How to Ease Your Child’s Separation Anxiety

​By: Wendy Sue Swanson, MD, MBE, FAAP Separation anxiety varies WIDELY between children. Some babies become hysterical when mom is out of sight for a very short time, while other children seem to demonstrate ongoing anxiety at separations during infancy, toddlerhood, and preschool. To all you working parents The trick for surviving separation anxiety demands preparation, […]

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Is Your Preschooler Ready for Kindergarten?

​We aren’t just talking about academics. Your child’s social, emotional, and behavior skills are equally critical to school success, and too many U.S. children start kindergarten without them. In this article, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) highlights rapidly expanding research on how you can determine school readiness and help your child prepare. (Hint: helping your […]

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Swimmer’s Ear in Children

Swimmer’s ear, which doctors call otitis externa, is an infection of the skin inside the ear canal or outer ear. This type of infection occurs most often after swimming or other activities that allow water into the ears. What causes swimmer’s ear? Swimmer’s ear develops because moisture in the ear canal encourages the growth of certain bacteria. […]

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Talking With Children About Tragedies & Other News Events

After any disaster or crisis, families struggle with what they should say to children and what’s best not to share with them. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) encourages parents, teachers, child care providers, and others who work closely with children to filter information about the event and present it in a way that their child can […]

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Probiotics

Can probiotics help when my child has an infection and needs to take antibiotics? Christine Waasdorp Hurtado, MD, FAAP Answer Antibiotics can kill both good and bad bacteria in your child’s gut. This may throw your child’s gut “microbiome” out of balance. The microbiome is made up of the microscopic organisms—bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites—that […]

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Mental Health Problems

Is this your child’s symptom? Mental health problems that often need urgent help Examples are anxiety attacks, depression, substance (drug) abuse and acting out Resources include hotlines, mental health experts and your child’s doctor Types of Serious Mental Health Problems Suicide thoughts, threats or attempts Homicide thoughts or threats Child abuse Drug or alcohol abuse […]

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