It’s all in the music
When Robert Preston (Professor Harold Hill) and Shirley Jones (Marian Paroo) made theatrical/ film music history in 1962 with “The Music Man,” it was the most popular feelgood production of its day. That was more than 45 years ago, and today we’re still discovering the power music has to take care of your troubles whether you live “right here in River City” or not.
A new study from MIT and researchers working in Beijing found that musical training — specifically piano — improves language-learning skills for children and is possibly more beneficial than offering children extra reading lessons.
Looking at three test groups of 74 kids 4 to 5 years old, researchers found that giving them piano lessons at the age when they’re developing their vocabulary “uniquely enhanced cortical responses to pitch changes in music and speech …
[T]he piano group demonstrated unique advantages over the reading and control groups in consonant-based word discrimination.” In short, musical training helped the preschoolers with speechsound processing.
This follows a report this year in Neuron on a National Institutes of Health/Kennedy Center workshop on Music and the Brain that says musical training in children can foster the development of a variety of nonmusical skills, may have cognitivesharpening abilities, and could relieve stress and help treat depression. So, to paraphrase Professor Hill — you’ve got “P” and that stands for “Proof.”
But if your child doesn’t care for piano lessons, see what he or she thinks about trying out the trombone (at least you won’t have to listen to 76 of them all at once). Marching bands need them!
How to choose and use your sunscreen
On an episode of “Seinfeld,” Jerry and Newman discover Kramer asleep on the roof, shirtless, on a very sunny day. “Oh man,” Kramer says when they wake him up. “I think I cooked myself.” “Kramer! Look at your skin!” Jerry exclaims. “Oh, stick a fork in me, Jerry. I’m done,” he replies.
Bad sunburns may fuel funny TV scenes, but you know they’re no fun to experience and they can do long-term damage. But even if you’re not getting a blazing burn, too much exposure to the sun’s rays may be putting you at risk for skin cancer and more.
That’s why a new study out of St. John’s Institute of Dermatology in London offers such important info: The thin sheen of sunblock most of you put on provides only about 40 percent of the cream’s labeled protection, so harmful rays can still damage your skin’s DNA. The rating you see on the bottle is the protection you get when you apply 2 milligrams of sunscreen on every square centimeter of skin. That turns out to be a pretty thick layer, and most of you don’t use that amount.
So, from now on, choose a sunscreen with micronized zinc and/or titanium oxide and an SPF of 30 to 50 — and lay it on thick. That gives you the best protection against UVA rays, the kind that penetrate deeper into the skin. Don’t get products with any other chemical sunscreens. Make sure to lather up toddlers. And infants shouldn’t get sunscreen or direct sun.
Avoiding lawnmower injuries; healthier HS athletes with athletic trainers Question:
We bought a new house with a nice front and back yards. My husband is excited about cutting the lawn and is off buying a new push mower. I don’t want him cutting off his foot. Should I be concerned? — Abigail N., Catskill, New York
Answer: No and yes. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, since their federal safety standards for power mowers were instituted back in 1982, the number of annual lawn mower injuries has been reduced by half. However, even though lawn mowers are much safer now (make sure your husband buys one that says “Meets CPSC blade safety requirements”), injuries still happen.
A new study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine found that lawn mower injuries continue to send more than 80,000 Americans to the emergency department every year.
The most common type of lawn mower-inflicted injury is, of course, laceration. So remember:
■ The American Society for Surgery of the Hand suggests wearing gloves, goggles and hearing protection when you mow. And always wear sturdy, closed-toed shoes.
■ Don’t cut the grass when wet. Wet clippings clog the blades and the discharge chute, and that’s typically when hands reach in.
■ Clear the yard of potential flying objects, such as branches, stones and other debris before you mow.
The No. 2 cause of mower moaning? Muscle sprain or strain. So, make sure the mower stays hydrated, maybe do runner’s stretches before mowing, and take a break every 20 to 30 minutes. Not being fatigued will reduce your chance of other injuries, too.
Whenever you mow, wear long pants tucked into your socks, and spray them with DEET to ward off tick and mosquito bites. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that disease cases from insect bites increased from more than 27,000 in 2014, to 96,075 in 2016.
Q: I just read that female high school athletes have fewer injuries when their schools have an athletic trainer. My daughter goes to a small local high school, plays soccer and basketball, and we don’t have one. What does it take or how much does it cost to recruit an athletic trainer? — Beth A., West Lafayette, Indiana
A: First of all, if you are in the market for athletic trainers, make sure you interview and hire only those who are board-certified. That means that they have a bachelor’s or master’s degree, passed the BOC (Board of Certification) exam and are a member of the National Athletic Training Association. At the high school level, a certified AT earns between $40,000 and $65,000 per year. They more than earn their keep with the number of injuries they help prevent.
A recent study found that recurrent injury rates were six times higher on girls’ soccer teams and nearly three times higher among girls’ basketball teams in schools without ATs. Furthermore, girls’ high school sports that have an AT on the coaching staff have fewer overall injuries, reduced recurrent injury rates and superior identification and management of athletes’ concussions.
As NATA explains, certified ATs “are licensed health care professionals who work with coaches and athletes to apply evidence-based injury prevention strategies, and they are able to recognize and manage injuries when they happen, which may reduce severity or complications.” Plus, when kids are welltrained, they’re in better shape and they compete better. Translation: Healthy teams win more (!), and athletic kids who get good training can keep playing for a lifetime.
If your daughter’s school budget is an issue, here’s an idea (everyone across the country can try the same kind of solution). Purdue University’s Department of Health and Kinesiology is in your town. They teach undergraduates to become athletic trainers, public health specialists, and health and fitness providers. See if you can work something out with an internship program that would give college students (supervised by a certified professional from the college) work experience and help protect your daughter and her teammates at the same time.