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Ages & Stages - January 2011

Flu, Lice, Whooping Cough PLUS Teens going meatless

Families: Three Health Updates for the New Year
by Janine Boldrin

Flu
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu is more dangerous than the common cold for children. Each year, approximately 20,000 children under the age of 5 are hospitalized due to the flu. Severe complications are more common for children under the age of 2 and those children with chronic health problems like diabetes and asthma.
Last year, the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic added to parents' concerns about keeping their children protected from severe illness. In an effort to stave off another outbreak, the 2010 – 2011 influenza vaccine will protect against three flu viruses, including the 2009 H1N1 virus.
For this flu season, the CDC has expanded its influenza vaccination recommendation to include all people 6 months and older. For those parents with babies under the age of 6 months, the best way to protect them is to have members of the household and caregivers get vaccinated.

Lice
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), head lice are common among children ages 3 to 12. There are approximately 6 to 12 million infestations a year.
While many parents focus on head lice treatments, they may want to give more consideration to head lice prevention. Head lice are tiny insects that live on the scalp. They are usually transferred due to direct contact, like on a brush, hat or helmet. Children should be taught not to share these items. Lice are not dangerous or infectious, but they are a huge annoyance to families who have to deal with getting rid of them.
In August 2010, the AAP revised its 2002 policy statement regarding the attendance of students at school who have head lice. AAP discourages "no-nit" policies, and concludes that a child with an active head lice infestation "should remain in class but be discouraged from close direct head contact with others." Some parents are concerned about this approach to head lice in schools; however, AAP states that children should not miss valuable school time because of head lice. Schools do not have to follow AAP guidance but some are re-evaluating their no-nit policies based on this revised statement.

Whooping Cough
Whooping cough, also known as Pertussis, is a highly infectious respiratory tract infection. For the past 5 years, between 8,000 and 25,000 whooping cough cases have been reported each year with many cases going undiagnosed. This disease has come back into the national spotlight due to several high profile outbreaks in 2010. Localized outbreaks are not uncommon and usually tend to peak every 3 to 5 years.
There are two types of whooping cough vaccines: DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis) for infants and children and Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis) for adolescents and adults. However, because booster shots for adolescents and adults are often overlooked, there is renewed interest in encouraging this population to get vaccinated. While whooping cough is typically not as serious a disease for adults, those who become infected can spread the disease to more vulnerable populations.
Young infants are particularly susceptible to this respiratory illness because immunizations for whooping cough do not begin until after 2 months of age. Because of this, the 2010 California outbreak resulted in a large number of hospitalizations of infants under the age of 3 months. In order to protect the youngest members of your household, the CDC recommends that family members who live with or are caring for a newborn get vaccinated in order to protect them.

Janine Boldrin is a freelance writer and mom of three.

Teens: Laying Down the Steak Knife
how meat-loving families can live happily with a vegetarian child
by Laura Amann

My daughter's decision to become a vegetarian two years ago was a quick and definitive one. She ate a ham dinner, pushed her plate away and stated that from now on, no animal flesh would enter her mouth. So far she's followed the path. But it hasn't been easy. Especially for me.

When a child lays down a food ultimatum, there's not much you can do. That goes for toddlers who refuse to eat vegetables as much as it does for teens who refuse to eat meat. For a family of fervent meat eaters, it can be a challenge. We didn't even realize just how carnivorous we were until we had a teenager around to point it out.

In their 2010 national poll, the Vegetarian Resource Group, www.vrg.org, found that 7 percent of 8-to-18-year-olds never eat meat, while 12 percent of males ages 10 to 12 stated they don't eat meat. That's been a rising figure over the past few years, and it's expected to continue to increase as kids (and their parents) grow more aware of the environment, of the living conditions of factory farmed animals, and of alternative healthy ways to eat.

Be Supportive
What's a meat-loving family to do? The first thing is to make sure your child knows what being a vegetarian entails: what foods they should eat, and what nutrients they need. Be wary if their primary motivation seems to be weight loss. Being a vegetarian is not a fad diet. If there is any reason to suspect an eating disorder, consult a registered dietician or your family physician.

