The Cowboy called Forgetful Jones is a Sesame Street character who can&rsquo;t even remember he needs his horse to take a ride around his ranch. That&rsquo;s cute&mdash;except when it&rsquo;s children who have problems with their working memory. That may happen because of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/hearing-damage/how-hearing-loss-affect-child">hearing issues</a>, ADHD or developmental difficulties, and can lead to problems with reading, learning and social interaction. A recent Canadian study found that preschoolers with a good working memory were much more likely to stay in school as teens.

If you notice that your child has a hard time following instructions, remembering what comes next in games or seems forgetful, you can help:

<ul>
	<li>Have your child teach you. Did he learn to jump rope? Have him instruct you in how it&rsquo;s done.</li>
	<li>Kids five and younger, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/kids-teens-health/excessive-screen-time-affect-child">limit exposure to digital devices</a>. The researchers say, &ldquo;video games, smartphones, tablets and television can undermine cognitive control.&rdquo;</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t overload your child with information or tasks. Avoid saying, &ldquo;Pick up your coat from the floor and hang it up, and then grab a drink from the pantry.&rdquo; One thing at a time.</li>
	<li>Teach visualization skills. Encourage your child to create a picture (initially by drawing, eventually just by imagining) of what he/she&rsquo;s just read or heard.</li>
	<li>Play soft, pleasing <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/emotional-health/article/the-sound-of-music-therapy">music</a> while your child does tasks. As we mention in our book YOU: Raising a Child, exposure to music can improve memory.</li>
</ul>

And, remember: By working with specialists and helping your child with memory problems, you can see substantial improvements in focus, learning and social interaction.

Medically reviewed in December 2018.

5 Tips for Boosting a Child’s Memory

Babysitting your grandkids can be one of the most rewarding experiences of being a grandparent, but a fun trip can quickly take a turn if the little one gets hurt. Good thing this isn&#39;t your first rodeo! Bumps, bruises, fevers, a choking fit or two&mdash;you&#39;ve seen it all. Or have you?

These days, kids can get into a number of new hazards. In 2013, nearly one in five U.S. children went to an emergency room at least once. Some of those ER trips were likely for the obvious stuff. But here are 6 other health problems that you need to keep on your radar, too.

Breathing problem: You can probably spot a breathing problem, right? Their tummy is moving in and out with each breath, or their muscles and skin between the ribs are sucking in. But watch out for this, too: If your grandchild is having coughing fits or making a high-pitched whooping sound, they may have <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/adult-vaccination/article/why-you-probably-need-the-tdap-shot">whooping cough</a>. This disease has made a major comeback in recent years, so be on the lookout. Also, a swollen tongue, throat or lip -- along with trouble breathing -- could mean they&#39;re having an allergic reaction to food or insects, even if they&#39;ve never had one before.&nbsp;

Tummy aches: While you might be tempted to just chalk it up to food sensitivity, stomach pains can point to several potential sicknesses. Call the doctor if your grandchild complains about their tummy and also has a fever, vomiting, diarrhea or lack of appetite. Beeline for the ER if there are signs of drowsiness, a bloated or tender belly, bloody stool, or inability to walk.

Rashes: A harmless rash, say from laundry detergent, will normally clear up on its own in a few days. You should start to worry if it doesn&#39;t, or if your grandchild also has a headache, joint pain, blistering, bleeding, trouble breathing or a fever. Watch out for red, bumpy blotches on the face and behind the ears that come with a fever&mdash;which could be measles. A 2015 measles outbreak that began at Disneyland lasted four months and infected 147 people in several states.

Neck pain: A stiff neck with a high fever could mean your grandchild has meningitis, a sometimes deadly infection that affects the brain and spinal cord. The symptoms can vary, depending on your grandchild&#39;s age, but take them to the ER if there are signs of sensitivity to light, extreme irritability, drowsiness, severe headache, vomiting or difficulty eating. If neck stiffness appears a month or so after a tick bite and comes with flu-like symptoms and a rash, it could be a sign of Lyme disease.

Ingestion: It can be hard to remember just how curious little ones are when you&#39;re not constantly around them. They can find a way to get into bottles of bleach, cleaners or medicine (like from your bag or purse). Call poison control (800-222-1222) and tell them what was swallowed. They&#39;ll be able to tell you if the ER is necessary.

Head injuries: It&#39;s probably time to call 911 if your grandchild is dizzy, sleepy, disoriented or vomiting after any head injury. Tests or CT scans may be needed. 
 
When in doubt, it&#39;s better to be safe than sorry. Talk to the kid&#39;s parents beforehand and find out what they&#39;d like you to do in the case of a medical emergency. Have the pediatrician&#39;s phone number handy, map out the nearest preferred ER, and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting/article/when-parents-are-away-info-every-caregiver-must-have">fill out a consent form</a> with the parents that says you can make medical decisions for the child.

To prevent mishaps during your next weekend together, be sure to put child locks on lower cabinets and place pills out of reach. And always stay up to date on the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/safety-preparedness/article/many-grandparents-dont-have-recent-child-safety-information">latest safety information for kids</a>.

Medically reviewed in December 2018.

