We here are BirminghamMommy are looking at a lot of years with our kids in braces, so when we set out to choose someone to help us with that journey, we wanted someone we knew was going to make us feel at home and comfortable, because when it comes to braces, it’s a lot of scheduled appointments and some not-so-scheduled appointments when your kid bends a wire eating something they’re not supposed to be eating. Backus had also treated me years ago for TMJ, and their dad was fitted with braces as an adult. When we went for our initial consults, we were happy to see that even after all these years, they were still offering the same friendly service we experienced ourselves well before kids even entered our world.

When asked what patients of Backus Braces can expect from her office, Dr Backus explained that their patients can expect to be treated like friends and welcomed into their orthodontic family as they go above and beyond for them.

Backus braces offers a clean, comfortable, safe and fun environment for their patients and they have a passion for personalized service. Dr Backus says “personalized service begins by actively listening to and communicating with our patients and parents to understand their individual concerns. We want them to know that we are invested in them.”

Offering a wide range of services for their patients, from clear esthetic, comfortable self-ligating, and 100% customizable brackets, and invisalign to services that help with TMJ and craniofacial problems. Dr. Backus believes that what sets her practice apart from others is their unparalleled consistency of care to achieve a beautiful smile in the shortest time possible.

You can follow along with our kid reporter, Elizabeth on our social media as she documents her journey to a beautiful smile with Backus Braces.

Dr. Dominique Backus is conveniently located in Homewood, at 3507 Old Montgomery Hwy. They offer early morning appts (our favorite) to accommodate busy schedules. To learn more about their services or schedule your free consult, you can call (205) 879-0557

September 15th – September 21st is Child Passenger Safety Week and it’s a great time to review safety guidelines and serves as a reminder to do a check on your seats. Here is some helpful information from Children’s of Alabama.

Is your car seat safe?

Despite numerous public awareness campaigns on properly restraining children in motor vehicles, and thousands of newly certified child passenger safety technicians nationwide, many children still ride unrestrained.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 19 and under.

In Alabama, in the last survey in 2011 shows 4.17% of children 5 and under are unrestrained and more than 90 percent of the child safety seats used are improperly installed.

Does your child need a booster seat?

Booster seats are for children who:

Have outgrown convertible or toddler safety seats.
Aren’t big enough to use vehicle’s adult safety belts safely

In general, children should use a booster seat until they reach a minimum of 4’9″ (Remember, weight limits of seats may vary by model). Consult the manufacturer’s instructions for exact figures.). A booster seat raises your child up in the vehicle’s seat. That way, the vehicle’s safety belts can fit and hold your child the way they’re supposed to. It’s the only safe way to ride. A properly installed booster seat can help save your child’s life in a crash. Adult safety belts are dangerous for children. Safety belts will not protect your child in a crash if a belt:

Rides up on his or her stomach
Goes against his or her neck

Belts that are in the wrong position will hurt your child in a crash. They may not hold him or her in the seat. (Do not use add-on devices to improve shoulder belt fit. It’s safer to use a booster seat.). The safest booster seats use both shoulder and lap belts. These are called belt-positioning boosters. There are different types of belt-positioning boosters.

Some have:

High backs, for head support in vehicles with low seat backs.
Harnesses, so the seat can first be used as a safety seat (these come off when the child is big enough to use a booster)
No backs (only use these if the child’s ears are below the top of the seat back when seated)

Never use a belt-positioning booster with only a lap belt. Both lap and shoulder belts are needed to hold your child securely. Make sure:

The lap belt goes low-across your child’s upper thighs
The shoulder belt goes against your child’s shoulder and across his or her chest
Have shoulder belts put in, if needed. The back seat is the safest place for children. If your vehicle has only lap belts in the back seat, contact your vehicle’s dealer or manufacturer. Ask about putting in shoulder belts. Choose a booster seat carefully. Buy a seat only if:

Has a label that says it meets federal standards
Has a date of manufacture and model number on it

Do not get a seat that:

Was ever in a crash or is damaged in some way.
Is used. It may have damage you cannot see. The damage can make the seat unsafe.
Contact the seat manufacturer to ask when the sheet should be replaced. (Some manufacturers recommend replacing seats after a certain number of years.)

