Seven Tips for Backpack Safety

By Michael Cravens

When you were in school, how did you wear your backpack? On one shoulder? Worn high? Hanging low? When I think back, I used to bring home a bunch of books and I'm sure it strained my back!

These days, kids have many options for backpacks. Over this past summer, I had my son, Ethan, pick out a backpack and I ordered it online. When the backpack came in he noted that it had wheels. I was just trying to save his back a little strain but apparently wheels are not currently in style. The day was saved when I found a set of 'hidden' straps that he could use to put the backpack on his - back.

So I decided to do some research to find out the proper way for children to wear their backpacks. Ethan may not appreciate it now, but I want to prevent him from getting shoulder, neck and back pain later in life. Trends may come and go, but what doesn't change is the proper way for children to wear their backpacks. Turns out that kids routinely carrying a heavy backpack load can put pressure on children's forming spines and can lead to neck and back problems.

Dr. Chad Parsons of the Advanced Corrective Chiropractic in Lansdowne, Virginia warns parents of the adverse affects of overloaded, improperly worn backpacks. "Wearing backpacks incorrectly causes postural abnormalities in children," says Parsons. "Abnormalities that can eventually lead to scoliosis. More often, backpacks which are too heavy and worn improperly cause anterior head syndrome, resulting in neck strain and headaches.

According to Parsons, unevenly distributed weight causes children to list to the left or right, causing an unnatural curve of the spine. And too much weight puts pressure on their shoulders, which leads to spinal compression, hunching over and poor posture.

In the spirit of injury prevention, National School Backpack Awareness Day is held on the third Wednesday of every September. Here are some tips from the American Chiropractic Association for preventing backpack related injuries.

Are your children's backpacks too heavy? Look for the following signs:

• They struggle to lift and put their backpack on.
• They lean forward to compensate for the weight.
• They lean backward to compensate for the weight.
• There are red marks on their shoulders where their backpack straps are digging in.

The proper way for your children to wear their backpacks: Tips from the American Chiropractic Association

1. Make sure your child's backpack weighs no more than 10 to 15 percent of his or her body weight. A heavier backpack will cause your child to bend forward in an attempt to support the weight on his or her back, rather than on the shoulders, by the straps.
2. The backpack should never hang more than four inches below the waistline. A backpack that hangs too low increases the weight on the shoulders, causing your child to lean forward when walking.
3. A backpack with individualized compartments helps in positioning the contents most effectively. Place the heaviest items in the main compartment, closest to your child's back.
4. Bigger is not necessarily better. The more room there is in a backpack, the more your child may carry-and the heavier the backpack will be.
5. Urge your child to wear both shoulder straps. Lugging the backpack around by one strap can cause the disproportionate shift of weight to one side, leading to neck and muscle spasms, as well as low-back pain.
6. Wide, padded straps are very important. Non-padded straps are uncomfortable, and can dig into your child's shoulders.
7. The shoulder straps should be adjustable so the backpack can be fitted to your child's body. Straps that are too loose can cause the backpack to dangle uncomfortably and cause spinal misalignment and pain.

"Remember," Parsons tells parents. "It's easier to correct and prevent spine problems when your kids are young and their bones are not yet fully formed."

For more information check out the American Chiropractic Association's consumer health tips. 

Make Sure You're Not Feeding Your Pet Junk Food

By Christina Zulandi

Remember the pet food scare of 2007? Hundreds of dogs and cats died of complications officials speculated were tied to rat poison in pet foods manufactured overseas. And for a while pet owners were particularly aware of the brands they bought, where they were manufactured, what ingredients they contained, and so on. With good reason! Pet foods don’t require pre-market approval from the FDA before they’re sold to the public. And because of that, a lot of what goes into your dog and cat’s food is … well … junk.

My dog was still a puppy back in 2007. I really felt for the people that lost their pets and was also concerned about my own dog! When I looked into pet food, I found that there are a lot of pet foods out there that are equivelent to junk food! I want my family to get proper nutrition daily so that they grow up healthy and strong - so I don't feed them fast food for every meal (or even close)! Sadly, a lot of pet food on the market is equivalent to just that: fast food all day, everyday.

The good news is that you don't have to spend tons of money on fancy, organic, all-natural dog and cat food. These types of pet food often cost significantly more and aren't always better. I've included some tips below on choosing the best quality pet food for your furry friends while keeping within your budget.

