1. Books!

For infants and toddlers, there are chew-proof, waterproof, rip-proof brands of books available. Just do a quick Goolgle search. Classics like Dr. Seuss, Little Critter, and Curious George still are favorites too.

For elementary age and teens, start them on a series based on their interests. American Girl, Magic Treehouse, The Land of Stories, Eerie Elementary, The Babysitters Club, Survivors, Warriors, Dork Diaries, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, Goosebumps, Humphrey, Keeper of the Lost Cities, Captain Underpants, Dog Man, Wings of Fire, and The Hardy Boys are all excellent options.

2. An Activity Center

Great for keeping infants busy while you’re able to get other things done. Do NOT use a walker, this puts the baby’s hips in the wrong position and delays walking.

3. Blocks

All sorts of blocks are available online and in stores these days. Just make sure they are appropriate to prevent choking risk.

4. Board Games

Games are a great option to create family time away from screens. If you played a board or card game as a kid, chances are your child will enjoy it.

5. Bike

Tricycle, Bicycle, Scooter. Make sure it is age and size appropriate for your child, and they MUST WEAR A HELMET!

6. Arts & Crafts

Paints, sand art, beads, diamond painting, suncatchers, rainbow scratch paper, molding clay, candle making, origami, felt sewing craft kit. Low-cost dollar stores often sell wooden figures to paint, so that’s a great place to stock up on cheap and easy crafting projects.

7. Fort Building Kit

Buy one or several kits for the kiddos to make an awesome fort, tear it down, and then make again in a different way!

8. Sports equipment

Basketball goal, soccer ball and goal, baseball tee, ballet barre. Let your children pursue their current sport of interest and invest in increasing their skills and confidence.

Notice the above listed toys do not suggest any electronics. The only game system game I would recommend is one where they are up and active the entire time. Remember, aside from school work, your child should have less than two hours per day on any screen including: phone, TV, gaming system, and computer. Your child would rather spend the time with you, playing a board game or being active outside, than sitting by themselves playing on a game system.

Have a very Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and enjoy any and all other celebrations your family takes part in!

Is it necessary to get a sports physical this year?

After all, are we even going to have sports this year? Plus, in the age of COVID, you may feel hesitant to bring your child to a pediatrician’s office right now.

I understand your concern about going to a doctor’s office, but I promise it’s never been a better time to be seen! We have increased our cleaning protocol, which was already great, in the office and we want you to rest assure we have a clean and safe environment for you and your child.

So to answer your question in short, YES. Let’s take a look at why a sports physical is so important.

Not only is a yearly sports physical required by the school district to be cleared for sports, going to your pediatrician for a yearly well check-up is vital to the health of your child. At a wellness visit, we review growth and development, catch up on vaccines, address any concerns from the child or parent, as well as perform a complete physical exam. We also assess vision, hearing and order any labs or imaging deemed necessary.

It is far better to obtain your child’s sports physical from board-certified pediatricians, such as a Cook Children’s physician, who perform a complete well child checklist. Specific to the sports physical component, we take a heart history of the patient and family and check from head to toe for any joint or muscle issues. So even if your child’s sport gets postponed or canceled because of our current pandemic, this is a great way to evaluate the health of your young athlete.

In 2019, over 495,000 boys and 330,000 girls participated in high school athletics in Texas. Participating in sports is a great way for your child to remain physically active. Healthy bodies fight off infections such as COVID-19 better. We recommend at least one hour of strenuous physical activity daily (this means the heart is pumping hard, and you’re breaking a sweat!).

During the sports physical/ well check, we are making sure the heart is capable to handle this elevated level of activity. One specific condition we evaluate for during a sports physical is a potentially fatal heart condition called HOCM (hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy) that has been found to occur in 1 out of every 500 adults, and can cause sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Your pediatrician will evaluate if your child has an increased risk of HOCM, and we can refer him or her to a Cook Children’s cardiologist for timely assessment. If you’ve ever heard Cook Children’s referred to as a system, this is where it comes in handy. Your pediatrician actually works with the cardiologist to provide history and get your child seen quickly.

Heart ailments and many other diseases can be evaluated at your sports physical. Please call your pediatrician today and schedule your child’s sports physical. School starts in less than three weeks!

Citations:

Raj MA, Bansal P, Goyal A. Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy. [Updated 2020 Jul 4]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2020 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430820/

Number of participants in high school athletic programs in Texas 2009-2019

Published by Christina Gough, Aug 30, 2019

Being a pediatrician is a special job. You get involved in not only a child’s life, but become a part of the entire family. I was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 4, and this is the reason I became a pediatrician. My pediatrician growing up was so wonderful and caring of both myself and my parents, I wanted to be just like her, providing compassionate care to children.

Our delightful environment in North Texas tends to allow for year ‘round allergies, which can exacerbate asthma and wheezing.

So when should you take your child to the doctor to check their cough or wheezing?

The answer is, any time you are concerned and your normal medications aren’t enough. Some asthma is seasonal when allergens are worse in the air, some asthma is activity-induced, and your child will require an as-needed emergency inhaler called Albuterol. When Albuterol is needed more than once or twice a week for cough, wheezing, or difficulty breathing, it’s time to talk to your pediatrician about starting an inhaled steroid maintenance inhaler.

This is taken every day, and the inhaled steroid lessens the likelihood you’ll need to use the emergency inhaler. There is also a commonly prescribed chewable or swallowed pill called Singulair that is helpful in keeping allergies and asthma symptoms better controlled. When your child has worsening night time cough, trouble keeping up with peers during physical activity, or wheezing, it’s time to schedule an appointment with the pediatrician to discuss increasing or changing medications.

During an acute asthma exacerbation from whatever cause (viral illness, change in seasons, allergy flare, etc), the doctor will often prescribe a short course of oral steroids, around the clock albuterol nebulizer treatments or inhaler use, and perhaps a round of antibiotics if they are deemed necessary. It is critical to take all medications as prescribed. Just because your child feels “better”, doesn’t mean that it is time to stop daily asthma medications. They are better because the medications are working, and stopping any maintenance medicines can cause irreparable damage to their lungs. Let’s keep our children at their best by coming to the doctor at the first sign of respiratory distress, and quickly managing asthma and wheezing.

When is it asthma, and when is it something else?

It's hard to think about right now, but it only a couple of months we will see cooler weather and winter will be here before you know it. Winter season brings on LOTS of cold viruses, all 847 of them, and several can cause wheezing or trouble breathing, also known as reactive airway disease.

Especially known is the dreaded RSV, but other viruses can affect the lungs too, and require extra support from nebulizer treatments to even oxygen given in the hospital. Some children are highly susceptible to every common cold virus spiraling into a reactive airway disease/ asthma/ wheezing episode, and require a doctor visit every 1-2 weeks it can seem. So when it is just “asthma”, and when should the pediatrician and parent confirm it’s not something worse?

When something doesn’t feel right, come in and talk to your doctor. It may be nothing. It may be just another cold and cough virus. But maybe, and it’s a very small chance, but maybe it is something more. And you as the parent deserve to be listened to, to have your concerns validated and heard. And we as the Pediatrician, promise to do right by your child and not only treat in the moment, but plan for further investigation if necessary. Don’t ever feel awkward or hesitant coming in to the office to check the cough or snotty nose virus; I’d rather reassure you that it’s a simple virus and not something more.

Listen to your gut, and I’ll listen with my ears and my heart.