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  • Should I give my child probiotics?

    Did you know that your digestive tract contains over 400 different types of bacteria? This complex ecosystem is called intestinal microflora. The concentration of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract increases dramatically moving from the stomach towards the colon. In humans, the intestinal microflora is vital in many important functions including digestion of nutrients and prevention of infection. Disruption of the “normal flora” can lead to many problems including diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain and poor absorption of nutrients.

    What is a probiotic?

    Probiotics are “friendly bacteria” or “good bacteria” similar to those that occur naturally in the digestive tract. A few years ago, the defined “probiotics” as “live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.”

  • Surviving a preschooler’s separation anxiety

    I’ve come to believe that separation anxiety is the straw that breaks the backs of many moms. We can carry our heavy loads through many child-rearing deserts, but we Mom-camels collapse under the pressure of children suffering from separation anxiety. Our children cry as we leave them, and we cry our guilty little hearts out as soon as we are out of our children’s sight. We are left with those lingering questions: Should I leave them? Are they going to be okay? Am I a terrible mother for leaving my child?

  • What we do now may affect our future children’s genetics

    We are all aware that mothers who smoke while they are pregnant run a higher risk of having children who are premature, smaller than they should be, or stillborn. This is likely due to reduced oxygen supply to the baby through mom’s diseased body and to toxins shared by mom with baby. We also know that children who are exposed to second-hand smoke have a higher risk of developing respiratory diseases like asthma, chronic lung disease and even cancer due to direct lung damage from inhaled smoke.

    What you do with your body early in life can affect future generations

    But recent data suggests that a father’s behavior even years prior to conception may affect the health of his children and future generations. For example, early paternal smoking has been associated with increased body mass in children. Paternal alcoholism has been associated with smaller birth weights in babies, and hyperactivity in children. Most recently, smoking even early in life has been found to be associated with an increased risk of certain forms of asthma in a man’s children. A study which was recently presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress looked at 13,000 men and women and found that non-allergic asthma was significantly more common in children whose fathers smoked before the age of 15. In addition, the longer the father smoked, the higher the risk of his child having this kind of asthma. Interestingly, the same link was not found in children whose mothers smoked before they conceived.

  • Are juice cleanses harmful to kids?

    Juice cleanses are widely popular among adults, especially women, as they are strategically marketed as a powerful way to detoxify the body and “reboot” metabolism, as well as provide a “jump start” in weight loss. As these juice products are showing up in more and more family-shared refrigerators, kids are starting to take notice and want to join in on the juice craze, too. Several recent news articles even highlight stories of young juice devotees, ranging in ages from 6 years old to 18 years old. One story even includes a mother-daughter duo that share a love for organic cleanses, who recently when on a five-day cleansing program because dad was out of town (because of course, I don’t think dad would approve!).

  • Does your child struggle with messy handwriting?

    Writing should be about the art of putting down your thoughts on paper. Whether a child is learning to write their name for the first time, draw a picture to share a story, or compose an essay for class, the most important part of any writing is the message itself. Handwriting that is difficult to read distracts and becomes the focus. So what happens when the mechanics of writing become such a struggle that the child is focusing all their energy on how to write rather than the writing itself? Where do parents go for help when their child just can’t seem to write neatly and every attempt ends up with tears? I’ve got a solution.

  • Emotional Eating: Parenting and its effect on our children’s eating behaviors

    I was asked to speak on TV recently about an article entitled “Eating Your Feelings? Your Mom Might Be to Blame.” Of course, for TV, the story had to sound catchy, so the TV host really played up the blaming mother and grandmother aspect. That made me sad; parenting is really a hard job and it is rough to be blamed for errors we make while doing our best. The data, though, really does suggest that how we were parented may affect eating behaviors and those of our children. The issue is important, since at least a quarter of preschool children in the United States are overweight. Obesity at the age of five is a very strong predictor of whether or not someone will be obese as an adult. So how we feed our young children and how we teach them to eat really matters for their whole lives. My take is that this information is not an opportunity to point fingers, but an opportunity to learn and to do better as parents.

    What the study has to say

    The article was based on a study done by researchers at the University of Illinois and published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. It showed that primary caregivers (usually moms) who had an insecure attachment to their own mothers are more likely to have young children with unhealthy eating habits who are overweight or obese. “Insecure attachment” is a term from psychology that has to do with how we feel about parents who don’t respond consistently to our needs. Parents who grew up insecure tend to have more trouble dealing with their own children’s needs, especially when it has to do with negative things like distress, anger, or sadness. That in turn is connected with some unhealthy behaviors surrounding food and eating.

    Real life examples

    The study clearly showed that homes where children’s sadness or anger are dismissed are also homes where there are fewer family mealtimes, more television viewing time, and more “comfort feeding.” These behaviors are known to lead to obesity in even the youngest of children. For example, an overwhelmed mother might respond to a temper tantrum by feeding her toddler snacks to make him stop crying instead of using appropriate parenting techniques to deal with the tantrum. Another example might be the parent who puts her four-year-old in front of the TV to eat dinner instead of having a family mealtime, since the TV keeps the child quiet and makes her sit still longer than sitting at the table for dinner. Sadly, this also leads to overeating in the whole family.

    So, what do we do with this?

    Well, if you have a two-year-old who is already overweight, maybe there is room to work with your parenting behaviors around food. Look at how you respond to your child’s negative behaviors. Do you tell your child, “that’s nothing to be angry about?” Or do you find yourself saying, “don’t be sad?” Instead you could say, “I hear that you are angry” or “you seem to be sad.” It’s hard to do. If you need to, ask your pediatrician for suggestions to deal with (and to help your child to deal with) those negative feelings. Could you tolerate a little tantrum or some tears instead of abandoning the family table for a meal in front of the TV (we call it the brain sucker in my house)? Could you give up feeding your child snack foods or treats to console them when they are angry or sad? Could you let go of the expectation that your small child will sit still to eat and will clean her plate? Could you serve a healthy, well-balanced meal and deal with it if your “picky” toddler gives you a hard time about it or refuses to eat?

  • On Mother's Day, remember the mothers of sick children

    "Motherhood is the hardest job you’ll ever love."

  • When Mother’s Day brings sadness along with joy

    My mom died seven years ago. We were very close. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her about a hundred times. To be honest, I miss her more than words can even express. As a result of this, Mother’s Day is always a strange day for me. I am a mom, but I don’t have a Mom anymore. Year after year, my Mother’s Days are filled with sentimental joy when I read my son’s homemade cards and aches of sorrow when all I want to do is be able to call my own Mom and tell her I love her.

  • A letter to my daughter’s teacher on her first day of school

    I don’t know you and you don’t know me, but today you become one of the most important people in my life. You are the one. The one who I’ve entrusted to take care of my girl in my absence. The one who I’ve tasked with teaching her things that I cannot. The one who will make an indelible mark on her little soul that will forever shape her perspective of learning.

  • Easing your child’s anxiety about the new school year

    “Are you excited about going back to school?”