Health & Wellness
By Understanding Our Own Anxiety, We Help Our Kids
As a parent, I have seen anxiety in my kids in different stages of their lives. My older child, while in the process of switching schools, started to bite his nails and continues to this day. My younger one, less emotionally expressive, bakes up a storm to calm herself down. Both have refused to learn […]
11 Tips to Help Kids Process Political Unrest
Since Jan. 6, the news has focused on little else than the storming of the U.S. Capitol Building. As Americans, many of us are feeling a wide range of emotions. On-screen violence, vandalism and traumatic events are never easy to discuss with your children or students. However, young people need help processing these events. Older children and teens will feel […]
What L.A. Parents Need to Know About MIS-C
Los Angeles County has been buried by a post-holiday spike in COVID-19 cases. On its heels, we can expect to see an increase in cases of a COVID-related syndrome in children called MIS-C. The letters stand for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. It’s rare and can be dangerous, but is highly treatable if caught early. […]
5 Exercises for Your Postpartum Abs
Exercising postpartum can feel overwhelming for a whole host of reasons. It might be time constraints, feeling insecure about your body or lack of energy (late nights, midnight wake-ups, early mornings … we have all been there!). Adding to this is the reduced access to face-to-face appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic. One reason that might […]
At-Home Lacrosse Drills for Kids
If you’re looking for a new way to get your kids off the couch to burn some calories, consider lacrosse. We’ve seen the pros move the ball from one end of the field to the other, seemingly like magic, but the aerobic benefits of this high-intensity game can be enjoyed by anyone. And it can […]
Winter Skin Care Tips for Your Whole Family
Skin care is vital for all members of the family, regardless of age. Best practices may change depending on the specific needs of each type of skin, so it’s important to keep in mind each person’s specific sensitivities and needs. Choosing the right winter skin care products It may be difficult to use one type […]
Why You Shouldn’t Skip Your Next Well-Child Checkup
I’m a pediatrician and a mom with another child on the way, and I have an important message to share with other parents out there: Even though you may be worried about bringing your kids in for their well-child checkup right now, please don’t skip or delay well visits, eye or dental checkups. Well visits […]
Make the Most of Your Family’s Telemedicine Visits
During the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine appointments have gone from a rare novelty to a popular necessity, especially for children. These face-to-face virtual appointments allow doctors and patients to meet safely, and they ensure a child’s essential health needs are being met. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles pediatrician Mona Patel, M.D., offers advice on how to have […]
4 Tips for Healthier Family Eating in 2021
The turning of the calendar to a new year brings with it a clean slate, including a chance to tune up your family’s eating habits. It’s a challenge that you shouldn’t face alone, because success only comes with a whole-family approach. And what you need isn’t a few dietary changes, but a new relationship to […]
5 Ways to Get Your Family Moving
Are you sitting down? If you’re reading this during the COVID-19 pandemic, you probably are. And so are your kids. U.S. families have long struggled against the habit of too much “chair time,” and stay-at-home orders during 2020 haven’t helped matters. The University of Southern California conducted one of the first data-based studies of kids’ […]
Mom’s Health From Head to Toe
If Mom’s health isn’t looked after, how healthy is the rest of the family likely to be? Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to be at your best for yourself – and for everyone you’re taking care of. I reached out to experts from the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine […]
Keeping Your Student Athlete in Shape From Home
We’re all suffering to some degree from being sidelined as the pandemic drags on. But for young athletes, being kept off the field and away from teammates and coaches is only part of the equation. Some are looking at their sport of choice as a pathway to a possible college scholarship or professional career. Whether […]
Sleep Tips for Parents (and Kids)
New year, new you? I don’t normally do resolutions, but this year I vow to improve my sleep habits. As parents of two girls, my husband and I often find our evenings filled to the brim with their activities, dinner preparation, homework help, bath and book time – all while juggling client calls and emails. […]
