J&D Ultracare has built a reputation of trust with its clients for over 30 years. That’s because we provide specialized care to medically fragile children in their homes in order to make sure that they are as comfortable as possible. We’re proud to say that we’re the only agency in the Hudson Valley that focuses primarily on pediatrics because our nurses have a large impact on the health of our local community.

On the blog, we want to encourage families to form healthy habits in their everyday lives. That’s why we want to share an informative article from Eating Well called “The Top 10 Healthiest Foods for Kids“. While nursing services can keep your children healthy, it’s equally important to make sure that they are eating the right kinds of food!

We want to share some of our favorite foods from the article, but if you want to see the whole list, you can read the full article by clicking here. Here are three great foods that will keep your children healthy:

1. Yogurt
   “Yogurt is a wonderful option for breakfast, a snack, or even a dessert but you have to watch the added sugar content,” says Katie Andrews, M.S., R.D., a childhood nutrition coach and owner of Wellness by Katie. “It’s a healthy, filling snack that checks the boxes on protein and vitamin D, a nutrient many kids lack in their diet.” Yogurt also delivers probiotics, good bacteria that are important for maintaining a healthy gut. An easy way to pick out a healthy yogurt? Buy plain Greek yogurt, which has zero added sugars plus twice the protein of regular yogurt. Most yogurt that’s flavored has added sugar; some new products are flavored with just fruit, but plain is always a safe bet. It’s easy to add flavor yourself by adding berries and sprinkling a whole-grain cereal on top or creating a fun parfait with fruit. Dress up yogurt even more for kids by turning it into frozen yogurt pops or frozen yogurt bark.
2. Beans
   Beans are a humble superfood. They’re loaded with protein and fiber, plus they’re cheap and take little time to prepare. Buy low-sodium canned beans such as black beans, chickpeas or kidney beans. Simply open the can, rinse them to remove extra sodium and add to any dish. “Replacing ground beef with beans in a quesadilla or tossing beans with pasta helps maintain high-quality, lean protein while adding a key nutrient: fiber,” says Andrews. There are pastas made from beans too, look for brands like Banza, Pow and Tolerant Foods. “Kids ages 4 to 8 need around 25 grams of fiber a day, and most products marketed directly to kids, like fruit snacks and cheese crackers, contain little if any. Fiber helps promote healthy digestion and helps your kids feel fuller, longer, so they aren’t asking you for a snack 5 minutes after dinner ends,” says Andrews.
3. Avocado
   Avocados are an easy way to get healthy fats into your child’s diet. They are high in monounsaturated fats, which decrease inflammation and keep cholesterol levels healthy. Fat moves through the digestive tract slowly, so it keeps kids full longer. But the best part of avocados? Their versatility. You can eat them with a spoon, mash on toast, throw into a smoothie, mix into chicken or tuna salad, or make a pasta sauce like avocado pesto. Avocados also make a great first food for babies.

If you have used our nursing services in the past, please consider writing us a review by clicking here. This spreads the word about J&D Ultracare, which will help us find more patients in need!

Are you following us on social media? If not, please consider liking us on Facebook! This is one of the best ways to support our agency, plus it’s great for keeping yourself up to date on the posts we’re writing. Click here to be taken to our Facebook page and learn more!

Did you know that J&D Ultracare writes a testimonial post every single month? These posts showcase many of the reviews we’ve received from our clients over the years. We’ve been providing in-home nursing services since 1985 and have received positive testimonials from satisfied clients for over 30 years!

Testimonials warm the hearts of all of our nurses and we love to share them with our readers on the blog every month. If you want to see some of the things that people are saying about us, you can read last month’s testimonial post by clicking here.

This month, we wanted to highlight two fantastic reviews from our testimonials page. Both are from parents who have been using J&D Ultracare to take care of their children for several years! We’ve provided specialized health care in these homes for a long time, keeping their family happy and healthy.

We would like to thank both parents for writing these testimonials for us. Stories like this show that we can make a difference with our nursing services in the Hudson Valley and the New York Metropolitan area. Here’s what these parents had to say about J&D Ultracare:

“I have been a client of J&D Ultracare for almost 6 years.  I have found them to be a professional and caring nursing agency.  Their nurses are very competent and reliable.  I highly recommend J&D Ultracare to anyone looking for excellent at-home nursing care.”

