Panel discusses child health, gun violence

"How do we talk to our children about gun violence?" was among the many questions answered by a panel of child health experts from around the state at Ask Us Anything, an event by Show Me Strong Kids of the University of Missouri, hosted locally Tuesday, Aug. 29, at Goodwill Excel Center in Cape Girardeau.

Dr. Maya Moody, a community pediatrician in St. Louis, talked of the importance of "validating the fear" associated with gun violence.

"I think that there are lots of things that we can do to teach safety but also to validate fear. Even us, as parents, get scared, and sometimes it's super scary to even just think about sending your kids out the door," she said.

Communication with children about gun violence can be crucial in helping them process their fear, Moody said.

"Try to listen to them, ask the question back to them and listen to see where they are, what their thoughts are, and what they know, because kids pick up a lot more than what we think they do," she said.

A panel of experts hold a Q&A session about child health Tuesday, Aug. 29, at Goodwill Excel Center in Cape Girardeau. From left, Rachel Orscheln, Kristin Koehn, Luke Guard, Sarah Christenberry, Maya Moody, Ben Francisco, Alicia Brewer Curran, April Ravert and Crystalena Oberweiser.Maryam Seyedalhosseini ~ MaryamS@semissourian.com

A panel of experts hold a Q&A session about child health Tuesday, Aug. 29, at Goodwill Excel Center in Cape Girardeau. From left, Rachel Orscheln, Kristin Koehn, Luke Guard, Sarah Christenberry, Maya Moody, Ben Francisco, Alicia Brewer Curran, April Ravert and Crystalena Oberweiser.Maryam Seyedalhosseini ~ MaryamS@semissourian.com

She explained parents should create an environment where children can feel safe to ask questions and process fear.

"Try to normalize that fear and to tell them things like, 'We want you to be safe', 'We want you to be prepared', 'We don't want to be scared'", she said. "Give them that safe, stable, nurturing relationship to make sure they know that you are their safe person. Make sure they have a safe person at school that they can talk to. Allow them to either verbally or physically process the fear. Some kids may need to move and spin and run and throw a tantrum. I think that all of that behavior is communication and we should listen to them."

It is also very important to teach children about gun safety. "Tell them to look, don't touch and find an adult," Moody said. Furthermore, parents must store their own firearms safely; "locked, unloaded, separate from the ammunition," she added.

The panel answered a variety of other questions about children's physical, mental and developmental health raised by attendees at the event.

When is the best time to get a flu shot?

"The best time to get a flu shot is about two weeks before we start seeing influenza. Influenza starts to emerge as the weather gets cooler, typically," said Dr. Rachel Orscheln, pediatric infectious disease physician at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "Although we know that the flu season is pretty variable with COVID, the flu season tends to peak in February. However, we do start seeing cases in the fall. Our recommendation is to get that flu shot in September or October. If you haven't got it by then, it's still recommended that you get your flu shot because we continue to see influenza in February into March and April. You're protected when you get the flu shot, it reduces your chance of getting the flu. Although it's never 100% perfect, it definitely reduces your chance of hospitalization and becoming seriously ill."

How can we boost children's immune system against infection?

"Generally speaking, our immune system is programmed to work and, outside of illness or certain medication, we don't see that immune system drops," Orscheln said. "The best things to maintain your overall health are to get plenty of rest; eat a healthy, well-balanced diet; get some physical exercise; reduce stress; and especially avoid smoking. Avoiding smoking is a major component in reducing the risk of infection. Smoking actually paralyzes the local immune system that is responsible for getting rid of bacteria and viruses. Getting routine vaccination is one of the best ways to strengthen kids' immune system because vaccines teach your immune system how to respond to an infection."

How to tackle food selectivity in children?

"Serve as a role model for the kid. If you can, sit down and eat family meals together so that they see you eat your fruits and vegetables. Give them those (nutritious) foods when they are most hungry. You can try putting out a tray of fruits and vegetables, and children can eat all they want from it before the food is ready when they're hungry," Moody said.

"Even if your child doesn't eat fruit or vegetables, try to keep that exposure by just putting them on the plate," said Alicia Brewer Curran, associate director of Echo Autism. "Never put pressure, but always offer the option. You can also sneak those good foods into fun foods. Try to get them invested. Have them make a list, Have them pick it out of the grocery store; kids like to be in charge. That's also fostering independence and skill sets that they're going to need when they're older."

How to discipline a child who throws a lot of tantrums?

"You probably are not going to be able to avoid tantrums. It's going to happen. Make sure the kid is in a safe place and let them cry it out. Make sure they can't hurt themselves and let them cool off before you try to reason with them," said Dr. Sarah Christenberry, a local pediatrician.

"We try to coach parents to take positive approaches. If kids are having a meltdown, you don't want to add more tension to that," said April Ravert, early childhood coordinator at University of Missouri. "It's developmentally normal for them to do that. Kids are very good with mastery; you want them to feel good about what they're about to do and that is to turn your time-out into a time-in. You can engage them and let them help you. You want to acknowledge their feelings. Let them talk about their tears and where they're coming from. Help them make a safe time-in spot with whatever they're into, like dinosaurs or blocks. Kids are just like us. They're learning how to regulate their emotions and if they have a safe calm space to do that in, that is going to turn into their safe spot."