(See sidebar, Talking Together, for some good conversation openers.)

Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, Nutrition Advisor at The Vegetarian Resource Group and the parent of two vegan teens recommends having them help with meal planning and cooking. "Generally I think it's good for vegetarian/vegans to learn how to prepare some simple foods so that the burden of cooking doesn't totally fall on parents and so they don't spend a fortune on convenience foods. Bean burritos, pasta with tomato sauce and chickpeas, and stir fries are all easy, quick, and healthy foods."

As a family you can also advocate "Meatless Mondays" when no one eats meat. "Meatless Mondays" was a WWII campaign to curb consumption of meat products. Today it's a non-profit initiative in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their website, www.meatlessmondays.com, offers tips and facts and is a perfect way for a family to support a burgeoning vegetarian.

Make Sure They're Actually Eating Healthy Choices
Keep in mind, however, that being a vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean eating a healthier diet. More than a few vegetarians have subsisted on potato chips and cheese products. Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, MD author of the book Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right, has seen this quite a few times. "More and more young vegetarians are turning into 'carbaterians,' eating few fruits and vegetables and opting for starches, such as pasta, pizza and French fries." Too many carbohydrates result in elevated cholesterol levels.

Parent Julee Morrison found that when her son first became vegetarian, he quickly dropped too much weight. "He just wasn't ingesting enough protein and calcium to sustain him," she explains. "Kids don't always understand the full extent of the importance of balanced nutrition." The idea that vegetarians would necessarily consume more fruits and vegetables isn't always true. Make sure they are getting a good variety of foods.

Key Nutrients They Need
The biggest concern for most parents is protein. While it's true that animal protein is often the principal form of protein in American diets, it doesn't have to be. Cow's milk, low fat cheese, beans, nuts, peanut butter, yogurt and tofu are all good sources. Just watch the high fat content of some nuts, cheese, and peanut butter.

Iron, Zinc, and Vitamin B12 are other key nutrients that growing bodies need. There are some easy substitutions. To add iron to the diet, try broccoli, eggs, raisins, watermelon, spinach and leafy green vegetables. Vitamin C aids in the absorption of iron, so encourage them to eat some citrus or tomatoes when eating iron-rich foods.

Good sources of zinc include wheat germ, nuts, and pumpkin seeds. Get used to sprinkling wheat germ in sauces and cereals. Add nuts and seeds to salads or eat them as a snack. Vitamin B12 is found in many fortified cereals and also in dairy products and eggs. Vegans need to be particularly careful about getting the necessary daily requirements for this nutrient.

Overall, try to keep it as simple as possible for your child. "A healthy, varied vegetarian diet includes fruits, vegetables, plenty of leafy greens, whole grain products, nuts, seeds and legumes," explains Mangels. "The key is variety. Vegetarians have the same nutritional needs as any other kid."

Eating Out, Hanging with Friends
Today, being a vegetarian is easier than ever. Practically every grocery store carries a small variety of non-meat alternatives. Veggie burgers, protein links (soy hot dogs), chicken-less nuggets and other typical kid fare makes the adjustment easy when a craving (or a backyard barbecue) hits.

Even fast food restaurants serve options. Burger King offers veggie burgers, Subway serves vegetarian sandwiches and both Chipotle and Taco Bell are cited for their vegetarian (no lard) beans. Asian and Indian cuisines also tend to be more vegetarian-friendly.

At home, just a few simple adjustments can make a huge difference. Start adding spinach leaves in salads, stir tofu into anything with a sauce, sprinkle nuts or seeds on salads and rice. Even teenagers need only 40-50 grams of protein a day. By involving the whole family, you will not only encourage everyone to eat healthy choices, you will also be supporting your vegetarian child.

Laura Amann is a freelance writer and the mom of three meat-loving kids and one vegetarian teenager.

Resources for Parents
• Vegetarian Resource Group
(www.vrg.org)
• Veg For Life campaign
(www.vegforlife.org)
• Meatless Mondays
(www.meatlessmondays.com)