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Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 is the first edition to include recommendations for infant and toddlers! From birth to 2 years old is a critically important time for parents to feed their children properly to promote optimal growth and development. It is also an important time to establish healthy dietary patterns that can influence food preferences and eating behaviors later in life. The theme “Make Every Bite Count” is highlighted throughout this edition and is all the more fitting for children 2 years and younger, as they tend to consume small quantities of food frequently throughout the day.

Notable Guidelines for Children Birth to 2 Years Old:

· Recommendation to exclusively breastfeed up to 1 year of age, and longer if desired. Offer iron-fortified formula during the first year of life when human milk is not available.

· Provide infants with a vitamin D supplement beginning at birth.

· At about 6 months, introduce infant to nutrient-dense complementary foods.

· Introduce baby to potentially allergenic foods with other complementary foods, for example: peanuts, eggs, cow milk products, nuts, wheat, shellfish, fish, and soy. The guidelines state that there is no evidence that delaying potentially allergenic foods help to prevent food allergies. However, we encouraged all parents and caregivers to discuss this topic with their doctors before proceeding.

· Offer a variety of foods from all food groups beginning at 6 months and beyond, including protein, fruit and vegetables, dairy, and grains. At this time, taste preferences begin to develop therefore it is important to expose children to a variety of foods. It may take up to 8 to 10 times for a young child to be exposed to a new food to like it due to new textures and flavors. Repeated offerings increase the likelihood of an infant accepting new foods.

· Parents, caregivers and guardians play an important role in a young child’s nutrition because infants and toddlers are fully reliant on them for their every need. The edition also introduced the term, Responsive Feeding. Response Feeding emphasizes recognizing and the responding to hunger and fullness cues of your child. This will help allow the child to self-regulate their dietary intake.

· Avoid added sugars and foods higher in sodium. Taste preferences are formed at a young age and children may develop preferences for sweet and salty foods.

It’s safe to say that recommendations for baby and young children are always changing. However, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 can currently help parents navigate the eating behaviors of their young children. It’s never too early or too late to begin eating well!

Information regarding this blog and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 can be found at:

https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf

WIC Updates Program to EBT Card

New to WIC! Well Child Center and IL WIC has transitioned to the EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) card. No more paper vouchers! WIC participants will now receive benefits on an eWIC card, which is similar to a debit card.  

After attending a WIC appointment or completing a WIC class, food benefits are added onto the eWIC card. The family’s WIC food benefits will last until the next WIC visit. To complete transactions, participants will need to enter the PIN that they have created. 

There are many ways to find your WIC Food Balance: 

  • Look at your store receipt from your last shopping trip.  
  • Ask a cashier or customer service person at the store to print your WIC Food Balance.  
  • Call the toll-free number on the back of your WIC card, 1-844-4MY-FAMILY or 1-844-469-3264. 

Well Child Center hopes that participants will find the new eWIC card easier to use at grocery stores. We ask that WIC clients please be patient during this transition! 

Pediatric Dental Clinic Reopens!

Well Child Center Pediatric Dental

For our Pediatric Dental Clinic patients,

We are excited to announce that we are now open for appointments. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.

You may see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:

  • Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office. Temperatures will be taken upon entrance to our clinic.
  • We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
  • You may choose to wait in your car. Our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, children’s toys and so forth, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
  • Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment.
  • We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at 847-930-6721  

Thank you for being our patient. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Well Child Center’s Response to COVID-19

Well Child Center considers the health, safety and well-being of you and your family – our WIC clients and young dental patients – to be our highest priority.

Father kissing small child

We want to assure you and our community neighbors that Well Child Center (WCC) is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in our community. While we are open during regular business hours during this Coronavirus outbreak, we are also screening all clients using a survey recommended by the Kane County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to keep our clients and community safe.

For our WIC families, the following exceptions for in-person appointments may be available during this Coronavirus outbreak:

  1. You and your child(ren) may not be required to meet in-person temporarily to maintain services.
  2. Nutrition Education will be completed via phone or internet. All WIC/Advocate Sherman classes are canceled until further notice.
  3. Food Instruments may be provided via curbside pick-up or in extreme cases via US certified mail.

Please call your family’s WIC office for additional information about these temporary exceptions and to ensure your family’s services continue without disruption.

For our Pediatric Dental Clinic patients, we have and always will protect our young patients and dental team from infections and diseases by strict adherence to CDC’s standard precautions.
*** NOTE: Dental Clinic reopens June 16, 2020***

For our breastfeeding clients, this is an important reminder based on CDC guidelines:

  • Breast milk provides protection against many illnesses. WIC and the CDC recommends that any mother with the flu continue breastfeeding or feeding expressed (pumped) breast milk to your infant while taking precautions to avoid spreading the virus to your infant.
  • For mothers with flu symptoms and well enough to breastfeed, please wear a mask when near your child (including during feeding), wash your hands before and after contacting your child (including feeding), and clean/disinfect all contaminated surfaces afterwards – as should be done in every case where anyone with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 interacts with others, including children.