6 Reasons Your Grandkid May Need the ER

Childhood obesity is rising faster than the national debt. About 1 in 5 school-age kids are obese&mdash;1 in 3 in some cities. You might think that even if &quot;baby fat&quot; is still accumulating in elementary school, kids don&#39;t run the same scary health risks that adults do. There&#39;s time to turn things around, right? Not so much.

Heart disease isn&#39;t for grown-ups any more. If you have overweight preteens, they can have heart disease by age 15 or 16, according to new research. And although girls&#39; heart health seems to bounce back to normal if their weight does, in boys, cardio dangers can hang on.

Ready? Help your child get healthy now:

<ol>
	<li>Do as I do. Kids are often like a video camera with the sound off: They tune out what you say but watch everything you do. If you and your partner are obese, there&#39;s an 80 percent chance your kids will be, too. So ditch the junk and be a role model.</li>
	<li>Relax as you eat. Family meals should be fun. Playful conversation (&quot;Hear any good jokes today? What superpower do you wish you had?&quot;) allows everyone to slow down and savor the meal, so the brain has time to signal, &quot;You&#39;re full&quot;&mdash;before you overeat.</li>
	<li>Make life a playground. Pumping up activity is critical to losing weight. Turn off the TV, and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting/article/best-gift-grandparents-can-give-grandchildren-playtime">get the whole family outside</a> for a game of touch football (there&#39;s a reason the Kennedy clan stayed thin) or a walk around the block.</li>
</ol>

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Childhood Obesity Prevention: Keep Tabs on Kids' Weight

We&#39;ve found -- and the data support -- that a <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/mental-health-basics/how-time-outs-help-settling">time-out</a> is the most effective approach for discipline. It gives both the child and the parent a chance to decompress from a stressful event and think about the situation. It also allows you the space to explain what&#39;s wrong with the behavior and reinforce that a particular behavior is not acceptable, so that your child learns from it.

The perfect&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/relationship-challenges/family-use-time-outs-yelling">time-out</a>&nbsp;works like this: Teach your child that if she does something that you tell her not to, you will give her a warning and a slow count to three. That counting gives her a chance to stop what she&#39;s doing and correct the behavior. If you reach three, then she&#39;s going to the designated time-out place in your home. You can give a warning at one. If the misbehavior doesn&#39;t stop, say clearly, &quot;I asked you not to put your sister&#39;s doll in the dishwasher. That is two.&quot; At three, the time-out starts.

Make the time-out place a chair where there are no distractions; the idea is to make it a boring place where your child won&#39;t want to be. You keep her there for the number of minutes equal to her age (4 minutes for a 4-year-old and so on). After your child serves her time, you explain why what she did was harmful and not acceptable and ask if she understands. But don&#39;t make it a lecture; just state the facts. If you make punishment a habit that your child doesn&#39;t like, she&#39;ll change the habit that got her there in the first place.

By the time a child is 3 or 4, she may ask if her behavior is good or bad and may even give herself a time-out. This signifies that she knows right from wrong, still needs to test limits, but is mature enough to take ownership of her behavior. That&#39;s the kind of behavior that can eventually lead to an older child learning to take five deep breaths or count to 10 when she feels angry, frustrated, or on the verge of an outburst. Just like imaginary play, time-outs can help a child figure out her boundaries.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Disciplining Children: How to Give a Time-Out

With 1.4 billion smartphones floating around, it&rsquo;s clear techno-intensity is making people drop out of conversations, relationships, and their own lives. And it&rsquo;s not just teenagers or young adults zoning into phones and computers -- <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting">parents</a> commit the same offense, too.

On sites like Tumblr&rsquo;s &ldquo;parentsonphones,&rdquo; people are documenting kids starved for parental attention while mom or dad texts or chats without any acknowledgement of the child&rsquo;s existence. Talk about sending messages!

Recent studies confirm just how careless folks have become with their devices. Researchers discovered 75% of parents engage in distracted behavior, including texting or talking on their <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/kids-teens-health/article/parents-driving-distracted">cell phone</a>, with kids in the car. And the Journal of Children and Media reports children two and younger are exposed to five-and-a-half hours of background TV a day (Mom&rsquo;s gotta see her show). That can stunt development of a child&rsquo;s communication skills. Seems parents, distracted by the show (even if only watching it casually), use fewer words and introduce fewer new words when talking with their children.

What does this all mean? You don&rsquo;t have to be focused on your child 24/7; that&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting/what-is-helicopter-parenting">helicopter parenting</a> and micromanagement of a kid&rsquo;s life has its own negative repercussions. But when you&rsquo;re spending time together, pay attention to your child. Focus on the interaction, talk to your child using descriptive language, and send the message that you are interested in what your offspring is up to. Hugs now?

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Distracted Parenting

The Breathe Youth Media Awards (formerly Hackademy) are given for smoking in films. In 2015 Bill Murray won for the PG-13 rated St. Vincent, in which he puffed and puffed around kids. Seems 38 percent of PG-13 movies feature smoking (often, a lot!).

