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Showing posts from March, 2020

BR Parents Blog: Brainstorming Boredom Busters While Stuck at Home

I love a good challenge, but at least four weeks ( eight weeks? ) at home with my girls, ages 8 and almost-4, may be my biggest mama challenge to date. I am committed to doing our part for public health and staying home as much as we possibly can. I am so fortunate to be able to do so as a work-from-home mom (let’s see how much work I can actually get done though, sorry to my editor!). We have a backyard and live in a walkable neighborhood (as long as we don’t get close to other people bike rides especially should be doable), but most of our time will be spent inside our house to avoid becoming sick or spreading the novel coronavirus to others. Lives are at stake, so it’s almost like we’re superheroes! Challenge accepted. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website .

BR Parents Blog: A Pox on Our House: Quarantine Dreaming

I can’t be the only one who, when first hearing about the coronavirus COVID-19 thought a two week quarantine wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. As an overextended mom and introvert, putting pause on my life to stay home for a while is the stuff of dreams. But as the virus has spread and scary news coverage has continued, I’ve changed my tune and realized it might be more of a nightmare. Our family has actually had a couple weeks of actual non-coronavirus illness hit our house. Being stuck at home is not as shiny as it seemed to me at first glance. (Although, it surely wouldn’t be better if we were all healthy.) Read the rest on Baton Rouge Parents magazine's website .

BR Parents Blog: Silver Lining to a Scary Situation: My Daughter Was Lost, But We Both Found Friends

Life is a balancing act, and I find that especially true with my roles as mother and writer. Last December, I was on deadline, finishing up some briefs for the Community section of Baton Rouge Parents Magazine . One of the briefs I’d just finished was about a Pennington Biomedical Research Center study on reasons why mothers don’t let their children play outside enough. Writing it inclined me to let my eight year old stretch her wings. When she asked if she could ride her bike around the block, I hesitated just briefly before assenting. The procedure for “riding around the block” at our house is to make one loop around the block in front, come back to check in, repeat. Unfortunately, she did not stick to the around-the-block plan. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents Magazine blog . 

BR Parents: March 2020

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-26 and page 32 of the March 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine. See the web layout on the magazine's website .

BR Parents Pathways to Parenting: Pink Eye

Pink may be perfect, but when it comes to eyes, it’s never a color you want to see. Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, is an inflammation of the lining of the eye’s white and eyelid, and it is common, especially among children. There are three main types: bacterial, viral and allergic, says Joshua Davidson OD, FAAO, FSLS, optometrist with Williamson Eye Center. “Bacterial presents with a typical kind of crusty, matting of the eyelids. You tend to get this white yellow discharge,” Dr. Davidson says. Bacterial pink eye is an infection and would be treated with antibiotic eye drops. These take about 24 hours to get in the system and start working, and bacterial pink eye resolves between three and ten days. “As soon as symptoms appear, and as long as the eye is weeping, you’re contagious,” Dr. Davidson says. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents Magazine website .

BR Parents Exceptional Lives: Unlimited Independence Despite Physical Limitations

Not many kids receive bicycles as gifts from their school friends, but most don’t face the physical challenges Camilla “Cami” Rios does. She was recently surprised with a pink specially made adaptive bike. A third grader at Seventh Ward Elementary School, Cami deals with many physical limitations. When she was only two years old, a severe meningitis infection led to both her legs being amputated above the knees, and her left arm was amputated above the elbow. Her right upper arm was also damaged, and Cami also has a deviation in her hand and damaged fingers. Despite this, Cami has remained in high spirits. “She’s always had the best attitude,” says Cheryl Cooner, Cami’s grandmother. “She takes everything in stride and never stops to feel sorry for herself.” Cami, who will turn 10 in April, has prosthetic limbs that allow her to walk, and about six months ago, she graduated to prosthetic legs with knee joints to allow stair climbing and to provide a smoother str

BR Parents One Amazing Kid: Niles Babin

Math and music are Niles Babin’s two main focuses. Niles, 16, began participating in math competitions in fourth grade and has been playing music for nearly a decade, starting with piano then tuba and guitar. A sophomore at University Laboratory School, Niles earned second place at the National Beta Club Convention’s math competition last summer. “It was a lot of recall for me,” Niles says of the test that featured a lot of algebra and geometry. Read the rest on the Baton Rouge Parents Magazine website .