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  • Hearing the “A” word: autism

  • Concerned about your baby spitting up?

    Babies spit up. In fact, almost two-thirds of healthy babies spit up, and despite the inconvenience of a foul-smelling milk stain on your clean shirt, there is often nothing to worry about.

  • A handwritten note: a small gesture that speaks volumes

    Last night, as it became clear that bedtime was just around the corner, my daughter started to cry. At three and a half, it is her life’s mission to negotiate or manipulate her way out of naptime and bedtime. Every day. Every night. It is exhausting.

  • How to ensure safe screen time during the summer.

    Summer is here, which means rising temperatures outside, endless hours swimming in a pool and family barbeques. It also means that kids will have more time than ever to surf the web, play games on the family tablet, or watch their favorite show. However, just because kids have more time available to sit in front of a screen, doesn’t mean they should. The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages screen time for kids under the age of 2, and recommends limiting screen time to no more than two hours a day of “” for older kids.

  • How you can use toys to develop your child’s language skills

    Written by Faye Stillman, MS, CCC-SLP/ATP and Carla Hall, MA, CCC-SLP, Speech/Language Pathologists from the Outpatient Rehabilitation Department at Arnold Palmer Hospital.

  • Children and CT Scans

    In June 2013, an article was published in JAMA Pediatrics that discussed the use of CT scans in children, and the risk of developing cancer in the future. A CT scan can be a very useful tool for a physician to use to either make, or confirm, a diagnosis if your child is having a medical problem. It is important for families to understand that a CT scan uses radiation, and we know that exposure to radiation is linked to cancer.

    The Study: The link between CT scans and cancer

    The information from the JAMA Pediatrics study describes the overall increase of use in CT scans in children over the past 20 years. The number of pediatric CT scans increased until about 2006, and then began to decline. The amount of radiation in a CT scan can be 100 to 500 times greater than a plain x-ray. Children are very sensitive to exposure to radiation that can cause future cancer because of their young age, and because they have many more years of growth and development ahead of them.

  • Decoding the new sunscreen labels.

    As you stock up on sunscreen for the summer, have you noticed that the sunscreen bottles look a little different this year? That’s because starting this year, the FDA requires that companies be transparent about what’s actually in the bottle, and what kind of protection the sunscreen provides. And as skin cancer remains the most common cancer in the U.S., this new, clear-cut labeling will help consumers make more informed choices that will help better protect themselves against potential sun damage.

    The old vs. the new

    So, what’s the difference between the previous sunscreen requirements and the new, updated requirements? The old sunscreen rules focused almost entirely on sunburn prevention, which is primarily caused by ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation from the sun. However, these rules overlooked the importance of providing protection against ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation, which contributes to skin cancer and early skin aging. After reviewing the scientific testing abilities of sunscreens, the FDA concluded that it was important to establish a “broad spectrum” test – a test that would show that the product provides UVA protection that is proportional to it’s UVB protection. This new test would allow for an even greater opportunity to protect individuals from sunburn and sun damage.

    What exactly should I be looking for on the new labels?

    It’s often easy to overlook the details on product packaging, as long as the packaging looks appealing to the eye. However, there are a few details you should take note of when purchasing a new bottle of sunscreen.

  • Getting her tonsils and adenoids removed

    My daughter, Hannah, is a typical 10-year-old girl. She loves spending time with her friends and family, doing gymnastics, reading, being silly and taking self-photos. She’s a girl who’s always on the go, except when she is not feeling well. Hannah’s tonsils have always been enlarged, and when Hannah is sick, she almost always has strep throat. Hopefully, fighting bouts of strep throat will be history, now that she’s had her tonsils removed.

  • Got Breast Milk? Wanna share?

    We’ve heard doctors say it over and over again: “Breast is Best!” for babies. A mother’s breast milk provides the most complete nutritional support for growing infants. And yet, as many new mothers are painfully aware, that’s a lot of pressure. Sometimes we make a choice whether we prefer to breastfeed or not, and sometimes that decision is made for us.

  • Talking to your teen about drug and alcohol abuse.

    It’s very sad when we lose a promising young life, and even sadder when the life is lost because of the young person’s own actions. Cory Monteith, who played the character “Finn” on the wildly popular television show Glee, died of an apparent overdose of heroin and alcohol over the weekend. Monteith had reportedly been open about his struggles with alcohol and other drugs, and had recently received treatment. News reports after his death said that he had been doing well since treatment, and was staying away from the substances that bedeviled him. And yet it appears that somehow, things fell apart for him.