Claire McCarthy, MD

Enterovirus 68: Why you shouldn’t panic

Conditions

October 19, 2014

With all the news about enterovirus 68 sending hundreds of children to hospitals, it’s easy to panic when you hear about a case in your neighborhood — or, even worse, if your child starts coughing.

But please, don’t panic.

This virus has certainly caused trouble and tragedy. But enteroviruses are incredibly common, causing 10-15 million illnesses a year — and usually, those illnesses are minor. This one, for reasons we don’t fully understand, is …

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Enterovirus 68: Why you shouldn’t panic

7 common reasons for refusing vaccines

Claire McCarthy, MD

Meds

October 3, 2014

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that between January 1 and May 23 of this year, there were 288 cases of measles reported in the US. That’s more than the total number of cases in any year since 2000, when measles was eliminated in the U.S..

We have got to get more people immunized.

Essentially all of the cases were linked to “importations,” cases brought in from other countries …

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7 common reasons for refusing vaccines

The vaccination decision isn’t a purely personal one

Claire McCarthy, MD

Meds

September 6, 2014

These days, we hear a lot about the risks of vaccines. As a pediatrician, I talk to many parents who are very frightened about those risks — and some choose not to vaccinate because of their fear.

Some of the risks we hear about are real, but some of them aren’t.

I absolutely support the right of every parent to make what they feel is the best decision for their child. The …

Being a good parent means being unpopular sometimes

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

August 20, 2014

I see it again and again in my practice: parents who seem to have forgotten that they are in charge.

“You can say no,” I find myself saying to family after family. Which is kind of an amazing thing to have to say, if you think about it. You’d think that parents would know that they can say no when their child asks for yet another toy, to watch more television, …

Kids in the summer: There’s more to it than academic progress

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

July 15, 2014

I flunk as a parent. I have no plans for my youngest kids this summer.

The older ones are working. But the 13-year-old and 8-year-old, the ones at the formative stages of their academic and skill development (if you believe what everyone says), are doing squat. No camp. No enriching activities. No special trips. Well, we do rent a house at the beach for two weeks every summer, that’s something, but …

I so wish I could say: Daddy, thank you so much for the stories.

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

June 13, 2014

When my sister and I were little, we had an almost daily ritual with my father: drawing stories.

He would sit us on his lap and get out his clipboard, a piece of paper and his black click pen. He’d divide the paper into four parts, and draw as he told a story. Sometimes he drew old favorites and we knew what …

Let’s do something about teen stress

Claire McCarthy, MD

Conditions

March 10, 2014

Adults are the ones who are supposed to be stressed, not kids. Childhood is supposed to be the stress-free part of life, right?

Well, maybe not. At least not for teens.

According to a recently released survey from the American Psychological Association, teens are actually more stressed than their parents.

Researchers surveyed 1950 adults and 1,018 teens last summer and asked them a whole bunch of questions about the stress in their lives, and how …

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Let’s do something about teen stress

What to do if your doctor isn’t polite

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

February 20, 2014

Here’s a question I’m almost afraid to ask: when you go to a doctor (not one you see all the time), does the doctor usually introduce himself (or herself) and explain what they are there to do?

And, do they sit down?

I really hope that you are answering yes … but I know that the answer is often no.

In a study recently published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, researchers observed 29 …

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What to do if your doctor isn’t polite

6 tips for talking to your kids about sex

Claire McCarthy, MD

Conditions

February 7, 2014

When it comes to the parts of parenthood that people dread, well, there’s so much to choose from. There are poopy diapers. Vomit. Tantrums. Nasty teenagers. But all of that pales in comparison with … The Talk.

The talk about sex, that is.

Nobody wants to talk to their kids about sex. Nobody wants to think about their kids having sex — the same way nobody likes to think about their parents …

Sometimes being a good parent means doing less, not more

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

January 23, 2014

For many of my out-of-school hours as a child, no adult had any idea what I was doing.

This has everything to do with who I am today, in some remarkably good ways.

