Caring for New Jersey’s Children: Save the Date

19^th Annual Health in Child Care

Conference will be held on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at the Somerset Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center

Keynote
Timothy R. Shope, MD

Co-Editor of Managing Infectious Diseases
in Child Care and Schools

Plus workshops on
Hot Topics in Health, Immunizations, Communicating with Families, Mental Health, Inclusion and more …

The registration brochure will be available through your local
Child Care Resource and Referral agency in March or go to http://www.njaeyc.org

Healthy Kids Let’s Move Contest

USDA Launches Apps for Healthy Kids Competition as part of Let’s Move! Campaign 
 
Contestants Will Compete for $40,000 in Prizes As They Develop New Tools to Help Raise a Generation of Healthier Kids 
  
WASHINGTON, Mar. 10, 2010 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture joined First Lady Michelle Obama today in announcing the innovative Apps for Healthy Kids competition to Americans as part of the Let’s Move! initiative. Apps for Healthy Kids challenges software developers, game designers, students, and other innovators to develop innovative, fun, and engaging tools and games that help kids and their parents to eat better and be more physically active.
“First Lady Michelle Obama has challenged America to tackle the issues of child nutrition and obesity and she knows that the Federal Government cannot do it alone – which is why we are launching this challenge, to tap America’s ingenuity by enlisting the most creative, talented, and kid-savvy innovators across the nation to put their skills to the cause of empowering parents and inspiring kids to get active and eat healthy,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Apps for Healthy Kids competition entries will leverage the recently-released MyPyramid 1,000 food database to create web or mobile-based apps in two categories. The first set of prizes will be awarded to digital games that best engage and motivate kids to eat healthy and be physically active. The second set of prizes will be awarded to the most creative tools for parents striving to make the right choices for their kids. So when they are planning meals, at the grocery store, or picking up dinner on the way home from work, parents can instantly access easy-to-understand nutritional information they can trust.

Contestants will compete for $40,000 in cash prizes and the chance to shine before USDA’s all-star panel of judges, including Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, Inc.; Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga Game Network, Inc.; Michael Levine, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop; Mike Gallagher, President and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association; Aneesh Chopra, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; and David Lazarus, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture.

In addition to medal winners, the judges will announce a Popular Choice Award, which will go to the contestant with the most public votes. Members of the public can register and vote at www.AppsforHealthyKids.com, between noon on July 14 to noon on August 14.

All winners will be honored at a White House event in Washington, DC. Importantly, Apps for Healthy Kids gives game developers and other innovators the chance to help give kids the healthy lives they deserve.

Entries must be submitted between March 10, and June 30, 2010. Official rules may be found at www.AppsForHealthyKids.com.

The U.S Department of Agriculture is an active member of the Let’s Move! team, alongside the Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information on the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative visit www.LetsMove.gov. The Apps for Healthy Kids competition is a collaborative initiative of the White House Office of the First Lady, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service and the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.

Injury — A Lifestyle Problem

Injuries kill more Americans in their first 3 decades of life than any other cause of death. In fact, injuries—both unintentional and those caused by acts of violence—are among the top 10 killers for Americans of all ages.

Patients are not as educated on how to lower injury risks as they are on how to lower cancer or heart disease risks.

A new special issue of the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, entitled Injury Prevention: A Medical and Public Health Imperative (January 2010) addresses the topic of unintentional injury prevention as a lifestyle problem. Staff from CDC’s Injury Center served as guest editors and contributors.

CDC’s Injury Center has a limited number of hard copies available (one per person). For free copies, please contact David Sleet, PhD, at dds6@cdc.gov.

Learn More at:

Ten Leading Causes of Death and Injury

CDC Injury Research Agenda

Adding Power to Our Voices: Framing Guide for Communicating About Injury

The Unheard Voice: Addressing Violence Against Women with Disabilities

The New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Disability Services and the New Jersey Coalition on Women and Disabilities have developed important resources to address violence against women with disabilities.   Unheard Voices is a manual for Healthcare Providers to recognize and address possible abuse.  Spot the Signs is a handy brochure for healthcare professionals.  Ask the Questions is a poster that summarizes the major signs of possible abuse against women with disabilities.

This initiative was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Important Conference on Fetal Monitoring

This important workshop introduces `newer’ OB nurse to the basics
of fetal heart rate monitoring. Attendees will receive information on
the most current National Institute on Child Health and Development
(NICHD) terminology that will allow them to provide evidence-based
strip interpretation and nursing interventions. 

You can learn more about this conference at ProEd_basicfetalmonitoring_evite_0110.  Register on-line here.

Want to Learn More About Innovative Research into Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders?

The latest newsletter from the SAMHSA Center for Excellence in FASD includes summaries of recently published research into these disorders.  You can read these and other important news regarding the impact of prenatal exposure to alcohol at 01 – 2010 Center Monthly Update

Preschool Curriculum: What’s In It for Children & Teachers?

Early childhood is a critical time for cognitive development.  This is a period when children eagerly engage in learning language, arithmetic and want to explore their environments.  A new report from Albert Shankar Institute describes why preschool curriculum are advantageous for children and teachers.  Click Early Childhood 12-11-08 to read the report.

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