When Your Child is Too Small Oct 31 09:25am In an era when everyone seems to be worried about obesity, we still see quite a few small children in the pediatric clinic. Some of them are small enough to raise medical concerns. There is a long list of diseases which can make a child grow... Read more

Sharing Books: Good for the Recipient, Good for the Giver Oct 17 12:05pm My friend Perri Klass, who is both a pediatrician and a widely published author, rolls her eyes whenever she hears the phrase, "share a book." As Medical Director of the Reach Out and Read National Center, she hears it a lot.  I can see... Read more

Taking the Pain Out of Needles Oct 10 08:45am No child likes needles. Many are scared to death by them. I used to say something like, "We'll need to do a blood test." Then, often before the words were out of my mouth, I'd watch the panic spread across my patient's... Read more

Contagious Joy Oct 04 04:19am It was a sunny fall day in Providence, Rhode Island. There was a tall man walking in front of me weaving from side to side. I thought at first that he might be drunk. It took me a moment to notice that he had a small person sitting on his shoulders.... Read more

How to Keep Your Child from Choking Sep 19 11:17am Today, my wife saved a little girl's life. That isn't all that remarkable; she is a doctor, after all. But as a surgical pathologist, she usually handles only small pieces of people - biopsies, to be precise. Today it was a whole, walking... Read more

Health Coverage for Kids: It's Completely Unfair Sep 12 11:38am The big man in front of me was holding back. He was trying not to swear. "It's completely unfair," he roared, "I work my whole life.  I get a little raise, and now they tell me I make too much for my kid to get health insurance! I... Read more

School-Day Stomachaches: Is The Pain Real? Sep 06 03:00am You don't have to be a psychologist to figure this one out: Your 9-year-old wakes up in the morning with a stomachache. It's bad - really bad. He can barely brush his teeth. So you let him stay home. Then 10 a.m. rolls around and,... Read more

Is There Lead in Baby Books? Sep 02 03:00am I recently wrote about the danger of lead in children's toys. But what about picture books? These days, many children's books are printed in China, where the lead-tainted toys were made. You can usually find out where a book was printed by... Read more

Disciplining Difficult Kids Aug 30 02:39am To everyone who sent in comments about my entry, "Don't Yell -- Use the Voice of Authority" ... thanks! I'm always glad when people agree with me, and also when people disagree. The disagreements show me where I haven't been as... Read more

Lead in Toys: What's a Parent to Do? Aug 29 10:00am There is big news in the world of lead, some of it good, some of it bad: On the good side, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control -- the CDC -- recently lowered the official acceptable level, from 10 to 5. That change reflects progress on two fronts.... Read more