The Centers for Disease Control says that making an R-rating mandatory for any movie with smoking would reduce the number of teen smokers by 18 percent and prevent one million deaths from smoking among children alive today!&nbsp;

We hope they start counting the number of times e-cigs get fired up too (there&rsquo;s Johnny Depp in The Tourist, John Cusack in Map to the Stars, and Zac Efron in Bad Neighbor). Just as cigarette smoking in movies leads kids to start smoking, we think <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/quit-smoking/is-vaping-safer-than-smoking">vaping</a> on the silver screen does too. And according to a new study, teens who vape are six times more likely to smoke cigarettes later on than kids who never vape. A 2015 CDC survey of over 15,000 high-schoolers found 24 percent had used an e-cigarette in the past 30 days. That means an enormous amount of teens are on the road to becoming tobacco smokers!

So if your teen thinks vaping is cool and harmless, explain just how risky it can be. You sure <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting-teens/how-discourage-teen-from-smoking">wouldn&rsquo;t ignore cigarette smoking</a> if he or she did that; <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/cancer/article/does-vaping-cause-cancer">don&rsquo;t ignore vaping</a> either. For more information about the heart-health risks (from nicotine) and other potential hazards (unregulated chemicals in vaping liquids) of e-cigs go to <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/" target="_blank">clevelandclinic.org</a>.

Medically reviewed in December 2018.

Don’t Let Your Teens Vape

If the tweens and teens in your life are complaining about back pains and headaches, check their screen time -- how many hours a day they spend staring at TVs, computers, video games, and cell phone screens. There&#39;s new evidence that the constant muscle tension of being glued to these gizmos has increased kids&#39; complaints of back, neck, and head pain by 44%.

More than 5 hours a day is too much. Yet American teens average nearly 4 1/2 hours a day of TV and computer time before they send a single text message (figure 100 of those a day) or play a video game.

The solution? You. Get kids moving for an hour a day. It&#39;s 1 less hour they&#39;ll spend watching Jersey Shore or playing Final Fantasy VIII. And 1 more hour for their tense muscles (and yours) to relax. Oh, yeah, you might even talk. Some ways to make it happen:

<ul>
	<li>Schedule family time-outs. Get hikes and kickball games on everyone&#39;s calendar. If you wait until you all have &quot;free&quot; time, well, the economy&#39;s likely to recover first.</li>
	<li>Don&#39;t get hung up on organized sports. Soccer, football, gymnastics, ice/field hockey, are great. But they&#39;re not great for all kids, and they&#39;re not activities most people play for life. Encourage those that are. You know: biking, hiking, swimming, snowboarding, skating, playing tennis or golf.</li>
	<li>Be a role model. Kids with physically active parents are more likely to be active.</li>
	<li>Don&#39;t just say no to screen time, replace it with a fun activity.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Substitute Family Activities for Computer Time

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/childhood-obesity/help-overweight-children?myAttribute=yay">Healthier weight</a>, greater self-confidence, higher grades, better blood pressure, a quicker brain -- the perks of exercise are as vital for kids as for adults. Too bad so many 8- to 18-year-olds aren&#39;t getting those benefits. Instead, tweens and early teens average nearly 9 hours a day staring at screens, mainly TV or video games. But before you pull the plug, here&#39;s what researchers have found to be the best and worst ways to get kids moving . . . and loving it.

The 4 Best

1. Get that puppy. Kids with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/video/health-topics-a-z/weight-loss/how-your-dog-helps-you-lose-weight-lower-blood-pressure">dogs</a> watch less TV and are more physically active than those whose families don&#39;t include a canine.

2. Act like they&#39;re the next LeBron James or Mia Hamm. Parents who believe their offspring have athletic ability are more likely to have kids who are physically active. And that belief-to-reality transition starts early: The researchers who found this connection were looking at preschoolers at home, not high school soccer jocks.

3. Be a role model. According to one large study, kids with active parents are five to six times more physical than kids with couch-potato moms and dads.

4. Limit screen time. Don&#39;t put a TV in kids&#39; bedrooms or leave one on when no one is watching. Children whose parents set rules about <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/kids-teens-health/limit-child-television-tim">screen time</a> spend about 3 hours less staring at electronics each day than do kids with lenient parents.

The 3 Worst

1. Don&#39;t depend on team sports. Only 24% of kids on soccer, baseball, and softball teams get a full hour of activity -- the recommended minimum -- during practice. Most are inactive for 30 minutes or so.

2. Don&#39;t send small fry to school in fussy outfits or flip-flops. It&#39;ll keep them from zooming around the playground and swinging on the monkey bars. Follow school rules for recess-approved gear.

3. Don&#39;t expect kids to work out like you do. Young minds and muscles are built for stop-and-start action, not a long, steady jog. Think tag, kick the can, or activities with lots of variety, such as walking on a trail dotted with exercise equipment or organizing a game of kickball or Frisbee. That holds until kids are tweens or teens, when rising sex hormones (testosterone, estradiol) prime muscles for sustained activities, such as hikes, swimming laps, or long bike rides.

