Health & Wellness
The Food Chain for Picky Eaters
By Christina Elston Every mom and dad wants to have a kid who’s a good eater. “One of your major roles as a parent is to make sure your child is well nourished,” says Judy Hopkins, an occupational therapist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles specializing in children with feeding disorders. That’s why having a child who is fussy around food can be scary for parents. It’s scary for kids, too....
Start Your Kids on a Heart-Healthy Path
February is a great time to show your kids a little extra love by helping them take good care of their hearts. A paper published in December in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology noted that heart-healthy habits in adults are rooted in childhood and could be the key to preventing future heart disease. Michelle Kittleson, M.D., is a Cedars-Sinai cardiologist and a mom of three boys, and...
7 Reasons to Join a Parent Support Group
Recently, a father of a 14-year-old boy called to ask for a family session. He described how he got so fed up with his son’s video gaming that he turned the WiFi off in his house. A shouting match ensued and his son got so mad that he jumped out of the ground-level window and disappeared into the night, leaving his parents rattled and worried. Another mom described in a...
New Treatment Shows Promise for Some with Peanut Allergy
One afternoon about five years ago, Danielle Darnault was shopping at a Target store in Culver City with her 1-year-old daughter Lila. Lila got hungry, so Darnault opened a box of granola bars she was tossing into her cart and handed one to her toddler. “Just holding the granola bar, her hand got really red,” Darnault says. “She put it to her mouth and her whole face blew up in...
Healthy Advice for Parenting Through Chronic Illness
I was a reasonably healthy person up until my mid-20s. It was around age 26 that I started to feel as though something was off. I experienced a deep fatigue more appropriate for someone four times my age, had bizarre fainting spells and strange reactions to the sun. By my late 20s, I’d had a kidney biopsy, multiple gastroenterological tests and about five different diagnoses. My bizarre symptoms came to...
Cultivating Gratitude in 2019
Gratitude is always a good practice, even if you’re just grateful that 2018 is behind us. Sarah Salamon, M.D., is a pediatrician at Huntington Health Physicians and a mom actively cultivating gratitude within her own family. “I want to raise a nice, thankful, not-entitled child,” she says. “I think in this day and age, we’re so focused on stuff more than moments." Here are her thoughts about bringing more gratitude...
Get Started, Be Prepared
Whether or not your family’s emergency preparedness was tested by our area’s 2018 wildfires, the new year is a great time to step up your game. My Altadena neighborhood recently had a “Map Your Neighborhood” meeting so we can help each other during an emergency. Then Ken Kondo, emergency program manager at L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management Chief Executive Office, walked me through the “County of Los Angeles Emergency...
Family and Community Pull Together to Battle Rare Disease
When I worked for the Dodgers, I oversaw their community relations’ health pillar, a project designed to reach out to those in the L.A. community who are suffering from serious illnesses, to send them gift packages that included paraphernalia signed by their baseball idols and sometimes to give them a baseball experience of a lifetime. A teen whose cancer was in remission got to hang out with his (and most...
Course Offers Special-Needs Moms a Mindful Return to Work
Having a baby is a transformative experience, bringing intense physical changes and engulfing emotional ones due to the pending needs of this new human. The mind races from nesting to nursing to concern over who will care for this bundle of joy once parents return to work. These concerns are heightened when a child is born with a disability or medical condition. According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services...
6 Ways to Prevent Your Child from Getting Sick this Season
It’s almost inevitable: Your child starts school and soon enough they come home with sniffles, cough, and fever. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some tricks to prevent your child from getting sick as often. Keep Hands Clean If there is one tip that is most important on this list, it is frequent hand-washing. Regular hand-washing dramatically reduces the passing of germs that cause respiratory (cough,...
Baking Your Way to Better Health
Ten years ago, Beth Ricanati, M.D., found herself running in place in her bathroom late at night (while sorting the family mail) to get her 10,000 steps in for the day. She describes herself at the time as a “frantic, frenetic busy mom-wife-physician hyphenate” trying to do it all. It wasn’t working. Then Ricanati, who practiced at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic before moving to L.A., started baking...
Doc Talk: Understanding Acute Flaccid Myelitis
News of a mysterious illness called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, has been prominent in recent months. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking cases since 2014, and this year had received reports of at least 252 cases and confirmed 90 by mid-November, mainly in children ages 2-8. The illness generally begins with cold- or flu-like symptoms, but some children suffer sudden paralysis within three to...
Holiday Eating – in Moderation
Holidays mean a lot of love and, often, a lot of high-fat, sugary, delicious treats. To keep things in perspective, Sean Hashmi, M.D., regional director of clinical nutrition and weight management at Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Permanente Medical Group, touts what he calls the SELF principle – Sleep, Exercise, Love and Food. “Sleep seven to nine hours. Exercise is just simply move more. Love is expressing gratitude, having close relationships,...
Battling Motion Sickness During Holiday Travel
Whether your holiday travel is by plane, train or automobile, if you’re traveling with kids, you should be on the lookout for motion sickness. It’s caused when the brain, body and inner ear receive differing signals about whether or not you are moving. Symptoms include dizziness, nausea (and vomiting) and headache. If your children have experienced motion sickness in the car, they’ll likely experience it on a plane or train...
L.A. Found Program Helps Locate Missing Persons with Disabilities or Dementia
Almost half of children with autism will at some point engage in wandering behavior – putting their lives at risk and their families and caregivers through a terrible ordeal even if they are safely found. One-third of all people in California with autism live in L.A. County, according to the Autism Society of Los Angeles. In September, the county launched a program to make sure those with autism, alzheimer’s disease...
Simple Questionnaire Helps Spot GI Problems in Kids with Autism
Children on the autism spectrum are four times more likely than other children are to have a gastrointestinal (GI) disorder such as constipation, diarrhea or reflux disease. GI trouble can cause problem behaviors such as anger and aggression, but can be tough to detect in kids on the spectrum. According to a study reported Oct. 22 in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, a simple 17-item questionnaire could help...
Riding Safely with New Car Seat Guidelines
In early September, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new car seat guidelines on child passenger safety. The group recommends that children ride in rear-facing seats for as long as possible, that they then ride in forward-facing seats until at least age 4, and that they ride in belt-positioning boosters until at least age 8 or until they reach a height of 4 feet, 9 inches. All children, experts say,...
Share, Care and Give With Food
Aihui Ong knows the universal power of food to show that we care. Years ago, reeling from a divorce and burned out from a 12-year career as a financial software engineer, Ong embarked on a backpacking trip that took her to 20 countries over 12 months. One of her biggest takeaways from her adventures was that “food is the common denominator in terms of showing our love, regardless of the...
EasyLunchboxes: Packing Meals is now a Breeze for Families
With her company, EasyLunchboxes (easylunchboxes.com), L.A. mompreneur Kelly Lester helps take the headache out of school-lunch prep. Created out of Lester’s own need to prepare lunches quickly, these containers were designed to hold healthy, portion-controlled meals for kids on the go. “I love to eat and feed my family healthy food, but I don’t like spending time in the kitchen,” Lester says. Her sentiment rings true for busy people and...
Net Generation Brings Tennis to Kids Across L.A.
The 2018 U.S. Open Tennis Championships, which launched Aug. 27, are a prime time to inspire kids to get in the swing of tennis, a classic sport that can be played nearly anywhere – even at home. Net Generation, a new youth initiative of the United States Tennis Association (USTA), makes it easy for ages 5-18 to learn about the sport and start playing in local schools, parks and tennis...
Stopping School Shootings
Let’s begin our look at this scary topic with two solid – possibly calming – facts: School shootings are a rare occurrence in the U.S., and there has not been a mass shooting at an L.A.-area school in recorded memory. Mass school shootings – beginning with Columbine in 1999 through Sandy Hook in 2012, up to February’s shooting in Parkland, Fla. – have spurred the notion that school shootings are...
Redondo Beach Schools Make Strides Against Student Obesity
While students in other districts will head back to school in cars, buses and SUVs this fall, many in the Redondo Beach Unified School District will take the “walking school bus” with parents and volunteers. When they arrive on campus, they’ll begin their day with eight minutes of exercise led by teachers and faculty. At lunch, enticing displays of fruits and vegetables are generally the first thing they’ll see in...
Doc Talk: If Your Child is Bitten by a Rattlesnake …
It is rattlesnake season in Southern California – and will be until at least October. In sunny SoCal, we spend lots of time hiking, biking, camping and playing in spots where snakes are active. Cyrus Rangan, M.D., a medical toxicologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and assistant medical director of the California Poison Control System, offers advice on what to do if your child is bitten. What should parents do...
Make Moving a Summertime Habit that Lasts all Year
People who don’t have children may think of summer as a string of carefree days that kids spend running, jumping, biking, climbing, swimming and playing outdoors. People who do have kids understand that, far too often, summer days are spent indoors, sprawled in front of one screen or another. It’s possible to persuade your kids to be more active – but you might have to change some habits. “If your...
Does this Cut Need Stitches
A child’s blood is something no parent wants to see – but they’re likely to see more of it in summer, when injuries are more common. Desiree Thomas, RN, MSN, is program director of the trauma center at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach. She’s also an instructor for Stop the Bleed (bleedingcontrol.org), an international campaign that offers free, one-hour courses to train parents, teachers and community members how...
Water Play, Safety and Summer Fun at Great Wolf Lodge
My son loves to cajole me and my husband into having in-home campouts. As the clock ticks past his bedtime, he’ll run to his room, grab his blanket and pillow, then run back into the living room or our bedroom and sing: “We’re camping out!” For his birthday last weekend, we decided to take him and one of his best buddies for a little in-door “camping” fun beyond the confines...
Angel City Games Bring Connections and Community to Athletes with Disabilities
There are three things L.A. dad Clayton Frech wants you to know about the Angel City Games – which will take place June 21-24 this year on the UCLA campus. This is not the Special Olympics. Athletes can participate for free. There is so much more going on here than just sports. Frech founded the games, the only multi-sport competition in L.A. for those with physical disabilities, in 2015. He...
Stopping Swimmer’s Ear
Colleen Ryan, M.D., is a family medical physician at Culver City Primary Care – part of the Cedars-Sinai medical network. One common medical issue she’ll be helping young patients with this summer is swimmer’s ear, an infection of the ear canal that is also known as otitis externa. It’s most common in ages 5-9 but can happen at any age. Is swimmer’s ear only caused by swimming? The ear canal...
Make Your Summer Garden Grow in Los Angeles
Planting season in Southern California is not in summer. Gardeners here will tell you it’s best to dream and plan now and plant in fall, when temperatures are kinder to tender young plants. Still, summer is when kids are out of school and families have more time, so I checked in with Rachel Young, director of horticulture, and Rachel Lewellen, harvest garden coordinator, at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge...
Mindfulness for Busy Moms
When I opened the door to DEN Meditation on a recent Saturday morning, feeling victorious because I found a parking space right in front (no easy feat on busy La Brea Avenue), I was greeted by the smell of essential oils and fresh flowers. My senses were awakened, which I learned is one of the central goals of a meditation practice. This would be my first meditation class, and I...
Doc Talk: Steering Clear of Health Hype
As director of pediatric otolaryngology and a professor of head and neck surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Nina Shapiro, M.D., has met plenty of misguided parents. They want the best for their families but have trouble sorting what’s healthy from what’s not. A case involving a 16-month-old baby with a persistent cough inspired Shapiro to write her new book, “Hype: A Doctor’s Guide to Medical...
