Family and Consumer Sciences
Cooperative Extension
Special Edition
3rd Quarter 2013  Vol. 1 Issue 1
Real Men Take Care of Themselves
Find these articles inside:
by Connie Crawley MS, RD, LD,
Nutrition and Health Specialist
From birth, women are more likely to outlive men.
Why are men more likely to die earlier? Some of it is
genetics, but it is often due to differences in self-care
and access to medical services. The Men’s Health
Network has released a Blueprint for Men’s Health that
gives sound advice about how men can stay healthy
and bridge the life expectancy gender gap:
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Eat healthy. Consume one cup of green, orange
or yellow vegetables at both lunch and supper
and fruit for dessert. Also eat whole grain
cereals, pastas, breads and other grain
products instead of refined grains. Cut back on
fried foods, fatty meats, full fat dairy products,
baked goods and salty snacks.
Be physically active for at least 30 minutes per
day. For weight loss, go up to 60 minutes per
day. Divide physical activity into 10-15 minute
segments throughout the day if finding a block
of time is a problem.
Protect your skin from the sun with sun screen,
hats and clothing. Check for changes in moles,
especially on the back where men often
develop skin cancers.
Achieve a healthy weight. A waist size less than
40 inches is associated with the least risk for
chronic disease.
Real Men Take Care of Themselves
by Connie Crawley
Keeping Children Safe at Home
by Diane Bales
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Drink mainly water. Each day, have at least two
cups of non-fat or low fat milk or yogurt. Skip
the sweet drinks.
Have two drinks or less of alcohol per day. One
drink equals a 12 ounce beer, 1 ½ ounces of
liquor or five ounces of wine.
Do not smoke or chew tobacco. Avoid secondhand smoke. Any tobacco use increases risk for
cancer, heart disease and stroke.
Have regular prostate screenings after the age
of 40, especially if you are African American or
have prostate cancer in the family.
Practice safe sex. Talk to your doctor about
sexual performance issues. There are many
treatments that can enhance your sex life.
Wear a seat belt at all times when in a motor
vehicle and always wear a helmet when riding
a motorcycle.
Manage stress. Physical activity is a great way
to reduce stress. Meditation, yoga, deep
breathing and counseling are also effective.
Ask for help. Most problems are remedied with
early diagnosis and treatment. Ignoring
symptoms will NOT make them go away.
To read the entire Blueprint for Men’s Health, go to
http://www.menshealthnetwork.org/library/blueprint.pdf
Keeping Children Safe at Home
Preventing Falls
by Diane Bales, Human Development Specialist
Children, especially toddlers, love to climb on things.
Climbing is one of the best ways children can practice
motor skills. But climbing can lead to falls unless
parents, grandparents, and other caregivers take steps
to reduce the risk of falling.
If you have ever spent time with a toddler or a
preschooler, one of the first things you may notice is
their curiosity. Young children are fascinated by the
world around them, and spend much of their time
using all of
their senses
to explore
how
the
world works
and
what
things
do.
But because
the logical
parts
of
their brains
are not welldeveloped,
children are
not good at
detecting and avoiding dangers.
According to Safe Kids USA, unintentional injuries
are the most common cause of death for children
between ages 1 and 14. More than 4,500 children
died of an injury in 2008, and more than 6 million
children had to be treated in emergency rooms
because of an injury.
The most common types of unintentional injuries
include:
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Falls
Drowning
Poisoning
Choking
Motor Vehicle Crashes
Most injuries can be prevented. It’s up to the adults
in a child’s life to be sure the child’s world is safe.
Adults can teach children ways to stay safe and avoid
risky behavior. Here are some simple ways to reduce
the most common childhood injuries.
Set up safe places where children can climb both
indoors and outdoors, such as a slide, playground
equipment, or a low table that will not tip over. When
children try to climb on other things, direct them to
these safe climbing spaces.
Supervise children around stairs, and place gates at
the top and bottom to keep new walkers from climbing
unsupervised.
Children can also fall out of strollers, cribs, and high
chairs. Always use safety straps, and do not allow
children to stand in a high chair or stroller.
As children begin to walk, move the crib mattress to
the lowest position, and move the crib away from
other furniture. When your child can climb out of the
crib, move him to a toddler bed to reduce the risk
of falling.
For preschool and elementary children, the most
common types of falls are from bicycles, scooters,
skates, and other outdoor activities. Insist that
children wear helmets and other protective gear,
and set a good example by wearing them yourself.
Preventing Drowning
Drowning is one of the leading
causes of death among children.
Most adults do not realize that
children can drown in only a
few inches of water in a matter
of seconds.
To reduce the risk of drowning:
•
Supervise
children
closely around bodies of
water.
Insist
that
children wear a life
•
jacket for fishing, boating, and other water
activities.
Stay with young children when they are in the
bathtub, and do not leave them alone even for a
second. Your child could drown in the time it
takes to answer a phone call or return a text
message.
Toddlers are especially at risk of drowning, because
their heads are large and heavy compared to their
bodies. Remember to:
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Use latches to keep curious toddlers out of the
toilet. Make sure that you empty buckets,
kiddie pools, and other containers of water as
soon as you finish with them.
Teach children to swim as early as possible.
Children who can swim are more likely to be
able to save themselves if they fall into water
unexpectedly.
Preventing Poisoning and Choking
Children love to explore, and placing things in their
mouth is one way they find out about things in their
world. Unfortunately, many common objects could
become lodged in the child’s throat and cause choking.
Any object small enough to fit inside a toilet paper
roll is a choking hazard for young children. You can
reduce your child’s risk of choking by:
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Keeping small objects away from children
under age 3.
Cutting foods like hot dogs and carrots into
small, non-round pieces.
Avoid giving young children foods that are
common choking hazards, such as nuts,
popcorn, marshmallows, and round hard
candies.
Learn the Heimlich maneuver, so you can help
a child who is choking.
Accidental poisoning is also a common issue with
children who place things in their mouths. A curious
child might drink a bottle of blue window cleaner,
thinking it is a sports drink, or might taste the red
poinsettia leaves.
Prevent poisoning by:
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Keeping
cleaners
and other household
poisons in a locked
cabinet or closet out
of children’s reach.
Finding out whether
the plants in your
home
and
landscaping
are
poisonous.
Keeping poisonous plants away from children
indoors, and be sure children stay away from
harmful plants and berries outside.
Teaching children not to eat or drink anything
without asking an adult’s permission first.
Program the National Poison Control
number (800-222-1222) into your cell
phone, and keep it close to your home
phone just in case.
Preventing Injuries in Motor Vehicle Crashes
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of
unintentional injury-related death for 5 – 14 year olds,
and are responsible for more than 30% of deaths in 1 –
4 year olds.
Child safety seats reduce the risk of injury or death
by more than 70% for infants and by more than
50% for children between 1 and 7 years old.
Children should always ride in the back seat, in a child
safety seat appropriate for their height and weight. Be
sure the safety seat is installed correctly and cannot
move more than an inch in any direction. Fasten the
harness snugly, and be sure the harness retainer clip is
at the child’s armpit level. If you need help installing
your safety seat, or are not sure whether the seat is
right for your child, a Child Passenger Safety
Technician (CPST) in your area can help you. Find a
local CPST by going to http://bit.ly/findaCPST.
For more information on safety in the home, contact
your Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent
at 1-800-ASK-UGA1, or go to gafamilies.org.
For more information,
please contact your local
Cooperative Extension Office
by calling 1-800-ASK-UGA1
or by visiting
www.GAfamilies.org
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