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  • Edwin Ortega, APRN

    Edwin Ortega is an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) with the Endocrinology and Diabetes Center at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. He has cared for young patients in Central Florida since 2012, and his expertise includes:

  • Marla A Robbins, MD

    Dr.Marla Robbins is a board certified pediatrician who has practiced pediatrics in the Dr. Phillips area of Orlando since 1986. She completed her medical school education and residency training in the New York City area. After starting a pediatric primary care office which expanded to a multi-provider group she decided to “get back to basics” and opened Personal Pediatrics in the community which she loves.

    “We strive to be respectful and make all our families feel welcomed in the office and appreciate the confidence we have been given to care for their loved ones.” “The greatest compliment I can be given is a referral of a new family by an existing patient family or seeing a second generation newborn.”

    Dr. Robbins is a member and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as the Central Florida Pediatric Society. She has been named one of The Top and Best Doctors in Orlando multiple times by Orlando Magazine.

    Dr. Robbins is fluent in Spanish She is the mother of three daughters and grandmother to four grandchildren In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, working to stay fit and spending time at Publix.

  • Justin A. Mullner, MD

    Justin Mullner, MD, is a board-certified primary care sports medicine physician with the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute. Caring for adult and pediatric patients, he advises athletes and others with physically active lifestyles about optimum ways of recovering from injury, preventing injuries, and improving performance within the context of their overall health and wellness. For those who experience injury, he provides the most up-to-date and effective treatments.

  • Sean Singh, PA-C

    Sean Singh is a certified physician assistant (PA-C) with the Orlando Health Children's Neuroscience Institute. He cares for pediatric neurosurgery patients, and his specialties include:

  • Stefanie Westring, DPT

    Stefanie Westring, DPT, PT, is a physical therapist with the Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Pediatric Rehabilitation Program. She works with a broad range of pediatric conditions from neurodevelopmental to orthopedic impairments in children from birth to 21 years old. While she is trained to work with a variety of diagnoses, she specializes in pediatric headaches and cervical spine dysfunction.

  • Tips from a pediatrician on how to have a successful school year

    Another school year has already started. Does your child gladly go to bed on time and jump up refreshed at 0-dark-thirty to pop into school clothes and get to school energized? Or are you fighting to get him to bed, dragging him out in the morning, getting him to the bus with no food in his tummy? If the second scenario is yours, I think I can help you. Even if you relate best to the first scenario, maybe there is something here for you, too!

    Sleep is more important than food!

    I tell my patients, and this is true, that you can go without food longer than you can go without sleep. Sleep supports so many body functions that without enough sleep, your child will not learn, play, or grow well. For starters, get the electronics (TV, phones, games) out of children’s bedrooms. Those should be used socially anyway, and they interfere with both falling asleep and staying asleep. Bedtime should be about the same time every night, even on weekends, and should be early enough to guarantee at least eight hours or so of uninterrupted sleep (up to ten hours for younger children). If your child’s summer bedtime has been ridiculously late, try moving bedtime up by 15 minutes or so every few nights, not allowing for naps or “sleeping in,” so that her clock will gradually reset to a healthy schedule.

    But food is important, too!

    Breakfast is, indeed, the most important meal of the day. Without breakfast, your child’s body will produce calories for the morning by breaking down muscle to release stored energy. This process also produces some chemicals that make your child crabby and groggy. Children who don’t eat breakfast don’t feel or think as well as those who do. That does not mean that your child needs to eat two eggs, bacon, toast, and juice at 6 AM. But it also does not mean that they should have a pop tart and call that breakfast. Even the grumpiest teenager can gag down an instant breakfast drink and a half a banana, or a smoothie made with fruit and yogurt, or a piece of toast with peanut butter and half an apple. A perfect breakfast should include a complex carbohydrate (like whole grain bread or cereal for example), some dairy source for calcium (milk, yogurt), some protein (meat, milk, legume like peanut butter), and a fruit and/or vegetable. A small glass of milk with half a turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato is a great breakfast, and you could send the other half sandwich for lunch! If your child “is not hungry,” that makes sense, but it does not mean he does not need the fuel. He can eat on the bus or in the car.

    Refill the tank mid-day

    A slice of pizza, juice, and a bag of chips is not a good lunch. If your child buys lunch at school, he can be taught to eat smart; school lunches do provide fruit and vegetable choices. Drinks are healthier now, too; most children (including teens) should only drink milk and water. Everything else (juice, soda, sports drinks) is just sugar-water. Energy drinks are not only empty calories, but also potentially toxic chemicals that interfere with sleep, affect heart rate and blood pressure, and who knows what long term effects that we don’t know yet. Packing a lunch for your child is a great option. I have done it now essentially every day for 17 years. It takes me 15 minutes each morning and my kids leave with a healthy sandwich or hummus and pita, a whole fruit, a bag of berries or grapes, another bag of veggies (carrots, peppers, sliced cucumber, grape tomatoes), one treat (like a 100 calorie bag of cookies or crackers) and a flavored water beverage. When my older children were in high school they actually had friends ask if they could send me money each week so I could make them lunches, too! Children are smart people. If you teach them well, they will get it!

    Spend quality time, but don’t hover

    Your child needs you, but, honestly, not as much as you need her. Asking about school, offering to help with homework or personal issues, helping to set goals to do her best: that is your job. Living her life is not. Helicopter parents are harmful, not helpful. That said, help your child to set up a routine after school so that there is a quiet place to focus on homework, time for physical activity (at least an hour each day), very limited passive “screen time” (less than two hours a day). Be available if she needs help. A family dinnertime, even if it is late, is a great time to talk about the day, to listen and to plan. Organizing in the morning should be your child’s job. You can double check for a while that things are all being completed, packed and turned it, but let it be her job.

    Expect issues

    Listen to your child so that you can help him with what he really needs help with and not with what you want to help with. Don’t be afraid to be MOM (Mean Old Mom), setting limits or making rules that “other kids parents don’t…” Seek help, either from your pediatrician or from a counselor, if you don’t know what to do or say. They don’t come with instructions! Most important, be open and honest with your children. Ask them how they feel and tell them how you feel. You are not your child’s best friend, but you are her best ally. Have a happy and successful year!

  • 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 to help your children become smarter and more successful

    Before talking about the how-tos, let me ask you these two questions:

  • The real problem with hunger all around us

    When we think of the word hunger, we imagine children who are thin and starving or of the feeling in our stomachs right before we have a meal. You might be shocked to learn, however, that one out of every seven Americans suffers from food insecurity. They do not know when they will have their next meal or where it will come from- some may even go to sleep without a warm meal.

  • Could your child benefit from the use of a wheelchair?

    Will using a wheelchair discourage your child from walking? Find out what a pediatric occupational therapist has to say.