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/everyday-activities-fitness/how-child-active-school-out">Check out these tips on keeping your kids active while school is out.</a>

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

4 Best—and 3 Worst—Ways to Get Kids Fit

We&#39;ve all seen kids who decide that the only thing worth eating is a chicken nugget. Or a bowl of mac and cheese. And that&#39;s it. Oh, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/diet-nutrition/article/how-to-get-finicky-kids-and-adults-to-happily-eat-more-broccoli">the picky eater</a> -- the child who asserts that he likes only a few things and refuses to let his tongue touch anything else. The real issue, of course, is not one of taste but one of control. To <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/video/health-topics-a-z/parenting/how-can-i-avoid-raising-a-picky-eater">avoid future food wars</a>, try these strategies to avoid raising a picky eater:

<ul>
	<li>Provide lots of choices, and don&#39;t be afraid to parallel cook. If Junior never eats fish, then have a different protein available, and encourage eating fish when there is positive peer pressure to try it. For instance, when Junior&#39;s best buddy, whose parent has told you he eats fish like a champ, is coming over, plan to have fish for that meal. Observation of peers and older siblings or cousins can be a powerful motivator.</li>
	<li>Food repetition is okay, as long as there&#39;s balance overall or a multivitamin makes up the difference. Children may go for days, weeks, or months wanting only peanut butter and jelly or whatever the latest taste preference is. Although it may drive you nuts, look on the bright side: You&#39;ve got an easy meal that goes down without a fuss.</li>
	<li>Keep exposing him to healthful foods; some may stick. Try food games like, &quot;How many raisins can stick to a celery stalk filled with cream cheese?&quot;</li>
	<li>When you feel a battle coming on, take a step back. Will your son be scarred for life if he doesn&#39;t eat two more carrots?</li>
	<li>Add a daily multivitamin. This provides an insurance policy against an imperfect diet. But read the label: Some brands recommend a half vitamin for children under 2 and a whole tablet for those 2 and older, while other brands recommend one vitamin for under age 2 and two tablets for those over 2.</li>
</ul>

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Picky Eaters: Preventing Food Wars

1. Start early. A basic biological fact: Kids will not crave foods they&#39;re not familiar with. As soon as your kid starts eating solid foods, really concentrate on <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-eating-children-and-teens/how-can-get-child-eat-fruits-vegetables?myAttribute=yay">healthy eating strategies</a>: no added sugar or syrups, fewer than 4 grams of saturated fat per meal, no trans fat, and only 100% whole-grain foods. If your kid doesn&#39;t taste high-sugar foods such as candy, cereals, and soda, she won&#39;t grow to like them (and won&#39;t &quot;Please, Mama?&quot; for them all day long). We also recommend that you teach your child to look at nutrition labels as soon as she can read. But please don&#39;t make it an obsession.

2. Eat together. Of all the things you can do to influence the health of your child, perhaps the most important is to make family dinner a priority. Research shows that having family dinner more than twice a week can positively influence a child&#39;s waist size, eating behavior, school achievement, and overall psychological development. It&#39;s also a great opportunity to model table manners. The more family dinners, the better; see if you can manage at least five a week. You can also try <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-eating-children-and-teens/how-get-child-eat-breakfast?myAttribute=yay">family breakfast</a> or other meals that suit everyone&#39;s schedule.

3. Talk smart. Get into the habit of talking about the healthy foods your child should be eating rather than dwelling on all the unhealthy ones she should avoid. You know what they say about temptation, especially when it comes to the forbidden Froot Loops.

4. Don&#39;t use food as a carrot -- even if it is a carrot. You should avoid using food as either a punishment or a reward, because it sends mixed signals to a child: &quot;Do something good, and I get a doughnut!&quot; Might seem nice at the time, but what message does that send? Good behavior is rewarded with bad food, a notion that hurts kids in the long run.

5. Don&#39;t avoid healthy fat. We&#39;ve seen it happen: Parents have success on a low-fat diet, so they decide that their kids need to follow it, too. Not a great strategy. <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-eating-children-and-teens/why-should-child-eat-healthy-fats">Kids need healthy fat </a>for brain development.

6. No watch, no eat. After a long, hard day, it&#39;s tempting to just gather around the tube with your plates to watch the latest reality show. But it&#39;s not a good idea. Kids (and adults) eat much more, on average, in front of the TV than when they&#39;re sitting at the table. Why? They lose awareness of the sacredness of food, and the act becomes mindless -- a sure recipe for overeating. When you concentrate on eating, you can pay better attention to your body&#39;s signals that you&#39;re full. Not only that, but kids take about 150 fewer steps for every hour of TV they watch, so it&#39;s a double whammy: Eat more and burn less!

7. Consider a changeup. Some parents have success feeding their children their main meal at lunch rather than at dinner. Oftentimes, kids are so tired at night that feeding becomes more of a battle than it needs to be. It&#39;s a good strategy nutritionally because it ensures that they get at least one balanced meal for the day.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

7 Steps to Healthy Eating Habits for Children

Every child is unique, with unique DNA, unique fingerprints, a unique personality, and a unique path to adulthood. Although you can&#39;t smooth all the bumps, anticipate all the challenges, or defuse all the bombs your children will encounter along the way, you can make their journeys and their lives as adults a little bit easier and much healthier!