A Moment on the Lips, a Lifetime in the Landfill
Sheila Morovati wants you to add one more word to the environmental mantra of “reduce, reuse, recycle.” “Refuse, refuse, refuse,” says the Malibu mom of two. What she wants you to refuse is that plastic straw restaurants plunk unbidden into the glass of water they bring you with your meal. That’ll be easier for folks in Malibu, where a citywide ban on single-use plastic straws, stirrers and disposable cutlery –...
Your Child Has What? Navigating the Challenges of a Rare Medical Diagnosis
The general public is familiar with diagnoses such as autism, Down syndrome and ADHD. But what happens when your child is diagnosed with a rare condition that family, friends and teachers have never heard of? L.A. mom of four Hillary Smiley knows this territory well. Her third child, Luke, has a congenital disorder called agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC), caused by a full or partial absence of the band...
Helping Families Take Root and Parents Take Wing
When you walk into Malibu’s new holistic wellness nonprofit, Roots & Wings, you might feel like you’ve walked into a cocoon of warmth, peace and acceptance. You’re greeted immediately with “How can I help you?” And a smile. There’s no request for a doctor’s referral or diagnosis. Roots & Wings invites you just as you are. “We don’t care about any diagnosis or previous treatment. We take families who need...
An Autism Awareness Month Update
April is Autism Awareness Month, so we checked in with Gary Feldman, M.D., medical director of the Stramski Children’s Developmental Center at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach, for an update on research, diagnosis and treatment. What’s going on in the field of autism research now that makes you feel most optimistic? Probably two categories. One is the increasing evidence that shows us that early intervention can have a...
Three Easy Yoga Poses to Do With Your Kids
There seems to be plenty of kids yoga to go around these days – studios, classes in schools, games, books, apps, YouTube channels and podcasts. But your kids can start right here and now with these three fun and easy poses suggested by Stacey Alysson, who teaches yoga to more than 300 L.A. preschoolers each week. Alysson is also author of “Parker Pig Goes to Yoga,” illustrated by Patrick Girouard,...
3 Simple Hydration Rules: Drink more water. Mostly tap. Sometimes filtered.
Suffering from headaches? Drink more water. Feeling tired? Drink more water. Fighting the flu? Drink more water. Trying to lose weight? Drink more water. As pediatricians, we advise our patients to “drink more water” all the time – a recommendation that sounds so simple, yet is so often under-recognized. More than half of the children in the U.S. do not drink enough water and one-fourth do not drink any water...
Parents Caring for Special Kids Should Take Special Care of Themselves
You need to make the gluten-free, casein-free lunches for your kids’ nut-free campus and get your pet to the vet. You really should reply to those emails from last week and finish the paperwork to approve your son’s speech therapy before you take his sister to gymnastics class. Did you even remember to tell your husband to get dinner? The demands of family life make it hard to juggle everything...
Calling All Sporty Moms in Los Angeles
As a child, I took to sports with enthusiasm and fortitude. While I was never the strongest member of my teams and I was usually the shortest, the one thing I had on my side was speed. My pint-size demeanor combined with a lifetime of walking twice as fast to keep up with the longer legs in my life to create an all-star soccer and softball player. But that was...
Battling Childhood Cancer One Shave at a Time
In late 2002, Greg Doyle’s 4-year-old son was diagnosed with pleuropulmonary blastoma, a rare form of lung cancer. Doyle, a lieutenant with the Los Angeles Police Department, felt helpless. “Being a first responder, I’m used to having problems that I can solve, and I couldn’t solve this one,” Doyle says. “I had to trust people I barely knew to take care of my kid and try to make him better.” ...
Putting the Tide Pod Challenge in Perspective
You’ve certainly heard about internet “challenges” where people – especially teens – film themselves doing everything from harmless fun like pretending to be a mannequin to dangerous things like eating laundry detergent pods. These and even more frightening challenges (the “Blue Whale” purportedly challenges participants to commit suicide) easily make headlines, but Brian Prestwich, M.D., lead physician in the Family Medicine department at UCLA Health Century City and father of...
For Parents of Teens With Autism, Optimism Buffers Stress
The fact that mothers of teens experience stress is no surprise to anyone who has parented – or even met – a teen. The fact that moms of teens who are on the autism spectrum or have intellectual disabilities face more stress than their peers with typically developing teens is also no great surprise. Studies have shown that parents of teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders (AD) or Intellectual Disabilities (ID)...
Children’s Radiation Exposure: Gentler Imaging for Kids
When children are injured or ill, medical imaging can give doctors important information to help make kids well. But whether that’s an X-ray of a possibly fractured limb, a chest X-ray to check for pneumonia or a more advanced CT or PET scan, these procedures expose children to radiation. Marvin Nelson, M.D., is chairman of the department of radiology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where they perform as many as...
Smog Linked to Kids’ Bad Behavior
If you need to add to your list of reasons we hate the smog that hangs over every part of our SoCal home, here’s something new: juvenile delinquency. In a study published in December, USC researchers linked exposure to particulate matter in the air to an increase in behaviors such as lying, stealing, skipping school, vandalism and substance abuse. The researchers weren’t able to compare SoCal teens in highly polluted...
Cold and Flu Myths and Tips for Prevention
Each year, there are millions of cases of the common cold in the U.S. The CDC reports that adults average two to three colds per year, and children experience even more. Still, misconceptions about proper management of cold symptoms persist. A survey released last week from the Merck Manuals – publishers of the world’s best-selling medical textbooks – found that 88 percent of Americans are confident when it comes to...
The Battle Against Bullying
One of the worst things a parent can ever witness is their child being hurt physically and emotionally. Bullying covers both in spades. Unlike schoolyard taunts, childish teasing and miscommunication, bullying causes hurt at a whole new level. It involves an imbalance of power where one person intentionally and repeatedly causes physical or psychological harm to another. This can take the form of pushing, hitting, destroying one’s possessions, excluding one...
A New View for Young Cedars-Sinai Patients
No one likes lying in a hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. At Cedars-Sinai, kids now have a better view. The medical center commissioned the nonprofit RxArt (www.rxart.net) to redo the ceilings and walls of 16 pediatric rooms. L.A.-based artists Urs Fischer, Sam Falls and Laura Owens completed the work, which includes images of trees, birds, animals and clouds as well as abstract art. Pictured at top is 12-year-old...
A Mental-Health Checkup for Los Angeles Families
Now that the holidays are behind us, it is time to think of New Year’s resolutions. In January, people contemplate their physical health, making goals to exercise regularly, eat healthier, sleep more, get physicals and take better care of themselves. But how often do families consider the state of their mental health? The truism, “Prevention is better than cure,” applies to mental well-being as well as physical. Here’s some wisdom...
Family Fitness: Making the First Move
Phil and Michelle Dozois of South Pasadena have been in the fitness game for decades. Michelle got hooked with her first gymnastics and dance classes at age 5, and went on to win gold medals in the National and World Aerobic Championships and create top-selling fitness DVDs. Her husband, Phil, has been a personal trainer for 25 years, and together he and Michelle opened their own health club – Breakthru Fitness – in 1998. They are also parents of a 14-year-old...
Doc Talk: Taking Care of Your Child’s Cough
It’s the season of colds, flu – and cough. Leila Yoonessi, M.D., a pediatric pulmonologist at Dignity Health – St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, reminds parents to watch out for rhinovirus (the common cold), as well as respiratory syncytial virus, which can be truly dangerous in younger children. She also has tips about managing cough. Is cough ever harmful in and of itself? Cough is a natural defense...
Claudine Cooper to Parents: ‘Focus on Living Long’
Claudine Cooper’s high-intensity fitness classes are part boot camp, part sermon and part party. Folks show up early to stake a spot in the studio before it overflows. They endure Cooper’s yells to push harder. They bob their heads along to her always-banging music, even when that third set of burpees and lunges makes their muscles scream. “I know you came to work hard, or else you wouldn’t be here,”...
Four Ways to Eat Healthier in 2018
Fill your family up with healthier food by using these tips from pediatric clinical dietitian Amanda Haney, MS, RD, CNSC, of MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach. Get halfway there. If you’re not confident cooking at home (generally healthier than eating out), consider services such as Blue Apron that deliver pre-prepped ingredients that you can just put together. “I was at Ralphs last week and they also had...
LOOM Puts Parents’ Wellness First in Community Hub
When you think of parenting classes, is your first thought learning how to address your baby’s needs or your own? Given the child-focused way parenting is addressed in our society, the answer is rarely the latter, but LOOM, a new community hub in L.A., is aiming to change that. The company’s mission is to exist as “an inclusive, inviting and judgment-free space for both birth and non-birth outcomes.” To fulfill...
Preventing Toy Chokings
Holiday time is “toy time,” which means it’s time to talk about toy safety. Alan L. Nager, M.D., M.H.A., division director of emergency and transport medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, says that ingestion (swallowing) and aspiration (sucking into the airway) of toys and toy pieces is a problem year-round. “We have a child getting something pulled out of their esophagus or airway several times a week,” he says. To...
A Toddler’s Window Fall – A Mom’s Nightmare
As many as 5,000 children in the U.S. fall from windows each year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. L.A. Parent Assistant Editor Carolyn Richardson’s son recently fell from the window of their building. Here is her story in her own words: “You are a great mom,” said an EMT as we stood in front of our apartment building in Encino. It was a warm afternoon this past September, and he was trying to calm me down and keep me...
Is It Holiday Anxiety, Or Something More?
The excitement of the holiday season is here, and that can mean big adjustments for parents and children. Parents are getting ready to take on the holidays by planning for family coming into town or getting their own families ready to travel. For kids, school is coming to a break, and they get to relax. By this time, children have become more accustomed to the new routines of the school...
Time to Collect Your Family’s Health History
With the holidays upon us, here’s a new topic for your family gatherings: your family’s health history. When multiple generations get together, Sylvia S. Estrada, DNP, who provides genetic counseling and testing at the Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center at Cedars-Sinai, says you have a perfect opportunity to gather information that will help your healthcare provider better screen against diseases that can run in the family. From which family...
Asthma Doesn’t Take a Holiday
About one in every 11 L.A. County kids has asthma, and managing it poses three major challenges for parents: getting an asthma action plan, sticking to that plan and periodically reevaluating it to keep it current. “People with any chronic condition need to get organized on a daily basis,” says Marilyn Li, M.D., co-director of the Breathmobile program at LAC+USC Medical Center. “In order for it to be effective, families...
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Launches Postpartum Depression Screening Program for New Mothers
Every year, more than 6,500 women give birth at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Now, all new mothers are being screened for one of the most under-diagnosed and under-treated medical conditions in women: postpartum depression. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 percent of women who give birth each year report symptoms of postpartum depression. Only a small number ever get help, leaving many with the serious, untreated condition....
Setting Limits on Kids’ Smartphone Use
Much fuss has been made over the debut in early September of the latest generation of iPhones. Despite the $999 price tag for the top-of-the-line iPhone X, the news no doubt has tweens and teens asking for an upgrade. But experts are finding evidence that excess smartphone use could be connected to depression and anxiety among teens and tweens – possibly because they are trading in-person relationships and interaction for...
Doc Talk: Are You Ready for Flu Season?
Cold and flu season is upon us. Margaret Khoury, M.D., pediatric infectious disease specialist and the regional lead of the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Flu Vaccination Program, says we never know how long or severe the season will be, but that Australia – which has its flu season during our summer – has reported an early start to the season and twice as many cases of flu as they had...
