The natural acquisition of immunity comes in large part from exposure to viruses and bacteria as well as immunizations and, well, eating a little dirt once in a while.  A small bit of advice that I can give as a pediatrician and a mother, is to first call your trusted pediatrician in the middle of the night with concerning signs before running to an emergency room.  I would rather be woken up with a phone call for issues that I can offer great comfort and advice for, versus knowing that our beautiful families are sitting in an emergency room for 8 hours and possibly having unnecessary, painful testing. More than 90% of children are discharged from emergency rooms with normal viral illnesses or something easily treatable the next day in the office.

In general, the cold and flu season varies dramatically from year to year depending on the strength of the circulating organism.  But even as the cold and flu season unfolds, you don’t need to feel completely helpless. Here are some things you can do to possibly help circumvent the risks of getting sick.

Let’s try to boost your family’s immune system to keep you and your family healthy this winter and even year round.

ARE ANTIBACTERIAL HANDSANITIZERS AND OTHER PRODUCTS CAUSING MORE HARM THAN GOOD?

I don’t have a perfect answer for you because there isn’t one. Studies abound about the benefits and dangers of the overuse of antibacterial products versus good old fashioned handwashing and a little extra vitamin C, zinc, garlic and yogurt.

First, let’s talk about handwashing versus chemical cleanliness.

Triclosan is a chemical used in most anti-bacterial products and is repeatedly being investigated for safety concerns. Why do I bring this up?  There are multiple studies about whether this compound is helpful due to disease prevention or toxic. Some studies are leaning toward it having a negative effect on the thyroid gland of animals in general, which includes our children with a developing endocrine and hormonal system. Most concerning to me as a pediatrician is the amount noted in studies of breastmilk among mothers that use it regularly. In addition, kids always have their hands in their mouths, period. They “eat” more of this chemical and, once again, dirt, than you can imagine. With such equivocal medical information out there, I would caution waiting for more definite studies when handwashing proves to provide exactly the same benefit and has no negative side effects. As a bonus, handwashing also helps your child learn hygiene manners and self-sufficiency!

Now, the confusing aspect… why does your doctor’s office have handsanitizers everywhere? There are times for a medical provider when handwashing isn’t immediately available with exposure to vomit and blood and skin infections so many providers use them as a fast but temporary option before they handwash (I don’t but I understand the need). We are certainly accustomed to body fluids with children! I have never had handsanitizers in my home. I am not a germ-a-phobe and I have a healthy family without unusual infections despite my exposure at the office and my child in school.

HOW TO BOOST MY FAMILY’S IMMUNE SYSTEM?

1. Food with Vitamin C (anti-oxidant) and Zinc: (food options: oranges, clementines, berries and pumpkin seeds!)  There is no doubt that adding certain foods pre or during illness can help stimulate your immune system or at least give it additional soldiers to fight the battle. I am preaching to the choir.
2. Try more yogurt with Vitamin D: (or probiotic packets if your kid is not a huge fan of yogurt) especially Lactobacillus or Saccharomyces.
3. Try more fatty fish: Salmon and other fatty fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which stimulate the activity of immune fighting cells and might help with upper respiratory illnesses.
4. Try to clean the common surfaces like the keyboard, remote control, toys, countertops, toothbrushes or toothpaste (not to be shared when kids are sick) and other surfaces that families share inevitably! Try, but I know that we all share everything at home, including germs!
5. (Sorry) Try to use disposable paper towels temporarily when one person is sick to prevent spread, good luck. The environment will hate you for a few days, but having all 5 people in the family ill for 3 weeks, passing it back and forth, is awful and sad not to mention the missed work for parents.
6. Teach your child to sneeze in their elbow not hands if a tissue is not available.  All viruses are easily spread when you touch your nose, hands or mouth after sneezing or a runny nose.
7. Exercise: Try your best in the winter, even a dance party inside your house when it is snowing!

Best to all of you and your family!

Dr. TJ Gold

Social and emotional skills

sharing and taking turns using the props, cooperating to make something together, and feeling proud of their accomplishments.