Lettuce Grow Grooms Vertical Garden Programs
You don’t need to pull out the shovel to create a bountiful garden. You don’t even need a plot of land. Not if you use Lettuce Grow farmstands (www.lettucegrow.com), which can be placed on your patio or even a corner of a room. The self-watering, self-fertilizing hydroponic vertical gardens can be used to grow lettuce […]
A Local Pediatrician’s Take on the Pandemic
To say this year has been crazy is an understatement. And along with all of the other changes, there have been many in pediatricians’ offices. Before this year, we had become accustomed to treating anyone who walks in. We now have a responsibility to ourselves, our staff and our other patients to ask about symptoms […]
How to Take a Digital Detox Break
Are you having trouble sleeping lately? Are you frequently stressing yourself out with the late-night doom-scroll through news headlines? You’re not alone. During quarantine, most of us have spent large amounts of time scrolling through our phones, and it’s causing a lot of anxiety, stress and, sometimes, insomnia. How can we stop ourselves from doom-scrolling […]
Teen with IBD Pays the Healing Forward
In 2018, when she was in eighth grade, Chloe Fujii started having unexplained stomach pain. Her parents began to suspect that she was lactose intolerant. By her first year of high school, however, the stomach pain and diarrhea were so bad that Chloe found herself at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach, where she […]
5 Things You Should Know About Toy Safety
While we’re all in a little extra need of play and joy this holiday season, it’s still a good idea to put safety first. Alan L. Nager, M.D., of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, has this advice about toy safety. What are the biggest toy safety hazards are families likely to encounter? High-risk toys are those […]
4 COVID-Protecting Actions to Remember During Pregnancy
Being pregnant during the COVID-19 pandemic brings new and unexpected concerns for the health of expectant moms and their babies. As research and experience add to the knowledge about COVID-19 and pregnancy, physicians and patients can use that information to better protect themselves. Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released information […]
Know the Signs: Colds, Flu and COVID-19
We’re in our ninth month with the deadly respiratory virus that causes COVID-19 circulating among us – and now cold and flu season is here. Epidemiologist Brandon Brown of the Center for Healthy Communities at UC Riverside weighs in to help parents navigate the range of illnesses they might encounter this winter. “It is the […]
Caring for Your Family’s Mental Health this School Year
Some time has passed since COVID-19 initially impacted our lives, lessening some of our early worries about the pandemic. As we continue to navigate drastic changes, my concerns these days turn mostly to my children and other children around me. My kids worry about how they will stay connected with the friends they saw daily […]
Parents Anonymous Offers a Helpline and Support Groups for Families
This year has been extremely difficult for people of all ages due to the many uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Californians are out of work and under serious financial stress. Children are partaking in virtual learning, which has come with unforeseen challenges and setbacks. Most recently, California has been dealing with devastating wildfires, and many parents are unsure on how to help their children cope with all that is going on. One resource […]
Even in Fall, Keep Your Kids Swim Safe
Even heading into the cooler fall and winter months, the risk of child drownings is greater than ever this year with more families staying home to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in children ages 1-4. The latest water safety data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety […]
Don’t Forget Your Flu Shot This Year
With everyone’s focus still so firmly fixed on the COVID-19 pandemic, health experts are warning families that we can’t afford to ignore a much more familiar threat. Flu season is approaching, and flu shots are more important this year than ever. Because the flu can be a serious illness, public health officials are warning that […]
Navigating Nutrition: 5 Ideas for Healthy, Easy School Lunches and Snacks at Home
By now, many parents and kids have accepted they will be taking part in distance or hybrid learning at least for the short-term. Having nutritious ready-made foods in the fridge will increase the amount of time (and focus and energy) students have for learning. Planning ahead can also alleviate some stress for parents. Here are […]
Can Kids’ Videogame Play be Healthy?