Remember the Rainbow for a Healthy Newborn
Bringing home Baby is one of the most joyful yet daunting times in one’s life. The idea that you are now actually in charge of a human life can be overwhelming, but if you just remember the colors in the rainbow, you can be well on your way to spotting any serious health problems. Before my families are discharged from the hospital after the birth of a child, I like...
Does Your Child Have Food Allergies
If your child gets a little gassy after a glass of milk, or a mild rash after eating strawberries, does she have a food allergy? Some primary-care doctors might not know how best to figure that out, according to a report published this summer by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Danica Schulte, M.D., who specializes in pediatric allergy and immunology at Cedars-Sinai, says people often confuse food allergy with food...
Getting a Strong Hold on Fitness and Fun
As I watch kids scramble up the bouldering walls at Stronghold Climbing Gym one recent morning, the words “no fear” come to mind. Up the sculpted gray walls they go, using the colorful hand- and footholds to stretch, push and pull their way to the top. The gym, located in Downtown L.A.’s Brewery Arts Complex and featured on this month’s cover of L.A. Parent, is pretty safety-forward, with plenty of...
An Annual Checkup Checklist for Your Child at Every Age
Now that summer is over and we’re getting back to getting things done, it’s time to think about your kids' annual checkup. Jayme Heath, M.D., is assistant clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a pediatrician at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, and has some great advice about making the most of those visits. What is the best timing for an annual checkup for kids?...
Watch Out for Overuse Injuries Among Kid Athletes
If you’ve got a devoted teen or tween athlete at home, your best shot at keeping them injury-free this year might be to convince them to branch out. Yes, kids can get hurt playing high-contact sports such as football or soccer, but John Rodarte, M.D., who chairs the department of pediatrics at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, and practices privately in La Cañada, says overuse injuries in kids who focus too...
Doc Talk: Screening for Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity rates, which climbed for decades, seem finally to have leveled off among most groups of kids. Still, about a third of kids are overweight and nearly 20 percent are obese, leading a government panel of experts to recommend in June that all children ages 6 and up be screened for obesity by their pediatrician. Steven Jensen, M.D., medical director of general pediatrics at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital...
A Back-to-School Checklist For Healthier Kids
It seems like only yesterday that our children were wrapping up their last day of school and heading off to the pool, summer camp and family vacation. But the new academic year will soon be here, and it’s time to think about what’s needed to prepare them for a safe and healthy start in the classroom. From obtaining required vaccinations to teaching kids basic hygiene habits and helping teenagers cope...
Looking Beyond The Supermarket Aisle For Your Baby’s First Foods
Next time you walk around your favorite supermarket, take a moment to study the food on the shelves. For the most part, it will reflect the tastes and preferences of the people who buy there. Dominating will be the most popular brands and the most popular types of food, the best sellers for that particular chain and that particular location. But if you shift your gaze to the people walking...
Flexi Lexi Yoga Pants Deliver Performance With a Dose of Cute
Yoga pants are great for any number of things: lounging, napping, running errands. If you like to actually practice yoga in yours, though, you’ll want some that perform at a higher level. Yoga pants from Flexi Lexi (www.flexilexi-fitness.com) won’t let you down. The polyester-spandex pants come in a variety of eye-catching colors and patterns – from Aztec to pineapple to mint, watermelon wedges and neon-yellow. They also have a number...
7 Great Water Sports for Kids
For some kids, choosing a water sport is a no-brainer. Synchronized swim, for instance, is a natural fit for 13-year-old Sophia Davison. “It joins two of my passions – speed swimming and gymnastics,” she says. Other kids might want to explore a little, and the L.A. area’s miles of coastline and nearby lakes make it easy. When my three kids were small, we started kayaking and picked up other water...
Boost Your Kids’ Nutrition By Putting On a Fruity Face
In May, the American Academy of Pediatrics – which has long advocated fresh fruit over fruit juice for kids – recommended that children under age 1 drink no fruit juice at all, the Academy’s first updating of advice about juice since 2001. The Academy also recommended limiting fruit juice to four ounces a day for ages 1-3, four to six ounces for ages 4-6 and eight ounces for older children....
Lending a Hand at L.A. Kitchen = Cooking and Family Fun
Here are four reasons to bring your kids to Family Friendly Kitchen Prep at L.A. Kitchen, a nonprofit just north of Downtown that reclaims local food and provides healthy meals to those in need. 1. They’ll have fun (yes, fun) with fruits and vegetables. 2. They’ll learn about food waste. 3. They’ll help families in need. 4. They’ll get to cook without making a mess in your kitchen. The kids –...
New Research and a Tourette Syndrome Update
A research team led by Massachusetts General Hospital, UCLA and the Tourette Association of America announced June 21 that it had identified rare mutations in two genes that significantly increase the risk for Tourette syndrome. The neurodevelopmental disorder effects as many as one in 160 children in the U.S. For an update on Tourette, we turned to John Piacentini, Ph.D., director of the Child OCD, Anxiety and Tic Disorders program...
A New Way to Find Top Pediatricians
Parents looking for top-notch L.A. pediatricians can now consult the CHLA Health Network, a group of general pediatricians throughout Los Angeles who have affiliated with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. The idea behind the network, officially announced in May, is to standardize the quality of care among these practices and give parents direct access to CHLA’s specialized care at the hospital’s main campus and partner hospitals – Providence Holy Cross Medical...
Why Your Family Should Learn CPR This Summer
At the beach or the pool this summer there are three letters parents should keep in mind: CPR. That’s because starting CPR immediately if someone is pulled from the water in cardiac arrest, rather than waiting for emergency responders to arrive, gives that person three times the chance of making a full recovery – avoiding coma, brain injury or even death – according to a study published in the June...
Why Summer Vacation is Important for Family Health
To kids, summer vacation means time off from school. To many parents, vacation of any kind seems like a luxury they can’t afford. But Krikor Deramerian, M.D., a pediatrician and “Wellness Champion” at Kaiser Permanente’s Baldwin Park Medical Center, says you can’t afford not to take a break. Hectic work and school routines cause the body to pump out the stress hormone cortisol. “When this is sustained, it has effects...
Spa Le La Makes Me-Time Sitter-Free
As I parked, pattering hail created a strange white noise against my windshield. This probably helped all three of my children enjoy an extended nap in the back of my minivan. It was a week before Mother’s Day and there was no sitter in sight. None of this sounds like the start of a spa day, but alas things have changed. Enter Spa Lé La, a luxurious spa with a...
Families Find Freedom to Splash at CSUN’s Center for Achievement
Kids and water can be a natural recipe for fun, but parents sometimes struggle to find a comfortable and safe swim environment for children with different abilities. An adaptive aquatics program at Cal State Northridge fills this need – and offers valuable experience for future occupational and physical therapists. At CSUN’s Center of Achievement, children age 3-18 with disabilities can enjoy activities in a therapeutic indoor pool. Adaptive Aquatics for...
An L.A. Mosquito and Zika Virus Update
Summer vacation is upon us and mosquito season will last until November. That means the mosquito borne zika virus known to cause birth defects if a woman is infected during pregnancy will be in the news once again. Diana Ramos, M.D., director for reproductive health at the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, says we all need to protect our children's health and our families by making smart travel decisions, but...
Having a Safe and Healthy Summer Camp Experience
If you’re like many parents right now, you’re busy deciding which summer camp your children will be attending and thinking about how to prepare them for a fun, healthy and safe experience away from home. With those decisions, it’s natural for parents to experience some anxiety; especially for those who have first-time campers or children with chronic health issues. The following recommendations are based on my years of experience as...
Responding to Your Child’s Swim Mishaps
It happens even when you’re right there, within arms reach of your child. One minute, they’re bobbing on a noodle or splashing on the steps. The next minute, they’re under water. You only took your eyes off them for one second, but it was during that second that your child disappeared. You lunge for them and pluck them up quickly – before any harm is done. They are physically fine,...
Spring and Mold Are In the Air
Our winter of beautiful rain might have ended the drought and turned our hillsides green, but it also means an increase in pollen and mold. Both can cause breathing trouble and put children's health at risk – especially for those with allergies. “One of the biggest offending environment is carpet,” says Eli Nussbaum, M.D, professor of pediatrics and UC Irvine School of Medicine and medical director of the Pediatric Pulmonary...
Dina Kimmel Chats About Inclusive Play
Dina Kimmel has always been an entrepreneur. She launched two successful boutiques in North Hollywood in her 20s and 30s. But her business adventures turned personal when her son, Gabriel, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at age 2. With diagnosis came an overwhelming array of therapy appointments for Gabriel and the quest to preserve some sense of normalcy for her daughter, Sophia, who was 5 at the time. Kimmel...
Safe and Sensitive Sunscreen
Sun protection is a year-round necessity in Southern California. But what if you have a child with sensitive skin or a teen battling acne? Dermatologist Paola Rodriguez, M.D., from Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center, shares great options for every skin type. How does sunscreen protect our skin? There are a couple of different ways in which sunscreen can protect our skin. Physical sunscreen, which some people would call a...
Keeping Little Hands Clean
At the end of February, a study of 94,000 children across the U.S. found that rates of one type of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection – that kids picked up in the community, not in hospitals – had jumped dramatically between 2007 and 2015. The researchers, who reported their findings in the “Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society,” note that these infections were once confined to hospitals. These infections are difficult...
Doc Talk: Tracking Progress Against Autism
Autism spectrum disorder is now estimated to impact one in every 68 children in the U.S. and anyone not affected by autism likely knows someone who is. Researchers have been working for decades to unlock its causes and find effective treatment. At the forefront of these efforts is the Center for Autism Research and Treatment at UCLA. Its director, Dan Geschwind, M.D., Ph.D., says we know much more about autism...
National Study Looks at Adolescent Brains
If you’ve got tweens or teens, no doubt you’ve wondered what’s going on in their heads. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, USC and UCLA are now part of a 10-year nationwide study of 10,000 kids that aims to find out. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study will follow participants from ages 10 to 20, collecting brain-imaging data, genetic information and information about kids’ cognitive development and environmental exposures. Brain development...
Doc Talk – Springing Forward With the Kids
We switch to Pacific Daylight Time at 2 a.m. March 12. Most of us know it as “springing forward,” but it hardly makes us – or our kids – feel springy. Monika Mathur, M.D., a neurologist with the pediatric division of the Long Beach Adult & Pediatric Sleep Center at Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital Long Beach, offers advice for getting the kids back in step. Does the time change...
Families Get Fit Together at North American Athletic Club in Northridge
You may be familiar with sitting on the sidelines during your child's sports classes, but one gym is hoping to get parents back in the game. North American Athletic Club (NAAC) opened in December 2016 in Northridge and was designed by working families, for working families. NAAC offers a place where parents and their children can get fit at the same time at the same location. The founders, Theodore Theodosiadis...
Women With Congenital Heart Defects Can Become Moms
For generations, doctors told women who were born with complex congenital heart defects that the physical demands of pregnancy and delivery would be too difficult for them, and that they should not have babies. That mindset has shifted. New recommendations for health care providers, published in the American Heart Association journal “Circulation,” offer a road map to helping women with congenital heart disease have successful pregnancies. “There is a burgeoning...
Will Pot Legalization Boost Teens’ Use?
In November, Californians voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana. And while details are still being worked out, parents of teens and tweens should take action now and start having conversations about pot with their kids, says Diane Tanaka, MD, medical director of the Teenage and Young Adult Health Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Why? Because as use of marijuana becomes more tolerated, kids are less likely to consider...
