Ask Dr. Wendy

Over the past few years, I’ve seen more and more kids whose lives are taken over by gastrointestinal symptoms. At first, I thought this surge might be related to COVID and all the stress that came with it. But over time, a pattern became…

Your child’s stomach hurts every day. You’ve tried diet changes. You’ve done the tests. Everything comes back normal—and the pain is still there! Discover the new science of Disorders of Gut–Brain Interaction; why food gets b...

Can a 14-year-old have a “career-ending” injury? Can an ACL tear affect a child for decades? Youth sports culture rarely talks about the long-term cost. Why are serious sports injuries—especially knee injuries like ACL tears—...

Have updates to the vaccine schedule made you pause? In this encore episode, pediatrician Wendy Hunter, MD addresses vaccine hesitancy, answering the same questions she hears every day in the exam room. Why are vaccines given...

Are kids really sicker than before? Are screens hurting our kids more than we realize? And did we miss something important about anxiety, vaccines, or environmental exposures in 2025? Episode 147 looks back at the biggest chi...

From viruses and vaccines to screens and anxiety...headlines don’t always tell the whole story. From my perspective as a pediatrician, here’s a look at what we learned — and what we got wrong! 1. Young Kids Really Do Carry …

Every parent wonders the same thing at some point: Who is my child when I’m not there? On the playground. In the classroom. At a friend’s house.Kids are constantly making social decisions—often without an adult in sight. And thos…

Is your child nice when you’re not watching? Kids make social choices every day without adults around. Family therapist Dr. Erika Bockneck (host of Raising Souls: A Convo Podcast ) explores how kids learn social cues, interna...