Amidst historic wildfires and a global pandemic, virtual worlds hold an understandable appeal. Yet, many parents fear that videogames pose risks of their own – that these all-too enticing digital ecosystems may interfere with children’s healthy emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Indeed, parents have struggled to manage their kid’s videogame play, even before COVID-19 relegated […]
Turning Family Meals into Learning Time This Fall
When I became principal of a second- and third-grade elementary school, each grade had just 22 minutes – start to finish – for lunch. What was the result? Rushed eating. Food waste. Frequent friction between kids and lunch aides. General mayhem. Then, while traveling in Japan, I visited a school in which the students served […]
Get Kids’ Brushing Habits Halloween-Ready with Elmo
Already dreading the sugar bath your children’s teeth will take this Halloween? Get good dental habits started now with some help from Sesame Street’s Elmo. In a new video, created in partnership with a UCLA-led consortium called More LA Smiles, everyone’s favorite furry red monster teaches children “Elmo’s Toothy Dance.” The 2-minute YouTube video is designed […]
Three Bike Safety Rules Your Family Needs Now
As fitness centers and yoga studios closed due to COVID-19, and stay-at-home rules opened up people’s schedules, Angelenos have been taking to their bikes. “There is a bike boom that we haven’t seen since the 1970s,” says Eli Kaufman, executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC). “That’s what we’ve been after for […]
10 Baby Dangers You Might Not Have Considered
Nerves are a natural state for new parents. Hazards seem to lurk everywhere and having responsibility for protecting your little one can feel overwhelming. In honor of Baby Safety Month in September, the California Poison Control System offers a quick guide to dangers you might not have noticed – right in your own home. “Babies […]
Encouraging Your Child to Wear a Mask
As schools work on plans to safely reopen and more in-person activities become available, there will be more occasions where children will need to wear masks. Many parents are concerned that their child will refuse to or even take their mask off during the day. How can parents encourage and maintain mask wearingwhen they struggle with this […]
Are Play Dates OK During COVID?
Complaints about schlepping their kids to and from them aside, most parents (and children) are missing play dates about now. “The increased family time during this pandemic has been wonderful for many families, but by now both parents and children can probably use some new people scenery,” says John Rodarte, M.D., with Descanso Pediatrics/Huntington Health Physicians […]
6 Tips for Healthier Time Online During the Pandemic
When the coronavirus pandemic arrived and health officials urged us all to stay “safer at home,” no one chained us to our computers, televisions or phone screens – but they might as well have. We’ve worked and learned online, celebrated birthdays and graduations at our computers, visited grandparents and sat in on virtual camps, play […]
Tips for a Healthy New School Year – Wherever You Are
I spoke with Nava Yeganeh, a pediatric infectious disease doctor with UCLA Health, minutes after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mid-July announcement that California schools will not reopen for in-person instruction in the fall – following months of speculation and a patchwork of announcements by various schools and districts about their plans. “It’s a big deal, because […]
Steering Clear of Unsafe Hand Sanitizer
With coronavirus cases continuing to climb in Los Angeles and surrounding areas, hand sanitizer sales have been through the roof, to the point where there have been times when it is hard to find. Given the increased demand, the Food and Drug Administration is finding that some companies might be cutting corners and using replacement […]
Pediatricians Offer Guidance on Returning to Youth Sports Amid Coronavirus
Sports activities offer children and teens many physical and psychological health benefits besides fitness, such as socializing with friends, a critical part of development. Many children have missed these activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and re-engaging youth in sports will require careful thought and safety precautions. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), drawing on the […]
