Bullying is a national epidemic. Bullying can have long term serious outcomes.

stopbulling.gov, a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services shares the following information on beginning bullying prevention in early childhood.

Early Childhood

Early childhood often marks the first opportunity for young children to interact with each other. Between the ages of 3 and 5, kids are learning how to get along with each other, cooperate, share, and understand their feelings.

Young children may be aggressive and act out when they are angry or don’t get what they want, but this is not bullying. Still, there are ways to help children.

Helping Young Children Get Along with Others

Parents, school staff, and other adults can help young children develop skills for getting along with others in age-appropriate ways.

• Model positive ways for young children to make friends. For example, practice pleasant ways that children can ask to join others in play and take turns in games. Coach older children to help reinforce these behaviors as well. Praise children for appropriate behavior. Help young children understand what behaviors are friendly.
• Help young children learn the consequences of certain actions in terms they can understand. For example, say “if you don’t share, other children may not want to play with you.” Encourage young children to tell an adult if they are treated in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable, upset or unhappy, or if they witness other children being harmed.
• Set clear rules for behavior and monitor children’s interactions carefully. Step in quickly to stop aggressive behavior or redirect it before it occurs.
• Use age-appropriate consequences for aggressive behavior. Young children should be encouraged to say “I’m sorry” whenever they hurt a peer, even accidentally. The apology should also be paired with an action. For example, young children could help rebuild a knocked over block structure or replace a torn paper or crayons with new ones.

We all can contribute to stopping behaviors that lead to bullying, especially if we begin early in a child’s development.

The FDA wants you to be aware of the growing problem of Antibiotic Resistance. The following information comes directly from the FDA literature on the subject.

Antibiotic drugs can save lives. But some germs get so strong that they can resist the drugs. The drugs don’t work as well. Germs can even pass on resistance to other germs.

 Antibiotic drugs normally work by killing germs called bacteria, or they stop the bacteria from growing. However,  sometimes not all of them are stopped or killed. The strongest ones are left to grow and spread. A person can get sick again. This time the germs are harder to kill.

The more often a person uses an antibiotic, the more likely it is that the germs will resist it. This can make some diseases very hard to control. It can make you and your children sick longer and require more doctor visits. You may need to take drugs that are even stronger.

 There are Two Main Types of Germs

 Bacteria and viruses are the two main types of germs. They cause most illnesses. Antibiotics can kill bacteria, but they do not work against viruses. Viruses cause:• Colds • Coughs• Sore throats • Flu• Bronchitis • Sinus problems• Ear infections

Bacteria live in drinking water, food, and soil. They live in plants, animals, and people. Most of them do not hurt people. Some even help us to digest food. But other bacteria cause serious diseases such as tuberculosis (TB) and Lyme disease.

 How Does this Affect Me?

 If you have a virus, taking antibiotics is not a good idea. Antibiotics don’t work against viruses. The medicine will not help you. It might even harm you. Each time you take one, you add to the chances that bacteria in your body will be able to resist them. Later that could make you very sick. Finding the right treatment could be a problem.

 What Common Mistakes Do Patients Make?

• Patients ask for antibiotics they don’t need. For example, they ask for antibiotics to treat a cold.

• They don’t take antibiotics the way the doctor says. For example, they stop taking the drug before all the pills are used. That can leave the strongest germs to grow.

• They save antibiotics and take them on their own later

What is the FDA Doing About the Problem?

The FDA wants doctors to be more careful about giving antibiotics when they are not needed.

• The FDA will require new labeling for doctors.

• One of the new labels must say that these drugs should be used only for infections caused by bacteria.

• Another label will ask doctors to explain to their patients the right way to use the drugs.

 What Should I Do?

 • Don’t demand an antibiotic when your doctor says you don’t need it.

• Don’t take an antibiotic for a virus (cold, cough, or flu).

• Take your medicine exactly the way the doctor says. Don’t skip doses.

• Don’t stop taking your medicine when you feel better. Take all the doses.

• Don’t take leftover medicine.

• Don’t take someone else’s medicine.

• Don’t rely on antibacterial products (soaps, detergents, and lotions). There is no proof that these products really help.

We all need to be wary about becoming antibiotic resistant

For a fun change for breakfast, try Banana in a Blanket.

Banana in a blanket is a breakfast that the kids can help prepare. There’s no cooking involved.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Instructions: Lay tortilla on a plate. Spread peanut butter evenly on the tortilla. Sprinkle cereal over peanut butter.

Peel and place banana on the tortilla and roll the tortilla. Drizzle maple syrup or honey on top.

Optional: garnish the banana in a blanket with more cereal on top.

Recipe from the Cool Fuel for Kids cookbook.

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The following is a prevention message from Safe Kids USA.

carbon monoxide detector

You can best protect your children by keeping harmful substances out of their sight and reach, and by testing for lead and carbon monoxide. Although household cleaners are a frequent cause of poisoning, kids can also be fatally poisoned by iron, alcohol and carbon monoxide. Prevention is key to safety.

Because no prevention method is 100 percent effective, learn how to keep poison exposure from turning into tragedy for you and your family.

More Prevention tips from Safe Kids USA can be found at  www.safekids.org

Wendy Makes Resolutions.

Even young children can take part in the custom of making New Year’s resolutions.

Making resolutions  is a great way for a family to come together to talk about behaviors that need changing or activities that need doing.

According to a few child psychologists and psychiatrists that have written on the subject, parents need to buy into what a young child says he or she wants to work on in changing a behavior or in taking on a new activity. Experts caution that the younger the child the more he or she will need parental support and guidance to make his or her resolutions happen.

One of the ways the experts recommend to include your child in making resolutions is to sit together as a family and go around to each family member and ask what he or she would like to do differently in the coming year. Ask your young child what he or she would like to change, to do differently. Make sure that what your child wants to change is realistic, that he or she has the physical strength and emotional stamina to do it and, most importantly, it would be good for your child to do.

Once your child decides what he or she wants to work on, help him or her to develop a plan that you both can work on together to make his or her resolutions happen. Break the plan into easy steps. Let your child know what you will be doing to help him or her to reach each goal.

All the experts agree on the following :

• The best way to help your child make his or her resolutions happen is to make your own resolutions and keep them. When children see parents sticking to resolutions, they are more inclined to stick to their resolutions.

• Making and keeping resolutions builds a child’s self-confidence and self-esteem.
• It gives children a sense of accomplishment to be successful at keeping resolutions

Good Luck with those family resolutions.

Happy New Year From all of Us on “Can Do” Street!