13 Smart Pet Organization Ideas

Do you have pets? We have a dog, a cat and a fish and keeping all of their food and accessories organized can be a challenge. We use a few of these fun pet organization ideas here because they are just so smart. I love finding new ways to keep things tidy in a simple way.

If you’re still on the fence about a pet, here is some advice from other moms about the best pet for a family.

13 Smart Pet Organization Ideas

Keep your pet food in these plastic containers used for holding shoes and add a little decorative label. via Real Coake

If you’re traveling with a pet, use a toiletry bag to keep their road trip essentials close by like their leash and food. via Bark Post

This pet cabinet is super smart. Keep everything for your pup in one place. They even painted the inside door with chalkboard paint to write down the last feeding time. via Polished Habitat

This adorable wicker basket in the shape of a bone is a great spot for hiding dog toys.

Keep your dog food in a stylish trash can that will match the rest of your home. Spray paint the lid to match and add a vinyl label to the front.

This wire dog bone shelf so cute and will give you a tidy place to keep your toys and leashes. via Pottery Barn

Use this free printable vet records sheet to remember exactly when and what vaccines your pet has had. via Proud Dog Mom

Keep all of their bath time things together with this grooming caddy. via I Heart Organization

This canned cat food organizer is the perfect size to keep all those small food cans.

Are your dog toys starting to smell a little? All that dog slobber needs to get cleaned once in a while. Follow this guide for cleaning pet toys. via Good Dogs Co

This adorable pet food station with custom prints of your dog is a special little place just for them. via Hudson and Co

This pet food container has a pop-up lid and reseals with just the push of a button.

Using shelving in the garage to hold all your pet supplies works great. There is so much room for absolutely everything. via HGTV

The post 13 Smart Pet Organization Ideas appeared first on Kids Activities Blog.

from Kids Activities Blog http://ift.tt/29e6Q30

13 Smart Pet Organization Ideas

Do you have pets? We have a dog, a cat and a fish and keeping all of their food and accessories organized can be a challenge. We use a few of these fun pet organization ideas here because they are just so smart. I love finding new ways to keep things tidy in a simple way.

If you're still on the fence about a pet, here is some advice from other moms about the best pet for a family.

13 Smart Pet Organization Ideas

Keep your pet food in these plastic containers used for holding shoes and add a little decorative label. via Real Coake

If you're traveling with a pet, use a toiletry bag to keep their road trip essentials close by like their leash and food. via Bark Post

This pet cabinet is super smart. Keep everything for your pup in one place. They even painted the inside door with chalkboard paint to write down the last feeding time. via Polished Habitat

This adorable wicker basket in the shape of a bone is a great spot for hiding dog toys.

Keep your dog food in a stylish trash can that will match the rest of your home. Spray paint the lid to match and add a vinyl label to the front.

This wire dog bone shelf so cute and will give you a tidy place to keep your toys and leashes. via Pottery Barn

Use this free printable vet records sheet to remember exactly when and what vaccines your pet has had. via Proud Dog Mom

Keep all of their bath time things together with this grooming caddy. via I Heart Organization

This canned cat food organizer is the perfect size to keep all those small food cans.

Are your dog toys starting to smell a little? All that dog slobber needs to get cleaned once in a while. Follow this guide for cleaning pet toys. via Good Dogs Co

This adorable pet food station with custom prints of your dog is a special little place just for them. via Hudson and Co

This pet food container has a pop-up lid and reseals with just the push of a button.

Using shelving in the garage to hold all your pet supplies works great. There is so much room for absolutely everything. via HGTV

The post 13 Smart Pet Organization Ideas appeared first on Kids Activities Blog.

from Kids Activities Blog http://ift.tt/29e6Q30

The Public Health Implications Of The FDA’s Update To The Medication Abortion Label

On March 29, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated labeling for mifepristone (also known as the abortion pill or by its brand name, Mifeprex®), which is prescribed along with another medication, misoprostol, for medication abortion in the United States. The FDA’s move to change the label is important in many ways. Although off-label use of drugs is generally accepted in the United States, many clinicians see FDA labels as guides to appropriate and legally defensible clinical practice. First and foremost, the label update reaffirms that medication abortion is very safe and highly effective. It also has the potential to increase access to medication abortion in this country.

An Update Based On Evidence And Clinical Practice

Scientists and medical providers have been conducting studies of alternate medication abortion regimens since before Mifeprex® was approved in 2000. Since its approval, many physicians have prescribed Mifeprex® according to the regimen in the updated label, so the label is now aligned with standard medical practice, which has been proven safe and effective. Over the past 15 years, it has been used in more than 2.75 million abortions in the United States, and serious complications have been extremely rare.

One of the most significant changes to the mifepristone label is an increase in eligibility from 49 days’ to 70 days’ gestation. This change is supported by substantial evidence demonstrating that the mifepristone/misoprostol regimen is safe and effective through the 10th week of gestation. This change has significant implications for access to medication abortion: Under the original protocol, just 37 percent of all U.S. abortions were eligible for mifepristone, but as a result of the updated protocol, the proportion of all abortions now eligible has doubled to 75 percent.

