(760) 946-9600 Contact UsPatient Portal

Posts Tagged "Outdoors"

12Jun2020

Helping Children Understand Masks

The world may seem like a whole new place to your child. Wearing a face mask outside your home may either seem like an exciting adventure or a scary circumstance depending on how you approach this conversation with your child and depending on your child’s temperament.

  • First, consider the age of your child before having this conversation. If you have very young children, you should approach this using simplistic language, answering their questions, and remaining calm at all times. Be careful of offering too many details as this may only scare them. Simply tell them that masks can help keep them from getting sick. If you are speaking to older children, you can also focus on other steps they can take to keep their germs to themselves and to stay away from other germs when they are out.
  • Second, come up with a plan to get your child to wear the mask when going out in public. For younger children, it may be best to approach this as you would a game. Practice wearing the mask at home so that your child knows what it will feel like before leaving home. You could also have a favorite stuffed animal wear a mask. Children may also want to know what they look like while wearing the mask. You can encourage them to look at themselves in the mirror or take a selfie. Some children like the idea of looking like a favorite superhero who also wears a mask.
  • Third, find a way to make the mask-wearing experience pleasurable. You could consider offering a small reward if your child is particularly hesitant. However, you will have to make the exact requirements for earning the reward clear before leaving home. Another option would be decorating the mask using markers or stickers. No matter how your child reacts to the mask, be sure to be accepting of his emotions.

Face masks are currently recommended for most children over the age of 2 when going out in public. If you have concerns about your child wearing a mask or want to know more about how you can keep your child safe and healthy during this continuing pandemic, contact Kid’s 1st Pediatrics today. We can help you understand what our clinic is doing to address this crisis, schedule an appointment for your child, or give you advice over the telephone.

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
23May2020

Teaching Children About Germs

When your children were infants, they loved to put everything in their mouths and had no qualms about rubbing their eyes every chance they got. Now that they are older, they may still have some of these same bad habits and may frequently come back from school with nasty colds or stomach viruses. By teaching your children about germs, they can understand better how bacteria and viruses are transferred from person to person and can become better stewards of their own health.

Your first inclination may be to sit down and have a talk with your child. However, most children become quickly bored by lengthy discussions. If they have nothing to look at during the discussion, the words you say are highly unlikely to make their way into your children’s memories. Instead, you need to teach them about germs by using something that sticks out to them and engages their senses.

Utilizing the Tools of Technology

One of the easiest options is to show your children a video about germs. There are plenty of free videos about this subject online today. Plus, nearly all children love watching videos. A video can help get across the message that germs are quite powerful even though they are unseen. To ensure that the message of the video has been made clear to your children, ask them to repeat back to you what they were taught.

While engaging one of the senses through watching a video can be powerful, an even more powerful teaching option is to engage at least two of the senses simultaneously through a demonstration. Find something that your children can not only watch but also test out with their hands. One example is putting glitter on your children’s hands and having them watch how the glitter gets on everything they touch.

As your children hear you talk to them about germs while watching you demonstrate germ transfer and getting to test it out for themselves, these new concepts will make their way more fully into their conscious thoughts. 
Although it will not happen overnight, your children will gradually start making smarter decisions about touching their faces, washing their hands frequently, and practicing good hygiene around others when they are ill. Until then, you do not have to feel bad about continuing to remind your children to cover their mouths when coughing or to keep their hands off their faces.

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
10Sep2019

What Is Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease?

Hand-foot-and-mouth disease almost sounds like a joke until your child is the one diagnosed with it. This is a very real viral disease that seems to be popping up a bit more lately, causing plenty of concerns and confusion among parents who may have never heard of it before or who may not recognize the symptoms their children are facing and may be filled with dread. However, with over 200,000 cases diagnosed in the United States every year, it would certainly be worth your while to learn more about this contagious disease so that you can recognize it for yourself and understand how to treat it at home.

Typically, children under the age of 5 are most likely to contract hand-foot-and-mouth disease mainly because of the increased skin-to-skin contact and poor hygiene habits among this group. This infection is so named because of the sores that pop up inside the mouth as well as on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

This is a mild viral infection caused by a type of coxsackievirus in the U.S. This virus can be transmitted between children through skin-to-skin contact, through saliva and feces and even through airborne particles. Therefore, such activities as hugging, kissing, changing diapers, and even sneezing or coughing can quickly spread the virus, making large outbreaks at daycares and preschools a distressing possibility. Although symptoms typically last approximately ten days for most children, youngsters will be at their most contagious during the first seven days.

