Helping Children Manage Transitions and Routines
Sound Living
It can be challenging for young children and their providers to transition from one activity to the next. Kansas State University Extension family and youth development agent for the Chisholm Trail District, Tristen Cope, says there are strategies that childcare providers can use to help young children better manage transitions and routines. This includes providing an advanced warning, using a visual calendar and teaching them songs that signal it’s time to move from one activity to the next. Sound Living is a weekly public affairs program addressing issues related to families and...
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Extension's Role in Community Health
Sound Living
Kansas State University Extension agents and specialists are helping residents manage chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer through education, coaching and community-based support. Kansas Health Foundation’s Distinguished Professor of Community Health at K-State, Elaine Johannes, says the past year has been especially busy for Extension programming focused on community health, with hypertension, diabetes and cancer standing out because of the reach and collaboration involved with those programs. Sound Living is a weekly public affairs program addressing issues related...
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Tips for Staying Physically Active this Winter
Sound Living
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends moving more, sitting less and getting children as young as three to be active. The guidelines also stress that any amount and any type of activity improves health. As cold weather begins to settle it and days get shorter, it’s often more difficult to be physically active. According to K-State Research and Extension northeast area family and consumer sciences specialist and state coordinator of Walk Kansas, Sharolyn Jackson, that’s when we need to make a conscious decision to be physically active. Sound Living is a weekly public...
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Choosing Presence Over Pixels
Sound Living
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and if you happened to notice family and friends spending more time on their digital devices than connecting face-to-face, you’re probably not alone. According to researchers, this growing phenomenon is called “technoference” – which describes interruptions and disconnections in relationships caused by the excessive use of digital devices. K-State Extension family life and resource management agent for Sedgwick County, Liz Brunscheen-Cartegena, says these small interruptions, repeated day after day, can slowly weaken the bonds that make family time...
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Family Get-Togethers Can Help Develop Resilience
Sound Living
Family gatherings sometimes take the joy out of the holidays. Elaine Johannes, the Kansas Health Foundation’s Distinguished Professor of Health Kansas State University, says that family get-togethers often become exercises in patience, particularly when family members have differing opinions on various topics. However, at this time of the year, she says there’s reason to hope which can help us develop resilience and even resistance to future adverse events in our lives. Sound Living is a weekly public affairs program addressing issues related to families and consumers. It is hosted by...
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Aging in America: Boosting Aging Services
Sound Living
Kansas State University aging specialist, Erin Martinez, says a national publication brought together what she calls the greatest minds in Extension and aging across the country to shine a light on the future of aging-related work in Extension. As co-editor of a special issue published by the Journal of Human Sciences and Extension titled Aging in America, Martinez, says aging experts from across the country were able to tell the story of the work being done and to think about the future of Extension when it comes to aging-related programming and services. Sound Living is a weekly public...
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Manage Time, Energy and Money This Holiday Season
Sound Living
With the gift-giving season drawing nearer, mental, physical and financial stress may be increasing – especially considering the cost of almost everything is higher than last year. Kansas State University family resource management specialist Elizabeth Kiss (kish) says focusing on what makes the holidays special for you and your family and friends, can help relieve stress and make the holidays more joyful. She says one way to approach holidays is managing our time, energy and money. Sound Living is a weekly public affairs program addressing issues related to families and consumers. It is...
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Early Literacy Promotes Brain Development
Sound Living
The first three years of life are a critical time for brain development. We know that learning begins before birth and according to the K-State Extension fact sheet, Early Literacy: Building the Foundation for Lifelong Learning, brain growth is rapid in those first three years, and language and literacy is a piece of that puzzle. The family and consumer wellness agent in Extension’s Cottonwood District, Monique Koerner, and Central Kansas District family and consumer wellness agent, Lisa Newman, discuss the key early literacy milestones and what parents and caregivers can do to support early...
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Boosting Cancer Screenings in Kansas
Sound Living
Kansas State University Extension and the University of Kansas Cancer Center have launched a partnership aimed at increasing awareness, access and participation in cancer screenings – especially in rural and underserved areas of the state. Hope Krebill, executive director of the Masonic Cancer Alliance, the outreach network of the University of Kansas Cancer Center, says the most common cancers in Kansas are the ones that we can prevent or screen for including prostate, breast, lung, colorectal and melanoma. Karin Denes-Collar, associate director and psychosocial services director for the...
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Assistive Technology Combats Exclusion, Isolation
Sound Living
Assistive technology can help everyone, but it’s especially beneficial for people with disabilities or older adults. Without assistive technology, Kansas State University Extension specialist in adult development and aging, Erin Martinez, says people may feel excluded and isolated, which increases the impact and risk of disease, disability, and mental well-being. Because there are thousands of assistive technology devices that can be bought or made at home and people often don’t know where to start, Martinez has developed a fact sheet that covers the basics of assistive technology. Sound...
info_outlineHigh blood pressure – also known as hypertension – is often referred to as the “silent killer” because it may show no symptoms until there are greater problems. The Kansas Health Foundation’s Distinguished Professor of Community Health at Kansas State University, Elaine Johannes, says Extension agents are being trained as Healthy Heart Ambassadors to check blood pressure and coach community members on how to take their blood pressure and manage it using good practices that are fairly easy to do. This includes exercising regularly, eating a heart healthy diet, reducing sodium, limiting alcohol and getting a good night’s sleep.
Sound Living is a weekly public affairs program addressing issues related to families and consumers. It is hosted by Jeff Wichman. Each episode shares the expertise of K-State specialists in fields such as child nutrition, food safety, adult development and aging, youth development, family resource management, physical fitness and more.
Send comments, questions or requests for copies of past programs to ksrenews@ksu.edu.
K‑State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well‑being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K‑State campus in Manhattan.