Exhibit 1

Some of the key changes to the mifepristone label include:

Old Labeling	New Labeling
Use through 49 days' gestation	Use through 70 days' gestation
Day 1: Mifepristone 600 mg (3 tablets) orally	Day 1: Mifepristone 200 mg (1 tablet) orally
Day 3: Misoprostol 400 µg (2 tablets) orally at healthcare provider facility	24-48 hours after mifepristone dose: Misoprostol 800 µg (4 tablets) buccally (placed in the cheek); home administration allowed
Post-treatment examination: Patients return to provider 14 days after taking mifepristone	Post-treatment assessment: Patients are assessed 7-14 days after taking mifepristone; not necessarily an in-person clinic visit
Prescriber: By or under the supervision of a physician who is authorized to prescribe the drug	Prescriber: By or under the supervision of a healthcare provider who is authorized to prescribe the drug

Improving Access To Medication Abortion

In addition to increasing eligibility for medication abortion, the mifepristone label update will likely strengthen an existing trend towards earlier abortions. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the timing of abortions has shifted to earlier in the first trimester over the past decade, likely due in part to the availability of medication abortion. Additionally, although the overall number of abortions in the U.S. has been declining since the 1990s, the share of abortions performed using medication has increased, from 6 percent of all abortions in 2001 (one year after mifepristone was approved) to 23 percent of abortions in 2011 (the most recent year for which data are available).

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 3

Other mifepristone label updates also reduce barriers to medication abortion. In particular, the changes make the procedure more affordable. A regimen involving one mifepristone tablet is substantially less expensive than one involving three. Additionally, because the label allows a woman to take misoprostol at home and to follow up with her provider over the phone, rather than in person, she will have to make fewer trips to the clinic. The updated label also allows mid-level providers—such as nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants—to administer medication abortion, which could increase access to this safe and effective procedure.

Legal Barriers To Medication Abortion

Over the last several years, antiabortion state legislators have enacted a wave of provisions hostile to medication abortion. Counter to the updated mifepristone label, 37 states allow only physicians to provide medication abortion. In these states, a woman seeking an abortion may have a longer wait time for an appointment or have to travel further to reach a clinic attended by a physician. Provisions that require in-person counseling prior to taking mifepristone, which exist in 13 states, and other requirements that necessitate multiple trips to the clinic pose further barriers to medication abortion. If these unnecessary restrictions were removed, they would increase access to abortion, including early medication abortion.

In an effort to reach rural women or women living in cities without an abortion provider, some providers began offering medication abortion services via telemedicine. Telemedicine allows a physician at a remote site to provide the screening and counseling for mifepristone via a computer, and press a button that allows a cash-register type drawer containing a single dose of mifepristone to be opened at the patient’s location. Telemedicine provision of medication abortion has been found to be safe, effective, and acceptable to women — and improves access to early abortion. Yet, 18 states prohibit the use of telemedicine for medication abortion by requiring that the clinician providing a medication abortion physically present the pill to the patient, thereby limiting access.

In addition, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas require that mifepristone be provided in accordance with the FDA-approved label. In these states, the updated label will likely improve current access to medication abortion; however, these state laws do not allow for additional improvements in practice if further advances are made to the medication abortion regimen. For example, research has found mifepristone to be effective in facilitating some second-trimester abortion procedures, but these practices will not be permitted in these states. Similarly, if research uncovers further improvements to the early medication abortion regimen, these state laws will prevent implementation of those improvements to medical practice.

The FDA’s decision to update the mifepristone label will help ensure that individuals seeking abortion have easy, safe access to a medication option. In turn, the label change is a validation of clinical research showing that this protocol is safe, effective, and medically sound.

from Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog http://ift.tt/29ubAOp

The Public Health Implications Of The FDA’s Update To The Medication Abortion Label

On March 29, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated labeling for mifepristone (also known as the abortion pill or by its brand name, Mifeprex®), which is prescribed along with another medication, misoprostol, for medication abortion in the United States. The FDA's move to change the label is important in many ways. Although off-label use of drugs is generally accepted in the United States, many clinicians see FDA labels as guides to appropriate and legally defensible clinical practice. First and foremost, the label update reaffirms that medication abortion is very safe and highly effective. It also has the potential to increase access to medication abortion in this country.

An Update Based On Evidence And Clinical Practice

Scientists and medical providers have been conducting studies of alternate medication abortion regimens since before Mifeprex® was approved in 2000. Since its approval, many physicians have prescribed Mifeprex® according to the regimen in the updated label, so the label is now aligned with standard medical practice, which has been proven safe and effective. Over the past 15 years, it has been used in more than 2.75 million abortions in the United States, and serious complications have been extremely rare.

One of the most significant changes to the mifepristone label is an increase in eligibility from 49 days' to 70 days' gestation. This change is supported by substantial evidence demonstrating that the mifepristone/misoprostol regimen is safe and effective through the 10th week of gestation. This change has significant implications for access to medication abortion: Under the original protocol, just 37 percent of all U.S. abortions were eligible for mifepristone, but as a result of the updated protocol, the proportion of all abortions now eligible has doubled to 75 percent.

Exhibit 1

Some of the key changes to the mifepristone label include:

Old Labeling	New Labeling
Use through 49 days' gestation	Use through 70 days' gestation
Day 1: Mifepristone 600 mg (3 tablets) orally	Day 1: Mifepristone 200 mg (1 tablet) orally
Day 3: Misoprostol 400 µg (2 tablets) orally at healthcare provider facility	24-48 hours after mifepristone dose: Misoprostol 800 µg (4 tablets) buccally (placed in the cheek); home administration allowed
Post-treatment examination: Patients return to provider 14 days after taking mifepristone	Post-treatment assessment: Patients are assessed 7-14 days after taking mifepristone; not necessarily an in-person clinic visit
Prescriber: By or under the supervision of a physician who is authorized to prescribe the drug	Prescriber: By or under the supervision of a healthcare provider who is authorized to prescribe the drug

Improving Access To Medication Abortion

In addition to increasing eligibility for medication abortion, the mifepristone label update will likely strengthen an existing trend towards earlier abortions. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the timing of abortions has shifted to earlier in the first trimester over the past decade, likely due in part to the availability of medication abortion. Additionally, although the overall number of abortions in the U.S. has been declining since the 1990s, the share of abortions performed using medication has increased, from 6 percent of all abortions in 2001 (one year after mifepristone was approved) to 23 percent of abortions in 2011 (the most recent year for which data are available).

Exhibit 2

Exhibit 3

Other mifepristone label updates also reduce barriers to medication abortion. In particular, the changes make the procedure more affordable. A regimen involving one mifepristone tablet is substantially less expensive than one involving three. Additionally, because the label allows a woman to take misoprostol at home and to follow up with her provider over the phone, rather than in person, she will have to make fewer trips to the clinic. The updated label also allows mid-level providers—such as nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants—to administer medication abortion, which could increase access to this safe and effective procedure.

Legal Barriers To Medication Abortion

Over the last several years, antiabortion state legislators have enacted a wave of provisions hostile to medication abortion. Counter to the updated mifepristone label, 37 states allow only physicians to provide medication abortion. In these states, a woman seeking an abortion may have a longer wait time for an appointment or have to travel further to reach a clinic attended by a physician. Provisions that require in-person counseling prior to taking mifepristone, which exist in 13 states, and other requirements that necessitate multiple trips to the clinic pose further barriers to medication abortion. If these unnecessary restrictions were removed, they would increase access to abortion, including early medication abortion.

In an effort to reach rural women or women living in cities without an abortion provider, some providers began offering medication abortion services via telemedicine. Telemedicine allows a physician at a remote site to provide the screening and counseling for mifepristone via a computer, and press a button that allows a cash-register type drawer containing a single dose of mifepristone to be opened at the patient's location. Telemedicine provision of medication abortion has been found to be safe, effective, and acceptable to women — and improves access to early abortion. Yet, 18 states prohibit the use of telemedicine for medication abortion by requiring that the clinician providing a medication abortion physically present the pill to the patient, thereby limiting access.

In addition, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas require that mifepristone be provided in accordance with the FDA-approved label. In these states, the updated label will likely improve current access to medication abortion; however, these state laws do not allow for additional improvements in practice if further advances are made to the medication abortion regimen. For example, research has found mifepristone to be effective in facilitating some second-trimester abortion procedures, but these practices will not be permitted in these states. Similarly, if research uncovers further improvements to the early medication abortion regimen, these state laws will prevent implementation of those improvements to medical practice.

The FDA's decision to update the mifepristone label will help ensure that individuals seeking abortion have easy, safe access to a medication option. In turn, the label change is a validation of clinical research showing that this protocol is safe, effective, and medically sound.

from Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog http://ift.tt/29ubAOp

No Room For Prevention: The Unintended Consequence Of Mental Health Stigma Reduction Efforts

Decades of societal and cultural misunderstanding leave mental health shrouded in judgement, infused with moral disapprobation, and in many ways generally viewed as a character failure. Despite substantial advances in our scientific understanding of mental health over the years, there remains a disconnect between evidence and public perception, a disconnect even between the science and clinicians. Efforts to normalize how mental health is seen in the public often take the form of public education campaigns aimed to destigmatize mental health, and attempt to usher in a new understanding of health, inclusive of mental health.

Stigma has been defined in two ways: public stigma and self-stigma. However, both essentially address the same phenomenon: negative thoughts attributed to mental health leading to a negative behavior (e.g. avoiding seeking care because of what people will think). Further, mental health stigma has been found to have a negative impact on such important areas like employment and health care costs. In response to these countless studies on the negative impact of stigma, public education and stigma reduction campaigns have been a major strategy. But like all things public health, this one too does not occur without some controversy and unintended consequence.

Stigma Reduction Efforts

Stigma and discrimination reduction campaigns around mental health have had mixed results. Stigma reduction may help normalize mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems. Many stigma reduction campaigns aim to improve knowledge of mental health, educate the audience about the biological basis for mental illness, and help people feel more comfortable interacting with those experiencing mental health problems. Often, attempts are made to make mental, emotional, and behavioral health analogous to physical health issues. Like high blood pressure, strep throat, and arthritis, there is no individual cause for one's suffering. The person suffering mental illness, emotional distress, or behavioral health problems has done nothing to deserve their illness, nothing to cause their illness, and is not personally responsible for having acquired their illness.

While the impact of stigma reduction efforts on the life of those suffering mental illness is unclear, there is growing evidence that educational stigma reduction programs that focus on the biological basis for mental illness can create the belief that it is intractable or reinforce the belief that the illness or a behavior problem is "hard-wired" and not amenable to treatment. Others have found that, while participants may know more about mental illness, they acquire more negative attitudes towards those with mental illness, and are more likely to avoid those with mental and behavioral health problems.

Stigma reduction programs may be crowding out space in the conversation for prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems. The idea that mental illness is biologically based, "hard-wired," genetic, suggests there may be nothing we can do to prevent it. However, prevention is possible.

Consider the 2009 report by the Institute of Medicine. In this report, there are concrete and actionable steps to help prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral problems in children. Examples include strategies on offering early intervention for families and individuals and promoting mental health treatment in schools and community programs. It is possible to prevent the illness as well as treat and minimize the dysfunction that may accompany mental illness.

How We Can Prevent Behavioral Health Problems

How might we actually prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems? Alexander Leighton, in his ground-breaking work My Name Is Legion, on mental illness and the community, wrote that some mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems are associated with, and may be caused by human susceptibility to our community environment. It is not an individual's fault they acquire a mental illness, nor is it always hard-wired into their DNA that they will manifest mental illness or emotional distress. Community factors may have more influence on mental illness than we currently appreciate.

Leighton described the concept of community "dis-integration" as a general failure of the community functioning such that almost everyone in the population is exposed to stress. Leighton found that communities that were suffering dis-integration had higher prevalence and incidence of mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems (MEBH), including increased incidence of chronic persistent mental illness. Efforts aimed at improving community integration resulted in lower incidence of MEBH.

And general population stress is on the rise. In their annual stress survey, the American Psychological Association found that 42 percent of respondents reported feeling nervous or anxious in the past month, up from 35 percent the year before, and 24 percent of respondents reported extreme levels of stress in the past year, up from 18 percent. Adults who received more emotional support reported lower stress levels. Increased levels of general stress may be seen in lower socioeconomic communities, ethnic groups, and immigrant populations leading to higher levels of mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems. Prevention efforts aimed at community integration may be a strategy for reducing health disparities.

Integrating primary care and behavioral health is a potent start at addressing mental health as an integral component of overall health care. However, every referral to an outside mental health center regardless of integration status in practice serves to perpetuate the disconnect between mind and body, increase stigma, and prolong practice and community dis-integration.

We support stigma reduction efforts aimed at helping the general population recognize that the human condition is one of oscillation along a continuum of mental, emotional, and behavioral health across a lifespan. Some, with the help of family, friends, neighbors, and communities, are able to cope with these oscillations, the ups and downs of life, depending on their magnitude. Others reach a point along the continuum requiring professional help and support, or medication.

Some people are more prone to one end of the continuum or the other. We are all on that continuum. No, people don't deserve to get sick. Mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems are not the result of moral failure, neither are they caused by random bad luck. We can prevent some of the movement along the continuum representing overt mental illness and emotional distress. Not all of it, and not all the time. But in our efforts to eliminate all judgement and stigma from mental, emotional, and behavioral health conversations, we have crowded out the space to consider prevention.

As we develop ongoing efforts to integrate behavioral health into primary care and community, recognizing community assets that can support mental health and wellness is crucial to changing the overall perception of mental health. In fact, could it be that by better addressing prevention and integrating care we begin to redefine health? Could it be that mental health is just that, a part of health that does not warrant separate discrimination in prevention efforts, care delivery, payment, and policy?

We offer the following recommendations aimed at preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems. As multiple stakeholders attempt to advance efforts on mental, emotional, and behavioral health (e.g., Congress, state policymakers), it is critical to consider the role of prevention. If we, as a society, are truly serious about decreasing our health care costs and improving our health outcomes, we must downsize who needs services in the first place. We must "shift the mean" in order to begin to address problems before they are catastrophic; to encourage people to seek help within their communities as soon as possible.

It's time to clear up our faulty understanding of health; it's time for the pieces to come together as a whole, to integrate mental, emotional, and behavioral health into health care and health services research. For this to occur it will not be a simple stigma education campaign — no, this is a cultural shift decades in the making. Let's reintroduce prevention into our dialogue around mental, emotional, and behavioral health, engaging patients, providers, researchers, and policymakers in open and meaningful conversation. Let's create an "upstreamist" culture of those who are committed to preventing problems before they start, pursuing research efforts and funding aimed at identifying successful strategies for preventing mental illness and emotional distress.

Now is the time to identify and support local assets aimed at prevention, treatment, and stigma reduction to build local communities of solution for mental, emotional, and behavioral health.

