Improving your health for 2024

Father running on beach to improve his health.

Looking Forward

It’s that time of year again, when we begin to set goals for the new year. In 2024, we encourage you to set goals that will lead to a healthier, happier you! It doesn’t have to be anything major, because small, consistent modifications can make a big difference in your health. Here, we offer suggestions for goals that can improve your health in 2024.

Focus on Nutrition

Balanced nutrition is important for every system of your body. Fill your diet with nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains, and limit your intake of processed foods, sugary snacks and beverages, and unhealthy fats. Calcium is important for both men and women, to avoid bone loss in later life, so look for good sources of calcium, like dairy products, sardines, leafy greens, and calcium-fortified beverages. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, and you can get Vitamin D from foods like fatty fish and egg yolks, through supplements, and by getting sunlight. Make sure you take in healthy fats, found in olive and canola oils, avocados, walnuts, flaxseeds, almonds, and fatty fish. In addition to being mindful of what you eat, practice mindful eating, eating without distractions and taking the time to savor every mouthful. Finally, stay properly hydrated, to promote proper digestion, circulation, temperature regulation, and overall wellness.

Get Regular Exercise

Make it your goal to be physically active most days, getting at least two to three hours of exercise over the course of the week. Walking, jogging, biking, and strength training are all good forms of exercise, but look for something that resonates with you, whether that’s yoga, dancing, hiking, or some other fun kind of exercise. Make sure to get a variety of exercise, including exercises that promote cardiovascular health, flexibility, balance, and strength.

Get Quality Sleep

Sleeping well is crucial to your well-being. Aim for seven to nine hours each night, to support your physical and mental health, and make your bedroom a sleep-friendly environment, without screens, light, or distractions. Avoid stimulants in the afternoon and evening, limit your screen time for at least an hour before bedtime, and create a bedtime routine that promotes relaxation and helps you settle down for the night.

Manage Your Stress

No matter how well you eat, and how much you exercise, if you don’t manage your stress properly, your health will suffer. Practices like meditation, mindfulness, yoga, and deep breathing can all help you reduce stress. Additionally, making time to do things you enjoy with your favorite people is a great way to alleviate stress and improve your sense of wellbeing.

Prioritize Your Mental Health

Caring for your mental health is just as important as tending to your physical wellbeing. Focus on self-care, participate in activities that improve your peace of mind, and pay attention to your mental health with a willingness to seek professional health if necessary.

See Your Doctor

Prioritize your annual checkup. Beyond that, keep up with vaccinations, screenings, and recommended healthcare measures. Keep on top of preventive medical care measures, so that you can stay in good shape, with no nasty surprises that disrupt your health.

Build Healthy Relationships

Good relationships can help form the foundation of your overall wellbeing. Being connected to family and friends helps you avoid feelings of isolation and loneliness, and gives you the support you need to weather difficult times.  Surround yourself with uplifting, inspiring people with good attitudes, to help keep yourself in good spirits. Healthy relationships are important for resilience, happiness, and a fulfilled life.

Center for Vasectomy Reversal Cares About Men’s Health

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, men’s health is our priority. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their health and fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.

Promoting Positive Body Image in Children: Encouraging Self-Love and Acceptance

Father with children.

The Benefits of Positive Body Image

Your body image- how you think and feel about your body, is important to your overall wellbeing. Your body image may not have anything to do with your actual appearance, but when you accept, appreciate, and respect your body, you develop better self-esteem and self-acceptance. People with a good body image tend to take a balanced approach to diet and physical activity, while those with a negative body image are likely to experience negative effect on their physical, psychological, social health. Disordered eating, compulsive exercise, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem are all results of negative body image. Additionally, having a negative body image can cause a person to feel self-conscious or distressed, which can lead to avoidance of social interactions and disengagement from daily activities. This causes feelings of loneliness, isolation, and a lack of acceptance from others, further damaging self-esteem.

Helping Your Child With Body Image

Fortunately, you can help your child develop a positive body image and strong self-esteem.

