As a mother of teenage sons, it's very important for me to keep them up to date on their vaccinations. Today with the help of Unity Consortium, I'm going to tell you why.


As a mother of four, you would think that I would be an expert in parenting, but au-contraire, if only! There are still mistakes made, because no-one is perfect, not even me. I seem to think that I did a really good job with my eldest, who is currently in college, but my boys (age 12 & 16) are truly another story altogether. My oldest son aged 16 was born prematurely, as were all of my children, and spent an additional week in the NICU due to RSV before I could take him home. What an emotional birth that was. Since then I have been very much on top of all his medical needs. At least that's what I thought, until one day I received a letter from the school stating that he was missing a very important vaccine. While I've been really good with getting all of my youngest, age 5, vaccines, I have to admit that I truly did forget that my son needed to be vaccinated at age 16, and it can be easily forgotten as they get older, but it shouldn't be.


It's not that my son's health isn't as important as my youngest, or that he didn't need to be protected. As they get older we tend to only to go the doctor when he's sick or need a physical for school. So if he's not sick and is in good health, why does he even need to be seen?

Here are two very important reasons why I should keep my kids up-to-date on their health care visits and vaccines, and why you should too.

1. Problems can be diagnosed before they become serious
I'm not a doctor and unless you are one, there are problems that you may not see or notice until your child is checked thoroughly by a qualified doctor. At each visit, your child's height and weight are taken and a significant increased or decreased weight gain can be cause for alarm. If your child's height is a concern, you will also know. If a minor problem is found, testing may be ordered in order to initiate treatment if needed.

2. Vaccinations can save their lives
As a former army medic, I know the value in vaccinations. Whenever we get deployed, we receive vaccines that can protect us from diseases that may not be found here in the US. While not everyone believes that they should vaccinate, having my own children vaccinated can protect them from diseases that can occur. I am of the belief that one ounce of prevention is a lot better than a pound of cure.


So why don't more parents vaccinate and get their pre-teens and teens seen annually? 

• Approximately 1 in 4 parents and teens believe that vaccines are more important for babies and not as important for teens
• More than one-third of teens (34%) don't know how being vaccinated helps them
• Four in 10 parents (41%) believe their teen should only see a doctor when he/she feels sick, reducing opportunities to discuss preventive health measures, such as vaccines
• While most teens (92%) trust their doctor when seeking information about their health, nearly half of all teens (47%) agree they do not like talking to doctors or other healthcare providers.

So What Vaccinations are recommended for your Teen?

Between the ages of 11 and 12, and at age 16 these vaccinations are recommended.

• Meningococcal-includes two distinct meningococcal disease vaccines (ACWY and B)
• Tdap-tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough) and Td Booster (tetanus and diphtheria)
• HPV-human papillomavirus
• Flu

Here are two very simple steps to make sure that your teen remains up to date on their annual check-ups and vaccinations:

1. Set a reminder alert for their next appointment to ensure that they don't miss a visit.

2. At your doctor's visit, discuss all concerns and the need for immunizations.You can make a list of all your questions so that you don't omit anything.


For more information about the importance of vaccinations in adolescent health visit unity4teenvax.org.

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Did you know that August is National Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Awareness Month? Together with Counsyl, I want to share how you can bring awareness to this disease.


As a mother four times over, one of my deepest fears has been losing a child. As parents, we would love to see them grow up, get married and have children of their own. If you are unfamiliar with SMA, it is the leading genetic cause of death for infants under the age of two right here in the USA. SMA robs you of your physical strength by affecting the motor nerve cells in the spinal cord, takes away your ability to walk, eat or breathe and eventually causes death. Take Emily and Ethan Bessey, who lost their baby to SMA in 2013 and are now raising awareness of the disease through their Hearts for Ezra Foundation. Listen to their heartbreaking story below.


As someone who has gone through all high risk pregnancies, I was tested for almost everything under the sun including Down Syndrome. I went through genetic counseling but was never once offered carrier screening for SMA. While I was lucky that none of my children were born with SMA, the condition is much more common than one might think. In fact, 1 in 50 Americans are carriers of SMA, regardless of ethnicity or standard of living. That's a very high statistic! If you are pregnant, ask your doctor for carrier screening for SMA.

Counsyl, a DNA testing and genetic counseling company, offers the Foresight™ Carrier Screen to help detect if you and your partner are carriers for serious genetic conditions like SMA before getting pregnant. In the event that you are both carriers, there is a 1 in 4 chance that your baby will have the disease. Knowing before you get pregnant or even early on in your pregnancy can make all the difference. You'll have time to talk to your healthcare provider to consider your options, and to make the decisions that are right for you and your family.

So, how can you help raise awareness for SMA? Here are three easy ways.



Spread the word on social media
We all have influence whether you want to believe it or not. By using the #CureSMA hashtag on social media you'll bring awareness to a disease that many may not know of. Go ahead, share a tweet or Facebook post and get your friends and family involved.

Have a fundraiser
There seems to always be a fundraiser for everything. How many times a year do you get a fundraising form from your child's school asking to raise money for a "noble" cause? Well, this is a noble cause. Having a fundraising event can help raise both awareness and donations to your cause, and there's no shortage of ways you can go about doing so. From a bake sale to a walk, get creative.

Volunteer at your local Cure SMA Chapter
There are currently 34 volunteer led chapters around the US. The chapters provide support to families affected by SMA. Volunteering is a great way to bring awareness and support to those in need.


Want to get involved? You can make a tax deductible donation to Hearts for Ezra Foundation, which will help raise awareness and fight for a cure for SMA.


This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Counsyl. The opinions and text are all mine.

It's that time of the year again when summer winds down and the back-to-school season begins. Soon, Bed, Bath and Beyond, and Target stores all over the country will be flooding with college goers as they hustle for the best deals in town, especially in technology.


With so many things to buy, however, students often find it hard to distinguish between what they need and what they want. The situation is made more intricate by the numerous "welcome to college" sales held by retailers, which tempt students and their parents to stock up on promotion items than other would-be essentials.

For collegians, therefore, it pays to have a well-drawn-out shopping list. The right tech will help you do research, draft assignments, keep organized, stay fit, and decompress after a long day on campus.


Are you going off to college soon? Here are five gadgets you just can't overlook.

1. LAPTOP


In today's overly technological world, a decent college laptop is as vital to a student as a pen and paper. In addition to getting school work done faster and more efficiently, notebooks offer access to a vast pool of educational resources and useful information.

A college-friendly laptop will give you the convenience of taking your work with you and completing assignments anywhere and anytime. Keeping up with lectures will also be easier when you have the option of firing up the microphone and recording, rather than taking notes by hand. Moreover, professors usually make their digital notes available to students, and electronic textbooks are significantly cheaper than hard copies.

That said, although prices have considerably dropped in recent years, a laptop will probably be the most expensive item you buy. Thankfully, colleges have come up with new ways of making them more accessible to students. Some require that computers meet the minimum speed, power, storage, and connectivity specifications, while others partner with manufacturers to offer students exclusive deals for laptops that are specially configured for college.

Before buying, therefore, get in touch with your school and find out about any guidelines they may have.

2. FITNESS TRACKER


In college, it's easy to get strung up with a tight schedule and not have time to keep fit. From long days of lectures to sleepless nights of research, you may lack the motivation for a skipping rope session or a casual evening jog.

A proper fitness tracker will keep you on track with your health by giving you a clear view of calories, heart rate, daily steps, distance covered, stairs climbed, and hours jogged. Most also come with calendar alerts, reminders, and email notifications and are therefore an excellent way to stay on top of your daily agenda.

Companies like Misfit and Fitbit have pleasant selections of trackers, which range from simple wristbands to sophisticated smartwatches. While the tracker you choose will depend on your needs and your budget, it's best to pick one that's subtle to go with any of your daily outfits, comfortable for all day and all night wearing, and waterproof so you wouldn't have to take it off for a swim or a shower.

3. NOISE CANCELING WIRELESS HEADPHONES 


You won't always have access to your own space while on campus. A good pair of noise-canceling headphones will go a long way to making your life easier, be it by drowning ambient noise for quiet studying, listening to audiobooks and notes, or uplifting your spirit with some music. Going wireless will also help you to move around without the bother of clumsy wires hanging from your ears.

Some great brands to keep an eye on are Beats, Bose, Audio-Technica, and Sennheiser. Headphones vary widely in quality, and the average price for wireless, noise-canceling ones is $50 to $300. Regardless of your budget, ensure you pick the pair that sounds acceptably good, feels comfortable, and seems durable enough to last at least the first year.

4. EXTERNAL STORAGE 


Having your essential data somewhere else besides your computer can be a lifesaver. A portable hard drive will help you keep a backup of your files and documents, which you can easily access when you accidentally knock a glass of water over your keyboard, or your roommate unintentionally infects your laptop with their malware-riddled flash disk.

A sizeable hard drive will also keep your computer fast and light, by reducing the slowdowns that come with having too many files onboard. And because many drives can be password protected, they can come in handy when you can't keep your friends off your laptop.

If a hard drive is out of your budget and you won't mind the limited storage, a 32GB flash disk may be worth your while. Alternatively, because your college will likely have wireless internet connection all over campus, you could consider signing up for a cloud storage service like Google Drive or OneDrive.

5. PORTABLE CHARGER 


College students are always on the go, and so are their gadgets. Sure, you may form the habit of having everything charged before you set off for a class in the morning, but adhering to such a routine will not be easy. A portable charger will keep your devices charged at all times, so you don't need to worry about power issues while in the middle of a study session. There is nothing more frustrating than the dreaded mac battery drain while in a lecture, and your brain is feeling too fuzzy to try and memorize every single fact. A pen and paper is always a handy backup, but they are nowhere near as useful as your laptop or smartphone.

The best charger is that which will work with a variety of gadgets, including your laptop, smartphone, tablet, and even your fitness tracker. It must also be light enough to ferry around in your backpack all day.

Summary

College is undoubtedly exciting, but without the right tools for the job, it could quickly morph into an unpleasant experience. Although your favorite retailer may have gadgets that seem more fun and more urgent, the devices above should be the first to go into your shopping cart.

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