Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Natural Remedies for Children

Sore Throat
Lemon juice dries up congestion while honey soothes the throat. Mix one tablespoon of each, microwave until warm and have your child swallow the mixture one teaspoon at a time. Note: Honey is not safe for infants under 1.

Colic
Steep chamomile tea for 4-5 minutes, let it cool to room temperature, and then put 1-2 ounces in a bottle. Do not give your baby more than 4 ounces a day so there is room in their belly for breast milk/formula. This will relax their intestinal muscles and calm them down.

Nosebleeds
Cayenne pepper helps clot the blood and has been medicinally used in cultures around the world. Keep your child's head upright and pinch their nostrils together for several minutes. Sprinkle a pinch of ground Cayenne pepper on a cotton swab and dab inside the nose where the nose is bleeding.

Bug Bites
Baking soda relieves and soothes bug bites better than products with harsh chemicals. The baking soda helps counteract the acidic swelling. Mix a teaspoon of baking soda with just enough water to make a thick paste, smear the paste on the bites, and let dry.

Warts
Place a small piece of duct tape over your child's wart. The gray fabric tape seems to irritate the wart and inhibits growth. Change the tape whenever it gets icky and the wart should disappear within a month.

Anxiety
Breathing long, deep breaths relieves anxiety and stress so try having your child blow thru a bubble wand. See the joy on your child's face while blowing bubbles and at the same time relieve anxiety by taking deep breaths and blowing slow.

Headaches
Wrapping ice in a washcloth and placing it on your child's head is just not practical since they wiggle around. Try wrapping the ice in a towel and tie it securely using a bandanna instead.

Tummy or neck pain
Make a heat wrap by filling one of your socks with uncooked rice and placing in the microwave for one minute or until warm, place it wherever your child has pain. Reheat when it cools.

Swimmers Ear
For mild cases you can evaporate the water trapped in your ear by standing a foot away from your child and aiming the blow dryer toward your child's ear on the warm setting. For extreme cases, the Dr. will have to prescribe antibiotics.

Congestion
For a child over 6 months, fill a bulb syringe with preservative free saline solution, raise your child's head and gently squeeze solution into one nostril at a time. A recent study showed that using a seawater solution helped kids get over colds quicker.

Car Sickness
For children 2 and older add a teaspoon of fresh ginger to four ounces of boiling water and let it steep for 4-5 minutes, add a bit of honey for taste. After it has cooled have your child drink it 30 minutes before the car ride.

Mild Swelling
Cool cucumber slices help soothe hot, swollen skin. Place a slice anywhere your child has swelling and keep replacing after each slice gets warm.

Bee Sting
If your child gets stung by a bee, you will want to gently remove the stinger before venom spreads. To avoid squeezing the stinger simply grab a credit card and scrape across the area until the stinger comes out.

Indigestion
For children 4 or older, have your child chew a stick of gum if they are complaining they are too full. The extra saliva they produce will neutralize the problematic excess stomach acid.

Remember, what goes on your baby, goes in your baby. Stay healthy, stay clean, and keep it green!

This information was researched and found on www.parents.com. All content is for informational purposes only. Always seek directional advice from your pediatrician in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your or your child's health.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

"Netflix", for Childrens Books

My family enjoys using Netflix for many different genre's of movies. I recently found out that excitebooks.com is similar to Netflix only they send age-appropriate books to your mailbox each month for your children. The best part about it? Keep whatever you want, and use the prepaid envelopes to mail your recycled books to a library in need. $5 for one, $10 for two, and $15 for three. Check out excitebooks.com today!

Nature-Friendly Diapers

Disposable diapers are so easy and convenient to use, however they do damage to our environment. Cloth is inconvenient because you have to do the dirty work by scrubbing them and washing them daily. So why not try gDiapers? gDiapers are an Eco-friendly and easy to use diaper that satisfies everyone! The outer pant is machine washable while the plastic-free, super absorbant insert is flushable! Get your starter kit of two pants and ten inserts for only $27 at gDiapers today.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

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Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Importance of Iodine

Does your prenatal vitamin contain Iodine? Hope so! If you're pregnant or nursing make sure your prenatal vitamin contains at least 150 mcg of iodine. Research shows that fetuses and babies need iodine to produce thyroid hormone. Deficiency in iodine could cause mental retardation. The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for pregnant women is 220mcg and nursing moms is 290mcg. Only 51% of prenatal vitamins contain iodine so check those labels mommies!