HealthyLife Articles

Category: Family Life

Build A Strong Family Foundation

FAMILY LIFE

Happy families have a strong foundation. This helps parents and children deal with changes and hard times. Every family faces challenges and stress. Here’s how to protect your family from whatever life throws at you.

Show love through attention

Connect with your kids or spouse each day. Take time to ask about their day or do an activity together. Have family meals when you can, play games or take walks together. Avoid being on screens too much, when no one is talking or noticing one another.

Be open to learning

Having a strong family takes knowledge and care. No one knows everything about families and relationships. Parents can take classes about child development. See a marriage counselor if your marriage is having trouble. You can also look into support groups. Ask your family’s doctor if you need help dealing with specific challenges.

Care for yourself

If you get burned out, you can’t help others in your family. Take quiet time to listen to music, take a bath or do whatever relaxes and calms you. Get regular exercise, such as walking, and include family members if you can. Talk to a trusted friend when you’re stressed or overwhelmed.

Build your community

Connect with others who understand and support you. Join a sports team, a group or a religious organization that supports family life. Community can make life fun and help you learn from others, too.

Be open about problems

If you’re stressed and need some time alone, tell your spouse or your kids. Explain that you need some time to calm down, rather than blowing up or feeling resentment toward them.

Don’t overschedule

Try to keep your activities and family calendar reasonable. When everyone is too busy, there’s not much time to connect.

Sources: American Academy of Family Physicians, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Prevent Child Abuse With Strong Families

FAMILY LIFE

Child abuse affects hundreds of thousands of children each year. Even if you don’t know someone affected by child abuse, you can help prevent it. It starts with knowing its causes and risk factors.

Why does abuse happen?

If a parent or caregiver has these risk factors, child abuse is more likely to happen:

* Low self-esteem

* Poor impulse or temper control

* Untreated mental health conditions like depression or anxiety

* Substance abuse

* Lack of education or knowledge about child development

* Unemployment or poverty

In addition, if a child has special needs or a challenging temperament, they are more likely to be abused. Babies and young children, because they require constant care, are also more likely to be abused than older children. Teens are at a higher risk of sexual abuse than younger children.

Protective factors

Protective factors are things that lower the risk of child abuse or neglect. Protective factors include:

* Having resources for things everyone needs, like food, transportation and housing

* Access to safe schools and health care

* Parents who have ways to cope with stress

* A strong family support system of family and friends

* Children who have self-esteem, confidence and independence

* Parents and children who communicate well with each other

What to do if you suspect abuse

If you suspect that someone is abusing or neglecting a child, there are resources to help.

*State child abuse and neglect agencies:Contact your local child protective services office or law enforcement agency.

*Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline:1.800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). Professional crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in over 170 languages. All calls are confidential. The hotline offers crisis intervention, information and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service and support resources.

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Child Welfare Information Gateway

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Take The Hazard Out Of Halloween

Child Safety

Dressing up to go trick-or-treating is a traditional childhood ritual. But wandering the streets in the dark dressed in bizarre costumes and knocking on strangers’ doors to ask for food can pose hazards. To be sure your children have a Halloween that’s fun and safe, take these precautions.

* Choose white or bright costumes, preferably of flame-retardant fabric and marked with reflective tape.

* Be sure a costume is short enough so that your child won’t trip.

* Don’t let your trick-or-treaters wear masks, which can interfere with their vision. Instead, apply makeup to their faces.

* Trick-or-treaters should carry flashlights, not candles. Small children should be accompanied by an adult.

* Avoid trick-or-treating at homes on dark streets or in unfamiliar neighborhoods.

* Check all treats before your children eat them. Don’t let children eat candy or other treats that aren’t commercially wrapped or look as though they’ve been tampered with.

* Keep carved, candlelit pumpkins out of reach of young children. And be sure to set your jack-o’- lantern on a nonflammable surface.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Earth-Friendly Ways For Holiday Fun & Safety

Home Safety

* Save gas by doing close-to-home outdoor recreation activities, such as skating and making snowmen with your children.

* Choose non-toxic toys for children, such as ones made from solid and recycled wood (not pressed wood) and non-toxic paints and finishes. Avoid toys made of PVC plastic; xylene, toluene, or dibutyl phthalate.

* Get the lead out! Contact the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) atcpsc.govabout recalled toys and other household products that contain lead. Find out how to dispose of them.

* Send electronic greeting cards and letters or ones made of recycled paper.

* Wrap gifts in recycled paper, the funny papers, a pillow case, etc. Give gift certificates, movie and concert tickets, etc. that do not need to be wrapped.

* Instead of using a cut live tree, buy and decorate a large potted house plant. Or use a potted small tree which can be planted outdoors. If you use a live tree, recycle it. Find out how from your local waste department.

* If you decorate with lights, turn them off when you can, to save energy and to make the lights last longer.

* Use glasses, dishes, and silverware instead of disposable products.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Prevent Falls

Home Safety

Do This, Not That

* Falls are the leading cause of non-fatal injuries for children ages 0 to 19. Every day, about 8,000 children are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for fall-related injuries.

* Almost 86,000 fall injuries each year are linked with dogs and cats. This includes falling or tripping over the animal or its toys and/or being pulled down or pushed by a dog.

* One out of 3 people age 65 and older takes a bad fall every year. And in this age group, falls are the leading cause of death by injury.

Older Adults

People with Special Needs

General Guidelines

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Caring For Family From Afar

FAMILY LIFE

Anyone, anywhere can help care for a loved one. You don’t have to live in the same town, or even the same state. If you live far away from an older relative, you may wonder how you can help. Long-distance caregiving is possible.

Before you start

Does your loved one already have a primary caregiver? Talk to that person about how you can help. It’s usually best to coordinate your efforts with the person who sees your loved one most often.

If they don’t yet have a caregiver but need one, you can help with that too. Talk to other family members and discuss the options. You may be able to help with finding and hiring a nurse or aide if family members can’t do it.

Even if you can’t visit often, know that your visits are valuable. It’s time to not only catch up, but to take on some caregiving duties. Maybe you can give the primary caregiver a break while you are there. You can also find out what kinds of things you can do to help when you’re away.

Options for helping out

Some ideas for helping your long-distance loved one include:

* Helping them manage their finances or bill paying, which often can be done online

* Arranging for in-home care such as home health or nursing aides

* Ordering medical equipment that they need

* Making calls to the pharmacy for medication when they need it

* Researching skilled nursing or assisted living facilities

* Calling them often to check in and provide emotional support

* Contacting their insurance company if there are questions about coverage

* Keeping other family members informed about their health and needs

* Creating paperwork for an emergency that lists their health conditions and medicines they take

Finding local resources

There may be many resources close to home that can help your relative. You can get started online with these websites:

* Eldercare Locator:www.eldercare.acl.gov

* National Institute on Aging:www.nia.nih.gov

* Family Caregiver Alliance:www.caregiver.org

Source: National Institute on Aging

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Prevent Overscheduling

FAMILY LIFE

If you feel like you are running from one thing to the next without enough time to catch your breath, you may be overscheduled. Even if all the items on your calendar are things you love, being too busy isn’t good for you.

Everyone needs a bit of margin in their life. Having time to relax and rest is essential for good health.

To prevent overscheduling, be proactive and have a plan. Try these tips:

* Know your priorities. You can’t do everything, nor should you! Decide what matters most so you can make time for it.

* Use the answer “let me get back to you on that” to buy yourself time. Sometimes it’s easier to say no after reflecting.

* Put downtime on your calendar. Perhaps it is one evening a week where you rest and don’t commit to anything.

* Practice saying no. When you say no to something, it leaves space for you to say yes to what you truly care about.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Traffic Tips For Tots

Child Safety

Young children often don’t realize busy streets or highways are dangerous. You have to either look out for them yourself or, if your children are old enough, teach them to get around safely. Here are some pointers.

* Never leave children unguarded or out of your sight near parked or moving cars.

* Never summon children from across the street; go over and get them. Always hold a child’s hand when you cross the street together.

* When exiting a parked car, have your child exit on the curb side.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Focus On Safe Water, Saving Water & Energy

Home Safety

* Drink tap water instead of bottled water. Two gallons of water are wasted to process every one gallon of bottled water. About 38 billion water bottles a year end up in landfills and oil and gas are needed to make and transport water bottles.

* If you prefer, buy a filter pitcher or install a faucet filter with your sink to remove trace chemicals and bacteria.

* Keep water for drinking in the fridge instead of letting the tap water run to get cold. Drink from glasses or re-usable water bottles.

* Medicines flushed down the toilet get in the water supply. Crush pills and dissolve them in water. Mix this with used coffee grounds or kitty litter and put it in the garbage in a sealed bag.

* Don’t leave the tap water running while you brush your teeth, wash your face, shave, etc. Take showers instead of baths. Spend less time in the shower.

* Have full loads before running the clothes washer, dryer, and dishwasher. Install a low-flow toilet.

* Collect rain water in barrels. Use it to water plants.

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026
Prevent Fires & Burns

Home Safety

Do This, Not That

Simple actions can make you and your family safer and keep your things from going up in smoke.

Most home fire deaths occur at night. If you think that you’ll be awoken by smoke, noise, or breaking glass, then you’re almost certainly wrong. Every fire produces large amounts of carbon monoxide which is a very toxic and odorless gas. You will most likely be overcome by this as you sleep and never wake up.

Smoke alarms can make the difference between dying in your sleep and getting your family to safety. About two-thirds of home fire deaths occur in homes that have no smoke alarms or have ones that are not working.

General Guidelines

Cooking Safety

Electrical Safety

© American Institute for Preventive Medicine

January 23, 2026