March is National Nutrition Month. This year’s theme is Put Your Best Fork Forward, emphasizing that a healthy diet is the sum of many individual healthy choices. Revamping your family’s diet may sound daunting. But by focusing on small healthy choices you’ll be eating better with ease! Focus on Fruits and Vegetables Add fruit to your breakfast routine. Top cereal, oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, or peanut butter toast with banana slices or berries. Whip up a quick smoothie with frozen fruit, skim milk, and a tablespoon of almond butter. In need of a quick breakfast? For quick mix-and-match breakfast options, stock the kitchen with on-the-go fruit options (like bananas, apples, and pears) and portable snacks (like peanut butter crackers, whole grain granola bars, and cheese sticks). Make vegetables your go-to-snack. Pair sliced raw vegetables with hummus, cheese, guacamole, or a Greek-yogurt-based ranch dressing. Go meatless on Mondays. By taking a […]

Rare diseases are medical conditions that affect a low proportion of the general population. Although the incidence of rare diseases is fairly uncommon, there are over 7,000 types! Here at Nemours, our biomedical researchers are actively engaged in the scientific discovery of causes, treatments, and cures for many rare diseases. And clinicians and health care providers at all of our Nemours sites provide medical management for children with these conditions, most of which are inherited (genetically linked). Rare Disease Day Always the last day of February, Rare Disease Day was established in 2008 by EURODIS (the voice of rare disease patients in Europe) as a worldwide day of recognition. Since then, thousands of events have taken place, reaching hundreds of thousands of people and increasing awareness around the globe. Increased awareness of rare diseases helps to: improve understanding of these conditions offer support to patients and their families inform policy- […]

You might worry if you’re told your child has a heart murmur. But lots of kids are found to have heart murmurs at some point. And most won’t affect a child’s health at all. So What Is a Heart Murmur? The term “heart murmur” isn’t a diagnosis of an illness or disorder. The doctor might hear an extra sound in addition to the “lub-dub” we recognize as the heartbeat. A heart murmur is an abnormal sound (like a blowing or whooshing) that’s usually detected by a doctor who’s listening to the heart with a stethoscope during a routine examination. What’s an “Innocent” Heart Murmur? The most common type of heart murmur is an “innocent murmur” (also called a “benign” or “functional” murmur). This type of murmur is harmless. An innocent heart murmur is the sound of blood moving through a normal, healthy heart in a normal way. Just as you might hear air moving through an […]

It’s a Saturday afternoon, and you’ve just watched your 8-year-old take a terrifying flip over the handlebars of his bicycle. Or, it’s dinner time on a Tuesday night, and your 2-year-old has put his peas into his nose — instead of his mouth — and now they’re stuck. Should you call your child’s regular doctor? Should you pack up and head to the Emergency Department, or seek out your nearest urgent care center? It can be a tough decision, and it doesn’t help when you’re tired, stressed, and concerned for your child’s health. In some cases, you’ll know instantly if your child requires immediate medical attention. But in other cases, it might be hard to determine whether an injury or illness needs the attention of a medical professional or can be treated at home. The first call can always be to your child’s primary care physician. Your doctor — or […]

Sudden cardiac arrest is nothing new, but it still gets plenty of attention when it affects a young athlete—usually because it’s so rare, unexpected and tragic. We’re all familiar with the stories of seemingly healthy teenagers collapsing on the field or court and succumbing to cardiac arrest. It’s estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 young people experience sudden cardiac arrest (or SCA) each year, and only about one in 10 survive. The exact causes of SCA vary widely. Abnormalities in the heart or genetic conditions are often to blame, though there are times in which a definite cause is never found. In all cases, something causes the heart to unexpectedly beat out of control or stop beating altogether. Sudden cardiac arrest is so dangerous because it’s so hard to predict. But if the symptoms are recognized immediately, lives can be saved. Symptoms of SCA include: Collapse Lack of pulse No […]

We all know about time-outs: Sending children to their room or removing them from enjoyable people or activities. But how well do we practice time-ins, which help reinforce good behaviors? And why should we work on quality time together? Why Time-Ins and Quality Time? Quality time with parents provides many benefits to kids. An important thing to remember is that quality really does matter over quantity. It’s not necessarily how many minutes you spend with your children, but that you’re present and make the time matter when you’re together. Research suggests positive quality time with parents results in a number of positive outcomes, including: strengthening the parent-child relationship fostering communication improving behavior decreasing later risks in adolescents for both mental health and health outcomes You’re also modeling positive relationships for your children and helping them understand the importance of being engaged and consistent. Start Simple 1. Snuggle. Be generous with your […]