Back pain is pervasive among American Adults, but a new disturbing trend is emerging. Young Children are suffering from back pain much earlier than previous generations, and the use of overweight backpacks is a contributing factor according to the American Chiropractic Association. In fact, according to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, the use of book bags or back carries resulted in 6,500 injuries in the year 2000 alone.

"In my own practice, I have noticed a marked increase in the number of young children who are complaining about back, neck, and shoulder pain," said Dr. James R. Fedich of Village Family Chiropractic, "The first question I ask these patients is, 'Do you carry a backpack to school? Almost always, the answer is yes."

This new back pain trend among youngsters isn't surprising when you consider the disproportionate amounts of weight they carry in their backpacks - often slung over just one shoulder. According to Dr. Fedich, a recent study conducted in Italy found that the average child carries a backpack that would be the equivalent of a 39-pound burden for a 176-pound man. Of those children carrying heavy backpacks to school, 60 percent had experienced back pain as a result.

The results of these studies are especially important as more and more school districts remove lockers from the premises, forcing students to carry their books with them all day long.

What can you do?
-Make sure your child's backpack weighs no more than 5 to 10 percent of his or her body weight
-The backpack should never hang more than four inches below the waistline
-A backpack with individualized compartments helps position contents most effectively
-Bigger is not better. More room in the bag, more things will be put in it.
-Urge your child to wear both straps.
-Wide, padded straps are very important to distribute the weight
-Shoulder straps should be adjustable
-If the backpack is still too heavy, talk to your children's teachers
-Although roller packs have become popular, they are now not recommended
If you or your child experiences any pain or discomfort resulting from backpack use, call your doctor of chiropractic. For Further information you can contact Dr. James Fedich at (908) 813-8200, or on the web at http://www.villagefamilychiro.com.

Lucky, The Magical Clown (Build A Clown Children's Entertainment Show) officially opened their doors Monday August 18, 2008.

Lindy Scarborough (AKA - Lucky, The Magical Clown), based in Harford County, MD had an 'ah ha' moment five years ago and created a totally unique, fun and very captivating child friendly and mom tested kids show. Lindy has an extensive background in early childhood education and one thing she realized years ago is many children are afraid of the unknown, one of them being CLOWNS.

This is when the 'ah ha'' moment hit her. I will let the children build me from the shoes up to my hat. Her business is focused totally on the children and making them the heroes. From the moment she walks into the room in her "funky" street clothes, the children are excited by the fact they build her from head-to-toe -- even putting the make-up on her face (this of course is something for all parents to behold).

Scarborough says, "My face is their canvas. After the children have created me, they quickly realize I am not a "scary" character/clown - there is a real person under the make-up and clown clothes (they put on me). It is a real joy when I receive emails and phone calls from mothers who say their two, three or seven year old child always feared clowns, but now they have a healthy understanding of what a clown really is."

Lucky, The Magical Clown performs for birthday celebrations, private events, parties, corporate picnics, and a Varity of other venues (limited to her customers imagination).

Lucky, The Magical Clown performs for birthday celebrations, private events, parties, corporate picnics, and a Varity of other venues (limited to her customers imagination).

Child Foundation Charity, a 501 (c) (3) public benefit, non-profit organization, presents our inaugural fundraising gala on September 27, 2008 to benefit children worldwide born with debilitating birth defects. Event chair and Executive Director, Mrs. Toni Garner, along with co-chairs Mrs. Myra Porter of Myra & Co Spa, Mrs. Irene Korge and Ms. Norma Jean Abraham invite you to an evening of elegance, philanthropy, fun, food, music and dancing.

This evening will celebrate the first year of our many successes, and will include doctors on our esteemed board of directors presenting three of the six children that together we have assisted since our inception. Child Foundation Charity hopes to enable these innocent children to lead confident, independent and fulfilled lives.

Child Foundation Charity's inaugural fundraising gala is being held Saturday, September 27, 2008 at The Rusty Pelican, Key Biscayne and begins at 7:00pm with cocktails sponsored by Bacardi. The evening will host a silent and live auction, The Rusty Pelican's house specialty dinner of filet mignon and lobster, music and dancing to Monkey Rum Jazz (featuring Olbin Burgos and Edwin Bonilla). Ticket prices for this event are $125 per person or $1,000 for a table of ten. You can purchase tickets on our website and they will be held at the door.

Sponsors of this event are Bacardi, The Flower Bazaar of Miami Beach, Baptist Hospital of Miami, The DeRosa Foundation for Colon Cancer Research and Prevention, Myra & Co. Spa, Anthony R. Abraham Foundation, LLL Advertising Inc., iFinancial Group, Americorp Capital and media sponsor Social Affairs Magazine. We welcome additional sponsors of this event to contact us if you wish to join our efforts.

