Babies and Families

PAGE 19 — Babies &

Families • Addison Independent, Monday, July 31, 2017

Summer

Babies & Families

The Addison Independent • July 31, 2017

Odin was born on October 23, 2016 to Melissa and Mike Strong of Vergennes

PAGE 20 — Babies &

Families • Addison Independent, Monday, July 31, 2017

It’s a new beginning:

When sisters blossom into aunts My two sisters are — and have always been — my closest allies.

Family works like that, if you’re lucky, and I count myself among the luckiest.

OK, our parents split early in our childhoods and there were some years in there that weren’t all awesome in terms of the “perfect family” ranking, but my sisters and I came out of it stronger, together.

We’re close in age; my younger sister, Elsie, was born almost exactly three years after my older sister, Polly — and I was smack dab in between.

We’re close in other ways too.

We are each athletes, each went to small liberal art colleges, each have traveled around the world, each get mistaken for the others even by people who think they know us well, and yes, we’ve each returned to Vermont to join the family news organization.

Over the course of the last few years, we each got married (in case you were wondering, we all married

By Christy Scorpios).

We Lynn are each buying, renovating and/ or building houses.

We each have unique styles and ways of life, but watching my sisters mature and age feels more like witnessing what could have been a different version of my life (had I made slightly different choices along the way), than it does witnessing the same processes in other friends or people around me.

In February of this year, Polly announced to the family that she was expecting a baby in the fall.

Starting a unfamiliar and somewhat strange pattern, Elsie and I began struggling to relate to what Polly was going through. We’ve watched as her body stretches into shapes none of us have seen before in the mirror and talked through the things you only learn when you face this chapter in life.

Clippings

Polly Lynn Mikula, center, is expecting the first child of the next generation in the Lynn family. Sisters Elsie Lynn Parini (left) and Christy Lynn (right) look forward to their new roles as aunts.

Not a mother myself, I have come to terms with not being able to offer any first hand advice or share in my own experiences, which is challenging for someone who comforts through empathy. But as openness and trust in a relationship allows, we have found new ways to connect and old ways that still work to support each other.

As the eldest, Polly has forged new paths before and is now into the final trimester before she brings my niece into the world.

I cannot wait to be an aunt!

My own aunts are some of my favorite people and the role of an aunt is one of the coolest out there — particularly for a girl. I can (See Sisterhood, Page 25)

A Partnership Approach to Care

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Vt. health professionals recognized for childhood immunization rates

BURLINGTON – Nine physician care practices in Vermont have been recognized by the Vermont Department of Health for their high percentage of infants, children and teens immunized against vaccinepreventable diseases.

The awards were presented as part of National Infant Immuni zation Week (NIIW), an annual observance to highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases that took place April 22-29.

The nine practices and their staff were recognized for meeting the Healthy People 2020 goals for childhood immunization.

Practices with at least 20 patients in the appropriate age ranges had to meet national immunization goals, including babies having received the recommended immunizations by age two to protect them from 14 serious childhood diseases, such as whooping cough and measles. Last year, five practices in Vermont met the criteria.

• At least 90 percent of two-yearold patients were up to date for DTaP, Polio, MMR, Hib, HepB, VAR, and PCV • At least 80 percent of teens were up to date for Tdap and MCV • At least 70

percent progress toward the HPV (3-dose series) target of 80 percent “The doctors, nurses and provider staff in our communities play a critical role in supporting a parent’s decision to vaccinate their children,” said Christine Finley, immunization program manager for the Health Department.

“We can see in our data that parents around the state are choosing to vaccinate their children, because they trust that vaccines provide safe and effective protection against 14 diseases that range from very rare to common in Vermont.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among children born during 19942016, vaccination will prevent an estimated 381 million illnesses, 24.5 million hospitalizations, and 855,000 deaths over the course of their lifetimes.

Finley said that with potentially fatal diseases just a plane ride away, the trends toward an increasing number of Vermont’s infants and children being vaccinated is important.

“A low percentage of immunization coverage has contributed to situations like the current measles outbreak in Minnesota, where at least 21 children are infected and 50 percent of those have been hospitalized,” said Finley. “We encourage parents to talk to their child’s doctor and ensure that their baby is up to date on immunizations.”

