Kids’ Health – February 2025

When it comes to your kid’s health, there’s so much that goes into it. It can be stressful to make sure that your child is living their best life, which is why these businesses make sure to alleviate that stress, checking up on your child to make sure they’re doing everything in their power to make your kid happy and healthy.

From making sure you’re having a healthy pregnancy to reminding your child to wear their seatbelt and eat their vegetables, your kid’s health is a full-time job, so get support from these local businesses so you can focus on your kid’s happiness and not anxiously wonder about their health, know your kid is healthy with check-ups with these businesses. They specialize in children’s health, so you know you’re in good hands.

Through a blend of guidance, both from personal experience and licensed experts in the local area, parents can help their kids develop good habits that keep them happy and healthy long after they grow up.

However, health isn’t always just physical. Know your child is in their best state of mind with these therapists. They constantly make sure that your kid isn’t suffering on the inside.

Trust Daring Minds Therapy

Your kid’s mental health is just as important as their physical health and the team at Daring Minds Therapy (daringmindstherapy.info) is here to make sure that it’s in peak condition.

Therapy often requires dealing with difficult challenges which is why it might be a little more of an uphill battle for younger kids, but when parents can explain the process, be supportive, communicate regularly with the therapist, and show their child seeing a therapist is nothing to be afraid of and can be a positive experience, the process turns a lot smoother!

Before you find the perfect service through Daring Minds Therapy, remember that you’re the expert when it comes to your child so make sure to come into the appointment with an idea of the questions you would like to ask and what you would like the doctor to know! Know that this will be the start of a road to great mental health!

At Daring Minds Therapy, their experience enables them to offer effective treatment to a variety of populations. They treat mental health disorders, substance use disorders, trauma and life problems. Their practitioners are trained to work with children adolescents and adults, making sure that they can help you and your family with whatever you could require!

Plus, if they are unable to help you, they have an extensive network of referrals to make sure you get the help you want and need.

Make sure your child is living at their full potential with Daring Minds Therapy!

The next step to making sure your child is living their best life is your communication. It’s hard to have open communication with your child if they struggle with things like speech, and that’s where these businesses come into play.

Give Your Kid a Voice with Link to Communication

In today’s world, staying healthy and active isn’t just about running and jumping—it’s also about how we use our mouths and voices! That’s where Link to Communication (linktocommunication.org) comes in, offering Myofunctional and Speech Therapy to help kids feel their very best.

Myofunctional therapy is like a special training program for your mouth, helping kids learn how to swallow, breathe, and speak. When these muscles work properly, kids breathe better, eat better, and speak more clearly. With speech therapy, kids can improve their communication skills and express themselves clearly. Strong speech and language skills form the foundation for reading, writing, and overall academic success. When kids have trouble with speech sounds, they may also struggle with phonics or spelling, which makes learning harder. Speech therapy helps build the skills they need to thrive in school and social settings.

At Link to Communication, we believe that building strong, healthy oral muscles is key to enhancing overall well-being and confidence. Our therapy sessions are designed to be engaging and enjoyable, helping kids develop essential skills for effective communication. Through fun and interactive exercises, children learn to strengthen the muscles of their face, mouth, and tongue, improving speech clarity, breathing, and even performance in activities like sports or singing.

Their advice to parents? It’s never too early to start building good habits! Bringing your child in for a myofunctional or speech therapy evaluation is a great way to make sure they develop the skills they need to stay healthy and active as they grow. Whether it’s to improve swallowing, speech, reading, or just to help your child feel more confident, they’re here to guide you every step of the way.

So, come visit the speech-language pathologists at Link to Communication, and let’s work together to unlock new skills, build confidence, and pave the way for success!

Speak with Communication Works

On that same note, according to Toni B. Morehouse, Board-Certified Child Language Specialist and Owner of this next great speech therapy business, Communication Works (speechtherapylincolnne.com), not all children develop language at the same rate. Some may exhibit delays leading to concerns about whether a child is simply a “late bloomer” or whether they may be experiencing late language emergence (LLE), commonly known as being a “late talker.” Understanding the differences is crucial.

• Late Bloomers: May initially show slower language development compared to their peers, but they typically catch up with time. They tend to use more communication gestures to compensate for their delayed speech and generally demonstrate better language comprehension than late talkers.
• Late Talkers: On the other hand, late talkers remain behind in their language development even as they get older. At age 2, late talkers use fewer than 50 words and do not typically produce two-word combinations. They also use fewer vowels and consonants, often exhibiting more consonant errors compared to peers.

Research indicates that 10-20% of two-year-old children are late talkers, with males being three times more likely to experience delayed language development than females.