• Start by being a good role model. Be mindful of the things you say, and steer clear of negative talk about your body or the bodies of others. Work on your own relationship with your body, and encourage your child to talk about his or her feelings regarding body image. Talk about societal messages and images that promote unrealistic body ideals, and encourage your child to challenge narrow idea of attractiveness.
• Encourage healthy habits. Proper nutrition and regular exercise are both important for a healthy body. Don’t encourage your child to diet, and never label foods as good or bad. Rather, work with your child on eating a healthy variety of nutritious foods. Teach children to reach for nutritious snacks, and listen to their bodies’ cues on when to eat and when to stop eating. When it comes to exercise, work to make your family an active one, encouraging physical activity as a habit, rather than a chore. Engage in activities that are fun and physical, and talk about how amazing our bodies are and what they can do.
• Help your child build confidence and develop self-acceptance. Encourage self-expression, help your kids develop problem solving skills, and help them build confidence in their own abilities by showing your confidence. Teach healthy coping strategies, and encourage your children to assert themselves, learning to say no when they need to and not allowing others to mistreat them. Give your children age-appropriate household tasks, to help them feel they play an important role in the family.
• Talk about body image, at home and in the community. Avoid making comments about other people’s physical appearance, instead mentioning characteristics like persistence, kindness, or optimism. Create an environment where there is no teasing about looks, and no hurtful comments. Work with other parents and people at your children’s school and other groups, to create a positive environment that encourages positive body image and self-esteem while discouraging bullying and negative peer pressure.
• Monitor media consumption. Our children are exposed to so much negative information online and through movies and television. Pay attention to what your children are consuming, and help them develop a critical eye towards media messages.
• Focus on health, well-being, and inner qualities. Talk about bodies in terms of what they can do, and how to keep them healthy. Discuss how a healthy lifestyle improves overall wellbeing, rather than how it impacts appearance. Celebrate your child’s creativity, resilience, and kindness, fostering an environment in which character traits are valued above external appearance.
• Prioritize gratitude and self-care. Being grateful helps children develop a positive mindset, and that includes how they feel about themselves. Teach them to engage in self-care activities like hobbies, mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and just taking breaks.
• Celebrate differences. Teach your children to appreciate differences in abilities, appearance, and backgrounds, valuing diversity as something that enriches our lives. Foster an environment of support and inclusivity, and encourage them to stand up against body shaming and bullying. When we teach our children to treat others with respect and kindness, we are helping to build a healthier world.

Helping Healthy Families Grow

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people grow their families. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.

Recognizing and Addressing Common Childhood Anxiety

Father talking to daughter about anxiety.

Anxiety Disorders in Children

In recent years, the rates of children with anxiety have significantly increased. In fact, a comprehensive study indicated that over 20 percent of children worldwide have symptoms of anxiety, making it the top health concern in children. Is your child among this number? How do you know if your child has anxiety, and how can you help?

Does Your Child Have Anxiety?

All children have seemingly irrational fears from time to time, like being afraid of the dark or of their parents leaving. However, these fears don’t generally impede their ability to sleep, engage in activities, go to school, or make friends. There are some warning signs that your child’s anxiety is becoming a concern, including:

• Excessive worrying
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Concentration issues
• Complaints of head or stomach issues
• Seeming on edge or overly fatigues
• Irritability
• Avoidance of certain activities

Be aware that children show anxiety differently than adults do. Anxiety in children often involves physical complaints like stomach aches or headaches, or may look more like anger and irritability. Young children may not have the words to describe their anxious thoughts, and older children may recognize the irrational nature of their worries but may not be able to control their anxiety.

What Causes Anxiety in Children?

Here’s the good news: it’s not your parenting. Research indicates that only four percent of childhood anxiety is related to parenting. This means that it is unlikely that anything you did or did not do has caused your child to be anxious. Often, anxiety is the result of temperament or genetic predisposition, though some children develop anxiety as a result of abuse, trauma, or bullying.

How to Help Your Anxious Child

Fortunately, you can help your child deal with anxiety. First, be careful not to label thoughts, emotions, and experiences as good or bad. Children who hear that their thoughts are bad will internalize this and begin to believe that they themselves are bad. Don’t minimize what they’re experiencing or tell them to get over it. Instead, meet your anxious child with empathy, compassion, and kindness, and try some of the following practices, recommended by experts, to help ease anxiety.

• Identify triggers. By recognizing the causes of anxiety for your child, you can get a better handle on it and begin to help the child cope.
• Remove the shame. Talk to your child about anxiety, and how it is there to protect them, but sometimes their brains have false alarms. Explain that everyone thinks there is danger sometimes when they are really safe, and give an example of when it happened to you.
• Don’t accommodate. It’s understandable for parents to want to help a child avoid the things that cause anxiety. Examples of this would be speaking for a shy child or crossing the street to avoid dogs if your child has a fear of dogs. However, protecting your child from anxiety-provoking events prevents the child from developing coping skills. It also reinforces the fear and keeps the child dependent on parents.
• Validate and empathize. Don’t ignore or invalidate anxiety, but acknowledge that the feeling is real and difficult, even if the fear is irrational. You can do this by saying things like, “I can tell that was scary for you.”
• Help your children face fears. Once you have validated the child’s anxiety, help him or her to gradually and gently face these fears. You can encourage your child by saying things like, “I know this makes you feel nervous, but I also know you can handle it.” Challenge unhelpful thinking, identifying your child’s negative thoughts and suggesting ways to think about the situation differently. Once you help them learn to look at things differently, children will be better able to come to conclusions that lead to more realistic, helpful thoughts.
• Give encouragement and praise. Whenever your child successfully faces a fear, or even takes a baby step towards coping with an anxious situation, offer reassurance and praise. Don’t invalidate it with a comment like, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” but acknowledge that the situation caused the child anxiety, rewarding success in coping with something difficult.
• Help your children develop tolerance of uncertainty. Often, people try to avoid anxiety by ridding their environment of uncertainty as much as possible. A better tactic is to teach children to face uncertainty and learn to tolerate it. You can do this by trying to things, even if the child feels nervous, or changing the order of a routine.
• Help build coping skills. Work with your child to help find ways to manage anxiety. Assign chores to help your child build confidence and offer opportunities to face challenges. Help your child develop the skill of breaking down tasks into manageable steps so that they seem less daunting. Role play specific situations your child is feeling anxious about, to help prepare. Teach deep breathing techniques, helping your child take deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth, to help with calm and focus.
• Don’t be afraid to seek professional help. If your child’s anxiety is interfering with important functions, and the strategies you are using to manage it do not seem to be helping, or the anxiety seems to be getting worse, talk to your pediatrician or school counselor and ask for a referral to a mental health professional. Therapy is often effective in helping children cope with anxiety.