Separating the nutritious food from the downright atrocious comes down to deciphering the nutrition labels on the bags. Just like you know to avoid certain ingredients (like high-fructose corn syrup and partial hydrogenated oils, for example) in your family’s food, there are a few basic pet food ingredients you want to be on the look out for as well. The Dog Food Project is a great resource to get unbiased help on reading pet food labels. I give the bigger take-aways below but check out their site for more detail.

Reading pet food nutrition labels: What you want, and what you want to avoid at all costs

1. Go to the ingredients list and start by finding the source of fat. All ingredients before the fat source make up the bulk of the food.
2. Whole chicken, beef, lamb or fish seem like good first ingredients, but you don't want to base your decision just on the order of the ingredients. Just because they are listed first doesn’t actually mean they’re main ingredient. When initially added these ingredients contain mostly water. But when they get dehydrated the end product may represent only trivial amounts of meat.
3. The best first ingredients are chicken meal, beef meal, lamb meal or fish meal because they’re added in their already dehydrated state.
4. Avoid by-products whenever possible. If you need to go with pet food that contains by-products, stick with chicken by-product or beef by-product and be sure to avoid meat by-product.
5. Since there are no strict regulations in place for pet food, ingredients labeled meat and animal can mean just about anything. Avoid pet foods with these type of generic terms. (If it's a quality ingredient, the manufacturer will be specific.)
6. Avoid pet foods that contain meat-and-bone meal.
7. Avoid pet foods that contain corn and brewers rice or make sure that they are low on the list of ingredients.

Let’s look at an example. The following lists are the ingredients (up to the fat source) on the last two bags of dog food I bought:
- Lamb meal, cracked pearled barley, oatmeal, ground rice, chicken fat.
- Lamb meal, brewers rice, ground wheat, wheat germ meal, lamb, brown rice, animal fat.

As you can see, the second list contains brewers rice and animal fat; both of which aren’t optimal ingredients. Both of the bags cost about $30 for a 40 pound bag. You can spend more to get food with even better ingredients. But the main point is that without spending any more money, I was able to distinguish and pick the good pet food over the junk pet food - without spending any more money. The best part is that, in the long run, I'm likely to save hundreds in vet bills by giving my pet proper nutrition.

Ingredients are not the only thing to consider in pet foods. Other factors like moisture content and preservatives play a role. Check out The Dog Food Project for details on deciphering pet food labels.

Pay Attention to Radon

By Mike Cravens, CEO, Sitters.com

About a month ago I came across an article by the World Health Organization outlining the dangers of indoor radon exposure. The article caught my attention because the World Health Organization states that radon causes up to 15% of lung cancers worldwide. And, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers in America, as well as the second leading cause of lung cancer overall. Radon claims about 21,000 lives annually.

So what is radon? You can't see, smell or taste it. It is a gas that is produced from the natural decay of uranium, an element found in nearly all soils. Radon usually moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. The home then traps radon inside. When inhaled, radon can actually damage the DNA of lung tissue by continuing to emit tiny bursts of alpha radiation.

What you need to do. If you haven't conducted a radon test, the EPA recommends that every homeowner should get this done without delay. If you have conducted a test, the EPA recommends that you conduct another one if it has been more than two years since your last test, made structural changes to your home, or began occupying a previously unused level of a house.

The good news is that the tests are easy to maintain and easy to conduct. You can find a radon test at your local hardware store or online at Amazon.com. You can also purchase a radon gas detector and monitor. I decided to go with a radon monitor because radon levels can spike and vary based on many factors. My home tested at 7.4 pCi/L (pico Curies per Liter).

What's a safe level? In the residential real estate market there is a perception that 4 pCi/L is safe. According to the EPA, the safe level is between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L. A family whose home has radon levels of 4 pCi/L is exposed to approximately 35 times as much radiation as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would allow if that family was standing next to the fence of a radioactive waste site!

A reading at 4 pCi/L or higher needs to be addressed. The EPA has a risk factor scale that illustrates the risk of radon. At 4 pCi/L 8 out of 1,000 people will get lung cancer from exposure to radon. At 10 pCi/L that risk goes up to 18 out of 1,000 people. And for smokers, the risk at 10 pCi/L increases substantially to 150 in 1,000 people.

