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Pregnancy Health
Finding Your Core by Sandy Novembre & Amelia Foster DPT Searching the internet for answers regarding core strength can be quite overwhelming. It’s easy to confirm that a strong core is important, but how to best strengthen can be daunting. There are many “core” exercises that are great in theory, but performing a particular movement or pose doesn’t guarantee you are using your core. All too often our superficial (larger) muscles take over for the core. Many internet answers approach each core muscle individually. While it is helpful to bring awareness to each core muscle through isolated imagery, the goal is to find integration. The benefit of a strong core…
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Garland
Garland By Carmen Clark We are smack in the middle of the decoration-heavy months of the year, and these fall projects will get you into the spirit of the holidays. While I try to use the simplest materials, things you hopefully have around the house, sometimes these projects take additional materials. In this case, fake leaves, beads, thread, and a needle. I like to use felt balls on my garland as well, but those can get pricy! Believe it or not, Dollar Tree tends to have beads, fake leaves, needles, and thread! If you can’t find something on the list, I encourage you to visit Crooked Beauty in Felton. We…
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Skipper Megan Tracks Whales
You might not notice right away, it could be fifteen minutes after the boat Velocity leaves the harbor, but soon it’s inevitable that you notice an all-female crew runs the boat. At the head is Megan Petersen. The excitement of whale watching has not dulled for Megan over the eight years she’s worked for Stagnero’s, and as she talks about sea life it’s clear that navigating a boat in search of whales and other animals is a passion. Of course, that was never a surprise to Megan, the daughter of a scuba master and a nature lover, she studied Marine Science in college, and while she knew she never wanted…
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Labor Pain, What’s Your Best Strategy?
Imagine entering a Thai restaurant for the first time. Menu items in a foreign language may hint at ingredients, but guidance from an experienced diner could make all the difference. Someone to describe the dishes and make recommendations may save the day. This scenario comes to mind when reviewing Henci Goer’s newest book, Labor Pain – What’s Your Best Strategy? Many people skip the pain relief menu and jump straight to the epidural because, doesn’t everyone get the epidural? Parents may be led to believe that an epidural as plan A is always the best choice. Glossed over details, confusing statistics, or feeling rushed at prenatal visits can make it…
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Santa Cruz County Children Improve their Oral Health
Life is better with teeth. You can eat, talk, make friends, and, as you get older, get a job. It’s not easy for everyone to have a healthy smile, especially for those struggling to get by. The good news is that things are better, especially for children, than they were six years ago as confirmed by Dientes Community Dental Care’s newly released study, the 2022 State of Oral Health in Santa Cruz County. Yet, there is a continued gap in dental care for low-income residents where 82,000 people had Medi-Cal, but only 38% could go to the dentist. There were some gains over the first study done in 2016 –…
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Be a Part of the Giving Revolution
Thanks to you — residents of Santa Cruz County — Santa Cruz Gives raised more than $1.1 million for a wide variety of local nonprofits during the winter holidays last year, and we’re gearing up to launch this year’s campaign. It runs from November 16-December 31. The projects that will be presented are the most diverse yet, and they cover every area of the County. Whatever you like to support, you’ll find it at SantaCruzGives.org: education and vocational training, the environment, homelessness, mental wellness, the disabled, the arts, youth, seniors, animals, local news, LGBTQ+, and more. Donations increased by 64.4% in 2021 over 2020 — and have increased just as dramatically…
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How to Help Your Child with ADHD in School
I watched my son, Luke–who was struggling with ADHD– in mainstream education for six years before finally pulling the plug on the whole operation and vowing to search for a better, alternative solution for him. Luke was a round peg trying to fit into a square hole, the child left behind, the kid falling through the cracks. But not anymore. When we left his Santa Cruz city school after his last day of 5th grade still unsure where he would end up during this scholastic year, I knew we were in for an uphill battle. THE 6-YEAR BATTLE We first learned of his condition from a Stanford research study of…
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Ask Nicole: Helping Kids Handle Big Emotions
The worst of the COVID-19 pandemic may be behind us, but the effects of nearly three years of uncertainty, disruption, and loss are still rippling through our community. Health, education, and social service professionals everywhere are sharing how the pandemic and the ongoing struggle for racial justice have intensified the mental health crisis among children and adolescents, which was growing at an alarming rate even before the pandemic. Our community isn’t immune to this mental health crisis, and none of us can solve it on our own. But together, we can support children and families wherever they live, work, learn, play, and worship. This monthly column provides tips for anyone…
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Should we R-E-S-P-E-C-T respect?
I can hardly express the joy I felt when my 6-year-old-son, Parker, won an award for being respectful at an assembly after his first month of first grade. What parent doesn’t burst with pride for any of their children’s accomplishments? But that night, I tuned in Bill Maher’s show and heard him lament that we give our children too many participation awards and make them feel entitled for the rest of their lives, regardless of their actual accomplishments. Now Maher knows as much about raising kids as I do about splitting atoms, but he was echoing the conservative platform that schools and teams now reward students just for showing up.…
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Time to Say Goodbye
Three and half years ago, my manager at Cabrillo College introduced me to Brad Kava. He and I met (him with the hope I would be his next ad rep and me with the dream of creating the paper layout.) With much confidence, I convinced him that the paper needed a redesign, and I was the only person to do it. We premiered the new logo, layout, and glossy cover in September 2019. Looking back, the paper and my skills have only improved. My time at Growing Up has been a roller coaster of uncertainty in the world, from the first months of the pandemic to the fires that displaced…