Helping Build Healthy Families

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people grow their families. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.

How to Deal with Temper Tantrums

Daughter throwing a tantrum.

The Inevitability of Temper Tantrums

If you have children, you will eventually have to deal with temper tantrums. They can be frustrating and, if you’re in public, even embarrassing, and can prompt you to have an emotional response. Often, a parent dealing with a temper tantrum would do anything to make it stop, from threatening to cajoling to even giving in to the demands of their little emotional terrorist. Don’t do any of these things; we’ve got some tips for more effective temper tantrum management.

What are Tantrums?

Tantrums can take many different forms. They can involve whining, crying, screaming, kicking, hitting, and breath-holding. Some kids bite, flail about, arch their backs, stiffen their limbs, or even run away, and others break things or hurt themselves or others in the throes of a tantrum. Tantrums are most common in children who are one to three years old, and they’re equally common in boys and girls. Little children who haven’t quite learned how to communicate their emotions and needs might get frustrated and throw tantrums. Tantrums can happen with older children too, though, if they haven’t yet learned how to safely express and manage their feelings.

Why Tantrums Happen

Tantrums are a normal part of child development; they’re a way for young children to show that they are frustrated or upset. They’re common when children are developing language skills and can’t necessarily communicate what they want or need, so tantrums tend to decrease as children master the art of communication. However, tantrums are also about control. There is a power struggle that happens when children want things and those things are not given to them, and many children respond to this struggle with tantrums. Children who are older than three or four may still throw tantrums, if they have not learned how to deal with their negative emotions, particularly if they’ve discovered that tantrums get them what they want.

Factors That Play Into Tantrums

There are certain things that make tantrums more likely. Certain children, particularly those who are very sensitive, just seem to have a temperament more prone to strong reactions to frustration and changes in their environment. Most children struggle with remaining calm if they are stressed, hungry, tired, or overstimulated, and strong emotions also tend to be overwhelming. Then, too, there are situations with which children just can’t cope. For instance, if an older child takes a toy from a toddler, that toddler is likely to lose control of his or her emotions. As children learn to self-regulate, tantrums will become less of a factor.

Dealing with Tantrums

• Set your child up for success. If you know that a tired, hungry, overstimulated child is more likely to melt down, try to prevent that by keeping a regular schedule and making sure your child’s needs are met. Don’t take your child to the grocery store, for instance, at naptime, or before he or she has had something to eat. Help children understand their emotions when they’re not in the middle of a tantrum, by talking about feelings and using words that label emotions so they can name what they are experiencing.
• Model good behavior. Don’t counter emotion with an emotional response, but remain calm during a tantrum. When something is frustrating you or causing you stress, talk about it honestly without emotional overreaction. Show your child how you stay calm by taking deep breaths or using other coping skills.
• Give praise for successful management of emotions. If your child handles a frustrating situation nicely, give encouragement. Help the child to notice how it felt to stay calm and strong. Make sure to talk about specifics, praising and rewarding behaviors you’d like to see more often. Conversely, after a tantrum, talk about better ways the situation could have been managed.
• Offer your kids some control. Little choices, like picking which kind of juice to drink or which outfit to wear, give a child a sense of independence. When it really doesn’t matter, let your children decide for themselves, so they learn to make decisions and gain a feeling of control.
• Distract during a tantrum. Interest your child in an activity that will replace the negative behavior you’re trying to discourage. A change of scenery can also help, and sometimes this is as simple as taking a toddler outside or to another room.
• Say yes when you can. Choose your battles, and if what the child is asking is not too outrageous, be flexible. You can even change your mind, but make sure that it doesn’t appear you’ve changed it in response to the tantrum.
• Try a time-in. Sometimes, a tantrum can be extinguished by a parent staying close, offering comfort, and reassuring the child by acknowledging the feelings involved. When the child is a little older, try identifying and naming the emotion being expressed, and supporting the child during the calm-down process.

Helping Happy Families Thrive

We hope these tips on tantrums can help you create a happy, harmonious homelife. At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people grow their happy families. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.

