Q. My 3-1/2 year-old has started waking every night around the same time, and screaming. I think he’s in the middle of a nightmare. He’s really frightened, and I don’t really know what to do. Not much seems to help—often, I’ll bring him in bed with me, but that doesn’t change the situation long-range. He keeps waking up really scared. Is there any way to help him get through this?

All of us experienced nightmares at some point in our childhood. Usually, nightmares are an occasional thing. Your son probably is experiencing what they call “night terrors,” which go on night after night for a period of time, and usually entail a recurrent dream, or at least, recurrent feelings of fear. Read the rest »

Okay, I guess the swaddle didn’t actually go anywhere for many families around the nation and the globe. However, new and experienced parents need go no further than their favorite parenting website or book these days to read about the wonders of wrapping their little one up tight. From Harvey Karp’s bestseller, The Happiest Baby on the Block, to the American Association of Pediatrics, experts are touting the use of a well-spun swaddle to reduce excessive crying and increase sleep efficiency in newborns. Read the rest »

Many of the recommendations that I and other indoor air quality professionals make can be very expensive – like installing hardwood or tile floors, or replacing a hot-air heating systems with baseboard or radiator heat. But there are a number of things you can do that won’t cost a fortune and that can help keep the air in your home clean and allergen and irritant free. Below are 15 examples. Read the rest »

Have you foraged for edible plants along the roadside lately? How about recycling your dryer lint? No? Well, you will be happy to know that modern frugality doesn’t involve radical or extreme methods for saving a buck. Today’s frugal involves living within your means and enjoying a comfortable lifestyle with movies, dining out and vacations. Of course, the movie might be a $1 rental from a grocery store kiosk, the restaurant meal bought using a www.restaurant.com gift card and your hotel paid for with credit card reward points (or booked for an off-season stay). Read the rest »

If your son or daughter has allergies or asthma, there may be conditions inside the school building that could cause your child to experience health symptoms. What are some of these conditions, and what you can you as a parent do about it?

Carpeting. Many modern school buildings have wall-to-wall carpeting, which is often cleaned in the summer, when weather is most humid. If the carpeting remained damp for more than 48 hours, it may well contain mold growth, subsisting on captured dust. If your child’s classroom smells musty, the carpet may be the culprit. Ask the school to have the carpet dust tested for mold (or contact DACI lab at Johns Hopkins University and find out how to take a sample yourself). Read the rest »

Have you ever noticed that runners have strong defined thighs, cyclist have firm, toned calves, swimmers have strong v-backs, and gymnasts are compact and strong all over? It shows that your body can be shaped by the exercises you do. For example, for many years I was a competitive gymnast. Because gymnastics entails lifting your body weight, I was small and buff all over. After college I was into weight lifting and put on a bunch of muscle mass, especially in my shoulders and upper back. In graduate school I got really into yoga and started teaching it. My body transformed-my muscles became lean and long! I’ve found the perfect combo of exercises that give a defined, lean, long look and I’ll share a little with you. Read the rest »

“Does your dog bite?”

“Umm, no, she just carries that mouthful of choppers around for show.”

That has got to be one of the most inane questions anyone can ask about a dog.

EVERY dog, barring crippling injury or birth defect, has the potential to bite if provoked,
whether it’s a three and a half pound Yorkie or a 200 pound English Mastiff, the potential
is there and it is irresponsible and unrealistic to ever forget that, no matter how placid or
forgiving your dog is.

So many factors can contribute to the commission of a bite, and most dogs will give
ample warning, up to and including the “air snap,” even attempting to remove
themselves from situation before biting a human.

If your previously gregarious dog suddenly takes a snap for no seeming reason, it’s
imperative that the first thing you check for is a medical problem. It can be anything from
a painful injury you were unaware of, like a thorn stuck in a pad that gets inadvertently
squeezed when he shakes paws with you or someone else or a disease that’s causing
him to feel vulnerable and/or in pain.

It’s your responsibility to protect your dog, to learn what stresses are too much and how
to read his signals before a situation escalates to the point he feels pushed past his
limits and either remove him from that situation or intervene and defuse the tension.
Then it’s up to you to work with your dog to see if his confidence and comfort level in
those types of situations can be boosted to achieve a higher level of tolerance, if the
stressor is something that should be tolerated.

There are some stressors that should never be allowed, such as provocation with the
intent to physically harm you or your dog. Those are the times it will be all on you to get
out of the situation or make sure your dog doesn’t get the blame. Other provocations,
particularly those that might be regular occurrences, need to have the threat removed.
Your dog needs to be acclimated to them, to learn that they just aren’t that big a deal.
One of the best ways to achieve this is simple desensitization. It sometimes takes time
and dedication, but it’s not complicated and is well worth your efforts. You will need
patience, a comfy dog bed, a source for the stress, a pocket full of treats, and a calm demeanor.

Take your dog, in a dog crate, to a place where he is exposed, at a distance, to the source of the stress.
Don’t take him close enough to start displaying signs of discomfort, though. It may take
you a few tries to find out just where his comfort zone ends, but bear with it. When
you’ve got him at the edge of his comfort zone, where he’s aware of what he’s normally
reactive to, but isn’t yet reacting you can start. Get his attention; talk to him in his
favorite happy voice, give him some of the treats. Keep doing this in short sessions,
working your way closer and closer to the problem, not pushing faster than your dog is
ready to go, though. You won’t always get one hundred percent non-reactivity, but
unless there’s a deep seated phobia there, maybe something that happened in your
dog’s past, you should eventually get to the stage where the two of you can walk on by
without it turning into a brouhaha of you hanging onto the other end of a shivering or
snarling beast.

Another important facet of desensitizing your dog is to build his self-confidence. A
confident dog is a safe dog. Fear is most often the goad to a bite. Think about what
kicks your own self-confidence up a notch (other than looking smokin’ hawt). It all
revolves around being good at what you do, realizing it and being recognized for it.
Easy to convey to the canine! Training isn’t just to make your life easier or to teach your
dog to make you look good after you’ve bragged on him; it allows him to learn to be
confident, in himself and in you.

While you’re working on those desensitization exercises, run through a couple of
lessons he’s very good at and be lavish with your praise. You will not only be
underwriting and improving that confidence factor by the simple fact of reminding your
dog of how good he is at being The Dog, but you’ll be teaching him that The Scary
Thing has no power to take him off his game; he’s still The Dog and together the two of
you are still in control of the situation and everything is just fine.