1. Get Stuck in a Rut 
<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/preschool-age-child-development/why-important-establish-routines-child">Children thrive on routines.</a> Rituals and routines provide them with a sense of identity, stability, and consistency as they strive to figure out their roles, relationships, responsibilities, and even their own personalities. Routines also help them understand the importance of setting limits. Involve your children in organizing your family&#39;s daily schedule, such as setting regular times for meals, homework, cleanup, leisure time, and bedtime.

2. Gross Them Out 
How the human body functions is often a mystery to kids. Take time to explain how the body works when it&#39;s healthy and what happens when it breaks down. For example, explain the short-term and long-term effects of taking care of their health and of overindulging or neglecting it. By providing kids with this information, they&#39;ll be more aware of the specific benefits and consequences their actions have on their bodies.

RealAge Projection: Learning to be proactive about health issues will benefit kids indefinitely. If they keep it up in adulthood, at 50 they could look and feel closer to 38.

3. Question Them 
Parents play an essential role in building their children&#39;s communication skills. That&#39;s why it&#39;s important to ask plenty of questions and listen with interest, attention, and patience. It often takes kids longer than adults to express themselves. Skip the yes or no questions. <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/relationship-challenges/communicate-better-with-my-children" target="_blank">Ask questions that require explanation or description.</a> Listen for details that may be missing and ask for clarification. This allows you to keep tabs on what your kids are thinking, feeling, and doing, which is crucial in keeping them safe, healthy, and out of trouble.

4. Show Off 
Children learn by observing and imitating behavior, especially yours. Be a day-to-day example of how you want your child to behave. Studies show that parents with the healthiest lifestyles raise the healthiest children who in turn grow up to be healthier adults.

5. Crack Them Up 
Life can get crazy and stressful for kids; laughing can help them cope. Encourage generous amounts of giggling and silliness in your home, and help kids see the humor in everyday events and mishaps. This will help them learn to put things in perspective and better handle the constant stresses of daily life. Laughter will be medicine that kids can carry with them for years to come.

6. Bond with Them 
Almost all interactions in a child&#39;s life are influenced by family relationships. Kids who have close connections with parents, grandparents, siblings, and other relatives are more likely to initiate social interaction with other kids and with other adults, and are likely to be more confident in all relationships. Also, kids with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parent-child-relationship/what-good-ways-bond-child">positive family relationships</a> generally struggle less with depression and peer pressure and have higher self-esteem.

RealAge Projection: Kids who have close connections with family and friends generally struggle less with emotional issues. And as adults, these social ties can help them look and feel almost 4 years younger. Imagine that . . . your child, 40 years old but feeling 36.

7. Chase Them 
<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/fitness-exercise-children/physical-activity-children" target="_blank">Regular physical activity</a> develops and strengthens children&#39;s bodies and brains. Plus, it&#39;s the best way to prevent weight gain and potentially fatal diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke. Encourage your kids to be active by regularly engaging them in games and activities that get the blood pumping. Chase them -- and let them chase you -- around the yard in a game of tag. Play toss, kickball, or hide-and-seek. Take hikes together in the woods or around the neighborhood.

RealAge Projection: Kids who learn to love being active when they&#39;re young are likely to stick with this healthy habit when they&#39;re adults. And if they do keep it up -- getting a good mix of aerobic, strength, and flexibility exercise -- at 35 their RealAge will actually be 27.

8. Remind Them 
Although no parent wants to be a nag, kids need guidance and gentle reminders about rules, limits, and appropriate behaviors. Steering kids toward healthy habits, and reinforcing those habits along the way, will teach them the principles of moderation, discretion, consistency, and self-discipline. Over time, and with your help, kids will develop their own sense of self-control and self-regulation, which will allow them to set healthy limits for themselves.

9. Put Them to Work 
Research shows that involving kids in chores and projects around the house is one of the best ways to build self-esteem and help kids feel competent. Doing so lets them know that you believe they&#39;re capable of handling important tasks, which is an incredibly powerful message for kids. Children who grow up perceiving chores as a normal part of life are more likely to complete their education, get a good start on a career, develop successful relationships, and avoid risky behaviors.

These 9 ways to be a better parent may sound simple, but research shows that, when combined, they can help your sons and daughters grow in body, mind, and spirit.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Top 9 Ways to be an Even Better Parent

What do Haley Mills and Lindsay Lohan have in common? They both played 13-year-old twins&mdash;Ms. Mills in 1961 and Ms. Lohan in 1998&mdash;who schemed to get their divorced parents back together in the movie The Parent Trap.

Today there&rsquo;s another <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting/article/your-parenting-style-is-important">parent trap</a> that&rsquo;s upsetting kids and their parents&mdash;it&rsquo;s how much time parents spend on electronic devices while they&rsquo;re supposedly spending time with their (healthy? happy?) children. &nbsp;

A small, but we think telling, study published in the Journal of Developmental &amp; Behavioral Pediatrics found that kids feel like they&rsquo;re being neglected when mom or dad reaches for the phone. (How many times do you see a kid squirming while his or her parent texts wildly?) But what the study also showed was that <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting">parents</a> (and grandparents) are concerned and suffer from the situation too. Turns out they feel torn between their responsibilities to their children and whatever demanding situation is being thrust on them by texts, emails, calls and social media alerts.