Let's not just stand around waiting downstream to treat. Let's forge our way upstream together.

from Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog http://ift.tt/295bPhE

No Room For Prevention: The Unintended Consequence Of Mental Health Stigma Reduction Efforts

Decades of societal and cultural misunderstanding leave mental health shrouded in judgement, infused with moral disapprobation, and in many ways generally viewed as a character failure. Despite substantial advances in our scientific understanding of mental health over the years, there remains a disconnect between evidence and public perception, a disconnect even between the science and clinicians. Efforts to normalize how mental health is seen in the public often take the form of public education campaigns aimed to destigmatize mental health, and attempt to usher in a new understanding of health, inclusive of mental health.

Stigma has been defined in two ways: public stigma and self-stigma. However, both essentially address the same phenomenon: negative thoughts attributed to mental health leading to a negative behavior (e.g. avoiding seeking care because of what people will think). Further, mental health stigma has been found to have a negative impact on such important areas like employment and health care costs. In response to these countless studies on the negative impact of stigma, public education and stigma reduction campaigns have been a major strategy. But like all things public health, this one too does not occur without some controversy and unintended consequence.

Stigma Reduction Efforts

Stigma and discrimination reduction campaigns around mental health have had mixed results. Stigma reduction may help normalize mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems. Many stigma reduction campaigns aim to improve knowledge of mental health, educate the audience about the biological basis for mental illness, and help people feel more comfortable interacting with those experiencing mental health problems. Often, attempts are made to make mental, emotional, and behavioral health analogous to physical health issues. Like high blood pressure, strep throat, and arthritis, there is no individual cause for one’s suffering. The person suffering mental illness, emotional distress, or behavioral health problems has done nothing to deserve their illness, nothing to cause their illness, and is not personally responsible for having acquired their illness.

While the impact of stigma reduction efforts on the life of those suffering mental illness is unclear, there is growing evidence that educational stigma reduction programs that focus on the biological basis for mental illness can create the belief that it is intractable or reinforce the belief that the illness or a behavior problem is “hard-wired” and not amenable to treatment. Others have found that, while participants may know more about mental illness, they acquire more negative attitudes towards those with mental illness, and are more likely to avoid those with mental and behavioral health problems.

Stigma reduction programs may be crowding out space in the conversation for prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems. The idea that mental illness is biologically based, “hard-wired,” genetic, suggests there may be nothing we can do to prevent it. However, prevention is possible.

Consider the 2009 report by the Institute of Medicine. In this report, there are concrete and actionable steps to help prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral problems in children. Examples include strategies on offering early intervention for families and individuals and promoting mental health treatment in schools and community programs. It is possible to prevent the illness as well as treat and minimize the dysfunction that may accompany mental illness.

How We Can Prevent Behavioral Health Problems

How might we actually prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems? Alexander Leighton, in his ground-breaking work My Name Is Legion, on mental illness and the community, wrote that some mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems are associated with, and may be caused by human susceptibility to our community environment. It is not an individual’s fault they acquire a mental illness, nor is it always hard-wired into their DNA that they will manifest mental illness or emotional distress. Community factors may have more influence on mental illness than we currently appreciate.

Leighton described the concept of community “dis-integration” as a general failure of the community functioning such that almost everyone in the population is exposed to stress. Leighton found that communities that were suffering dis-integration had higher prevalence and incidence of mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems (MEBH), including increased incidence of chronic persistent mental illness. Efforts aimed at improving community integration resulted in lower incidence of MEBH.

And general population stress is on the rise. In their annual stress survey, the American Psychological Association found that 42 percent of respondents reported feeling nervous or anxious in the past month, up from 35 percent the year before, and 24 percent of respondents reported extreme levels of stress in the past year, up from 18 percent. Adults who received more emotional support reported lower stress levels. Increased levels of general stress may be seen in lower socioeconomic communities, ethnic groups, and immigrant populations leading to higher levels of mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems. Prevention efforts aimed at community integration may be a strategy for reducing health disparities.

Integrating primary care and behavioral health is a potent start at addressing mental health as an integral component of overall health care. However, every referral to an outside mental health center regardless of integration status in practice serves to perpetuate the disconnect between mind and body, increase stigma, and prolong practice and community dis-integration.

We support stigma reduction efforts aimed at helping the general population recognize that the human condition is one of oscillation along a continuum of mental, emotional, and behavioral health across a lifespan. Some, with the help of family, friends, neighbors, and communities, are able to cope with these oscillations, the ups and downs of life, depending on their magnitude. Others reach a point along the continuum requiring professional help and support, or medication.

Some people are more prone to one end of the continuum or the other. We are all on that continuum. No, people don’t deserve to get sick. Mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems are not the result of moral failure, neither are they caused by random bad luck. We can prevent some of the movement along the continuum representing overt mental illness and emotional distress. Not all of it, and not all the time. But in our efforts to eliminate all judgement and stigma from mental, emotional, and behavioral health conversations, we have crowded out the space to consider prevention.