Mommy I want that new video game! Dad I want the new I-Phone! Grandma I want the new Mac Book! Most parents have heard some variation of the above statements. Parents usually are the primary financial educators for their children. Time after time, I have seen young people receive sizable allowances or inheritances, without a base of knowledge in financial planning. Consider the following five points to assist the children in your life to have a responsible attitude about money.

1) Be a Role Model - The way parents spend money and the way children view money has a significant correlation. Consider discussing the family's financial goals and plans with the children. How much you share is to your discretion, but include the younger generation in at least a portion of the monthly management. How parents deal with money issues, from the monthly bills to planning family vacations can be important in teaching the children money management and the value of money.

2) Encourage Savings and Investments - To encourage children to save money is one of the simplest ways to encourage a responsible attitude about money. This could include designating a portion of a child's allowance to a saving account, or making gifts of cash directly to an account in their name. Parents can discuss the account statements with the children and introduce the concept " paying yourself first".

3) Develop a Sense of Financial Empowerment - It is important that parents develop responsible spending habits by well thought-out choices. In order to guide and direct rather than dictate the savings and spending. Take children on window-shopping trips to compare prices and products and adopt the mind set that every trip to a store is an exercise leading to a potential purchase. For example, consider limiting impulse buying by implementing a rule that prices and products are compared at a minimum of three locations.

4) Give Unto Others - Involve children in the financial decisions regarding philanthropy. By helping children contribute time or money to a charitable cause, it can teach them that money is important in ways others than personal consumption.

Reference: Matthew P. Bartolomei, Financial Advisor http://www.fa.smithbarney.com/mattbartolomei/index.htm


NOTE: you can freely redistribute this resource, electronically or in print, provided you leave the authors contact information below intact.


About the Author: Janie Lacy is a Mental Health Counselor who has a passion to reach out and help people grow and mature through difficult life situations. Janie has invested in the lives of others through public speaking, leadership training, educational instruction and small group ministry. Janie received her Masters of Science degree in Counseling Psychology through Palm Beach Atlantic University and her Bachelors of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida, specializing in management. Her professional affiliations are with the American Counseling Association, the American Association of Christian Counselors, and the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association. For More Information please call (407) 248-0030 or go to our website.

One of the biggest challenges facing ‘First Time Moms’ is finding the time to get everything done while managing to spend quality time with their children. Mommy & Me™ products help to empower and inspire moms to interact and bond with their children throughout key times of the day.

For the first time last year, an all-new Mommy & Me™ product line premiered exclusively at Wal-Mart. In September 2008, a refreshed and extended line of innovative and interactive products will debut in most Wal-Mart stores and a select offering will be available online at www.walmart.com.

With a community of over 450,000 Mommy & Me™-type playgroups nationwide, Mommy & Me™ is an established brand with a 25-year heritage of proven parent/child playgroup acceptance.

The new Mommy & Me™ products from Cookie Jar Entertainment provide new ways for Mom to interact and connect with her children even at the busiest of times of the day. The toy line, geared towards Moms with children ages 6 mos. to 4 years, are innovative, educational, interactive and are designed to encourage “together time.” Mommy & Me’s™ together time philosophy says that it is not the amount of time, but the quality of time spent with your child laughing…loving, learning…together!

Bellevue, WA-based Crayons, Inc., an all natural beverage company, announces the first and only line of all natural and high fructose corn syrup-free sports drinks created specifically to address the nutrition and hydration needs of youth athletes.

Ron Lloyd, CEO of Crayons, Inc. explains, “As a parent and kids coach, I’m thrilled to finally have a healthier sports drink option for the next generation of athletes. There are 58 million thirsty kids, including my own, who are involved in sports. For the first time ever, kids can stay hydrated and get important nutrients with a drink designed just for them. We are confident that Crayons® All Natural Sports Drinks will soon replace other sports drinks, juice boxes, and bottled waters.”

While other leading sports drinks, including Gatorade®, are not specifically formulated for kids, Crayons® All Natural Sports Drinks are developed to meet the nutritional and performance needs of thirsty youth athletes. Each all natural flavor contains no high-fructose corn syrup, no dyes, no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives, and have 50% less sodium than the leading sport drink.

Brooke de Lench, founder of MomsTeam.com®, a leading web site focused on youth sports, health and safety, recommends Crayons® All Natural Sports Drinks because they meet kids’ hydration needs more than either water or adult-formulated sports drinks. “Studies show that sports drinks are better than water at re-hydrating kids because sports drinks contain essential electrolytes, and because kids are more likely to drink the required liquids if there is a moderate amount of sodium and some fruit flavor included,” said de Lench. “Other sports drinks are not designed for kids’ needs and have too much sodium and other undesirable ingredients for kids.”

Youth dehydration is a serious issue. The book “Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports,” written by de Lench, notes that two out of three children are dehydrated before sports practice even starts. By the time kids say they are thirsty, they are already dehydrated. Kids who are well hydrated are often the best performers, as they are able to maintain stamina and endurance throughout the game. Liquids should be consumed before, during, and after sports.

