Are You Rotavirus Ready? PEDIATRIC NEWS UPDATES October 28, 2005 – Are You Rotavirus Ready? Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that infects nearly all children by their third birthday and is most prevalent from fall through spring. One common symptom of rotavirus is diarrhea. The rapid loss of fluids that accompanies diarrhea can lead […]
Sore Throat in Children
Causes of and Treatment for Sore Throat in Children It seems like children always get a sore throat once or twice a year. What should you do when this happens? Could it be strep throat? How can you tell? Should you go to the doctor? Should you just call your doctor and ask for medicine […]
Teething
What Teething Looks Like Your beautiful five-month-old baby boy, who has been the most perfect little angel since birth, has suddenly turned into a cranky, fussy, drooling, chews-on- everything-in-site little monster! He is now keeping you up half the night, and needs to be held, bounced, and nursed all day long. Welcome to the wonderful […]
Becoming a Dad: Dr. Bill’s Journey
Becoming a Dad Dads, let me share with you how I blew it with our first three children. Becoming a dad to our first two came at a time when I was learning to be a doctor, and the third as I was beginning a practice. I bought into the philosophy of putting my career […]
Father Involvement
Father Involvement for Better Discipline Fathers become disciplinarians in much the same way that mothers do. The more we are exposed to both well behaved and poorly behaved children, we realize that fathers don’t start becoming disciplinarians early enough. More father involvement helps dads to become strong disciplinarians. 1. Start Early Spending time with your […]
7 Ways to Build Healthy Sexuality
7 Ways to Build Healthy Sexuality How a child learns to treat the other gender, and how the child feels about his or her own sexuality is an important part of his or her self-image. We prefer to talk about “building healthy sexuality” rather than “teaching sex.” Schools, for better or for worse, teach sex; […]
6 Steps for Toddler Toilet Training
Toddler Toilet Training to get to Diaper Free Day Step One: Be Sure Baby is Ready Watch your baby, not the calendar, for the following toddler toilet training signs: Imitates your toileting Verbally communicates other sensations, such as hunger Understands simple requests, such as “go get ball” Begins to pull diapers off when wet or […]
Road Trip For Two
Wouldn’t it be nice if car rides with a baby could be like a quiet, peaceful drive through the country? The bright sun shining, birds singing, the warm summer breeze blowing in the window, and through it all your baby sits quietly in his car seat as you enjoy a nice restful drive. Reality is […]
How Smoking Hampers Mothering
Smoking interferes with natural mothering. Lack of breastfeeding is a risk factor for SIDS. Mothers who smoke tend to either, not breastfeed or wean earlier and to have more breastfeeding problems. Perhaps smoking suppresses lactation by interfering with the milk-producing hormones. Also alarming is a finding that mothers who smoke have lower levels of prolactin […]
Touch Benefits
Touch stimulates growth-promoting substances Healthcare providers have long known that babies who are touched a lot grow better, and now there is research to back up this observation. There seems to be a biological connection between stroking, massaging, and grooming infants and their growth. Touch stimulates growth-promoting hormones and increases the enzymes that make the […]
Child-Spacing
“Dr. Sears, What’s your opinion about spacing children?”Child spacing varies from family to family. There is seldom the ideal time for a child. If we always waited for “the perfect time” to have a child, we would probably have two instead of eight. An important factor is the need level of the baby. If you […]
Video Game Violence
VIDEO VIOLENCE IS COMING TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU WARNING: Video games may be hazardous to your child’s emotional health. Sounds like a warning on a cigarette pack, and justifiably so. Once upon a time TV was blamed on a variety of children’s emotional disturbances, from obesity to aggression. Just as parents learned to tame […]