Healthy Discipline Strategies: Positive Alternatives to Punishment

Dad disciplining child.

Heathy Discipline Strategies

When you hear the word “discipline,” what springs to mind? If you’re like a lot of people, you think of punishment. In truth, discipline simply means guidance, teaching someone to follow the rules, and there are healthier ways to manage this with your children than by punishing them. Here, we offer some tips to help you find healthy strategies for discipline that will help you guide your children to a healthy adulthood.

Punishment Vs. Positive Reinforcement

Traditionally, discipline has involved punishments like spanking, grounding, angry words, and taking away belongings or privileges. Child development experts now agree that physical punishment can have long-term negative effects on a child’s behavior and well-being, but what about the other types of punishment? Experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, now recommend using positive discipline to keep children safe, teach them to manage their own behavior, and promote healthy development.

What is Positive Discipline?

Positive discipline focuses on developing a healthy relationship with your child, setting expectations around behavior. This approach can help parents teach skills like cooperation, responsibility, and self-discipline, while building and maintaining positive relationships between parents and children.

Employing Positive Discipline Strategies

• Nurture your relationship with your child. Plan one on one time with your child, giving your complete focus, without being distracted by anything like the television or your phone. It’s easy to connect with little children, simply by playing with them and reading to them. With older kids and teens, it’s a little more complicated, but find ways to connect by taking an interest in what they’re doing and the thing they enjoy.
• Give positive reinforcement. It’s been said that you should try to “catch them being good.” Notice when your children live up to expectations, follow the rules, take initiative, or do something thoughtful, and take the time to praise them. Offer incentives for good behavior, rather than threatening punishment for bad behavior. When children are praised, they feel loved and special; when rewards are offered for doing the right thing, they’re less likely to misbehave.
• Make sure your expectations are clear. It’s more effective to tell children what you want them to do, rather than telling them what you don’t want to do. Saying, “pick up your toys and put them away in the toy box,” for example, is much clearer than saying “don’t make a mess.” Be realistic about what you expect out of kids, and make sure your expectations are age appropriate and within the child’s capability. If you have older kids or teens, let them be involved in setting house rules and expectations, so that you will all be on the same page.
• Learn the art of redirection. Sometimes, the easiest way to stop misbehavior is to distract the child with a different, positive activity. Change the subject, introduce a game, take the child to another room, or go for a walk. Employ this type of distraction before things go wrong, when you see that’s the direction they’re heading. Additionally, remember that misbehavior is sometimes simply the result of a child exploring the world in a way that’s developmentally appropriate, but situationally inappropriate. Redirecting to another way to explore can prevent an unsafe, messy, or embarrassing situation.
• Understand how to employ consequences. Sometimes, clear expectations, incentives, and positive reinforcement work beautifully. When they don’t consequences sometimes need to come into play. Part of growing up is learning that there are consequences for our actions, and helping your children learn this in a calm, safe space can help encourage better behavior and teach them about responsibility. If your children are misbehaving, explain the consequences if the bad behavior does not stop. Give them a warning and the opportunity to amend their behavior. If they don’t stop what they’re doing, apply the consequence, calmly, without anger. If they do stop, give plenty of praise. When you do use consequences, use logical or natural consequences. Here’s an example of a logical consequence: if a child won’t eat dinner, that child cannot have dessert. Here’s a natural consequence: if a child dumps water on the floor, the child needs to help clean up the water. No anger needs to be involved in this scenario, and you can even use it as an exercise in problem solving, identifying the problem and asking your child to help you figure out how to solve it.
• Use time out wisely. Time-outs can be effective, but only if they’re used correctly. Make sure your kids have had plenty of positive time with you, and use time outs as a way to regulate emotions. Removing a child from a situation in which he or she is misbehaving gives the child an opportunity to self-regulate, appropriately express emotions, and consider how to make different choices next time. One meaningful way to do this is with a “time-in,” in which the parent sits with the child and helps in the calming process. You might try deep breathing together, sit quietly, or give your child a hug. The idea is to use the quiet space to help your child self-regulate emotions, with your support.

How to Keep from Losing Your Cool

• Take some deep breaths. You can be present but still step back, pause, and take some deep breaths, so that you can respond in a calmer, more considered way.
• Give yourself a time out. If you feel like you’re about to lose control, step away from the situation. You can even use this as an opportunity to model self-regulation, by telling your children calmly that you need five minutes to yourself, so that you can stop feeling overwhelmed.
• Practice self-care. Sometimes, we get angry at our kids because we feel pushed past our limits. Try to keep yourself from getting to that point by doing things you enjoy, managing your stress, and being realistic about the responsibilities you manage. Take some time to take care of yourself, and you can come back to your parenting refreshed and more relaxed, which can help you have more patience.

Help With Starting a Family

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people grow and nurture their happy families. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.

How to Balance Child Care while Working from Home

Dad working from home while watching child.

The Delicate Work-Life Balance of Work from Home Parents

It’s a conundrum faced by many work from home parents. One of the reasons many of us work from home is to be more present for our children, yet children tend to get in the way of work. How do we strike a balance between providing financially for our families, yet being there for our children when they need us. How do we maintain productivity, while taking care of our children? We have some helpful tips on balancing child care while working from home.

Don’t Believe the Influencers

Working from home, either completely or partially, is the new normal, with 58 percent of Americans reporting that they can work from home at least once a week. It’s inevitable that you will come across work from home parents on Instagram, in spotlessly clean homes, with perfectly behaved children and beautifully organized offices. Don’t believe the hype. If you are struggling to keep your head above water while working from home with children, you are certainly not alone. Being a work from home parent can be truly rewarding, but it’s not easy, and it does require creativity, flexibility, and careful planning.

Have a Strategy

Actually, it’s better if you have a few. Be realistic with your expectations, and what’s going to happen when your children are home. Will they stay quiet when you’re in a meeting? Even the most well-behaved kids are, well, kids. They’re going to have wants, needs, and crises that don’t always fit neatly into your work schedule. Here are some strategies you may find effective:

• Work during naps. The great thing about babies and toddlers is that they sleep a lot. Some even keep a nap schedule until kindergarten! Use this time wisely, focusing on your most intensive tasks, or scheduling meetings during nap time.
• Plan activities they can do alone. Activity boxes are a godsend for a work from home parent, and you can purchase them or create your own, using different themes to keep it interesting. Have arts and crafts, games, books, and building toys at the ready, so that you can get your children settled doing something that will occupy their minds and free up your time.
• Shift your mindset on screen time. As parents, most of us try to keep screentime to a minimum. If you had really strict standards before you started working from home, you might want to rethink that attitude. There’s nothing quite like an animated movie or a game on a tablet to hold a child’s attention, so that you can put your attention on something else. Don’t overdo the screentime, but keep it in reserve for when you desperately need some peace and quiet.
• Build your schedule around theirs. Maybe this means doing shift work, planning your schedule around when the kids are sleeping or at school. It could also mean planning to work not only during school hours, but in the waiting room at doctor’s appointments, on the soccer field, at the dance studio, or while your child has a music lesson. The secret to successfully working from home is to remain creative and flexible.
• Let some things go. If your kids load the dishwasher and put away their laundry while you’re working, you can be sure it’s not going to be done perfectly. That’s ok! Ease up on your expectations of a clean house, and on the demands you put on yourself, letting others take over some tasks, even if they don’t do them as well as you would. Take a look at your extracurricular schedule, too. When parents work from home, people often put extra demands on them to volunteer or take on little tasks. Learn how to say no, and that being a good parent doesn’t necessarily mean being at the school every time a volunteer opportunity arises.
• Be present. Try to limit the amount of time you spend multi-tasking. If you’re with your kids, be with your kids. If you’re working, make it clear that you’re working. Focus on what you are doing, be present in the moment, and you’ll find that you feel a lot less stressed and pulled in different directions.

Get Some Help

There’s no rule that says work from home parents have to go it alone. If your children are preschool age, consider a mother’s morning out program, to give you a day or two of dedicated work time each week. You might also be able to find a neighborhood tween who’d like to act as “mother’s helper,” playing with your children after school for a reasonable fee. If your children are a little older, arrange playdates. Ideally, look for other work at home parents who are interested in working out some sort of cooperative routine, swapping childcare responsibility on a regular basis.

Set Boundaries

With babies, there’s not much you can do. With older kids, though, you can teach them to leave you alone while you’re working. This requires some patience on your part and practice on theirs, and you also need to be careful not to be working so much that they feel they never have your attention. Work out a signal that means “do not disturb,” but also let them know when it’s ok for them to come and hang out with you while you work.

Take Breaks

When you work from home, it’s tempting to work all the time, but it’s not good for your family life or your mental and physical health. Set hours for work, and be firm about the hours you’re not working. Occasionally, take a mental health day, to relax with your family or practice some self-care.

Center for Vasectomy Loves Helping Parents

We hope these tips helped you get a handle on how to find work-life balance while you’re working from home. At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people grow their families. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.

How to Help Support and Build your Child’s Emotional Intelligence

Dad helping to build his daughter’s emotional intelligence.

Raising Emotionally Intelligent Children

As parents, we are concerned about our children’s intelligence. This includes emotional intelligence, and raising emotionally intelligent children is vital to their future success. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise, understand, and manage emotions, both in ourselves and in others. Developing emotional intelligence helps people navigate relationships successfully, make good decisions, and manage stress. How can you foster an emotionally intelligent home environment in order to equip your child with the skills needed to understand and express their emotions in a healthy way?

Benefits of Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, called EQ, benefits a person throughout his or her lifetime. However, a low EQ can create challenges. Here are some emotional intelligence benefits:

• EQ and IQ are connected. Children with high emotional intelligence tend to have higher grades and do better on standardized tests.
• People with EQ have better relationships. Kids with emotional intelligence are better able to manage conflict and build deep friendships. Adults with high EQ report better personal and professional relationships.
• A child with high EQ is likely to be a more successful adult. Over 19 years, the American Journal of Public Health studied the social and emotional skills of kindergarteners and how those skills impacted their adulthood. The research showed that those who were better able to share, cooperate, and follow directions when they were five years old were more likely to have college degrees and full-time jobs by age 25.
• Those with high EQ struggle less with mental health issues. They are less likely to experience depression and other mental illnesses.

It makes sense that an emotionally intelligent child, able to calm his or her angry feelings and express emotions in a healthy way, will grow to be an adult who is better able to maintain healthy relationships. Fortunately, all children can learn emotional intelligence skills. Here’s how you can help your children develop theirs.

Be a Good Role Model

This means working on your own emotional intelligence. Model positive behavior for your children, showing them that they can express their feelings in a healthy way, listen to other people, and successfully work through conflicts. Let them see you responding to challenging situations with patience, and take the time to talk to them about their feelings. Use feeling words in conversation, and help your child learn to express their own emotions.

Help Kids Name Their Emotions

To become an emotionally intelligent person, a child needs to develop the vocabulary for emotional expression. Help your children put words to their emotions, by talking through what you suspect they’re feeling. To a child who doesn’t want to share a toy, you might say, “It looks like you feel angry. Is that right?” For a child who is sad, you might say, “Are you feeling disappointed that your friend can’t come over?” Using words like angry, upset, painful, shy, along with happy, joy, thrilled, excited, and hopeful, can help teach your child the vocabulary necessary for emotionally intelligent self-expression.

Validate Feelings

Emotions have merit and serve a purpose. The adrenaline spike of anger can spur someone to action, while the down mood you feel when your sad slows you down and gives you time to reflect. Your child’s feelings are real and valuable, so when your child is expressing emotions, listen carefully, giving your full attention. Reflect what you’re hearing back to your child, to express that you understand what is being felt and expressed.

Model Empathy

It’s easy to minimize what someone else is feeling, especially if it seems like the person is exaggerating or being dramatic. Being dismissive, though, teaches children that their feelings are wrong. Showing empathy does not mean that you agree with the person’s point of view, but that you understand how that emotion feels. It is important for your child to feel heard and understood, and when you show empathy to your child, allowing the expression of emotions without judgement, you are teaching your child to be not only honest with his or her own emotions, but empathetic to others as well.

Teach Coping and Problem-solving Skills

Look at your child’s emotions as an opportunity to connect and coach him or her through a challenging situation. Teach children that while emotions are acceptable, all behaviors are not ok. Set limits that encourage appropriate behaviors, and help your child manage emotions in a healthy way. You might teach a child to take deep breaths to calm down from anger, or you could help your child create a “calm-down kit”, with a coloring book, soothing music, good-smelling lotions, and other things that help your child regulate emotions. In addition to helping your children cope with their own emotions, help them develop the ability to think critically and find creative solutions to problems. Once you’ve identified the feelings, work with your child on brainstorming ideas to fix what’s gone wrong. They don’t all have to be good ideas; the goal is just to learn to brainstorm. You can also use role-playing scenarios to determine how to address a problem in the future. Act as a coach in the problem solving process, don’t solve the problems for them. Teaching your children to find creative ways to solve their problems will make them more resilient and better able to handle the challenges that come their way in the future.

Help Kids Become More Self Aware

It’s important to encourage your child to express feelings and thoughts, but along with that should come a sense of self-awareness. Give them a safe, supportive, non-judgmental environment in which to express themselves, and teach them to use creative activities to express their feelings. Then work with them on self-awareness, helping them learn to recognize their own feelings and notice how those feelings affect their judgment and behavior.

Give Praise for Progress

When you praise effort and progress, you demonstrate that you appreciate your child’s hard work. This can help motivate them to strive for success, and can help boost their emotional intelligence. You want your child to feel confident, and you also want to foster a mindset focused on growth. By focusing on progress, rather than only acknowledging accomplishment, you can help your child stay focused on growing and learning. Use mistakes as an opportunity to learn, and talk about how to better handle similar situations in the future. Admit to your child when you make mistakes, too, and make growing in emotional intelligence an ongoing aspiration for each person in your family.

Center for Vasectomy Reversal Loves Helping Parents

We hope these tips helped give you insight on fostering emotional intelligence in your children. At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people grow their families. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.

How to Help Unlock your Child’s Creativity and Why it’s Important

Child painting and being creative.