Understanding New Peanut Allergy Guidelines
In January, the U.S. National Institutes of Health issued new guidelines about babies and peanuts. Parents were previously advised to avoid giving children foods containing peanuts until age 3 to keep them from developing peanut allergy, but are now encouraged in some cases to give peanut-containing foods as early as 4 months. Dr. Maria Garcia-Lloret, a pediatric allergist at Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA, helps us unpack the new guidelines....
Cooking Tips for Special Kids
Chef Darrell “DAS” Smith has been a dad for less than a year, but he already knows a thing or two about picky eaters. That’s because in October, he became director of food services at Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services. The organization serves nearly 400 children with special needs related to learning differences, autism spectrum disorders and other cognitive, behavior and social challenges. Smith and his team in...
Health Experts Say There’s Still Time for a Flu Shot
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reminds residents it is not too late to receive influenza vaccine to prevent getting the flu. Influenza activity has increased to a level where it is now widespread throughout L.A. County, which is earlier than this has happened in previous seasons. “Influenza typically peaks in January and February and can linger well into the spring, so vaccination for anyone over 6 months...
Some Kids Need Just 2 Doses of HPV Vaccine Say Cancer Centers
The University of Southern California (USC) Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and its fellow 69 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers voiced their support last week for recently revised recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. These guidelines recommend that children ages 11 and 12 should receive two doses – rather than the previously recommended three – of the HPV vaccine. Adolescents...
Cutting Sugar in Your Kids’ Diet
Over the summer, while kids were bingeing on screen time and ice cream and parents were counting the days until school would start again, a panel convened by the American Heart Association was putting the finishing touches on a scientific statement about children and sugar, published in August in the association’s journal, “Circulation.” The panel’s recommendations were simple and stark: Children under age 2 should not eat or drink any...
Depression in Moms Goes Beyond Baby Blues
“I’m depressed.” How often have we heard a fellow mom say that? We commiserate, give her a hug and move on. After all, the phrase is used quite casually these days. It might indicate sadness – the loss of a job, the death of a loved one or a sense of stagnation – or it might indicate hormonal shifts. Unless that mom says she has been clinically diagnosed with depression, there is a chance we won’t treat her comment with gravitas, ask questions or steer her toward professional help. Experts say we should. Depression in moms is not always definable, not always evident, not always diagnosed. Women suffer from mood...
6 Free Workouts for L.A. Families
Whether your goals for 2017 involve a narrower waistline, speedier 5K or just a longer and happier life, they’ll be well served by getting out and getting active with your family. Though the Southland has no shortage of gym memberships and specialty fitness classes, it also offers plenty of free – and fun! – workouts you and your kids will love. This might sound great when the fresh calendar year...
Protecting Adolescents’ Mental Health with Screenings
Doc Talk: Tips & Advice If your child is 12 or older and you visit the Emergency Department at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles with a medical issue, you’ll likely be asked to leave the room for 2-3 minutes so the doctor can administer a mental-health screening. Dr. Alan Nager shares about the program he created. When and why did you begin these screenings? About four years ago. The American Academy...
This Mom Wants to Clear the Air
Lizette Hernandez takes clean air personally. She has rushed her son, Kimani, to the hospital in the middle of the night because he couldn’t breathe. And she works to keep his asthma controlled with medication and nebulizer treatments. “Kids are among the most vulnerable to air pollution,” says Hernandez, who is Southern California lead organizer for the Sierra Club’s My Generation program. Studies show pollution impacts children’s lungs, brain development...
Pregnancy Is a Great Time For a Massage
Pregnancy is a time of great joy and excitement. It’s also a time of many physical, mental and emotional changes for a woman. Some of these changes, such as a growing belly and hormonal shifts, can create discomfort for the mother-to-be. Getting massages during and after pregnancy can help to alleviate some of these discomforts by relaxing tense muscles, increasing circulation and soothing the nervous system. During pregnancy, many women...
Be On the Lookout For Choking Hazards
Much is written about toy safety this time of year, and one of the biggest toy related dangers to young children is choking or aspiration - the entry of a foreign object into the respiratory tract. But there are many things besides toys that end up stuck in kids' throats or airways. We have seen kids choke on gumballs, candy, wheels from toy cars, earrings and toy parts, but the...
What You Need to Know About Dental Sealants
Have your child's molars been sealed? The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this fall reported that dental sealants can reduce cavities by up to 80 percent during the first two years after they are applied, by up to 50 percent for the two years after that, and continue working for as long as nine years. CDC Director Tom Frieden even proposed school-based sealant programs so that more...
8 Tips for Talking to Kids About Alzheimer’s
Learning that a loved one has Alzheimer’s can be quite overwhelming. If you’re a parent and have to talk to your child about the disease, those feelings are likely exacerbated. This reality, while harsh, is one that affects millions of families. While we often think of Alzheimer’s as an illness that solely affects the patient diagnosed with the disease, the fact is, it affects the whole family. According to the Alzheimer’s...
When Kids Swallow What They Shouldn’t
During the holidays, many children get their hands on things they shouldn’t. When parents are distracted with cooking, eating, drinking and chatting, no one sees the 2-year-old wander into Grandma’s bedroom to find the candy dish of pills on the dresser. This season, take preventive steps at home and in homes you are visiting. Keep medications and other dangerous substances in their original packaging (with child-proof caps if possible). Store...
When a Baby Dies: Honoring Pain & Healing Hearts
I know firsthand the pain that comes from the death of a child. Thirty-five years ago, I said goodbye to my beloved daughter Jasmine. I will never forget the privilege of carrying life within me, feeling her every move, giving birth, nursing her at my breast and having her be an important part of our family for six months. Jasmine’s death is one that I still grieve, but as a perinatal education specialist, it’s one that guides me and helps me...
AAP’s New Sleep Recommendations Say Rooming-In is Best
Infants should sleep in the same bedroom as their parents – but on a separate surface, such as a crib or bassinet, and never on a couch, armchair or soft surface – to decrease the risks of sleep-related deaths, according to a new policy statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics Oct. 24. “SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2016 Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment,” draws...
Protect Your Family With Flu Shots
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is reminding everyone 6 months of age and older to get an annual flu vaccine. Flu shots will be available at no cost to residents at Public Health Centers, L.A. County libraries and more than 100 community vaccination events throughout the county. Flu vaccination is also available at community clinics, pharmacies or through regular healthcare providers. The nasal spray vaccine, which has...
Understanding Asthma
Flu season generally brings a spike in asthma cases – although asthma can occur year-round – and parents are often confused about this number-one chronic illness of childhood. Educating yourself about asthma is important, because asthma does kill. Your child is more likely to have asthma if others in your family have it, or if they have allergies or eczema. And you have to know asthma well to manage it....
Making Recess Work
Newton’s first law of motion, “an object in motion tends to stay in motion,” is what you’re looking for in kids on the playground at recess. Old-fashioned fun wrapped up in physical activity is not only essential to kids’ growth and development, it leads to physically active adults. In many schools, recess programs have been shortened or cut altogether, and recess no longer lives up to this ideal. “Every child...
Step Out to Raise Funds for UCPLA
How many steps do you take per day? Do you have 10,000 in you? Find out, get fit and raise funds and awareness for individuals with cerebral palsy during the “Out & About With UCPLA” fitness challenge Oct. 3-28. The money you raise will help purchase equipment such as adaptable tricycles and adaptable beach wheelchairs that help people with cerebral palsy reach their fitness goals. Kids who participate can also...
Practice, Not Perfection: Mindfulness Meditation for Kids
Meditation is a simple tool that can help kids develop focus and feel more calm. And it can be enjoyable. Parents can meditate with kids in playful ways that create safe space for emotions to surface and imaginations to be set free. But getting there takes some practice. Mindfulness practice and meditation are different for kids than for adults, but their purpose is the same: to build awareness by taking...
Doc Talk: Beyond the Bicycle Helmet
It typically happens like this: A child hops on his bike, hollers to his mom that he’s going for a ride and is gone before she can even respond. No one has checked to see if he is wearing a helmet. No one even knows exactly where he is. The boy is hit by a car and knocked unconscious. Someone calls an ambulance and he is brought to our emergency...
Giving Kids a Strong Hold on Fitness
If monkeys had a playroom, it would be the Stronghold Climbing Gym in Downtown Los Angeles. Located in the historic building that once housed the California Edison Company’s Los Angeles #3 Steam Power Plant, in the Brewery Arts Complex, this state-of-the-art facility houses hundreds of opportunities to scale walls and find routes to the top, across and under various types of simulated climbing terrain. For those who climb, it seems...
Go Get Their Eyes Checked
Optometrist Julie Forister was visiting South Coast Botanic Gardens with her family one day this summer. The mom of three was glad her 2-year-old daughter wasn’t interested in the Pokémon Go Takeover event that had taken over the lovely space – but that wasn’t the case for everyone. “Everybody was staring at their phone instead of looking at the pretty flowers in the garden,” Forister says. Now that the school...
How Your Kids Can Mindfully Succeed At School
Mindfulness and focusing have the potential to help children achieve school success with peace. I am talking about not just your peace of mind as a parent, but peace and ease for your children if they are experiencing aversion towards school or homework. Mindfully focusing at school can help students get through their day with greater ease and success. The effect of mindfulness on the brain supports increased memory, positive...
UCLA Doc Offers Tips on Preventing School Sports Injuries
Back to school means back to sports – and the risk of injury that comes with them. “Being aware of the injury potential of your sport and proactively seeking ways to prevent such injuries is critical,” says Dr. Jennifer Beck, a pediatric sports medicine physician at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. Every sport has its own inherent risks, but one competitive sport – cheerleading – often is overlooked. “There’s increasing...
Parenting & Eating Disorders in Kids: When Healthy Goes Too Far
You’ve heard medical experts extol the virtues of healthy eating. You’ve been told to keep your children away from sugar, salt and processed foods, and have started to focus on healthy eating and nutrition for yourself and your child. With all this attention to healthy eating, you’ve certainly helped safeguard your child’s health. Or have you? Is it possible you’ve put them at risk? Unfortunately, when the focus on healthy...
Doc Talk: How to Handle the Heat Like a Pro
Whether your child is at the beach, on the ball field or just out playing in the park, heat-related illness is a danger this time of year. Parents often throw around the term “heat stroke,” but are usually using it incorrectly. There are many forms of heat-related illness. Heat Cramps/Edema/Syncope: It doesn’t have to be extraordinarily hot for children to develop cramps and muscle pain or swelling (edema) of the...
5 Steps To a Balanced Breakfast Smoothie
It’s time to create a new breakfast staple with fun ideas for kids. Although breakfast is the most important meal of the day, a typical kid’s breakfast includes foods such as cereal, pancakes, bagels or waffles, which are high in processed grains. These breakfasts are easy to make, but don’t include the ideal nutrient balance your kids need to start their day. A balanced breakfast contains a protein, a carbohydrate and healthy fat. Here are five steps to help you create a balanced...
When Do Children Ask ‘What If’?
You’re on the freeway and the driver in front of you slams on the breaks. You can’t avoid rear-ending the car. Still, as you pull over, you sigh with relief that the accident wasn’t serious. And maybe you are a little more cautious on your next commute. This is an example of counterfactual reasoning or “what if” thinking. It helps us feel regret when things could have gone better, relief when they could have...
Doc Talk: Treating Insect Stings 101
This summer, the buzz about mosquitoes and Zika virus will no doubt continue. But Southern California kids are much more likely to encounter bees, wasps, hornets or yellowjackets. All carry venom that can cause problems ranging from a slight nuisance to anaphylaxis and death. First-aid starts with removal of the stinger. Flick it out with a credit card or your finger. Don’t pull it, grab it or tweeze it, or...
