Education

The holiday season is officially among us. And with it comes lots of traveling.  This week, we’ll be featuring posts all about making traveling with our kiddos safe and bearable, maybe even fun! I joined the Baton Rouge Carseat Safety Facebook group late last year when my son needed a new car seat. A friend of mine recommended it to me and suggested that I post a question of what kind of car seat to buy and give my son's height, weight, budget, type of car, and if anyone else rides in the back with him. Within minutes, I had a couple great recommendations from the group's owner and child passenger safety technician, Amy Waters. I took the information and ran with it...

For the purposes of keeping the post on a specific track, I will be focusing on sexual awareness in children as young as 2 years old and under the age of 7. If your children are older, that doesn't mean this post doesn't apply to you and that you can't still apply certain techniques. Raising Safe Kids: Sexual Awareness   75% of the moms reading this just totally freaked out with that title. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you or insult you or make you blush, but I believe with this topic you just have to be straightforward. Are you aware that our city is one of the major human trafficking hubs in the country? Did you realize that 44%...

"Stranger Danger" We've all heard it, but is it true? Experts are agreeing more and more that, no, this is not a good concept to teach our children. As  I think about this concept in my own life, it doesn't make much sense. I'll easily strike up a conversation with a mom on the park bench, sometimes sharing our life stories and all kinds of personal things. We've never met and she's definitely a stranger, but there really is no danger in this situation. Not all strangers are dangerous and not all strangers are safe, but not everyone we know is safe either. We need to help our kids recognize who can and can't be viewed as a "safe...

Disclaimer: This is a guest post from Dr. Leanne Redman, associate professor of women’s health studies at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. You can get to know her more here and read her first post here. Her facts and opinions are based on her personal research. Red Stick Moms Blog was not paid to promote any specific medical viewpoints or studies. Always consult your physician with any medical questions.   Remember those whimsical moments as a child? No responsibilities. Imagination running wild. High energy. What you may not remember is a national concern for our children’s weight and the impact it may have on their health and well-being. New challenges can be intimidating, but awareness of the situational factors that may contribute to...

The recent death of beloved actor Robin Williams has really opened a lot of people's eyes to the impact that depression and suicide can have on even the most cheerful among us. Did you know that suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-24? As a mom it's hard for me to wrap my head around, but as a social worker I totally get it. Adolescence and early adulthood are tumultuous times, and kids often feel hopeless, misunderstood, and confused. Add to this a bunch of interpersonal conflict and the fact that teens are not yet capable of understanding the long term consequences of their actions, and you've got a recipe for disaster. So what can you...