Preschool Health & Safety
Food Allergies A Bigger Problem Than Previously Reported
Dr. Greene's take on the increase in food allergies... If it seems like nowadays there's someone in every school classrooms with a food allergy, that's because almost 1 in 12 kids today have food alle…
Cold Medicine for Your Kids
Last year an advisory panel of independent experts convened by the FDA recommended that the FDA ban popular over-the-counter oral decongestants, antihistamines and cough suppressants for children unde…
Awash in Cold Medicines
Dr. Greene's take on cold medicines... Question: Who took cough and cold medicines the most? Answer: Kids aged 2 through 5 years ? the very group for whom the FDA expert panel voted to ban them last y…
Superbugs at School (and Preschool)
MRSA infections now kill more Americans than does HIV/AIDS, according to a CDC report in the October 17, 2007 Journal of the American Medical Association. Most of these infections are in adults over a…
Obese in Preschool
More than 10 percent of American kids between the ages of 2 and 5 are already overweight or obese, according to the January 2005 annual statistics report of the American Heart Association. This number…
Snoring, Memory, Attention, and Learning
Would you rather your kindergarten-age child had blood lead levels 3 times the safe limit (like children living next to a lead smelters - double the level of most kids with lead toxicity), or would yo…
Childhood Obesity and Cancer
Dr. Greene's take on childhood obesity and cancer... The heavier kids are during the toddler, preschool, and school years, the greatest the chance they have of developing cancer as young adults, accor…
Blood Pressure in Children
What's your three-year-old's blood pressure? August 2004 guidelines from The National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group on Children recommend that blood pressure screening begin at a…
Sedentary Preschoolers
I love watching young children at play. Kids are designed with energy to burn. Unfortunately, though, they're not burning it! Preschoolers are so naturally full of curiosity and energy that it's almos…
October Protection For Your Child
Most parents would be surprised to learn that in the US the 6th leading cause of death among children under 4 years old is the flu and its complications. We know the elderly are at risk; but so are yo…
Your Child’s Brain
One important way to take care of your child's brain is to protect it from injury. Thankfully, wearing helmets has become common and cool while riding bikes. I hope helmets become just as natural duri…
Roller Coasters, Amusement Parks, Injuries, and Neurologic Damage
Roller coasters are fun! Nevertheless, a study in the January 2002 issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine reported a disturbing trend in the rate of thrill ride injuries. (more…)…
Dangerous Driveways
Motor vehicle collisions kill more children in the United States than any illness. The August 2001 issue of Pediatrics reports that injuries that occur in and around driveways are a common, overlooked…
Asthma and Calcium: What You Need To Know
Dr. Greene's take on asthma and calcium: Inhaled steroids may be important for treating asthma, but they may also decrease bone mass in the children who use them, especially those who take more than 4…
Car Seat Safety
Parents and children alike look forward to four years and forty pounds when they no longer have to hassle with car seats. Even though experts (including me) recommend not using regular seat belts unti…
Is Your Child Unrestrained?
Most of us would now look with horror if we saw a car speeding down the highway with an unrestrained baby crawling about. Thankfully, infant car seats have become the standard. But what about 4-year-o…
Gun Safety – Too Many Kids Die
Half the homes in the United States contain firearms. Even if children don't have them in their own homes, they are likely to encounter them in the homes of neighbors and relatives. Firearm safety edu…