As soon as you notice any symptoms, you should keep your child at home to avoid spreading the infection within your community. The most common symptoms you could see include the following:

  • Fever
  • Poor appetite
  • Sore throat
  • General fatigue
  • Painful mouth sores
  • Red spots on the hands and feet
  • Blistering rash

Most of the time, this infection can be cared for quite well at home once your pediatrician diagnoses your child. Treatment may include over-the-counter pain and fever remedies and mouth sprays to numb painful sores. However, without proper treatment, some children may experience such complications as fingernail or toenail loss, viral meningitis, or encephalitis. However, these complications are quite rare.

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
17Aug2019

The Relationship between Sleep and Weight

You certainly know how important high-quality sleep is for your child. After all, you have probably experienced an incredibly crabby toddler who missed his nap or a cranky teenager who only got a few hours of sleep before a big day of classes and tests. While sleep certainly affects a child’s mood, it also impacts a variety of other areas of a child’s physical and mental health. Poor sleep may affect the following:

  • School performance
  • Anxiety levels
  • Depression
  • Memory and concentration
  • Creativity
  • Social relationships

Interestingly, poor sleep has begun to be linked to childhood weight gain. Childhood obesity has made plenty of headlines in the past several years as children in certain developed countries, including the United States, are becoming overweight or obese at alarming rates. Numbers from 2016 show that almost 20 percent of school-age children are obese. Another alarming statistic shows that teenage obesity rates have quadrupled since 1980. 

Although there are many ways to combat these statistics, such as with healthier meals and increased exercise, one easy option of which very few parents are aware is achieving adequate nightly sleep. Sleep cycles are important rhythms in the body that help with growth and development. In addition, adequate sleep is necessary for a good metabolism, which is vital for burning the calories that children and teenagers take in each day. When children are awake longer each day, they are more apt to become hungry and to eat more often. Obviously, a disruption in sleep routines leads to appetite changes and metabolism changes, which can swiftly lead to weight gain.

It can be a struggle to know how much sleep a child should get each night. Keep in mind that recommended sleep numbers are based on children’s ages. Basically, the younger your child is, the more sleep he will need nightly. Here are the general guidelines for daily sleep. Younger children may also take naps to help equal the recommended allotted time.

  • Toddlers: 11-14 hours
  • Preschoolers: 10-13 hours
  • Elementary and middle school-aged children: 9-11 hours
  • Teenagers: 8-10 hours

While your child may not get the recommended amount of sleep every night, this will give you something to aim for as you consider bedtimes and wake-up times. If you have any concerns about your child’s sleep habits or weight, contact Kids 1st Pediatrics for a pediatric assessment.

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
6Jul2019

How Concerned Should You Be about Mosquito Bites?

Now that summer is in full swing, you may notice your children coming back indoors with mosquito bite welts on their arms and legs. Although you probably grew up suffering through the same dilemma thanks to your hours of summer play outside, you have probably heard of the variety of diseases that mosquitoes may now carry. It is wise for you to understand more about mosquito bites and how you should care for them to ensure that your child stays healthy during the warm, brilliant days of summer.

Most mosquito bites will appear as small to medium-sized red welts on the skin. They will be raised and quite itchy. Typically, they are nothing to worry about, and they should disappear within a few days. You should instruct your child not to scratch at her bites so that she does not break the skin, and you may want to use an anti-itch ointment made with steroidal cream for a very severe bite or a case of multiple bites.

Of course, there are some times when you should worry about the bug bites on your child’s body. Call us for an appointment immediately or head to an urgent care clinic or a nearby emergency room if your child develops any of the following side effects:

  • An allergic reaction with major swelling at the site or around the face
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Infection due to excessive scratching at the site
  • Increasing redness or red streaks in the area
  • Body aches
  • Fever
  • Diarrhea

If any of the above side effects develop, your child may have been bitten by a different insect, may be allergic to the insect or may have developed a secondary illness or infection from the bite. Getting medical help quickly can help get your child back on her feet again so that she can enjoy the summer.

In the United States, the only disease that mosquitoes carry that could be harmful to humans is West Nile Virus. If your child has recently been out of the country to areas in Africa, South America or Central America, she could also be at risk for yellow fever, malaria or the Zika virus if she has not been properly immunized. 

For more information about how you can protect your child’s health during outdoor play, contact Kids 1st Pediatrics where our goal is happy, healthy children.

Kids Staff
Pediatrics
Copyright ©2022 Kids1stpediatrics.net