You probably already know that our kids are growing up in a pretty tough world, and part of the challenge is being certain what to feed your young ones.

Since the mid-1990s, food allergies have gone from a relative rarity to becoming increasingly commonplace.

What is responsible? Well, it just so happens that in 1996 GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) were introduced into our food supply. In 2000, 1% of the corn planted in the US had been genetically engineered; today it’s 90% – and 93% of all soy. These show up as ingredients in an enormous number of foods and sodas, under one name or another (think high fructose corn syrup or dextrose, for instance).

Does this mean GMOs are to blame? There is research indicates that this may be the case, but it’s not conclusive (details in the video below).

Of course, GMOs aren’t the only thing that has changed in our diets over the last 15-20 years. Many of our food choices these days are pretty questionable.

In fact, lots of our food practices are downright backward!

For instance, one nutrient widely known for its health benefits in adults has been all but eradicated from children’s diets, even though it is tremendously for helping kids to build healthy immune systems.

Watch the video below to learn which foods are best to avoid during your child’s first year of life – and what foods your kids should be getting more of.

What do you think – are GMOs to blame for the increase in food allergies?

Or could these allergies be part of a broad shift in our culture towards less healthy lifestyles?

And perhaps most importantly, what steps can you take to keep yourself and your family eating right? Leave us a comment with your thoughts!

What does mother goose have to do with getting kids to eat right?

Researcher Konrad Lorentz showed that by replacing a mother goose with something else as the first thing a baby goose encountered, he could alter the behavior of the baby goose to view that thing (even a toy train!!) as ‘mama’.

This phenomenon is referred to as “imprinting,” and it works just as well for “what’s for dinner?” as it does for “who’s mama?”

But there’s a catch – it only works for a short while.

If you want your children to make healthy food choices almost instinctually, you have just a couple of years to give your kids the right message about what to eat to keep them healthy.

Watch this video where I discuss the impact of ‘food imprinting’ and getting kids to fall in love with real food

Make sure that your kids smell the aromas of the foods you want them to learn to like early in life. AND you want them to see you eating healthy food as well.

We’d love to hear from you in the comments below! Tell me what you can do to put this in to practice in your family.

Or do you have some habits that you use in your family that already have them loving nutritious food?

Talk with you soon!

- Dr. Alan Greene

Everyone has heard the phrase ‘soft as a baby’s bottom’.  As a society, we cherish the belief that babies have the most perfect skin.  In fact, as we age, it becomes the ideal touted by anti-aging products and the media.  It is certainly a romantic notion, but infant skin is not completely resilient and fully developed so we have to learn how to protect and nourish it.  Even for the smoothest of bottoms, there are dangers lurking in common skin care products in the form of toxins, preservatives, and chemicals.

Let me explain what medical science has taught us about baby’s delicate skin:

Human skin maintains some of the same functions from birth throughout all stages of life.  It serves as a physical barrier between the environment and us, helps regulate body temperature, prevents insensible fluid loss from our bodies, and plays a great role in immune function.  However, there are some fundamental differences between infant and adult skin.  For instance, the barrier function of infant skin is not completely developed.  Babies lose more water through the skin and absorb environmental toxins and chemicals more easily than adults [1].  They are also more prone to developing bacterial infections than adults [2].  It is remarkable to note that the application of safe, natural moisturizers to baby’s skin can enhance its barrier function and prevent some of these issues.  In a recent randomized, controlled trial, when premature infants were massaged with sunflower seed oil three times a day, they had a 41% decrease in serious life threatening infections and a 26% reduction in mortality [3].  Recent evidence suggests that barrier development continues to occur throughout the first year of life and that baby’s skin is notably thinner structurally than ours.  Its fragile nature, high surface area to volume ratio and baby’s decreased subcutaneous fat volume all make infant skin more prone to easily absorbing any chemicals or toxins applied to it.  This is all worsened by the fact that babies still have immature drug metabolism and detoxification systems.  Basically, their little bodies cannot eliminate any toxins they absorb in the same manner that adults can.  These compelling findings highlight the importance of only essential, safe, and gentle skincare for developing infants.

When it comes to bathing, oddly enough, there is increased evidence to suggest that washing with a washcloth during the first month of life actually causes dehydration of the skin when compared with simply soaking in water.  Another study found that bathing an infant in a tub was associated with higher risk of cord infection versus no washing at all.   And when it comes to cleansers, the consensus among dermatologists appears to be that a mild liquid cleanser may actually be less drying and less irritating than water alone after the first month of life. Additionally, bathing should be brief (10 minutes or less) and should occur no more than every other day.