Check the Health Department’s Performance Scorecard to see whether Vermonters are getting their recommended vaccinations: www. healthvermont.gov/scorecardinfectious-disease

Vermont Health Care Provider Practices Recognized

Rebecca Collman, MD – Burlington Essex Pediatrics, PC – Essex Jct. Gifford Pediatrics – White River Junction Green Mountain Pediatrics, PC – Bennington Hagan, Rinehart & Connolly Pediatricians – Burlington Richmond Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine – Richmond Springfield Health Center Family Medicine – Springfield UVMHN CVMC Pediatric Primary Care – Barre UVM Medical Center Pediatric Primary Care – Williston

Babies & Families • Addison Independent, Monday, July 31, 2017 — PAGE 21

PAGE 22 — Babies &

Families • Addison Independent, Monday, July 31, 2017

Keeping kids engaged over breaks (MS) — Children in North America will spend, on average, more than 900 hours attending school in a given year. The average school year in the United States lasts 1,016 hours, the equivalent of 42 continuous days. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, many developed countries begin their academic years in September and end them in June. Some, like Australia, feature four terms with two-week breaks in between each term.

Others go to school for most of the year — with various holiday breaks in between — and then get the bulk of their time off during the summer.

As much time as kids spend in school, there will be times when they are left to their own devices, and during these times it’s easy for them to forgot classroom lessons. Sometimes called “summer learning loss” or “summer slide,” this forgetfulness sees many students fail to retain all of their lessons over prolonged breaks from school. Studies indicate that students score lower on standardized tests at the end of the summer compared to their performance on the same tests at the beginning of summer. Anywhere from between one to three months worth of educational achievement can dissipate during prolonged breaks from the classroom.

To help ensure that those hard-earned lessons are not so easily forgotten, parents can help children remain intellectually engaged in various ways over school breaks.

• Stick to a schedule. Try to maintain a schedule similar to school, with children waking at the same time

each day and going to bed at similar hours. This will make it much easier to get back into a routine when a new school year begins.

• Encourage reading. Set aside time for reading each day. All it generally takes is 15 to 30 minutes of reading per day for kids to remember their vocabulary lessons and maintain their fluency and comprehension skills.

Children may enjoy picking their own books rather than having a required reading list.

• Keep a math book handy. On long car trips or rainy days, children can do a few math problems to keep their skills sharp. This will help keep learning loss to a minimum. Math workbooks may be available at bookstores, or parents can look online or ask a teacher for a summer to-do packet.

• Plan educational trips. Vacations and day trips can be fun, entertaining and educational all at the same time.

Science centers, museums and living history locations can bring to life information learned in the classroom, even on family vacations.

• Learn at camp. Many children attend camp for a portion of their school breaks. Look for camps that do not simply babysit children, but engage them through enrichment activities.

• Take a class. Children and families can learn together by exploring new skills. Enroll in something educational and enjoyable, such as a music or dance class, a STEM seminar or something else that engages the mind and body. This gives everyone a chance to learn something new and have a great time together as a family.

Parents and educators can reduce lesson loss over school breaks by encouraging families to remain intellectually engaged in any way they can.

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Finding balance with extracurricular activities (MS) — Many high schools, colleges and universities emphasize their goals of producing well-rounded students.

Extracurricular activities teach students important life lessons, provide them opportunities to socialize and often stimulate their minds and bodies in ways that differ from the stimulation provided in the classroom.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau states that, in 2014, 57 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 17 participate in at least one afterschool extracurricular activity. Children are more likely to participate in sports than clubs or lessons, such as music, dance and language, but each of these activities can be beneficial to students’ development.

Students who participate in extracurricular activities may want to limit their participation to 20 hours per week. This is according to a group of professors from Stanford University and Villanova University who have been collecting data on the issue since 2007. In their report “Extracurricular Activity in HighPerforming School Contexts: Stress Buster, Booster or Buffer?,” Jerusha Conner and Sarah Miles found that 87 percent of kids who would be considered to have packed schedules were perfectly happy unless they were doing more than four hours a day.

The “over-scheduling hypothesis” may be overhyped. This is the concern that too much organized activity participation leads to poor developmental outcomes. This hypothesis also suggests that hectic schedules also undermine family functioning, detract from schoolwork and possibly increase the risk of copycat behaviors and excessive competitiveness.

However, in the study “The Over-Scheduling Hypothesis Revisited: Intensity of Organized Activity Participation During Adolescence and Young Adult Outcomes,” researchers J.L. Mahoney and Andrea Vest determined that, controlling for demographic factors and baseline adjustment, extracurricular intensity was a significant predictor of positive outcomes and unrelated to indicators of problematic adjustment (e.g., psychological distress, substance use, antisocial behavior) at young adulthood.