Community News: A Tween With An Open Heart
Noah Bella Michaelis may seem like your ordinary 12-year-old. She loves her pet dog, Finn, and pet tortoise, Escher; enjoys reading and collects miniature figurines. She was born with complex congenital heart disease and has had four open-heart surgeries since birth, but what is really extraordinary about Michaelis is her spirit. This indefatigable sixth grader has raised more than $65,000 for the Hopeful Hearts Foundation – a nonprofit that provides...
5 Tips for Healthy Summer Camp Lunches
Camp time is here. You want your kids to be well nourished and enjoy their lunch, but kids often get bored with the food parents pack, and parents have a challenging time coming up with new lunch ideas. Kids enjoy camp lunches that have balance, variety and include surprise treats. The treats are small, but are delicious and hit the spot. Here are five tips to help you build...
Ready For Summer With Pie
When strawberries come into season in the spring, at my house we start out by just bingeing on them plain – or with maybe a touch of whipped cream. Eventually, we get around to some shortcake. Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections – with locations in L.A., Echo Park and at Grand Central Market downtown – offers a recipe for another strawberry classic, strawberry-rhubarb pie. “Kids love pies,” says the mom...
Doc Talk: Why You Should Learn CPR
The 2-year-old male was eating grapes when he began to choke. Choking is a common hazard for this age group, and can cause cardiac arrest (when the heart suddenly stops beating), brain damage and death. Fortunately, by the time this boy reached the emergency department his mother had already saved his life. She cleared his airway and performed CPR until help arrived. This is an essential skill for a parent...
7 Strategies for Your Child’s Bad Mood
Everyone has a bad mood now and again – and that includes our kids. But if your child is grumpy or blue on a regular basis, it’s no fun for the family or for your child. And it could be a sign that your child needs help. I talked with clinical psychologist David Miklowitz, director of the UCLA Child & Adolescent Mood Clinic and author of “The Bipolar Teen” and...
Swimsuit Shopping for Moms in LA
It's officially summer and the need for a swimsuit can no longer be ignored. Whether it’s an anniversary trip, beach day with the kids or a girls-only retreat, you may want to wear something new in the water. But for some Moms, the challenge of swimsuit shopping is one we'd rather avoid. Whether you struggle to find the right fit for your post-baby body or your focus on function has...
Toyota and L.A. County Lifeguards Host Water Safety Event with Boys & Girls Club of Gardena-Harbor
To remind the community of key water-safety tips as families head to local beaches this summer, carmaker Toyota and the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Lifeguard Division, hosted an interactive water-safety event for the Boys & Girls Club of Gardena-Harbor in May. Toyota is the official vehicle sponsor of the LA County Lifeguards, and the company considers staying safe at the beach key to having a great time this summer....
Does Your Child Have a Mood Disorder?
You already know that children and adolescents are highly emotional beings. You’ve seen first-hand how their moods can shift quickly and dramatically. Your toddler might throw himself onto the grocery store floor in anger because he can't have the cereal he wants. Your teen might begin the day talkative and cheerful, but go silently to her room after school, slamming the door behind her. And you are left to wonder:...
Picnic Perfection: Tips for Healthy, Safe and Delicious Meals On-The-Go
Whether you are headed to the zoo, a park, an amusement park or the beach, day trips provide excellent opportunities to spend time together, create memories and explore the areas surrounding Los Angeles. These tips from our family fun magazine will keep you fed and maximize the fun. Bringing meals and snacks along for the ride will give you better control over food choices while helping to save money and...
Doc Talk: Treating Cuts and Lacerations
You probably call them “cuts,” but I call them “lacerations,” even at home. Most doctors do. Whatever you call them, properly treating cuts is important. If a laceration has significant bleeding or is obviously serious, immediately apply direct pressure with a clean cloth or towel and go to the emergency department or call 9-1-1. If the injury looks like something you might be able to treat at home, first wash...
Heart Health For Moms – Don’t Miss a Beat
Kathy Magliato and a 35-year-old named Cristin technically never met, but the thin and lovely blonde made an impression on Magliato anyway. Cristin arrived at Providence Saint John’s Health Center direct from the treadmill at a Santa Monica gym in full cardiac arrest. She died. In her 2010 book “Heart Matters: A Memoir of a Female Heart Surgeon,” Magliato, a cardiothoracic surgeon on staff at Saint John’s, shares Cristin’s story...
L.A. Sports Programs for Kids With Special Needs
Kickball was one of my favorite childhood sports. Our weekly neighborhood games were even sweeter because we had a designated pitcher. Jonathan would be the first one on the empty lot at the end of our street. He’d always bring the ball, and as long as we could get at least four kids together, we had a game. Jonathan used a wheelchair, but he loved kickball, and for us, that’s...
Green Beauty and Home Care Products For Your Family
We all want to avoid exposing our families to harmful chemicals, whether they come in the form of airborne environmental toxins, pesticides in our food or toxic ingredients in our personal-care and household-cleaning products. The biggest offenders may be petrochemicals, which are derived from petroleum, oil and coal and have been linked to birth defects, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity and cancer. These widely used offenders can be found in just about...
Doc Talk: Communicating With Your Doctor
When parents call their pediatrician’s office or emergency services when needing help with an illness or injury, they aren’t always ready with the information the person on the other end of the line will need. When you call your doctor’s office, keep in mind that the person on the phone is trying to figure out whether they need to make your child an appointment for later in the week, fit...
Ace Your Next Well-child Checkup
Before they turn 3, kids are supposed to have 10 well-child visits with a pediatrician (apart from those inevitable visits for childhood illnesses). These should offer a chance to address the many questions parents of young children face, but time with the pediatrician is often less than 15 minutes – hardly enough time to cover even the basics. To make the most of that time, be prepared. Before your child’s...
South Bay Moms Can Work Out – And Give Back
Baby Boot Camp has long relieved moms of an excuse for not working out by letting them bring their kids and baby bumps along for some exercise. Now three locations in the South Bay are giving them some extra incentive as well. This supportive community of moms working out with their kids in tow has partnered with Sweat Angels, which allows businesses to use Facebook check-ins to donate to charity....
UCLA Health Gives Belvedere Middle Fitness Center, Hope
The damning statistics about childhood obesity are not as much fun to report as good news about programs that support physical activity for kids' health. This good news comes courtesy of UCLA Health's Sound Body Sound Mind, which just donated a $50,000 state-of-the-art fitness center to Belvedere Middle School in East Los Angeles. Belvedere is one of seven L.A.-area schools chosen to receive a new fitness center this year. The program...
Deaf Son’s Need Inspires Swim Shirt Company
Cole Sherman is profoundly deaf, has cochlear implants and loves to swim. “My son, he’s a water baby,” says Cole’s dad, Eric. For many years, water and the processors that implant users wear outside the body just didn’t mix. But in 2012, when Cole was 7, he got his first set of waterproof processors. The Tarzana family quickly discovered that the processors weren’t convenient to wear in the pool. “The wearing...
5 Ways To Shrink Your Child’s Digital Footprint
Yalda Uhls understands how much you want to Instagram those adorable photos of your toddler on the potty. Really, she does. And the mom of a 13-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy is happy that Instagram wasn’t around when her children were small. “I have the cutest picture of my daughter and her friend in the bathtub,” says Uhls, senior scientific researcher at The Children’s Digital Media Center@LA at UCLA....
Four Great Family Bike Trails
If your family's spring break is a "staycation" this year, make your time feel like a bona-fide getaway by slowing down the pace and enjoying a bike ride. Many of us have developed an intense spin class or other stationary riding habit in our day-to-day, but forget that biking outside – just for family fun – can be delightful. "You see a place in a totally different way when you...
Keeping Bloodhounds On the Scent of Missing Kids
Around half of all children on the autism spectrum will wander toward something that interests them, or bolt away from something that is bothersome. And because they have little sense of danger, this wandering can take them away from their caregivers and into unsafe situations. These children often go missing, and according to the National Autism Association, children ages 9 and younger with autism who wander off are killed 42...
Doc Talk: Why There Are No Accidents
The other day, a 9-year-old came in to the emergency department with an elbow fractured in a way that required a surgical repair with metal pins, and a cut across the middle of his forehead that required plastic surgery. He had tried to skateboard down six stairs. In emergency medicine, we don’t call these “accidents,” because the injuries that happen by accident are almost always preventable. And the key to...
Calming the Buzz About Zika
Since the first reports of a potential link between infection with the mosquito-borne Zika virus in pregnant women and severe birth defects in their babies, the media has been buzzing with updates. Zika infections have been connected with cases of microcephaly, a birth defect that causes a baby’s head and brain to be underdeveloped. L.A. County’s first case of Zika was in an adolescent girl, who was infected on a...
L.A. Students Take On Skechers Los Angeles Marathon
Students Run LA will have more than 2,800 students running in the Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon on Feb. 14. After six months of training, this Valentine's Day run becomes a symbol of accomplishment for many students who have learned to love themselves by recognizing the power within. "I will never give up on myself again." Gizelle Pompa, 11th Grade "I realized I serve as my only obstacle in achieving...
Doc Talk: Calming Your Child’s Fears
When you bring your child to the emergency department or the doctor’s office, you are there to get help. But children in these situations face many common fears. Hospitals and doctors’ offices have lots of ways to comfort kids, and you shouldn’t hesitate to ask for this help. You can help as well. Kids live in a world of distraction and imagination, so use that to comfort them. Doctors and...
Eyeing Digital Device Safety
Nearly 64 percent of parents spend more than five hours a day looking at digital screens. And if we’d put down our smart phones and tablets long enough, we would notice that our kids are right behind us, with 65 percent connected two hours a day or more. Those figures are from a recent report by The Vision Council, a vision care industry group. The report, “Eyes Overexposed: The Digital...
USC Telehealth Offers Free Help For Special-Needs Caregivers
Mary Ann Frattarole thinks it was early 2012 when she started getting desperate calls from parents and caregivers of children and adults with special needs. “I got some heart-wrenching calls from parents that had a special-needs child,” she says, including one mom who also had a husband with a disability for whom she was the only caregiver. “She said, ‘I don’t know how I can make it another day. Can...
Beauty Products We Love
For the last six months, the staff and parent testers at the National Parenting Products Awards have examined and experimented with an abundance of creams, gels, lotions and potions in search of beauty products that actually deliver results. Here are our favorites. (See more beauty product reviews at NAPPAawards.com.)
There’s Still Time For Flu Shots
Even as L.A. County officials reported the first deaths of the 2015-16 flu season in mid-January, health experts reminded families that it isn’t too late to protect themselves by getting a flu shot. Both of the deaths occurred in people – a man in his 40s and a woman in her 90s – with pre-existing health problems, but pregnant women and very young children are also especially vulnerable. “Even though...
CDC Issues Travel Warning for Pregnant Women
Planning a “babymoon” cruise to the Caribbean or a Mexican getaway? Take note of a CDC travel alert that is especially directed at pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant traveling to countries where Zika virus has become a threat: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This alert follows reports in Brazil of microcephaly...
Local Center Wins Grant For Disaster Distress Helpline
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services’ Suicide Prevention Center, one of only three in the U.S. with 24-hour English- and Spanish-speaking crisis counselors, won a highly competitive federal grant to continue operating the national Disaster Distress Helpline. The free, confidential helpline provides 24-hour crisis support services for people struggling emotionally because of natural or man-made disasters, including earthquakes, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, severe storms, drought and incidents of mass violence. The...