Don’t Skip Well-Child Visits and Vaccines During the Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic is creating health risks that go far beyond the dangers of COVID-19 itself as families skip well-child visits to the pediatrician – and the childhood vaccinations that go with them. Priya Soni, M.D., a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Cedars-Sinai, says that well-child visits in the U.S., including those for immunizations, are […]
How to Get Your Family Ready for Wildfire Season
L.A. families shouldn’t let the COVID-19 crisis make them forget about another danger in our community: Wildfire season. The 1,400-acre Soledad fire in the Santa Clarita Valley earlier this month should serve as a reminder, according to officials. “A wildfire can come without warning and spread quickly, leaving you little time to get to safety. […]
Fighting for Educational Justice for Black Children
As I wander through this constant maze of eight minutes and 46 seconds murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and all of the other members of my Black family and friends and culture, I think about my six children, the three sons and three daughters that left my womb and are becoming Black […]
Spider Bite Prevention Tips From California Poison Control
The California Poison Control System (CPCS) suggests being on the lookout for spiders, which are increasingly active when temperatures rise. With more people sheltering at home or just starting to hike in the hills, the risk of bites is more likely. Spider bites can result in small puncture wounds, pain, redness, itching and swelling that can last […]
Report Says Black and Brown Babies are Born at a Disadvantage
Studies have long shown that where in the U.S. a baby is born can have a major impact on that baby’s health and wellbeing going forward. But a new report out this month notes that Black and brown babies, which make up more than half of all U.S. infants, start life at a disadvantage no […]
Kids’ Mental Health During the Pandemic
As we move from spring to summer and fewer things seem to be getting back to “normal,” many kids are struggling. Clinical psychologist Bridgid Mariko Conn, Ph.D., of the division of adolescent and young medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, offers some insight. What are the major sources of anxiety for kids right now? What […]
How to Properly Care for Your Face Mask
As California and other states begin loosening stay-at-home orders and reopening businesses, it’s likely that everyone will be encouraged to wear a mask in public for months to come. But to be effective in slowing the speed of COVID-19 infection, a mask must be used correctly “Properly using a mask is just as important as actually wearing […]
Lyf App Offers Virtual Support Group
You’ve likely seen the sentiment “physical distancing, not social distancing” floating through your social media platforms. As we are all under quarantine, it’s a powerful reminder that people still need people. Lyf, a new free iOS and Android app, has launched to offer what it calls the “world’s largest virtual support group.” For people struggling […]
Pregnancy and Childbirth During the COVID Pandemic
My daughter and her husband are about to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, and they’ll be doing it under coronavirus quarantine. They’ve also been talking about starting a family. They’re both healthy, but I wondered whether getting pregnant right now is wise, so I decided to chat with Dr. John Ozimek, medical director of the […]
It’s a Great Time to Garden
Spring has sprung and we’re all at home, which makes it the perfect time to start your own home garden – in your yard or in containers. “We have a really great climate for growing vegetables in Southern California,” says Brie Wakeland, a master gardener and garden educator at The Garden School Foundation. The organization […]
Keeping it Clean During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Parents are no strangers to cleanup duty. From the time we change our baby’s first diaper it seems there is a never-ending chain of messes of one kind or another: mud pies, sticky handprints on walls and doorknobs, food spilled anywhere and everywhere, toys in various states of filth. But this is different. With cases […]
New Ways of Working Out During the Quarantine
Virtual workouts might just be the salvation of gym rats and others forced away from their in-person classes. Your kids will love them, too.
#SupportingFamilies: Breathing Tips to Steady You in Unsteady Times
These breathing tips from Sandy Abrams, the C.E.Om, can help frazzled parents and kids steady themselves and feel more empowered.
