Help for ear pain

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Did your child wake up in the middle of the night crying from ear pain? Fortunately, not every child with an earache has an actual ear infection. However, all children with earaches deserve to have their pain treated, no matter what is causing their pain. Here is our post about what to do for your child’s earache.

Julie Kardos, MD and Naline Lai, MD

©2023 Two Peds in a Pod®

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Why Won’t My One-year-old Eat?

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Remember when feeding your baby was fun? They way he opened his mouth like a baby bird when you fed him oatmeal. They way she thumped her hands on the high chair tray waiting for another bite of mashed bananas. It was hard not to laugh as your nine-month-old slowly picked up each piece of pancake and chewed thoughtfully, or the way your eleven-month-old, covered in tomato sauce, double fisted a messy meal of cut up meatballs and elbow noodles. And then they turned one. You call your pediatrician and search the internet to ask, why won’t my one-year-old eat?

Maybe they actually did not stop eating entirely, but instead of the serene or comic meals you used to enjoy with your baby in the high chair, you now have a one-year-old who deliberately deposits each pea off of the high chair tray and onto the floor, smooshes their potatoes all over the plate, or thrashes like a chained-up wild beast to escape their high chair. You fluster, you offer other previously enjoyed foods, you become convinced they will starve, you offer a cookie, you offer more milk, you cry.

Let us reassure you: your one-year-old most likely is acting in a normal and predictable way. In this post, we explain why many one-year-olds seem to stop eating, and how to handle your suddenly picky, food-averse one-year-old.

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Headaches in children

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“Mom, Dad, my head hurts!”

Sound familiar? It’s probably not the first time ‘round this rodeo, but ever wonder if your child’s headache could be a sign of something more problematic? The good news is, while kids get headaches for many reasons, there are telltale signs every parent can look for at home to distinguish normal headaches from bad headaches in children.

Tension Headaches

For most kids with headaches, the odds are in their favor.  The most common culprit is the tension headache—the kind we have all experienced at least once in our lifetimes.  Fortunately, they are also the least scary kind of headache.

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How to Talk to Kids About Hard Topics: a panel discussion

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Death, politics, mental illness, and sex- all difficult topics for parents to talk about with their kids. Your Two Peds joined a social worker, school guidance counselor, and former teacher in a lively panel discussion at the Haverford Township Library in Haverford PA on how to normalize conversations on difficult topics between parents and their children. Watch as we talk about on ways parents can give kids give information while limiting their anxiety .

Past posts about ways to share difficult information with your children include the topics of suicide, stillbirth/miscarriage, death of a person, and death of a pet.

Warmly,

Julie Kardos, MD and Naline Lai, MD

©2023 Two Peds in a Pod®

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Which is it: the flu, RSV, or COVID?

Flu, COVID, RSV
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Parents ask us every day the difference between the flu (influenza), RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), or COVID (coronavirus disease 2019). While no method is fool proof, here are some typical differences among these viruses:

The flu, caused by influenza virus, comes on suddenly and makes you feel as if you’ve been hit by a truck.

Flu almost always causes fever of 101°F or higher and some respiratory symptoms such as runny nose, cough, or sore throat (many times, all three). In addition to the usual respiratory symptoms, the flu causes

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What to do if you suspect RSV

RSV

Cold and flu season is upon us earlier than usual. Click here for our contribution to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Health Tip on What to do if you suspect RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus). Click here for an example of a sign labored breathing called retractions– when a child is breathing in very deeply.

Yes, we all deserve a break! But with the COVID pandemic, now our kids are experts at hand-washing and know not to rub noses, so hopefully this cold and flu season will leave as early as it came.

Drs. Lai and Kardos

©2022 Two Peds in a Pod®

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Is your college kid homesick?

Now that the excitement of the first weeks of college have gone by, your first year college student may be homesick. What can a parent do? We point you to last year’s timeless post which is still relevant today.

©2022 Two Peds in a Pod®

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PLAN AND PREPARE: TIPS FOR A POSITIVE SCHOOL YEAR

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As the lazy, hazy days of summer wound down in August, the “Back to School” commercials began in full force. TV and print advertisements from major retailers showed smiling students and adults buying colorful backpacks and school supplies . This is in contrast to the past two years when TV brought no shortage of bad news about the global pandemic, its impact on education, and news about horrific school shootings. It’s not just a commercial, we do have the ability to help our kids move through this school year with a positive mindset.

Now that we are into September and the school year is underway, one of the most important things we can do with our students is talk with them. Engage in dialogue about what they are excited about, what concerns they have, and their overall thoughts and feelings about the upcoming year. Nervousness, excitement, anxiety, and anticipation can make up a child’s emotional mix at the start of the year. Open conversations will help identify and address any negative thoughts or feelings that our kids may harbor. Conversations will help our students focus on strengths and internal and external resources .

Remind them of times when they showed grit, recovered from a poor grade, navigated a tricky peer situation, or made a new friend. Revisiting the past will reinforce that those skills are still present inside of them and ready to be used when needed. For teens, often you will help them by simply lending an ear and listening to their concerns.

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