Monthly Archive for May, 2010

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Published on May 27, 2010 in Parenting and Teens. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Who is this child and how did they get inside of my kids body? Many of you have probably asked this question once or twice, especially when your child entered adolescence and their body began to change. Puberty begins the transition from child to adult.  Your child is trying to become more independent. At times this can manifest in your teenager being downright moody or pushing you away even when they really need you. I can recall going to a restaurant with my mother when I was a teenager and telling her to stand away from me in line Continue reading ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’

I’m a Big Sister Now!

Published on May 25, 2010 in Babies, Parenting, Uncategorized and siblings. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

I will never forget my daughter on the day my son was born. She had stayed the night at Grandma T’s house. When she arrived at the hospital, I went out to the hallway to hug her. She stood there apprehensive 20 feet away, clinging on to Grandma and refusing to come any closer to me. It took a few minutes of coaxing to get her actually into the room with mommy and her brother. Once in, she went and sat in the far corner of the room refusing to make eye contact with anyone. It took about another 10 minutes to finally get her to sit on the bed and touch her brother and then she was done with him for the day.

She certainly got over this major Continue reading ‘I’m a Big Sister Now!’

Safer Surfing

Published on May 20, 2010 in Internet, Safety and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

girl with laptop

The Internet is a wonderful tool as it puts so much knowledge at our fingertips. This is both good and bad. The Internet magnifies some of the more challenging milestones of adolescence–like social pressures and sexuality.  There’s Internet bullying through Facebook and other social networking sites, text messaging with inappropriate photos, and webcam “chatting.” Aside from the opportunities for peers to do harm to other peers, there are sexual predators lurking online who might try to do them harm as well.

There are chances for positive social interaction and learning online, but also possibilities for hurtful interaction and danger.  How do you impress upon kids the importance of Continue reading ‘Safer Surfing’

Sports Physicals, Sports Injuries

Published on May 18, 2010 in Prevention, Safety and exercise. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Summertime is rapidly approaching and for a pediatrician, this means lots of well visits as parents bring in their children to get a check up. Sometimes parents will call it the sports physical which is fine, but it is really an opportunity to assess the child and cover a variety of topics ranging from nutrition and injury prevention to discussing high-risk teen behaviors and depression. Quite often this is the one time a year I may see a healthy teenager, so there is a lot to cover.

Certain injuries and ailments are much more common than others and they vary by the sport the child participates in. During the growing years, a child’s bones grow faster than Continue reading ‘Sports Physicals, Sports Injuries’

Celebrate “Just Trying”

Published on May 13, 2010 in Parenting and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Kids get a lot of kudos when they win, but what about when they put themselves out there and just try? Just making an effort to learn something new can be as important as mastery and winning for a child. You have to start somewhere and some kids think they should be able to do everything well right off the bat or shouldn’t do it at all.

Praise is very important. When kids are encouraged for their efforts just to do new things, they can discover what they enjoy (even if they are not the best in the world) and where they can excel. Sometimes it is the continued practice of something that leads to a dramatic mastery of a skill.

I can recall back Continue reading ‘Celebrate “Just Trying”’

Get Ready for Cycling

Published on May 11, 2010 in Out and About, Safety and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Cycling child

For those of you who know me well, I love to run and manage to get to far away places with nothing but my own two feet. Patients spot me running all over Redmond. I do not even own a bicycle at this time, but now that my daughter has learned how to ride a two-wheeler, it is time for me to reconsider. My daughter can cover a lot more ground on her bike than by foot right now and I want to encourage this.

Bicycling is an excellent way for a family to exercise and encourage a healthy lifestyle. It is one of those memorable childhood developmental milestones. It is also great that Group Health promotes cycling as a way to get and stay in shape, and have a bunch of fun in the process.  There are numerous events that they sponsor throughout the year.

Families can start introducing their children to the sport  at a young age by taking them along in the bike trailer with the right safety equipment on, of course. Children also need to be taught bike safety like riding with traffic and obeying traffic signals Continue reading ‘Get Ready for Cycling’

Happy Mother’s Day

Published on May 6, 2010 in Out and About and Parenting. 0 Comments Tags: .

Mother’s Day is this weekend. On a personal level, it is a time for me to reflect and appreciate all the wonderful things my mother has done for me and also the great things that my wife has done for our family. She brought two beautiful and unique children into our lives and I am grateful for this every day. I already have my children thinking about what they want to do for mommy on this special day and have some projects underway. Hopefully their plans will involve a day of no fighting. Continue reading ‘Happy Mother’s Day’

Birthmarks: Rarely a Reason for Concern

Published on May 4, 2010 in Parenting. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Birthmarks are quite common and rarely something to worry about. Put simply, birthmarks are discolorations of the skin and come in two types, vascular and non vascular. Nobody really knows for sure why they occur. I remember when my daughter was first born I noticed a small red dot on her abdomen and thought nothing of it. Within a month it had grown into a golf ball sized red vascular mass which remained there for the next few years before it started to resolve on its own and is now barely noticeable. My Daughter even named this hemangioma her Mob.

Another very common vascular one is the “stork bite” Continue reading ‘Birthmarks: Rarely a Reason for Concern’