HEALTH, LIFESTYLE & SAFETY

More news and articles
 
This is just a sample of the numerous articles printed each month in
 Kids in Perth ñ The Parentsí Paper. To read the rest, pick up a copy of 
Kids in Perth ñ The Parentsí Paper from your nearest outlet. 
If youíre not certain where that might be, please give us a call on 08 9388 1600.

Enabling your child to thrive 

Children today are under a lot of stress. Homework, pressure to compete with others, endless after-school activities, over-scheduling ñ it all adds up. Sometimes it adds up to be too much.  

Pushing children to achieve too much, at an early age, can cause them to burn out. But even more tragically, it can separate them from their unique closeness to their spirituality ñ their soul, their ìsense of knowing.î 

The Australian College of Healing Arts, in Subiaco, believes all children deserve the knowledge and skills that will enable them to thrive. They also believe that introducing children to these skills at a young age means many highly sensitive children have a way of negotiating what can be a hostile world.  

A number of successful programmes have been developed to help maintain balance and harmony in a childís life. They include Kidz Yoga, Mum & Baby Yoga, Touch of Love^TM - Infant Massage, Minis Meditation, The EQ Factor, Nine Kinds of Smart, From Surviving to Thriving, and the Rainbow Group^TM to encourage spirituality, healing and creativity in young children. 

All courses start January 2006. They are designed and run by qualified practitioners who have police clearance and are very experienced with children. Places are limited. Call 9388 7565 or 0400 165 663 now. 

Funhaler makes asthma easier to manage!
Matthew Fantoni B. Pharm MPS CD, Manager, Guardian Phrmacy, Beechboro 

How many days have you spent at home with your asthmatic child? Youíre not alone. Each year thousands of children in Australia are admitted to hospitals due to an asthma episode, costing millions of dollars in lost wages, missed days at work and school, and seriously diminished quality of life.  

The sad part of this story is that the overwhelming majority of cases are avoidable. Current asthma medication, in conjunction with an asthma management plan, is remarkably effective at relieving symptoms. 

According to a recent (July 2005) report published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, over two million Australians have asthma, leading to nearly 40,000 hospitalisations and over 300 deaths per year. One in six children are diagnosed with asthma each year.  

ìThe major cause of emergency hospitalisations, even in children with mild or moderate asthma, is failure to comply with their asthma management plan, that is, not taking their asthma medications as prescribedî said Dr William Dolphin, CEO of Visiomed Group, a Perth-based manufacturer of a new asthma spacer, the Funhaler.  

Existing devices are notoriously difficult and inefficient to use with small children and infants, who typically find them frightening and consequently either refuse to use them or do not use them efficiently, failing to inhale adequately if at all.  

ìA major factor in the poor asthma medication adherence rate is the trauma experienced by children during medication ñ and the considerable stress experienced by parents as well,î Dr Dolphin said. 

The Funhaler is designed for children and incorporates an incentive, toy-like module with a spinning disc and whistle, encouraging children to take their medication by making it fun and entertaining. Parents also benefit, as their childís correct breathing technique ensures proper medication. 

Below are just two of the many testimonials from very happy parents; 

'The administration of medicine to our children is one of the more difficult parts of parenting. Using the Funhaler makes to giving of inhaled medication so much easier. My daughters (3yrs & 4yrs) are so happy to use it. I am confident they are getting the correct dose, every time I see the wheel spin and hear the whistle sound. The quality of the product is outstanding. The mask is comfortable and fits the face of the child well. 
The Funhaler is fantastic'
C K, Dianella 

Absolutely wonderful product, my son loves to take his medication now and is so much happier.
Tabb, Perth

Does your child understand what s/he hears?
Brad Hutchinson ñ Audiologist/Speech Pathologist 

Imagine your child sitting in the classroom, understanding only some of what the teacher is saying. He looks around at his peers, who all seem to know what they should be doing. His classmates get on with what they have understood, opening bags, taking out their books, sorting through pencil cases, starting to write. 

The noise level has increased by this time and your child needs to have the instructions repeated. He is really struggling to hear the repeated message, despite listening very hard. 

He looks again to see what the others are doing, and follows suit or asks the person next to him for help. Maybe he grasped the first part of the instruction but missed the rest. 

Weak Central Auditory Processing (CAP) or listening skills might mean that, far from not listening or concentrating hard enough, a child is expending so much energy trying to understand whatís said that he must work far harder than his peers. Good CAP skills are critical to learning and can mean the difference between children reaching their full potential or achieving below their actual capacity. All children would like to achieve and please their parents. If they are faltering, itís important to investigate why. 

Many otherwise bright children struggle in the classroom because they cannot make sense of instructions or information. This is often due to the distraction of competing background noise. Some are referred to me for CAP testing. Often I am told they have no problems with hearing at home, one-on-one, in a quiet environment. In a typical classroom environment, however, where most instruction is through the teacherís voice, they donít seem to hear. 

On testing, almost all children have normal hearing levels. They ìhearî the sounds that make up language, but the message reaching their brain is just not being processed effectively. These sounds or phonemes are usually acquired during the critical language learning periods of one to four years of age. A child will only be able to properly detect the difference between two very similar sounds such as ìpî and ìbî with consistent and repetitious exposure. This is why middle ear problems can be detrimental when they occur during the language-learning period. 

Unfortunately, most middle-ear problems go undetected, as their symptoms arenít always obvious. Nevertheless, it is estimated that on any particular day, up to 30 per cent of children are suffering an ear infection, and 90 per cent will have had an infection before the age of six.