– Client, Gary Lust

“I have been with J&D Ultracare for several years now…From the beginning they were very caring and accepting of my daughter and our whole family.  My experience with all of Courtney’s nurses has been very professional.  I could not have done it without their help!”

– Parent, Rockland County

If you have used our nursing services in the past, please consider writing us a review by clicking here. Not only does this help spread the word about J&D Ultracare, you may be featured in an upcoming testimonial post as well! We write a testimonial post every month, so please check out our blog here for future posts.

Are you following us on social media? If not, please consider liking us on Facebook! This is one of the best ways to support our agency, plus it’s great for keeping yourself up to date on the posts we’re writing. Click here to be taken to our Facebook page and learn more!

J&D Ultracare is a nursing agency that prides itself on the care we provide to kids. For over 30 years, our professional nurses have helped the medically fragile population with our in-home nursing services in Rockland, Dutchess, Putnam County, Westchester, Sullivan, Ulster, and Orange Counties. We provide children with everything they need to be healthy and offer specialized care when they become adults.

It’s important to keep your kids happy! Studies have shown that happiness has a direct correlation to health and the length of one’s life. With the summer rapidly approaching, there are plenty of fun activities that can be done with the whole family. That’s why we wanted to highlight an article from Unicef Kid Power called “50 Fun Summer Activities for Your Kids“!

There are a ton of great things to do in this post, but we wanted to go over ten of our favorites here on the blog. If you are interested in learning more, you can read the full article by clicking here. Otherwise, here are ten activities from the post that you can do with your kids this summer:

1. Bike rides. Take your kids out for a fun bike ride, either near your house, or if the kids are older, take them on a bike trail. Since it’s a hot summer day, make sure to bring water!
2. Make ice cream. There isn’t a kid (or parent) in the world who would refuse ice cream on a hot summer day. This is a great kids activity in which parents can easily monitor. Here’s a great guide on creating your very own vanilla ice cream.
3. Meet friends at the local playground. Call up your friends and let the kids hang out together at a local playground, where they can play on swingsets, merry go rounds, and more.
4. Have a picnic at a local or state park. Getting kids together for a picnic at a local or state park can be a fun group activity. Just make sure to find some shade!
5. Sidewalk chalk murals. Get some fun colored chalk for your kids and you can create some really fun chalk murals and designs. Here are a few cool designs for inspiration.
6. Backyard camping. Your kids may be too small to go camping at a campsite or park, but why not start in the backyard?
7. Backyard stargazing. Put out a few blankets and lie down in your backyard, and gaze upon the stars. Show your kids how to locate Orion’s Belt and many other stars. Here’s a great stargazing guide.
8. Check out the local county fair. Most major cities will have some sort of carnival or county fair which will definitely delight your kids.
9. Kids science experiments. If your kids want to stay indoors, no problem – increase their brain power and curiosity with these awesome fun and easy science experiments for kids!
10. Local tennis camp. Tennis is one of those sports that most kids don’t get to play during the school year. But your town likely has a fun kids tennis camp that your kid can enjoy.

If you have used our nursing services in the past, please consider writing us a review by clicking here. This spreads the word about J&D Ultracare, which will help us find more patients in need!

Are you following us on social media? If not, please consider liking us on Facebook! This is one of the best ways to support our agency, plus it’s great for keeping yourself up to date on the posts we’re writing. Click here to be taken to our Facebook page and learn more!

J&D Ultracare is a nursing agency that has been helping patients for over 30 years. We were the first agency in the Hudson Valley to specialize in pediatrics and we’re still the only one in the area to this day! What makes us stand out are the personal touches we add, like our in-home nursing services. We visit our patients in their own homes in order to make them feel as comfortable as possible.

While on the job, we make sure that your kids are as healthy as possible. But here on the blog, we like to give parents advice so their kids can also be as happy as possible. That’s why we wanted to share a great article written by Kids Health called, “Nine Steps to More Effective Parenting“. It’s a great post because it prepares parents for raising their kids as they grow up.