Language and literacy skills

by rolling a long snake then forming letters, telling you about what they are doing and making, discussing new words, such as , cut, chop, and slice…

Creativity and Imagination

baking cakes,pies to sell in a bakery or building cages for zoo animals, schools and yards…..

Science and math concepts

by responding to your questions, such as” What do you think will happen when……?”,”How does it feel?”,

What can you do to make it….?”

What is bigger/smaller….

Fine Motor skills

by using hands,fingers,tools to pound ,push,poke,shape,flatten,roll,cut,and scrape the dough.

How can parents use play dough at home?

PROPS-

open your kitchen drawers and cupboards to find rolling  pins, plastics knives, cookie cutters and birthday candles

Collect recycled items such as aluminum pie plates, buttons, lids, and bottle caps of different sizes.

Add a touch of nature with feathers,twigs,leaves,acorns,and dried flowers.

Look in your child’s toy collection for plastic and rubber people, animals, dinosaurs, blocks, and more.

Space

Cover a table with an easily cleaned mat or table cloth. An old shower curtain would work too. Some families use large cookie sheets as the play surface.

Time

3-4-5 year old need plenty of time to feel, touch, roll, mush, and create with play dough. They will enjoy being with you-talking, talking and talking again, laughing and learning.

Enjoy the process everyday playing with play dough!!!

Beet mash recipe

As we brave through the winter months, we can look forward to rich, comforting foods that are healthy, too.  Sprout Organic Baby Food is celebrating Valentine’s Day this month by using a delicious, red root vegetable in season – beets – in a yummy, super-simple, baby food recipe.  You will need:

2 apples (yellow or red delicious, gala or honey crisp)

3 medium beets (1 1/4 lb with greens), outsides scrubbed clean, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached (don’t forget, you can sauté leftover beet greens, too!)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Wrap beets tightly in foil, and roast in middle of oven until
tender, about 1 1/4 hours.

Unwrap beets and, when just cool enough to handle, slip off skins and remove stems.
Cut each beet into 6 wedges.

On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, placed beet and apple wedges (face
down) and roast for 20 minutes more.

Cool beets and apples. Scoop apple out of skin, and pureé together with beet.

Optional: add a dash or two of cinnamon into pureé.

Beets offer a healthy nutrient which gives them  their color – betalains.  Betalains possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and detoxification  properties.  In general, root vegetables contain healthful fiber and slow-digesting carbohydrates. Fiber aids in digestion and is linked to lowering your child’s chances of type 2 diabetes or heart disease when he/she is older.

Don’t forget some other tasty root vegetables you can celebrate this month, too! February is National Sweet Potato Month and these vegetables are packed

There’s little as sad as a child who’s caught something and becomes sick for Christmas vacation or even worse, on Christmas day. Yet, not surprisingly, our children get sick over the holidays far too often. Not only are our children likely to be overly excited, getting less sleep, and stretched thin from more activities than normal, they’re also usually lacking the healthy diet that their bodies have become used to, and to top it all off, the winter air environment is just right for the flu virus to flourish.

This year as we enter into the end of the year just around the corner, I
encourage you to follow some of these favorite tips of mine to ensure that your
children stay happy and healthy all through the holiday season.

Cut a Few Activities:
I know it feels like every activity is necessary, but sometimes there’s an extra ice skating party or a holiday get together that really isn’t absolutely crucial to go to. And when it means putting the kids to bed at their normal bedtime, sometimes it’s worth it. Pick the absolute must-go-tos (school plays and band recitals!) and then try to limit overly excessive activities out and about.

Watch Your Children’s Diet:

This is probably the tip that I would emphasize the most. When your child’s diet suddenly becomes less of the highly nutritional, well balanced meals that are norm and replaced with quick fast-prep style foods lacking nutritional value, your child is likely to become tired, irritable and even less focused on normal day-to-day tasks. Add lots of extra sweets and candy to the diet, and your child is even more likely to be all of the above. Not only that, poor nutrition and lack of necessary vitamins and minerals can also compromise the body’s immune system.  This means you’ve got tired, irritable children who are already lacking resistance to fight off diseases that are running rampant right now.