Be sure to install the booster seat properly. Put it in the vehicle’s back seat. The back seat is the safest place for children 12 and under. Never place a safety seat that has a front air bag. Follow all instructions carefully. You put your child at risk if the seat is not installed properly. Be sure to check both:

The instructions that come with the seat
Your vehicle’s manual.

See if your community offers child-safety-seat inspections. That’s a good way to find out if your booster seat is installed properly. (Contact your local law enforcement or health department for details.) If your vehicle has no back seat or you are absolutely unable to avoid transporting a child in the front seat, see a dealer or mechanic for information about a front air bag on/off switch. Also, if you have side air bags alongside seats occupied by children, ask the vehicle manufacturer if the side air bags should be deactivated. If you have any questions, call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Auto Safety Hotline at 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

Keep your child in a booster seat until you’re sure he or she is big enough to ride safely with only adult lap and shoulder belts. How to tell when your child is big enough: Have your child seat deep in the vehicle’s seat, with his or her back straight against the seat back. If your child cannot bend his or her knees over the edge of the seat without slouching down, or if the shoulder belt rests against his or her neck, he or she should continue using a booster seat.

Red Diamond® Coffee & Tea announced the return of its popular Zoo Promotion Coffee Can that provides customers with free child admissions and train ride tickets to the Birmingham Zoo with the purchase of the unique can.

The 34.5 oz. can, featuring a prominent giraffe and jaguar with a specially-marked label, includes two child admission tickets and two Red Diamond Express Train tickets (a value of $31) with the purchase of one adult admission ticket.

“As a family-friendly company, this partnership is one of our favorite initiatives year after year” said Emily Wood Bowron, assistant vice president of strategic marketing. “Red Diamond has been a sponsor of the Birmingham Zoo for over 13 years with entertainment including the Red Diamond Sea Lion Show and the Red Diamond Express Train. As one of the state’s most popular attractions, we’re thrilled to offer residents and visitors a day of excitement at the zoo while providing a boost of caffeine to help keep you going.”

Consumers will receive the same high-quality 100% Arabica coffee in the zoo can that is traditionally found in the regularly-branded Red Diamond can. Sourced from coffee plantations in the mountains of Central and South America, Red Diamond Classic Blend coffee is hand-picked, sun-dried, and small-batch roasted using sophisticated state-of- the-art equipment here in Alabama.

Customers can look for the special edition Zoo Promotion Coffee Can at select Birmingham retailers where 34.5 oz cans are sold, and bring the label to the Birmingham Zoo box office for redemption by December 31, 2019.

Visit their site for complete promotion details.

We all remember where we were 18 years ago during the attacks of 9/11. Whether you were watching it unfold on television, or listening to it on the radio, you can probably still conjure up the sick feeling you had when it was explained what exactly it was that was happening to our Country. It’s one of those monumental events that changed things for us, forever.

Many of our young kids are blissfully unaware of the significance of 9/11 and will probably remain that way for a while. Even current high school seniors probably have little memory for the events. But some of you will be asked at pick-up, “Did you know some bad guys flew planes into two tall buildings?!?” Most likely, this was not part of the day’s lesson plan but told to your kid by a very “helpful” classmate (you know, the one who announced that Santa is your parents?) Should this happen to you, try to stay calm – you can’t shield her from this kind of thing forever and it’s best that she get facts from you instead of all manner of crazy info from that kid.

Here are some tips for talking about September 11th, ready to or not:

Get the facts first. Visit websites like this one or this one for information about the attacks so that you can give your child accurate information.

For kids under age 7, you may not want to bring up this event unless they mention it first. Young kids usually aren’t ready to process something like this (but really, are any of us ready to process something like this?) and the conversation may lead more to fearfulness versus knowledge or understanding. However, if someone else tells your child about 9-11, it’s time to have a conversation.

