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April 2013
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News Bulletin
April 2013 Pickus Infant/Toddler Center A program of One Hope United 1020 Glen Rock Ave., Waukegan, IL 60085 847.625.7915

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Overall Health Exercise

Nutrition Environmental Sustainability

CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH:

GO BLUE!
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Making quick home-cooked meals is easy with advance planning

Hurried parents often turn to pre-prepared meals Many slow cooker recipes can be assembled to feed their families. Processed foods can contain raw and stored in your freezer. Chop vegunhealthy levels of salt, fat, and other chemical etables and cut up meat, beans or other protein ingredients. As an alternative, it can be just as easy and add seasoning to a freezer bag. Push the and less expensive to make healthy meals at home air out so it stacks neatly in your freezer. In from whole foods. It also is a fun way to get chilthe morning, empty the contents of one of the dren involved in helping to plan and prepare meals. freezer bags into your slow cooker. When you come home that evening, a delicious, homeHere are some ideas for cooking quick, cooked meal will await you. healthy meals: When you cook, make extra portions that you can refrigerate or freeze for another meal. Plan meals in advance and shop for a weeks Make recipes healthier with ingredient substituworth of meals at the same time. tions. For example, instead of ground beef use Stock up on common recipe ingredients such ground turkey or lentils (about cup of lentils as milk; juice; shredded and sliced cheese; per pound of ground beef). Also try low-fat whole-grain pasta; bread; canned tomatoes cheese such as mozzarella; brown rice instead and tomato paste; brown rice; eggs (look for of white rice; oil and vinegar instead of bottled eggs enriched with omega-3); beef, chicken or salad dressings. Sugar can be reduced by vegetable broth; olive oil; fresh and frozen fruit about half in most baked goods. and vegetables; canned or dried beans; boneless chicken; and condiments such as mustard, With just a small amount of advance planning, ketchup, mayonnaise and soy sauce. cooking a healthy home-cooked meal can be a Speed up the weeknight cooking process by snap! pre-cutting vegetables and putting them in the refrigerator. Then you can quickly add them to any dish. Try using a slow cooker so you can assemble the recipe in the morning and have it ready by dinner.

PREVE NT CH ILD ABUSE

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April 1419: Week of the Young Child >

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Parent Referral Incentive

Pickus Infant/Toddler Center would like to reward you for referring new children and families to us.

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Heres how it works: 1. You tell a friend about Pickus Infant/Toddler Center. 2. Your friend calls us and provides your name as the referral source. 3. Your friend enrolls his or her child(ren) in our center. 4. Pickus pays you $25 after the child is enrolled for three months. (One incentive per each family referred.)

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Resources: American Heart Association: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyCooking/Healthier-Preparation-Methods-forCooking_UCM_301484_Article.jsp KidsHealth: www.kidshealth.org Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/NU00585

onehopechilddevelopment.org

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YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER IN EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION

Pickus Center Spotlight

Curriculum Corner
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS!

Is Your Baby Ready for Solid Foods? Did You Know?

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness about child abuse and neglect and create strong communities to support children and families. Wear blue or a blue ribbon to show your support.
PREVE N TC HIL D ABUSE

Learn the Signs of Solid Food Readiness

Infants Are Fed Solid Food Too Soon, C.D.C. Finds By DOUGLAS QUENQUA Published: March 25, 2013

Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904September 24, 1991) was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for childrens picture books written and illustrated as Dr. Seuss. In honor of Dr. Seusss Birthday last month, the Pickus Center celebrated by having pajama day for our children and parents. Assistant Principal, Mr. Dryer, was our special guest reader and he shared his favorite story Green Eggs and Ham to our children. The children made green eggs and ham, and the parents and children tried them and decided they do not like green eggs and ham.

