Family and Consumer Sciences

Live Smart Ohio

Ohio State University Extension

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Helping Children Cope After a Disaster

Fire is FAST! In less than 30 seconds a small flame can become a major fire. It only takes minutes for a fire to become life-threatening. In five minutes, a residence can be engulfed in flames. Fires, or other types of disasters, can leave children feeling frightened, confused and insecure. Disasters affect everyone and therefore […]

WRITTEN BY: Amanda Bohlen, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Washington County.

REVIEWED BY: Lorrissa Dunfee, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Belmont County.

SOURCES:

  • https://www.ready.gov/home-fires
  • https://www.ready.gov/kids/parents/coping

For the Sex Talk, “Er…Uhm…Well,” Might Not be the Best Reply

Studies suggest that children whose parents provide them with education about sex are less likely to participate in risky and irresponsible sexual behavior. In addition talking with children about sex may help protect children from sexual abuse, early sexual activity, and teen pregnancy.(Parent Toolkit; McCoy, 2017). So, if you have been avoiding that important topic, […]

WRITTEN BY: Joseph Maiorano, PHD, Family and Consumer Sciences, Harrison County Ohio, maiorano.2@osu.edu

REVIEWED BY: Misty Harmon, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Perry County, harmon.416@osu.edu

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • https://pixabay.com/en/silhouette-father-and-son-sundown-1082129/

REFERENCES:

  • Parent Toolkit: Talk about Sex: A guide to help parents communicate with their children on sexuality issues. Ministry of Education-Singapore. Downloaded on November 30, 2017 from https://www.moe.gov.sg/docs/default-source/document/education/programmes/social-emotional-learning/sexuality-education/files/parent-booklet.pdf
  • McCoy, J. 2017. Sex: The dreaded talk. Parenting Again. University of Illinois Extension. Downloaded on December 1, 2017 from http://extension.illinois.edu/grandparents/article.cfm?ID=5141&IssueID=5215

Family Traditions

My family played football on Thanksgiving in the street after our Thanksgiving feast, my brother always put a rock in one of the Easter eggs for the Easter egg hunt, and my sister always sends a picture of herself in a happy holidays shirt for EVERY holiday. No matter how big or how small, all […]

WRITTEN BY: Katie LaPlant, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences- Ottawa & Sandusky Counties

REVIEWED BY: Amy Meehan, MPH, Healthy People Program Specialist

SOURCES:

  • http://web.extension.illinois.edu/ccdms/facts/121204.html
  • https://foreverfamilies.byu.edu/Pages/family/Creating-Meaningful-Family-Traditions.aspx

Consider the Health of Others this Holiday Season

Sharing is caring. This is a mantra you probably first heard at a young age, and it tends to come up often during the holiday season. Is sharing always caring, though? In the case of food gifts, I’m not so sure that it is. While there are many things I love about the holiday season, […]

WRITTEN BY: Jenny Lobb, MPH, RD, LD, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Franklin County

REVIEWED BY: Amy Meehan, MPH Healthy People Program Specialist, Ohio State University Extension

SOURCES:

  • Chieh, Helander & Wansink (2016). Weight Gain over the Holidays in Three Countries. New England Journal of Medicine; 375:1200-1202. Available at http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc1602012.
  • Yanovski et al. (2000). A Prospective Study of Holiday Weight Gain. New England Journal of Medicine; 342: 861-867. Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4336296/.

Embrace Conflict

I hope your parents told you that one of the toughest challenges you might face is maintaining a long-term relationship. With that information you might better realize that the pathway of a relationship may have well-paved sections, but it may be littered with potholes and obstacles, as well. I borrow and adapt a portion of […]

WRITTEN BY: Joseph Maiorano, PHD, Family and Consumer Sciences, Harrison County Ohio, maiorano.2@osu.edu

REVIEWED BY: Misty Harmon, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Perry County

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • https://pixabay.com/en/landscape-scenic-mountains-outdoors-2082827/

SOURCES:

  • The American Heritage Dictionary. Found at: https://ahdictionary.com/
  • Conflict Definition: Found at: https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=conflict
  • BFF definition. Found at: https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=BFF
  • The Gottman Institute. Https://www.gottman.com/

REFERENCES:

  • Dickens, C. (1867). A Tale of two cities, and Great expectations. Ticknor and Fields
  • Lisitsa, E. (2012). Manage conflict: The six skills. Found at: https://www.gottman.com/blog/manage-conflict-the-six-skills/#

The Power of Acceptance

A few years ago my kids were diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that initially caused them pain and suffering… and it caused me even more suffering as a mom. In times like those, it’s common to question why something like that had to happen. Why did they have to get this disease? Why couldn’t they […]

WRITTEN BY: Shannon Carter, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Fairfield County.

REVIEWED BY: Patrice Power-Barker, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Lucas County

SOURCES:

  • Absenger, W. (2015). Mindfulness and the Stages of Grief in Chronic Disease. Mind Body Med by Absenger Cancer Education Foundation.
  • Carter, S. (2015). What is Mindfulness? Live Smart Ohio Mind and Body Blog by Ohio State University Extension. Retrieved from: http://livesmartohio.osu.edu/mind-and-body/carter-413osu-edu/what-is-mindfulness/
  • Carter, S. (2016). Sparkle Like You Mean It. Live Smart Ohio Mind and Body Blog by Ohio State University Extension. Retrieved from: http://livesmartohio.osu.edu/?s=sparkle

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