#SupportingFamilies: How to Talk to Kids About Coronavirus
As novel coronavirus, called COVID-19, continues to spread to multiple countries, including the U.S., it’s important for adults to communicate calmly with children. Karen Rogers, PhD, Clinical Psychologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, provides some guidelines for how to talk to kids about the virus. Kids pay close attention to how adults talk about coronavirus. “One […]
Largest Study to Date links 102 Genes With Autism
The symbol for autism spectrum disorder has long been a puzzle piece, and a global team of researchers has come a little closer to understanding the shape of this puzzel, according to research published online in January in the journal Cell. In the largest genetic autism study to date, they identified 102 genes that appear […]
Kid Patches that are ‘See Worthy’
As a mom, Paige Brattin knows one thing for certain: Pirate play aside, wearing an eye patch is no fun. She learned this about five years ago after her daughter Eddy was diagnosed with multiple vision problems, including amblyopia. Also called lazy eye, amblyopia can happen when the vision in one of a child’s eyes […]
Must-Know Tips on Caring For Your Child’s Teeth
Smile. Now think about your kid’s smile. One of your major responsibilities as a parent is to make sure that smile stays healthy. That means being consistent with everyone’s daily brushing and flossing routine. “That’s the biggest gift you can give to your child,” says Jill Lasky, DDS, of Lasky Pediatric Dental Group in Studio […]
Building a Healthy Heart for Your Child
February is a month where paper hearts abound, but making sure our children’s actual hearts are strong and healthy is a year-round responsibility that begins during pregnancy. Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect, and your child’s risk is connected to your family’s health history. According to Paul Kantor, chief of the Division of Cardiology […]
This Dog Gives Kids a ‘Sense’ of Safety
In 2014, Bunni and Rick Benaron founded The Hero In You Foundation as a way to honor first responders, but the project has morphed into a campaign that teaches kids to use their common sense and their senses to stay safe and be ready for emergencies. Six years ago, the Benarons were erecting 6-foot Dalmatian […]
5 Spots Where L.A. Kids can Run, Flip and Fly
Back in the day, children who enjoyed tumbling and monkey bars might take up gymnastics – and, of course, they still do. A classic never goes out of style. But in the never- ending game of “what’s next?” parkour and freerunning are the trendy new kids on the block. First created by a French physical educator in the […]
Should Kids Eat Artificially Sweetened Foods?
January is a time when many of us are trying to curb our sugar intake, but are zero-calorie or non-nutritive sweeteners a good way to do this? A November report from the American Academy of Pediatrics noted that the number of foods containing these sweeteners has quadrupled in recent years, but that their impact on […]
5 Life-Hack Mindsets for Moms
It took a hip-hop class to make Amber Trueblood realize she had lost track of herself. The L.A. mom had brought two of her four young sons to the class and filmed them through the classroom window with her phone. Later, she showed the video to her husband. “In it, you could see my reflection, […]
Youth Cycling Association: Paving a Road to Cycling for All
Royce Felten is an endurance cyclist. That makes sense for so many reasons. At age 14, he has already battled and beaten Hodgkins lymphoma. He has also faced the many challenges that go along with being a person with autism. So, what’s a 100-mile bike ride? “I just like being on the bike for long […]
Climate Change and Kids’ Health
Even as we leave fall behind, the impacts and memories of our region’s recent wildfires linger. We’re likely headed into a winter that will be shorter and a summer (and another wildfire season) that will come sooner. In fact, wildfire activity in our state has been increasing for the past 50 years. Research out this past summer […]
Ryan’s World: Making Toy Reviews and Dental Hygiene Fun
While Ryan Kaji, the kid behind Ryan ToysReview, has 2.5 million more YouTube subscribers than Beyoncé, he tries to keep a low profile. The L.A.-based Kaji family posts Ryan’s toy review videos (www.youtube.com/ryantoysreview) daily, but screen time ends by homework time, which allows the YouTube sensation to make room for music lessons, coding, soccer and tae kwon do. Still, his life […]
Make Sure They Took It
Did you take the pill yet, or do you still need to take it? From antibiotics for an infection to medications for chronic conditions such as asthma or diabetes to simple vitamin supplements, it can be tough to keep track. A Pasadena mom’s battle with breast cancer led her to a simple solution. Leeanna Gantt […]
