact that parents will acede to their little ones request and purchase the more expensive cereal because of the character on the box when the product in the plain box is comparable or maybe even better. Saying yes to your toddler brings glee to the corporate companies by taking your hard-earned money out of your pocket and putting it into their already over-flowing coffers. How can we stop the madness? Simply practice the...what's that other brilliant marketing slogan from that shoe brand Nike: Just Do It.... Just Say No.

Tactile Stimulation for children away from video game consoles

Get your child some tactile stimulation that they will squeal over that doesn't involve a video game controller.....helping in your garden. I read an excellent article a month ago entitled "Nature's Wonder in a Child's Hands" that inspired this blog. We all remember being given that styrofoam cup with the blackest soil ever and a little seed to plant and watch grow every day we went to school from a seed into a seedling into a little plant. Imagine your child who loves playing in the dirt anyway being able to plant potatoes and then dig his/her little hands in the soil to harvest the food he/she grew. What an experience with so many teaching lessons built right into the experience. Little ones can learn about the power of nature, self-sustenance, and their own power to create. Think about a little tot growing a giant sunflower that will tower over him/her by over 7 feet. What a thrill for the little one! What a great picture for the frame on the mantle. So get off the floor or couch and out into the sun with sunscreen of course and enjoy Mother Nature. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/07/AR2008050701034.html

Should children be held accountable criminally for their actions?

Magnetic Resonance Imaging shows pictures of the brain's pre-frontal cortex where reasoning and judgment occur. It is clearly seen that the brain of a 15 year old has a pre-frontal cortex that is not as developed as that of a 25 year old. The question being raised by attorneys representing teenagers in the criminal system is should this teenager who doesn't have the brain capacity to reason and show the judgment of an adult be tried as an adult? For those of you who have teenagers in the house as I do, I know you have asked yourself numerous times, "What was he/she thinking?????" We look at our teenagers as young adults but we must realize that their capacity to think and reason is not as developed as their outside bodies might fool us into thinking they are. Well, they look like an adult: therefore, they must be able to think and respond like an adult. But science and MRIs are showing something different. I am sure most of us can think back to an incident from our high school years or maybe more ( I won't tell if you don't tell :o) An easy example for me was an incident where my parents left four teenagers straight A responsible kids for a weekend. Well these responsible straight A students had a PARTY and our brains did not tell us that the neighbors would notice and tell our parents. I mean what were we thinking? Did we think the neighbors wouldn't notice? Did we think they wouldn't tell our parents? My adult fully-developed pre-frontal cortex says, "What were we thinking?" I am proof that the scientific findings and MRI pictures might be pointing us in the right direction but that brings us back to the original question....should we hold teenagers responsible for their actions as adults when the pre-frontal cortex says they aren't reasoning and exercising judgment as adults. Definitely food for thought. //

Recalled item if interest to Parents

Because the safety of your children is of paramount concern to us at Nanny Poppinz I will post recalls that have to do with babies and children. You can come to our website at www.nannypoppinz.com to see the newest and most current recalls. Playworld Systems is recalling playground systems because the clevis bearing on the swingset can wear out causing the swing to detach and the user to fall. Call 800-233-8404 or go to the website cpsc.gov

On a good note for those moms and dads out there that are pet lovers. Seems that Fido can reduce the likelihood that your children will develop allergies. Research from the National Research Center for Environmental Health in Munich that followed over 6,000 children from birth until age 6 shows that if there are animals in the home that kids are less likely to get asthma, hay fever, eczema and other allergic diseases. Children who had grown up with a dog were approximately 50% less likely to have antibodies to dust mites, pollen and other substances that commonly trigger allergies. WOW! Now another reason to add as to why dogs are man's best friend.

