What do pediatricians really think about screen time and vaccines?
The wrapping paper is flying, everyone’s gathered together—and then it happens. Your child opens a gift, their face falls, and the holiday mood instantly shifts. Gift disappointment is one of the most common—and stressful—pa…
The holiday season is here—twinkly lights are glowing, cookies are baking, and the delivery driver might know your dog’s name by now. But if you’ve ever watched your child rip open a present only to say, “Oh… socks,&rd…
Be honest — have you ever wanted to shove your partner (or maybe even your kid) because they were snoring?We love our sleep, and nothing ruins it faster than the sound of a tiny chainsaw buzzing in the next bed. But when that snore is coming …
If your child has suddenly slipped into baby talk—“me want snack,” “carry meee”—you’re not alone. Baby talk is incredibly common, and in most cases, it’s a short-lived, harmless phase. But when it goes…
Every parent has had that moment—the one where your calm, reasonable adult brain gets hijacked by a tiny human in a dinosaur T-shirt. Maybe it happens in the cereal aisle. Maybe it happens when you ask them to put on their shoes for the tenth …
Do you ever feel like you’re tiptoeing around your child—careful with every word, changing plans to avoid a meltdown? You’re not alone! I hear parents say it all the time: “I feel like I’m walking on eggshells.”…
A mom recently told me she overheard her 13-year-old son at a sleepover explaining that girls can’t get pregnant if they’re standing up. He said it with confidence — the kind of confidence only a 13-year-old boy can muster. What r…
A few weeks ago, I met a toddler whose parents told me he could “talk” to Alexa. He asked her to play The Wheels on the Bus and even said “please.”But when I tried to chat with him, he wouldn’t engage with me. That mom…
If your child doesn’t need shots this year, do you really need to bring them in for a checkup? As a pediatrician—and as a parent who’s currently three months overdue for my own well visit—I get why you might ask that question…
Screens aren’t the enemy. They’re part of how we live, work, and connect. But when they start crowding out sleep, movement, and real connection, they chip away at the things that make kids (and parents!) healthier and happier. The good …
Every parent has thought at some point that a weird baby movement was a seizure. So I’m here to tell you about my favorite baby seizure fake-outs. Movements during Sleep All babies have some abnormal movements during sleep. Babies don’…
Not long ago, I saw a 10-year-old soccer player in clinic. Her coach had told the family she needed to quit basketball, play soccer year-round, and “get serious” if she wanted to stay competitive. Her parents asked me, “Is that tru…
Imagine this: your child is sitting on the couch, watching TV, when suddenly their chest tightens, their hands tingle, and they can’t catch their breath. Their face looks terrified, their body goes limp, and they say they feel like they’…
When someone loses a child, it’s hard to know what to say. The pain is unimaginable—and for many of us, that fear of saying the wrong thing keeps us from saying anything at all. In this week’s episode of The Pediatrician Next Door…
Have you stared at a jar of peanut butter wondering if giving it to your baby is safe—or if you might end up in the ER? The idea of introducing allergenic foods to a baby can feel terrifying, but the latest research actually says: do it, and d…
If you’ve found your child naked with another child or heard they were touching someone at school, your heart might be racing—but take a breath. You can handle this. Believe it or not, these types of behaviors are actually quite common a…
Just like kids need to wear a helmet during activities where they could be injured, children only need to wear shoes when they might injure their feet. For example, you don’t want your toddler stepping on glass, getting a splinter or walking…
We can handle sniffles and scraped knees. A hug usually works. But when your child says, “Nobody played with me today,” or “They didn’t invite me,” — well, that hits different. It hits us right in the parenting gu…
You know that moment when you're trying to drop your kid off at school and suddenly your leg becomes their new emotional support animal? Maybe they're in tears, maybe you're in tears, and maybe both of you are wondering what happened to the confiden…
Lost in the sea of sunscreen choices? Here’ s how to choose the perfect sun protection for every situation Although there is no perfect sunscreen, it’s a little easier to choose a good one these days. Older sunscreens were only designed…
Will your child be an Olympic athlete? A math whiz? We adults love guessing what kind of grown-up our little one will become. If you’ve ever seen your baby reach for a toy with their left hand and thought, Hmm… maybe they’re a lef…
Are you up late, scrolling through parenting forums looking for help with a weird rash or stubborn sleep regression? Are you more confused then before you started? You're not alone. We’re raising kids in an age of too much advice. Blogs, podc…
I generally don’t put non-food substances in my mouth. But young kids exploring this new world might eat deodorant, nail polish remover, grandma’s pills, or hand sanitizer just in case they might be delicious. How worried should you b…
Every baby is capable of sleeping through the night. Studies of billions of babies [1] have shown that, developmentally speaking, their brains and stomachs can endure 8 hours without parental intervention sometime between 4 and 6 months of age.…