Topic: children

Anonymous Mom: I Don’t Believe In The ‘Post-Baby Body’

Anonymous Mom: I Donât Believe In The âPost-Baby Bodyâ

Like almost everything else related to my pregnancy, I did extensive Google searching and reading. I was trying to mentally prep myself for what my new “mommy body” was going to look like because I did not want to be caught off guard or disappointed if things were not quite how I expected after delivery. Essentially, I was preparing for the worst and assuming that my body would look something similar to “the blob” once little Jackson was born. I spent some time trying to mentally prepare for this and come up with a “plan of attack” if this be the case. More »

Why Fast Food Play Areas Are Even Worse For Kids Than Fast Food Itself

Why Fast Food Play Areas Are Even Worse For Kids Than Fast Food Itself

Prepare yourself, because this is pretty gross. For years, Dr. Erin Carr-Jordan has been fighting to clean up fast food restaurants. But her focus isn’t the food they serve–it’s the area that kids play in both before and after they eat, often without washing their hands. And, in an interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta over the weekend, Dr. Carr-Jordan touched on an interesting–and highly disturbing point. Unlike kitchens, restrooms, and shipping facilities, fast foodplay areas are never looked at by health inspectors. They fall under no one’s jurisdiction. It is literally no one’s responsibility to ensure that your kid isn’t climbing around in another kid’s poo. More »

The ‘Medication Generation’ Has Grown Up … Now What?

The 'Medication Generation' Has Grown Up ... Now What?

Are we ‘overmedicating’ today’s youth with Ritalin and Prozac? The issue routinely gets dredged up by parents and media outlets, but it’s hardly a new concern. In the 1980s and 1990s, kids and teens who in a previous generation may have received therapy (or gone untreated) began to routinely be prescribed psychotropic drugs–antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants, mood stabilizers. It’s not uncommon for 20- and 30-somethings today to have spent the better part of their lives on such medications. Meanwhile, the consequences of their long-term use is virtually unknown. More »

Caring For A Baby Is Harder When Postpartum Depression Leads To Suicidal Thoughts

Caring For A Baby Is Harder When Postpartum Depression Leads To Suicidal Thoughts

Before Alyson became a mother, there were much of what she calls “unresolved issues” with regard to her health and well-being. Having been sexually abused as a child, she had a history of suicidal tendencies and depression that she had never properly addressed with a professional. But after giving birth to her first child, Alyson found herself wading through not only suicidal thoughts but also thoughts of harming her child, otherwise known as postpartum depression.

She tells me that her symptoms began the very night following the birth of her son as well as the next day in the hospital. Toxic mantras rushed on quickly as she was weighed with an instantaneous regret for giving birth. More »