Back

All Search Results

  • ADHD medications: Things you should know as a parent

    Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common conditions among school-aged children, affecting roughly one in 25 kids. Children with this disorder often have trouble controlling their behavior, which can have wide-ranging effects on their home and academic lives.

  • If news headlines have made you feel like a bad parent, you aren’t alone

    You are a bad parent.

  • Reaching new (and more dangerous) heights: Alcohol trends among teens

    Underage drinking has been a prevalent issue among teens for years, resulting in many research studies and attention from the media in an effort to put a stop to this risky behavior. A few years back, health officials and parents alike were most concerned with how much alcohol teens were consuming on a regular basis. Fast-forward to today, and alcohol consumption among teens has been taken to a whole new level. Not only do we need to be concerned with how much teens are drinking, but also the way teens are getting drunk.

  • Are you concerned about bedwetting?

    It makes me sad as a pediatrician to see families who stress over children who wet the bed. This is usually a normal, natural issue that goes away in time, yet it can really hurt children who are treated like it is their fault.

  • Powdered caffeine is risky business: Why parents should be concerned.

    Most of us look for a boost of energy in our morning (or afternoon) cup of coffee or tea. But what if I told you to just skip the regular cup of Joe and sprinkle some caffeine powder on your morning oatmeal or stir it in a fruit smoothie?

  • Blessed with tiny treasures: Carson and Kendall’s story

    Written by Heather Shields

  • 10 reasons to get your kids into the kitchen

    If getting your kids into the kitchen sounds a bit daunting, you aren’t alone. There’s the extra time and the mess and the trouble. It’s easy to think that things might be simpler if we sent our kids off to play while we handled dinner alone. However, we might be overlooking some great opportunities for us and for our kids.

  • Does providing alcohol to our children teach them to drink responsibly?

    It is so hard for parents to know the right ways to help our children stay safe and out of trouble. It seems like everywhere we turn there are more tough influences for us to confront. Electronics invade our children’s sleep time, social time, and study time. Drugs, both illicit and prescription, are readily available. Sexually transmitted diseases are potentially life-changing, if not deadly, and are transmitted at younger ages at increasing rates. The list is long. But one of the big culprits is the same stuff we dealt with as kids- the age-old problem of alcohol. We know the mistakes we made. We know the potential consequences of excessive alcohol intake: automobile accidents, drowning, unintended pregnancies, alcoholism, even death. We want to teach our children to navigate the hazards of this culturally accepted drug so that they end up safe and sound in adulthood.

  • 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?

  • The Thank You Project: A mother finds the people who saved her son's life

    Ten years after a tragic car accident, Kellie wanted to find and say "thank you" to the team of heroes who helped save her son's life. Her hope in sharing her story is that others will be inspired to thank those who have impacted their lives in some way.