Of Frogs and Mindfulness
If Instagram were a mindfulness exercise, most tweens and teens I know would be completely grounded and centered. If yours isn’t, convince her or him to put down the screen for 10 minutes and have the new book “Mindfulness for Teens in 10 Minutes a Day: Exercises to Feel Calm, Stay Focused & Be Your […]
LA Rockstars Baseball Club Mines Talent at Local Diamonds
Historically, a love of baseball is passed down from generation to generation. But in many communities, the generational chain to baseball has been broken, and playing the game as a primary sports option has long passed. According to an ESPN report, since 1986 the percentage of African Americans in professional baseball dropped more than half, […]
A Head’s Up About Concussion
Your young soccer star and a teammate both go up for a header and … Boom! … end up colliding head-to-head in-stead. As you rush down to the sidelines, your heart pounds as you think of all those statistics about concussion and the damage it can do: long-term memory problems, trouble concentrating, even depression. “I […]
A Cold and Flu FAQ
Cold and flu season officially starts in November, but John Rodarte, M.D., with Descanso Pediatrics/Huntington Health Physicians in La Cañada Flintridge, says kids going back to school get a jump on the season. “We already are seeing the influx,” he says. Rodarte warns families that kids starting school for the first time could catch a […]
Self-Care at Boot Camp
For moms, self-care can be tricky. It’s easier when you learn that taking care of yourself doesn’t have to happen by yourself. Working out is a great example. “When you’re at home or you’re at the gym, it’s very easy to lose motivation and stop when you start to feel tired,” says Crystal Ferris, owner […]
Good Lessons on a Bad Day
We’ve all had bad days. As parents, we’ve watched our kids have bad days, too. A new picture book from L.A.-based author-illustrator Ruby Roth, called “Bad Day,” aims to help children cope with whatever comes their way. The book’s hero is Hennie, a boy who has just arrived home at the end of a day […]
Sparking Hope: How One Project is Propelling Autism Research
Parenting a child with autism comes with a lot of questions. One chance for some answers: the SPARKforAutism Study conducted locally through UCLA. By sharing your family’s DNA with SPARK, you can help researchers understand more about autism, connect to a community of families with questions like yours, and learn valuable information about your child. […]
Is Screen Time Connected to a Mental-Health Crisis?
For decades, the Volunteer Center in Torrance has run a popular community-service program for South Bay, Long Beach and harbor-area teens. A couple of years ago, staff began noticing that teens seemed less able to focus on and complete service projects. Parents, teachers and others in the community also saw changes in teens. They wondered […]
The Right Shoes for Back to School
A new school year is a great time for new shoes. We turned to podiatrist Pedram Aslmand, DPM, at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach for some advice on finding the right fit. What do parents need to know about choosing a shoe? When kids are just starting to walk, you want a pair […]
Back to School: Getting Kids to Open Up
From pressure around grades to anxiety about transitions, bullying or home-related tensions such as divorce, some kids will start this new school year facing a host of issues. “One of the big, big issues is immigration,” says Suzanne Silverstein, M.A., founding director of the Cedars-Sinai Share & Care program. “Because a number of them are […]
How Much is Too Much for Young Athletes?
Eleven-year-old Gus Armstrong has been an athlete since before he was born. “[When I was pregnant] I remember distinctly sitting in a business meeting and people started laughing because my belly started running,” says his mom, Roslyn Simpson, who ran track at USC. Gus started playing basketball and baseball at age 5, and now plays […]
Sunscreen That’s Safe
Recent media coverage might have made you think twice when reaching for sunscreen to slather on your child. A study published in early May in JAMA concluded that avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene and ecamsule – ingredients used to chemically filter the sun’s harmful UV rays – are absorbed into the bloodstream at significant levels. Previous research […]
Vaccine Bill Seeks to Curb Bogus Medical Exemptions
In 2015, following a measles outbreak that began in Disneyland and sickened more than 100 people, California enacted a law removing the “personal exemption” option for waiving school immunizations requirements. Since passage of SB 277, only children with medical exemptions signed by a physician can attend school without being vaccinated. Vaccination rates improved in many […]
Does My Child Really Need Psychotherapy?
