Health

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Is It So Wrong To Give Your Toddler Wine Or Whiskey?

October 13, 2012 at 10:06 pm , by 

22 months.

I’ll go ahead and take away any element of suspense for anyone who might think I have given my toddler son wine or whiskey in his tipsy cup… I mean, sippy cup.

Because I haven’t nor do I plan on it.

It’s just that within recent history in the blogosphere, the topic has kept resurfacing. Just this week, a toddler in Wales was accidently served whiskey at a restaurant.

Last year there was a toddler in Orlando who was served a sangria (wine punch) at an Olive Garden.

But for me, those stories were not really that interesting because I could see how easily that might happen in the hectic work environment of a restaurant. Fortunately, we hardly ever take our toddler son out to restaurants anyway, so it’s not really something I’m worried about.

However, there was one particular “giving alcohol to a toddler” story that I did feel was groundbreaking and challenging to the status quo. I’m referring to Slate magazine’s Should You Let Your Kid Try Wine?

The author’s answer, at least it pertains to his own household, seems to be an unapologetic yes. He promotes the idea of breaking the negative stigma of drinking alcohol by exposing his children to it like it’s not a bad thing for responsible people.

Like many of us Americans who grew up in a small Southern town, drinking was not only considered a sin by the moral majority, but the sale of alcohol was actually illegal where I grew up. In other words, it was a “dry county.”

I was conditioned to believe that in order to truly be a good Christian, you had to abstain from alcohol completely; even though Jesus’s first miracle was turning the water into wine at a wedding.

But something about me that you have to know is, I’m incredibly quick and curious to question cultural norms.

Fast forward to me graduating college, moving to Nashville, and now actually believing that having a beer (or glass of wine) a day is a good and healthy thing to do.

And while I definitely have my pet sins I struggle with, as we all do, I am convinced that drinking alcohol is not one of them.

So do I think it’s wrong to give my toddler wine, whiskey, or any other kind of alcoholic drink?

Yes.

Well, actually… I don’t know.

Because I couldn’t tell you for sure that the pain reliever I give my son has no alcohol in it. Actually, I’m assuming it does contain at least a small trace of alcohol.

All I really know is that when my son has a fever, I give him some FDA approved medicine.

Secretly, I wonder if it’s really just dressed-up alcohol to help him sleep through the night.

But even if it doesn’t contain alcohol, what is in it? Where do they get the ingredients from? Can I trust them?Should I trust them?

The fact that I don’t know actually troubles me more than worrying about my son being accidently served a Whiskey Sour in a restaurant, because I’m the kind of dad who would take the first sip of my kid’s drink just to make sure it hasn’t been poisoned, to begin with.

That is, if we actually took him to restaurants in the first place.

But we’re not that brave. The only way I could enjoy a meal out with my toddler is to sedate him with…

A fever-reducing medicine which may or may not contain alcohol.

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NYC Bans 16 Ounce Sodas (But Not Two 8 Ounce Sodas!)

September 13, 2012 at 11:48 pm , by 

21 months. 

Here’s how you know if, in your heart, you secretly are a Democrat: You approve of New York City’s ban on “sugary drinks” in containers of 16 ounces or more.

It’s beyond ironic that many of the same people who are pro-choice when it comes to abortion are totally cool with the government restricting the amount of sugar a person puts in their own body.

This ridiculous “soda ban” easily sums up why I’m a Libertarian: I believe in the right to be stupid, as long as it doesn’t hurt other people.

There’s no way around it; drinking soda on a regular (daily or even just weekly) basis, especially in quantities of 16 ounces or more, is a horrible (!) idea.

It’s detrimental to a person’s health. Doing so puts a person on the fast track to Diabetes, if not obesity.

Consider this, even in a just a typical 12 ounce can of cola, you’re consuming about 10 teaspoons of sugar.

I’ll say that again: 10 teaspoons of sugar! 

In fact, as a health nut and vegetarian, if I had to choose between smoking a half a pack of cigarettes a day versus drinking a 16 ounce soda, I would have a very difficult time in deciding which way to wreck my health.

Drinking “sugary drinks” like soda, chocolate milk, sweet tea, and even fruit juice, as compared to actually eating the fruit itself, is not good.

However, regularly drinking sugary drinks and soda is definitely more socially accepted than smoking cigarettes. (That makes it okay, right?)

We’re so culturally aware of the long-term health risks of tobacco use, but when it comes to junk food andprocessed foods, sometimes we need a reminder that it’s more than just that those things “make us get fat.”

Either way, I want to live in country where people have the freedom to make those bad decisions for themselves. Not just in New York City, but in every city.

It shouldn’t be the government’s job to “ban” junk food.

That’s my job:

I choose to ban “sugary drinks” in my own life, and just as important, in my young son’s life as well. I take responsibility for myself and my family.

Sure, I agree that America is experiencing an obesity epidemic and we need to do something about it.