As we develop ongoing efforts to integrate behavioral health into primary care and community, recognizing community assets that can support mental health and wellness is crucial to changing the overall perception of mental health. In fact, could it be that by better addressing prevention and integrating care we begin to redefine health? Could it be that mental health is just that, a part of health that does not warrant separate discrimination in prevention efforts, care delivery, payment, and policy?

We offer the following recommendations aimed at preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral health problems. As multiple stakeholders attempt to advance efforts on mental, emotional, and behavioral health (e.g., Congress, state policymakers), it is critical to consider the role of prevention. If we, as a society, are truly serious about decreasing our health care costs and improving our health outcomes, we must downsize who needs services in the first place. We must “shift the mean” in order to begin to address problems before they are catastrophic; to encourage people to seek help within their communities as soon as possible.

It’s time to clear up our faulty understanding of health; it’s time for the pieces to come together as a whole, to integrate mental, emotional, and behavioral health into health care and health services research. For this to occur it will not be a simple stigma education campaign — no, this is a cultural shift decades in the making. Let’s reintroduce prevention into our dialogue around mental, emotional, and behavioral health, engaging patients, providers, researchers, and policymakers in open and meaningful conversation. Let’s create an “upstreamist” culture of those who are committed to preventing problems before they start, pursuing research efforts and funding aimed at identifying successful strategies for preventing mental illness and emotional distress.

Now is the time to identify and support local assets aimed at prevention, treatment, and stigma reduction to build local communities of solution for mental, emotional, and behavioral health.

Let’s not just stand around waiting downstream to treat. Let’s forge our way upstream together.

from Health Affairs BlogHealth Affairs Blog http://ift.tt/295bPhE

Awesome Aluminum Pan Drawings

Do your children love to color? Mine sure do!

In fact, my oldest son recently remarked, “There is nothing better than a box of new markers and a fresh stack of white paper.” I have to agree with him, but I also think it’s fun to change things up once in a while.

Boy, was he surprised when I left a box of new Sharpie markers and a stack of aluminum pans on the art table. Creating Aluminum Pan Drawings was fun, exciting, and something different to try!

Aluminum Pan Drawings

Kids will have an unforgettable art experience when they combine vibrant Sharpie markers and shiny aluminum pans. Perfect for home, school, or camp, this craft is easy for kids of all ages.

Materials and Directions:

• Aluminum Pie Pans
• Sharpie Markers (all colors!)

After gathering supplies, invite children to color on the aluminum pans.

Some kids may enjoy creating robot faces.

Others may enjoy coloring flowers, nature scenes, or their favorite cartoon character. The possibilities are endless!

Hang the aluminum pan drawings on the wall with a string or from a pole in the garden to keep birds away.

More Creative Art for Kids

If you liked this idea, you may also enjoy:

Scribble Art for Kids

Watercolor Art with Markers

The post Awesome Aluminum Pan Drawings appeared first on Kids Activities Blog.

from Kids Activities Blog http://ift.tt/29taYbT

Awesome Aluminum Pan Drawings

Do your children love to color? Mine sure do!

In fact, my oldest son recently remarked, "There is nothing better than a box of new markers and a fresh stack of white paper." I have to agree with him, but I also think it's fun to change things up once in a while.

Boy, was he surprised when I left a box of new Sharpie markers and a stack of aluminum pans on the art table. Creating Aluminum Pan Drawings was fun, exciting, and something different to try!

Aluminum Pan Drawings

Kids will have an unforgettable art experience when they combine vibrant Sharpie markers and shiny aluminum pans. Perfect for home, school, or camp, this craft is easy for kids of all ages.

Materials and Directions:

• Aluminum Pie Pans
• Sharpie Markers (all colors!)

After gathering supplies, invite children to color on the aluminum pans.

Some kids may enjoy creating robot faces.

Others may enjoy coloring flowers, nature scenes, or their favorite cartoon character. The possibilities are endless!

Hang the aluminum pan drawings on the wall with a string or from a pole in the garden to keep birds away.

More Creative Art for Kids

If you liked this idea, you may also enjoy:

Scribble Art for Kids

Watercolor Art with Markers

The post Awesome Aluminum Pan Drawings appeared first on Kids Activities Blog.

from Kids Activities Blog http://ift.tt/29taYbT

DIY Necklaces and Accessories For Kids

Do your kids love making DIY necklaces? We have found so many adorable tutorials for necklaces, bracelets and even earrings and hair bows! Your kids will love making their own fashion statements!

We can't help it — we are obsessing over all of these cute options, and we think your kids just might too! Oh to be young again and able to pull off these adorable looks!

The best part is, these are actually d0-able. Nothing too complex or scary. Simple steps to make your child's day and give them some new fashion to wear!

DIY Headbands

Your kids will love making headbands from t-shirts. All you need is scissors and old shirts!

Gather up your favorite old buttons or buy some bright and shiny new ones, and you can create these adorable buttoned headbands.

Make a flowered headband with this easy tutorial. We love all the different color combinations you can do with scrap fabric.

Just a subtle bow on these homemade headbands but the effect is so cute. Perfect for wearing everyday or during playtime.

