In the last few months I’ve been involved in the care of three children with severe head injuries. Two were skateboarding and one was riding a bike at the time of the injury. All of their lives are forever changed. None was wearing a helmet. Continue reading
April 21-28 is National Infant Immunization Week in the US. This annual observance is set up as a time to promote the benefits of immunization and to celebrate the milestones reached in controlling vaccine-preventable illness in children. This year the campaign goes global, with the World Health Organization sponsoring the first ever World Immunization Week. Continue reading
Disclaimer: We did not build this sandcastle. 🙂
It is spring in California (although, truth be told, this mid-westerner never really notices much of a winter here). The Easter Bunny brought my son sand toys. Yesterday we spent the afternoon outside in the park. With a bucket, a shovel, and a few shapes, a new world opened up. Castles were built. Rivers were dug. Cakes were baked and then eaten. Don’t worry, “just pretending” he told me. Fish and turtles and stars appeared and then disappeared. All the while, we were serenaded by nearby birds. The sun shone down on us and there was a gentle breeze. For a while our dear little neighbor girl joined in, but for the most part it was just us. The best few hours I’ve had in a while. Continue reading
The epidemic of poor oral health in young children, and the problems it can cause has been in the news. I recently wrote about how hard it is to keep young children’s teeth clean. (Thanks to some amazing reader suggestions, I’m happy to say that we’ve now got a great routine going that might actually approach two minutes of brushing.) But, today I want to highlight an important public health measure that is helping many of us keep our kids teeth (and our own) healthier, and we might not even know it. Continue reading
This morning I put on my mom “hat” and took my little guy to see his pediatrician for his two year old well child visit. Doctor visits can be difficult for the toddler age group. So, before today’s visit I spent some time thinking about how I could make this visit easier for my son. Here are a few tips that can help make young children’s check-ups a little less painful for all involved. Continue reading
I see a lot of toddlers and school age children in my practice. Lately, a number of parents have asked about growing pains. Are they real? What causes them? Are they a sign of something serious? What can I do to help my child? Here’s a quick review.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, sleep is the holy grail of parenting. Adequate, quality sleep is essential for children’s growth and development. Poor or insufficient sleep can contribute to a host of child health problems. And, we all know how the mood of a household can plummet when kids (and therefore parents) aren’t sleeping well. But, achieving adequate sleep for all family members is, at times, a daunting and difficult task. In honor of National Sleep Awareness Week, I thought it would be a good time to provide a sleep syllabus of sorts. So, here it is- a list of resources for tired parents facing sleep difficulties. I hope you will find it useful. Continue reading
There was much buzz in the media last week about a recent Wall Street Journal article suggesting that more physicians are “firing” families who refuse to vaccinate their children. The article cites two recent studies that found that a range of 21-30% of physicians admit to this practice, versus 6% in a 2001 study. While this is still a minority of physicians, it seems to be a growing minority. Continue reading
As directed by new guidelines from the Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents, my clinic recently started checking a non-fasting lipid panel for all ten year olds. The other day a father asked me a question I had sort of been asking myself for a few months now. Is it really necessary?
It is still a difficult question for me to answer, and it appears I am not alone. Since the release of the guidelines, the reaction has been mixed. Here’s a quick review of the arguments for and against checking cholesterol for all kids. Continue reading
Kindness begets kindness evermore -Sophocles
One need only catch a glimpse of a political ad for the current presidential campaign to get a taste of vitriol. Change the channel and you might hear a reality TV show contestant viciously gossiping about a cast mate. Have we always been this snarky and cruel to each other? Have we always been taken in by this type of entertainment? Watching, rubberneckers at the scene. Or, rather, has there been an insidious decline in our treatment of each other? Surrounded by meanness, we take it all in. We become part of it. Suddenly, a snide comment at work sounds normal. Aggressive driving is commonplace. An adult bullies a child at the playground and those overhearing barely flinch.
All the while, the kids are watching. And, I can’t help thinking, what are we teaching them? How will they treat each other? Continue reading
My Two Hats 