Creativity is Important

Creative intelligence involves developing new ideas and concepts, using the imagination. People who are creatively intelligent have strong problem solving and critical thinking skills, and can express themselves in unique ways. Recent research indicates that young adults feel happier and are more active when they are engaged in creative pursuits. It’s clear that encouraging your children to be creative is important in preparing them to be successful people. But what if your child isn’t artistic? The truth is that every child can be creative given some encouragement. Creativity isn’t limited to the creative arts; it’s about thinking in an original way. People with all types of learning styles can be creative, and a person can be creative in sports, business, technology, math, and more. Practicing creativity from an early age makes people more emotionally intelligent, better problem solvers, more resilient, more expressive, and happier. Are you ready to bring all that out in your child? We have some helpful tips.

Help Your Kids Discover Their Learning Styles

Whenever you’re trying to educate people, it pays to understand their learning styles. Learning is not one-size-fits all, and while some people lean towards auditory or visual learning, others are kinesthetic learners who need hands-on experiences. To determine a child’s learning style, offer a variety of different learning opportunities and see which one works best for your child.

Encourage Curiosity

From infancy, give your children the opportunity to explore their environment. Talk to them about the world around them and encourage them to ask questions. This helps them develop a sense of curiosity and teach them to think outside the box. Provide materials to build their creativity, like art supplies, blocks, and puzzles.

Give Kids Opportunities to Express Themselves

Let them try out different types of expressive activities. Give them a chance to express themselves through art, music, writing, painting, clay, musical instruments- anything that will help them creatively explore. Offer different sensory experiences, too, taking your kids to the library, a museum, or just out for a walk. Talk to them, and ask questions that encourage them to think.

Remember that Children Learn Through Play

Kids need free time and unstructured play to develop their creativity. Give them the opportunity to play, imagine, and explore, with no goals or objectives. Imaginative play helps kids develop cognitive skills while enhancing social skills and emotional intelligence, and when kids are free from a schedule or organized activities, their minds can run free and inspire them to create.

Focus on the Progress, Not Achievement

Creativity is a process, not an accomplishment. Ask your kids if they had fun, and what they enjoyed most about what they were creating. When they’re free to let use their imagination without an expectation of achievement, kids come up with some amazing ideas. Writing a story, coming up with an invention, creating a new game- these kinds of activities help kids discover their talents and strengths, fostering a sense of self-confidence.

Make Your Home a Creative Environment

Encourage reading, read to your kids, and read on your own. Choosing books over screens can help everyone in your home be more creative. Take time to be creative, just sitting and drawing, building with Legos, or finding some other way to bond with your child over creative pursuits. Talk about plans and encourage your kids to make their own plans without stifling them. Allow them to have different opinions than you, and encourage lively- (but respectful)- debate. Share your passions with your kids and give them space to share theirs with you, and cover your walls with their art.

Center for Vasectomy Reversal Loves Helping Parents

We hope you enjoy these tips on unlocking your child’s creativity. At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people grow their families. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.

Time-outs can be effective, but only if they’re used correctly. Make sure your kids have had plenty of positive time with you, and use time outs as a way to regulate emotions. Removing a child from a situation in which he or she is misbehaving gives the child an opportunity to self-regulate, appropriately express emotions, and consider how to make different choices next time. One meaningful way to do this is with a “time-in,” in which the parent sits with the child and helps in the calming process. You might try deep breathing together, sit quietly, or give your child a hug. The idea is to use the quiet space to help your child self-regulate emotions, with your support.

Couple doing vasectomy reversal research.

Are You Having Second Thoughts?

Sometimes, men have a vasectomy, thinking they don’t want any more children, but then have second thoughts. About 300,000 men in the United States have vasectomies each year, and somewhere between three and six percent of those men later decide to reverse those vasectomies. In the past, this was a long shot. Today, vasectomy reversal is safe and effective. But is it the right option for you? Here are some factors to consider when making the decision.

Conception is Not Guaranteed After a Reversal

Vasectomy reversals are much more successful than they used to be, but no procedure is 100 percent perfect. Sometimes, it takes up to 12 months for a stable semen analysis test, and sometimes other factors make conception difficult. Your partner’s age and fertility status come into play, as do things like testicular issues, the length of time since the vasectomy was done, and problems with the vasectomy itself.

There May Be Health Risks

Serious complications are rare with vasectomy reversal, but they do sometimes occur. Bleeding within the scrotum, infection at the surgery site, and chronic pain can all result, though they are uncommon.

Vasectomy Reversal Can Be Costly

Vasectomy reversal can be expensive, even without considering costs like anesthesia fees. What’s more, health insurance often will not cover it. Talk to your fertility specialist about the cost, and make sure there are no surprises when you receive your bill.

Finding the Right Surgeon is Important

Vasectomy reversal is a complicated procedure, involving complex microsurgery. Ultimately, the original surgery can have a major impact on the reversal. For a successful reversal, choose an experienced, trained microsurgeon. Ask about the success rates of any surgeon you are considering, and check credentials before committing.

