Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases. My participation in this program comes at no additional cost to you, and helps support my small business. You can learn more here. 

We all want our children to be healthy and safe. But when it comes to safe sleep, we are inundated with unsafe options marketed as safe ways to help our babies sleep better and longer.... and it is easy to cave, because sleep is critical for them, and us. It is no surprise that infant sleep is associated with maternal mental health, among other health factors (for both children and parents).

Weeding through what is safe and unsafe can feel overwhelming. Guidance has changed periodically (meaning advice from older relatives is often not safe), product recalls occur with some regularity, and there are far too many non-evidence based sources providing unsafe guidance that appeals to our emotions as caregivers.

As an evidence based parent, I've continued to find balancing safe sleep with getting sleep a learning process. 

But there are a few straight forward basic rules that I've found are easy to follow. Those apply to your crib's setup and products used within the crib itself!

Your baby may start sleeping in their crib immediately, or they may move to it after a bassinet (which is what our kids did). Whenever they start using it, here are a few ways to ensure they sleep safely AND comfortably! 

(The following has been adapted from the American Academy of Pediatric's Infant Sleep Guidelines)

1. Crib mattresses should be flat and firm. Incline sleepers are not safe additions to crib spaces.
2. Crib sheets should be well fitting and tight.
3. There should be nothing added to the crib space with an infant. This includes toys, stuffed animals, pillows, blankets, or any form of decoration.
4. Crib bumpers and mesh are neither necessary or safe additions to cribs. 
5. There should be nothing within reach of your infant while they are in their crib. This includes wires from your baby monitor, anything that could fall into the crib, and yes, their mobile. You'll want to move it before they get to the stage where they will be able to grab it!
6. Babies should be put to sleep on their backs. 
7. Make sure the crib complies with the most recent Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines. There are a number of infant items on the market that are not safe for sleep. If it is a padded pillow like surface, it is not a safe place to let baby sleep. Swings are also not safe sleep spaces. 

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases. Commissions help support my small business, and my participation in this program comes at no added cost to you. You can learn more about my participation in this program here. This article does not offer (and should not be interpreted as) medical advice, and is for informational purposes only. Always speak to your doctor regarding specifics related to your medical care. 

Summer can be tons of fun, but it comes with some unique challenges for food allergy families. Here are a few basic tips for staying safe with food allergies this summer!

1. Keep your epinepherine temperature controlled.

You may find yourself asking: What temperature should I keep my epi pen at?

Your epi pen should ideally be kept at room temperature, but that can be challenging during the hot summer months. So, how can you keep your epi pens temperature controlled*? Here are a few tips!

2. Prioritize skin care during the summer months, but always read labels on skincare products

Skincare is vital all year round, especially for those with sensitive skin and/or food allergies. Broken skin allows allergens an access point to cause contact reactions, or can result in rashes that could be confused for allergies. Summer sun, water play, heat, and sunscreen are all harsh on skin, making prioritizing skincare particularly critical during the warm months. 

Be sure to check out my top summer skin care tips for kids with sensitive skin here.

However, skincare and cosmetic products are often the source of nut and seed oils, as well as other top allergens. That means you should always read the labels of your sunscreen and other skincare products in order to ensure they do not contain your allergens. 

Sesame oil is one common ingredient in a variety of skincare products that may be hard to identify, because it is not always labeled clearly; sesame is commonly referred to as sesamum indicum on cosmetic labels. Be sure you know any and all names for your allergens, so you know specifically what to look for. 

3. As always read every label, even if it is a product you have consumed before, and bring safe foods with you.

4. Always communicate about your allergy needs and comfort levels with others around you.

If you have a child with a food allergy, be sure to communicate with any caregivers about allergy action plans. If you will be the caregiver, or if you have food allergies, it is still important to communicate about your comfort level if you will be in close proximity to others. Why? Many skincare and cosmetic products contain common allergens. If there will be food present, there is also a concern of cross contact or accidental exposure. It is always a good idea to communicate about food allergies with those you spend time with, because it allows others to take precautions with where they put their plates down, where they eat (and how they clean up their space), and what products they wear. 

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER TO BRING TWO EPI PENS WITH YOU!!!

