School has been in full-swing for a while and…ready or not…the report cards will be coming home soon! Do you remember how nervous you were? Did you run home and joyfully hand it to your parents or did you want to feed it to the neighbor's dog? The anxiety caused by...

With many families in back-to-school busy mode, it can sometimes be difficult to enjoy having meals together. However, research shows that having meals together is beneficial for individuals as well as the whole family. Family members who eat together tend to eat healthier – they eat more fruits...

Ease Those First-Day Blues! A tip sheet from the Illinois Early Learning Project! Separations, sadness, fears, and tears—a young child's first day in your program can be challenging for children and adults! These strategies can help teachers and caregivers make it easier for children and parents...

  Did you know that 1 in 4 Americans aged 65+ falls every year? Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans and are costly - in dollars and quality of life. However, falling is NOT an inevitable part of aging and many falls are preventable. The first...

With the start of the new school year, I thought I'd re-share a blog post on bullying I wrote in 2015.  This timely information is a great reminder for us all in how to tell bullying apart from peer conflict. A concerned parent once approached me with a myriad of questions on bullying. Why...

The University of Illinois Extension has permission through a partnership with University of Georgia Extension to utilize information from the Better Brains for Babies website for educational purposes. What...

Summer break is coming up and parents are busily trying to make arrangements for their children to be safe and occupied during the next few months. Ask yourself - does your child's schedule have more on it than yours? Do you feel more like your child's secretary and driver than their parent? Is...

Regular preventive care exams are key to identifying risk factors and health problems before they become serious. Many diseases and deaths can be prevented by making healthy choices such as not smoking, staying at a healthy weight, eating right, keeping active and getting recommended screening...

Sometimes talking with your teenager can be a real challenge. I feel I have made a major breakthrough if I hear more than "fine" when I ask my teen how his day was. Sound familiar? In reviewing the current literature on the topic of communicating with teenagers, I have read that although teenagers...

As New Year's Resolutions start to fade, we hear more and more excuses for why we are not able to complete our goals. "There's not enough time in the day!" "It's too cold outside!" "It's not fun!" "I'm too old!" Regular physical activity has been reported as the single best thing you can do for...