We answered a listener's question about having two glasses of champagne at a wedding. She wanted to know if it was safe to have this "little bit" even though she is 32 weeks pregnant. My answer was that no amount of alcohol is safe to drink when you're pregnant. Here's a resource for you.
A mother asked a question about offering too much praise to her 5-year old. Her mother said that she overly praises him. She asked for some guidance on the issue. The answer was "yes", a parent can praise a child too much. Here are three articles from drclaudia.net that may help to understand this phenomenon.
This is a Parenting Pointer-praising children
This is a Parenting Pointer-rewards and approval
This is a Parenting Pointer-narcissism in kids
Scarlet fever is back and here's what you need to look out for if your child begins to feel ill.
A mother reached out about her 27-year old son who seems lost and disheartened. He has had the same "temporary" job for 3 years and she felt that his job is the source of his global dissatisfaction with life.
I recommended that he speak with a vocational counselor who can tap into his strengths and work interests to help him consider jobs he may not have thought about previously. Basically, vocational counselors match interests and strengths to jobs. He can find a professional at this site.
Mother may also want to talk with her son about Solution-Focused Brief Therapy which is exactly as it sounds. It is a therapeutic problem-solving approach. Learn more here.
A 26-year old woman asked about her potential to inherit depression which runs in her family. Her physician told her that she could be "tested" for the depression gene. Actually, there is only testing to determine if anti-depressants might work for her. This field of study is called pharmacogenetics and the studies search for markers. There are a number of articles on the subject that can be found with just a basic online search.
I recommended that she start journaling, perhaps using a scale to rate each day on whatever dimensions she chooses including levels of irritability, motivation, satisfaction, handling frustration, low mood, level of social engagement, etc. When people recall their emotions, they either over- or underestimate the quality and the type of emotions.
If she finds herself having more episodes of the "blues" that she described, then consulting with a Cognitive-Behavioral therapist is the best course of action. Cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective treatment for depression and anxiety. She may have to audition several to find a "good fit". The journal will be valuable in communicating to the therapist the course of her social-emotional experiences.
The goal of therapy might be to develop insight, coping skills, stabilize emotional states, explore family history and set goals to improve life satisfaction. Practicing these skills before the ultimate turbulence of life occurs will be a protective factor.
Daylight Saving Time began last Sunday and the state of Florida passed the Sunshine Protection Act because they want to have permanent DST. However, they can pass all the laws they want, but Congress has to approve it and you know how wildly effective Congress is...but I digress. As it turns out, DST does not save energy, but actually is responsible for the increase (a whopping 25%) in heart attacks the Monday after we turn the clocks forward. There's a 21% decrease when we turn the clocks back! We're so stressed and sleep-deprived that even when an hour is taken away, we get wigged out and push our hearts to their limits.
We discussed the factors that influence our perception of time and actually how we spend our time. For example, in terms of an average life expectancy of 78 years, 28.3 of those years are spent sleeping, 9 years on "screen time" and 4 years of eating and drinking.
The most important aspect of DST is to make sure you replace the batteries in your smoke alarms. Remember what happened in the series This Is Us. Milo Ventimiglia, who plays Jack in the drama, died as a result of a house fire. He teamed up with Duracell to create a public service announcement to remind folks to change those smoke alarm batteries.
You need all the time you can get in a house fire because it doubles in size every 30 seconds. The only goal is to get the humans out.
It's interesting that Americans feel the safest from fire in their homes, yet home fires kill more people every year than all other natural disasters combined-floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes. These are big, public events and most home fires are reported locally. Every 2 hours and 40 minutes, a civilian (not a firefighter or cop), dies in a hour fire.
Well, now some fun stuff:
Epic multi-person floats
Inflatable Pub for your next St. Patrick's Day celebration
Want to improve the quality of life for a shelter dog? Consider donating that old chair so the pups can have a place to lounge!
Have a great week! See you on the radio next Sunday!
Claudia
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