What about sunscreen? Photoprotection or sun protection is incredibly important for babies and children as it is for adults because UV damage is cumulative.   We also have to take into account that children spend more time outdoors in the sun and that their skin is more vulnerable to damage.  In fact, in the case of infants, they are entirely at the mercy of their caregivers to practice sun protection because they cannot communicate when they have a sunburn.  However, when it comes to the application of sunscreen, over the years, many have expressed concern about the possible hormone disrupting chemicals found in many formulations.   And, as mentioned earlier, this is especially worrisome in infants and children because their skin absorbs chemicals more easily and their bodies cannot metabolize them as quickly and efficiently.  Therefore, this remains to be a very contentious topic where the jury is still out.  My personal suggestion would be to follow the recommendation made by the American Association of Pediatrics: to minimize the reliance on topical products in infancy by avoiding sun exposure and using sun-protective clothing whenever possible [4].

Even if you do not subscribe to the philosophy of using natural and organic skin care products for your own adult skin, there are significant and worthwhile benefits of going natural for your developing baby and child.  As parents, we all want what is best for our children, and the evidence points strongly towards special care for fragile infant skin.

As an expectant mom and physician-scientist with a keen interest in immunity, inflammation and autoimmune disorders of the skin, I am passionate about advocating for parents by educating them about the risks associated with the use of chemicals and toxins in common skincare products. However, chemicals are only part of the problem, the other important piece is education about healthy skincare practices and avoidance of unnecessary products applied to the skin.  Our babies deserve the best shot at optimum skin health and development.  And, we deserve to know that what we put on baby’s skin is safe from harsh chemicals, toxins and preservatives.

How many of you use natural or organic skin care products for your infants and children? Do you feel that they are worth the price? Do you wish that they were more readily accessible in mainstream stores?

References:

1. Shwayder T, Akland T. Neonatal skin barrier: structure, function, and disorders. Dermatol Ther. 2005;18(2):87-103.
2. Darmstadt GL, Dinulos JG. Neonatal skin care. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2000;47(4):757-782.
3. LeFevre A, Shillcutt SD, Saha SK, et al. Cost-effectiveness of skin-barrier-enhancing emollients among preterm infants in Bangladesh. Bull World Health Organ. 2010;88(2):104-112.
4. American Academy of Pediatrics. Recommendations on limiting sun exposure. Accessed January 9, 2013.

Baby massage may seem superfluous or silly to some people, but it’s popularity is growing in the U.S. and it has actually been practiced for centuries in many cultures around the world. But, does it have any significant health benefits? You might be surprised at how much it does. In fact, touch plays a much more important role in human development than scientists first imagined.

Consider these facts:

• Skin is by far the largest of all of our sense organs.
• It develops early in utero – at less than 8 weeks, when the fetus is less than an inch long, the sense of touch is already highly developed – before there are eyes or ears.
• Between the pulsing of the amniotic fluid and the contracting and expansion of the walls of the womb, the uterine environment is a space of constant massage.
• When a baby is born, his vision is still fuzzy, but touch is a primary way he can interact with the world for the first few months.

Just from these basic biological facts, it becomes clearer that touch must be important for infant development. But, to what extent? Here’s a snapshot of the myriad medical benefits researchers have discovered over the years.

• In 1986. Dr. Tiffany Fieldand her colleagues gave preterm infants a 15-minute massage, three times per day, for ten days resulting in 21-47% greater weight gain than standard care alone. Those infants were also discharged six days earlier on average than control infants, saving approximately $10,000 in hospital costs per infant. Since then, they’ve also found:
  • Infants who experienced massage therapy cried less and had lower cortisol levels, suggesting lower stress.
  • Touch stimulation can positively affect physiological, behavioral, and social development among infants.
  • Young children with eczema who received daily massage from their parents saw symptoms decrease.

• Dr. Kathryn Barnard at the University of Washington found that infants who were held more showed superior cognitive development as long as eight years later.

• Research by Theodore Wacks, a psychologist at Purdue, showed that infants who experienced more skin-to-skin contact had an advantage in mental development in the first six months of life.

 
It turns out infant touch benefits pretty much all systems of the body – nervous, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, endocrine – the impacts are profound.

And, the benefits aren’t just for babies. You can probably guess that parents sleep better when babies sleep better (which they do with infant touch). And, it reduces parental stress levels, too! Field found that mothers who do infant massage report lower levels of depression, they seem to be more sensitive to their baby’s cues and the babies are more responsive to the mother through the whole first three months.

Still question whether touch is as important as eating and sleeping? Consider one more landmark study.

