Keeping Kids Safe: Common (and Not So Common) Choking Hazards

Keeping kids safe is top on the minds of most parents, but sometimes hazards are just not that obvious.  Introducing foods to infants and toddlers can be great fun, but it also brings opportunities for danger.  A little knowledge about how to avoid choking can go a long way in avoiding serious emergencies.

I wrote in a previous post about using pixie stix to get kids to take their medicine.  I am going to co-opt this old favorite treat for our lesson about choking hazards.  What does a powdered candy have to do with choking hazards, you might ask?

Ear Hygiene 101: Cleaning Your Kids Ears–Are Q-Tips Safe?

A friend once told me with great disdain, while watching me wiggle a cotton swab deep in my ear canal with great satisfaction, “I never use Q-tips to clean out my ears.” Apparently a doctor once told him never to put anything smaller than his elbow into his ear, and he took these words as gospel. 

Do you ever have the feeling when someone tells you some great truth, a law of the universe that you’ve been breaking for years in ignorance, that it’s remarkable that you have survived this long, having missed out on some basic manual on life along the way? I often wonder if the parents in my practice feel this way as I spout my wisdom on general health issues, and they look chagrined at having broken the rules with their child. The good news is, it’s hard to break your child. Especially with things like the management of ear wax.

So what are the rules of proper ear hygiene? Though I think that my friend’s doctor was a bit dramatic, I do agree that for the most part, cotton swabs do more harm than good for children’s ears.

Is Milk Harmful During an Illness?

As the ad jingle goes, milk it does a body good.  But many parents ask me if they should stop giving their sick child cow’s milk.  Myth or truism?  Here’s the lowdown.

Snotfest:  
It is true that milk may increase the thickness of mucous during a cold or other respiratory infection.  It will not, however, worsen or prolong the illness itself.  Avoiding dairy products during a respiratory illness may make your icky-feeling kid feel slightly less icky.  But during any illness it is crucial that children drink plenty of fluids to stay well hydrated.  If milk is the only thing your little one will drink during an illness, then give him milk!

When Will My Child Walk? Tips on Childhood Motor Development

Rolling over, sitting, and walking are all important motor milestones in the life of an infant. And the exact timing of reaching these milestones vitally important… to the psyche of parents.

The mother of my four-month-old patient was ecstatic when she rolled over (all by herself!), and then devastated when she seemed uninterested in trying this new found skill again for nearly two months. She would sit by the crib pleading with her daughter: Roll over, honey, you can do it.

Every day in my pediatric practice I hear from parents who are worried about the rate that their child is developing motor skills. Parental worries come from watching friends’ children who are developing at different rates, or are triggered during a review of the prior generation’s baby books that detail how precocious other family members were.

Keeping Fit as Parents: When Can You Use a Jogging Stroller

Many of the active parents in my practice, eager to stay fit in this new phase of their lives, want to know when they can go jogging with their new baby. 

A pediatrician friend of mine recently asked my opinion on the subject.
He also forwarded me an email he got from their pediatrician.

A Spoonful of My Own Medicine

The first time I meet the parents of a newborn, I always give them a little lecture.

In order to be a good parent, I say, you have to take care of yourself first.  You cannot be a good parent (or a good partner, or good at your job) unless you are well rested and practicing excellent self care.

A well rested parent, you ask?  Yeah, right.  But the point remains.

Well, I’m going to take a spoonful of my own medicine and will be on holiday for a month, unplugged.  I will return at the end of June, with renewed vim and vigor.

What is that old saying?  Doctor, heal thyself. 

And so I will.

 

 

Drool Factory: Is My Baby Teething?

When is my baby going to teeth?

Nearly every parent begins to wonder if their four month old child is going to get a tooth *any minute* now.  

Well, don’t hold your breath!

Woo Hoo: Got My First Teeth!

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Top Child Health News of 2008, Continued

Part 2:  Here is my synopsis and opinion on the 2nd half of the top 10 most read online pediatric and adolescent medicine stories of 2008.  The previous post is here.

• When Are Temper Tantrums in Preschool Children Cause for Concern? 
  • Most toddlers and pre-schoolers have the occasional, or even frequent, tantrums but are generally healthy. In some children, however, they can be an early sign of depression or disruptive disorders.  If you have concerns about the frequency or quality of your child’s tantrums, please see your doctor.  
• Vaccines in the News
  • Two new combination vaccines have been approved this year.  The AAP strongly encourages the use of combination vaccines, as it helps assure that children receive their vaccines on schedule.  I think they’re nice because in my quest to prevent life-threatening illnesses, I have to stick fewer needles into children.  The kids seem to agree.

Are Cloth Diapers an Option For Working Parents? Tips From The Experts: Working Moms!

“Why can’t we seem to interest him in the toilet?” the parents of a 26-month-old patient recently said to me, “We were assured that he would be potty trained at least 6 months earlier than kids who wear disposable diapers.” 

Parents choose to swaddle their little ones in cloth rather than disposable diapers for many reasons:  most would like to raise their children with the least environmental impact possible; many worry about rashes or other conditions caused by the chemicals and fragrances in disposable diapers; others have done cost-effectiveness calculations and found that cloth diapers may be more economical for their family; and many are hoping that, yes, cloth diapers would lead to earlier potty training.

Reusable diapers can, however, seem like more effort than disposable.  For families in which both parents work outside the home, however, time is precious, and the potential for added labor in an already stretched family may be just too much.

Here are some tips from working moms (and dads) who are making washable diapers work for them: