Multimedia journalists on the rise.

Amanda Renee Legros

Amanda Renee Legros is a fourth year broadcast journalism student in FAMU School of Journalism and Graphic Communication. She was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and currently resides in Tallahassee.

Amanda has gained a substantial amount of experience in writing and reporting within the journalism industry as a staff writer for her school's award winning newspaper, The Famuan and as an intern staff writer for InSpire Magazine.

She has engaged in several opportunities that demonstrate her versatility and commitment to succeeding in this field that include camera operator for the FAMU News 20 production and free lance photography. She is currently working as an intern writer for online wedding resource, Wedding Carolina.

She will graduate April 2013 with a B.A. degree in Journalism from Florida A&M University and will further her education to receive a M.A in Business. She would like to work as a reporter or anchor for a television news station and eventually as an entertainment news reporter for E!. She also hopes to open up a children's bookstore and establish a women and children's magazine.

Dangers for Children Who Eat Tuna

A popular school lunch item could pose a threat on your child’s health according to a new report from the Mercury Policy Project. The study says kids should only consume light tuna once or twice a month to avoid high mercury intake levels.

Author of the recent study, Dr. Edward Groth recommends children who weigh less than 55 pounds are only to eat tuna once a month, while kids weighing over 55 can eat it twice.

The chemical has been linked to possible health risks to the development of kids, similar to the harms of fetuses that have come in contact to the chemical.

Store bought canned tuna is the most common source of mercury in our diet. White and albacore, in particular, should not be eaten at all by children because it is found to have triple the amount of mercury as light tuna.

Pregnant woman, nursing mothers and young children are strongly advised to limit their intake of tuna because of mercury levels found in canned fish. Instead they should opt for lower mercury fish that are still rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Board Certified toxicologists, Dr. Marland Dulaney recommends going with fish and seafood that has less mercury including shrimp, salmon and cat fish.

The father of five raises his concern about pregnant women and children eating large amounts of tuna.

“You want to be careful in what is called susceptible populations which include pregnant woman, newborns and young children because methyl mercury has been show to interfere with the nervous system…babies nursing, methyl mercury can pass into the milk to the baby,” he said.

Dulaney encourages fishers and consumers to make certain where they fish is, is not in an area that has a local advisory. He also says to ask your local seafood market questions and keep up with the news.

BPA Linked to Children’s Obesity

Fatty foods and genetics may not be the only reasons to explain the rise in child obesity. A new study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows a link between BPA levels in children’s urine and obesity. This is following the recent FDA ban of BPA in bottles and sippy cups.

According to the FDA website, concerns have been raised about the possible side effects on the “brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children.” In this new report, BPA is said to be a disturbance to the body’s metabolic mechanism. This could eventually affect your body’s ability to control its weight.

The study is speculative and researchers argue that instead of BPA causing obesity, obesity may be the reason for higher levels of BPA. This is because of dietary habits of obese children and the frequent intake of canned soda or drinks from plastic bottles that contain this chemical.

By Amanda Legros

With Contributions by CNN

Harp's Five S's Relieves Pain

NORFOLK, VA - A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, shows that parents can sooth their babies with five comforting methods to help reduce the pain of infant vaccinations. 

                                                        Contributions by SheKnows

The method was developed by assistant professor of Pediatrics at the USC School of Medicine, Dr. Harvey Karp.

The five techniques are known as the five S’s. This includes swaddling, placing the baby on its side, gently swaying, having the child suck on a pacifier and shushing in the infant’s ear. These measure help calm the baby immediately after being stuck with a needle. These steps work together by imitating the feelings of being in the womb.

The study was published in the journal Pediatrics and led by Dr. John Harrington of the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va.

Harrington encourages parents to use Karp’s five S’s to alleviate discomfort after infant immunizations.

“Some parents might be a little skittish giving their babies vaccines knowing it’s not painless… they can do something to reduce the pain and soothe their child,” Harrington said.

