All Search Results
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Ways to keep your baby safe from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
As a physician, it is always hard to explain to new parents that their perfectly healthy newborn could potentially go to sleep and not wake up, and no one can explain why. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as SIDS, is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby younger than 1 year old. It is sometimes referred to as “crib death” because it often occurs during sleep. SIDS is particularly scary because it has no symptoms or warning signs and typically, babies who die of SIDS are perfectly healthy before being put to bed. It is still unclear exactly what causes SIDS and although there is no way to 100% prevent it from happening, there are some things you can do as a parent to help keep your baby safe.
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Keeping Your Kids Safe From Fireworks Injuries
Kids and fireworks have long been a dangerous combination, but now parents have even more reason to be concerned. Studies show a dramatic increase in the number of children seriously injured by these holiday pyrotechnics.
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Learn How You Can Keep a Child From Dying in a Hot Car
One of the greatest threats to your child’s health may be sitting in your driveway, and a life-threatening accident can occur in the blink of an eye. It’s not something we want to think about, but as parents we must think about the risk in order to prevent it from happening in our families.
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How to Create a Healthy Salad for Your Family
Throughout the school year, I teach an interactive nutrition class to a group of middle and high school students. The focus is on introducing new foods and adding a healthy touch to some of their favorite meals or snacks. While talking to the kids, I was surprised to find how many of them love salads. But many of their favorite toppings are high in fat, high in calories and lack color. What they needed was a little education and taste testing to help them understand that not all salads are created equal. Fortunately, they were very eager to learn how to make their salads more nutritious without sacrificing flavor.
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6 Tips for Potty-Training
When you get ready to potty-train your little one, you may wonder about the “right” way to do it. The truth is, there isn’t only one “right” way. Potty-training is a learning process for both you and your child, and it takes time, effort and commitment. Some books or parenting gurus may promise you a step-by-step program for guaranteed success, but there is no easy or fool-proof way to do it. There will be accidents. It will take time, and that’s okay.
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How to Prepare for a Hurricane When You Have a Child With a Chronic Illness
Hurricane Irma’s visit to Central Florida last year reminded us of the many ways tropical storms and hurricanes can wreak havoc on our everyday lives. These weather events become especially critical when there’s a family member with serious medical needs.
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Is Sunscreen Safe for Babies?
Few things can bring a smile to your face as quickly as a baby in a bathing suit. With chunky leg rolls exposed and a huge summertime grin on their faces, babies lounging at the beach or the pool are just the cutest. But as you dress your little ones in their beachwear, you may wonder whether you should slather on sunscreen before going out in the sun.
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Newborn Sleep Safety: Preventing SIDS
One of the most frequent concerns of new parents is getting their baby to sleep. And when it comes to this topic, there is no shortage of advice offered by family members, products to buy to make sleep easier, and advertisements to convince you of your need for these things.
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What to Know About Sickle Cell Disease
Sickle cell disease is the name of an inherited problem with red blood cells. Most people have red blood cells that are disc-shaped and move easily through blood vessels, but those with sickle cell have red blood cells that are C-shaped (like the farm tool called a sickle). The unusual shape of red blood cells, as well as their tendency to harden and become sticky as they travel through blood vessels, causes a variety of problems.
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Retired at 12: When competitive sports become too much
Eight years ago when my son was in pre-kindergarten, we received a flyer from the moms of two classmates. A local sports association was signing kids up to play soccer (starting at age four), and these moms wanted to create a team. This was an opportunity for fun and learning, the sort of activity we had been looking for. Our son, an introverted only child, had shown interest in playing soccer so we jumped at the opportunity to increase his little social life and get some exercise. It helped that Dad had almost twenty years of experience playing soccer himself and was willing to coach our son and the nine other preschoolers who were signed up to play.