Attempt a Routine:

Stress is another huge factor in compromising immune system. And, with all the hustle, bustle of the time period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, there’s bound to be extra stress in your child’s life. The easiest way to combat this is to attempt to stick as close to their normal routine as you possibly can.  Even if there are two extra activities in the day, stick to a normal wake-up time, a normal “get-ready” regimen, and at the very least, a normal bedtime.  Evenings will probably be the hardest time to stick to a routine, as that’s when most holiday outings are happening, but if you can make the rest of the day as normal and routine as possible, your child will not feel completely lost. Any semblance of normalcy gives your child a feeling a safety and of comfort. Unwavering at bed times and wake ups is an excellent starting point.

Plan in Advance:

Planning in advance will take some extra time and effort on your part, but it can be the difference between healthy kids and children who wake up sick. Plan to make and do things on a schedule so that you know exactly what you can and cannot make happen. If you won’t have time to pack lunches one day or you know that a sit-down meal will be impossible on another, schedule in time in advance when you can get those things done.

Start working of stocking the freezer now with healthy meals you can pull out
in a flash. Keep lots of fruits and veggies on hand so that you can pull them
out in moments of starvation and not resort to the plate of Christmas cookies
that just got dropped off. Find some fun, healthy “treats” you can feel good
about your children indulging in. Maybe instead of a freezer filled with
peppermint ice cream, you can go for frozen bananas dipped lightly in dark
chocolate and sprinkled with peppermint candies.  Instead of sugary cookies, make your own rice krispies with the brown rice variety of your store and add in festive fun with food coloring instead of red and green candies.

Keep Your Home Environment Healthy:

If you can’t keep your kids away from germs any other place, try to maintain
your home as much of a germ-free haven as you possibly can. Keep lots of
disinfectant on stock and make it a habit to wash and disinfect hands as soon
as you enter the home. You can also help to prevent the flu virus from thriving
by using a humidifier in your home. Studies have shown that the influenza virus
is most likely to survive in dry, low-humidity conditions, the conditions that
enable it to stay airborne longer. By keeping your home air humidity up, you
can help prevent the flue from spreading, even if someone in your family does
come home with it.
While certainly not foolproof, hopefully these tips will help you keep your
precious children healthy all season long so they can make the most of it every
moment of every day. Here’s to a happy healthy season for your whole family!

Photo by John Lee

We all know how difficult it can be to make something for dinner that both the family and your baby can eat, especially during the holidays. This one-pan holiday recipe from Sprout Baby Food co-founder, chef and father, Tyler Florence’s book, Start Fresh, will do you wonders – bake for 30 minutes, and it’s that simple. The ingredients? Turkey breast, sweet potato, cranberries, onion, sage, olive oil, brown rice, salt & pepper (optional) – that’s it! No additives, preservatives or extra sugars. Toss in some brussel sprouts to make it extra healthy! These types of ingredients – cranberries, sage (or cinnamon or rosemary) and brussels sprouts all have antioxidants that help with metabolism, prevent cell damage and maintain healthy cell growth. Plus, the sprouts and cranberries have Vitamins such as K, C and folate.

Even more terrific is that you can use the same technique and substitute whatever meats or vegetables you have at home, and it will always turn out delicious. Add some of the recipe into the blender for baby, and you can all celebrate a delicious holiday meal together.

Roasted Turkey with Sweet Potato, Brown Rice & Cranberries

You can also get a special lesson about how to make the recipe and child nutrition tips from Tyler Florence by watching this video, courtesy of BabyCenter.

It’s a delicious time of year for family gatherings, presents and the laughter and joy of children everywhere.  As a pediatrician and a mother, I absolutely LOVE this time of year!

Each day in my office from Halloween until the New Year, parents ask for both nutritional and parenting ideas about how to enjoy the wonderful excess of the season, while trying to keep the year-round healthy habits we’ve all worked so hard to maintain with our children.  That being said, I must also unabashedly say that I am the type of pediatrician who truly wants children to enjoy this time of year and find a beautiful compromise!

Treats are a memorable part of childhood and, everyday, I give organic lollipops after my vaccinations and physical exams to make the visit more “child friendly” and productive.