In the 1960s, Dr. Harry Harlow separated infant monkeys from their mothers at six to twelve hours after birth and substituted “surrogate” mothers made either of heavy wire mesh or of wood covered with cloth. Both mothers were the same size, but the wire mother had no soft surfaces and was equipped with a bottle from which the baby could “nurse”while the other mother was cuddly, covered with foam rubber and soft terry cloth, but had no food. Despite the fact that only one surrogate mother could feed them, the infants still spent more time cuddling with the cloth mother. (They also found that the monkeys“raised” by wire mesh moms were very aggressive as adults.) These results led researchers to believe closeness and affection are as imperative to healthy development as food.

In today’s busy world, it’s all-too-common for parents to give a child a pacifier or put them in front of a video screen to keep them calm and quiet. But, those convenient moments of calm may be having subtle impacts on your child’s development. Take time to slow down. Take time to touch. Take time to cuddle. They aren’t babies for long and your investment of time and touch is a priceless investment in their health and well-being.

With each child I’ve learned a little more about parenting than I knew before, I guess they refer to that as earning your stripes. Sometimes your first child gets a little more attention just by the sheer one on one interaction they are blessed with and moms often report feeling guilty when they’re just not able to do “everything” with the second baby. I had an epiphany in thinking about this topic of feelings and my experience in signing with all three of my children. What we lack in one-on-one attention with a second or third or more babies we make up for in our rooted knowledge of how to care for our children.

Amberly, my first, was at least a year before I began demonstrating the feeling signs with her. I often took note of all the “things” she was interested in as a baby since I knew that approximately 70% of baby’s first words are nouns. Then, came along Kyle. He had the luxury of seeing signs demonstrated towards him as well as towards Amberly, they’re just 17 months apart so we were still teaching Amberly lots of new signs in Kyle’s first year of life (and then it dwindled because when Kyle started walking he was into everything and I could barely keep up with just taking care of a 2 year old and a 1 year old!). There were times when I’d specifically be showing a sign to Amberly and then take a second to turn and show Kyle as well. On a side note, what was really fun is having Amberly be a little assistant teacher and reinforce the sign for Kyle!

As you might already know two year olds tend to express their feelings in a big way – both the happy and not-so-happy feelings. As they develop, these feelings are new for them and the not recognizing those feelings going on inside are part of what lead to tantrums. Knowing some of this, I would take care in showing Amberly the feelings signs as it helped to identify them for her. What I didn’t expect was that these feelings signs would be equally important to my 10 month old.

Our practice was for my husband and I to take turns each night putting one of the children to sleep. After getting pajamas on and brushing teeth, I would sign and say “I love you” to Amberly. One night as I did this, Kyle held his little hand up in the L shape, waved it back and forth and said his little version of “I love you”! I was so excited to hear and see his ability to connect this feeling with our practice of saying good night. I quickly had him turn to dad and tell him “I love you”. It was so cute. What I did next is what any excited mother would do, turned to my husband and expecting him to read my “look”  and coached him to tell Kyle to say “I love you” to me. My eyes had been opened to see that even babies pick up on those feelings and understand them.

This was my cue to start showing Kyle the sign for “nap”. What mom wouldn’t want a little help in that department? He was still taking 2 naps a day so I’d take a second to ask him if he was tired then follow up with signing “nap” and it only took a few days before he was responding! Babies understand far more than we give them credit for, and they will follow instructions in sign but not always use it themselves. That is, until a situation calls for it. Our family came down with a horrible cold, I’m convinced the kids and I ended up with a sinus infection. Life can be a little hairy in any house where everyone is sick. I was doing my best to keep everyone happy and rested. As I held Kyle on my hip while he was crying, I was standing jostling him and doing my best to help Amberly with a toy. Kyle knew I wasn’t getting the point and said out loud “Mama” and when I turned to look at him, he signed NAP! I couldn’t believe it! It wasn’t anywhere near his typical morning nap time, but it dawned on me that with his not feeling well and not sleeping well at night that he was tired far earlier. After acknowledging what he said I went straight over to the cd player to put in his lullaby cd, set up on the couch and nursed him off to sleep. It was the best feeling in the world to have him be able to give me a clear message, especially while he was feeling sick and be able to appropriately respond to his needs. Never underestimate the power of communication, it comes up in the times you least expect it.

Have you experienced something similar, whether an epiphany about parenting or being marveled at your baby’s ability to comprehend something even though they are so young? Share your story with me.

As a child passenger safety technician, I have participated in many car seat inspections and am astonished at the number of seats that are either improperly installed and/or used. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 73% to over 90% of child restraints are misused. In my experience, over 95% of car seats have been misused in some way.