Heart-warming story

I said in my inaugural blog that I would share stories from the Nanny Poppinz family and just yesterday a family in a tough situation found their ideal nanny in one interview. We wanted to send her more but she just knew. In your nanny search, you will "just know" in your heart that you have found the right fit for your family. So back to this story that will warm your heart and make you never complain or grumble when the going gets tough. We have a family led by a single mom who is a nurse with 2-year old twins. Not so remarkable until you find out that both twins had post-partum complications such that mom didn't know if either would survive. Both survived; however, one had blood seep into his tiny brain where it caused him to develop Cerebral Palsy and become a quadrapelgic. The twins are developing, one normally and one is still like a baby. We went to visit the family on mom's day off and got an opportunity to see briefly the twin with the special needs who was like a little angel sleeping peacefully in his mother's arms. Mom told us that she is living in a state of accepted expectance that the special needs twin might die anyday. She has a Do Not Recesitate (DNR) order for this special child. Mom had an incredible spirit and such a gentle way and you could see her love for these boys was fierce. The one twin who is developing normally has a fierce devotion to his twin brother as well and brings him his blanket and helps his mother take care of his toddler brother. Mom needed a FT nanny because she wanted to keep the boys home and not continue to take them to someone's house to be watched while she was at work. She didn't think it was optimal for the special needs twin. Mom also was not inherently wealthy which brings me to another inspirational part of this story. the Orange County Nanny Poppinz franchisee reduced her rate drastically to accomodate this special situation so she could help the mother. Then she rolled up her sleeves and began the task of finding the right nanny for this position and not all nannies would be right for this job. It had to be someone who could love these boys and have a heart for special needs children. It had to be someone who could fall in love with the special needs child knowing they didn't know when he would die and they would suffer a huge loss. Nanny Poppinz began interviews yesterday and met the most wonderful nanny that we "just knew" would be offered the position and would take it. We background checked her (she passed), called her references(they were glowing) and sent her immediately to meet the family. As we "just knew" in our hearts that she was the one.....we were right. She starts the most remarjkable journey of her life next week. I love stories like this, true stories, because they teach us so much about ourselves, our views, and others. I hope that you were inspired by reading this blog

Nanny Poppinz Corporate Vice President

Well this is my first blog and it is quite exciting to do something for the first time. It is a celebration much like watching your child wobbily take his first step or the first time you heard the words, "I love you Mommy." Better yet the ultimate first time event that changes your life radically.....giving birth. I have been blessed with three beautiful children who are far from taking the first steps as two will be in college and the "baby" will be a senior next year so I do have some life experiences that will color my blogs. I also have the privilege of working with families who are looking for assistance with finding that perfect nanny and my job is to make that most important of matches. The satisfaction I receive when it is a good match and the family can rest easy knowing their most prized part of their life, their child or children, has been taken care of and the nanny cries as she has found the most wonderful family that embraces her as part of their own family is unparalled in my 44 years of life experience. This is not always an easy process, finding the perfect match but I think you might find it interesting to read about the adventures that we have in the Nanny Poppinz family. I plan to share interesting stories from our franchisees around the country as well as share information that is relevant to moms and dads around the country. For example, I recently read about an event where parents can socialize including drinking and dancing and bring their toddlers and tykes to a club to dance with them to disco music, www.babylovesdisco.com, who would have thought that hip families could have the best of both worlds. Another example of things that I'd like to share would run along a more serious nature like discussing BPA in plastic baby pacifiers and bottles and what companies are doing proactively to protect families and babies. Well I think that blogs are not supposed to be this long so I'll write again tomorrow. All my best and remember we are a Nanny agency created by moms for moms.....and for dads too.

Emergency Childcare Service

Every mother who has childcare will know that at various times your childcare will breakdown. For example:
Your current nanny calls in sick
You are a working parent with a daily nanny and you are working late.
You are called away urgently on business or have to work on the weekend/your day off.
Your child has a cold and the daycare will not allow your child to attend.
You have tickets for the theatre but cannot find suitable childcare for the evening.
Through our Emergency Childcare Service, we have a number of qualified and very experienced Nannies referred by Nanny Poppinz™ to fulfill your emergency childcare requirements.

Temporary Childcare Service

Temporary Childcare Services which for mothers will provide a solution to the following dilemmas:
You have a Nanny, but she is going away for a short period of time.
You are a working mother, working from home either full time or part time, and have no childcare, but require some short term coverage.
You require a Nanny to assist during school holidays.
You are attending a wedding and it would be easier to leave your child with a Nanny.
You are throwing a party at home and would like a Nanny to look after your children and your guest's children.
To register click here or you may call 1-877-A-NANNY-4-U to be put straight through to your nearest Nanny Poppinz™ Agency.

Babysitters

Babysitters can be utilized for a Friday night date, a “Girls Night Out”, a dinner, or a movie with a friend

Full-time/Part-time Nannies

Live-Out Nannies can be full-time or part-time. Though a Nanny can be considered full-time working only 26 hours a week, full time live-out Nannies generally work a standard 40-hour week. Anything over 40 hours within a seven day period should be paid overtime