Should kids participate in the Hot Pepper Challenge for ALS?

We all want our kids to succeed, to be happy, and for things to go smoothly. It’s hard to see our kids let down, or disappointed, but as we just saw in the Olympics, disappointment and let down happen to even the most talented of humans. Instead of protecting our kids from feeling frustrated, or failing, or being disappointed, we should be encouraging it! Learning how to navigate tough feelings, especially feelings we know will occur throughout their lives, is important for kids. And parents can help! Let Things Go Wrong As hard as it may be, the first step to helping kids learn what to do when things go wrong is — let things go wrong. These can be simple things like: not forcing them to practice a sport more when they have a game the next day not bringing the homework they forgot to school even if it […]

Nemours Children’s Health is proud to participate in the 2022 Children’s Hospital Association’s (CHA) Speak Now for Kids’ Family Advocacy Day. This annual event brings together pediatric patients, their families and the children’s hospitals that care for them to speak with our Congressional leaders about the unique needs of children and how children’s hospitals play a critical role in providing coordinated, specialized care for our youngest generation. This year, we are excited to bring two young champions and their families to meet virtually with our Delaware and Florida Congressional delegation members to share their inspiring stories.   David Smith*, 12 years old, Wilmington DE David started exhibiting challenging behavior at age 5. These behavioral issues became more intense over time. While he was excelling academically, he experienced strong emotional outbursts at school, which led to many trips to the principal’s office. In the beginning, school administrators believed he would outgrow […]

Many parents are breathing a sigh of relief that they can finally get their babies, toddlers, and preschoolers vaccinated against COVID-19. Two brands of the vaccine have now been authorized for children as young as 6 months old, so the little ones can now join the ranks of people ages 5 and up who have helped protect themselves. So does your young child really need a COVID-19 vaccine? After all, younger children often have milder illness when they get infected. The answer is a resounding “yes,” since many young children have had serious symptoms requiring hospitalization, and some have even died. Small children can even develop long COVID, with symptoms that bother them for a long time. Parents might also wonder why it took so long for the vaccines to be authorized for this age group. It took a long time to get the vaccines authorized for young children because […]