Like so many children and teenagers, 15-year-old Emma’s struggle with bullying is lifelong. She compares being picked on by classmates since kindergarten to losing part of her childhood. One day in 7th grade, Emma came home especially upset about ...

By Michelle Bailey, MD First of all, families need to discuss risks and benefits of traveling by car or plane. I understand the desire to see your grandparents at Thanksgiving and Christmas. My own Grandma is in an assisted living center and I hav...

Man…it’s going to be a doozy of a winter. And while I’m confident that we’ll get through it together, I need your help. Ruling out COVID-19 for kids with symptoms (some mild, some more severe) has become the biggest reason for kids visiting our...

Today is Global Handwashing Day, and thanks to the pandemic, this observation has never felt more imperative. “It’s important to wash your hands before and after you eat, it’s important to wash your hands after you go to the bathroom,” said Mary S...

Throughout the COVID-19 health crisis, Cook Children’s has made every effort to keep you safe while following the latest guidelines provided to us from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and other governing bodies. The latest change be...

With kids going back to school, new questions are coming up on when kids should be tested for COVID-19 and when they can return to school. Keep in mind there are some conflicting and confusing pieces of advice out there and this is only promised t...

An alarming rate of children are purposefully harming themselves and ending up at Cook Children’s Medical Center. In August, 29 patients were admitted to the hospital after attempting suicide. This marks the third worst month since at least 2015. ...

For more than six years, Cook Children’s online newsroom has provided the latest in pediatric health news to more than 16 million people in 230 different countries. But during all that time, the team behind the scenes felt they had more to accompl...

The number of patients treated for gunshot injuries at Cook Children’s is on the rise, and experts fear the trend may continue with a recent surge of firearm sales. A Fort Worth child under the age of 5 became the hospital’s 23rd gunshot wound patien...

For two nurse residents at Cook Children’s, walking a mile in a patient’s shoes isn’t too hard to imagine because they’ve been there, or rather, here. Jason Schilder and Emily Whitworth have both experienced life as a patient at Cook Children’s. In f...

By Ashley Parrott Widespread change due to the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the nation, which has left many parents struggling to keep essential appointments with, not only their physicians, but with behavioral health specialists as well. Parents a...

By Diane Arnaout, M.D. Well…there’s no doubt about it. 2020 is going down in the record books as a real dumpster fire of a year. We have a new enemy. The novel coronavirus has slithered its unpredictable and sometimes deadly tentacles into ever...

By Bianka Soria-Olmos In the United States the Census takes place every 10 years. By now we hope you have heard that the Census is taking place this year. The goal of each census is to count each person in the US. Why does the census matter? This ...

By Cheryl Clark Looking at Trea, you would never know he’s confronted multiple diagnoses and endured numerous medical procedures and even transplants. Or how on two different occasion that doctors told his mom that he narrowly dodged death on two ...

When it comes to drownings, the summer of 2020 is a year for the record books. For the first time since at least 2012, Cook Children’s saw a total of 17 pediatric drowning patients in June and July. To put that in perspective, that’s less than half o...

As the fall semester approaches we know how hard it has been for parents and families to decide the mode of learning for their children. Some school districts have opted for a hybrid model in which the school year will start with ALL students in the ...

Did you know that schools consider French fries and ketchup as vegetable servings in their cafeteria served lunches?! In just a few minutes in the evenings, you can prepare a more nutritious lunch for your kiddos. You can prepare these meals even ...

As we continue to worry about the spread of COVID-19, now we hear that positive West Nile Virus mosquito activity is at record high levels in Tarrant County. It seems 2020 is not quite ready to give us a break any time soon. Tarrant County Publ...

When it comes to going to the pediatrician’s office, one of the first questions your child may ask is, “Am I going to get a shot?” And as parents, we generally say, “I’m not sure.” That answer leaves us typically feeling uninformed and helpless. B...

By Hannah Chong, M.D., FAAP The next time you visit one of our clinics or hospitals, you may notice a slight change to our mask policy. We still require all patients, accompanying family members, and staff to wear a mask when they enter any of our...

Cook Children’s CEO Rick Merrill announced today that Winifred King, Assistant Vice President of Public Relations, Corporate Communications and Social Media has been promoted to the newly created position of Chief Diversity Officer. As part of the he...

By Michelle Bailey, M.D. Sleep, it’s important, right?! Has your kid's new COVID-19 schedule got them going to bed after midnight and sleeping until noon? Well it’s time NOW to start getting back into a normal sleep schedule for school, even...

Hi, new moms. I write this for you. Newborn Notes From a Pediatrician: The hiccups are normal. The sneezing is normal. It’s not allergies. The booty is going to get red (baby's, not yours). This is from the constant wiping and moisture. If ...

Since the arrival of COVID-19, a desperate search for a vaccine to fight the pandemic has ensued worldwide. However, despite this present-day example of the importance of vaccination, immunization rates at Cook Children's have dipped. From March 1...

Recently, I wrote a post titled, “Is Going Back to School or Online Learning Best for Your Child?” A Pediatrician Shares what Parents Should Consider?” Following that initial article, we received a lot of questions from you all. I wanted to take t...

You may have seen stories on the news and social media recently about so-called “COVID parties,” where people are intentionally exposing themselves and/or their children to the novel coronavirus. Over the weekend, news of the death of a patient in hi...

By Audrey Johnson, M.D. Over the past few months, most of us have thought of nothing more than the COVID-19 pandemic and everything that comes along with it: keeping your kids safe, keeping your kids entertained and keeping your kids from destroyi...

Wow, what a difference a few months make. Just around four months ago I wrote about an emerging virus which was spreading across a province in China. I urged awareness but not panic as we were seeing a few cases spread outside the local area. W...

By Lindsay Newton, M.D. See me over there? That's me stopping at Target on the way home.I'm wearing clean scrubs in my photo. Many physicians and health care workers change clothes after their workday if they need to make a stop on the way home. S...

Why is wearing a face mask important? Face coverings help to prevent the spread of COVID-19 because our everyday actions, such as speaking, coughing and sneezing, can easily transmit it. Some people with COVID-19 may not have symptoms (as...