So here&rsquo;s our simple three step plan:

<ol>
	<li>No cell phones in your hand (except for an emergency) on the playground or during a playtime activity with your children.</li>
	<li>No digital devices during any meal in or out of the house.</li>
	<li>For a full hour (or more) before your child&rsquo;s bedtime, you stay off the phone and tablet and computer and talk to your child or read a book together.</li>
</ol>

You will both be happier&mdash;and that&rsquo;s a great step to a healthier life for both of you.

Medically reviewed in December 2018.

3 Steps to Better Parenting and Happier Kids

Sometimes it&#39;s easy to say very little or just stick to short phrases with young kids because most can&#39;t do much talking anyway. But <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting/quizzes/baby-talk" target="_blank">everything you&#39;re saying helps</a> your child&#39;s emotional development as well as her language development. The best way to talk to your child is by pretending that she can converse. Say things like, &quot;Do you need a nap?&quot; or &quot;It&#39;s been a long day, hasn&#39;t it?&quot; or &quot;These yams are pretty nasty looking, aren&#39;t they?&quot;

Talk to her as if she were filling in the gaps. That will help her recognize language and word patterns that she&#39;ll need and use soon enough. Speak slowly and in short phrases, using gestures and facial expressions to reinforce the meaning of your words. Here are some examples of how to involve your child in your conversation:

Say, &quot;Do you think the doggie is hungry?&quot; 
Instead of, &quot;I&#39;m going to feed the dog now.&quot; 
Why? Because questions initiate conversations and engage children with changes in inflection.

Say, &quot;Doesn&#39;t dirt look cool close-up? Just try not to get any in your mouth, because it tastes yucky and can give you a tummy ache.&quot; 
Instead of, &quot;If I have told you once, I&#39;ve told you a thousand times not to eat dirt.&quot; 
Why? Because positive observations encourage curiosity; negative commands stifle it. Also, explaining the consequences of an action gives a child the knowledge she needs to make the correct choice on her own in the future.

Whenever you&#39;re out, be one of those pointer-outer parents. Point to things you see, hear, and smell; teach your child about the world. This applies wherever you are, whether it&#39;s in nature or at the mall. It&#39;s also really helpful to show your child how things change: Leaves change color, flowers bloom, batter turns into cookies, and so on.

And remember, your child takes most of her cues from signals that you send her through your body language or your expressions. Words simply convey information. Emotion gives it meaning. In fact, more than 90% of what your child &quot;hears&quot; you say comes from nonverbal communication. The total impact of parental messaging breaks down like this:

<ul>
	<li>7% verbal (words)</li>
	<li>38% vocal (volume, pitch, rhythm, and so on)</li>
	<li>55% body movements (mostly facial expressions)</li>
</ul>

That&#39;s why communicating emotion is at the heart of smart parenting. Try these techniques:

<ul>
	<li>Make eye contact. It opens the flow of communication and conveys interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.</li>
	<li>Be expressive. Authentic facial expressions convey warmth, happiness, friendliness, and bonding. Don&#39;t forget: Smiling is contagious.</li>
	<li>Use gestures. Being lively and animated captures kids&#39; attention and facilitates learning. Head nods, for instance, communicate positive reinforcement and indicate that you are listening.</li>
	<li>Check your posture and body orientation. The way you walk, talk, stand, and sit speaks volumes to your child. Standing erect, but not rigid, and leaning slightly forward sends the message that you are approachable and receptive.</li>
	<li>Vary your voice. Droning on in a monotone is boring. Mix up your tone, rhythm, inflection, and volume to keep your child&#39;s interest.</li>
</ul>

Baby Talk: How to Talk to Your Children

Weird ways to consume alcohol have been popping up on social media and YouTube -- and are enough to make any college counselor or parent&rsquo;s heart skip a beat. There&rsquo;s booze-soaked gummy candy called Rummy Bears and Vodka Worms and hand-sanitizer cocktails that run around 120 proof.

Those <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/substance-abuse-in-teens">risky and juvenile ways</a> to get buzzed are pretty fringy, but now there&rsquo;s something more sinister with the potential to become mainstream: powdered alcohol. It&rsquo;s been approved by the Federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau, a division of the ATF. One small packet of trouble is 65% alcohol by volume and comes in five sugary flavors including rum, vodka, and kamikaze (their version of a Margarita).

Concerned legislators, parents and doctors are yelling for the FDA to step in and ban its sale before kids start turning up in the emergency room or worse because of it.

Our suggestion: Parents, get in front of powdered alcohol. <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/drug-alcohol-tobacco-use-in-teens/what-factors-contribute-underage-drinking?myAttribute=yay">Talk to your kids</a> about how foolish it would be to drink it, eat it or sniff it. Now, before there&rsquo;s an advertising onslaught (you know it&rsquo;s coming), you have the opportunity to turn kids off to the product. Your kids do listen when you talk to them about avoiding dangerous situations, such as drinking or using marijuana and driving. <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/drug-alcohol-tobacco-use-in-teens/what-factors-contribute-underage-drinking">Underage</a> drunk driving fatalities have been declining over the past 10 years. So have a conversation about powdered alcohol, and let&rsquo;s stay on that road.

