Through The Eyes Of Others

"Sometimes I think that if we could see the world through they eyes of another person for just one moment, and look out from inside his skull and have a chance to contrast his experience with our own, surely at that moment we would go mad."
- Psychotherapist Sheldon Kopp, in Even A Stone Can Be A Teacher

Building Self Confidence In Children

"Children cannot build confidence by accomplishing only easy tasks.  They already know that anyone can accomplish these tasks.  It is when children accept the risk of struggle, and they find they can accomplish that which they didn't think was possible, that they begin to build self-confidence.  It is from actual achievement that one develops a strong self-concept." - Dr. Sylvia Rimm in Why Bright Kids Get Poor Grades. (New York: Three Rivers Press)

Visit our child development and life issues area for information on helping your family.

Four-Year-Old in Carjacked Car

Wednesday morning during the Denver rush-hour, a mother got a surprise when she stopped for coffee at her local Longmont corner store.  While she was inside, a carjacker jumped into her red SUV and took off; with her 4-year-old-son still strapped in the back seat.

The suspect then led police on an hour long chase. The carjacker was driving at high speeds, passing traffic recklessly, sometimes in the wrong lane facing oncoming traffic. Happily for the little boy, the thief ditched the red SUV with little Allan Chavarria-Rodriguez safe inside. The man then carjacked two additional vehicles and led the police across the city and ending near the town of Parker before crashing the last vehicle and fleeing on foot. He was caught and arrested.

This was a very scary morning for a little boy still in his pajamas on his way to day care.  Likely, since he is so young, the experience will do no lasting damage to him.  But there is an important lesson here.  Do not leave your kids alone in the car for any reason.  It is just not safe.

Visit our website to learn safety tips for keeping your child safe.

Drug Related Car Crashes

A new study found that whereas alcohol related driving deaths have kept steady over recent years (with alcohol causing around 40% of all motor vehicle deaths), fatal accidents involving drug use have been on the rise.  The number of fatal crashes related to marijuana use tripled in the last decade, and road deaths involving drug users in general rose from 16% to 28%.

Driving impaired is driving impaired, whether that impairment is caused by alcohol, drugs, marijuana, or prescription pills.  It's a message that teens especially need, (even more so after recent legalization of the drug in some States), since there is a popular myth that smoking pot will make one a better driver.

 Please visit http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org to learn more on teen driving.

Children Paralyzed From Polio-Like Illness

Here's a disturbing story out of California: a report just published in the February 23rd issue of The Journal of the American Academy of Neurology described a new infection that is leading to paralysis and polio-like symptoms in children.

Up to 20 people, mostly children, were described to have come down with a respiratory virus that looks a lot like polio.  Five kids experienced that rapid onset of paralysis to at least one limb.  Others suffered impaired motor function, with some kids experiencing paralysis in all four limbs. The scary part is that 6 months to 2 years out, the limb function in these limbs has not returned, which leaves doctors fearing the damage might be permanent.

The suspected culprit in Enterovirus_68 -- until recently an otherwise benign cold virus.  Scientists have not yet mapped the genome of the virus to try and determine where the genetic mutation took palace.Since the study's publication, health experts say that the number infected now stands at 25 and counting, though they do not expect an epidemic. The cases occurred among vaccinated children and do not seem to be clustered around any one area.  This suggests that there might be some sort of genetic vulnerability in affected children that is causing this mutated virus to affect their nervous system.

We will keep you posted if there are new developments on this unusual virus.  Visit us at http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/child-health-medical-issues.html and learn about child medical issues.