Silver Crosshair

I want to talk about something serious today, some parents
are not even aware of. Inhalant sniffing to get high or feel
good is done by a number of children.

Do you know that one in three children, according to some
studies, experiment with inhalants? They may start as early
as eight or so.

Inhalant users may come from any background. Rich or poor,
any color, An A average student or a student failing in their
grades. Many have some things in common - they are abused at
home, or unhappy in their lives, or they are susceptible to
peer pressure.

The sad thing is that inhalants could KILL your child the first
time the product is sniffed from heart failure or suffocation. It can damage the lungs permenantly. It is possible that there will be children that they hang around with, or meet at school, that will be introducing your children to new ways to “feel good” which may include inhalants.

Please have a talk with your children today. Many have no idea that sniffing things such as markers or computer duster from the can is a type of drug abuse and very risky. Go on the internet and get your self-educated so you know what to look for and what to warn against. It could save your Childs life!

http://preteenagerstoday.com/resources/articles/inhalents.htm has a very informative article on inhalants. This would be a good place to start.

Jeannie Crabtree C.Ac.

For health care and health books visit The Alternative Health Care site

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These inexpensive ideas are sure to get your kids creative juices flowing! The kids will love them because it gives them something productive to do and mom will love them because they’re easy and cheap!

1.) Fly a kite at a local park. Kites can usually be found at any local dollar store. We found a cute Tigger kite at our local Dollar Tree.

2.) Blow bubbles. Now how cheap are bubbles, like $.50 a bottle?! Kids can have contests to see who can make the most or the biggest bubble.

3.) Make an “I love You” card for someone. Or is someone’s birthday coming up? Let the kids be creative and make a friend or relative a card from the heart.

4.) Paint Rocks. You can find rocks anywhere. Let the kids be creative with some paint, markers, ribbons, beads and glue.

5.) Catch fireflies, ants, bugs or butterflies. Summer nights are perfect for catching fireflies and they are so neat as a nightlight. At your local dollar store, you may also be able to find a cheap ant farm. These are so much fun!!

6.) Put together a puzzle. These always keep kids entertained and busy.

7.) Make paper airplanes. Let the kids make their own, decorate them and then fly them.

8.) Frame their hands and feet! Have your kids put their hand prints and feet prints on paper and then frame them in an inexpensive frame. This is something that you will love down the road when the kids are grown.

For more ideas like these, visit us at www.MomOnABudget.com

Jennifer is the owner of http://www.MomOnABudget.com. MomOnABudget is an excellent resource for money saving tips, work at home ideas, how to decorate on a budget and more.

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When you hold a newborn baby, in so many ways it appears to be tiny and helpless. It’s hard to believe that a baby is in fact a highly developed being. Perhaps they haven’t learnt how to put everything together yet, but all the building blocks are there, just waiting to be put to use.

One of the most amazing things about a baby is the amount of instinctive reflexes a baby has. A health professional will check these reflexes, because their presence shows that baby’s central nervous system is working properly.

These reflexes exist to help nurture your baby, as well as protect him. Most reflexes last only for the first few weeks, and will gradually be replaced by voluntary, controlled movements as baby’s development progresses.

Search Reflex

If you gently touch your baby’s cheek with a finger or breast, baby will instinctively turn that way and open his mouth, ready for food. After about 12 weeks this reflex disappears, which is probably just as well! Mind you, sometimes when a toddler is being fussy about food, mouth closed, arms crossed, it would be nice to gently tap him on the cheek with the spoon and watch his mouth open.

Sucking Reflex

Another reflex designed to help nurture your baby. If you place a clean finger in baby’s mouth, he will start to suck on it. This sucking reflex is essential for feeding in the early months, although by the time solids are introduced it has usually disappeared. Sucking can also help a baby to relax - both my babies used to love sucking on one of my knuckles when they were a bit cross or tired - they found it very soothing.

Grasp Reflex

We’ve all tried this one - put your finger in the palm of baby’s hand, and he will instinctively grasp it. Babies will do this up until about 3 months old.

Crawling Reflex

When you lay baby on his stomach, he will bend his legs and poke his bottom in the air - the crawling position. Baby will continue to do this for a couple of months, after which he will be able to lie flat on his stomach.

Walking Reflex

If you life a baby upright, and let his feet touch the floor, his legs will start to make a walking motion. Many babies do this for the first month or so. Be very careful though - baby’s neck muscles are still very weak, and his head should also be supported in an upright position. Once this reflex disappears, baby won’t be ready to try walking again until around the 12-month mark.

Diving Reflex

I’m not sure I’m keen to test this one, but babies have a diving reflex. If your baby is placed in water, either at birth or later in a swimming pool, his throat will automatically close so that he can’t swallow any water. So baby won’t drown if born in water, and is in fact a natural swimmer. Usually this reflex lasts for about 2 months, although it can be extended if you regularly take baby swimming.

Babinski’s Reflex

If you stroke the sole of baby’s foot, his big toe will curl up, while his other toes will spread out. I’m not sure why baby does this, although personally I think it’s an early stage of being ticklish! Babies will do this automatically for up to two years.

So there you have it - far from being little blobs that have yet to learn how to do very much, babies are in fact fascinatingly developed. So I hope this article helps you to appreciate all the hidden qualities of your baby.

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The method know as 3d ultrasound is that can be used when a woman is in early pregnancy, it can provide 3d pictures of the unborn baby. Most of the time these pictures are collected and joined together and animated to produce a 4d scan.

Three dimensional scans works in a similar way to the normal ultrasound methods except that the ultrasound scanning waves can be directed from multiple directions. The ultrasound pulses are reflected back then captured to provide information to construct a 3d image in very much the same way as 3d movies. 3 dimesional ultrasound was devised by stephen smith and olaf von ramm.

It’s important to understand that sonologists everywhere have always pictured 3d pictures of the body in their minds while carrying out 2d scans. However, until recently it was difficult to do this type of reconstruction on on data using ultrasound. The advent of 4d scans for the first time allowed us a peek into the mechanics of thinking of a sonologist and so letting us see the images on the ultrasound machine.

The 3d/4d ultrasound image should utilize ultrasound energy following the same limits as conventional 2d ultrasound to create the 3d images. While there is no information of harm due to 3d ultrasound, its use in none essential situations needs to be undertaken with the understanding of the risks.

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