Dear Parents ,

November 19 , 2008

It is almost Thanksgiving! 

Flu season is marching right along.  Please ask your doctor or nurse about getting a flu shot.  Flu shots protect you from the flu, and when you are protected you also protect your young children.

There are a number of local organizations that offer flu vaccinations, and this year there is plenty of vaccine to go around. 

Skagit County Public Health will provide flu immunizations for the general population from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm starting October 1st. The Health department is on the 3rd floor of the courthouse annex at 700 S. 2nd Street in Mount Vernon. Children's vaccine is expected to be available by mid-October. 

For more information, please call 360-336-9477.

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Here is a link to some ideas for feeding your family on $3 a day.  It's from Grocery Outlet, but is not an endorsement or advertisement for their products, it's just a suggestion for easy meal planning. 

http://www.groceryoutlets.com/3dollars-a-day.pdf

Meredith Baker

360-419-3324

Many of you have asked for information about health for your children.  I am going to put some links here for you that we recommend from Skagit County Public Health.  There is a lot of information on the web and it can often be confusing and conflicting.  If you have questions about what you find or worry about, be sure and call for more information.  Maryl Skjei, our Public Health Nurse, is a wonderful resource for up-to-date information; she can be contacted at: 360-336-9382.  She is my source for health questions - and no question is ever too embarrassing for her. 

http://www.aap.org/parents.html   This is the American Academy of Pediatrics

http://www.aap.org/ner/toyrecall-FAQ-2007.pdf

http://medem.com/msphs/msphs_entry.cfm  This is Smart Parents Health Source

http://www.medem.com

As you have probably heard or seen in the newspaper there have been a number of product recalls for children's toys.  In the Seattle Times, Wednesday, August 8, 2007, there was the following information:

"Last week Mattel's Fisher-Price division announced a recall of nearly 1 million Chinese-made toys because their paint contains lead.  This recall involves 83 types of toys, including Seasame Street and Nickelodeon characters Elmo and Dora the Explorer.  (See the complete list with this story at http://www.seattletimes.com)  The recall involves only toys sold in the U.S. between May and August this year.  To check whether a toy you own is affected:

1. Go to Mattel's product-recall Web site http://service.mattel.com/us/recall.asp- and click on the first link.

2.  Click on "View and print the recall brochure."  You'll find pictures of affected toys and a guide to finding the product number and date code on each product.

3.  Fisher-Price is exchanging recalled toys for vouchers.  You have to mail the toys back to Mattel using a prepaid mailing label available here: http://service.mattel.com/us/recall/39054_IVR.asp

4.  You'll also need to include the final two pages of the recall brochure with your return, noting which products you are returning and your contact information.  For more information, contact Fisher-Price at 800-916-4498.

The author of the Seattle Times article is Jolayne Houtz: jhoutz@seattletimes.com; 206-464-3122.