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  • How to care for a kid with a cold

    It’s that time of year again. Kids are in school sharing all their germs, and everywhere you look someone’s sneezing, coughing, or has a runny nose. Colds are being passed back and forth and no matter how hard you try, your child gets sick. Maybe it starts out with just a runny nose or a sore throat, then before you know it they are coughing, sneezing, and maybe running a fever. So, what do you do about it?

  • How to get your child into the spirit of giving this holiday season

    With the season of giving approaching rapidly, many families are eagerly gathering their children’s Christmas lists to figure out what they want under the Christmas tree. While this is an exciting time for most children, there are sadly others who worry that what they want will not find its way to their homes and many parents who share the concern that Christmas will not be what their family hoped.

  • How sounds can affect your baby's development

    As a music therapist, my job is to find ways to use music to help patients as they face medical challenges. I work alongside the medical team to help patients meet health-related goals and enhance their wellness, and I tailor specific music interventions to address the physical, emotional, cognitive, and social needs of these patients. I often help patients manage pain and anxiety, create opportunities for creative emotional expression, teach positive coping skills, and help infants reach important developmental milestones.

  • Does teething cause a fever?

    One of the most challenging aspects of caring for young children is simply not knowing if and when something is wrong with them. Infants and toddlers can’t communicate what they’re feeling or what may be bothering them, so it often becomes a guessing game when parents sense something isn’t right. Is my baby sick? Is she teething? Does she have an earache? Is she constipated? We’re constantly looking for clues that may indicate what’s going on. 

  • How to Prepare Your Child for an Outpatient Procedure

    Preparing to bring your child in for an outpatient surgery or procedure at the hospital can often feel more stressful than the event itself. Children don’t typically welcome the prospect of a day at the hospital, no matter how short it may be. Parents often find themselves wondering how best to manage the difficult task of preparing their child mentally and emotionally for a surgery or procedure. Sometimes in order to prevent tears and fears, parents may try to mislead or avoid the conversation with their kids in order to simply get them in the door. Even though it may be tempting to tell your child that they are going elsewhere in order to get them in the car, or tell them that they are going to the hospital but not tell them why, this often causes more upset and challenge in the end. 

  • Help your kids get a healthy breakfast, even when short on time

    The morning alarm sounds as your sleepy teen rolls over and hits the snooze button for the third time, and then dozes off to sleep again. When the I-will-be-late alarm goes off, they are in a rush to shower, brush their teeth, get dressed, grab last night’s homework assignment and then make a beeline for the front door so they won’t be late for school. 

  • Lead poisoning: How the Flint water crisis is bringing an old problem back into view

    You may have seen the ongoing news coverage of the crisis in Flint, Michigan where the city’s water supply has exposed potentially tens of thousands of people to toxic levels of lead. Children are especially vulnerable to lead exposure, and in fact it was a pediatrician, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who was one of the first to publicly call for city and state officials to address water safety concerns after finding high levels of lead in several children. 

  • How to help your overweight child develop healthy habits

    In today’s culture, weight is a very sensitive subject, especially when it comes to children and teens. During this stage, they often suffer from low self-esteem and lack self-confidence due to weight concerns. Approaching weight issues with them can be a difficult task, which deserves special attention.

  • How becoming a mother has helped me become a better Child Life Specialist

    No one can fully prepare you for how much becoming a mother changes you. The worries, fears, and joy all seem to multiply when a bouncing baby enters your life. As a Child Life Specialist, I thought I was prepared to combine motherhood and professional practice. As it turns out, I learned a lot, and I still have plenty more to go!  Motherhood has changed the way I view parents and families who have to experience the hospitalization of their babies- and I include kids of ALL ages! I know that no matter how old they are, they are always our babies- whether they like it or not!

  • Falling furniture or TVs can cause serious injuries to children

    Did you know that every 24 minutes a child in the United States is injured after a television or piece of furniture has fallen on them?