In the wonder years of childhood, no parent is anticipating bringing their beautiful, perfect child to see a therapist. I sure wasn’t. You see the other children at school, happily playing. You hear the other parents talking about their children’s incredible accomplishments, and you feel so alone. You swallow hard because you know something is […]
Teens, Tweens and Vaping
Don’t be fooled by the terminology. It may be called JUULing or “vaping,” but that doesn’t mean it’s as benign as inhaling water vapor. And these devices created to help smokers quit are now popular among young adults, teens and even tweens. Michael Ong, M.D., professor of medicine at UCLA and chair of the State […]
Mom’s Health: Working Through Worry
If you’re a parent, anxiety comes with the job, but not all anxiety is healthy. And what if you pass your fears along to your kids? Don’t worry! Pasadena-based clinical psychologist and dad Scott Symington, Ph.D., author of “Freedom from Anxious Thoughts and Feelings: A Two-Step Mindfulness Approach for Moving Beyond Fear and Worry,” offers […]
Watch for Summer Asthma Warning Signs
Summer brings higher temperatures and increased pollen and pollution in the air. That can cause trouble for the thousands of SoCal kids living with asthma. Watch for these warning signs from the American Lung Association that your child’s asthma might not be under control: 1. Needing to use a quick-relief inhaler more than two times […]
The Silver Lining of the Measles Epidemic
Last week, my four daughters, along with a handful of their friends, were scheduled to travel for a short but much-anticipated trip to Mexico for my oldest daughter’s birthday. It was a great plan until measles was reported at Los Angeles International Airport. One of those daughters, Sarah – not the birthday girl, but the […]
Protecting Your Kids from Molestation
Bring up the topic of child molestation around any parent and the word “nightmare” inevitably comes up. But the problem is far too real. The National Center for Victims of Crime reports that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys are victims of sexual abuse. Sandra Murray, M.D., medical director of the Child […]
State’s First Surgeon General Takes on Childhood Toxic Stress
Did your last checkup include discussions of stressors such as physical, emotional and sexual abuse, violence, mental illness or substance abuse in the home, divorce or the incarceration of a family member? If California’s new Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris, M.D., has her way, your next one will. Our state’s first surgeon general, Burke Harris, […]
How Research Can Help Parents of Children with Autism Prepare for the Future
When I became a parent, my anxiety grew astronomically. Minutes after the births of my sons, I felt entirely responsible for the fate of these little human beings. I was the Earth and they were seemingly the Sun around which my every decision revolved. Parental worry is a common problem and it can take a […]
Helping Your Kids Cope with Allergies
The spring season for sniffles and sneezes has arrived. More than 40 percent of U.S. children suffer from allergies. Most common are reactions to seasonal indoor/outdoor allergens, including those caused by pollen from trees (spring), grasses (summer), weeds (fall) and mold spores. Seasonal allergies can start as early as age 1 and peak at ages […]
The Family That Works Out Together
Many of us feel some pressure to “do it all” after we have children. That might look like taking on most (if not all) of the following: providing a safe and stimulating environment for our children, earning money, cooking nutritious meals, maintaining a social calendar and, somehow, staying in shape. It’s a high bar, and […]
Curbing Influencers’ Influence on Kids’ Eating
Once upon a time, adults worried about the sugary breakfast cereals advertised to kids on Saturday-morning cartoons. The times and the frontier have changed, with children as likely to tune in to YouTube or Instagram as Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. The problem of media swaying children’s diets toward the unhealthy, however, remains the same. […]
When Autism and Sleep Issues Collide
New parents expect to be sleep deprived – but they expect the sleepless nights to eventually end. For parents of children with autism, though, they don’t always. A study in the March issue of the journal Pediatrics found that children with autism are more than twice as likely to have sleep problems as those without […]
What You Need to Know About Measles
This is shaping up to be a banner year for a childhood disease declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000: measles. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received reports of 79 cases in January, compared with 372 in all of 2018. A public health emergency has been declared in Washington state, where 52 […]
Should Your Kids Pump Iron?
Health experts have long promoted the idea of kids playing sports, swimming, hiking, biking and just plain running around. But when it comes to another form of exercise, strength training, the jury has been out. Specialists once cautioned that strength training was a no-no before puberty, when the growth plates – the areas of tissue […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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,” […]
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 […]
Ways Your Family Can Cultivate Gratitude
Gratitude is always a good practice. 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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]