Children’s Award-Winning Books

            Considered to be the most prestigious awards in children’s literature, the Newbery and Caldecott Medals honor outstanding writing and illustration of works published in the United States during the previous year.  The awards are administered by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.

        The winner of the 2010 Newbery Medal is When You Reach Me, written by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books).  Twelve-year-old Miranda encounters shifting friendships, a sudden punch, a strange homeless man, and mysterious notes that hint at knowledge of the future.  These and other seemingly random events converge in a brilliantly constructed plot.

        2010 Newbery Honor books include: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose (Farrar, Straus and Giroux);  The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly (Henry Holt);  The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick (The Blue Sky Press); and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin (Little, Brown and Company).

        The Lion and the Mouse, illustrated and written by Jerry Pinkney (Little, Brown and Company), received the 2010 Caldecott Medal.  The screech of an owl, the squeak of a mouse, and the roar of a lion transport readers to the Serengeti plains for this virtually wordless retelling of Aesop’s classic fable.

        2010 Caldecott Honor books include: All the World, illustrated by Marla Frazee and written by Liz Garton Scanlon (Beach Lane Books), and  Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski and written by Joyce Sidman (Houghton Mifflin).

        For complete reviews of these books and links to other award-winning books, such as the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, visit www.ala.org/alsc.

Sports Injury Prevention Tips 

            More American children are competing in sports than ever before.  Sports help children and adolescents feel good about themselves and keep their bodies fit.  However, there are some important injury prevention tips that can help parents promote a safe, optimal sports experience for your child.  Tips to reduce injury are provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics, aap.org.

•   Wear the right gear.  Players should wear appropriate and properly fitting protective equipment such as pads (neck, shoulder, elbow, chest, knee, and shin), helmets, mouthpieces, face guards, protective cups, and eyewear.  Young athletes should not assume that protective gear will protect them when performing more dangerous or risky activities.

•   Strengthen muscles.  Conditioning exercises before games and during practice strengthen muscles used in play.

•   Increase flexibility.  Stretching exercises before and after games or practice can increase flexibility.

•   Use the proper technique.  This should be reinforced during the playing season.

•   Take breaks.  Rest periods during practice and games can reduce injuries and prevent heat illness.

•   Play safe.  Strict rules against headfirst sliding (baseball and softball), spearing (football), and body checking (ice hockey) should be enforced.

•   Stop the activity.  If there is pain, stop the activity.

•   Avoid heat injury.  Drink plenty of fluids before, during, and after exercise or play; decrease or stop practices or competitions during high heat/humidity periods; wear light clothing. 

The “We” Generation   

            Each age brings new opportunities to think “We” instead of “Me.”  What children can contribute is always going to depend on the community in which the child lives, the values of their family, and what is accepted as reasonable behavior—but  here are some concrete ways to foster “We” thinking in your child, depending on his or her age.

Under five, children can:

•    Help bake and do other household chores, like take out the garbage and tidy their rooms.
•    Decide on activities they’d like to do and ask politely to do them.
•    Learn to say “thank you” and be responsible for backnowledging gifts at birthdays and holidays.
•    Learn to share their toys, or pick out old toys and donate them.

Between ages five and eleven, children can:

•    Have responsibility (with supervision) for a younger sibling’s care. 
•    Look after a pet.
•    Learn to use “dangerous toys” like pocket knives and push scooters (they’ll learn both responsibility for themselves and common sense).
•    Decide what they’ll wear to school.
•    Get themselves ready for sporting activities and music lessons.

In middle and high school, children can:

•    Certify as life guards or junior coaches.
•    Volunteer or seek paid work.
•    Accept responsibility for what they wear and contribute money toward their purchases.
•    Plan events at school like a dance or  graduation.

Tips provided by internationally recognized expert on resilience in youth, Michael Ungar, Ph.D., from his book The We Generation: Raising Socially Responsible Kids.

Children’s Capital Corner       

      As the 2010 Idaho Legislative Session continues, here’s a glimpse of what’s being introduced and debated for Idaho’s families and children.  Idaho Voices for Children (IVC) is a statewide organization that develops and promotes a policy agenda that improves child health, education, safety, and family economic security.  If you want to learn more, stay on top of important issues, and get involved, visit idahovoices.org.

        Idaho currently ranks 49^th in the nation for vaccination rates. IVC supports House Bill 432, which would assess a fee on all insurance carriers in Idaho, and would pool this private funding along with state funding to purchase vaccines for all children at the lowest possible Centers for Disease Control rate.  Providers, insurers, and legislators are working together to find a solution that would maintain a universal vaccine program for all children, and streamline the process for physician offices and families.

                The subject of immunizations continues with IVC’s support for Senate Bill 1335, which proposes to convert Idaho’s child immunization registry (IRIS) from a voluntary program to an “opt-out” program. This would give providers more information about a child’s immunization status, would be more cost-effective as providers would have to spend less time on the small number of parents who choose to “opt out,” and would integrate better with existing Electronic Health Record Systems allowing providers  greater ability to manage the immunization status of their patients.

Kids’ Health Issues to Watch in 2010 

        The physicians and editors of KidsHealth have sifted through scores of health issues affecting children and families to choose some important trends to keep tabs on in 2010. 

•    Obesity and Kids: What Parents Should Understand:  Why are so many kids today overweight or obese?  Many factors are involved, from out-of-control portion sizes and eating on the go to sedentary lifestyles and parental uncertainty about what kids should weigh.  It’s important for parents to be good role models for their kids by eating well and exercising often.  But beyond that, moms and dads also need to educate themselves regarding where kids should fall on a growth chart and how their child compares with their peers on these charts.

•    Texting & Driving: Just Say NO:  As irritating as cellphones and texting proficiencies can be for “old-school” parents, they can be more than just annoying.  On the road, these distractions can be deadly.  One report estimates that teens are four times more likely than adult drivers to get into an accident related to cellphone use.  Another found that texting was, by far, the most potentially dangerous and lethal activity related to cellphone use on the road.

•    The Importance of Vitamin D:  Most of us know that vitamin D is crucial to bone health, but now it’s been shown that insufficient levels can cause or increase the risk of developing a number of health problems.  Recent studies report that about 70 percent of kids in the United States have low vitamin D levels.  Traditionally, milk has been the main source of vitamin D for kids, but many kids don’t drink much milk nowadays.  Another likely risk factor is the 3–4 hours of TV and computer time many kids get each day.  Ultraviolet rays absorbed by the skin help the body make a usable form of vitamin D, so kids who are parked inside day after day aren’t getting these natural “doses” of vitamin D the way kids did in the past.

•    The Toll of Constant Social Networking:  Does it seem like your kids are always online?  Are their status updates on Facebook seemingly a matter of life and death?  If so, you’re far from alone.  And what was once the domain of older kids and teens is skewing younger and younger.  Most experts think that kids are smart enough by their early teens to know what, and whom, to avoid.  Younger kids, though, need more parental supervision.

•    Earliest Signs of Autism Identified in Babies:  With about one in every 150 children being diagnosed with a condition in the “autism spectrum,” there’s been an upsurge in autism awareness and research.  New research, which finds that the earliest signs of autism can be detected in babies, will help improve screening efforts for autism.  Babies who get an earlier diagnosis get the interventions they need sooner.

To read more on each topic, and other kids’ health topics, visit www.kidshealth.org.