Once you decide to talk about September 11th, the first step is to find out what your child already knows (“What have you heard about the attacks?”) and clear up any misconceptions as best you can. For example, if your child seems fearful of all Muslims, explain that the attacks were carried out by only a small group of people but that the vast majority of Muslim individuals were devastated and outraged by what happened. Explain that Muslim classmates and their families had nothing to do with the attacks and that your child has no reason to fear them or be angry with them. Next, give a factual but brief summary of what happened, “Before you were born, some very angry men came to the U.S. from another country and took control of four airplanes. They flew the planes into several buildings, including the very tall Twin Towers in New York.” Older children will want to know if people were hurt and you can answer truthfully but avoid giving a death toll, describing gruesome injuries, or talking about people jumping from windows. Kids don’t need to see graphic pictures or video from the events. Preteens and teens may be ready to see video of the plane hitting the South Tower but use your judgment about whether they can handle it.

Keep your emotions in check. Absolutely let your kids know how you felt when you heard about the attacks – angry, sad, scared – and how you feel now when you think about 9/11. Just be mindful of the intensity with which you express these emotions. Your kids don’t need to know that you didn’t leave your house for three days or vowed never to fly again after the attacks. It won’t help them to hear that you wished the hijackers were still alive so you could murder them yourself. Yes – those feelings were valid and you weren’t alone in feeling them. But, they’re too strongly expressed for kids to understand and may cause them undue anxiety. If you’re not sure you can talk about 9/11 to your kids without becoming extremely upset, hold off for now or ask another adult to help you with the conversation. It’s important that children be able to hear the facts of 9/11 in as safe a space as possible. They will probably have questions and you’ll need to be able to invite those questions and field them as best you can, which is very difficult when you’re too upset.

Speaking of questions, the hardest one you will likely get is: “Why?” Why did a bunch of men from a another country come all the way over here to steal planes and fly them into buildings? Why did they kill all those people? Why would someone do something like that? You can spend all day trying to give historical and cultural context for these attacks but the truth is, there is no good answer. There is no way for our brains to make sense of this horrific loss of human life. It’s O.K. to tell your child that you cannot understand it either. Just be sure that you focus on the fact that this kind of thing is very, very rare and happened a long time ago and somewhere far away (this is assuming you live in/near Birmingham). You don’t have to have the answer to everything as long as you can find ways to assure your child that he is safe.

A great way to help your child feel more secure is suggested by our old friend Fred Rogers (that’s “Mr. Rogers” to you). In a 1986 newspaper column, he said that his parents reassured him when he saw scary events on the news so he didn’t feel afraid. His mother told him, “Always look for the helpers. There’s always someone who is trying to help.” When he did, he came to see that “the world is full of doctors and nurses, police and firemen, volunteers, neighbors and friends who are ready to jump in to help when things go wrong.” That pretty much sums up what happened after 9/11 (and so many other tragic events). Search books and the internet for stories about survivors and heroes. Read and learn with your child about the people who helped immediately after the 9/11 attacks and in the days, months, and years of aftermath. Screen the stories first so you can find some that aren’t overly graphic or too detailed for your child, depending on his age and maturity level. Ask why a person would risk his or her own life to help others. Talk about ways that people have helped your child in scary or difficult situations. Ask your child what he could do in an emergency that would be helpful (e.g., tell an adult, call 9-1-1) and what he should not do (e.g., go into a building that’s on fire). Discuss how he can help in small ways every day (e.g., opening doors for others, picking up trash, etc.). By doing this, you’re giving your child a sense of control over frustrating or upsetting situations and reminding him that, although horrible things may happen, there is much good in this world. There are people who run toward instead of away from danger. There are always people around him who will help him – even if he doesn’t know them yet.

If your child seems interested in knowing more, here are some resources to look at together.
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/understanding-september-11

September 12th: We Knew Everything Would Be All Right by students at Masterson Elementary School in Kennet, Missouri – ages 4 and up

Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman – ages 4 and up
The Little Chapel that Stood by A.B. Curtiss – ages 4-8

I Survived the Attacks of September the 11th by Lauren Tarshis – ages 7-10
September 11th: Then and Now by Peter Benoit – ages 7 and up

If those options seem a little too detailed, consider The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (by Mordicai Gerstein), a lovely tribute to Philippe Petit who once walked a tightrope between the World Trade towers. The last sentence notes that the towers exist now “only in memory” but the overall message is fun and hopeful.

