She spends hours with them. Literally hours. And, apparently she is not alone.
Lego Friends have captured the heart of my daughter, as well as thousands of other school-aged girls across the country. In fact, the Lego Friends series has been a financial boom to the Lego corporation in just a few months.
The Friends series is essentially pastel colored building sets, ultimately creating items …
Do Lego Friends promote stereotypic gender roles?
In many of our local supermarkets, there is a section of organic produce in addition to produce that is traditionally farmed. For those of us selecting and preparing food for our families, we often wonder what items, if any, we should purchase with the organic label.
When I shop, I typically choose traditionally farmed foods for my family’s meals. There are certain items …
There is little nutritional advantage to organic food
I visited with 5 charming teenagers last week. Four of them had something in common: These teenagers are texting in the middle of the night, nearly every night.
Texting in the middle of the night is not a new phenomenon. Over 2 years ago, reports on teenagers texting at night began to surface. One study concluded the average teenager sends 34 texts after lights out. Simply based on the conversations I …
The problem of teens texting throughout the night
During a routine office visit, I was discussing activities and extracurriculars with a bright 10-year old girl. She loved talking about her dance team, gymnastics, and her new hobby of horseback riding.
Towards the end of our conversation, however, she said something that surprised me: “And, I am addicted to Pinterest.”
I turned to her mother, who was also in the exam room, and asked, “Did you know she is on Pinterest? …
4 reasons parents should enforce the age restriction on social media
If you ask for a spoon in my house, you may expect to be directed towards a drawer of neatly nestled stacks of stainless.
Instead, you will likely find this a tangled mess of silver and plastic in no apparent order.
I used to be bothered by a such a disorganized silverware drawer, but that was years ago. I have let go of …
Ask your toddler to do the chores
Gunman. Elementary school. Death toll rising.
The news of Sandy Hook was paralyzing. Anger, sadness, and confusion bubbled into my mouth until I could not speak. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to leave work – to grab my kids – to be home.
As the tragedy of the moment continued to stream across my computer, like a horrific movie script impossibly true, a stinging email from the …
Light will help us to heal from Sandy Hook
Parents worry when their children do not eat vegetables.
And, I understand why.
Parents know that vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet, and get frustrated when they are consistently left on their child’s plate.
The result? Parental “veggie-stress.”
Although veggie-stress begins at the family dinner table, it can be amplified by the rather faddish way parents talk about poor vegetable eaters within playgroups. Conversations among parents can …
Your child hates vegetables: 3 tips from a pediatrician
Soon-to-be parents come to “interview” me almost every day. Typically, they come prepared with a long list of questions for a pediatrician. I answer them as best as I am able.
For parents soon-to-be-expecting sons, I am frequently asked about circumcision.
Most parents are just curious about how the procedure is technically done, when their baby can get the procedure, and …
The decision to have a child circumcised
In a pediatrician’s office, summertime is teen check-up time.
And, I love it.
Annual checkups are a time for me to catch up on the school year, brag about amazing extra-curricular accomplishments, and swoon over summer vacation plans. It is also a time for anticipatory guidance, private conversations, and facing the often sobering reality of teen life.
Throughout this past year, I have had the privilege of being involved in the lives of many …
10 topics to discuss with your teen this summer
Two articles recently caught my eye while I was spending some time on Twitter. First, an op-ed piece was published on Time.com discussing how patients and doctors perceive the use of the online health information. The article was closely followed by the results of a recent PEW research study which stated that 80% of Americans used the internet to “prepare for or recover from” their doctor visit.
The results of …
How to discuss online health information with your physician
I have many, many patients and their families who are very active travelers. Business flights, vacation trips … some of you really rack up the miles.
It is with shock and disappointment that I must report; Delta Air Lines has made a very poor choice.
An ad, produced by the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), is currently being shown to passengers on Delta flights through the month of November. The ad encourages …
Delta Air Lines goes anti-vaccine
Last summer, I joined millions of others in the deluge of social media. I committed one year of effort to see if social would enhance or distract from my pediatric practice.
That was my goal, just one year.
At that time, I wanted to dip my foot in the pool, and see if it made any ripples. The unexpected consequence was how much social media has changed my medical practice, and …
How social media has changed my medical practice
A recent issue of Pediatrics includes a new report detailing the need for doctors to improve patient teaching about fever and fever-reducing drugs.
Many parents fear their child getting a fever or have “fever phobia.” I certainly can understand why. Kids can do crazy things when they get fevers. They don’t sleep well, eat poorly, and behave strangely. Some children …
Fever in children: 5 facts you must know
I am a “Gleek.” I admit it.
A Gleek is a self-described lover of Fox’s show, Glee. The show features a diverse group of teens who are in the school’s show choir. Glee focuses on the lives of these teens, in and out of school, while emphasizing certain storyline elements with entertaining Broadway musical-type performances.
The show itself, however, is not the point of this post. Last week was an unexpected …
Using Glee for teachable moments to teens
I love experimenting with different ways to use technology within my pediatric practice. The iPad has been an amazing device to adapt and use with my families.
Here are 5 different ways I use the iPad with my patients at the point-of-care.
5 ways I use my iPad at pediatric point of care
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