As a parent, I can’t help but wince at the lack of supervision I received, especially given what my friends and I did. We spent hours in really tall fir trees, pretending they were houses. I lived on Long …

3 digital resolutions for 2014

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

January 10, 2014

I love digital media. I love my iPhone and my iPad. And as much as I admire those who go on digital vacations, I’m not going to do so anytime soon. But I had two moments recently that made me realize that we all need to take a closer look at our digital habits.

The first was when I was leaving work one evening. As I waited at the crosswalk outside …

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3 digital resolutions for 2014

After Sandy Hook: Let’s not let these children die in vain

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

December 30, 2013

I still can’t think about the Sandy Hook shooting without starting to cry.

It hit me really hard, because when it happened, I had a first-grader whose classroom was right off the main lobby of his public elementary school. If a shooter like Adam Lanza ever stormed into his school, Liam wouldn’t have a chance.

I can’t imagine life without Liam. If he were to die, I can’t imagine how I would …

Technology and baby monitors: Why this pediatrician worries

Claire McCarthy, MD

Tech

December 11, 2013

withings smart baby monitor hero IIHIH

It’s scary being a parent, especially a first-time parent. I mean, talk about the responsibility: an actual human being is relying on you for survival. And basically, you have no idea what you are doing. Sometimes, it seems amazing that our species has made it this far.

So why not turn to technology? Why not wire your …

Going the extra mile for patients: How friendly is too friendly?

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

November 22, 2013

Recently, a family in my practice decided to move out of state, back to where they had lived before. When we said goodbye, the mother said that she was sad to change pediatricians. The pediatrician they would be returning to, she said, “only takes care of strictly medical things.”

Clearly, she meant that I take care of more than the strictly medical things. I was flattered, especially since this was something …

What to say when your child asks for an allowance

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

October 30, 2013

The other day, my 8-year-old son asked if he could have an allowance. I told him no.

I don’t think Liam needs one, and I don’t really want him to have one yet. But there are plenty of parents who do give their 8-year-olds an allowance. When I Googled “allowance in kids,” I found various sites advocating starting in kindergarten. They argued that it helps them learn about money, and starts …

Getting the flu shot isn’t about you

Claire McCarthy, MD

Meds

October 17, 2013

Flu season has begun, which means that it’s flu shot time.

I see lots of different responses when I talk to families at our clinic about the flu shot. Some are happy to get it. Others are unsure, worried about side effects. Others plain old refuse.

Plain old refusal isn’t an option for me — as a doctor and an employee of Boston Children’s. I need to get it — and I …

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Getting the flu shot isn’t about you

Are parents active parts of a national drug epidemic?

Claire McCarthy, MD

Meds

September 12, 2013

When you reach for ibuprofen for your sore back or a pill to help you sleep, are you sending a bad message to your kid?

Yes, says Bryant Gumbel in his video commentary about the drug charges against ball player Alex Rodriguez. While he thinks that Rodriguez should be punished for being a liar and a cheat, he doesn’t think that people should be shocked by the fact that Rodriguez was …

Why online dating is a bad idea for teens

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

August 29, 2013

Online dating is a bad idea for teens — especially young teens.

That’s why it wasn’t particularly responsible of Seventeen Magazine to publish a blog in which “dating blogger” Isabelle Furth floated the idea of using sites like Match.com to find dates. To be fair, she had concerns about the idea, and she’s in college, so theoretically old enough to make these decisions. But college kids don’t read Seventeen. Middle school …

Parenting and families: Are we focusing on the wrong debate?

Claire McCarthy, MD

Physician

August 12, 2013

We have got to stop talking about stay-at-home vs. working mothers as if it were some sort of debate, as if it were the central issue of parenting and families. It’s not.

I am really annoyed by an installment in The Debate, a blog on Huffington Post in which Lisa Heffernan says that she regrets being a stay-at-home mom. She laments her loss of income (which she clearly didn’t need), and that …

Let’s stop worrying about what we call obesity

Claire McCarthy, MD

Conditions

July 30, 2013

Should we call obesity a disease—or a condition?

This is a question that has become really controversial. This week, the Council on Science and Public Health of the American Medical Association (AMA) put out a report saying that obesity shouldn’t be classified as a disease. The next day, the AMA’s House of Delegates disagreed, saying it should be.

You know what I think? I don’t care.

It’s not that I don’t care about obesity. I passionately …