You should always have at least two epi pens on you at all times. This ensures you will have a second dose should the first not be effective. That is particularly relevant during summer months, when many travel to destinations that are far from emergency services and/or hospitals. And don't worry; epinephrine is a safe medication! Never be afraid to follow your allergy action plan, even if it includes the administration of epinephrine. 

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases. Commisions earned help suppport my small business, and my participation in this program comes at no added cost to you. You can learn more here. Nothing contained in this article constitutes medical advice. Always speak with your doctor for information about your family's health.

1 in 13 children and 1 in 10 adults have a food allergy.

Chances are, someone you know, and love, has a food allergy. With how common food allergies are, you wouldn't think there would be a lot of misinformation out there. And yet, myths abound.

Food Allergy Awareness Week runs from May 9th to May 15th, 2021, and May is Asthma and Food Allergy Awareness Month.

​In honor of the occasion, and in line with my mission to continue providing evidence based parenting and caregiving solutions, I've put together a list of 8 common food allergy myths, and the related facts. How many of these myths have you heard?

Myth: Food allergies and intolerances are the same.

Fact: Food allergies and intolerances are not the same thing. Thet are two separate medical conditions, affecting two separate systems. Food allergies are the result of an immunological response. In contrast, intolerances are a gasterointestinal disorder.

Food intolerances are also not typically threatening. In contrast, food allergies can be.

Myth: If you have a mild allergy, you can eat small amounts of your allergen.

Fact:

1. There is no such thing as a mild food allergy, only mild reactions.

2. If you have a food allergy, you should avoid ingesting any amount of your allergen.

Never, ever feed someone with food allergies any amount of their allergen, for any reason. Food allergy support groups are filled with anecdotes of family, friends, and educators giving people their allergen because "a little bit can't hurt". "A little bit" of someone's allergen can be enough to kill them. If you do not understand someone's allergen, ASK. Do not, for any reason, make assumptions or executive decisions about what a food allergy patient can or should eat. Ever.

Myth: Not all food allergies are life threatening. Peanut allergies are the most severe.

Fact: Any food allergy has the potential to be life threatening.

Myth: If you have always had mild reactions to your allergen, you are not at risk for anaphylaxis.

Fact: Past reactions ​generally do not predict future reactions. Any food allergy patient can be at risk for anaphylaxis!

Myth: There are only 8 food allergens: peanuts, treenuts, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, fish, and shellfish.

Fact: There are more than 160 identified food allergens!!!! With the passage of the FASTER Act in 2021, there are now 9 top allergens (#9 is sesame). The FASTER Act goes into effect 1/1/23. 

Myth: You can tell if a product is safe for a food allergy patient to consume by reading the label.

Fact: Labels can tell you if a product is NOT safe, but not if it is safe. Companies only have to disclose if their product contains the Top 8 allergens, and do not have to disclose risk of cross contact.

Myth: You should only epi if your throat closes, or you can't breath

​Fact: Signs of anaphylaxis vary. Speak to your doctor, or see FARE's action plan to learn more. You'll notice that symptoms are not just confined to the respiratory system. Allergic reactions can affect the skin, nervous system, cardiorespiratory system, eyes, and even the gasterointestinal tract. My reactions to peanuts have varied from hives to an itchy throat and swelling of my lips and mouth. I have also experienced severe headaches. I have family members who have had severe GI symptoms, but no skin or respiratory symptoms. Other family members have profuse hives, GI symptoms, and wheezing. Knowing all the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis, and acting early by administering epinephrine, can save a life.

Your individualized action plan will be the best source of information of when to administer epinephrine, so be sure to obtain one from your allergist if you do not have one (and follow it closely).

​EPI FIRST, EPI FAST!!!

​*When prescribed by a doctor, administered under the guidance of a medical professional, and/or used as directed. Always speak with a medical professional to see if epi is right for you. Also note, in some places, epinephrine is a component of first aid kits. In these regions, epinephrine has been deemed safe enough to administer when anaphylaxis is suspected. Do not rely on this article to dictate if epi is the correct medication for you, or your family. 

Want to learn even more about food allergies? Be sure to visit Food Allergy Research and Education! Also, check out my list of 5 things I've learned as a food allergy parent, and visit my food allergy portal for even more food allergy family resources and blog posts!