The Dangers of the Powdered Margarita

How many times have you heard &quot;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-eating-children-and-teens/what-are-healthy-breakfasts-children">breakfast</a> is the most important meal of the day&quot;? Here&#39;s why, in terms of small fry. Kids who eat breakfast:

<ul>
	<li>Do better in school</li>
	<li>Have fewer behavioral problems</li>
	<li>Have better concentration, more energy, and better hand-eye coordination</li>
	<li>Are more likely to meet their nutritional needs overall</li>
	<li>Have an easier time maintaining a healthy weight</li>
</ul>

&quot;Mornings can be hectic in any family, and getting kids -- much less adults -- to eat something can be a challenge. But just look at the payoffs!&quot; says pediatrician Jennifer Trachtenberg, mom of three and proud author of her first book, the new, superuseful Good Kids, Bad Habits: The RealAge Guide to Raising Healthy Children.

&quot;So if you can&#39;t make the morning meal happen at home, send kids off with healthy on-the-go <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/teen-perspective-nutrition-healthy-eating/what-should-need-teen-breakfast">breakfasts</a> to eat on the way,&quot; says Dr. Jen. &quot;The night before, have them help you fill plastic zipper bags with things like nuts, raisins, and Os cereal; orange slices; low-fat granola; cheese and crackers; sliced apple &#39;sandwich cookies&#39; filled with peanut butter . . . or anything else reasonably healthy that you know they&#39;ll eat, whether it&#39;s &#39;breakfast food&#39; or not. A chicken sandwich on whole wheat? Fine.&quot; Just aim for three things:

<ol>
	<li>Plenty of fiber and protein - it will keep kids full and energized until lunch.</li>
	<li>Minimal sugar - too much can send energy soaring up, and then crashing down, before the morning&#39;s half over.</li>
	<li>Some healthful fat, especially omega-3s - turns out that kids who eat more of these fats do better on short-term memory tests (and they ace pop quizzes!) than kids who eat more saturated fat (think butter, bacon, sausage, pastries, full-fat milk and cheese).</li>
</ol>

One easy way to get good omega-3 fats into your kids: Sprinkle walnuts or almonds on their cereal.

Another: Hard-boil a batch of omega-3-enriched eggs, which are widely available. On a high-speed morning, give the kids (yourself, too) an egg and some whole-wheat crackers in a plastic zipper bag. You&#39;ll all be good to go till lunch.

There&#39;s Nothing Old-Fashioned About Oatmeal 
In fact, there&#39;s growing evidence that it may be an ideal way to start the school day. Kids who eat <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/video/sharecare-experts/pina-logiudice/what-are-the-health-benefits-of-oatmeal">oatmeal</a> for breakfast -- versus cold cereal, or nothing at all -- remember things better and pay more attention, which is handy for, say, studying math and geography. Try making it overnight in a slow cooker. One reason may be that oatmeal is digested slowly, supplying the brain with a steady stream of energy. <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/juices-health-nutrition/how-drinking-orange-juice-arteries">And here&#39;s why you should pour a glass of OJ to go with it.</a>

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Top 5 Reasons Breakfast Is a Must for Kids

When your child is in the hospital, it helps to think of the key staff members as new friends who can play a critical role in your child&#39;s well-being. They can also magically smooth out bumps and delays that plague less savvy parents and patients. Use these tips to reap strategic benefits:

1. Ask staffers what they do. It&#39;s hard to tell who&#39;s who based on their clothing&mdash;that impressive gentleman in the tie might be there to fix a broken dialysis machine. If you&#39;re not sure, just ask. Is the person a resident, intern, doctor, nurse, or <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/nursing/what-is-certified-nurses-aide">nurse&#39;s aide</a>? Any staffers who enter your child&#39;s room should have an ID badge on and say why they&#39;re there. (Refrain from yelling, &quot;Halt! State your business!&quot;) By the way, to make sure they have the right patient, staffers should also check your child&#39;s ID bracelet.

2. Be extra nice to the nurses. They are the workhorses, and they can make life for you and your child a whole lot easier, whether you need a washcloth, more pain medication, or face time with the doctor. <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/nursing/what-nurses-do-hospitalized-child">Nurses</a> get the brunt of abuse from angry patients and frustrated family members. Try saying &quot;please,&quot; &quot;thank you,&quot; and &quot;I appreciate your help.&quot; You might be amazed by the attention you get.

3. Be there when the nurses change shifts. Nurses generally work 12-hour shifts, and shift changes are often when mistakes get made in the hospital. Learn who the next nurse on duty is, and personally relay any important information about your child. Yes, the new nurse should read the previous nurse&#39;s notes, but don&#39;t rely only on that. Remember that the nurse may have more patients to care for than just your child.

4. Know the shortcuts. Get friendly with the resident or intern so you can get quick answers to relatively basic questions. Both should have access to the attending physician and will likely get back to you with an answer in less time than it would take for you to track down the attending physician. Of course, for important questions, ask to see the attending.

5. If an intern explains test results, and you have questions, it&#39;s fine to ask a resident, fellow, or attending physician how they interpret the results. Some findings are very clear, such as, &quot;Your test results are normal.&quot; But others may require lengthier discussions, so it&#39;s always okay to ask.

6. Start every day nudging. Every morning, your first question for the attending physician or resident should be, &quot;What&#39;s the specific plan for today?&quot; This can subtly prod them to keep things moving. You don&#39;t want to wait 5 days for tests that could be completed in 2.

6 Tips on Hospital Etiquette

If pediatricians prescribed only drugs approved for kids, we&#39;d have a lot of sick kids. So it&#39;s extremely common for doctors to prescribe medications off-label for children.

Off-label is the term used when a doctor prescribes a medication for a purpose or age group that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved&mdash;in other words, that&#39;s not spelled out on the label. Yet, off-label prescribing is very common, totally legal and often excellent medicine.

In fact, around 80 percent of medicine used for kids is prescribed off-label. In some cases, there is good research showing that a particular drug is safe and effective in children, but the pharmaceutical company only applied for FDA approval to use the drug in adults&mdash;because each separate approval (adults and kids) is a long, costly process.

For example, you probably remember hearing about Prozac being approved for treating kids with depression. Actually, doctors had been prescribing it to children off-label for years. The drug company just had not applied to the FDA for approval for kids.

Albuterol, used for asthma, is another good example. Even though it&#39;s only approved for kids over 2 years old, docs regularly prescribe albuterol for children younger than that if it is needed. Not treating asthma is a poor alternative. And albuterol has been used for so long with so much success that it&#39;s now generally considered safe.

The downside of a doctor using medications off-label is that pediatricians have to estimate the dosage for kids based on the amount that&#39;s been proved effective in adults (or, sometimes, in older children).

Pediatricians have had a lot of experience with this. But there&#39;s always some risk of a child getting too much or too little medicine if the dose isn&#39;t calculated correctly, so that&#39;s why caution is key: I always give the smallest dose possible to do the job in order to minimize the odds that the drug will cause side effects.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Why Pediatricians Prescribe Medications for Off-Label Use

Iman Shumpert, the Cleveland Cavaliers interestingly-coifed forward, has his own playing style. And he uses it to help create a smooth-working offense. Noah &ldquo;Thor&rdquo; Syndergaard, throws smokin&rsquo; fastballs for the Mets and seems to think some of this strength (like Goliath) comes from his flowing tresses. Both (hair) styles make for good team dynamics.

The same can be said for <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting/quizzes/what-kind-of-parent-are-you">effective parenting styles</a>: They make the family team work well and affect a child&rsquo;s future success and happiness.

Japanese researchers recently surveyed 5,000 adults to evaluate the impact of parental (dis)interest, trust, rules, and independence, as well as time spent together, and experiences of being scolded. Turns out adults who had supportive parents and got ample positive attention reported higher salaries, more academic success, and lots of happiness. Adults who had strict parents who paid them high levels of attention did achieve economically and academically, but had lower levels of happiness and more stress.&nbsp;(Another study found that kids who grew up under authoritarian rule were five times more likely to become overweight.)

Clearly, if you adopt a nurturing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting/some-different-parenting-styles">parenting style</a>, you&rsquo;re encouraging belief in oneself, as well as development of empathy and conscience. And, we say, that&rsquo;s never been more important: Kids today have less contact with relatives and less free-wheeling playtime than previous generations. But interacting with extended families and unscheduled play positively influence individual and social development. Nurturing parenting can help counteract that loss of interconnectedness and independence and make the whole home team stronger.

Medically reviewed in December 2018.

Your Parenting Style Is Important

Feeling just a little bit guilty because you&#39;re having so much fun with your grandkids ... maybe more than you had with your own kids? All the joy, and none of the daily grind, right?

Forget the guilt! Keep on playing with those little munchkins as they grow up, because you&#39;re doing a lot more than just having a blast. Turns out doing simple things together, like gardening, cooking, shopping, and taking a staycation, has big health and happiness benefits for the whole family.

Among them:

<ul>
	<li>Feelings of self-worth, self-esteem and life satisfaction rise faster than that loaf of bread you bake together.</li>
	<li>Understanding and communication improve, too. Kids see that grandparents aren&#39;t just geezers; they have skills and know-how to share ... and grandparents see what whiz kids their grandchildren are (start with their uncanny grasp of high-tech gadgets.) When grandkids realize they can teach grown-ups a thing or two (&quot;Hit the escape button&quot;), it helps the youngsters to forge ahead in a brave new world.</li>
	<li>Playing around with the young set also satisfies that need to leave a legacy and impart what you&#39;ve learned. Besides, since you&#39;re probably gonna live a lot longer than your grandparents did (thanks to healthy eating and exercise, right?), you&#39;ll have more time to bond across generations.</li>
</ul>

Are you as young&mdash;or as old&mdash;as you feel? <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/static/realage">Take the RealAge Test</a> to find out.

Remember: The family that plays together stays together. Have fun doing it. Check out some other <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/happiness/article/try-this-get-happy-strategy">get-happy strategies.</a>