Nontraditional Sports That Think Outside the Ball
Jennifer Jones first introduced her daughters to parkour on the streets of New York. “We traveled to New York in 2014, when my daughters were 7 and 8 and my stepdaughter was 15. I was concerned about the younger ones wanting to be carried as we walked 20 blocks at a time,” says Jones, owner of Market clothing boutique in Brentwood, “so I thought outside of the box and set...
Doc Talk: Being a Good Observer
This time of year, we see many children in the emergency department and in our urgent care center who have one of the seasonal viruses that are going around. But visiting an emergency department, or your pediatrician’s waiting room, can expose your family to viruses that will make your child sicker, or make you sick. That is a good reason to learn about which illnesses you can manage at home,...
Heads Up For New Soccer Guidelines
If you’ve winced at the sight of a ball coming down on a young soccer player’s head, new guidelines from the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) won’t surprise you. Heading the ball is too dangerous for players under age 11, the federation made known in early November, and players ages 11-13 should attempt it only during practice. Sports medicine doctor Bianca Edison, M.D., believes young athletes need to watch out for...
She Battled Cancer With a Smile
If Vivian Bui follows her chosen career path of becoming a pediatric oncologist, establishing empathy for her patients should not be a challenge. She knows exactly what cancer patients experience. At 15, Bui has gone through five rounds of chemotherapy and 39 rounds of radiation to treat nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a cancer of the upper throat behind the nose. She began her battle with cancer a year after being diagnosed with...
How To Get Your Baby’s Eyes Checked – Free
“Ten fingers, ten toes,” are often the words you hear from the delivery room nurse, telling you there are no serious problems with your baby's health. Whew! The baby's crying. The lungs are fine. The nurses go on with their routine physical evaluation, making sure your baby has made it through the birth process in excellent shape. Once your new family is back home, you start to track your baby’s...
Are Those Toys Safe, Ducky?
The baby board book, featuring lots of colors and textures meant to stimulate developing brains, was labeled “organic.” Josh Kasteler tested it anyway, and found that the packaging contained such a high level of phthalates – chemicals widely believed to disrupt hormone levels – that it contaminated the book as well. Kasteler, a biochemist and molecular biologist who founded Santa Monica-based Safe Ducky (www.safeducky.com) in June, tests toys and other...
Motherhood and Managing the Holiday Blues
Most of us have an image in our minds of the perfect family holiday: Sitting together around a table eating a delicious meal and sharing family stories, or maybe cuddled in front of the fireplace with beautiful decorations all around, exchanging gifts. But these pictures often aren’t as close to our reality as we would like. The pressure to create beautiful holiday memories, coupled with the everyday pressures of being...
Tips For Health Insurance Open Enrollment
If you dread your health insurance plan’s open enrollment period, with its fine print to read and new plans to ponder, Elizabeth Abbott can tell you why. “The reason it’s hard is that you know it’s important,” says Abbott, director of the California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA). “This is a decision that has consequences for you and your family.” You shouldn’t put this decision off until the last...
Actress Fran Drescher Leads Summit Urging Focus on Cancer Prevention
She is best known for her humor and signature voice, but actress Fran Drescher is using her star power to raise awareness about potentially cancer-causing toxins in our food, cosmetics and cleaning supplies. Drescher, a cancer survivor and comic actress best known for hit TV series “The Nanny,” hosted the inaugural Cancer Schmancer Women’s Health Summit at Oct. 13 at Skirball Cultural Center. The day-long conference included panel discussions on...
Cure Cancer In Costume
The L.A. Cancer Challenge, taking place from 7 a.m.-noon Oct. 25 at Warner Center Park in Woodland Hills, isn’t your typical fundraising event. Organized by the Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, this 5K/10K Walk/Run really gets into the Halloween spirit. Participants are encouraged to come in costume, so if you aren’t a stellar athlete, you could still win a prize for costume design. (No need to worry about running...
Healthy Food Tips from Thyme Café & Market
Chef Maire Byrne, founder of Thyme Café & Market in Santa Monica (www.thymecafeandmarket.com), grew up in L.A. in a home with five brothers and sisters, so she’s no stranger to mixing food and family. Now the mom of two daughters, she was happy to share her favorite tips about healthy family fare. What is your approach to healthy eating for your family? At home, we eat pretty clean. We have...
This Service Brings Healing To Your Home
Renee Dua is a doctor – and a busy L.A. mom of two. And after an exceptionally long night in a hospital emergency room with her infant, to receive medical attention for something that any pediatrician could have handled, she’d had enough. “We spent eight hours of our day sitting there,” Dua says. So in mid-February she founded Heal, a service that brings doctors to see patients at home. All...
Try This Fun Fall Workout With the Kids
It’s that time of year. The kids are back in school, and suddenly, life is crazy busy again, which means getting in a workout can be even more challenging. As a mom of two and pre/postnatal exercise specialist, I’ve found the best way to do this is to involve your kids. I hope you and your little ones will find this 10-minute workout fun and effective! Sara Haley is an...
Learn To Install Car Seats Correctly
No child in L.A. avoids riding in a car for long, but despite massive outreach efforts, most of them still ride in car seats that are either wrong for their size or improperly installed. “The incorrect-use rate is still over 90 percent,” says Stephanie Tombrello, executive director of SafetyBeltSafe USA, a Torrance-based national nonprofit devoted to car-safety education. Tombrello says the range of car seat models – including convertible seats...
My City Bikes App Is Health On Wheels
There are lots of reasons for you and the kids to hop on a bike – whether for the ride to school and work, or just for some family fun. The city where nobody walks is really quite bikeable, but taking to two wheels can be daunting for beginners. A new app is designed to make it easier. “It’s really common for people to just kind of be at a...
Detecting Body-Image Issues In Your Teen
What does your teen see when he or she looks in the mirror? “Body image” is how we describe what people believe about their outward appearance, how they feel about their bodies and how they sense and control their movements. Issues can occur when teens start showing signs of a negative body image, perceiving their bodies as something other than reality, convinced that their size or shape is a personal...
Emotional Health Begins In the Womb
Our experiences in the womb, during birth, and as young babies set in motion physical, mental, emotional and relational patterns that can have a profound and lifelong impact. Babies in the womb are conscious and aware of – and respond to – the outside world. So, how do we communicate with our “inside babies”? According to Dr. Albert Mehrabian, professor emeritus of psychology at UCLA and author of Silent Messages, 70 to 90 percent...
APEX Play Space Offers a Fresh Take On the Kids’ Gym
It’s long been Ed Sais’s dream to open his own kids’ gym. His first jobs were as a lifeguard and swim instructor for children. Then, for 14 years, he ran the classes at Bright Child, a much-loved kids’ gym and play space in Santa Monica. After Bright Child closed, many parents whose children grew up attending and loving Sais’s classes encouraged him to open a place of his own. Sais...
30 Real-Food Snack Ideas for Kids
Snack. The word itself sounds fun and delicious, right? We all perk up when imagining our own personal-sized package of chips, crackers or cookies. Sadly, these so-called “snacks” are just treats with a convenient name change. Most Americans are not eating quality meals or snacks, but instead are eating packages of sugary, salty, empty carbs with minimal nutrition. We have been conditioned to crave these snacks in bright, colorful boxes,...
Protect Your Kids’ Eyes From Digital Device Strain
The new babysitter on the block is the iPad, the cell phone, the Nintendo handheld. We hand them to our kids nearly as soon as our kids can grasp them. And who can blame us? The kids want the devices. They are fascinated and enraptured by them. We even tell ourselves they are educational devices. And it works. Our kids sit quietly in one place and play. However, we have...
Strike a Balance To Keep Kids Hydrated
When Alan Nager, MD, Director of Emergency Medicine and Transport at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, commutes to work, he passes at least eight Starbucks and various other purveyors of caffeine along the way. “In summer, half the people there are adolescents,” he says. Nager, like many experts, says that drinks with caffeine, energy drinks, alcohol, sodas and drinks with lots of sugar in them aren’t great for kids. They can...
New Tool Let’s Swimmers Know If Beach Water is Safe
The unusual rainstorm over the weekend means lots of water washing through L.A. storm drains and down to the ocean, where the bacteria and pollution the storm water brings with it makes the water unsafe for swimming. Currently, local health agencies use laboratory analyses of water samples collected at the beach to determine if it is safe for recreational use. Unfortunately, it takes 24-48 hours to collect the samples, transport...
Hundreds Get in Shape Through Free Cedars-Sinai Exercise in the Park Program
Every summer, hundreds of people participate in Cedars-Sinai’s free Exercise in the Park program led by health educators at two locations in underserved neighborhoods in the West Adams district. The workouts — a combination of stretching, calisthenics and dance moves — attract many regulars who have participated since the program started in 2012. They show up Mondays through Thursdays with bottled water, enthusiasm and commitment. One young mother, who works...
Innovative P.E. Program From UCLA Boosts Student Fitness, Confidence
A physical education program that brings commercial-grade fitness equipment to under-resourced schools, along with a curriculum based on boosting confidence and making participation more enjoyable, dramatically increases students’ performance on California’s standardized physical fitness test, a UCLA study has found. Professor of urban planning and associate dean in the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris and a team of UCLA graduate students followed 640 seventh to 10th grade...
Keep Tabs on Children’s Product Recalls
Maria L. recently searched a swap meet for the perfect stroller for her baby, due in a couple of weeks. When she settled on one to purchase, Maria had no idea that the item was on a Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) list of recalled products known to cause injury and deaths. Recently, to help Maria save money, her family and friends also gave her used baby items that they...
Healthy Eating For Family Travelers
Travel season is upon us, and a lot of Angelino families will escape the commotion of our city by driving up the coast, down to San Diego or east to the desert – or fly even farther afield. While traveling is no easy feat, having a solid eating plan for your trip can help you and your family maintain a balanced lifestyle and protect your children's health while saving money...
Lunchtime Picnic is the Key to Beach Safety
Pack a picnic and your family is on the way to a safe day at the beach, says emergency physician Eric Nakkim, M.D. He’s a dad, beach lover, child safety expert and co-director of the Richard and Melanie Lundquist Emergency Department at Torrance Memorial Medical Center, and offered us some beach safety tips. Choose the time and place with care. Swim near a lifeguard, who has rescue skills and the...
Protect Kid Passengers From Drunk Drivers
As your family enjoys Fourth of July festivities and other outings this summer, pay attention to how much anyone who plans to drive is drinking – especially if they will be driving with kids – urges Stephanie Tombrello, executive director of the California-based nonprofit SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. A study published last year in the journal Pediatrics found that 65 percent of children killed in crashes involving impaired drivers were actually riding...
Providence Tarzana Medical Center Partners with CHLA on Valley Pediatric Care
When Kelli Brodie’s son Conrad was born March 30 at Providence Tarzana Medical Center, Conrad didn’t get to stay at the hospital for long. The infant was born with an intestinal defect and had to be immediately transported to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles – almost 20 miles away – for lifesaving specialty care. There is no children’s hospital in the area served by Providence Tarzana pediatrics – a region of...
In-Home, Post-Natal Newborn Service Launches In Southern California
Orange County Mom Creates Non-Medical Post-Natal Newborn Service “Uccellino” to Assist New Parents with Newborn Care in the Comfort of their Own Home Newborn babies typically don’t come with instruction manuals, but thanks to a new service created by the personal experiences of an Orange County mom, “motherly” advice and support can now be just a phone call or home visit away. Uccellino, which in Italian means “little bird,” is...