Food Allergy Research and Education also has a section on food allergy myths and misconceptions. You can find that here. 

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases. Commissions earned help support my small business, and my participation in the program comes at no added cost to you. You can learn more about my participation in this program here.

​The school year is dragging on, and yet, it is almost over for many students. Virtual learning is just not quite as effective as in person learning, is it? Even if your child is going to school in person, they may be missing quite a few days due to the current circumstances. Especially for very young children, reinforcing the basic foundational skills they learn at school has become all the more essential. 

Enter Jolie Canoli Phonics!

If you are looking for a supplement to school based reading instruction for your preschooler, kindergartener, or even early elementary student, these books are an amazing resource. They are also great for families looking to give their children a head start on the foundations of fluent English reading. As I’ve previously shared, literacy science indicates five critical areas of reading instruction, and phonemic awareness and phonics (together making up the larger category of phonological awareness) are two key areas to focus attention on early during reading development (National Reading Panel, 2000). I’ve also noted that many kids’ books and programs do not adequately promote development of critical phonological awareness strategies. Given this fact, I am happy to add Jolie Canoli texts to the list of books that I can enthusiastically endorse as using effective letter sound mapping strategies. Plus, these books have the added benefit of promoting decoding/carry over of skills.

Each text starts with an introduction for parents and caregivers. Essentially serving as a crash course in the basics of how to use the text and concepts of reading and reading instruction, these brief instructions are in simple language that even those without a degree in education can easily retain. But they don’t just focus on speech sounds. Both books in the phonics series offer prompts for how to write each letter. This is the only widely available phonics/alphabet book series I’ve found with that feature, setting them apart from competitors. ​

​In the alphabet book, the text is presented in rhyming form, and ties the grapheme characters into the story seamlessly. Onomatopoeia is used as a device to help children further understand the sounds that letters make. Phonemes are repeated multiple times in different words, as well as different places within the words. The author also provides fun rules for letters that have multiple phonemes to help children understand where a letter might make one sound or another (my noting this inherently means she also spends time focusing on the fact that different letters can make many different sounds in the first place; one example is the hard and soft G that many books neglect to explicitly address).
 
Periodic check ins provide an opportunity for children to practice blending/decording using the phonemes and graphemes they have just reviewed. As I’ve previously noted, decoding/word segmentation is a critical skill associated with later reading fluency (eg. Muter, 1998; Hjetland, et al., 2017). While it is not the primary focus of the text, the introduction to blending/decoding practice is a fantastic addition that many children’s alphabet books neglect.

​The vowels book pairs with a song by the author, available for download on her webpage. Like the alphabet book, the vowels text reviews the multitude of sounds each letter can make, in a variety of places within the words, and introduces phonics rules in rhyming form. The characters each letter becomes also helps indicate to readers what sound each respective letter makes (e.g. up vs. unicorn for the letter u). Like the alphabet book, the pages are colorful, fun, and interactive. 

​While there are no major drawbacks within these texts, there were two areas where I could see some minor room for improvement. Both were in the alphabet book, and the first can easily be addressed by using the vowels text in addition to the alphabet book. This was that the letter A was not addressed using one of the most common sounds it makes; a as in apple. Instead the author uses the word ant for the short a sound, and a in acorn for the long a sound. As a former educator training in the Wilson school of phonics instruction (a methodology supported by extensive research), I would much prefer the boring a for apple over a for ant. [Note: I am not in any way sponsored or affiliated with Wilson; I am simply a major proponent of their method). That said, this is not something I see as a major problem with the alphabet book given the audience is parents and their children rather than teachers involved in early reading instruction, and the vowels text does address the matter further. The second critique I had of the alphabet book was that one of the blending practice words used a double e (which makes a long e sound), despite not explicitly covering this concept. However, this is a children’s book we are discussing here, not a curriculum package (reference my audience comment prior). I am not horribly concerned as a result!

​These books get a definite recommendation from me! I am pleased to add them to my child’s library, and would certainly encourage other parents to do the same! They are fun, engaging, and importantly, have content presented in a way I believe would aid in the development of early reading skills*. 

​You can find Jolie Canoli’s phonics series (and other books/content) on her website, or on Amazon. 

