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0-12 months: Infant

Nemours Children’s supports Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) across the country. In honor of National Farm to School Month, the National Office of Policy and Prevention is highlighting three states that are improving child care program environments for young children through Farm to ECE activities. This month thousands of schools, child care programs, farms, communities, and organizations across the United States celebrated food education, school gardens, and meals made with healthy, local ingredients. Farm to ECE is a set of strategies and activities for programs that serve young children ages birth to five. Farm to ECE focuses on increasing access to three core elements: local food sourcing, on-site gardens, and food and farming education. These activities teach children about healthy food by engaging all five senses and can increase their fruit and vegetable intake, as well as their willingness to try new foods (CDC). Through the Healthy Kids, […]

Infantile spasms (IS) is a rare, but serious type of seizure associated with a unique, very abnormal brain wave pattern that can have a catastrophic effect on a young, developing brain.  What do these seizures look like? These seizures can be subtle and consist of repetitive movements occurring in clusters. These movements are brief and consist of head drops or head bobs with brief jerks followed by flexion or extension in the child’s extremities. The eyes may widen and roll up.  How are they different from sudden startles? These seizures typically occur in clusters of repetitive movements, often when the child is waking up from sleep. After these clusters, the child may cry or become irritable.  What are other symptoms that I may see? At times, the child may cease to make further developmental gains, or have regression in their developmental milestones. What age does Infantile Spasms tend to occur? At any […]

Breast milk is nature’s perfect food for a newborn. It contains the right amount of nutrients, immune-boosting antibodies, and is easily digested. Babies who are breastfed tend to have fewer bouts of diarrhea or constipation, less reflux, more protection against ear infections, pneumonia, and asthma, and a lower risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).  The benefits of breast milk seem to be endless. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends to start breastfeeding as early as one hour after birth and to continue exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. They also recommend continuing breastfeeding even after solid foods are introduced, until at least 1 year of age.  Can You Breastfeeding If Positive for COVID-19? But what if you’ve tested positive for COVID-19? Is it safe to start or continue breastfeeding? While there are still so many unknowns when it comes to coronavirus, it’s widely known that you can spread COVID-19 to your infant through tiny […]

Much of a baby’s early life is spent sleeping. In fact, many newborns snooze 16 to 17 hours a day! It’s important that sleeping hours be just as safe as those spent awake. Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is a leading cause of death in infants 1 month to 1-year-old. Most of these SIDS deaths occur in the first six months of life. Here are the top tips to keep in mind to ensure that your baby’s sleep environment is as safe as possible. 1. Keep your baby in your bedroom – but not your bed. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends room-sharing (as in bedroom-sharing). This is when an infant sleeps in the same bedroom as their parents (but not the same bed) for at least their first six months. The reason sharing a bed (also called “bed-sharing”) is not recommended is that parents can accidentally roll onto […]

In 2018, a disturbing record was set in the U.S. — 52 children died as a result of being left inside a hot car. You may think this could never happen to you or your family. Yet many parents or caregivers who left a sleeping baby or child in a car did it unintentionally and unknowingly. You can ensure that a tragedy like this doesn’t happen to you or your children with a plan to help you avoid distraction. The dangers of leaving children in the car “The first thing to remember is that never, at any time, should you leave infants, children or someone who has special needs in a parked car,” said Kate Cronan, MD, attending physician with the emergency medicine department at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. “Even if you’ll only be gone a few minutes. Even if the windows are cracked open. Even if it […]

In 2018, a disturbing record was set in the U.S. – 52 children died as a result of being left inside a hot car. You may think a hot car death could never happen to you or your family. But most parents or caregivers who left a sleeping baby or child in a car did it unintentionally and unknowingly. You can ensure that a tragedy like this doesn’t happen by creating a plan to help you avoid distraction. The Dangers of Leaving Children in the Car The first thing to remember is that never, at any time, should you leave infants, children or someone who has special needs in a parked car. Even if you’ll only be gone a few minutes; even if the windows are cracked open; even if it’s not that hot outside. Conditions inside a hot, parked car form a type of greenhouse effect where the temperature […]