Children

Parents and caregivers could be forgiven for focusing most of their back-to-school energy on COVID-19 restrictions and guidance ahead of a return to in-person school. But now that school is in session, it’s also time to make sure that our children are eating right throughout the day, including before, during and after school.

In Miami-Dade County, despite the fact that the school system offered free breakfast and lunch for kids throughout the pandemic, one in six children still experience food insecurity. On the other side of the spectrum are kids who have fallen into overeating unhealthy meals and lack of physical activity. “Just like in the adults that are gaining weight, children are as well," Dr. Elizabeth Steinberg, a pediatrician with Broward Health Physician Group, told the Sun Sentinel. They aren’t shielded from the risk factors of being in home isolation and not getting enough physical activity.”

Offering the grandchild that third cookie—for lunch. Overruling naptime rules. Grandparents can be helpful, invaluable resources for parents --but also a handful! If they have very different parenting (or life) values, undercut your parenting and are disrespectful in front of your children, their grandparenting engagement can be a chronic headache to medicate. Ideally, they are sensitive and loving but if they start to cross boundaries, here are five tips to deescalate any conflict.

Book of the Month: Facing Fear: An Immigration Story

The uncertainty and fear of being an undocumented immigrant family is poignantly told in this story, centering around Enrique, a young soccer player, who qualifies with his school team to travel across the border to Mexico to play in a soccer tournament. Enrique faces a dilemma representative of many of the fears and concerns of undocumented immigrants. There are no easy answers, but children must be taught the difficulties the issue brings up in their family, among friends and in society. 

Karen Lynn Williams explores the topic of illegal immigration and its impact on children and families in a sensitive and apolitical manner. Though the subject arouses great tension and debate in the country, parents should educate their children about the situation in an age-appropriate way, and this book helps them start that dialogue. September is Hispanic Heritage Month and this month’s selection of books deal with Hispanic issues. Check out the rest of Miami-Dade Library System’s monthly Staff Picks below:

There were magic shows, musical performances, wild animals, and, of course, plenty of resources and information for families as the 2021 Children’s Trust Family Expo Pop-Up Series debuted on Saturday, Aug. 28, at the Sweet Home Community Campus in South Dade.

For children struggling with their literacy in the midst of the pandemic, what better way to spend the summer than reading to compete in a fun, engaging and literary challenging event than the Battle of the Books 2021. 900 kids spent a big part of their summer

Presented by the Miami-Dade Grade Level Reading Campaign in conjunction with The Children’s Trust, the Battle of the Books kept students' brains active during the summer and helped avoid the vaunted "summer slide." Along the more than month-long competition, readers were encouraged by special guests, entertainment, demonstrations, prizes and, of course, the main attraction, the grand finale of the Book Battle that took place virtually on July 22.

Miami-Dade County’s Coronavirus page on where and how to sign up to get COVID-19 Vaccine:

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has a special web page with Coronavirus information,

Florida Department of Health’s Coronavirus page.

The Miami-Dade School Board also has a Coronavirus page, as well as a Parent Guide to the Novel Coronavirus.

To learn more visit www.TheChildrensTrust.org or call 211.