About Kristen:

Kristen Berthiaume, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist with Grayson and Associates. She obtained her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Kentucky. She completed a predoctoral internship in clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a post- doctoral fellowship in the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) Program at Duke University Medical Center. She specializes in providing assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and families dealing with the following issues: ADHD, learning disorders, social skill deficits, organizational problems, behavioral difficulties, anxiety, and depression. She generally focuses on behavioral and cognitive- behavioral techniques, but maintains a flexible approach to therapy. Her other day job is as mom to her daughters, ages ten and four, and seven-year-old son.

I took my homeschoolers to the Cook Museum of Natural Science this week to see what they would have to offer Homeschooling families in Alabama. And they really have A LOT to offer!

The first thing I noticed, and am still thinking about after our visit, is how thoughtful and service oriented the entire staff and lay out of the Museum are. Even the museum map is thoughtfully created to fold up easily and fit smoothly into a purse, pocket, or diaper bag. They have a spot for toddler or younger preschool age children to play, the little larvae section, and it is so helpful with young children. They really have considered how to make this museum a pleasant experience for everyone.

We got to the museum around opening time so we got to see the turtles eating their breakfast, which my children thoroughly enjoyed. I was impressed with how hands on every exhibit was, from the very first stop there were ways little tactile learners could put their hands on something to demonstrate the ideas the being presented. Getting to hold a real meteorite from outer space was impressive, but I think my kids loved the foundations section the most. It showcases all types of rocks and had them comparing what kinds they had used in Minecraft! Then getting to build crystal formations with magnetic tiles was like Minecrafting in real life, they loved it.

The real star of the show in the Foundations room is the kinetic sand table that showcases different biomes and lets you create snow capped mountains, deserts, and even erupting volcanoes! I think my kids would have stayed at this table all day. And the guide at this table was patient and kind with every question asked.

The only way I could pry my little learners away from the Foundations room was to promise getting to climb a tree. On our way to the tree we visited a real beaver lodge, walked through a cave, and got touch a real diamond back rattle snake skin. With helpful, thoughtful guides all along the way. In the Forests and Birds room children are invited to climb a tree that is created to look like a tree in the Sipsey Wilderness in Alabama! It leads to the bird exhibit that features a bridge and tree house that looks down on the forest exhibit. And it is all wheelchair accessible. No one has to miss out on the fun.

On the way out, we stopped by the museum store that offers so much more than just museum gifts. It features local goods and handmade items. And the large selection of books that cover all of the topics showcased in the exhibits would make excellent teaching tools to take home. Or to go in depth on a subject your student seemed to enjoy the most. No admission is needed to visit the museum store and check out all they have to offer.

The other little gem in the museum is the Nature’s Table Cafe. No admission is needed for this, just like the Museum Store. The cafe offers a wide selection of fresh salads, wraps, sandwiches, and smoothies. A nice selection of coffee is also available. Along with kid friendly items like uncrustables and quesadillas. All made fresh and ready to order.

I highly recommend the Cook Museum of Natural Science for a field trip for Homeschoolers. If you have older children learning a specific unit, the Cook Museum has it covered with hands on activity and helpful guides. Or if your homeschoolers are young, this will be a great hands on introduction to the study of our world and the amazing things it can do.

The Cook Museum of Natural Science even has a Facebook group specifically for teachers that homeschool parents are welcome to join! Make sure to answer the question of what “school” you teach for to be accepted. I used my cover school. If you don’t have a cover, you can just answer ‘homeschool’ and you’ll be accepted. In the group you can find info on the types of field trips they offer. Some even include use of special classrooms for your students to do age appropriate experiments! The contact info for field trips is also included in the group.

Thanks for having us, Cook Museum of Natural Science! I am sure we will be back!

About Abby:

Abby is a Writer, Wife and Homeschooling Mama to 3. She lives in Springville, AL with her Family.