Three Vasectomy Reversal-Friendly Situations

• Your life has changed significantly. Maybe you’ve become a widower, or you’ve divorced, and now you’re remarried. Maybe you have lost a child. Whatever the reason, if your life changes make you re-evaluate the decision not to have more children, a vasectomy reversal may be the right choice.
• You’ve had a sincere change of heart. You might have been 100 percent sure, earlier in life, that you didn’t want children or that your family was complete already. Now, later in life, you’ve come to regret that decision. Vasectomy reversals can be reversed many years after the original procedure, so if you have changed your mind, talk to a specialist about whether a vasectomy reversal is right for you.
• The vasectomy has caused issues for you. Sometimes, men experience complications following a vasectomy. This is not common, but if it does happen, your surgeon may recommend a vasectomy reversal to correct the problem.

Fertility Experts Offering Exceptional Patient Care

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we pride ourselves on helping men improve their fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.

Traveling with a Babies and Young Children

New parents traveling with toddler.

Can you travel with a baby?

Before you had a baby, travel was easy! You could pack up and go any time you had a whim and some time off, with very little hassle. Now that you have a new little one, though, the idea of packing up all the baby gear and heading off on a trip feels daunting. Can you even travel with a baby? How old does a baby need to be before it’s safe to travel? You probably have a million questions, so we’ve got some tips to help make traveling with a baby easier.

When can you go?

Before you make plans to jet off to Grandma’s with your newborn, slow down and talk to your pediatrician. Little ones are still developing their immune systems, so it’s important to get guidance from a healthcare professional before planning a trip. When you do travel with your baby, make sure you wash your hands frequently, use hand sanitizer, and avoid visibly ill travelers, to help keep your little one safe and healthy.

Planning Ahead

In addition to clearing the trip with your healthcare provider, make sure your child’s immunizations are up to date and that you pack all medication and important documents you will need on the trip. Whether your child is an infant, and older baby, or toddler, it’s better to have more than you need than to forget something. While you’re planning your trip, research your accommodations and amenities, making sure you will have everything you need for a successful stay with your little one. Be prepared for travel-related maladies like colds, sore throats, diarrhea, and car sickness, as well as things like mosquito bites and bedbugs. Take preventive measures to avoid these issues, and have remedies on hand just in case. Perhaps most importantly when planning a trip with a child, allow plenty of extra time for packing the car, getting to your destination or to the airport, going through security, checking into your hotel, or eating at a restaurant. When you have plenty of time and you’re well-prepared, the trip will go more smoothly.

What to Pack

Really, when packing to travel with a baby or small child, more is more. Make sure you bring everything your baby will need, from a traveling crib to a stroller to bottles, bibs, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, and plenty of clothes. Bring favorite toys and blankets, pack books, craft supplies and other activities, and bring bedding from home to help your child feel more at ease. Check the weather for your destination and pack accordingly, being prepared for the weather to take an unexpected turn.

Where to Go

Plan trips that are age appropriate and will be interesting to your child. When visiting the grandparents, take time to visit playgrounds. When planning a vacation, consider a beach or some other location with plenty to do and explore outside. Make sure, wherever you go, that you’re keeping a close eye on toddlers and small children who can easily get into dangerous situations, particularly around water.

What to Keep on Hand

You’ve packed all the essentials, but some things need to be easily accessible while you’re traveling. A first aid kit, plenty of water, disposable diapers, and snacks should all be on the list when you’re traveling with a small child. Be prepared to provide entertainment for an older baby or child, whether that means singing songs, playing games, or reading a book. Pro tip: if you have older little ones, audiobooks are a wonderful way to occupy the whole family on a long road trip.

Consistency is Key

The younger the child, the more important it is to keep feeding and sleep schedules consistent when you travel. If you are going to cross time zones during your trip, try to gradually adjust the schedule to the new time zone two or three days before you leave for your trip. Having a consistent routine will help your child feel more secure, and will make for fewer meltdowns.

Anticipate Challenges

Your child may experience some big feelings when the routine changes. Sleeping in a strange bed, being away from home, and missing the normal routine can be hard for kids to manage. Stress, confusion, and fear can all come out in the form of temper tantrums, crying, or otherwise acting out. Some of this can be alleviated by keeping a regular sleeping and eating schedule and bringing familiar items from home. It’s important, though, to allow your child to make some decisions, and to respect their boundaries, avoiding forcing them into any activities or interactions they strongly resist.

Be Patient

Sometimes, you’re going to have to move more slowly than you’d like on a trip with a baby. Children need breaks, naps, and down time, and it’s not easy for them to sit for long stretches in a car or on a plane. Plan for this, building in breaks, helping them “get their wiggles out”, and giving them extra hugs, snuggles, and overall patience.

Accept Assistance

Don’t be shy about asking the flight attendant if there is something special available for a fussy child, like a pack of crayons or a picture book. If you need something from the hotel, ask. If you’re staying with family, don’t try to care for your baby all by yourself, but accept help from well-meaning family members.

Help With Starting a Family

At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, we love helping people grow their families. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Green, our team provides state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. To learn more, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.