How Parents Can Support a Child in Intensive Care After Pediatric Cardiac Surgery
Parents in the PICU after a child's heart surgery help most by being a steady, familiar presence: talking and singing in a normal voice,…
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Blog Category
Family & Kids
Articles for parents and carers: fevers, growth, vaccines, sleep and the common illnesses of childhood. Each one lists the signs that mean a child should be seen by a doctor without delay.
Head Lice: What Works Now That Resistance Is Common
Head lice in the United States are now widely resistant to over-the-counter permethrin and pyrethrin products, so a failed first treatment usually reflects resistance…
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Night Terrors in Toddlers: What They Are and Are Not
No. Night terrors in toddlers are not a sign of mental illness. They are a common parasomnia, a partial arousal from deep sleep in…
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Pediatric Physical Therapy vs Occupational Therapy: Which Skills Does Each One Work On?
Pediatric physical therapy mainly works on how a child moves through space: strength, balance, posture, walking and other large-muscle skills. Pediatric occupational therapy works…
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Going Home After Neonatal Sepsis Treatment: Discharge Criteria and Development Reviews
Babies usually go home after neonatal sepsis once the treating team is satisfied that the infection is controlled, the antibiotic course is complete or…
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Preparing Your Child for Pediatric Plastic Surgery: Evaluations, Tests and Talking It Through
Preparing a child for plastic surgery usually means a consultation with the surgical team, a separate anesthesia assessment, and only the tests the child's…
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How Long Does Sensory Integration Therapy Take to Show Change? Realistic Family Timelines
Sensory integration therapy rarely shows change in the first few sessions. In the best-studied trial, children received about 30 one-hour sessions over 10 weeks…
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What Happens After Pediatric Dental Sedation? Sleepiness, Unsteadiness and Quiet Supervision
After dental sedation, most children are sleepy, wobbly on their feet, and sometimes tearful or irritable for a few hours, with a numb lip…
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Pediatric Cancer Treatment Pathways: How Chemotherapy, Surgery and Radiotherapy Are Combined
Childhood cancer treatment options are usually combined rather than chosen one at a time. Most children receive chemotherapy as the backbone, with surgery to…
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When Is Surgery Considered in Pediatric Epilepsy Treatment? The Pathway Teams Follow
Surgery is considered in pediatric epilepsy when seizures continue despite two appropriately chosen, well-tolerated antiseizure medicines, a state specialists call drug-resistant epilepsy, and when…
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When Does a Febrile Seizure Lead to Pediatric Neurology Follow-Up? Simple vs Complex Events
A simple febrile seizure, meaning a brief generalized convulsion during fever in a child roughly 6 months to 5 years old that does not…
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Osgood-Schlatter: The Knee Pain of Growing Athletes
Osgood-Schlatter is a common overuse injury in growing children and teenagers, most often between ages 10 and 15, in which the patellar tendon tugs…
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Which Changes After Pediatric Surgery Mean Parents Call the Team? Fever, Vomiting and Wounds
After a child's surgery, call the surgical team the same day for a temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or higher, vomiting that stops fluids staying…
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How Long Chickenpox Lasts, How Long It Is Contagious, and Flying with It
Chickenpox usually runs its course in about one to two weeks. Symptoms such as fever and tiredness typically begin 10 to 21 days after…
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Why Is ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity) Screening Done for Premature Babies and When?
Retinopathy of prematurity screening is a series of dilated eye exams that looks for abnormal blood-vessel growth in the retina of babies born very…
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When Can a Child Return to School After Chickenpox? How Clinics Judge the End of Isolation
A child can usually return to school once every chickenpox spot has crusted over and no new spots have appeared for a full day,…
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After a Child Has a Febrile Seizure: Notes, Videos and Records That Help the Pediatrician
Bring a written timeline of the seizure (when it started, how long it lasted, what your child's body did, and how quickly they recovered),…
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Which Newborns Need Jaundice Treatment? Prematurity, Blood Group and Timing Considerations
Most newborns with jaundice need no treatment; the yellow tint fades on its own within two to three weeks as the liver matures. Treatment,…
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