FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF APRIL 8, 2001:
My sister gave me a baby walker. She says her kids loved it, but the nurse at our clinic really discourages its use. Why are nurses so opposed?
It's not just nurses who discourage the use of baby "walkers," says Diane Demarest, coordinator of the University of Idaho's Parents as Teachers demonstration project. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended a ban on the products.
"Contrary to what the name suggests, baby walkers do not encourage walking and are actually quite dangerous," Demarest says. They have contributed to a significant number of injuries, mostly from falls down stairs or from tipping but also from poisoning and burns when the baby uses the walker to reach higher than expected.
And, baby walkers actually discourage walking--because they allow the baby to get around quite easily without making the effort--and they strengthen only the muscles in the lower legs, not the more important walking muscles in the upper legs and hips.
Dangling their feet from walkers can even cause babies to become "toe-walkers." The Achilles tendon in the back of the foot can shorten, making it difficult or impossible for the foot to step flat on the floor.
Demarest also discourages overuse of stationary walkers. Like baby walkers, not only can stationary walkers lead to toe-walking but they can slow development of the balance, muscle strength and control babies need to sit independently. "While the stationary walker offers the baby an opportunity to see the world from a higher perspective, it does not encourage movement--except with the hands," she says.
Instead, Demarest suggests that parents help their babies learn to roll and sit by themselves by providing several safe places to play and by supervising their floor play at all times.
For more information on the Parents as Teachers project, call Demarest at (208) 343-1542 in Boise or write her at dianed@uidaho.edu.
I found a very large white grub when I was tilling my garden this spring. Could this be the reason I lost some corn plants last summer?
Good sleuthing, says Bob Stoltz, University of Idaho extension entomologist. If what you found is a white grub--the larval form of the June beetle--it may very well have thinned out some of your young corn plants last year.
This critter can run up to 2 inches long. It's C-shaped with a large brown head, longish legs and a dirty tail end. "Generally, it's not much of a garden pest," Stoltz says--but there are many exceptions, and your vegetable bed may be one of them.
Besides corn, white grubs belly up to tomatoes and a wide variety of root crops. If some of your potato tubers had big gouges in them, white grubs would explain that as well.
June beetles have a three-year cycle and white grubs are likely to do the greatest damage the year after you see the winged adults. To control grubs, broadcast diazinon and till it in. Or, soak the base of the plants with a solution of diazinon (1 tablespoon of diazinon to 1 gallon of water).
Alternatively, release some insect-destroying nematodes, which are hearteningly effective against white grubs. First irrigate your garden well, then saturate the base of each plant with Hb "cruiser" nematodes--so named because they'll cruise down to where the grubs are. Be sure to soak the nematodes in well.
Next fall, till your garden well. June beetles like to lay their eggs in organic matter, so don't leave any on the surface to attract them.
Why do some newspaper articles say fish is a healthy food and others say it's not safe? What are we supposed to believe?
Whether eating fish contributes to your health or threatens it depends on who you are, what kind of fish we're talking about and where it was caught, says Sandy McCurdy, University of Idaho extension food safety specialist.
Women of child-bearing age--especially those who are pregnant or nursing--and small children should avoid or limit consumption of shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish, according to a January communication from the Food and Drug Administration.
The Environmental Protection Agency advises that the same consumers limit consumption of freshwater fish caught by friends and family to one meal per week--or about 6 ounces of cooked fish per adult and 2 ounces per child.
"The reason is that these fish are likely to contain high levels of methyl mercury," says McCurdy. Methyl mercury, known to harm the developing nervous systems of babies and small children, accumulates in fish. The larger the fish, the greater the mercury accumulation.
"Other family members do not need to follow this advice," says McCurdy, although they should heed any state or local recommendations regarding the safety of fish caught in their area.
Unlike fish caught in the wild, farm-raised fish have been shown to contain very low levels of mercury, McCurdy says: they're considered safe for all persons to eat.
[READERS: Do you have a question about your home, yard or garden? Send it to HomeWise, University of Idaho Ag Communications, Moscow, ID 83844-2332 or e-mail it to homewise@uidaho.edu. Mention of proprietary products or firms does not constitute endorsement by the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System or imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.]