While many pediatricians are sympathetic to the difficulties parents face feeding their child nothing but breast milk or formula for six months, they say little good can come from feeding solid food to a child before he or she is physically ready. When a baby is ready to start eating food, he will put his hands in his mouth, and you will see him actually making chewing motions, said Dr. T J Gold, a pediatrician with Tribeca Pediatrics in Brooklyn. At 2, 3 months, they cant even hold their heads up well, and they cant sit, making it difficult, if not dangerous, to put solid food in their mouths. They also have yet to develop the proper gut bacteria that allow them to process solid food safely, potentially leading to gastroenteritis and diarrhea, Dr. Gold said. The early introduction of solid foods has also been linked to increased risk of obesity, diabetes, eczema and celiac disease. One reason parents turn to solid food early is the persistence of myths about solid food helping babies sleep through the night or put on weight. That big fat bottle at the end of the night isnt why your baby is sleeping its a skill you acquire, Dr. Gold said. And if you think giving your child more calories is going to help him gain weight, but it gives him more diarrhea, then hes not actually absorbing as much. But even parents who are aware of the guidelines can have trouble following them, particularly if they are struggling to buy enough formula to feed a rapidly growing child. The formula gets really expensive, especially in the 4-to-6-month window, Dr. Gold said. And if you have more than one child and youre already preparing food for the whole family, its much easier to just start sweeping things off your plate. Pediatricians can help parents delay solid food by helping them better understand their babys signals, Dr. Scanlon said. When the baby is fussy, they need to help them understand that doesnt necessarily mean theyre hungry and need solid foods, she said. Parents should also know the signs that their child is ready for solid food, like sitting up, being able to take food off a fork and not closing the mouth when food is offered, Dr. Scanlon said.

What does the blue ribbon symbolize? The blue ribbon is a positive symbol of the need to do ones best when it comes to children and families. Since 1989, thousands of people nationwide wear the blue ribbon during AprilNational Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Monthand year round to create awareness of the need to prevent child abuse and neglect.

Despite growing warnings from pediatricians about feeding newborns anything other than breast milk or formula, many mothers appear to be introducing solid food well before their babies bodies can handle it, says a study published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. In a national survey of 1,334 mothers, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 40 percent said they gave their baby solid food before they were 4 months old, with 9 percent starting as early as 4 weeks. Doctors now recommend waiting until a baby is at least 6 months old. For at least 20 years, the American Academy of Pediatrics had advised against feeding babies solid food before they turned at least 4 months old. Last year, encouraged by growing evidence of the health benefits of breast milk, the group raised that age, saying babies should be fed nothing but breast milk for six months. When breast milk is not an option, formula is an acceptable alternative, the group says. But the survey suggests that mothers are not aware of the recommendations or find them difficult to follow. Popular reasons for giving solid food to babies before 4 months included my baby is old enough, my baby seemed hungry, I wanted my baby to sleep longer at night and most alarming to researchers a doctor or health care professional said my baby should begin eating solid food. Clearly we need better dissemination of the recommendations on solid food introduction, said Kelley Scanlon, an epidemiologist with the C.D.C. and an author of the study. Health care providers need to provide clear and accurate guidance, and then provide support to help parents carry out those recommended practices. The study suggested that economics were a factor in the decision to introduce solid food, with poorer women who saw formula as too expensive more likely to feed solids too soon. Women who were feeding their children exclusively formula or a mix of formula and breast milk were not only more likely to introduce solid food early, but to say their doctors gave them the go-ahead. It makes me want to know more about the other advice that those parents were getting on infant feeding, Dr. Scanlon said. Further, the women in the survey who turned to solid food early were more likely to be young, less educated and unmarried. They also had lower levels of income or education, and were more likely to participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.

Announcements
A special thanks to Mr. Dreyer and parents for joining in the fun and celebrating Dr. Seusss Birthday! A special thanks to Alicia from the YWCA for donating books to our center. Week of the Young Child will be celebrated at Pickus Center April 1519. There will be parent-child activities happening all week long. The activities are posted outside of the classroom door. Please mark your calendar and plan on participating in some of the special events.

What is Week of the Young Child?

The Week of the Young Child is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs. The 2013 Week of the Young Child is April 1420 and the theme is Early Years Are Learning Years.

Look whos crawling

Congratulations to Taylor. Taylor is eight months and she has reached the developmental milestone of crawling. Taylor exhibited the first signs of crawling by scooting her body across the classroom floor. Then she began to gain confidence and balance herself on her hands and knees figuring out how to move forward and backward by pushing off with her knees. Now, she is moving independently on her own exploring the environment. Most babies start crawling between 7 and 10 months of age.

Inspiration Corner
The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places youll go. ~ Dr. Seuss