by Stefanie Zucker and Dr Kim
Flu Season has arrived and there is nothing worse than a sick child
Part I: On Tuesday October 6th, the very first doses of swine flu vaccine started to arrive in doctor's offices around the United States. These doses however will arrive in extremely limited quantities and initially are targeted for those considered to be "in high risk". Soon however, as supply becomes more readily available, there will be some very important decisions to be made by every individual - and more important to us here at Pediatric Safety - by every parent. Not surprising, there are some difficult questions that need to be answered for each parent to feel comfortable making these decisions. That's what our goal is…over the course of this post and the one following. There's an incredible amount of information out there about the swine flu…along with a lot of mixed messages. What we hope to do is pull together some of the best, most reliable information currently available from some of our best sources and provide you with some "real world" answers to some very important questions. AND THEN…we will let you make your own decision about what's right for you and your child. So to start us off…a little background…
What exactly is the "swine flu" and how is it different from the regular or "seasonal" flu?
CDC: Swine flu is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new flu was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. It was originally referred to as "swine flu" because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes were very similar to flu viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America (note: that theory didn't actually pan out - but the name stuck). READ More on Swine Flu for Parents: Real World Answers
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Filed under Health by More4kids
by Jennifer Shakeel
Doctor Examining Baby
Each and every new parent's worst nightmare is not being able to tell when they should call the doctor. You don't want to be the hypochondriac parent who calls the doctor or rushes to the ER for every sneeze, but you also don't want to be the parent that should've called the doctor when your child wouldn't stop crying.
Unfortunately children do not come with instruction manuals. Raising kids is really a trial and error process. You try what you think will work based on your past experiences… or based on what you have seen other parents do or not do. While I cannot tell you the best way to raise your child, or how to avoid the many pitfalls of childrearing (because that would take away all of the fun of parenting)… what I can do is atleast help you know when you need to call the doctor.
First, as a parent and a nurse, my motto is that it is always better to be safe than sorry. But if your little munchkin starts to experience any of the following, pick up the phone and call your pediatrician: READ More on When Do I Call the Doctor?
Filed under Health by More4kids
Healthy Eating by Example
by Jennifer Shakeel
The best way to do that is by setting a good example. There is the old adage, "Do as I say, not as I do…" but our children like to emulate us. Whether we want to admit it or not, they are more likely to do what they see us doing then they are to do what we tell them to do. With school starting and the current debate going on about health care… now is the time for all of us to step back and re-educate ourselves and our children on healthy eating.
Nutritionists have stated that in order for a child to try a new food they need to see it four or five times, possibly even 10 times. This means that just because the avoided the broccoli at dinner tonight, doesn't mean that in a week or two they won't try it if you keep showing it to them at meals. This also means that you shouldn't take the first, "bluck!" as an "I will never eat this again." You can also try making a rule, similar to what we have in our home, and that is called the "No Thank You Bite." READ More on Teaching Our Kids Healthy Eating Habits
by Jennifer Shakeel
Does Your Toddler have ADHD?
The first thing I want to address here is that no one will test your child when they are a toddler for ADHD. The reasoning… whether I agree with it or not, is that the testing that is done to diagnosis children with ADHD would not be accurate if done on children at that age. This doesn't mean that you, the parent, can't figure it out on your own. The first thing I want you to do if you are worried that your toddler may have ADHD is read another post I did on what ADHD, called Is ADHD Genetic.
Now, you need to know this. There are certain behavioral traits that if you pay attention to your child, you will pick up that will tell you that your child may have ADHD. I say may because there is a chance that what you are seeing is simply part of the growing process for your child. So you really are going to need to know your child, what is normal for them, what is normal in general at their age and what seems… obsessive to you.
From my personal experience, I can look back and tell you the fact that my 3 year old was anal about the way his toys were put away was a sign of ADHD. I would help him clean his room, put the toys in the toy box and his books on shelves… he would then go through all the toys in the toy box, take out each car and truck that he had and line them up against the wall around his room bumper to bumper… by size and type. That is not normal 3 year old behavior, and while it was normal for my son to do that… at 3 it was an early sign of ADHD. READ More on Toddlers: How Do You Know Your Child has ADHD?
Filed under ADHD by More4kids
