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Tag: safety

Meet Sydney, the newest virus strain in town

January 29, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

Sydney is a nice name for such a nasty thing. But that’s what the latest virus making the rounds of schools and daycares is called. Technically named GII.4 Sydney, this strain was originally detected in Australia. Now the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that the very contagious norovirus is infecting people in the […]

Tics – not ticks – in children more common than you think

January 29, 2013 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

It started as a small stretch of his mouth, which seemed to ease the discomfort of very chapped lips. It was soon accompanied by rapid eye blinking and eyebrow raising, involving my then-6-year-old son’s entire face. The word “tic” came to mind, and I did what any curious/worried parent would do and turned to the […]

Storm stirs up questions, ideas

November 2, 2012 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

As “super storm” Sandy approached on Monday, we prepared as much as we felt was necessary. We didn’t anticipate that our area in upstate New York would be hard-hit. Some rain, lots of wind. Perhaps we’d lose power for a while. Our children didn’t appear particularly affected by the impending storm. Our two teenagers mulled […]

Talking about bus safety is time well spent

September 14, 2012 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

Our soon-to-be-8-year-old son insists he’s old enough to walk alone up our driveway at the end of the school day. We think differently. Since we can’t see the bus stop from the house and we live on a busy road, we have made it a habit to wait by the road for his bus at […]

Heat-stress awareness important for athletes, parents, coaches

July 31, 2012 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

High school athletes across the state have spent the summer preparing for rigorous preseason workouts. Most healthy children and adolescents can safely participate in outdoor sports and other physical activities in whatever weather summer throws their way. But as the temperature rises, so does the risk for heat stress from over-exertion, as well as other […]

Vampires not the only ones who should avoid the sun

June 29, 2012 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

One out of three teenagers say they tan because it looks healthy, but according to the Centers for Disease Control, less than one-third of American youths practice effective sun protection. Exposure to the sun is dangerous behavior. New research shows that even a mild to moderate increase in sun exposure over an extended period, with […]

Ticks are not a welcome sign of spring

May 11, 2012 | Posted in: Early Learners, Elementary, High School, Middle Years

Experts say a warm winter with no deep freezes and an unusually warm spring mean ticks will appear earlier – and seemingly in greater volume – than normal this year. If your kids are spending more time outdoors, playing sports or just horsing around, it’s important to be vigilant about checking for ticks. These small […]