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Summer
Camp: How to Make Sure Your
Child
has a Great Experience
 Over
10 million kids attend summer camp each year. For most,
it's a fun and memorable experience full of challenges and
excitement. In addition to the physical activities, kids
learn about independence, cooperation, competition and teamwork.
Most of all, kids learn to survive on their own in a new
environment.
Although most kids are excited about going to summer camp,
for some it can be a scary, anxiety-provoking experience.
Using some of these tips can help your child feel more comfortable.
Tips for choosing the right camp for your child:
- Choose a camp that is suited to your child's personality,
temperament and interests. If your child likes music,
art or horseback riding, it makes sense to choose a camp
with an emphasis in that area.
- Involve your child in choosing the camp. Review brochures
and websites together. Ask for the names of other families
who have attended the camp and call for a reference.
- Don't push kids to go to camp at an early age. Some
kids are ready for "sleep away" camp at age
five or six, while others would not even consider the
idea at 14 or 15. If a child isn't ready for a full summer
at camp, find a camp with shorter sessions.
- Consider a camp where your child knows at least one
other person their age. Having one friend makes it easier
to meet other kids.
- Visit the camp before the session starts. This will
familiarize your child with the surroundings and give
you a chance to meet the camp directors.
Keeping Your Child Safe at Camp
Summer camp is a safe environment with trained personnel
available to assist with any physical and emotional problems.
The leading issue at summer camp is homesickness. You can
help prevent this by allowing your child to bring their
favorite toy, book, music or photo. Homesickness is a normal
reaction, so if your child calls home, let them know that
you understand that it is hard to be away from home and
you miss them, too. Focus on upcoming events such as visitor's
day or a camp special event. Schedule regular phone contact,
if it seems helpful. Homesickness usually passes in a few
days.
There are rarely major illnesses or injuries that occur
at camp, but it is always best to be prepared.
Here are six general guidelines to help your kids stay
healthy while at summer camp:
- Get your child vaccinated. Be sure your kids' vaccinations
are up-to-date. Ask your doctor what vaccines are recommended
for summer camp.
- Encourage safe physical activities. Children should
get at least 60 minutes of physical activity on most days
of the week. To help prevent injury, pack protective gear
such as helmet and life jackets (if not available at the
camp). Make sure your child knows not to swim alone.
- Teach your kids to stay hydrated. Two of the biggest
problems at summer camp are dehydration and sunburn -
both are preventable. Let kids know they need to drink
water on a regular basis throughout the day. They shouldn't
wait until they feel thirsty to drink water. Encourage
your kids to drink plenty of non-carbonated, sugar-free
fluids throughout the day.
- Teach your kids to avoid wild animals. While this seems
like common sense, a raccoon in the wild can look cute
to a child, but, in fact, can be very dangerous. Teach
kids that animals carry diseases that can make humans
sick. Encourage them to watch from a safe distance and
to not disrupt their natural surroundings.
- Pack appropriately. Be sure your kids have plenty of
insect repellent and sunscreen to wear to protect themselves
from mosquitoes, ticks and the sun. Make sure they know
how to apply sunscreen and know that it needs to be reapplied
throughout the day and after swimming. Pack layers of
light-weight, light-colored clothes for hot days and blankets
and warm clothes for cool nights.
- Prepare your kids. Teach kids what to do in an emergency.
Pack basic first aid items, flashlights, batteries and
sturdy shoes.
Summer camp is a great experience and offers so many benefits
to kids. By living by the Boy Scout motto of "Be Prepared”,
your child will have a fun and safe summer camp.
"Healthy Minds, Healthy Lives”, American Psychiatric
Association.
"Health and Safety Tips for Summer Camp”, Centers
for Disease Control
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SFM Wins
BBB Award for Innovative Practices
Every year the Better Business Bureau's Business of the
Year Torch Awards are presented to companies that honor
ethical business practices and demonstrate excellence in
our local marketplace. Awards are presented in the following
categories: Large Business of the Year, Small Business of
the Year, Community Involvement, Customer Service, and Innovative
Business Practices.
Your Better Business Bureau serving Alaska, Oregon and
Western Washington announces its 2008-2009 Business of the
Year Torch Award winners for Western Washington:
- Large Business of the Year: Gene Juarez (Headquarters:
Bellevue)
- Small Business of the Year: The Howard Group (Lynnwood)
- Community Involvement Award: Black Diamond Bike and
Backcountry (Black Diamond)
- Customer Service Award: Helping Hands Veterinary Clinic
(Lynnwood)
- Innovative Business Practices Award: Sound Family Medicine
(Puyallup)
Sound Family Medicine was recognized with the Innovative
Business Practice Torch Award for 2008-2009. Sound Family
Medicine has made it their goal to constantly strive to
improve services and care provided to their patients through
staff training, continued education, and innovative technological
tools and equipment. SFM utilizes technology in such a way
that makes the medical experience more personal and accessible.
One of the ways SFM does this is by offering patient comment
e-mail, which gives patients another method of providing
feedback. This allows patients to communicate their opinions
and concerns so that SFM can make necessary adjustments;
it is also a tool for providing positive feedback for a
job well done. There is also a secure link for patients
known as "mySFM”, where patients create their own login
and are able to access personal medical and financial account
information. Through this link they can make or change appointments,
receive test results, view their bills and/ or make payments,
send and receive secure messages to/from their SFM clinical
staff.