If you want to read the full article, you can do so by clicking here. Otherwise, take a look at our three favorite tips from the post below:

1. Make Time for Your Kids

It’s often difficult for parents and kids to get together for a family meal, let alone spend quality time together. But there is probably nothing kids would like more. Get up 10 minutes earlier in the morning so you can eat breakfast with your child or leave the dishes in the sink and take a walk after dinner. Kids who aren’t getting the attention they want from their parents often act out or misbehave because they’re sure to be noticed that way.

Many parents find it rewarding to schedule together time with their kids. Create a “special night” each week to be together and let your kids help decide how to spend the time. Look for other ways to connect — put a note or something special in your kid’s lunchbox.

Adolescents seem to need less undivided attention from their parents than younger kids. Because there are fewer windows of opportunity for parents and teens to get together, parents should do their best to be available when their teen does express a desire to talk or participate in family activities. Attending concerts, games, and other events with your teen communicates caring and lets you get to know more about your child and his or her friends in important ways.

Don’t feel guilty if you’re a working parent. It is the many little things you do — making popcorn, playing cards, window shopping — that kids will remember.

2. Be a Good Role Model

Young kids learn a lot about how to act by watching their parents. The younger they are, the more cues they take from you. Before you lash out or blow your top in front of your child, think about this: Is that how you want your child to behave when angry? Be aware that you’re constantly being watched by your kids. Studies have shown that children who hit usually have a role model for aggression at home.

Model the traits you wish to see in your kids: respect, friendliness, honesty, kindness, tolerance. Exhibit unselfish behavior. Do things for other people without expecting a reward. Express thanks and offer compliments. Above all, treat your kids the way you expect other people to treat you.

3. Make Communication a Priority

You can’t expect kids to do everything simply because you, as a parent, “say so.” They want and deserve explanations as much as adults do. If we don’t take time to explain, kids will begin to wonder about our values and motives and whether they have any basis. Parents who reason with their kids allow them to understand and learn in a nonjudgmental way.

Make your expectations clear. If there is a problem, describe it, express your feelings, and invite your child to work on a solution with you. Be sure to include consequences. Make suggestions and offer choices. Be open to your child’s suggestions as well. Negotiate. Kids who participate in decisions are more motivated to carry them out.

If you have used our nursing services in the past, please consider writing us a review by clicking here. This spreads the word about J&D Ultracare, which will help us find more patients in need!

Are you following us on social media? If not, please consider liking us on Facebook! This is one of the best ways to support our agency, plus it’s great for keeping yourself up to date on the posts we’re writing. Click here to be taken to our Facebook page and learn more!

Every month, we get a ton of testimonials from those that have used our nursing services at J&D Ultracare. These are fantastic reviews from parents that tell stories about how our agency has helped improve their child’s life. When we read them, it warms our hearts and inspires us to continue to help our patients as much as possible. To show our thanks, we like to promote our favorite testimonials here on our blog. You can see the post we wrote last month by clicking here.

This month, we wanted to highlight two reviews from our testimonials page. We love these reviews because they show that we helped change the lives of these families with our in-home nursing services. Our professional nurses were able to keep these children happy and healthy with ease. Thank you to everyone that has written us a review so far! If you want to see more testimonials, please check out our testimonials page by clicking here.

Here’s what these two reviews had to say about J&D Ultracare:

“J & D ultra care came into my life when my son was in critical condition. I am so grateful for the experience, compassion and dedication of the amazing team of health care professionals who all performed their duties in an unparalleled level. J &D nursed my son back to health and this makes them the best in what they do.”

-Parent

“J&D Ultracare is an excellent company! I have been impressed with the work ethic and quality of both the office and field staff. They truly care about the patient and quality of service! I feel confident and safe to leave my son with their amazing nurses. Our nurses are so nurturing and skilled in what they do. It’s not easy having a medically fragile child, but J&D has made this process so much easier!”

– Parent, Megan Cardenas

If you have used our nursing services in the past, please consider writing us a review by clicking here. Not only does this help spread the word about J&D Ultracare, you may be featured in an upcoming testimonial post as well! We write a testimonial post every month, so please check out our blog here for future posts.

Are you following us on social media? If not, please consider liking us on Facebook! This is one of the best ways to support our agency, plus it’s great for keeping yourself up to date on the posts we’re writing. Click here to be taken to our Facebook page and learn more!