You should be screened for potential health risks annually

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Teens up to age 26 can remain under their families’ health coverage based on the Affordable Care Act to make sure they have access to preventive health care. But although teens have the chance to have annual health checkups, only two third of them actually use that opportunity.

That’s according to the data from the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Census. Recently a survey was conducted to find out why. The online survey was conducted among teens, health care professionals and also parents. All together more than 2000 people were surveyed.

At least half of the teens admit to worrying about their health, even though only 28% of their parents feel they do. But when it comes to reasons why not to have annual checkups, 60% of the teens can think of at least one reason. And one third of them believe that they shouldn’t go to the doctor unless they are sick.

Then again, based on the answers from physicians the annual checkup is a great opportunity for informative health discussions as they trigger more questions from both the teenagers themselves as well as their parents. Even though the survey also revealed that if the teen is joined by a parent in the exam room, it might restrict the conversation.

The survey was conducted by NFID (National Foundation for Infectious Diseases) in collaboration with Pfizer Inc and fielded by Harris Interactive.

“NFID has long been an advocate of preventive health. With the drop in annual checkups during the teen years, we wanted to take a look at the attitudes and behaviors of the people closest to teen health to see if we can better understand the reason for the decline, ” said NFID medical director Susan J. Rehm, MD.

For more information about the survey and teen health in general, see myteenshealth.com.

Disclosure: This post was requested by an advertiser.

Best Islands to Escape To

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What with vacation season just around the corner check out some of these great islands here in America the whole family can enjoy.

  1. Hilton Head Island, S. Carolina
  2. San Juan Islands, Washington
  3. Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
  4. Caladesi Island, Florida
  5. South Bass Island, Ohio
  6. Monhegan Island
  7. Anna Maria Island

For more information about some of America’s Best Island Escapes http://www.familycircle.com/family-fun/travel/best-american-islands-family-vacation

Gather your family and vote for the cause you care about

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If you want to help create a positive impact on your neighborhood, now is your chance. All you have to do is go to www.statefarm.com/neighborhoodassist and vote for the cause that matters to you the most. You can vote up to ten times a day until April 22. The voting is open since April 4 and the top 40 vote-getting causes will be awarded a grant of $25 000.

March 6 was the last day when people across the U.S. and Canada had the chance to answer the call from State Farm to submit a cause that would make a positive impact. Total of 3000 submissions were received.

State Farm Youth Advisory board, comprised of 30 students in ages 17-20, reviewed all the causes and based on their selected criteria, chose 200 causes that were put on a public vote. Forty of those causes, the ones getting the most votes, will be getting the State Farm grant.

“The beauty of State Farm Neighborhood Assist is that it places decision-making power directly in the hands of the public,” said Mary Crego, State Farm Senior Vice President. “We hope the 2013 program is able to increase last year’s widespread positive impact on U.S. and Canadian communities.”

Disclosure: This post was requested by an advertiser.

Keep your children safe

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Everyone wants to keep their children safe from everything they can think of. In all honesty, in very many cases, parents tend to overprotect their children. However, with all this overprotection from bacteria, from falling when running, from eating dirt to pretty much anything else, there are some things parents really should protect their children from.

According to a new study that released just a week ago, every three weeks one child dies from a television tipping over. More than 13,000 more children are injured every year. Yet, most parents are not even considering TV tip-over as a threat to their small children. Many are also not even aware that there are ways to secure their television to their wall. However, it’s not as difficult as one might think.

Start by assessing the stability of your TV. Is it easy to knock over? Or if it’s not easy to just knock it over…what if someone tried to climb up with the help of the TV? If it’s destined to fall in these cases, it’s time to secure it. And securing it to the wall is usually your best bet. You might be able to find the best solutions for flat panel mounts with the help of SANUS.

The study about the threats of TV tipping over was released on December 13, 2012 by Safe Kids Worldwide and SANUS.

Disclosure: This post was requested by an advertiser.

Fun Family Christmas Games

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Have you ever found the mood in your house dipping later in the day on Christmas?

Do you need something to do to keep the kids from going crazy waiting for Christmas eve to get over?

Or maybe you have a group of adults you need to entertain AFTER the kids go to bed.

Here are a few games your might want to try to keep everyone entertained.

Christmas Pictionary – This game is a drawing game.  All you need is some paper and a pencil or pen.  Come up with some Christmas words (you will want to choose the words based on the group).  Divide into two teams.  Take turns being the picture drawer for your team.  Pick out a word. Set timer (60- 120sec) and then draw.  If the team can guess what it is they get a point.  If they cant at the end of the time the other team gets one guess to steal the point.  You can also do this where everyone guesses each time with no timer and the 1st person to get it right gets a point.

Christmas word – for this game you need to look up some words like yule or boughs  and write them down(make sure you write down the definition too).  One person reads the word out loud and everyone writes down what they think it means (or a joke meaning).  The reader reads all the definitions aloud and everyone guesses what they think the definition is.  You get a point if you guess the correct definition and anyone whose definition got voted correct also gets a point per vote.  Everyone takes turns being the reader.

You could also try the Christmas memory game to test how well people know the story “twas the night before Christmas” – here is how - http://partygameideas.com/christmas-games/story_memory_game_1.php

After hours break out the cards and try playing Texas hold-em gift exchange -http://partygameideas.com/christmas-games/texas-hold-em_gift_exchange_2.php

 

MERRY Christmas!

Have Interactive Fun at Miami’s Jungle Island

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The Jungle Island zoological park, located on Watson Island in Miami, Florida, is not only a great destination for adults and children alike, but one of the world’s very few environmentally-sustainable amusement parks.

Founded in 1936, the park moved to its present location in 2003 and now consists of several different areas. Its central attraction is the Jungle Theatre, a covered amphitheatre that hosts wildlife shows for visitors. Birds and animals from all around the world perform and interact with guests during these events. Species range from exotic birds such as the cassowary to Hercules, a 408 kg (900 lb) liger, or lion-tiger hybrid. Other areas of the park house displays of birds, including a colony of penguins. Various kinds of snakes and other reptiles also make their home in the Serpentarium.

The park’s other major feature is the Everglades Habitat, which recreates the environment of the Florida Everglades, including both indigenous plant and animal species. Visitors to the simulated Everglades are also helping to support the real Everglades ecosystem, which is under threat from development; the park supports the not-for-profit Everglades Foundation.

Jungle Island is also committed to ecological sustainability. The entirety of the park area is free from synthetic fertilisers or pesticides, and the park’s management offsets harmful emissions caused by special events by purchasing carbon credits to offset them.