Pediatric speech-language pathologists focus on LLE because studies have shown that children who are late talkers at age two:

• Exhibit poorer reading and spelling skills at ages eight and nine.
• Have lower vocabulary, grammar, verbal memory and reading comprehension at ages 13 and 17.
• May have associated issues such as intellectual disability, autism, social communication disorder, ADHD or learning disabilities.

A child’s brain is most flexible and adaptable between birth and three, with 80% of brain development occurring by the age of three. This period is often referred to as the “critical window” for language development.

Seeking the help of a speech-language pathologist for early assessment and intervention for late talkers can pave the way for better language skills, stronger academic performance, and improved social interactions. Early intervention can truly make a difference.

Communication Works is here to make sure that your kid is talking up a storm about everything they would like; contact them today to make sure that communication is flowing.

Help Your Kid With Healing Hands Chiropractic

Speech therapy might be the first barrier to cross when it comes to communication, but pain could be something that stops your kid from having good conversations as well. When you’re not sure how to help your kid with their back pain or misalignment, that’s where Healing Hands Chiropractic (@HealingHandsChiropractic) comes in.

Your kids’ health is important, and though physical health is just one component, Dr. Kimberly Hoffa of Healing Hands Chiropractic strives to make sure that component is the best that it can be. Choosing a chiropractor for your kids’ health means you being there for them in every single possible way. Pediatric chiropractors specialize in addressing musculoskeletal issues in children, promoting proper alignment and mobility. They work and dedicate their time to make sure that their spine is aligned, a treatment that can promote a wide range of benefits such as enhancing immune health, aiding in digestion, reducing ear infections and allergies, improving sleep and more. Through gentle and age-appropriate adjustments, these professionals aim to enhance nervous system function, support immune health and contribute to optimal growth.

The best thing about these treatments, especially for children, is their noninvasive nature. They address things like balance, posture and coordination without having the complications of surgery or traditional medicine. These pediatric chiropractors use only gentle and light pressure to achieve the best results for your children.

Even the slightest of misalignments can cause a multitude of issues, so make sure that your kids’ systems are functioning optimally to make sure they grow into the person they were born to be!

Once your child is ready to be active and out and about, there’s of course the issue of finding the perfect shoes to make sure that those alignments stay in place, and that your child is speeding down the field in the best gear possible.

Keeping kids healthy and active may not seem to be a problem with all the clubs and teams for so many sports. However, according to Place Matters – a publication from The Community Health Endowment – there is a problem! Many parents don’t have the resources, the time or the means to enroll their children in special teams, and add to that the fear so many parents have of letting their kids play outside, ride their bikes outside or take walks. The thing is, Lincolnites are incredibly lucky as we have so many trails that can benefit everyone! The goal of the Parks Department is to get a trail within a mile of every household, and they are very close to that!

Learn and Grow with Lincoln Running Co.

At the Lincoln Running Co. (shop.lincrunningcompany.com), they encourage everyone to get outside and do SOMETHING! Their January “Launch Your Fitness” Challenge aimed at just that and it warmed their heart to see so many families take part in the challenge! Training your body to get used to walking every day for just one mile can do wonders for your health!

Being healthy and active doesn’t need to cost a lot, take you out of town to do it or even keep you inside! The best physical – and mental – fitness comes from moving outside in whatever makes you comfortable!

A good pair of shoes and the right layers of apparel and you are ready to go, just make sure to bring plenty of water!

Practice Good Health with Play it Again Sports

Finally, when your child is ready to play with the best health and best shoes possible, Play it Again Sports (playitagainsports.com) is here to make sure that they’re playing with the optimal gear and equipment.

The team at Play it Again Sports takes pride in providing equipment to kids in all sports across all demographics at a price that allows everyone to play.

In their experience, they have found the best way to keep kids healthy and active is to provide those opportunities and encouragement to try as many sports as possible to find their niche socially, competitively and athletically. Giving your kids the autonomy to pursue the sports they’re interested in gives them a greater sense of buy-in to the sport – saving the parents the headache of ‘one-and-done’ seasons, and providing kids a heightened sense of independence and control over their health.

However, too much of a good thing can be bad! To avoid burnout at a young age, give your kids an offseason, they are still kids after all. For parents, they recommend that you avoid keeping your kids in just one sport, and allow them to experiment with the sports they’re interested in – not just the ones you played when you were growing up. Your investment in your kids and their health is the most important investment you’ll make in their lifetime. Setting them up for success at a young age makes them more likely to make healthy choices and stay active for the rest of their lives!

Maintaining your kid’s health is a process, but it’s one that these local businesses will gladly take on. They’re here to make sure that you just have to cheer them on from the sidelines as they score the winning points, or talk to them for hours about the newest book they read, and not have to worry about what could be going on health-wise, that’s what these wonderful businesses are for!