But the “we” I’m referring to is not the government. The “we” is us.

 

For more intriguing pictures showing how much sugar is in drinks and food, go the awesome website they came from:

SugarStacks.com

 

 

 

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Intactivists’ Responses To AAP’s Revised Circumcision Policy

August 28, 2012 at 5:16 am , by 

21 months.

Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its stance on circumcision, saying the benefits outweigh the risks.

If you are a soon-to-be parent of a baby boy who has been trying to figure out whether or not circumcision is right for your son, then the AAP’s statement is good news. Now you can have some closure on this subject.

Circumcision it is. Done.

But if you are an Intactivist, one who actively campaigns against circumcision, then the American Academy of Pediatrics’ revised circumcision stance is bad news:

After all, it means that an organization that most parents would find to be respectable and trustworthy is justifying an unnecessary tradition of genital mutilation.

The AAP’s revised policy takes away the credibility of what Intactivists have been trying to tell us all along.

So much for the neutrality of this article: I’m not an Intactivist, by the way.

Like most parents who have decided to circumcise their son, I am not and have never been passionate about the subject of circumcision.

However, on three different occasions now, I have explained what propelled me to choose circumcision:

Dadvice #5: How Is It Natural To Circumcise Your Son?

Dadvice #6: Is Circumcision Unnecessary And/Or Immoral?

Dadvice #7: A Skeptic’s Letter To Intactivists

When it was all said and done, I had no problem saying this to Intactivists:

“You may be right.” It’s just that ultimately, I don’t care if they’re right. What’s done is done.

It became evident to me that the only way I could find shelter from the tidal wave of violent comments I received in those three Dadvice articles was to A) repent of the sin of circumcising my son, B) start using The Dadabaseas a platform to preach Intactivism, and C) make an oath to not circumcise my next son, should I ever have one.

That sort of parenting extremismsimply turns me off to their ideas, as valid as some of their points may be.

The vibes I have received from most Intactivists have been saturated in condescension, sarcasm, and prejudice.

I realize that stating my opinion on this today is only throwing gasoline on the fire; further perpetuating the frenemy relationship I have with Intactivist readers. Maybe I’m just curious to see if Intactivists will collectively be clever enough to learn how to be relevant in how they communicate with us unbelievers?

Will Intactivists kill me with their kindness? Will they prove me wrong when I say they are condescending to those of us who do not believe the same way as they do?

For their sake, I hope so.

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New Infographic: What’s Going On Inside Your Child’s Brain?

I’ve mentioned before that with a kid, there is no pause button. Especially with having a 3 and a half year-old son, his mind (and body) have to be constantly be moving.

Sure, that’s just how little boys are.

But I think it’s important to consider this from a scientific perspective. This new infographic, “What’s Going On Inside Your Child’s Brain?” does a great job of helping me understand.

The short version of it is that children are constantly learning and maturing…. at a faster rate than us adults. According to the infographic, we stop maturing by age 25, for the most part.

Contrast that with a child, who seems to need constant attention as compared to an adult, and it makes a lot of sense.

Check it out…

 

Your Child's Brain

What’s Going On Inside Your Child’s Brain?

 

Children vs Adult Brains:
A child’s brain has completely different priorities than an adults.
Children think, behave, and learn differently –
Meaning parenting and teaching can be a challenge

Below we see how different sections of the brain trigger behaviors in children and adults.

Most active areas in children:

1. Brain stem
The brain stem is the part of a child’s brain that controls heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature.
2. Midbrain
The midbrain stimulates “arousal,” appetite/ satiety and sleep.

Most active areas in adults:

1. Limbic system
The limbic system controls sexual behavior, emotional reactivity and motor regulation.
2. Cortex
The cortex is responsible for concrete thought, affiliation and attachment.

 

The Brain Basics

 

1. Neurons:

    • Building blocks of the brain

 

    • Nerve cells that specialize to form brain sections

 

  • Communicate messages throughout the brain

 

 

2. Synapse:

    • A connection between 2 neurons

 

    • Each Neuron has thousands of synapses

 

  • Creates connections between thousands of neurons.

 

 

3. Myelin:

    • An insulating sheath that covers the length of mature neurons

 

    • Necessary for clear, efficient, electrical transmission

 

  • Increasing connection effectiveness by 3000x

 

 

Synapse Time Line

 

Brain development throughout stages of life:

 

[Newborns]

    • Developing automatic functions, the 5 senses, and motion

 

    • Brain is 25% of its future adult weight

 

  • Implicit (or unconscious) memory allows recognition of mother and family

 

 

[Toddlers]

    • Brain develops up to 2,000,000 synapses per second

 

  • Building the architecture for future functioning

 

 

[by Age 3]

    • Brain already weighs nearly 90% of it’s future adult weight

 

    • Explicit (conscious memory) develops

 

  • Future capacities for learning, social interaction, and emotional abilities are already largely established

 

 

[4 through 10 ]

    • Children’s brains are more than twice as active as adult’s brains.

