DrMom

It's National Dog Bite Prevention Week – a great time to remind young children about dog safety.

Last summer our family was enjoying a nice, relaxing day in the backyard of good friends. The kids were getting ready for a dip in the pool.

Smoking is not good for you. I think we all can agree on that. It's bad for your lungs, leaves you prone to chronic respiratory infections, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Toddlers are rambunctious. In all their "I do it" and super-human-strength glory, you've got to love them.

I 'm putting myself and the rest of my family on a detox. It's not a body cleanse or anything like that. It's more of a mental clutter cleanse.

A friend recently asked me if I thought bullying was really on the rise. Is it really so much more prevalent today than when we were kids?

I don't know about you, but just thinking about the numerous ways my children can endanger themselves once they become teenagers sends me into a mini panic attack.

When parents talk about babies and sleep, aside from wondering when they can expect to get some, the discussion rightly turns to sleep safety.

Strep throat has been making its rounds at my son's school, and I've certainly been seeing it in the clinic lately.

It's the first day of spring! For many children and adults, springtime heralds the onset of troublesome seasonal allergies.

Baseball season has begun. We just enjoyed opening day this past Saturday for our son's baseball league. And it's exciting watching your child learn to play a sport he or she enjoys, isn't it?

I often counsel parents to remain as calm as possible when their child is sick or hurt. I realize this is much easier said than done.

Teaching our kids stranger safety is one of those vital, uncomfortable and fear-provoking subjects we must broach with our children.

Croup is still in full swing around the country, and if you've ever had a child with croup, you know that telltale barking cough.

As I expected, things got a bit heated, but it's an important topic and one we should be talking and writing about.

Tension and anxiety begin to mount when it comes time for your child's regularly scheduled vaccinations, particularly for preschool-age children who associate wellness visits with the pain of shots.

There's been a lot of talk about media and our children recently – more specifically, the effects of media on children younger than 2 years old.

Potty training seems to incite fear and stress among parents. And with all the horror stories we hear from family, friends and others, it's no wonder. It doesn't help that there's a stark paucity of science to support one strategy over the other. Even timing is up for debate.

Toddlerhood is ripe with new challenges and exciting milestones. Unfortunately, it could also potentially summon the end of that sacred hour or two: nap time.

Acetaminophen has got to be one of the first and most common medications given to infants and young children. And usually, as parents, we give it without much concern. We hope we are relieving our child's pain or reducing fever so he will feel better.

Don't run and hide; it never works. Your children always find you, and – on the topic of sex – there will be questions. They're going to look to you for guidance.

With the New Year just around the corner, resolutions abound. However, I prefer to call it "refocusing our priorities."

The truth is that growing pains are quite real and can be downright painful.

Being a 5-year-old is hard. Starting kindergarten, learning how to ride a bike without training wheels, losing your first tooth, and being expected to (gasp) sit still for a prolonged period of time. It's enough to push any child over the edge if the circumstances are just right.

Roughly one in 20 kindergartners are not fully vaccinated as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to a recent report from the Associated Press.

What does a night terror look like? As I sat down to write about night terrors in children, I didn't expect to be dealing with one. I just returned to my laptop after witnessing my 4-year-old daughter go through one.

Imagine for a moment that a quick trip to the grocery store can never be possible again. This is the heavy burden faced daily by parents of children with food allergies. Eight percent of all children in the United States have a food allergy, according to recent research.

Parenting is hard. No matter how hard we try, we cannot seem to find that "easy button." Parenting is 10 times trickier than diagnosing and treating medical conditions in my young patients.

It's 3 a.m., and you hear a quiet whimper coming from your child's room. Then … "Mom-me-e-e."

When you find out you're expecting, one of the first items you put on a gift registry is a car seat.