Pediatricians and the clinicians who care for children writing on KevinMD about child health: childhood illness, development, vaccines and the parents who refuse them, breastfeeding and the pressure around it, childhood obesity, prevention, and the realities of caring for young patients and their families. Most contributors are pediatricians. For a maintained record of what pediatricians have said about children's health since 2004, from fever and sleep through obesity, abuse, teenagers, and Medicaid, see Children's health: what pediatricians say, in their own words. For what physicians have said about vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, from the autism claim through measles, exemptions, and federal policy, see Vaccines: what physicians say, in their own words. For what child psychiatrists and pediatricians have said about children's and teens' mental health, see Mental health: what psychiatrists and physicians say, in their own words. For what pediatricians have said about breastfeeding and postpartum care, see Women's health: what physicians say, in their own words.
Parenthood. It has changed everything.
Snot on my sweater goes unnoticed. Hobbies gather dust in the closet. Kissing away the boo-boos and wiping away tears become daily ritual. Screams, laughter, tantrums, and toys crashing to the floor become the household white noise. All my Facebook status updates are about my kids.
Some people manage to continue their lives with style.
Me? I’m just tired. And I need a haircut. Smartypants would say I need a …
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A family bucket list is a reminder to have fun together
Your baby had a great appetite. Happily ate everything. Tried lots of flavors and foods. Then your baby became a toddler. Suddenly meals feel like a horrible battle.
Sound familiar?
Picky eating is very common, especially in toddlers and pre-schoolers. After the first year of life, a toddler’s appetite decreases quite a bit as the rate of growth slows down. Meanwhile, a toddler grows in independence, expressed by pushing limits, exploring new skills, and forming lots of opinions …
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Tips for feeding your picky eater
Here are some of the most common questions I encounter regarding vaccines and my answers. I’m writing this post, from a parent to a parent, because I want to equip you with accurate information to protect your child.
We give so many vaccines now and it seems like we are constantly adding more. Isn’t this too much for my child’s immune system? Isn’t it antigen overload?
The immune system is very complex, …
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Answers to common vaccine questions
Stop what you’re doing to read this The New England Journal of Medicine perspective by Dr. Doug Diekema. It’s about vaccines, opportunities for health, and physician obligation. Written for physicians, it also speaks loudly to parents and includes a few very essential points. The whole time I read the article, my thoughts kept leaping to our imminent opportunities. Today, in 2012, we can harness the tools of social media …
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We need an app for credible information on vaccines
Does your medical practice allow anybody to post links and comments on your Facebook page?
The short answer is yes. We do. Why? Because we think allowing patient to post links and commenting on our practice’s Facebook page helps us achieve these four things:
1. It encourages communication.
2. It allows us to address issues that we would otherwise have a hard time addressing.
3. Other patients will benefit by reading the discussions.
4. We …
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Addressing comments on your medical practice’s Facebook page
In October 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 60% increase in “emergency department visits for sports– and recreation–related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, among children and adolescents” over the past decade. That’s good news: as the CDC’s press release said, they believe the increase was due in part to “growing awareness among parents and coaches, and the public as a whole, about the need for individuals with a suspected …
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Avoid malpractice while treating minor head trauma in children
While in residency, I took care of a toddler who was hospitalized following an anaphylactic reaction. During a diaper change at home the child suddenly developed lip swelling and severe difficulty breathing for no apparent reason. The child was urgently brought to the hospital by ambulance and initially treated in the emergency room. By the time I met her on the inpatient floor her breathing and swelling had significantly improved. …
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Are physicians addressing the root causes of health problems?
William Osler famously said (among other things): “Listen to the patient. He is telling you the diagnosis.”
I was doing my obstetrical rotation as a first year family practice resident. I had done nearly 100 deliveries and was feeling more confident in my skills and knowledge than was justified. Although this rotation did not involve actual care for the recently delivered newborns, I loved pediatrics and frequently stopped by the nursery …
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I learned the value of listening to the patient
The little boy, who looked to be about two, darted away in a fit of giggles. His young mother, who seemed thoroughly worn out and exasperated, ran after him, grabbed him by the arm and said in a harsh whisper, “You must stand here!”
We were on line waiting to board a Southwest Airlines flight. For those of you not familiar with the Southwest system, there are no assigned seats. Rather, …
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Repeated experiences of shaming are not good for a young child
All play is not equal. With the power of marketing, play has become increasingly associated with toys, electronic gadgets, television, and video games. Just think about the amount of ads for children’s toys over the holidays. Just think about the things your child might have asked for and the latest trends that become the new must-have of the season.
Without realizing it, we may be intervening in a child’s most natural form of …
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How well does your child play?
Shortly after 3:00 I was listening to Chloe’s precise clinical description: her daughter, Mysti, had been fine and “in her usual state of rambunctious health” despite a runny nose and a low grade temperature of 99.8 to 100.6 that mom had not felt warranted treatment because she was eating and drinking and playing normally, and sleeping despite a very mild cough when she lay down.
That morning she had noticed a …
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Mistaken identity at the family physician office
The principle of autonomy is one of the four guiding principles of medical ethics, the others being beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. It means that patients have the right to decide what is done to their own bodies. For children under eighteen, the age of majority, this means their parents decide for them. What happens when parents refuse a treatment that their child’s doctors recommend? (The right of a minor child …
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Is ethical for parents to refuse surgical treatment for their child?
Conversation with my lovable eight year old boy with autism.
Me: Do you have autism?
David: Yeah. (Pause.) I want some milk.
Me: What do you like to play with?
David: Calvin
Me: Calvin is coming over today. He comes to see your sister. (David never plays with Calvin but does say hi to him).
Me: Do you like school?
David: Yeah
What do you do at school?
No answer
Me: Do you like to run marathons?
David: Yeah (Pretty sure …
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Autism is but one part of my son’s soul
