Keifer Sutherland as a Special Needs Parent in Touch
Touch is a new series on the Fox Network starring Keifer Sutherland as the widower father of a special needs child. His eleven-year-old son doesn’t speak and doesn’t like to be touched, but he can see patterns in the world and in the ways people are meant to connect. The show focuses on seemingly random coincidences, which are not random but actually part of a complex Fibonacci pattern. Some of the coincidences are plausible, while others seem completely contrived. While I am not qualified to review the mathematical or spiritual concepts introduced in the show, I am qualified to report on how the show presents the issues faced by a special needs parent.
Keifer Sutherland shows us once again that he is an amazing actor, jumping between paternal devotion, grief, hopelessness, cynicism, determination and affection. Watch his face as he looks at some typical children in a school bus, then glances to his own distant son. He tells us so much about his character’s struggle in a scene with no dialogue. We hear through a child services caseworker how he has had to sacrifice his once-successful career and is now jumping from job to job. It’s no wonder he isn’t fired from his current job when the police and fire crews call him three days in a row to come and talk his son off a cell phone tower. His son has gone from school to school, doctor to doctor, and you can see the emotional and physical toll it is taking on his character, even though he has the financial means to provide for his son. He seems close to giving up, yet he still holds on to hope and finds the energy to act on that hope. He also still loves his child, longing to hug him yet respecting his son’s preferences and tirelessly trying to find ways to connect with him.
Fox showed a preview of the first episode but the show officially premieres on Thursday, March 15, 2012. It will be interesting to see how the series treats the characters in future episodes, and how Keifer Sutherland portrays the struggles his character will face.
Does your school participate? HealthierUS School Challenge
When I was working on a recent television interview in which I discussed school lunch, I was prompted to check on the progress of my daughter’s school lunches this year. I was pleased to find out that her school district has taken on the HealthierUS School Challenge!
What is the HealthierUS School Challenge?
The HealthierUS School Challenge is a government-to-school encourager to voluntarily make school environments healthier. The participation rate started skyrocketing when First Lady Michelle Obama added incentives to schools that took part. The result is that more and more schools are cleaning up their kitchens – reducing fat, calories and sugar and adding more nutrient-rich foods in their place – for the sake of our growing children.
HealthierUS Food Guidelines
The initiative as a whole includes good nutrition and physical activity. Here is a brief rundown of what your child will be exposed to when he/she eats the school lunch:
- A different vegetable each day of the week
- Dark green or orange vegetables 3 or more days each week
- Dry beans and/or peas 1 or more days each week
- A different fruit each day of the week
- At least a serving of whole grains 3 or more days each week
- Only low-fat and fat-free milk each day
In addition to the foods that must be included, the schools must also:
Teach nutrition education to the children
Incorporate the teaching into the classrooms
Use multiple channels of communication including the cafeteria, classroom and home
I don’t know about you, but I see this as a big improvement. Hannah’s school is teaching them MyPlate, the new USDA food icon, so they can make their own decision to fuel up with great food choices. Educating, Exposing and Empowering are 3 of my keys to long-term proper nutrition. It starts in childhood! Talk to your children about the food choices they make and empower them to eat the super power foods that will help them make good grades and do better at their extra curricular activities.
Does your school participate in the HealthierUS School Challenge? Find out here. If this is their first year to participate, you may want to contact your child’s foodservice manager and ask them. If they are not currently participating, encourage them to do so! For more information on the HealthierUS School Challenge, go to: http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/HealthierUS/vision.html.
How to Talk To Your Kids About…A New Baby
Bringing home a new baby fills a house with joy and wonder. It can also bring worry and stress to older siblings who feel their world has just been turned upside down. A sense of jealousy, resentment, and even a little anger is normal. Siblings fear there won’t be enough love, or time to go around.
As parents, there are things we can say and do to help ease the transition.
Talk about what WON’T change once the new baby arrives and emphasis all the things that will be the same. This includes:
- Keeping a similar routine – Talk to your kids about their favorite parts of the day, and make sure you keep those consistent.
- Avoiding making big changes like toilet training, graduating from the crib, or changing rooms. Work through these transitions a few months before baby arrives, or a few months after.
- Keeping life predictable - Remember, predictability brings a sense of security that is really important to children, so keep things predictable and consistent.
Talk about the new “big sibling role”. Be sure your conversations are realistic. Getting your kids excited about the things the baby can’t do until he/she is four will create false hopes.
Involve older siblings in making meaningful decisions, before and after the baby arrives and let them help with the new baby. Make sure that one-on-one time is still spent with each child. Make it a point to have individual conversations and experiences with each of your children. This will help them feel special and loved and let them know that the new baby has not taken their spot in the family.
A fun way to help older siblings make the new baby transition: we give each of our children a disposable camera and ask them to be the photographers. They feel important and have fun taking pictures at the hospital and once we get home. It is so fun to get the pictures developed. Some of our very best photos have come from our kids.
What’s worked the best for your family??
Girl dies from peanut: can your child’s school handle emergencies?
The sad story of a seven year-old girl who was unwittingly given a peanut by a classmate in Virginia and later died from an allergic reaction has brought attention to the issues surrounding food allergies and medical treatment at schools. The school legally couldn’t give any medication that wasn’t supplied by the parent.
What are the regulations at your child’s school around food allergies? Do they have an EpiPen on hand, and can they use it without written permission?
How does your child’s school handle birthdays? Bake sales?
My children know the strict “no sharing food” policy at school. I drill it into them. But is there any real way to know that every child is following that rule? How do you deal with this??
Are Asthma Symptoms from a Bronchial Infection Permanent?
It’s important to understand that asthma is a chronic condition that may last for an extended period of time. It is not something that happens only once and never again. Asthma occurs when there is a spasm of the muscles surrounding the bronchial tubes and airways, causing the space available for air movement to shrink. The symptoms of asthma may be coughing and difficulty breathing.
Many things can trigger an asthma attack. The most common are infections (like a bronchial infection) or allergies. But cold weather, exercise and environmental irritants can also cause episodes of asthma. If this was your child’s first experience with these symptoms, only time will tell if she has the condition.
Studies have demonstrated that a good predictor of the risk of asthma is its presence in the family tree. The point to remember is that real asthma will occur with some frequency, not just one time.