If you confirm that you have an elevated radon level, there are several methods that a contractor can use to lower radon levels in your home.The cost of installing a radon reduction system in a home generally ranges from $800 to $2,500 (with an average cost of $1,200). Your costs may vary depending on the size and design of your home and which radon reduction methods are needed.

Unlike conducting a radon test, the process to lower radon levels requires specific technical knowledge and skills; the EPA recommends hiring a qualified radon mitigation contractor to do the work. (The EPA also warns that without the proper equipment or technical knowledge, you could actually increase the radon level.)

The most common method of radon reduction is called soil suction. This method prevents radon from entering your home by drawing the radon from below the house and venting it through a pipe, or pipes, to the air above the house where it is quickly diluted.

Other methods for radon reduction include sealing cracks and other openings in the foundation. (The EPA does not recommend the use of sealing alone to reduce radon because, by itself, sealing has not been shown to lower radon levels significantly or consistently.)

House/room pressurization uses a fan to blow air into the basement or living area from either upstairs or outdoors. It attempts to create enough pressure at the lowest level indoors (in a basement for example) to prevent radon from entering into the house.

A heat recovery ventilator (HRV), also called an air-to-air heat exchanger, can be installed to increase ventilation which will help reduce the radon levels in your home.  An HRV will increase ventilation by introducing outdoor air while using the heated or cooled air being exhausted to warm or cool the incoming air.

And, finally, some natural ventilation occurs in all houses. By opening windows, doors, and vents on the lower floors you increase the ventilation in your house. This increase in ventilation mixes outdoor air with the indoor air containing radon, and can result in reduced radon levels. However, once windows, doors and vents are closed, radon concentrations most often return to previous values within about 12 hours. Natural ventilation in any type of house should normally be regarded as only a temporary radon reduction approach.


Other Resources
EPA Checklist for Hiring a Qualified Contractor

EPA's Radon Website

Information About How to Contact Your State Radon Office

Example Instructions on How to Conduct a Radon Test

Six Tips to Reduce the Stress of Leaving Your Infant for the First Time

By Christina Zulandi

"I'm not coming," I hear the shaky voice on the other end of the phone tell me. "I just can't leave her. Not yet."

That was Jill three weeks ago when she backed out of our plans for a "girls night out." Her daughter, Ashley, was 13 weeks old at the time, and this was the first night Jill had planned to be away from her.

No big deal; I understood of course. I think all moms (and dads) would understand! Fact is, whether you're a working mom or stay-at-home mom, it's inevitable: you will leave your baby for the first time, sometime.

Leaving your newborn can be one of the most stressful parts of being a new parent: you'll likely feel guilty, anxious, worried and scared. And whether you're gone for five minutes or five hours, your baby will be on your mind the whole time.

What if he or she gets hungry? What if he cries and no one hears him? What if whoever is watching him doesn't understand what he wants? Will he sit in a dirty diaper? Will he go to bed on time? Will he get the love and attention he needs?

The truth is everyone deals with leaving their infant for the first time differently. While some parents are anxious and call every hour, others are simply happy for a break, no matter how short it may be.

Neither way is right or wrong. And the good news is that it gets easier every time. Here are six tips to make leaving your infant for the first time easier and less stressful than you ever imagined:

1. Start in small time increments. This is especially helpful if you're going back to work. The eight hours you spend at the office will probably feel more like eight days. So if you know you'll have to leave your baby for long periods at a time, try to start small. Run to the grocery store. Run to the bank. Do something quick the first time around and slowly build up to those longer stretches.
   
   
2. Leave when your baby is sleeping. Leaving when your baby is awake and looking at you increases the guilt and anxiety you already feel. So if your care provider's schedule is flexible, put your baby down and sneak out while he or she is snoozing. Your baby might not even know you were gone until you get back.
   
   
3. Pump extra. If you're breast feeding, pump extra to leave behind. Because your baby relies on you for everything he or she needs, you may feel like your abandoning him or her the first time you leave. You're not; don't feel guilty. Pumping extra will help you stay calm if anything (like traffic, for example) keeps you from getting home on schedule. So plan ahead for peace of mind; you can store your milk for up to a week in the refrigerator and six months in the freezer.
   
   
4. Leave your baby with a loved one. If you're concerned your baby won't get the love and attention he or she needs while you're gone, you're not alone. Most new parents worry as much or more about their babies' emotional needs than their physical ones. To contend with this worry, leave your baby with a relative or with a good friend the first time you go.
   