Here are a few common sense ideas to enjoy the season in a healthy but fun manner!

1. During the holidays,foods are regularly high in calories but fairly low in nutrition (which is why they taste so lovely). Try to add more fruits and veges during your lunch and breakfast meals so they can be a bit spoiled during the parties and events.  My daughter loves honey more than frosting now and actually chose blueberries to top her birthday cupcakes as decorations, but with sprinkles of course…
2. Always choose water during party events (and all year if possible) instead of juice boxes which are overly present so that your child can enjoy the extra treats.
3. When it’s cold outside, children stay indoors more than usual depending on where you live, and are often in front of the computer or TV – therefore, choose gifts like video games or DVDs that make your kids jump up and down, not sitting on the couch!  So many digital games today promote good physical activity and first select other non DVD games like indoor basketball, dancing, jump rope or football. Grandparents are always asking for gift ideas!
4. Find a way to bundle up and play outside, especially in the snow.
5. Part of the holiday excitement is staying up late… but some children don’t do well being off their typical schedule so you might try starting the holiday bedtime ritual an hour early, (if they are young enough where they can’t tell time yet!), so the kids will be in good form for the next exciting day.
6. So many parents fill holiday stockings with candy- so try tiny gifts with special notes from one parent to a child about how much you love them or a picture or a drawing that you drew for them this time!
7. For older children, involve them in holiday baking and teach them how to make small changes in their favorite foods to make them healthier- less sugar, more skim milk and egg whites.

But most importantly, enjoy yourself like crazy! It is but once a year and your kids look forward to it too! Stay healthy and have fun!

Best to you all,

Dr. TJ Gold

We are a husband and wife team with three children, two older boys who are nine and six, and a younger daughter who is just turning 4.

We were both born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, and we have lived and worked in Brooklyn, NY for the last ten years and counting.

It is our privilege and insight into our creative process in this blog; every two weeks we will present our current ‘state of design’.  We welcome and encourage your comments and participation in our discourse and discussions.

Thanks so much for visiting our site and we welcome you to the Argington family.

Warm regards,

Jenny and Andrew

Help your child understand who she is as she grows.
Trying new things can feel scary to you.  You need time to feel comfortable. Or, You have such strong feelings! Sometimes it’s hard to keep them in control. This kind of self-awareness helps children use what they know about themselves to manage successfully in the world.

Support your child by using language—
Are you looking for a big puzzle piece or a little piece? “What about trying another space?

Offer direction—such as taking a puzzle piece and turning it so that it is easier to see where it might fit.

Point out positive steps taken—
such as noticing when your child tries a piece in a different space (even if it doesn’t fit).

Recognize progress—
by helping the toddler see how she has gotten closer to finishing the puzzle: Look, you just got one more piece in. Now you only have two more pieces to fit in their spaces and the puzzle will be done!

Focus on the process more than the outcome.
For example, point out how hard he worked to get his block tower taller.

Make a photo album that shows your child’s progress.
For example, take photos of a small block tower he has made and then another photo of the skyscraper he eventually created.

Devise steps based on your understanding of what is challenging for your child.
For example, if your child is afraid to go down the slide, you could slide down yourself to show him it’s safe, or have him slide a favorite stuffed animal or doll down first.
Then offer to stand behind him as he practices climbing the slide’s steps.
Then see if he’ll go down on your lap, and then perhaps alone while holding your hand. Throughout, let him know you believe in him. Also, make it clear that it is okay if he’s not ready to go down on his own yet. You are there to support him whenever he wants to try again.

Show understanding and empathy when your child is struggling with a challenge.
You tried to pour your own juice. Good for you. Some juice is in the cup. Some spilled. That happens when you’re learning to pour by yourself.
Let’s wipe it up with this sponge.
This lets children know it’s okay not to be perfect and helps them develop important coping strategies when things don’t go as planned.

Model persistence. When you model persistence and confidence in yourself, your child will learn this too.
This jar just won’t open!  It is sooo frustrating!
What else can mommy try?  I know, how about I run it under some hot water?  I heard that can help.
Then, when you are successful: Yea for mommy!  I didn’t give up. I did it!
This shows your child how to persist and cope with challenging situations.

