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  • Report cards for your child's weight?

    It’s all over news headlines: childhood obesity. It now seems to be an issue that just won’t go away, despite all of the programs and campaigns to help encourage kids and families to become healthier. It’s just so hard with countless fast-food chains, ever-evolving technology that gives kids one more reason not to move from the couch, and school systems that have been resistant to change. However, the school system has been attacked hard, and slowly, schools are now making a greater effort to become healthier. Some schools have even taken it to the next level with what are called, “BMI report cards”.

    What on earth are BMI report cards?

    Let’s first start by defining BMI. Body mass index, or BMI, is the ratio of a person’s height and weight as a way to determine whether that person is overweight or obese. It is often used to help identify those who are at risk for weight-related health problems.

  • Potty-training woes? Sometimes we just need to laugh

    Have you heard about my potty-training woes?

  • What goes on at your dinner table?

    Dinnertime is not what it used to be. It used to be a time for the whole family to sit down around the table and spend an hour of quality time together. It was the one time of the day where everyone could sit down to a nice home-cooked meal and share stories from their day, catch up, and have meaningful conversation that otherwise wouldn’t happen on-the-go. It was the normalcy and the time of the day that parents looked forward to.

  • The Puzzle Theory

    Are puzzles in your toddler’s toy basket? If not, you may want to reconsider. These challenging games are a great tool to keep your child entertained and help stimulate their minds. Unlike a toy truck or baby doll, puzzles are interactive and keep children interested and willing to try and try again until they get the perfect fit.  Now, not saying toy trucks or baby dolls are a bad thing; they’re great! But we all want our babies to grow up to be little Einsteins right? Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves.

  • Time to shape up your plate

    March is National Nutrition Month, sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which makes it a great time to get your family’s plate in shape. We tend to do what we’ve always done when it comes to food. We eat familiar foods, sometimes over and over, and usually consume the same quantity of food.

  • What it means to give back

    Last month, the Holy Family Catholic School hosted their first mother-daughter fundraiser to benefit Arnold Palmer Hospital! It was a special night for young girls to experience what it means to give back to the families in their community. Several families shared emotional stories of their time at Arnold Palmer Hospital. These little girls who are students at the school, have battled diseases that many people will never have to face in their lifetime. They were the inspiration behind this community event. Their strength, courage, and determination to fight set the tone for the evening. You could see the overwhelming joy these families had for Arnold Palmer Hospital and the doctors and nurses who were with them throughout their journey as tears started welling up in their eyes while telling their story. These families wanted to be able to give back to the hospital that had done so much for them, and this was their way to say thank you. It was amazing to see how every mom and daughter rallied around these families throughout the night. Everyone loved on them and made them feel like the stars of the night.

  • Building a stronger community, one family at a time

    Odil Douglas knows what it's like to be overwhelmed. Five years ago, she found herself raising two young children and a newborn, as well as caring for her sick mother in the hospital. Alone, stressed and unsure where to turn for assistance, Odil found an "extended family" in the Healthy Families Orange program at The Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families. An intensive home visitation program based on a national model, Healthy Families Orange prevents child maltreatment in 98% of families served and builds healthy, positive parenting behaviors for new mothers and fathers through education, referrals and resources. Odil credits Healthy Families Orange with helping her make it through the most difficult time of her life, all while teaching her how to be the best mom possible to her three young children.

  • Would you protect a child from abuse?

    Recently, the headlines have been dominated by case after case of sports figures or other leaders of youth-serving organizations being accused of harming children in their care. Often, these stories are made worse by revelations that others had suspicions of abuse or even witnessed it occurring, yet failed to report their concerns to the proper authorities. I bet most of you were like me when you first read or heard about these stories and thought, “I can’t believe these people knew of threats to children and didn’t act to help them,” all the while telling ourselves that if we were in their shoes, we know we would have done the right thing and reported our suspicions.

  • Dwight Howard brings back Deontae’s smile

    Deontae has earned a special nickname here in the hospital. We call him “Dimples” because when he smiles, everyone notices. He is a curious, wide-eyed 10-year-old with a sweet, mischievous grin that seems to be contagious to all of those around him. But his smile hasn’t come easily.

  • Does my child need Antibiotics?

    Does My Child Need Antibiotics?

    About once a month, I will get a phone call from any one of my girlfriends who is looking for a friendly “second opinion” about their child. She tells me that her child hasn’t been feeling well for a few days, and she finally got an appointment to see their pediatrician on short notice. She becomes disappointed because her doctor did not give her a prescription for antibiotics for her child. She is upset because her child “always gets better on antibiotics.” My friend voices her frustration because she feels like her doctor “didn’t do anything.” Then she may ask me to “just prescribe something” for her child. I gently have to tell her no, because it is not right for me to do that since her child is not my patient, and I have not examined her child. I reassure her to trust her pediatrician, and to definitely keep her doctor in the loop if her child’s condition is not improving, or actually worsens over the next day or two.

    What are Antibiotics?

    Antibiotics are medications that can be used to treat bacterial infections. For example, if your child has an ear infection or strep throat, your pediatrician will prescribe an appropriate antibiotic to help treat the infection. Anti-virals are medications that can treat viral infections, such as influenza or herpes simplex. Anti-fungals work against fungal infections, such as ringworm or yeast infections.