5 Tips for Relaxed Real-Food Mornings and Evenings
It’s dark and a bit chilly in your bedroom, which gives your warm and cozy covers more power to pull you in. Then you feel a small finger tapping your shoulder and you hear, “Mommy?” With your eyes half open, you stumble into the kitchen to take breakfast orders. The frantic routine of preparing breakfast, unloading dishes, packing lunches and attempting to feed yourself begins. Oh, and forget about drinking...
Tips For Skipping Packaged Foods
If we are what we eat, then most of the packaged foods on grocery store shelves will turn your family into a salt shaker. A government report published in April found that more than half of these foods – including more than 70 percent of pizza, pasta and meat dishes and 50 to 70 percent of cold cuts, soups and sandwiches – contain more salt than U.S. dietary guidelines consider...
L.A. Kids to Attend Juvenile Diabetes Conference
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is sending four young students from the Los Angeles area to Washington, D.C. July 13-15 for the JDRF Children’s Congress. As California delegates, they will address members of Congress to lobby for continuing research into a cure for for type 1 diabetes (T1D). Jackson Blair, 7, Madeleine Redmond, 10, Clair Haslett, 11, and Grace walker, 17 will join children ages 4 to 17 from across...
Diagnosis: Hope
Race to Erase MS founder Nancy Davis talks about how parenting with MS can be done, and why May is the month to wear orange. I was a mom with three young children when I got the news. An avid skier, I had been on the slopes in Aspen. There was an accident, and I wound up in a local hospital. Three weeks later, I began to experience numbness in...
Your Child’s Brain on $150,000 a Year
We know that lots of things shape children’s brains – reading to them, letting them play outdoors, teaching them to play music. Now a new study, the largest of its kind to date, has found a relationship between family income and children’s brain structure. Looking at the brains of more than 1,000 typically developing kids ages 3 to 20, researchers found that the brains of those growing up in households...
Muscle Mania at Home and School
Kristen DeLeo founded her nonprofit electriKIDS in 1999. She has taken her show on the road on a nationwide “Muscle Mania Tour” and hosted Muscle Mania assemblies at schools in and around Palos Verdes, where she lives. Now, DeLeo is working to move her workouts into schools that otherwise couldn’t afford them. The certified fitness instructor and mom of two boys has based her new “Fit 4 All” program on...
Cleaner Air Improves Children’s Health
The air in Southern California has gotten cleaner during the past 20 years, and kids’ lungs have gotten healthier, says a new report from a 20-year study involving more than 2,000 children in five local communities. The USC Children’s Health Study tracked air quality in the L.A. basin and measured the lung development three groups of kids ages 11-15 living in Long Beach, Mira Loma, Riverside, San Dimas and Upland....
Five Rejuvenating Tips for Moms
Many moms feel guilty for taking some time to themselves when there is always so much to do but taking some quiet “you” time will completely benefit your body, mind and soul. And taking care of yourself is part of positive parenting. Here are a few tips that moms can do regularly to get some well-deserved peace of mind and mental space. Cultivate a morning practice. By carving out 20...
Children’s Health: Parents Still Push For Vaccine Delays
As winter turned to spring this past month, the state of California had confirmed 133 cases of a disease that was declared eliminated from the U.S. 15 years ago – measles. The well-publicized outbreak, which began in December and was traced to Disneyland, was proclaimed a wake-up call about lagging vaccination rates among the state’s children. But a national survey published online March 2 in Pediatrics found that many parents...
7 Safety Strategies for Kids With Special Needs
As parents, it is our job to worry about our kids. And we worry about our children with special needs at every stage of their (and our) lives. As it turns out, worry is a waste of mental energy – energy we cannot afford to waste! The best thing to do with worry is convert it to action, doing something positive to mitigate the unsettling thoughts that keep us awake...
Breaking the Sound Barrier for Children Born Deaf
Almost immediately after she was born, it became apparent that Angelica Lopez was deaf. Her parents, Julie and Santos, learned sign language and started making the heartbreaking, but necessary, adjustments to their daughter's special needs. Last summer, they learned of a device called an auditory brainstem implant (ABI), still in the testing phase, that might help recover Angelica’s hearing. Hearing aids and cochlear implants cannot help children like Angelica, because...
5 Top Tips for Mom’s Mental Health
While raising children can be extremely rewarding, it can also be highly stressful. Mothers are caretakers, teachers, chefs, chauffeurs, cleaning ladies, counselors, personal shoppers, stylists and nurses to their children — in addition to any jobs they have outside the home. Moms need to remember that in addition to caring for their children’s well-being, they need to take time to nurture their own mental health and emotions. As mother to...
Unique Health Program Appeals to Digital Kids
Milena Bice’s 5-year-old son Diego was at an L.A.-area grocery store with his grandmother recently, and she wasn’t sure whether the breakfast cereal he wanted was a healthy choice. “Read me the first three ingredients,” Diego said. When one of them was sugar, he told his grandma, “Oh, that’s a red-light food. You can put it back.” The Bice family has been learning healthy-eating and exercise strategies using Kurbo, an...
UCLA Researchers Hope to Make Earlier Autism Detection Possible
Early detection is the key to helping children on the autism spectrum realize their full potential. Experts tend to agree that autism can be reliably diagnosed at age 3, when symptoms are present. Infants’ behavior is much more limited, making earlier detection a challenge, but researchers at UCLA are hoping to learn enough to change that. By studying behavior along with brain differences that could signal communication delays, they hope...
Children’s Health: What Parents Need to Know About Cutting
Non-suicidal self-injury, also known as “cutting” because that is the most popular form it takes, is frighteningly common among kids – though the problem is difficult to study. Some researchers believe that as many as 10 percent of 8-12-year-olds have attempted self-injury. “The statistics in this particular area are completely unreliable,” says Angela Kahn, founder of the L.A.-based Kahn Institute for Self-Injury. “We have enough anecdotal evidence to say that...
Ashleigh Parsons: Making Kale Connections for Kids
If there’s one person who can get your kids to eat kale, it’s Ashleigh Parsons. Had she put her Harvard master’s to work in the classroom, the sweet 29-year-old would be everyone’s favorite teacher. But before getting that degree, she spent time juggling a job at an Oakland farm-to-table restaurant with volunteer work at an after-school program in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district. Taking the low-income kids from the food desert...
The “D” Word
As a child growing up in America, life can be difficult when dealing with a disability or birth deformity. These are children who had no choice in their heredity, but now are committed to a lifetime of coping with being “different.” For those whose deformities cannot be concealed, it is an even bigger challenge that they face — a challenge that most people will never understand. Having a birth deformity...
Rethinking Pizza for Children’s Health
Move over sugary drinks, there is a new enemy in the war against childhood obesity. Pizza. Pizza is the second-largest contributor of calories to the diets of U.S. kids ages 2-19, according to a study in the February issue of Pediatrics, and study authors recommend making it a target in obesity-prevention and children's health counseling. Here are some findings based on dietary information from more than 12,000 kids across the...
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Studying Tummy Troubles and Autism
Research has shown that children on the autism spectrum experience more, and more severe, stomach problems such as constipation and bloating than other children their age do. If your child is one of them, you might be interested in a study being conducted by the special needs researchers at the Boone Fetter Clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Because the discomfort from these gastrointestinal issues can make school and social...
10 Quick Healthy Tips for Busy Moms
It may be difficult for moms to set aside time for themselves. They are often more focused on their children's health, and the thought of sticking to New Year’s Resolutions may add to stress rather than alleviate it. However, eating well and exercising benefits moms and everyone in the family. As a physician practicing at Kaiser Permanente in Panorama City and a working mom to active preschool twins, I know...
Cedars-Sinai Employs New Technology to Help Preemies Gain Weight, Sleep Better
Cedars-Sinai is using new devices to personalize the nutritional supplements of the smallest babies in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, part of the Maxine Dunitz Children’s Health Center. Doctors have begun using a device known as the Pea Pod to measure the body composition of these infants, improving the children's health. Resembling a mini MRI machine, the Pea Pod uses air displacement to calculate the percentage of each infant’s...
Colds vs. Flu: Fever Makes a Difference for Children’s Health
Cold and flu season is upon us, and that means it’s time to invest in a good thermometer to help protect your children's health. That’s the advice of pediatrician Tanya Altmann, M.D., Assistant Clinical Professor at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. Tracking fever can help you tell whether your child has a cold (more common) or the flu (potentially more serious). Colds typically involve mainly what Altmann calls “head symptoms” such...
January is National Radon Action Month – Protect Your Children’s Health
Radon gas is a nationwide problem, affecting one in 15 homes in the U.S. The colorless, odorless gas is invisible to the eye. It comes from decayed radium and uranium in soil, and invades homes and buildings through foundation cracks, openings and even directly through concrete, posing a threat to children's health and the health of the whole family. Radon is a carcinogen, and is the number-one cause of lung...
Where to Get Children’s Health Care
There are excellent healthcare options for your family in Southern California. Here’s how to access them. One day in November, a mom and dad brought their 13-year-old son to the Exer urgent-care clinic in Calabasas. They thought he had the stomach flu – just something a doctor should see. They were wrong about the flu, but right to seek medical care. The doctors examined the boy, took blood tests, and...
Pregnant Moms Can Help Catch Preeclampsia Early
For most women, being pregnant is a wonderful experience. Getting prenatal care, eating healthy and exercising regularly are all important to help maternal health and delivery of a healthy baby. While physicians are always checking to make sure that mother and baby are healthy, expectant mothers can help be on the lookout for signs that they may need medical attention. High blood pressure disorders are among the most common medical...
Eat, Sleep, Move: Parenting For Good Health
Health is complicated, but simple basics can make a big difference. How and what we eat, how well we sleep and how much we move are important. Use these healthy parenting tips to help your family be well in 2015. Eat Forget gluten free, paleo and cutting carbs. Eating right means slowing down. “I would like to see families take more time to prepare meals at home,” says Amy Childress,...
Helping Kids Conquer Fear of the Dentist
Most dental visits are easy and painless nowadays, but scary stereotypes about the dentist persist. For kids who pick up on these stereotypes, fear of dental visits could lead to poor oral health well into adulthood. Talking with your child about their fears and hesitations about visiting the dentist and working to address their concerns is an important part of parenting. Here are some tips that will help you get...
Brooklyn Abbott: Blogging For Colitis Awareness
Not many people fully understand what it means to struggle with Crohn’s Disease or colitis (forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease) on a daily basis. Symptoms can range from pain to anemia, severe fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite and joint pain. December is Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Month, so we talked with Brooklyn Abbott, a former L.A. television producer, patient with colitis, single mom, advocate and popular blogger who gave...
Toxic Stress and Children’s Health
Nadine Burke Harris, M.D., shows her audience of healthcare workers, therapists and community activists a photo of a bear on the screen behind her to make her point. Encountering a bear in the woods – or other serious threat – makes the human brain pump powerful stress hormones and divert blood to the large muscles of the arms and legs so we can either fight or run away. It’s supposed...
Contact Lenses Vs. Glasses for Active Kids
Is your child a student of karate? A competitive young swimmer? A baseball player for the local little league team? If your child has an active lifestyle and needs vision correction, contact lenses might be a better choice than glasses. Let’s look at some of the advantages of contact use for your pediatric champion. More stable vision. A child wearing eyeglasses can feel the frames move slightly on his or...
When Kids Enter Puberty Early
Recently, a friend asked me, “How do you talk to younger kids who are developing earlier than other children?” His 7-year-old niece started her period and the family wasn’t sure how to talk to her about it. Working in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, I discuss puberty with teens, young adults and their families quite often. What is normal? What is abnormal?...
