If your kids have heard of Babe Ruth but aren’t sure if it’s a kind of candy, don’t worry! We know kids love fun facts, and from facts about Wilma Rudolph to the actual diameter of a basketball hoop, we’ve rounded up some fun sports trivia for kids.
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1. In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single NBA basketball game. No one has broken this record (not even Steph Curry!).
2. Babe Ruth began his career as a pitcher: Ruth was both a left-handed pitcher and left-handed batter.
3. The record for the long jump is held by Mike Powell: 29 ft. + 4 inches. That’s like jumping the length of two minivans!
4. The most medals won for Olympic basketball (male or female) are both held by women: Teresa Edwards and Lisa Leslie with four gold medals each.
5. Here's some amazing sports trivia for kids: Wilma Rudolph (who set the world record in 1960 for 100, 200 and 4x100-meter relay) had polio, scarlet fever and pneumonia as a child, leading doctors to believe she’d never walk again.
11. Golf is one of only two sports every played on the moon. In 1971, Alan Shepard hit a ball with a six-iron while on the moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission. The other sport was a javelin toss, during the same visit.
As my son’s 5th birthday approaches, I have to stop and wonder where has the time gone? It has been five years of change, growth, challenge, and laughter above all. When I was pregnant with my son, I worried about what kind of mother I would be. Would I be the disciplinarian, the fun and cool mom, the teacher, or the helicopter mom? It turns out in these past five years, I have managed to be all of the above.
I have grown and learned so much in the past five years. Who would have thought this little boy would have taught me more about myself than I ever could? The trials and tribulations of motherhood are ones that are ever-evolving. When my son was 7 days old, he developed a rash all over his face. The doctor had called it “contact dermatitis.” I immediately thought that I was the worst mom for letting my brand new baby get this rash all over his beautiful, brand new face. I feared it would scab and scar his face. That is enough to put a brand new, first-time mom into post-partum anxiety. I was nervous and fearful of anyone holding him that it would happen to him again. I was pushed and shoved out of my comfort zone anytime we brought him around people. I feared that if it happened once, that it would happen again. Helicopter mom to the rescue! As he got older, that fear very slowly went away.
Then we start pre-school which, if I couldn’t any more helicopter-ish, I then became the stalker-atzi of my son in pre-school two days a week. Because I am a teacher myself, I was never able to drop my son off or pick him up so that job went mostly to my mom. God bless her! I don’t know how she managed to drop off my son who without fail would cry at every single drop-off. I never understood why he cried until he became old enough to express himself and tell me why he cried at every drop-off.
When he was 3, we sent him to a new preschool where he instantly became comfortable and had the most loving teachers. As if I wasn’t the helicopter mom already, this time, my sister worked in the same school that my son was now attending. Each day around 9 a.m., she would just walk by his classroom, and update me that he was happy or playing or engaging with the other children. Those updates were all that I needed to ensure that my son was happy and thriving in his new school. This too has changed me as a teacher. I never realized the longing that I had to hear how my son’s day was and what he did. I then started a weekly “newsletter” highlighting all of the wonderful things we were doing in my classroom so that my parents of my students knew what we were doing and could then have those dinner time conversations with their children about what they were learning and what they would be working on next.
Cue the start of being in pre-school and all of the sicknesses that went along with it. We have had the stomach bug, common colds, ear infections, RSV, bronchitis, the flu, seasonal allergies, and lastly, pneumonia. I tried every vitamin and immune booster that was on market. When I was at the pediatrician’s office weekly, I figured I was being judged on my parenting. But thankfully, my son’s pediatrician, who was my pediatrician as a child assured me that this was all normal as my son’s immune system began its journey that it would get better by the time he was in grade school.
Now if things couldn’t have become any crazier, in comes the COVID-19 virus which is when I truly learned more about my son, myself, and our family dynamic. We were immediately forced into working from home and spending a lot of time together. My husband was working from home on his own zoom calls and meetings, I was teaching remotely, and my son had his own zoom meetings and work to do in Pre-K. While this time was one that was isolating at times, I wouldn’t trade that time with my little family for anything in the world. There were days that life was stressful, but having my son and husband home with me every day was truly a blessing. Being able to teach my son his letters and how to write his name was a time that I will never forget. In that time, I became the disciplinarian for everyone to get their work done and stay the course. I was the teacher-mom making sure that my son didn’t fall behind all while trying to make sure that 21 of my students weren’t losing any of their instructional time. I was the fun and cool mom because I was able to spend that time with my son and be outside with him whether it was riding bikes, swinging on the swings, or swimming in the pool. The time spent with my family during that time is a time that I truly cherish and makes me realize that there is nothing more important than family.
My name is Melissa. I am a mom to an incredible 5 year old boy. My husband, my son, and I live in the same town that I grew up in. In those 5 years of being a mom, I have learned a lot about myself and can't wait to share it with you.
When the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (CMA) rescued an Atlantic dolphin off the coast of Siesta Key, Florida back in July 2019, they had no idea that he would soon become a resident of their facility forever. After being nursed back to health from a severe case of pneumonia, it was determined that the 26-year old dolphin had hearing loss and wasn’t fit to be released back into the wild.
In the months since his recovery, CMA was thrilled to offer residency in their Dolphin Terrace. Not only that, they are asking the public for help in giving him a new name!
Now through Jun. 7, anyone can send in their submission to give the 700-pound dolphin his very own name. All you have to do is visit SeeWinter.com by June 7 and submit your idea!