Even though extracurricular activities are largely positive — even when schedules are packed — parents need to be aware of the diminishing returns of too many activities.

This is something called the “threshold effect.”

Benefits from extracurriculars can level off when too many activities are being juggled.

If a child is experiencing anxiety, sleeplessness or depression, or seems overly stressed, it could be time to reduce students’ time spent doing structured activities.

It’s essential that families use the cues given by kids to assess what students can handle. And children should be encouraged to be honest with their parents about their extracurricular activities as well.

Babies & Families • Addison Independent, Monday, July 31, 2017 — PAGE 23

6 ways to make more time for family

(MS) — Time is at a premium for today’s families. Many households are dual-income, and children may engage in one or more extracurricular activities after school. The challenge often lies in finding ways to spend quality time together as a family. Although that can sometimes feel impossible, with a little creativity and thoughtful planning, families can find time with one another.

1. Adjust wake-up time. Have the family get up with the earliest riser. Then everyone can enjoy breakfast together and touch base about their day to come. Many activities that keep families busy occur after school, so this ensures at least one family meal together every day.

2. Take off for school holidays. Working parents can adjust their schedules to include a few vacation days used on school holidays.

This way everyone benefits from sleeping in and spending time together.

3. Schedule a family day off. Preplan for a weekday when the entire family stays home

from work or school. Museums, indoor play areas, movie theaters, and other attractions are less busy during the week than during the weekend. This allows families to have more fun together.

4. Turn chores into family projects. Work around the house will get done much more quickly if everyone pitches in. Plus, this is a great opportunity to work together and learn new skills. Kids may enjoy learning how to prepare meals or plant a garden.

5. Host a family reunion. Extended families may only have the opportunity to see each other a few times a year. Annual family reunions help strengthen the bond adults and children have with their extended families and provide a fun reason to get together.

6. Schedule a weekly family night.

Families can make sure that at least one night each week the schedule is free so that they can spend time together playing a game, watching a movie or doing another familyfriendly activity.

PAGE 24 — Babies &

Families • Addison Independent, Monday, July 31, 2017

Three factors to consider when looking for daycare facilities

(MS) — Parents typically face tough decisions when choosing daycare facilities for their children. While parents often have many competent, qualified facilities to choose from, they must consider a host of variables to ensure they’re making the best decision for themselves and their families.

1. LOCATION For many parents, the decision of which daycare facility to use for their children comes down to location. Some parents want a facility close to their offices, while others want one that’s close to home. If location is a significant concern, parents should also consider the proximity of a given facility to friends or family members who may need to pick kids up in case of emergency.

2. REPUTATION Oftentimes, the best way to find a daycare facility is to speak with fellow parents.

Whether their children are still in daycare or have long since moved on, fellow

parents can be a great resource. Ask family, friends or neighbors with children which facilities they used and whether or not they would recommend them. Parents also can ask each facility they visit for the contact information of the parents of past and current enrollees.

3. COST Daycare can be expensive, and while costs vary greatly depending on where families live, parents can expect to pay a sizable amount for their children to be in daycare. According to the National Association of Childcare Resource and Referral Agencies, parents can expect to pay anywhere from $3,582 to $18,773 per year on daycare for their children.

When examining daycare programs, parents of very young children need to consider just how much their children will likely get out of a given program. Some expensive programs may be too advanced for infant children, while less costly programs may not offer enough to keep older kids stimulated. Cost should not be mistaken for quality, but parents should do their best to determine if a program will be worth spending more for or if a less expensive program will provide the stimulation their kids need.

Choosing a daycare facility is difficult, and parents should afford themselves ample time to find the right facility for their families.

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132 SOUTH VILLAGE GREEN, COURT STREET • MIDDLEBURY, VT 05753

PO Box 555, 48 Court Street Middlebury, VT 05753 Ph: 802.388.7189

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Babies & Families • Addison Independent, Monday, July 31, 2017 — PAGE 25

Sisterhood

POLLY LYNN MIKULA

(Continued from Page 20) imagine teaching my niece about flowers in my garden and helping her learn how to swim and ride a bike. I try to imagine what my nickname will become, as she struggles with the “Ch” at the start of my name; (I’m thinking it will come our something more similar to “Kissy,” which I suppose I can live with). I imagine watching Polly and Jason carrying her home from the hospital, eager with anticipation for this fundamentally new chapter in their lives.

