The first of my blogs on parenting and children went up a little over two and a half years ago. I learned a lot from writing them, and I hope some of you found some of them helpful, too. It is one thing to be a pediatrician seeing one child at a time, and another thing to connect with a wide audience. Doing that has taught me that some things I think of as common sense are actually controversial. Other ideas -- not always the ones I expected -- struck a more resonant chord. Writing this blog made me look at the world with different eyes. I learned to pay attention to everyday sights and sounds that connected, in some way, to the task of raising healthy children: a man giving his daughter a piggy-back ride, a baby swinging along in a car-seat, a dog with three legs. 

I also got to take some shots at policies that prey and weigh on children: the drug reps who try to buy good will with cookies (and sometimes steak dinners), and the war in Iraq which has cost so many lives and eaten up so many dollars, while children from all but the richest families grow up stressed by cutbacks in health insurance, education, and  jobs. Parenting truly is political as well as very personal.

Finally, I put out plenty of good old-fashioned advice. I held forth on feeding, sleeping, and such ever-hot topics as diarrhea and diapers. I had a lot to say about reading aloud (do it!) and spanking (don't, please), and the beneficial effects of saying please and thank you (to your children, that is). The world is full of unheeded advice. So I was pleased and surprised that some of what I had to offer seemed to fall on open ears. Thanks for listening.

Working on The Pediatrician is In has been a stimulating and humbling experience. Now I'm looking forward to a break from blogging. There's a book about toilet training to write, and then the 9^th edition of Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care. And, as always, there is the next exam room door to open. Maybe I'll see you there. 

With warm wishes for joyful parenting,

Robert Needlman, MD