It’s completely natural for parents to lose patience with emotionally erratic toddlers. However, according to this ZERO TO THREE National Parent Survey, parental frustration during this phase can stem from significantly overestimating the age at which children master skills of self-control, creating what is called an “expectation gap.”
Until infants are 12 months old, their primary nutrition source comes from breast milk and/or formula with the addition of solids typically at 4-6 months. Once the 12-month birthday comes around, and the rate at which children grow decreases, the nutritional needs for toddlers change as they no longer require the dense nutrition provided in formula.
Fevers are common in children who are fighting a virus or bacteria. Although most fevers are caused by viral infections from which children quickly heal on their own, misinformation about fever abounds and causes parents a lot of worry. Let us put fever into perspective so we can ease your mind the next time your kid gets sick.**
Our bodies are teeming with microbes – inside and out. In fact, we walk around with 100 trillion single celled organisms (4 pounds of bacteria!) that we rely on to keep us healthy. The number of bacteria that live in and on us is so vast that they (those not originated in the body) outnumber our own body cells 10 to 1!
Chronic constipation is one of the many conditions on the rise among children. Unfortunately, it’s one that is too frequently treated by most pediatricians with over-the-counter medications, often MiraLAX, which comes in at #1 but ultimately may be harmful to our little ones.
As natural medicine pediatricians we can’t overstate how critical good nutrition is for building healthy bodies and brains. However, we also recognize that hectic lifestyles and the convenience of packaged foods are real-life challenges to feeding your kids unprocessed, whole foods.
Preconception care (PCC) aims to help women make informed and proactive choices to optimize their health and the health of their future children. But what does that really mean? Well, what if someone told you that you could have a positive impact on your unborn child’s lifetime health by some of the choices you make even before you get pregnant? And, since most women don’t know exactly when they will conceive (>50% of pregnancies are unplanned and by the time medical care is sought, the fetus has undergone a great deal of significant primary development (1)), we urge women to begin thinking with a preconception mindset as early as they start to think about becoming pregnant.
Allergic reactions typically call to mind such common symptoms as runny noses, itchy rashes, red eyes, wheezing, etc. However, it turns out allergies can manifest in a variety of ways and may profoundly impact a person’s behavior and ability to focus and learn.
Pinworms are the most common parasitic infection in the United States with a general incidence rate of about 11% among people of all ages. Pinworms are small, white, thread-like organisms that infect the large intestine and anal area.
Sleep is something that everyone needs. It is essential to restoring our bodies. Why then can it be so difficult to get children to sleep well?
Most parents worry about their child’s quality and quantity of sleep at some point and many get roped into elaborate bedtime routines that seem like they can take as long as the sleep itself. What I as a parent have found both among the families I work with and with my own kids is that some children are just genetically great sleepers. Now of course it isn’t all genetics. The habits parents instill are also really important.