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Is CrossFit safe for kids?

CrossFit has become a wildly popular fitness trend among adults over the past few years, and now CrossFit is targeting kids, too. But some parents can’t help but wonder, “Is CrossFit safe for my child?” We sat down with Dr. Davis, sports medicine physician at Arnold Palmer Hospital, to ask her expert opinion on the appropriate types of physical activity for kids, and if CrossFit is safe for their growing bodies.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently announced that it’s safe for kids to start a light weightlifting routine after age 8. Can you explain this decision?

Having “the talk” with our son.

The other day, my 7-year-old informed my husband and I that he knew what sex meant. As a mental health counselor at Teen Xpress, I talk to young people every day about sex. However, when my own son told me that he knew what “IT” was, I just about fell to the floor! We stayed calm and tried not to look worked up. My husband casually asked, “So, what is it?” My son got a little shy and said, “I can’t really remember, but it’s something a man and woman do.”

Redefining "spina bifida" through the lens of a camera, one photo at a time

Written by Amanda Kern

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

As a pediatrician, one of the most common questions I am asked this time of year is what I think about the seasonal flu vaccine.

A safe start to swimming

As the mother of a toddler, I sometimes feel as if my day is spent preventing one accident after the next. Is she standing too close to the stove while I cook? Can she reach the cord where she might pull the iron down on her? Did I close the front door behind me? Is she splashing in the toilet? What in the world did she put in her mouth!?!

An extra dose of hope

Most people never think about hospitals. I’ll admit that I never paid much attention either until I started working here several years ago. Very quickly, I began to realize what a special place Arnold Palmer Hospital truly is. Seeing all of the children who come here for treatment brings two emotions to the surface. The first is uncertainty because I can’t imagine my daughter getting sick. I get scared when I think about her tiny little body having to fight off serious illness or undergoing surgery.

Helping teens make the leap into adulthood

Yesterday, I met an 18-year-old young man who was coming in for his yearly physical for the first time. He had previously been followed by a general pediatrician, but he felt it was time to move out of the pediatric care setting into a health home that specializes in caring for adolescents and young adults. “Why?” I asked. To this he responded, "Because I felt it was time. I am not a child anymore."

Katie Karp is a cancer survivor.

Katie Karp remembers the day when she was diagnosed with cancer very well. The diagnosis of osteosarcoma in her left leg was unexpected and quite a blow, but Katie was not going to let cancer win. She's a fighter. Through dozens of chemotherapy treatments and surgery that resulted in 11" of her thigh bone being removed, Katie persevered. Watch her amazing story and how she's used her experience with cancer to help children currently going through their own battle.

Giving thanks and giving back

Haley Kestory understands what it means to be truly thankful.

Learning to focus on what's important: navigating a digital world

Sometimes parenting feels like a tightrope walk. Lean a little too much this way or that and you risk a long fall that ends with a painful thud. It feels like the only way to produce a physically, emotionally and developmentally healthy child is to walk an impossibly narrow line. And often, we as parents aren’t quite sure which line is the right line to walk in the first place.