“Walk This Way”… no, I’m not referring to the song by Aerosmith, although it is a great song! I’m talking about Safe Kids Southeast Wisconsin Coalition’s Walk This Way program, which is part of  International Walk Your Child to School Day. The first Wednesday in October, boys, girls, their parents, teachers and others around the world make a special date to walk to school.

This program began back in the ‘90’s for several reasons: to encourage physical activity in children, to raise environmental concerns – and my primary focus – to raise an awareness about how “walkable” a community is.

On the local level, Safe Kids Southeast Wisconsin’s program goes into schools providing classroom education about pedestrian safety. Information goes home asking parents and caregivers to walk with their children to school on this special day to help bring awareness to the community about pedestrian safety issues. Pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5-14. Six hundred kids die every year.

For more information about how to walk with a participating school on International Walk Your Child to School Day, Wednesday, Oct. 7, or to find out how to get your school involved for 2010, call (414) 390-2178 or e-mail Lisa Klindt Simpson at lklindtsimpson@chw.org.  

You’ve probably heard or read about teens who have been caught “sexting.” Within the last year, our local news covered several stories where criminal charges were filed against area high school students as a result of sexting. But do you know what it is or what the consequences are if your child is caught?

Sexting involves sending text messages with a picture or a movie of people who are nude or engaged in sexual acts. It also includes possessing, forwarding or posting these images online. Many teens don’t realize that possessing, sending or taking images of a minor that involve nudity or sexual acts is a felony crime. It doesn’t matter how old the offender is or whether they took the picture or video. These images are child pornography and kids who possess or distribute them could be required to be listed on the sex offender registry.

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Ear pain, sore throats, cold and flu, minor burns and cuts. For my own girls, childhood has been marked by more than just a few visits to the local emergency room or urgent care clinic. And, many times, when their injuries and illnesses disrupt our routines, the local doctor’s office is closed. When this happens, most parents are left asking whether to steer the car in the direction of the local emergency room or an urgent care clinic.

Children’s Urgent Care Clinics are for illnesses and injuries that your child normally would receive care for at his or her doctor’s offices. Most often, Children’s Urgent Care locations are open when regular doctor’s offices are closed. In many cases, urgent care clinics will offer lower co-pays and shorter wait times than emergency rooms.

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