   Of course, not everyone is fortunate enough to have parents or loved ones close by. So remember that Sitters.com has built-in tools that allow you to screen every care provider's profile for the exact experience and qualities that match for your child and his or her specific needs. (Not to mention complete access to background checks and our All-Mom Editorial Team.)
   
   
5. Call home. You're baby will be on your mind; there's no getting around that. Calling home will keep you from worrying and give you the peace of mind you need to focus on your work or to have a good time. And don't worry about being “annoying” or “paranoid.” Any good sitter will understand your concerns and happily update you on your baby's status.
   
   
6. Now relax and have a good time. Enjoying yourself isn't selfish, and it doesn't make you a bad parent. Take this time away to do something enjoyable for yourself. Reconnect with your husband, go to the gym - just get out and do something for yourself. This will help make your first time away from your infant a more pleasant experience. In fact, you'll be surprised how renewed and refreshed this little “break” can make you if you follow these tips and cut the stress out of your first time away from your newborn.

Avoid Raising a Mamma's Boy

By Mike Cravens, CEO, Sitters.com

Mamma's boys. We all know at least one. I hear women talk about bad dates with this type of guy; having to listen to him talk about his mom during an entire dinner. Some mamma's boys have their mother make all of the decisions for him. We all love our mother and most of us have a healthy relationship with our parents. However, mamma's boys have unhealthy relationship issues with their mother that tend to start at a young age and develop into serious issues later in life.

I ran into one earlier this summer. I watched this guy lose his mind over perceived disrespect to his mother. Turns out that a full seven months had past between the "incident" and this guy's temper tantrum. Putting all details aside, if the "incident" was as terrible as this guy made it out to be, why would he let seven months go by without saying anything? The reality is that there was no incident. The guy is a mamma's boy and acted out with the typical emotional immaturity that all mamma's boys seem to possess.

I pondered how this guy turned into what he is today. When it comes to his mother, he lies, exaggerates, spreads rumors, and looks at anyone interacting with his mother as threatening. How the heck did this guy grow up to become so insecure? I decided to do some research to find out and, more importantly, to share with you how we can avoid the same pitfalls.

Turns out that mamma's boys have a tendency to overreact in general, but when it comes their mother, they get extremely irrational. Momma's boys tend to let their insecurity manifest into anger and lash out against people in unfounded bursts. Being aware that such behavior is not normal, they tend to justify their actions by exaggerating the reasons for their outbursts. Their families, having grown up with this type of behavior, tend to brush it off with comments like, "He's always been this way about mom." The reality is that this type of person will only gain emotional maturity when their families hold him accountable and when he learns to apologize rather than justify.

So how can we go about not raising a mamma's boy? Dr. Maria Kelly, a pediatric professor at the University of Florida explains that a mother can consciously practice some male code behaviors. In doing so, it is important for mothers to realize that males and females deal with situations and environments differently. "This is normal, and she should not try to feminize normal male-patterned behavior," says Dr. Kelly. "For example, she should try not to solve problems for him, and she should encourage him to develop his 'manly' ways to resolve his issues."

Keep in mind that we're not talking about a normal bond that mothers and sons share. The unhealthy relationship that can manifest into a mamma's boy situation is a mother having a closeness with her son in order to fill a void. "Although one can argue either way, a strong parental bond is essential for success in today's stressful world," says Dr. Kelly. "A good maternal relationship with children, whether male or female, should be based on parental consistency, patience, open communication and, especially, love. These parental virtues are the most successful at developing a psychologically competent child in an at-times difficult world."

For starters, help your son develop his own identity. Your son should have his own interests, hobbies, and friends that do not require constant input from mom. Your son having some time away from mom is healthy and should be encouraged.

Just about every mom experiences loneliness from time to time but a mom should not become dependent on her son to fill a void. Attend baseball practice, scouts, and school field trips but also take time for yourself.

As your son gets older, do not interfere in your son's love life. Provide limited input without prying and be happy for your son when he's happy.

Allow your son to make important decisions on his own. You've raised a strong, confident, and smart thinker. He'll stumble from time to time but in the end he will do the right thing. Making his own decisions increases self esteem and leads to a healthier mother-son relationship.

Please feel free to post your comments below and share your story.