During the study, medical residents were trained to use the five S’s on infants after they received their routine vaccination shots.  The study found that infants who were exposed to the five S’s immediately after getting stuck with a needle scored lower on a pain measurement scale. Babies also stopped crying faster compared to infants given a sugar solution.
When it comes to reducing vaccination pain in babies, Dr.Karp is confident in his development of the five S’s method.

“There’s been 30 to 40 years of research showing the individual S’s work, but what was missing was the recognition that babies are born with a reflexive-off switch for crying and an on-switch for sleeping,” Karp said.

A sugar water solution is commonly used to reduce pain in infants after infant immunization shots. Harrington believed that together the five S’s and the water could relieve pain. Before the study, he doubted that the five S’s alone could be affective. But researchers found that pain scores were lower in infants when using the five S’s.

“Going in, we thought that maybe sugar and the physical intervention would work together,” said Dr. Harrington.

“But what we found was that just the physical intervention was good enough. You really didn’t need to give sugar prior to the shots.”

On average, infants receive at least three shots per two month checkup and two at their four month visit. Breastfeeding is commonly used to soothe babies during these checkups, but for women not breastfeeding it is encouraged to use the five S’s. These techniques can also relieve discomfort in a colicky baby.

By Amanda Legros

With Contributions by the New York Times, USA Today, CBS
Photo, SheKnows

EatSleepPlay Promotes Healthy Living

MANHATTAN, NY – The Children’s Museum of Manhattan has installed an exhibit to promote healthy living in children. The EatSleepPlay activity center, which opened in November 2011, helps to prevent childhood obesity by incorporating play centers and education.

Museums across the United States are establishing similar exhibits to tackle other social issues affecting the children community. This includes foster care, homelessness and education. 

EatSleepPlay Center                                                Photo, The New York Times

 Andy Ackerman, the executive director of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan believes part of the mission of children’s museums is simply providing access.

“Social issues, education, health and creativity — it’s all a continuum, and we can connect those domains and reinforce each of them,” he said.

Children’s museums continue creating programs specialized in the interests of children.

Located in Florida, the Young at Art Museum provides an afterschool arts program for homeless student. 

The Port Discovery Children’s Museum in Baltimore has an exhibit for children with special needs. And the Providence Children’s Museum in Rhode Island helps find permanent homes for foster care children.

Executive director of the Association of Children’s Museums in Arlington, Va., Janet Rice Elman has realized that people are utilizing museums to tend to specific needs of children and their families.

“These are places where families can learn through play — from science to early literacy skills to parenting — in settings that are joyful,” she adds. 

Many children’s museums are collaborating with various organizations and experts to develop programs within their facilities.

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan has worked with the National Institutes of Health to develop the EatSleepPlay center. The Museum has also teamed up with health advisers for further expertise.

Research from Dr. Judith Owens, director of sleep medicine at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, has helped establish the sleep division of the EatSleepPlay exhibit. This center teaches healthy sleeping habits for children.

“Educating through the arts….That’s how you change behavior,” Ackerman said.

Children’s museums are also reaching out to underprivileged neighborhoods. They are creating programs in these areas in an effort to attracting people who wouldn’t normally visit nor have access to.

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan is building a replica of its museum in East Harlem’s public housing. It also travels beyond Manhattan and provides health and literacy programs in the Bronx and New Orleans.

Jeri Robinson, the vice president for early childhood and family learning at the Boston Children’s Museum wants the mission of the museums to remain relevant to its communities.

“The audiences who are living here want to be able to come here and see their lives reflected,” said Ms. Robinson.

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan has made special accommodations for special needs children. On Mondays the museum is opened to children with autism and their families. This will allow the children to enjoy the exhibit in a quiet venue- an experience that all children have the opportunity to enjoy.

By Amanda Legros

With contributions by the New York Times

Photo, the New York Times