Model confidence in new situations.
When you go with your child into a new situation or to meet a new person,
if you look calm, confident and happy, it lets him know this is safe,
good place or person and he is more likely to feel safe and confident, as well.

Below are some key points about feeding with which soon-to-be and new parents should get acquainted:

Did you know?
Flavor really makes a difference!  Babies have thousands more taste buds at birth than adults, so parents should recognize that babies can appreciate flavor. Babies can use their first learning’s about food to develop a palate that will follow them to adulthood.

Babies’ familiarity with and preferences for foods can start even before solid foods, depending on the diet of a breastfeeding mother or if a child is primarily formula-fed.

The best way to encourage healthy eating habits is to begin with flavorful, nutritious foods for babies, starting with their first solids.

By the time kids enter school, their preferred eating habits are already established.

Using organic produce, legumes, poultry and meat helps reduce children’s exposure to pesticides, chemicals and antibiotics.  Due to their smaller size and developing bodies, infants and children are more vulnerable.

If buying commercial baby food, that glass jars are not shatterproof and require longer cooking time (because of their heavy material), so flavor, color, and nutrients can dissipate.  Sprout’s unique pouches rather preserve these and are bisphenol-A (BPA)-free, another safety benefit in children’s food storage which avoids hormone disrupters from entering the body.

Sprout Organic Baby Food offers this convenience to help parents meet their children’s nutritional goals without feeling like they are sacrificing.  It was started by a well-known chef and father, Tyler Florence, whose focus is on enriching people’s lives through food.  He does this by teaching about the origin and benefit of naturally delicious foods as he brings families to the table to enjoy meals together.

The future depends on children; they motivate all of us.  Since we want the best for them, it is critical for parents to know that they can affect their baby’s health and environment while teaching them to appreciate cooking and enjoying food as a family.

As a pediatrician and a parent, I’ve found that sharing educational information about how your little one uniquely experiences and adjusts to the world around them, both developmentally and physically, can be quite soothing for parents (especially during the many sleepless nights in the beginning!)

And now, as you’re armed with a mountain of environmentally “gentle” diapers, a fabulous crib dressed in nicer linens than you’ve had on your own bed and more onesies than triplets could wear in a year, you sit and stare endlessly at every breath little Emma takes. But wait, your sweet little girl snorts like a baby pig when she breathes. Nearly every new parent nervously asks this question on their initial doctor visit, “Emma sounds so congested. Does she have a cold or did she inherit my allergies?” The answer is simple: Don’t be alarmed because newborns breathe very differently than us. They are “obligate” or “preferred” nose breathers until the first three to five months of life which amplifies their erratic breath sounds.  These “noises” are heightened when nursing or bottle feeding because the act of feeding requires a sustained sucking motion.

Fortunately, at this tender age, she isn’t (yet) allergic to your old, grouchy cat and a newborn that experiences alternating periods of active feeding, quiet alertness and content sleep is unlikely ill. Keep in mind that she was “breathing” mucus-filled amniotic fluid inside the womb and she hasn’t learned how to blow her nose yet!  But, if Emma is unable to sustain feeding for at least several minutes every couple of hours or turns a dusky color when she feeds, a call to your pediatrician is in order.

Now, it’s time to try out that fancy new crib.

All the best and welcome to the world Little One!

“Dr. TJ Gold is a NY pediatrician who devotes her life to health of children, with a special focus on nutrition and safety. She spent several years as a network television news and medical reporter before following her dream to become a pediatrician. She attended the University of California at Berkeley, Ross University School of Medicine and completed her pediatric internship and residency training at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Children’s Hospital. Dr. Gold worked in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Columbia University Medical Center before joining our practice in 2008. She’s happily married to her architect husband, Kevin, and they have a daughter named Emerson Grace (they like to call her “E.G.G.”). Dr. Gold lives in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn, New York.”

Disclaimer
These posts not intending to provide or substitute medical advice or apply universally to the situations of every child, especially children with special needs or premature babies.