Another innovative technology that SFM has been using since
1997 is their electronic health record system. This innovative
technology has been a valuable resource which allows their
clinic to expand from one location with eight providers
to four locations with 27 providers. The electronic health
record makes it possible for SFM providers to have access
to patient charts/data from a range of places, such as home
or the hospital, outside normal business hours. By using
the electronic health records, physicians are more easily
able to search the database for patients who will benefit
from additional or follow-up care. These are just some of
the innovative ways SFM is continually trying to improve
their patients' experiences and provide quality care.
Awards for Business of the Year go to businesses with the
highest total score; winners are also awarded for highest
score by category. These businesses were nominated by the
public and were evaluated by non-biased, third-party judges
from various organizations.
"Your Better Business Bureau proudly recognizes the winners
of the Business of the Year Torch Awards as companies of
high integrity,” said Robert Andrew, President and
CEO of Better Business Bureau serving Alaska, Oregon, and
Western Washington. "We are grateful for their positive
contribution to the local business community."
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Don't Blame
The Salt Shaker!
 Have
you ever measured your daily intake of salt? Before you
assume you don't eat too much salt, take a good look at
what you're buying at the grocery store, what you eat out,
as well as how you use salt at home. What you eat and how
much you eat has a significant effect on your blood pressure.
The current recommendation is to consume less than 2,400
mg of sodium per day. Salt's chemical name is sodium chloride,
and it's the sodium in salt that can be so detrimental to
your health.
The daily average American diet contains 5,000 - 10,000
mg of sodium. But don't blame your salt shaker! It is estimated
that only 7% of the excess salt in the average diet comes
from the salt shaker. That leaves 93% of the excess salt
in our diet to come from all the processed, boxed, canned/packaged
and convenience foods we eat on a daily basis. Almost everyone
eats some types of processed food during a normal day. Even
people who make all their meals from scratch will usually
buy foods that are too high in salt when preparing their
meal.
Eating less salt is critical, not just to lower high blood
pressure but to keep it from rising in the first place.
Blood pressure ordinarily goes up as you get older, but
you can curb the rise by eating a lower-salt diet. Hypertension
(high blood pressure) is a very serious health problem and
if left unchecked, it can, and often does, lead to many
serious long-term health problems. If you think you could
recognize high blood pressure if you had it, you are wrong!
Most people with high blood pressure have no symptoms, so
you can't assume that your blood pressure is normal if you
haven't had it tested.
Getting Started: First, start checking labels for sodium
content. When at the grocery store, choose foods that are
advertising less salt on the label. Be sure to look out
for any ingredient with the word sodium in it, such as -
monosodium glutamate (MSG), sodium hydroxide, sodium nitrite.
These mean it is likely the food has a high sodium content.
Eat only fresh or frozen vegetables as part of a low sodium
diet.
What a label really means when it says:
- Low Sodium - the food has 140 milligrams or less of
sodium per serving.
- Very Low Sodium - the food has 35 milligrams or less
of sodium per serving.
- Salt Free - the food has 5 milligrams of less of sodium
per serving.
- Light in Sodium -the food has at least 50% less sodium
that the original food product.
- Reduced Sodium - the food has at least 25% less sodium
that the original product.
Eating Out: Life in the fast-food lane can be detrimental,
as well. We tend to eat the same foods every week to ten
days. So the next time you go to one of your ‘usual'
places to eat, ask for a nutritional analysis (if they don't
have one, print off an analysis from their website when
you get home). Pay attention to how much salt is in the
meal you usually purchase. Chances are it provides close
to or more than an entire day's recommendation of salt.
For example, one McDonald's Crispy Chicken sandwich alone
has 1,180 milligrams of sodium!
Keep It Simple - The DASH Way: One of the major breakthroughs
in the treatment of hypertension has been the DASH diet
(DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
This diet has a lot of fruits and vegetables, whole-wheat
grains and nonfat/low-fat dairy products. The reason why
the DASH diet is so successful in lowering blood pressure
is not solely because of the reduction in salt, but because
it contains increased amounts of potassium and calcium.
Both are important regulators in naturally lowering blood
pressure.
Salt Substitutes: Check with your doctor first, if you
are wondering if it is a good idea to replace the salt in
your shaker with a salt substitute (the answer is maybe).
While salt substitutes are a great way for healthy people
to cut back on sodium while adding potassium, there could
be serious consequences for people who take certain medications
or who have been diagnosed with certain chronic conditions
that compromise their ability to regulate potassium levels.
That's because too much potassium can trigger a heart attack.
Ironically, those who need to cut back on sodium the most
are also those most likely to be taking medications or to
have conditions that make salt substitutes potentially dangerous.
Eating less salt is very important to your health, even
if you don't have high blood pressure! Whether you are 8
or 80, it is beneficial for everyone to begin paying closer
attention to the excess salt in the foods eaten most often.
The most important step you should take to achieve a lower
blood pressure is to see your SFM doctor.
Ask your Sound Family Medicine physician if he/she thinks
you would benefit from a nutrition consult for management
of high blood pressure. Many insurance companies will cover
up to 90% of the cost of the 'Physician Prescribed Medical
Nutrition Therapy' consultation. Also, check your employee
benefits plan at work. Some plans cover up to $500 for counseling
by a Registered Dietitian per year. Healthy Eating!
Brooke Douglas, RD, CD www.NutritionAuthority.com
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