Healthy Children

Teaching our kids to enjoy reading can be difficult, but while we're spending more time at home with our families, now might be the perfect time to try and instill a passion for reading in our young ones.

Joining us to talk about reading is Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, he is a pediatrician and spokesperson for AAP, as well as an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

He talks about sharing that love of reading with our children and our family, how to find books your little ones will enjoy, and separating reading for school and reading for pleasure.

We have never been more dependent on technology than during this pandemic. Between video calls for fun, for work, and many kids going to school virtually, we are on the internet and on screens almost all of the time. 

As kids become more adapt to technology, the AAP is calling for more regulation when it comes to digital advertising and our children.  

Dr. Yolanda "Linda" Reid Chassiakos is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and the Director and Medical Chief of Staff at the Klotz Student Health Center, at California State University Northridge. She tells us about the changing landscape of marketing to children online and teaching digital literacy.

Today's episode is a bit personal for our host Melanie, as she kept her son home this semester instead of sending him back to college. He is miserable, but she thinks she made the best decision! 

Well, we're going to talk all about colleges in the time of COVID with Dr. Yolanda “Linda” Reid Chassiakos, the Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and the Director and Medical Chief of Staff at the Klotz Student Health Center, at California State University Northridge.

She discusses with Melanie what we've seen so far with colleges reopening and reclosing again, how peer pressure can be used in a positive way, and how to move forward with a college-age child.

Halloween is just a week away now, have you finalized your plans for this year? Halloween 2020 will be one to remember with the COVID-19 still raging on. 

So how will Halloween change this year, is trick or treating safe? Can we still have costume parties? What should you do if you are hitting the streets Halloween night?

We are joined once again today by Dr. Shelly Vaziri Flais - she is a practicing pediatrician, mom of 4, AAP author, and Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. And she will be giving us some tips to navigate this year's spooky season. 

It is an especially difficult time to be a parent, with all of the different forms of schooling going on during the pandemic. Whether you're homeschooling, helping with virtual lessons, or sending your kid to physical classrooms, learning is not what it used to be.

Helping us navigate through all of these options today is Dr. Dipesh Navsaria, he is a pediatrician and spokesperson for AAP, as well as an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

He tells Melanie how to best help your child with this challenging start to the school year, how to keep your kids from doing school in bed, and a reminder that teachers are learning to deal with all of this as well.

We've done a lot of shows about COVID-19, but today we're going to breakdown testing for the virus. The different kinds, antibody vs diagnostic, and other confusing parts of the process.

Joining us is Dr. Yolanda "Linda" Reid Chassiakos, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and the Director and Medical Chief of Staff at the Klotz Student Health Center, at California State University Northridge.

She tells us how there is no textbook to turn to diagnose or do the appropriate testing, and how we the public are learning just like the doctors, as we go when it comes to testing for COVID-19.

It's stressful already being a parent during this pandemic, but now we have an upcoming cold & flu season to worry about as well. Epidemiologists around the globe are worried about what the overlap of illness will look like this winter.

Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson joins us once again - she is a pediatrician and a spokesperson for the AAP and is here to guide us through this next season. She breaks down the difference between each sickness, the importance of those flu shots, and keeping calm heading into fall.

As a parent, we do our best to know what our children are doing when we can't be with them. But when it comes to vaping and e-cigarettes, they're a bit easier to hide than traditional marijuana use or cigarette smoking.

Dr. Susan Walley is a Pediatrics Specialist, as well as the chair of the AAP Section on Tobacco Control. She breaks down what e-cigarettes are, why people think they're "safer" when they're really not, and all of the lung problems that affect vape users.

These times are unprecedented, people have been saying that for months now. But as the pandemic continues into those last half of 2020, one thing is for certain: masks arent going anywhere anytime soon. So how can we convince our young ones to keep them on, whether we're heading to the store or heading back to school? 

Dr. Jennifer Shu is a board-certified pediatrician and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics

She is back on the show to talk about the most difficult ages to get the masks on, teens who don't take mask-wearing seriously, and tips to get them on ( and staying on) your child's face.

Childcare has always been an issue in this country for working parents and has only become more urgent and difficult to find in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Between licensing, cost, and just finding a place with available slots - it can be hard to access good, reliable childcare, especially when schools may not be open in your area. 

Dr. Danette Glassy is a Pediatrician in practice at Mercer Island Pediatrics and joins us today to talk about all things childcare, especially as we head into fall with the pandemic still raging on around us. She's here to tell us about how to find the safest childcare, what to look for in a facility and how staff can keep their care centers and kids as safe and clean as possible at this time.