The soon-to-be named dolphin will join a few famous friends from the Dolphin Tale movies, Winter and Hope. Not only that, his other CMA neighbors will include nurse sharks, sea turtles, otters and pelicans.
January through March marks peak season for respiratory syncytial virus—known more commonly as RSV. So what is RSV? While this virus may seem like the common cold, it isn’t. Back in October 2018, celeb parents Nick and Vanessa Lachey shared their own harrowing experience when their newborn preemie son Phoenix contracted RSV shortly after he was born and had to be hospitalized.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention want to make sure parents understand the signs and symptoms of this potentially dangerous illness as RSVP season ramps up. Read on for the scoop.
RSV is a very common virus that tends to peak in early winter each year. Anyone—including adults and babies—can get the virus. However, it doesn’t always affect everyone in the same way.
A healthy older child, teen or adult may have mild cold-like symptoms. But an infant, the elderly or anyone who has a compromised immune system may experience more serious symptoms. According to the CDC, 57,000 children under five-years-old are hospitalized annually with RSV infections.
Children under one year may develop bronchiolitis (an inflammation of the lungs’ small airways) or even pneumonia. This isn’t to say that RSV will progress into these often-severe illnesses in every infant. But kiddos under age one are more at risk.
Is There an RSV Vaccine?
Vaccination is an easy way to prevent your child from getting any number of dangerous diseases. Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for RSV currently. But you can take steps to protect your child. The CDC recommends washing your hands often—and your child’s too. Also, skip the playdates with kids who might be sick and teach your kids not to touch their face as it spreads germs. For grownups, make sure you disinfect surfaces often.
Another important pro-tip: if you or your child get sick, stay home. This helps your child’s teachers, friends at school, neighbors, the bagger at the grocery store, the attendant at the indoor play-space and everyone else stay healthy.
How Do I Know if My Kid Has RSV?
RSV typically presents with mild cold-like symptoms. These can include:
Runny, stuffy nose
Fever
Wheezing
Coughing and sneezing
Fatigue
Decreased appetite
Your child may have a few or all of the symptoms, but typically not all at the same time. Infants and young children may also seem irritable or particularly fussy.
When Should We See a Doctor?
The best answer: when in doubt, see your healthcare professional, whether you think it’s a cold, RSV or even the flu. There’s really no substitute for qualified medical advice. (Read: Call your actually doc instead of paging Dr. Google.)
If your child is lethargic, wheezing, has a fever, has trouble breathing, won’t eat or drink or just doesn’t seem right, always call your pediatrician immediately.
If you’ve heard about the Civil War in news of late, you might be getting questions from the kiddos. Arm them (and yourself) with knowledge by teaching them the basic facts about this significant event in our country’s past. The Civil War, which began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. Union military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, was the first “modern war.” The war lasted from 1861-1865, and during its run the world saw many firsts—it was the first time generals communicated via telegraph, the first time iron-clad ships sailed the waters, and the first time trains were used by soldiers for transport. Scroll down for 10 more zingers you should know about this ground-breaking conflict.
1. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was one of the triggers for the start of the Civil War.
He and the North wanted to end slavery, but the South–which depended on the work of slaves to do the farming, its main industry–was very opposed to that idea.
2. The camera was a new invention during the Civil War.
The Civil War was one of the first wars that had photographers and journalists follow troops and publish images alongside written stories.
3. Robert E. Lee (pictured above), the famous leader of the Confederate Army was first offered command of the Union forces.
He gracefully declined because he didn’t want to fight against his home state of Virginia. So, the Confederacy was led by Jefferson Davis, Lee was the most well known Southern generals of the Confederate Army, the Union was led by Abraham Lincoln (aka the president of the United States), and Ulysses S. Grant was the overall commander of the Union Army.
4. There were way more Union soldiers than Confederate soldiers.
With roughly 2,100,000 soldiers, the Union Army was nearly twice the size of the Confederate Army of 1,064,000.
5. During the first few battles of the Civil War soldiers didn’t have uniforms (!!). It was like they were fighting in street clothes, so it was hard to tell each other apart. Eventually, the Union wore dark blue uniforms and the Confederates wore gray coats and pants.
6. More men died in the Civil War than any other American conflict, but the kicker is that nearly two-thirds of those deaths were a result of disease.
An estimated 650,000 to 850,000 Americans lost their lives in the Civil War (that’s more than WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War combined!). The high death toll, however, was a result of camps becoming breeding grounds for diseases like typhoid, pneumonia, and measles. For every three soldiers killed in battle, five more died from disease.
7. Lincoln’s famous Gettysburg Address was only 272 words long.
Seemed longer, right? It starts with: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” And 242 words later…
8. The Union army had a minimum age of 18 to join, but that didn’t stop some.
Nearly 10,000 soldiers were below the minimum age limit, with the youngest reportedly being nine years old. No wonder the Civil War is often referred to as “The Boy’s War.”
9. Clara Barton (pictured above), the most famous Civil War medical worker, was self taught.
She was so good, though, that she was given the nickname “Angel of the Battlefields,” and she would later go on to create the American Red Cross.
10. Women were not allowed to join the Union or Confederate armies.
But that didn’t stop some majorly brave 250 to 400 women from sneaking in by disguising themselves as men and fighting anyways.
Do you know any other interesting facts about the Civil War? Share them in the comments below.