Healthy Holiday: Santa’s Cookie Pops
Here in sunny SoCal, hot cocoa is still a favorite, but it’s also ice pop weather almost all year. Health-conscious families can get the skinny on a real treat with this recipe from Mom and Pop Shop, a local, family-owned business that brings all-natural popsicles to events of all sorts. Learn more about them at www.momandpopshoptruck.com. Santa’s Cookie Pops Yield 6-8 pops INGREDIENTS 1 can (13-14oz) Unsweetened Coconut Milk (if...
A special Halloween for Babies in the Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Volunteers were working hard on the days leading up to Halloween to ensure a festive celebration for the babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Cedars-Sinai’s Maxine Dunitz Children's Health Center. In what has become an annual tradition, volunteers from Good Beginnings and some nurses in the Maxine Dunitz Children's Health Center created adorable costumes, all handmade, for the tiny babies who were spending their first Halloween in the...
Measuring Medications Correctly
It’s the middle of the night, your child has a fever and you find yourself in the kitchen, squinting at the numbers printed on the side of a tiny plastic cup. The bottle of Children’s Tylenol says the dose is two teaspoons. You pour, thinking you’ve got it right. But what if you don’t? In a study out this summer in Pediatrics, as many as 40 percent of parents made...
Flu Season Is Here – Time For Your Shots
While all the talk in the media seems to be about Ebola (including work on a vaccine), here in the U.S. people are at much greater risk of harm from a virus for which we already have a vaccine – the flu. As the annual flu season begins, the L.A. County department of public health announced that influenza vaccinations are now available at no cost to residents at public health...
Use Common-Sense Measures To Prevent Enterovirus
As cold and flu season gets underway, parents should also be on the lookout for signs of a sometimes-serious respiratory infection called enterovirus D68. There are 100 strains of enterovirus, and this particular one isn’t new. It was first identified in California in 1962. But Pia Pannaraj, M.D., an infectious disease specialist with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, says EV-D68, as the strain is known, “seems to have evolved in a...
Naked Babies and Healthy Body Image
While you might find the sight of your 1-year-old toddling naked through the kitchen adorable, you might feel differently if you’re having a dinner party and your little streaker is 4. And your reaction – including your tone of voice, the words you use, and your body language – are more important than you might think. “Those are sending early, early messages to your child about sexuality and about their...
On Solid Ground
Your Family Can Be Ready For SoCal’s Next Big Earthquake Welcome to L.A. Parent's earthquake readiness page. We've compiled this handy guide because, when we're talking about a major earthquake hitting Southern California, it's not "if," it's "when." We want your family to be prepared. We cover a number of topics here, but have tried to keep it simple. Just click below to jump to the section you're interested...
Don’t Leave Your Child in a Hot Car
Parents and caregivers most often leave children in hot cars due to a change in routine or a quick errand that turns out to be longer than anticipated. Because of all the publicity and increase in children being left in sweltering cars, I was inspired to write this article. To learn more, I reached out to Helen Arbogast, MPH, CHES, manager of the Injury Prevention Program at CHLA. Did you...
If the Doctor Didn’t Lather Up, Speak Up
Did you wash your hands? You’ve asked your child hundreds of times, but how about your child’s doctor? If you didn’t see the pediatrician lather up before examining your son or daughter, you should speak up, says James E. Stein, M.D., chief quality medical officer at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers should wash their hands – or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer – in the exam...
Battling Back-to-School Asthma
One in 11 kids in L.A. County has asthma. If your child is one of them, you might have noticed more flare-ups at the start of each new school year. Many hospitals report that asthma-related visits from kids peak around mid-September. The weather is part of the problem, with allergens that can trigger attacks increasing in late summer, and pollens and molds made airborne by the hot, dry conditions. Classrooms...
Costco Donates $10 Million to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Making the largest single corporate gift Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has ever received, Costco Wholesale Corporation has made a $10 million philanthropic commitment to support the pediatric medical facility. In honor of this gift, the second floor of the Marion and John E. Anderson Pavilion, home to the hospital’s Heart Institute, will be named the Costco Wholesale Floor. "Costco Wholesale has been a significant partner in our mission to...
Superheroes Wash Windows, Lift Spirits At Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA
A team of very special “grime fighters” turned out Aug. 13 to tidy up at Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA. And the results were just super. Building window washers dressed as Batman, Captain America, Spiderman and Wonder Woman – all from the hospital’s window-washing vendor, Sunland Window Cleaning – descended on their cleaning platform from the hospital roof down to the fifth-floor outdoor Chase Child Life terrace, where they joined pediatric...
Get Your Child to Stop Picking Their Nose
My nephew recently came up to me and said, “I have a boogie,” as he held out his finger and waved a ball of freshly plucked mucous in front of me. Gross. I immediately remedied this situation by handing him a tissue and sending him to the restroom to wash his hands. Nose picking is a common habit among kids. In preparation for writing this article, I had the pleasure...
Catch Up On Vaccines for Back-to-School
With the new school year’s arrival, it’s a good time to catch up the family’s vaccinations. Here are a few reasons it is extra important this year: Measles has been on the rise. L.A. County has been seeing a higher-than-usual number of measles cases according to the county department of public health, which began reminding residents to catch up on their Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine in early March. Statewide,...
Protect Your Family Against West Nile Virus
The 2014 West Nile virus season is underway in L.A. County, with the Department of Public Health confirming the first human cases of WNV infection last week. A San Fernando Valley woman in her 60s was hospitalized and is recovering. A man in his 20s who donated blood in late July was found to be infected, but has no symptoms and remains healthy. WNV is spread through the bite of...
The Kid-Friendly Foods of Summer
Believe it or not, summer might be the perfect time to give your picky toddler a nutritional makeover. At least, that’s what Scott Cohen thinks. Cohen is a Beverly Hills-based pediatrician whose daughters are 4 and 6, and he admits that toddlers can be tricky. “There is always a struggle between wanting to be in control and having that control,” he says. Toddlers crave independence, but thrive on structure. He...
Tips for Keeping Preschoolers Fit
Most health experts say most of us sit too much – and that includes our children. While obesity rates among preschoolers have been declining, as many as eight percent are still overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But there’s plenty you can do to keep your little ones moving – and make sure they eat right – says Angela Johnson, executive director of...
Kids Get a Chance At Normal When Incontinence Problems Are Treated
Potty training doesn’t always go smoothly, but what if it never quite happens? What if your child is 6 or 7 and still can’t make it through the day clean? It’s a frustrating situation for the parent, sure. But it’s devastating for the child. “One kid came into Cedars ER and basically said that he wanted to kill himself,” recalls Philip Frykman, M.D., associate director of pediatric surgery at Cedars-Sinai...
How to Manage Your Child’s Peanut Allergy
Did you know that peanut allergy is the third most common food allergy for children in America? To learn more, I partnered with Ronald Ferdman, MD, physician in theDivision of Clinical Immunology and Allergy at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. I’ll explain how you can help manage your child’s peanut-free lifestyle during grocery shopping and at school. Peanut Allergy Facts A peanut allergy is a rapid reaction to the ingestion of...
Ways to help your child lose weight safely
How many fast-food restaurants have you driven through at 6 p.m. on a work night, with a hungry child screaming at you? Many of us have, and as parents we likely feel guilty. Childhood obesity is rapidly on the rise in this country. A recent study published in the Wall Street Journal sites the obesity epidemic as global: 2.1 billion people, or about 29 percent of the world's population, were...
Pediatric Obesity Clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Receives $1.5 Million Grant
The EMPOWER Weight Management Clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles – dedicated to helping young patients struggling with significant weight issues, and their families – has received $1.5 million from the UniHealth Foundation to help expand clinic hours and community outreach activities. EMPOWER stands for Energy Management for Personalized Weight Reduction, and the clinic is part of the Diabetes and Obesity program at CHLA. EMPOWER gives patients access to a...
Unplug For Successful Family Dinners
By Randi Goodman, LMFT When I was a child, I remember family dinners as a time to be with the family without interruptions. When the phone rang, my mother would scream, “Nobody answer that.” As a mother myself, I find it difficult to hold a conversation with my children without them being attached to their cell phones and other electronic devices. They are Tweeting, Facebooking, and looking at Instagram instead...
Safer Play For Kids and Dogs
By Lesley Brog As founder and Chief Animal Lover of Los Angeles-based dog rescue Wags and Walks and mom to three girls, I’ve seen firsthand how kids and dogs best go together. There is truly nothing better for a child than the love of a dog. It builds a child’s confidence, immune system and communications skills. That said, there are some important things to know so that the dogs and...
Burn-Injury Prevention Tips For Your Family
By Delilah Dees, BSN, RN, PHN, Remedies nurse blogger at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles The American Burn Association states that more than 136,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each year due to burn-related injury. Continue reading as I explain the three types of burns, why babies are more at risk and how you prevent your child from burn-related injury. Burns are classified into three categories depending on how bad...
Manage Your Child’s Cat Allergy
By Judith Tighe, RN, CPN, RN Remedies nurse blogger at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles When I was growing up in London, England, we had a cat, as well as other animals including rabbits, chickens and one tortoise. Since then, we have carried on the tradition with two to three cats at any given time. You can imagine my surprise when my daughter moved away from home only to find out...
Choosing the Right Sunscreen for Your Family
With so many types of sunscreens available, it is easy to get overwhelmed at the local drug store. Understanding what you might see on sunscreen labels will allow you to choose the right sunscreen for you and your family’s needs. What Does UVA and UVB Mean? Sunlight consists of two types of harmful ultraviolet radiations: UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays penetrate into the thickest layer of skin and have...
Making Summer Safer For Kids
By Elena Epstein When asked about their favorite summertime childhood memories, the eclectic panel of speakers brought together by LiveHealth Online last night at the Palihouse in West Hollywood became nostalgic. “I loved summer camp,” said digital lifestyle expert Carley Knobloch, founder of Forward Living and mom of two. “I loved that we could get lost in our own social nonsense.” “The greatest day of every year was the last...
Girl Athletes Should Train To Protect Their Knees
By Christina Elston ACL injuries in girls don’t happen quietly, and usually don’t involve impact. A girl will be dribbling the ball down the soccer field, pivot to avoid an opposing player, then collapse dramatically, often accompanied by an audible “pop.” “You’re going to see it. Oftentimes you’re going to hear it,” says Gregory Adamson, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. ...
Navigate Your Child’s Soy Allergy
By Robert Giesler, BSN, RN, RNC-NIC, RRT, CPST, RN Remedies nurse blogger at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Allergies come from different sources such as dust, cats, soy, peanuts, etc. They are a major cause of illness in the U.S. Up to 50 million Americans, including millions of kids, have some type of allergy. Since allergies affect many families, I wanted to learn more and share information about soy allergy. Soy...
Safer Swimming
Tips from local lifeguards will help you protect your kids at the beach, the lake or the pool. By Melanie Gaball Swim season is seemingly endless for Angelenos this year. Non-existent winter temperatures plus an abundance of recreational water choices means there is unlimited fun to be had! Four L.A. lifeguards offer advice to help you keep your family safe while you frolic in the surf or by the pool....
Is Gluten-Free Good?
You’ve Seen the Labels, Now Get the Facts By Christina Elston Once upon a time, people who wanted to follow gluten-free diets (and there weren’t many of them) didn’t have many options. That’s not to say that they couldn’t find much to eat. There are many, many foods that don’t contain a trace of gluten and never have. But back then, the words “gluten-free” weren’t screaming at folks from every...