Let’s take a look at some common mistakes to help you avoid making the same.

• When seat belts are used to secure the car seat, the seat belt has not been locked. Seat belts lock in 1 of 3 ways: at the (1) latch plate, (2) retractor or (3) by using a locking clip. Remedy: Be sure the seat belt is locked.
• The child restraint is not secured tightly and moves more than 1-inch at the belt-path. Remedy: Tighten the seat belt or LATCH strap and check for tightness.
• Some vehicles and/or child restraints do not allow the LATCH system to be used in the middle seat. This information is found both in the vehicle owner’s manual and the child restraint owner’s manual. Remedy: If utilizing the center seat and your vehicle does not allow for LATCH, secure the car seat with the seat belt.
• The harness straps are not tight enough to secure the child properly. Remedy: When checking tightness, pinch the straps at the shoulder level. You should not be able to pinch extra fabric.
• The retainer clip is positioned too low. Remedy: Position the clip level with the child’s armpit. The sternum absorbs more force than the abdomen in the event of a crash.
• The harness straps are not positioned in the proper harness slot. Remedy: Position the harness straps at or below the shoulders when a child is rear-facing and at or above when forward-facing.
• Forward-facing position used when child still requires rear-facing. The EARLIEST a child can be turned forward-facing is when he/she is 1 year of age AND 20 pounds…not either/or. The new recommendations are to keep children rear-facing for as long as possible or until the height and/or weight requirements of the convertible car seat have been reached.
• The carrying handle of the infant-only car seat remains in the carrying position and not in proper position for riding in the vehicle. Remedy: Refer to your child restraint manual for recommended positions for the handle while in the vehicle.
• Using aftermarket products. I must say, this is one of the most commonly seen mistakes. Aftermarket products (i.e. head support, harness padding, bunting) have not been crash tested with the car seat to be rendered safe. Remedy: Do not use any product that did not come with your car seat unless otherwise noted by the manufacturer.
• Expired car seats. Car seats expire after 6 years and should not be used. The plastic can become brittle and not provide the protection needed in the event of a crash.
• Rear-facing seat not at proper angle. Remedy: Position rear-facing seats to a 30-45° angle.
• Tether strap not used for forward-facing car restraint or improperly used with rear-facing convertible car seats. Remedy: Utilize tether straps as per manufacturer guidelines.
• Tether strap not tight.
• Tether strap not attached to correct anchor. Remedy: Refer to vehicle owner’s manual for proper tether anchor to utilize.
• Child not appropriate weight and/or height for the car restraint. Remedy: Follow child restraint height and weight guidelines.
• Twisted harness straps.
• Twisted seatbelt or LATCH straps.
• Using both seatbelt and LATCH to secure the car seat in a vehicle. Remedy: Only one or the other is to be used.
• Two car seats secured to one LATCH anchor. Remedy: Use seat belt for one child restraint and LATCH for the other or move child restraint.
• Using second-hand car seat in which the history is unknown. Remedy: Purchase a new car seat. If you must use a second hand seat, be sure you know that the car seat was not involved in an accident.

How do you prevent misuse?

• Read you car seat owner’s manual.
• Read your vehicle owner’s manual.
• Get your child restraint inspected every time you install a new seat.
• Be vigilant and check tightness of the seat and straps before every use.
• Make sure other caregivers who transport your child in a vehicle are knowledgeable about car seats and common car seat mistakes.

Since motor vehicle accidents are still a leading cause of death in children less than 14 years of age, it is crucial for parents and caregivers to be vigilant in utilizing child restraints properly and consistently.

There is a lot of information (and opinion) about how to get your infant to sleep through the night. Cry it out/don’t cry it out, rocking/no rocking, co-sleeping/crib sleeping, white noise/no noise, breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. Everyone has an idea about what works. Like I said earlier, there is very little data to support one technique over another.

Auspiciously, there is new data that may help us know what NOT to do. Researchers found 3 things to avoid while helping your baby learn to sleep through the night.

A new study refutes an urban legend: feeding rice cereal keeps babies asleep.

The findings may also help us understand how to improve our home environment to ultimately improve infant/toddler sleep. Researchers in Boston followed over 1600 mothers until their babies were 2 years of age. They evaluated the amount of sleep babies got at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years of age. Study results included:

No rice cereal before 4 months.  Feeding rice cereal early in infancy doesn’t help babies/toddlers sleep longer. Many parents hear that rice cereal will satiate a baby to the point that they’ll avoid overnight feeds. The study found babies who were fed rice cereal before 4 months of age slept LESS. I recommend no solids until about 6 months of age. Not because rice cereal is necessarily harmful, rather it likely isn’t helpful and what’s the rush? Wait until the baby is able to sit up independently, then give it a go.

