OPINION and NEWS: Kids' Lunches Harboring Bacteria--So What?

I was watching CNN this morning when I saw this bit on kids' lunches and how they are too hot and harboring bacteria by lunch time. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, reported on how the University of Texas in Austin conducted a study and found 98 percent of the lunches tested were too warm by lunch time. The study was done on 700 packed lunches of 3- to 5-year-olds attending day care.

CNN.com in this article quotes Dr. Steve Abrams, member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition as saying, "This is a red flag. This means that the recommendations for food safety are not being followed."

Simple recommendation is to pack more ice-packs into the lunch-bag, and one pack may not be enough.

What the article fails to show, and the blurb on TV for the most part, is to say why should we care if our kids eat a little bacteria? Isn't it good for them to eat a little bacteria now and then to get their bellies used to things not being 100 clean? If my daughter is encouraged to eat dirt once in a while, what's a little warm turkey sandwich going to do? Make her burp a little? Maybe boost her immune system so that if she visits Mexico one day she doesn't automatically have to run to the bathroom after the first piece of unfiltered ice chip slides down her throat?

Aren't we getting a little too sterile and scared of a little not-so-fatal bacteria? Ok, I wouldn't be giving sushi to my kid for lunch without tons of ice-packs being involved in their lunchbox, but I probably wouldn't waste sushi on a child's palette anyway.

In my unmedically sound opinion parents are way too concerned about bacteria and a little dirt: hand sanitizer in every corner of every library, classroom, and playzone and anti-bacterial soap in every bathroom. I know superbugs are not a real concern just yet in this country, but it seems to me they will be one day and we're doing all we can to create them. Let the kids eat some warm sandwiches once in a while, let you kids play on the ground and get a little dirt under their nails, let them eat some bread that fell off their highchair from lunch, their kids they're supposed to be growing an immune system not living in a bubble.

PERSONAL: Daycares, home versus centers

Since we're moving and I'm trying to get back to work part-time, the great daycare debate has taken over in my head as to whether we go with a family-run daycare or a center. Also my daughter is an incredible extrovert (no idea where she got that from), so even if I wasn't working I think she'd still do better going part-time to a daycare.

Since my daughter is so young still, only 14 months, I have repeatedly thought and heard that we really should go with a smaller family-run setting rather than a center, but I do see benefits to both.

Small family-run care benefits: Personalized care and attention, lots of time spent with child one-on-one, in-depth communication with parents, deep connections with children in group, and can be cost-effective.

Center-run benefits: More people working at the center means employees are less likely to stray from a set plan of care, large amount of oversight from parents, corporate HQs of center and other employees, and lots of other children to socialize with.

Some downsides for each

Family-run: Possibly less secure of an environment, can be harder to reach someone if a trip or outing is planned, many of them take vacations or breaks and other care is needed for that time-period.

Centers: Lots of kids means lots more can go wrong including bullying by other kids or impatient employees, can be very costly, usually there are more older children which can be a good or bad thing, needs of children are met at a slower pace and less individualized care is provided.

Like I said, we're leaning more toward a family-run daycare, but are doing extensive research for them because care provided for my daughter not given directly by me or a family member makes me extremely nervous.

Tips? Send them my way!

NEWS: Warning on Geotagging Photos

I always knew you could geotag your photos, which is when the photos on a smartphone like the iPhone are tagged with latitude and longitude coordinates, but I never thought about the dangers of that tool. When you take a photo with your smartphone, then post it publicly online, the location of where those photos were taken is saved in the metadata. I certainly never thought someone could download software to grab the metadata, complete with the exact location, of those photos and then stalk (or worse) those children photographed.

I have to actually thank my mother for this information, which is VERY strange for ME (who used to write about technology) get news from my mother (who still has trouble opening Skype up properly after a year), about technology. Goes to show you, technology and technology news really is everywhere!

If you worry about such things like your children's safety and you post photos publicly online, make sure to turn off the geotagging service on your iPhone or other smartphone. If you have an iPhone you do this by going to the Settings, Location Services and then it has a list of which applications are using the GPS in your phone to geolocate you.

Many of the iPhone applications, like Around Me (that finds restaurants, gas stations etc...around you) or Sit or Squat (which shows you bathrooms in the area--very handy when you are pregnant), you might want to keep on, but you can turn it off just for the camera.

Don't be fooled it's not that a ton of stalkers are using this every day. It's not that easy and they'd have to really really want you or your kid to be going through this kind of trouble, but for me it's definitely worth turning off the service for a bit more safety.

More on this

NEWS: This Ridiculous Heat Can Cause Heat Stroke

This heat is out of control right now. It's so hot my daughter's crayons are practically welded to our back deck. In this kind of heat, it's important to be careful with infants and toddlers that they do not get too hot.

Heat stroke, a temperature of 105.1 degree Fahrenheit or above, is a serious condition that can lead to organ failure, brain damage and even death. Twenty-one children died of heat stroke after being locked in hot vehicles this year already, according to the Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University.