Create a scrunchy flowery headband right in your own house. These are so easy to make and adorable!

DIY Hair Clips

Spruce up those old bobby pins with some paint and buttons to make new homemade bobby pins!

From headbands to clips these adorable hair accessories are made with hot glue and glitter.

Thread your boring old clips with adorable threads. These are quick homemade hair flowers that are so fun and unique.

Curly ribboned hair accessories are perfect for the littlest girl in your life. All the colors make these so exciting.

These simple homemade hair bows are made from felt and and are a quick and easy craft to do when you need a matching bow fast!

Fun for Halloween, these google eyed hair clips are entirely too much fun.

Fashion your own DIY hair clips with this simple tutorial. We are loving all the buttons!

DIY Hair Bows

Easy no-sew flower hair clips. We love how easy these are to make, and they are unlike any other bows you'll see on all the other kids!

Ready for even more fun with felt? There are so many options for homemade flower bows in this amazing tutorial list.

Make this simple DIY bow with very few items, and only a little bit of time for a whole lot of cute.

While this one does require a bit of sewing these ruffled flower clips are so cute they are worth every moment they take to create.

DIY Necklaces

Make homemade princess necklaces with this simple tutorial. Perfect for a princess party!

Sand art is so much fun, which is why we combined it with another favorite – homemade jewelry!

Turn simple recyclable materials into a pretty bottle cap necklace. Some stickers and Mod Podge make this such a fun craft.

For the little horse lover in your life, make these fun DIY horse necklaces, each one is different so she can wear a new one every day.

Not gonna lie, we are obsessing over these Disney princess inspired necklaces. Those color combinations are perfection.

This is DIY jewelry on another level. Mini clothespins painted and spruced up into a gorgeous necklace.

Make a DIY best friends necklace out of puzzle pieces. So fun to make these from home and there is room for many BFFs!

Combine lots of buttons to make this adorable DIY retro necklace.

We were majorly impressed with all of the DIY jewelry that can be made using colored pencils! So many colorful options.

Take those buttons to the next level with these cute homemade animal necklaces made with buttons.

Homemade diffuser necklaces are pretty, and you can use them to surround your kids with your favorite essential oil blends.

Combine nail polish and tools to make these unique DIY charm necklaces.

Create a homemade chunky necklace using this fun tutorial and gum balls!

DIY Bracelets For Kids

These DIY bangle bracelets are made using clay. They are so colorful and fun, I never would have guessed they were homemade!

There are so many types of rainbow loom bracelets your kids can make using these fun tutorials.

Yarn and toilet paper rolls mix together to make these cute little DIY bracelets for kids!

Paper clips to rubber bands, these homemade bracelets are all made from different office supplies!

Homemade Bracelets

Using fabric beans you can make DIY bracelets and necklaces, so many options.

DIY wooden bracelets are decorated with Washi tape to make the fun and fashionable.

These bandanas make adorable fabric bangle bracelets! Make your own fashion statements with this fun activity.

Button bracelets are all the rage right now. So sweet and customizable for the kids to get to show off their own styles.

Glitter tubes and fun mix together to make the cutest homemade bracelets ever!

Easy homemade jewelry comes in the form of plastic bottles! Bracelets, headbands and so much more!

Friendship bracelets made at home with this fun jellyfish bracelet activity.

You know the cardboard sleeve that goes around coffee cups? Grab that and turn it into a custom made bracelet!

DIY Rings

For a splash of summer make this adorable strawberry ring for your girls.

For some weekend fun, make an evening of creating DIY cardboard rings for this cute look.

Fun homemade rings created with coins and Mod Podge. The initials are super fun!

Duct tape rings made from all the different colors and patterns, for the cutest rings possible!

Even more homemade jewelry from office supplies, these rubber band rings are so quick and easy to make and adorable to wear.

Homemade statement rings are so bright, colorful and flowery, your girls will love making them and wearing them!

DIY Crowns

The last of our beautiful felt jewelry options, make this fun crown for the little princes and princesses in your life.

Such a fun homemade crown, using feathers and a little pie plate!

Make your own birthday crown with this adorable tutorial. The kids will love all the sparkles!

Make natural crowns using colorful pinecones. Perfect for your little fairies and woodland princes!

Make a fun DIY butterfly crown using things around the yard and a few things from the craft store.

If you are looking for something fancy for your little princess dancer to wear while twirling but not too special to keep for only special occasions this breath crown is perfect!

 

Which of these fun DIY necklaces, jewelry and accessories will you and your kids try first?

The post DIY Necklaces and Accessories For Kids appeared first on Kids Activities Blog.

from Kids Activities Blog http://ift.tt/291m31E

DIY Necklaces and Accessories For Kids

Do your kids love making DIY necklaces? We have found so many adorable tutorials for necklaces, bracelets and even earrings and hair bows! Your kids will love making their own fashion statements!

We can’t help it — we are obsessing over all of these cute options, and we think your kids just might too! Oh to be young again and able to pull off these adorable looks!

The best part is, these are actually d0-able. Nothing too complex or scary. Simple steps to make your child’s day and give them some new fashion to wear!