For moms who are too ill to breastfeed, ideally you should try to express (pump) milk and feed it to your child with a clean bottle, cup and/or spoon.

Here’s how you can help prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses, including the Coronavirus Flu:

PLEASE CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IF YOU OR YOUR FAMILY HAVE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS:

  • Fever
  • Cough (especially a dry cough)
  • Shortness of Breath (if you have more than a little change in your breathing, please call 911)

If you are sick, to keep from spreading respiratory illness to others, you should:

  • Stay home when you are sick.
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

If you have a life-threatening emergency, please call 911.

For more information please visit: 

Well Child Center remains committed to providing high quality services our clients have come to trust for nearly 50 years. We encourage you to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have at  (847) 741-7370.

*WCC will provide regular updates as new information becomes available.

The Importance of the 2020 Census

In mid-March, everyone will receive an invitation to complete the 2020 Census. You can respond in one of three ways: online, by phone, or by mail. Why should you participate? The 2020 Census counts every person living in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories providing critical data that will directly affect you and your community.

The results of the data determine the numbers of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives. It’s also in the Constitution: Article 1, Section 2, mandating that the country conduct a count of its population once every 10 years. Furthermore, billions of dollars in federal funding are distributed depending on Census results and given to resources that are needed most. This includes support for hospitals, childcare, food assistance, schools, first responders, early childhood development programs, etc.

Young children are the most likely group to be undercounted. In 2010, some 1 million children under 5 years old were not accounted for in the national survey. The importance of a fair and accurate Census count is not to be taken lightly. When persons are accounted for correctly, it ensures that the amount of money distributed among our communities is legitimate. Furthermore, local and state governments, businesses, nonprofits and foundations rely heavily on data from the census to allocate funding, define services, and promote economic development.

Historically, underserved populations are the ones mostly likely not to respond. But oftentimes, they’re the ones that need the most help. If you want to have a voice or if you want to make a difference, what better way than to do your part and be counted? The results will impact your community every year for the next decade!

Common Questions:

Does the 2020 Census ask about citizenship status? NO – the 2020 Census does not ask whether you or anyone in your home is a U.S. citizen.

Are non-citizens counted in the Census? YES – everyone counts.

Can my answers be shared with law enforcement or used against me? NO – the law prevents the Census Bureau from sharing your info with law enforcement. Your answers cannot be used to impact your eligibility for government benefits. Your answers are only used to create statistics about our country.

Information regarding this blog and the 2020 Census can found at:

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2014/demo/2014-undercount-children.pdf
https://2020census.gov/en/what-is-2020-census.html

March Food Demo: You’re Invited!

Making healthy choices at mealtime is not always easy, especially on a budget. The objective of a food demonstration is to improve and diversify family feeding practices. Live demonstrations help parents develop cooking skills and confidence to prepare nutritionally balanced meals at home. As nutrition educators, we know that families on a tight budget are less likely to try something new in the kitchen if they are required to spend money on unfamiliar foods and ingredients. Food demos are a great way to introduce new foods at no cost! Participants can see, smell and taste new recipes and discover firsthand that healthy foods can be delicious. Six in 10 adults who attend short, interactive sessions said they were willing to make a healthy change. https://community-nutrition-education.extension.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/2018-Illinois-SNAPed-Impacts_spread.pdf It is our responsibility as educators to help our clientele understand what healthy eating is.

At Well Child Center (WCC) we have partnered with Activate Elgin, Advocate Sherman Hospital and U-46 to help our community better understand the importance of a healthy diet.

As part of National Nutrition Month, Well Child Center has partnered with Activate Elgin to promote their campaign: March Into Health. The WIC program’s Food Demonstration: Edible Kitchen on Thursday, March 26th at 5:45 p.m. is open to the public to attend.  A seasonal soup and salad demo will be presented by Linda Rusenovich, RD, LDN and WIC Nutritionist for participants to sample. Adults and children in the community are welcomed to come! Please RSVP to this event with Karen at 847-930-6716 by March 20th to attend.

Since 2016, Well Child Center and Advocate Sherman Hospital have worked collaboratively to offer Childbirth Education Classes. These classes are taught in 4-week sessions by certified instructors every month. Expectant mothers are provided with instruction and support to help navigate pregnancy through the postpartum period. In the final week of class, the instructor provides a cooking demonstration featuring nutrition education specific to mom and baby.

We are overjoyed to partner with U-46’s Parents as Teachers (PAT) program. The PAT program is designed to help parents of children from birth to age 3 to feel more confident in their role as their child’s first teacher. WCC’s WIC program is dedicated to helping parents feed their children properly during critical periods of growth. To help parents feel more confident in the kitchen, we have opened our WIC program’s Food Demonstration: Edible Kitchen to PAT parents in April.

WCC has one primary goal – to create and maintain broad-based community partnerships to help all families and children thrive. This goal remains the core vision of our organization and we will continue to carry out our mission to Growth Healthy Families.