*I say believe because, as a scientist reviewing a program not supported by science, I am incapable of drawing causal claims. That said, these are children’s books, not a curriculum program, and as such, there is no necessity to support the books with scientific studies.

Over the next month I will be sharing  variety of resources, tips, and tricks to help make Halloween 2020 safer for you and your children, while still being tons of fun. This will include Teal Pumpkin Project resources, as well as information about making a socially distant Halloween happen, whether you choose to trick or treat or seek alternatives. 

The links below will get you started, and stay tuned to the blog and mysocial media feeds for more! I've also included a list with a few more ideas at the bottom of the page.

Is your family skipping trick or treating? Aside from the ideas listed in my Westchester County Mom article, here are some other options to celebrate Halloween at home. You can do these with your family, or include your social/learning pod with precautions!

• Halloween Movie Night 
• Halloween Baking or Cookie Decorating - There are tons of great ideas for Halloween treats on my Pinterest!
• Pumpkin Carving or Painting (you can also roast the seeds after!)
• Halloween Piñata - Check your local party supply stores, and you just might be able to find a great Halloween themed Piñata. While kids may not be able to work for candy by walking door to door, they can still get a similar thrill with this activity!
• Create a haunted house at home
• Halloween activity night - Do Halloween themed STEM or craft activities. There are many listed on my Pinterest account, or check out my activities and craft pages for a few ideas. 

And be sure to check out my Pinterest account for Halloween themed boards, and ideas from tons of other amazing bloggers!

​Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Rhyme to Read. All opinions are my own. 

As a former educator with extensive training in the science of learning to read, I always have my eye out for products that are aligned with best practices. It seems as though children’s products touting their educational value are a dime a dozen. With homeschooling becoming an increasing choice due to the ongoing pandemic hitting the US, I predict this trend will only accelerate. But as a former teacher, I am frequently disappointed by many resources labeled “educational” that are on the market. Often, these products have no basis in the science of learning, and some even utilize strategies that are counterproductive.
 
When it comes to learning to read, literacy science suggests there are five core areas of instruction critical to promote (National Reading Panel, 2000). These are: phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency. An important note to make here, before I continue, is that phonics and phonemic awareness fall under a larger umbrella known as phonological awareness. This is a concept I’ll be returning to several times in this review, starting by letting you know that, from what I have seen from many early literary programs on the market, many programs do not promote critical phonological awareness strategies that contribute to the development of efficient decoding, and later automatic word reading. Instead, many of these programs focus on the first letter of words (rather than what sound that letter makes, that is, it’s phoneme), whole word or sight word reading (i.e. rote memorization of words while relying on the first letter and context cues to predict the word’s entirety), or poorly implemented phonics strategies (e.g. ineffective letter/sound mapping). For instance, you’ll see many programs utilize the word xylophone for the letter ‘x’. Take a moment to say ‘x’, and consider the sound it makes. The phoneme is roughly the same sound that ‘cks’ makes in the word ‘socks’. Does the word xylophone truly highlight that letter’s sound (i.e., the phoneme for ‘x’)? No. A better strategy is to find a word where ‘x’ makes its common sound; words like ‘fox’, ‘six’, or ‘box’. Circling back, problems like this are particularly prominent in products that are computerized, since many aren’t developed by educators, but rather computer programmers. The end result is anyone without a background in the science of education may be fooled into believing that a program is teaching their child to read effectively, when it is not. This isn’t to say these programs are worthless, necessarily (though some certainly are). Just that many programs aren’t quite hitting the mark in promoting effective early literacy strategies. 

​Rhyme to Read, a program designed by a reading specialist, alongside a PhD in special education, is different. 
 
There are several things I love about Rhyme to Read. First, it isn’t another computer or tablet app that you set your child down in front of, and walk away. It requires effort on behalf of an adult, helping guide the child. Furthermore, while the program does offer an app, it also provides printable copies/ebook versions of the texts via digital download. Reading with your child is known to be an excellent way to build pre-literacy and beginning literacy skills (e.g. American Academy of Pediatrics, 2020). Therefore, the fact that Rhyme to Read promotes actively reading with your child, and offers several formats sets it apart from a lot of the competition.