Some symptoms of heat stroke, according to BabyCenter.com, include:

Rapid pulse
Restlessness
Confusion
Dizziness
Headache (which may make him irritable)
Vomiting

If you think your child has heat stroke, immediately call 911 and get your child to as cool of an area as possible, preferrably a cool room. Sponge down the child and fan the child. For more information on cooling down a baby, visit NYU's Department of Pediatrics' site, it's pretty easy to follow and informative.

To PREVENT Heat Stroke, which is probably the best way to go about this heat, some things you can do is keep your babies and kids out of the sun/heat for extended periods of time.
Go to a cool place like the mall, a public library, or somewhere with air conditioning.
Provide lots of fluids to your kids if they are out in the heat, preferrably ones with electrolytes like Pedialyte (cheaper generic versions are available).

These prevention tips are just some taken from the CDC Extreme Heat site, for more of their tips, click here.

PERSONAL: Icky Momma

When baby licks airport windows, baby gets sick. When baby gets sick, momma gets sick. When momma is sick, no one is happy. :(

PERSONAL: Baby Talk

This is my kid trying to break it down as to why she refuses to eat her whole wheat, ham and cheese sandwich.

She also reviewed the video with me a few hours later and decided that she had something to say...it was pretty much the same thing, repeated, to herself on camera, finger-wagging and all. :)

PERSONAL: Help The Helpless

In light of the Casey Anthony trial and reading too many disturbing articles this week, please join me in supporting any organization helping to end child abuse. There is a good list here at the Network for Good website.

Some other ways to help is to become a foster parent, adopt a child, donate to an organization helping with children, become a Big Brother or Big Sister, or even the simple act of speaking up when you think a child is being abused--even if that means in a grocery store.

For the motivation to help--if you dare (I literally felt sick to my stomach and cried after reading this), read this article.

PERSONAL: Sippy Cup Woes and Tips

I started trying to give juice and water, sporadically, to my daughter in a sippy cup when she was around eight to 10 months old. I was not successful and, sadly, my woes continue. I now am trying milk and still am not successful. Usually the sippy cup becomes a ball which she tosses around. Sometimes she loves to just squeeze the nipple and watch the liquid come out, which for some reason always makes me shudder (probably cause I remember how much she loved to torture my nipples too).

Yesterday I went to a sing-along at the Pottery Barns Kids store in Burlington Mall and then to lunch with three other great mommas and their babies. All their babies, younger or older, were drinking from a sippy cup and I felt like the biggest loser mom for feeding my near-13-month old a bottle. Why can't I get this kid on a sippy cup? I'm not sure, but drastic changes are coming for this little one now.

I have been Googling and here are some tips as to getting your kid on a sippy cup (like I said I've failed in this aspect so far so maybe these work, maybe they don't):

1) start super young, about 6 months by introducing a soft-tipped sippy cup
2) Try lots of styles (we have four different types here and so far the straw is winning as it actually did a couple sips taken out of it the other day).
3) Buy an extra sippy cup for yourself and whenever your baby is set to drink from the cup, you do it too to show her.
4) Try juice or water if milk isn't working. Sometimes the association of milk with the bottle or breast won't compute over to the cup.
5) Remove the lid and put a little bit of water in the cup. Show your baby how to drink from it without any lid and skip the whole sippy process all together (that one from our pediatrician).

There are lots more tips at BabyCenter.com and WebMD.com.

Today is the start, for us, of not offering her a bottle anymore except at bedtime. We'll see if this does the trick. Good luck to us and all the other parents out there trying this!

NEWS: Target Recalls TWO Circo-Brand Items

Target announced a new Circo-brand recall today, add this to the Circo Booster Seat recall from June 15, this one on their Aloma Infant Girls Sandals. No injuries have been reported yet.

The sandals have decorative white plastic flowers attached to the toes and side areas. The flowers can be detached and pose a choking hazard. For a full refund, bring the shoes into any Target.

An additional 10 injuries have been reported since Target's 2009 recall of the Circo Child Booster Seats, bringing the total number of injuries to 18. The additional injuries prompted Target to expand the recall of the product from those seats sold between Dec. 2008 and June 2009, to all seats sold as far back as 2005. The constant issue is the restraint buckle or safety buckle can suddenly detach and allow the child to topple out. This could pose some serious consequences depending on the circumstances, so Target's pretty lucky there haven't been any permanent disabling or fatal injuries.

Visit the Consumer Safety Product Commission for more information on these and all recalls.

NEWS: Never Too Young To Be On A Diet

The Institute of Medicine warn parents and pediatricians alike that obese infants and toddlers can lead to adult obesity. Today, the IOM published in a report today, 10 percent of infants and toddlers are already obese. Childhood obesity can lead to adult obesity and so, the IOM is advising less TV and video time and making sure the kids are getting enough sleep and eating properly.

Interesting! I'd agree it's weird to see a baby who is already obese at only a few months old, and it's probably not the healthiest, but I'm not seeing anything earth shattering in this press release. Don't we all already know to limit TV and video time and be sure our kids are getting the right amount of sleep and veggies/fruits?