Perfect for fall sports and other activities, Crayons® All Natural Sports Drinks fill a void in the fast-growing functional beverage market for kids. Crayons® All Natural Sports Drinks provide optimal levels of vitamins, electrolytes and minerals, with low amounts of organic evaporated cane juice and a moderate amount of low-sodium sea salt–all carefully selected to specifically address the hydration and nutritional needs of kids. Added vitamin C and calcium help growing kids stay strong.

Each Crayons® All Natural Sports Drink comes in an environmentally friendly 8-ounce, easy-to-hold can–an ideal single-serving for kids to “slam down” when they need to be re-hydrated and replenished. Crayons® All Natural Sports Drinks have just 50 calories and come in three fun and great tasting flavors: Playoff Punch, Leaping Lemon-Lime and Breakaway Berry.

Crayons, Inc. has teamed up with de Lench to create a downloadable “Healthy Hydration Guide for Parents” here.

 Site visitors can also find photos and nutritional profiles of the Crayons® beverages.

Currently available at more than 100 natural and other grocery stores across Western Washington, Crayons® sports drinks can be found at retailers such as QFC, Top Food & Drug, and Whole Foods Market®.

In addition to Crayons® All Natural Sports Drinks, Crayons, Inc. also offers an all natural line of fruit juice drinks that contain healthy amounts of fiber, vitamins and minerals, and a proprietary blend of natural ingredients called SugarGuard™, which helps moderate sugar-absorption rates and reduces sugar spikes in children. Compared to most fruit juice drinks, Crayons® drinks contain 30% less sugar (no high fructose corn syrup) and 25% fewer calories.

Parents have to deal with a multitude of ways their children face injury, and it's their job to protect them from harm. In recognition of National Childhood Injury Protection Week September 1 - 7, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing is offering advice to parents on how to prevent their children from getting hot water burns – a danger that can often be overlooked.

According to the National Safe Kids Campaign, hot tap water accounts for nearly one-fourth of all scald burns among children and is associated with more deaths and hospitalizations than other hot liquid burns. The most common place for tap-water burns is in the bathroom, such as during bath time, and the burns tend to cover a larger portion of the body and be more severe than other scald burns.

"Adults often don't realize that water can feel warm or moderately hot to them but can often be too hot for children. It's important for parents to take precautions to avoid serious injury to their children," said Tab Hunter, president of Franchise Operations at Clockwork Home Services, franchisor of Benjamin Franklin Plumbing.

Hunter offers some informative tips to local families in an effort to prevent childhood injuries:

• Always test the temperature of the water before placing a child into the tub or sink. A good way to do this is place the inside of your wrist, which is more sensitive to temperature, into the stream. If it feels the slightest bit uncomfortable, adjust the water temperature.
• It might not be a good idea to use a showerhead or hose attachment since water temperature from these devices varies more than that of the water already in the bathtub, thus the risk of accidental burns is more likely. However, anti-scald devices are also available for water faucets and showerheads.
• These burns can be prevented by lowering the setting on your hot water heater to 120°F or below. Benjamin Franklin Plumbing can help make sure your water heater is set to an appropriate temperature.

For more information, visit www.benjaminfranklinplumbing.com.

Knott’s Berry Farm Theme Park will be the site of the world championship of pogo sticking this Labor Day weekend as 20 expert pogo stickers converge to show their talents. On Monday, September 1, guests to the park will get to view front flips, back flips, crazy tricks and jumps as high as 8ft performed by some of the most talented pogo stickers on the planet.

This is the second year that the Vurtego World Championship of Pogo Sticking has been held in Southern California and it will again draw talented pogo stickers from across the nation including Fred Grybowski from Chicago, who has been featured on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and America’s Got Talent, and Brian Spencer from Mission Viejo who has been featured on Late Night with David Letterman and the Today Show. Other contenders include the phenomenally talented young Canadian, Dan Mahony, and last year’s winner of the Best Trick contest, Nick McClintock, from New York.

Pogo sticking has evolved over the past 3 years from a toy store novelty to a hard core action sport. New technology now allows riders who loved pogo sticking as kids to take their passion to a new level as the sport has developed. Innovative designs, including lightweight air spring pogo sticks from Vurtego Pogo Sticks, allow riders to achieve significant hang time and perform such stunts as jumping over cars and doing gigantic back flips. “This is really a brand new sport that’s really as urban as it gets. It will be fun to watch it grow,” says Brian Spencer founder of Vurtego Pogo Sticks and host of Planet X, a nationally syndicated action sports TV show.

The event will begin at 11 am in Calico Square in the Ghost Town area of Knott’s Berry Farm and will feature such events as The Free Ride, the High Jump, Best Trick, and the challenging Obstacle Course. Audience members will also have a chance to participate in some pogo stick competitions and the opportunity to win prizes.