Rhyming is a frequently used and effective strategy to promote phonological awareness and support reading development (e.g. American Academy of Pediatrics, 2020; Anthony & Lonigan (2004); Roberts & Neal, (2004); National Reading Panel (2000), Goswami, 1990; also, author’s personal experiences teaching and utilizing said instruction strategy under guidance of reading specialists and mentors at both Fitchburg State University and on site at the elementary school I taught at, though anecdotes should always be taken with loads of skepticism!), and this program does a great job of utilizing the strategy for the purpose of reading instruction. This reliance one effective literacy instruction strategy is a feature of Rhyme to Read that sets it apart from some other content marketed to parents as educational. No surprise, the program was designed by a team with expertise in reading instruction. By color coding written language and matching letter combinations with correlating sounds, this program also features an explicit phonics instruction strategy. 
 
While it utilizes strategies often applied in classrooms, the program is easy for parents without a degree in education to use. It is also simple and coherently structured. Rhyme to Read builds throughout each short text on concepts from the previous unit. This progressive increase in difficulty while explicitly drawing from prior units is something known as scaffolding. That is, the program provides building blocks to allow a child to develop skills and move from a place of dependence to full independence with minimal frustration and minimal boredom (i.e., the content is neither too difficult, nor too easy; that is, to use the Goldilocks metaphor, it is ‘just right’ in terms of the challenge the content offers). Rhyme to Read starts with simple rhyming concepts and sight words, and uses color coding to draw readers’ attention to specific sound families. Sight words are called out page by page, and there is no unnecessary text. That is, the authors have carefully crafted each story so that it contains nothing but the conceptual building blocks being introduced. Concepts are also clearly tracked and carried over from unit to unit.
​
Finally, Rhyme to Read offers diverse representation in their texts. In an era where efforts are increasingly being made to ensure all children can see themselves in media, this program does a nice job of incorporating images of characters with a range of abilities and appearances.

It is important to note that rhyming instruction alone is not sufficient to promote future reading ability (e.g. Yeh, 2008; Martin, et al., 2002; Muter, 1998), and segmentation (something not focused on explicitly in this program) is a vital and potentially the most important skill associated with later reading ability (e.g. Muter, 1998). Furthermore, Rhyme to Read has not been scientifically validated; that is, there have been no experimental studies comparing this program's efficacy to that of other proven programs. As a scientist, this is something I ideally like to see from curriculum materials. All that said, I still would recommend Rhyme to Read to families looking to homeschool, supplement school curriculum at home, or get an early start on more formal reading instruction with their children before they start learning in school. I believe the program would best be used in combination with explicit segmentation/decoding instruction, and other direct reading instruction strategies. 
 ​

Overall, I loved this program, and believe you will, too!

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References and Resources

Tips For Helping Your Child Develop Preliteracy Skills:
American Academy of Pediatrics (2020). Resources for Families: Top Tips for Families for Early Reading and Literacy. https://www.aap.org/en-us/literacy/Pages/For-Families.aspx
​
​Additional References:
Anthony, J. L., & Lonigan, C. J. (2004). The Nature of Phonological Awareness: Converging Evidence From Four Studies of Preschool and Early Grade School Children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(1), 43–55. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.96.1.43
Goswami, U. (1990), A Special Link between Rhyming Skill and the Use of Orthographic Analogies by Beginning Readers. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 31: 301-311. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.1990.tb01568.x
National Reading Panel. (2000) Report of the National Reading Panel--Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. https://www.nichd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/publications/pubs/nrp/Documents/report.pdf
Martin, M.E. and Byrne, B. (2002), Teaching children to recognise rhyme does not directly promote phonemic awareness. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 72: 561-572. doi:10.1348/00070990260377523
Muter, V., Hulme, C., Snowling, M., Taylor, S., (1998). Segmentation, Not Rhyming, Predicts Early Progress in Learning to Read. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 71(1): 3-27. https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1998.2453
Roberts, T., Neal, H. (2004). Relationships among preschool English language learner’s oral proficiency in English, instructional experience and literacy development.
Contemporary Educational Psychology. 29 (3): 283-311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2003.08.001
Yeh, S.S. and Connell, D.B. (2008), Effects of rhyming, vocabulary and phonemic awareness instruction on phoneme awareness. Journal of Research in Reading, 31: 243-256. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9817.2007.00353.x