DIY Headbands

Your kids will love making headbands from t-shirts. All you need is scissors and old shirts!

Gather up your favorite old buttons or buy some bright and shiny new ones, and you can create these adorable buttoned headbands.

Make a flowered headband with this easy tutorial. We love all the different color combinations you can do with scrap fabric.

Just a subtle bow on these homemade headbands but the effect is so cute. Perfect for wearing everyday or during playtime.

Create a scrunchy flowery headband right in your own house. These are so easy to make and adorable!

DIY Hair Clips

Spruce up those old bobby pins with some paint and buttons to make new homemade bobby pins!

From headbands to clips these adorable hair accessories are made with hot glue and glitter.

Thread your boring old clips with adorable threads. These are quick homemade hair flowers that are so fun and unique.

Curly ribboned hair accessories are perfect for the littlest girl in your life. All the colors make these so exciting.

These simple homemade hair bows are made from felt and and are a quick and easy craft to do when you need a matching bow fast!

Fun for Halloween, these google eyed hair clips are entirely too much fun.

Fashion your own DIY hair clips with this simple tutorial. We are loving all the buttons!

DIY Hair Bows

Easy no-sew flower hair clips. We love how easy these are to make, and they are unlike any other bows you’ll see on all the other kids!

Ready for even more fun with felt? There are so many options for homemade flower bows in this amazing tutorial list.

Make this simple DIY bow with very few items, and only a little bit of time for a whole lot of cute.

While this one does require a bit of sewing these ruffled flower clips are so cute they are worth every moment they take to create.

DIY Necklaces

Make homemade princess necklaces with this simple tutorial. Perfect for a princess party!

Sand art is so much fun, which is why we combined it with another favorite – homemade jewelry!

Turn simple recyclable materials into a pretty bottle cap necklace. Some stickers and Mod Podge make this such a fun craft.

For the little horse lover in your life, make these fun DIY horse necklaces, each one is different so she can wear a new one every day.

Not gonna lie, we are obsessing over these Disney princess inspired necklaces. Those color combinations are perfection.

This is DIY jewelry on another level. Mini clothespins painted and spruced up into a gorgeous necklace.

Make a DIY best friends necklace out of puzzle pieces. So fun to make these from home and there is room for many BFFs!

Combine lots of buttons to make this adorable DIY retro necklace.

We were majorly impressed with all of the DIY jewelry that can be made using colored pencils! So many colorful options.

Take those buttons to the next level with these cute homemade animal necklaces made with buttons.

Homemade diffuser necklaces are pretty, and you can use them to surround your kids with your favorite essential oil blends.

Combine nail polish and tools to make these unique DIY charm necklaces.

Create a homemade chunky necklace using this fun tutorial and gum balls!

DIY Bracelets For Kids

These DIY bangle bracelets are made using clay. They are so colorful and fun, I never would have guessed they were homemade!

There are so many types of rainbow loom bracelets your kids can make using these fun tutorials.

Yarn and toilet paper rolls mix together to make these cute little DIY bracelets for kids!

Paper clips to rubber bands, these homemade bracelets are all made from different office supplies!

Homemade Bracelets

Using fabric beans you can make DIY bracelets and necklaces, so many options.

DIY wooden bracelets are decorated with Washi tape to make the fun and fashionable.

These bandanas make adorable fabric bangle bracelets! Make your own fashion statements with this fun activity.

Button bracelets are all the rage right now. So sweet and customizable for the kids to get to show off their own styles.

Glitter tubes and fun mix together to make the cutest homemade bracelets ever!

Easy homemade jewelry comes in the form of plastic bottles! Bracelets, headbands and so much more!

Friendship bracelets made at home with this fun jellyfish bracelet activity.

You know the cardboard sleeve that goes around coffee cups? Grab that and turn it into a custom made bracelet!

DIY Rings

For a splash of summer make this adorable strawberry ring for your girls.

For some weekend fun, make an evening of creating DIY cardboard rings for this cute look.

Fun homemade rings created with coins and Mod Podge. The initials are super fun!

Duct tape rings made from all the different colors and patterns, for the cutest rings possible!

Even more homemade jewelry from office supplies, these rubber band rings are so quick and easy to make and adorable to wear.

Homemade statement rings are so bright, colorful and flowery, your girls will love making them and wearing them!

DIY Crowns

The last of our beautiful felt jewelry options, make this fun crown for the little princes and princesses in your life.

Such a fun homemade crown, using feathers and a little pie plate!

Make your own birthday crown with this adorable tutorial. The kids will love all the sparkles!

Make natural crowns using colorful pinecones. Perfect for your little fairies and woodland princes!

Make a fun DIY butterfly crown using things around the yard and a few things from the craft store.

If you are looking for something fancy for your little princess dancer to wear while twirling but not too special to keep for only special occasions this breath crown is perfect!

 

Which of these fun DIY necklaces, jewelry and accessories will you and your kids try first?

The post DIY Necklaces and Accessories For Kids appeared first on Kids Activities Blog.

from Kids Activities Blog http://ift.tt/291m31E