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It can seem like a simple thing, but how (and how much) a child sleeps can have an enormous impact on their mental and physical health, behavior and learning abilities. A lack of healthy sleep in children can lead to trouble focusing, a decline in grades, irritability, daytime sleepiness, sleep-related injuries and hyperactivity. For some children and their families, getting proper sleep can be as easy as sticking to an evening routine or setting an early bedtime. But for others, sleep disorders are a very real and serious issue, and deserve proper and thorough diagnosis, management and care. Common sleep disorders in children and teenagers include: insomnia (difficulty getting to and staying asleep) delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) (inability to fall asleep at bedtime and difficulty waking up) restless leg syndrome (irresistible need for movement) narcolepsy (uncontrollable urge to sleep) breathing-disordered sleep (snoring, sleep apnea) parasomnias (night terrors, nightmares or sleepwalking) rhythmic […]

It seems like everyone has a story that involves a child, a small object, and an orifice: a bean in a nostril, a pebble in an ear—maybe even a swallowed Barbie shoe or penny. It’s no wonder these instances are so common. Kids are naturally curious, and their worlds contain so many things that fit just so in the body parts they’re learning to explore. So what do you do when your child becomes one of these stories? It all depends on two things: what’s the object, and which opening is it stuck in? First things first: If you know or suspect that your child has swallowed a button battery, get to the emergency department immediately. Swallowed batteries can cause esophageal perforation (a hole in the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach), and other life-threatening injuries—sometimes within hours. It’s also time to head to the ER […]

While many parents are familiar with developmental screenings for hearing or vision, they may not be aware of the importance of screening for issues like reading readiness. Reading readiness screening tools—like the Nemours BrightStart! Preschool Reading Screener for children ages 3-5—can provide a snapshot of a child’s progress in essential pre-reading skills. They can also show how a child’s progress compares to developmental milestones for those skills. Early screening gives parents, health and early childhood professionals the chance to offer additional supports for children who may not be on track for developmental milestones. Providing these supports as early as possible makes it much more likely that children will gain the skills they need to be successful readers. Nemours knows that literacy and health are connected, so we developed ReadingBrightStart.org to help parents build their children’s early literacy skills. It’s loaded with tips, milestones, developmentally appropriate activities, articles and recommended books by age, […]

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 […]