No TV. Research (and instincts) tell us television isn’t good for infants & toddlers. In this study, babies who were placed in front of the TV, slept less at age 1 and 2 years of age. The AAP recommends no TV until age 2. Some families find that impossible. Whatever you do, this study may encourage you to wait until your baby is sleeping through the night.

Avoid depression. Postpartum depression was associated with less sleep in babies and toddlers. Nearly 80% of women who give birth have the “baby blues,” but some women go on to suffer from postpartum depression. Prompt diagnosis and help can improve a mother’s enjoyment of the baby, her suffering, and the baby’s sleep. If you’re worried about your mood or sadness, or another mother’s mood, you can get help. Postpartum depression can be treated. Call the doctor for an appointment to discuss. Or talk with your infant’s pediatrician. It’s always okay to ask for help.

Also, two wildcard non-issues: breast-feeding (versus formula) & maternal smoking seemed to have no effect on sleep duration in the 1 and 2 year-olds.

There you go, the anti-advice. Just 3 things to try not to do. All in the never-ending quest for a good night of sleep.

When feeding your babies and toddlers, keep color in mind.  In my book, Organically Raised, I call this rainbow eating.  As a new parent, it’s often difficult to manage all of the day-to-day details of raising little ones, and so finding easy ways to make sure our kids are getting the nutrition they need, without the stress of monitoring nutritional content of each fruit or veggie, just look at the color!  Simply put, you want to make sure your babies and little ones are eating a wide variety of colors as each group organically represents various unique health benefits and will naturally keep your baby in balance. By feeding your baby foods in a rainbow of colors, you ensure that he will have a diet with diverse tastes, textures, and nutrients. It is also a wonderful way to teach her about colors!

This color adventure is also fun for toddlers and can help teach them their colors!  You can make a game out of it and all the while you are ensuring a balanced diet filled with the seasonal nutrition they need!

Here is an easy chart, from my book, to help guide you on this fun culinary adventure!

Dr. Greene’s Answer:

The latest recommendations are for kids to get at least 30 minutes of age-appropriate physical activity per day throughout childhood, and for babies this means tummy time. For infants, tummy time helps to decrease baby’s risk of skull deformities, promotes gross motor development, and strengthens back and neck muscles. Start with short episodes multiple times per day…eventually your baby will be able to tolerate longer periods.

There are ways to make it more fun. For example, rolling up a small towel and placing it under her chest can get her head up higher so she can see and do more. Also, try getting on your tummy in front of her. You can also lay your baby across your lap when burping her, or position her face down on your arm when you are carrying her. You can also spend time “tummy to tummy”, by placing your baby belly down on your belly or chest. Music often helps, as well, and tummy time on a bed is sometimes more fun than on the floor, assuming you are careful. Once she is strong enough to roll over, this will not be an issue.

Dr. Greene’s Answer:

Kids will sometimes go through phases where their sleep (and your sleep!) is interrupted, but when the transition is sudden and recent, my first thought is, “What might have changed?”

Often there is a short-term discomfort that makes it unpleasant to fall asleep and that breaks the habit of good sleep. At 4 months old, common reasons would include teething and ear infections. (Interrupted sleep is the most reliable symptom of ear infections. Far more so than ear tugging or fever.) If you suspect she is uncomfortable, you will want to treat that discomfort. If you are not sure, you may want to have her checked just so you will know what you are dealing with.

If teething seems to be causing pain, then something like Hyland’s homeopathic teething tablets or Tylenol may relieve the pain and make her less scared of lying down (pain is usually worse at night and when falling asleep).

If discomfort is not a problem, she might be feeling some new separation anxiety (though this usually does not start until 5 months or later) where she is afraid to be alone. Or her developing large muscle skills may leave her not wanting to be down on her back. Kids often go through rough periods of sleep for the week or two before motor milestones.

The approach I used with my own kids (when I was sure it was not pain or discomfort) was to try to put them down at about the same time every day so they would get in a rhythm of feeling drowsy at that time, then to stand by their sides, gently patting them and singing to them, telling them I love them until they fell asleep. I would do anything except lie down with them or feed them. Within a week or two, they had all learned to sleep well–though this needed to be repeated sometimes, such as after an ear infection.

Another approach is to let her sleep with you. Most families throughout history have slept that way–as well as most families around the world today–and it is a fine choice for some families and not for others.