Each disastrous event is different but including children in the planning for and then the review of their plan will make things better for everyone. Remember practice makes perfect.

In healthy children.org there is a recent update on travel tips for stress-free family travel. Most families travel by car and the first rule is always use a car seat even in rental cars or taxis.

Once the first tooth has erupted it should be brush twice a day with a baby tooth brush and a grain of rice size fluoride toothpaste. After age three, a pea size amount of toothpaste can be used. Adults should help until about age 7-8 years or when the child can write their name well.

It is probably wise to discuss dietary supplements with your health care provider and look for the label for UPS or NSF testing. Remember Vitamin C is in citrus fruit and iron is in raisins and spinach. Ask Popeye.

DEET functions to produce a vapor layer distasteful to mosquitoes. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that DEET should not be used on babies under the age of two months. Older children can use DEET concentrations up to 30%.

There are ongoing studies to evaluate how using digestive enzymes can improve behavior and gastrointestinal symptoms in children with autistic behaviors and attention deficit problems.

Healthychildren.org has some suggestions for a checklist to secure a safer environment in any home. As children will put anything in their mouths, it is important to store pills, inhalers, and other prescriptions out of reach. Move medicines in purses or at the bedside securely out of reach. Pets, pet food and pet medicines should be stored out of a child’s reach. (This is for the safety of both the child and the pet.) Unsafe cleansers and chemicals need to be moved to cabinets with safety locks completely out of reach. Be careful of leaving alcoholic drinks in easy reach of children at the same party.

Attitude is a choice. Concentrate on overturning whining and complaining into something positive.

Can children become “addicted” to processed foods? This is an important question and the answers are important and scary. The World Health Organization has declared that there is a global epidemic of obesity.

Domestic violence is a tremendous problem. Healthychildren.org reports that “1 in 4 children are exposed to caregiver intimate partner violence within their lifetime”. That’s a lot of children and it is of great concern because this places them at risk of profound short- and long-term impacts on their physical and mental health and well-being.

Choking from hard candy is scary, be careful. Choking is the fourth leading cause of death in preschool kids and the leading cause of infantile death. In 19% of cases, candy is the culprit. Hands-on training is helpful for emergency situations, but prevention is the key.

Congratulations to our recent alumni, Dr. Sara Nandolia! She received Honorable Mention for her Hypothesis-Driven Scholarly Project in the Texas Pediatric Society E-Poster Contest under the mentorship of Dr. Annie Goodwin. Dr. Nandolia is currently a GI fellow at Johns Hopkins! See all winners here. Congratulations Dr. Nandolia!

Parents are very important in the care of their children’s mental health. It is important that parents assure their child that they can tell them anything without judgement or criticism. This is one of those things that is easy to say and not so easy to do. Second communicate that mental health is HEALTH and it is normal to talk about it and to seek professional help just like you would for strep throat. Many famous people have publicly done so.

It is strongly recommended that a parent requires them to “friend you” on social media and to share their passwords with you. Always consider asking for help from school personnel, a counselor or your doctor.

The July 26 episode of Health Care Unmasked featured UTMB pediatricians Dr. Lauren Raimer-Goodman, Dr. Monica Thint and Dr. Maria Nguyen. The group joined host TJ Aulds to discuss a “Back-to-School Primer for Parents.” To view the episode, visit to https://utmb.us/93Y.

Knowing who the trusted adults are can help build a safe environment and allow children to talk about what they are worried about whether it is bad weather, too heavy back packs, bullies or guns. Being a trusted adult takes practice also.

Keep the gaming device in a central location where there is a lot of traffic and aski children what games they like and why, ask who they are gaming with and if any stranger has contacted them, and be aware of the games’ content and use parental control.

If a parent notices any of the following, they should discuss these symptoms with their health care provider: Your child is extremely and consistently fussy, having problems breathing, has loud snoring, unusual awakenings or difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. It is important to notice if they have daytime sleepiness or behavioral problems.

The residency program wanted to highlight three residents’ work which will be presented at this week’s Annual Southern Society of Pediatric Research Conference in New Orleans! We are so proud of our residents’ scholarly products! We also want to recognize our faculty mentors guiding our residents through the scholarly process.

Family resolutions can be made together to make the family safer, stronger and more harmonious. For family goals to work each family member sees their role and gets a reward for cooperation.