Getting it right is that much harder when patients don’t know the words to describe what they’re feeling.

One day, when I was driving home with my three-year-old son Brandon in the back seat of our car, I heard, “Mommy, my chest hurts.”

We had been well trained for this—as a toddler, Brandon had been diagnosed with severe asthma, a condition that didn’t seem to improve even with his daily doses of inhaled steroids and bronchodilators. I asked him quickly, “How bad is it? What kind of animal?”

“There’s a hippo on my chest.”

I slammed on the brakes, made an illegal U-turn towards the local emergency room, and parked half on, half off the sidewalk outside the hospital doors. Snatching Brandon from the back seat, I ran into the ER, shouting, “There’s a hippo on his chest. There’s a hippo on his chest.”

What would you do if you found your basement filled with drunken teens? This in-depth article looks at the issues surrounding underage drinking and the law, from the point-of-view of the police, parents, parenting and legal experts and one respected couple whose New Year began in handcuffs.

​

Fasten your seat-belts, parents of autistic individuals, 2013 is going to be a bumpy ride.

Medical researchers from both esteemed institutions and alternative approaches have announced study results that have in turn encouraged, confused and disappointed parents of children identified within the autism spectrum. Three new studies released this week exemplify the roller-coaster ride. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) rates and diagnoses have increased dramatically as has its share of research dollars. 

Who is a Social Host and how can you avoid becoming one? 

Once, being called a Social Host was a compliment on your party planning skills. Not anymore. Now, if you’re lucky, it means you’re only Monday’s gossip at the commuter train platform and the grocery check-out line. If you’re not lucky, it might mean battling a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

While the U.S. earned a disappointing grade of "C", how did your state do in reducing premature births?

​

When is the perfect time to start talking about Social Host Laws?

Most school districts or churches offer programs designed to educate kids on the dangers of drugs and alcohol. By the time children start middle school, they're both well-informed of the risks and aware of other students, especially older students, who ignore everything they just learned. A tween's reaction to that dichotomy can be confusion, concern, excitement or even jealousy.

​

So, this is the perfect time to start talking about Social Host Laws.

WARNING: Explaining Social Host Laws to a teenager is like juggling with jelly. It’s difficult to do and it’s going to get into everything. Any topic or attitude can pop-up, from a debate on ethics to your behavior as a teen, from an admission of previous behavior to a complete shut-down of communications.

Diving into the data about alcohol use by 12 to 17-year-olds reveals the seven habits of parents whose kids don’t drink or drink far less frequently than others.

What can we as parents do to help improve the odds that our children are among the overall alcohol-free majority?

1. Keep your interactions positive: Let your kids know when they’ve done a good job. Among teens who said their parents or guardians frequently let them know when they have done a good job, an average of 72 percent have never used alcohol.