 

  • Of the body’s total O2 intake, the adult brain consumes 20%A child’s brain consumes up to 50%

 

 

[by Age 8]

     “Logic” abilities start to form

 

 

[Age 11 into adulthood]

    • “Use it or Lose it”

 

  • Pruning: deleting lesser-used synapse connections making other pathways more efficient

 

 

[Age 14]

    • Myelination begins in the Frontal Lobe (higher learning)

 

  • Reasoning, planning, emotions, and problem-solving skills significantly develop

 

[Age 16] Drive a car

[Age 18] Vote

[Age 21] Drink Alcohol

 

[Age 23]

       Pruning completes

 

  • Nearly half of the child’s synapses have been deleted

 

 

[Age 25]

       Myelination completes

 

  • The brain is finally fully matured
    Insurance rates drop – Not a coincidence

 

 

[Beyond:] 

      Brain Composition

 

  • Continually changes as learning occurs throughout lifespan

 

No matter what your age, when it comes to brain functions, it’s literally “use ‘em or lose ‘em”

thumb-inside-your-childs-brain

Sources:
http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/briefs/inbrief_series/inbrief_the_science_of_ecd
http://www.cyf.govt.nz/documents/info-for-caregivers/fds-cd-stages-of-brain-dec11-hu.pdf
http://hrweb.mit.edu/worklife/youngadult/brain.html
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/issue_briefs/brain_development/how.cfm
http://www.academia.edu/6089683/REFLECTION_ON_LEARNING_AND_THE_STAGES_OF_DEVELOPMENT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXnyM0ZuKNU
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK28194

Source: Early-Childhood-Education-Degrees.com

 

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Dadvice #8: Too Young To Medicate ADHD And Bipolar Disorder?

April 2, 2012 at 12:02 am , by 

16 months.

Yesterday for April Fool’s Day, I wrote a satire on putting kids on calorie counting diets, forcing them to compete in beauty pageants, and medicating them for ADHD and bipolar disorder.

Back in 2002 while in college, I was a substitute teacher. I remember how for several Kindergartners, I had to make sure they took their medicine for ADHD. I didn’t agree with what I was doing, but I wasn’t their parent; nor was I even their real teacher.

Recently I pitched this question to everyone on Facebook and Twitter:

“How young is too young to medicate a child for ADHD and/or bipolar disorder?”

Very few people were willing to answer this question, but those who did A) are school teachers and B) replied that children shouldn’t be medicated for those things at all.

I think in our culture it has become taboo to talk about this subject openly because so many adults are on some kind of prescription for depression. To speak against medicating any person for a psychiatric disorder is a sure fire way to offend plenty of people in your social network of friends, family, and random people on Facebook you pretend to remember from college.

But I’m not talking about adults being treated for psychiatric disorders, I’m wanting to have an open discussion about kids being medically treated for these things.

The question I am asking is how young is too young for a child to be treated for ADHD and bipolar disorder?

See, I am trying to find out how America truly feels about this issue; whether you support it, oppose it, or are confused by it.

(I’m not talking about Autism, by the way.)

I should point out why I keep relating ADHD and bipolar disorder as if they are related. That’s because, according to the documentary Frontline: The Medicated Child (available on Netflix streaming, pbs.org, and YouTube), of all the children who are diagnosed with ADHD, 23% of them also are diagnosed as bipolar.

As of 2008 when the documentary was made, there were over 6 million kids being treated for ADHD and depression. I can’t imagine that number has gotten any lower since then.

See the slippery slope? Get medicated for ADHD at age 6 and work your way up to depression medication by the time you’re 10 years old.

It’s evidently unethical and socially unacceptable to test out psychiatric drugs on children before the drugs go out on the market, so children are given the same medication that are given to adults.

Either way, kids become the Guinea pigs for these drugs.

So how are children diagnosed for these psychiatric disorders anyway? According toFrontline: The Medicated Child, it really just comes down to a doctor’s simple analysis:

The key behaviors of ADHD sufferers are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness.

And for bipolar disorder: euphoria or irritability, grandiose ideas, excessive talking, racing thoughts, and unusual energy.

I guess the question is, how is every kid in America not a sufferer of ADHD or bipolar disorder? More importantly, how is my 16 month-old toddler not the poster child for these psychiatric disorders?

Obviously, I’m leaving myself open for someone to say, “You don’t know what it’s like to raise a child with ADHD and/or depression…”.

That’s right. I don’t and I won’t.

Because I’m drawing the behavioral boundaries for him; even now. He can’t even speak a full sentence yet, but he is already very aware of what he can and can not do.

As he tests my limits, he is not given empty threats; instead he actually sees a follow-through with instant consequences.

I do the main behavioral training in my house for my kid. No thanks to a doctor; no thanks to medicine.

Yes, that’s right: I said “behavioral training.” Children need to be properly trained; not treated.