But it’s hard to imagine how this baby (and any more to come) will change my relationship with my sisters.

Inevitably, kids will fill our lives and occupy some of the time that we used to spend with each other. Surely our parenting styles will differ in ways that we will probably struggle at times to understand. The term “family” that has for our whole lives included each other in the inner-most circle will suddenly change, as our “nuclear” families expand from the center and shift each other to the “extended” family ring.

But with 30-plus years of experiencing change together, I have faith that aunthood will be just as good a chapter as the rest with my sisters. I have to believe that we’ll continue to lean on and learn from each other and that our children will do the same.

Because by the looks of Polly’s rotund midriff, this baby’s coming anyway.

Addison County to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week

M I D D L E B U R Y — In honor of World Breastfeeding Week, the Addison County community and local businesses will be celebrating breastfeeding during the whole month of August. This year the theme is “Sustaining Breastfeeding Together.”

The Vermont Department of Health encourages breastfeeding, and supports nursing mothers through educational programs and initiatives. The Local Health Office in Middlebury works one-on-one with new moms through breastfeeding classes and at its WIC clinics. The department also helps local businesses become Breastfeeding Friendly Employers.

Other community supports for breastfeeding include nurses and lactation consultants at Porter Medical Center and through La Leche League.

The following will be presented in conjunction with World Breastfeeding Week: The Big Latch On — Saturday, Aug. 5, from 9:30-11 a.m. at the Middlebury Recreation Field near Mary Hogan Elementary School. Nursing mothers and their infants will gather to join breastfeeders worldwide for “The Big Latch On” in support of breastfeeding. Look for the pink tent and enjoy snacks and fun activities with your family. There will be a count taken

at 10:30 a.m. In 2016, there were nearly 18,000 “latched on” children during this event worldwide.

Learn more about The Big Latch On online at biglatchon.org.

Breastfeeding at Addison County Field Days — From Aug. 8-12 join your neighbors at the biggest agricultural fair in the state. Check out the newly constructed Infant Comfort Station near the restrooms for a quick break to breastfeed your baby in a cool space.

Social Media Raises Awareness — The Middlebury Local Health Office Facebook page will be sharing positive photos of breastfeeding women during World Breastfeeding Week, which will show a healthy aspect of the lives of women and infants. Look for, like, comment and share on the Facebook page. Also, follow World Breastfeeding Week on Twitter: #WBW2017.

PAGE 26 — Babies &

Families • Addison Independent, Monday, July 31, 2017

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Middlebury Dental Group Cares for Smiles of All Ages

Dr. Hopper & Dr. Fasoli Treat Kids & Adults in Middlebury MIDDLEBURY, VT—The best way to guarantee a lifetime of healthy smiles is to provide kids with a “dental home” where they can develop good habits.

This is one of the guiding philosophies at Middlebury Dental Group. By treating children from their first tooth onward, the practice provides a foundation of great dental health for the youngest patients in Addison County.

“We love kids and we know how to care for them,” says Dr. Adam Fasoli.

“Visits to the dentist are a learning experience for kids, so it’s important that we make them feel comfortable and respected.”

Both Dr. Fasoli and Dr. Peter J. Hopper have been caring for children in the local community for years, as well as their parents and grandparents.

The concepts of long-term preventive care and patient education guide their treatment of patients of all ages. While children may be learning to brush, floss, or avoid sugary foods for the first time, the team at Middlebury Dental Group knows that their grown-up patients sometimes need tips to keep their smile healthy, too.

The dentists at Middlebury Dental Group are concerned that lack of convenience is one of the things that keeps busy families from staying up to date with their preventive dental care appointments. They have taken a novel approach to this problem by offering extended hours, with dental appointments after school as late as 4:30pm, so parents don’t have to pull their kids out of class for teeth cleaning appointments.

Whenever possible, the practice offers what they call “family style” appointments, where kids and parents have their cleanings scheduled at the same time, so the whole family can be in-and-out quickly and easily.

Middlebury Dental Group is located in Suite 170 at 1330 Exchange Street, located off Route 7, across from the Bridge School & next to Champlain Valley Orthopedics. For more information about the dental care they offer, please call 802-388-3553.

Middlebury Dental Group 1330 Exchange Street, Suite 170, Middlebury, Vt. (802) 388-3553 • middleburydentalvt.com