Preschoolers Archives - Two Peds in a Pod®

Food Allergies- Epinephrine hints and a free coloring book

Allergy Coloring Book — For a free electronic copy of a food allergy coloring book, write us at twopedsinapod@gmail.com

As kids head back to school, it’s a good time to review how to administer your food-allergic kid’s emergency epinephrine. Dr. Lai, who has two young adults who grew up with food allergies, and Dr. Kardos offer these hints:

-Double check to make sure the medication has not expired. Also, make sure you are giving the school medication that does not expire in the middle of the school year.Double check to make sure the medication has not expired. Also, make sure you are giving the school medication that does not expire in the middle of the school year.

-What about antihistamine or asthma medications? Yes, go ahead and send them in with your child, but remember, only epinephrine can reverse the life-threatening symptoms of an anaphylaxis. Other medicines like antihistamines cannot stop the reaction.

Prevent your children from ingesting THC edibles

gummy bears on a dish that look just like edibles

“4 Bucks County Middle School Students Sickened After Ingesting THC Gummies”

This incident occurred close to our pediatric offices and involved four students, just 12 and 13 years old. As pediatricians—and as members of this community—we feel it’s important to talk about what happened and why it matters.

THC is the active compound in marijuana. In edible forms like gummies, the concentration can be quite high. For a child, consuming even a small amount of these products can lead to serious, and sometimes life-threatening, effects.

At this time, it is unclear whether the students in our nearby middle school knew the gummies contained THC, or where they obtained them—whether from a store, a friend, a sibling, or an adult. What we do know is that these products are easy for middle schoolers to access and very easy to mistake for regular candy.

A developmental guide to reading to your young child

how to read to your young child — Charles West Cope (British, 1811 – 1890 ), Woman Reading to a Child, Gift of William B. O’Neal 1995.52.28

We know parents who started reading to their children before they were born, but don’t fret if you didn’t start when baby was in the womb. It’s never too late to start. Today we give you a developmental guide to reading with your young child.

Three months of age

By three months of age, most babies are sleeping more hours overnight and fewer hours during the day (and, hence, so are their parents). Now you have time to incorporate reading into your baby’s daily schedule. At this age babies can visually scan pictures on both pages of a book. Babies see better close-up, so you can either prop your baby on your lap with a book in front of both of you, or you can lie down next to your baby on the rug and hold the book up in front of both of you. The classic Goodnight, Moon by Margaret Wise Brown or any basic picture book is a great choice at this age.

Six months of age

By six months of age many babies sit alone or propped and it is easier to have a baby and book in your lap more comfortably. Board books work well at this age because 6-month-olds explore their environment by touching, looking, and MOUTHING. Sandra Boynton’s Moo, Baa, La La La was a favorite of Dr. Kardos’s twins at this age, both to read and to chew on.

Nine months of age

Baby food pouches are not a developmental milestone

baby food pouches can be 12 times as expensive as actual food

A google search of baby food pouches yields overwhelming options. When I see babies sucking on these pouches I think: are we in a spaceship? We are raising children, not astronauts. Most of us do not suck our meals; we bite and chew them. Please consider the following problematic aspects of baby food pouches before you buy more of them.

The texture in every food pouch is the same.

Parent guide to traveling with young children for the holidays

Cartoon of wolf family traveling with young children

Do you plan to travel with young children this holiday season? You won’t appreciate how much your baby has grown until you attempt a diaper change on a plane. For families, any holiday can become stressful when traveling with young children is involved. Often families travel great distances to be together and attend parties that run later than their children’s usual bedtimes. Fancy food and fancy dress are common. Well-meaning relatives who see your children once a year can be too quick to hug and kiss, sending even not-so-shy kids running. Here are some tips for safer and smoother holiday travel.

Help your Child Handle Bullying

As a parent, there are few things more heartbreaking than seeing your child upset because they’ve been bullied. Whether your second grader is crying after being teased on the school bus or your teen is avoiding the school bathroom to escape cruel remarks, the feeling of powerlessness can be overwhelming. You may be tempted to go after the bully yourself. But there are more effective, long-term ways to help your child handle bullying.

Bullies are always in a position of power over their victims; either they are physically larger, older, or more “popular.” While you or your child may want to “get back” at the bully, retaliation only fuels anger and can land your child in trouble. Remind your child that most bullies act out because they feel insecure themselves. Teach your child empathy for the bully.

What can you do?

Lice: Don’t Scratch Your Head Over It!

Now that school is back in full swing, you might notice your child scratching their head… and maybe you’re starting to scratch your head too. Let’s dive into the topic of lice and clear up some of the confusion.

What Are Lice, Really?

Lice are small, harmless insects that cause itching but don’t spread disease. The itching comes from a reaction to their saliva—similar to how poison ivy causes a reaction on the skin. It sounds gross, we know, but the good news is that lice are more of an annoyance than a health risk.

By the time you spot a live louse on your child, they’ve likely had lice for at least a month. So, while it might seem alarming to spot a louse crawling on their head, it’s not an emergency. Schools shouldn’t send kids home early for lice; after all, they’ve likely been in class with lice for weeks. That said, treating lice promptly can relieve the itching and stop them from spreading. Children can return to school the day after their first lice treatment.

Local folks-Getting your toddler or preschooler to listen

Frustrated that your young child is not listening? This in-person talk gives some basics on ways to set limits and self-calming techniques. Your two peds, Dr. Lai will be on hand to moderate!

Naline Lai, MD and Julie Kardos, MD

Money Saving Pediatric Hacks

We know how it’s easy to spend money on the kids- just wait until they are old enough to get Venmo. Here are some money saving tips for parents to save a little dough and put that saving towards the next family vacation and orthodontia!

Julie Kardos, MD and Naline Lai, MD

Seasonal allergies: a review

selective focus photography of woman and toddler on flower bed. Unfortunately for some, flowers contribute to seasonal allergy symptoms — Photo by Tuấn Kiệt Jr. on Pexels.com

Everything has a season, incluing seasonal allergies.

In our area near Philadelphia, we associate spring with the Phillies opener and also with the onset of spring allergies.

Here is a nice summary of how to treat allergies, from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (note that one of your Two Peds was a contributor). And following are some of our prior posts that can help you treat your child’s seasonal allergies this spring:

The Best Allergy Medicine for Kids

The Best Allergy Medicine for Kids aged 2-5 years old

Allergy Eyes: when spring rubs you the wrong way

How to tell the difference between Covid (or any viral cold) and allergies

We hope this post answers all that you are itching to know about seasonal allergies.

Julie Kardos, MD and Naline Lai, MD