Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in newark, NJ

the Swine Flu in New Jersey

by Vanessa Druckman

May 01, 2009

Instead of doing my usual weekend round-up post, I'm going to talk about the swine flu today and what you can do to prepare your family in New Jersey. I'm sorry to add to all the hype around the threat of the flu pandemic, but I find it pretty scary, and my research for this post did little to calm me.

Tonight we received a call from the Ridgewood public schools recommending the same type of precautionary measures as the CDC. Our schools are staying open per the recommendation of the Board of Health. Here are the CDC recommendations to stay healthy:

• Wash your hands, carefully and at length. A good guideline for kids suggested by Robert xxx is to have them wash their hands the length of time it takes them to sing Happy Birthday to You.
• Sneeze or cough into a Kleenex. Then make sure you discard that Kleenex and wash your hands.
• Alcohol based disinfectant is also recommended.
• Avoid touching your eyes, ears, or nose. The swine flu seems to be spreading by coughing and sneezing and by touching an infected surface and then touching those body parts.
• Teach your kids to stay at least 6 feet away from sick people.
• If your child has a fever, keep them home.

Although the CDC reports no cases in New Jersey as of tonight, the Associated Press claims that there are 5 confirmed cases and two more suspected. All cases were so mild that they did not require hospitalization. Three family members from Burlington County , a 47-year-old man, a 10-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy , who recently traveled together to Mexico. The other two confirmed cases are unrelated adults, a 43-year-old Monmouth County woman and a 22-year-old woman from Bergen County. One recently traveled to Mexico, the other traveled to California.

I've also read some articles suggesting how to communicate this information to your children so as to not worry them. However, I worry that downplaying this too much will not cause a needed change in behavior in kids. I have a very hard time getting my kids to properly wash their hands. I am going to have to reveal the true importance of really doing a good job by sharing some scary information about the flu with them.

Another CDC recommendation is to stay away from crowded places like malls and movie theaters if there have been cases reported in your area. So my recommendation would be for you to rent a movie on Sunday instead of heading to the theater this rainy Sunday. In other words, don't do what I did yesterday and am now kicking myself about.

My Body Belongs to Me: Protecting Our Children from Sexual Predators

by Vanessa Druckman

January 28, 2009

Tonight I did something incredibly difficult, something I'd been avoiding for over a month. I talked to my 7-year old daughter about sex abuse. I was terrified of revealing to her that such evil existed in the world. Then I realized that by not talking to her about it, I wasn't doing all that I could to protect her. So tonight I sat down with her and read My Body Belongs to Me . It's a short  Read more...

My Secret Weapons to Deal with this Frigid Weather

by Vanessa Druckman

January 16, 2009

Today winter stopped fooling around. I normally run to the bus stop to pick up my daughter with just a sweatshirt but I had to turn around and sprint in to get a coat today. I don't mess around when the temperature drops down to the teens. This kind of seriously cold weather has an immediate impact on my kids. Their cheeks get chapped, they get eczema in weird places, and of course, they start  Read more...