Parenting

The Two Toms
Our dear friend, our brother, our hero, the inimitable Doc Tom, died on Good Friday. Even though his untimely death came as a shock, Tom Ferguson had already far outlived the projections at the time o…

A Parent’s Worst Nightmare: Gun Safety
Dr. Greene's take on gun safety... Cancer is very scary for most people. Just the word 'cancer' makes us uncomfortable. Recently I met a mom who was just finishing treatment for cancer. It was her sec…

Fathers for Organic – Part 6 of 7: A Father Provides
Tomatoes contain an important nutrient called lycopene. Lycopene is one of nature's most potent antioxidants. It has proven success at preventing and healing damage done to cells within our bodies. Ea…

Fathers for Organic – Part 5 of 7: A Father’s Protection
Most children today don't grow up on a farm. Does choosing organic food make a difference for children growing up in America's suburbs? Researchers at the Department of Environmental Health in the Sch…

Fathers for Organic – Part 4 of 7: Against All Odds
The Agricultural Health Study is a huge, ongoing, forward-looking analysis of the health of farmers and their families that began in 1993-4. Over 89,000 people are participating in the study. The stud…

Fathers for Organic – Part 3 of 7: A Father’s Insight
My wife's name is Cheryl. When my youngest was a baby, she was radiant and full of life. We were enjoying parenting together, and enjoying being partners on DrGreene.com. She was responsible for the d…

Fathers for Organic – Part 2 of 7: I Didn’t Always Feel This Way
When my first son was born, it was as if a new dimension had opened in my life. My first glimpse of him was a profound moment, but in those first days as a new dad, I had no idea the scope of the new …

Fathers for Organic – Part 1 of 7
As a father, I find within me a deep, growing desire to teach, to provide for, and to protect my children. These instincts are in my marrow. For me, one way to do all three of these is to choose organ…

The Olympics Revisited
Every two years we are inspired by watching the best young athletes in the world. We are touched by their commitment to excellence, their hard work, and their discipline in what is usually a once-in-a…

Does what I eat during pregnancy change my baby’s food preferences?
What Is There for the Baby to Smell? The amniotic fluid is like a living bowl of salty soup. The cells in the baby's nose can detect the ingredients in that soup and send messages about them to the br…

The Green Model Home
Recently my son (an aspiring architect) and I had the amazing opportunity to tour the Green House featured in the Los Angeles Magazine, DesignHouse, 2005. This gorgeous, state-of-the-art house was des…

Depressed Dads
Dads matter. When people think about depression soon after a baby is born, they often forget about fathers. But many new dads do get depressed, and you can read their depression in their children's be…

Skin to Skin Care for Preterm Babies
When a baby is admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), life can be quite stressful for the baby - and for the parents. Mothers often report that being separated from their babies, especiall…

Our Kids Are Watching…
...what we eat and drink and smoke. Children as young as two are already developing their own internal 'scripts' about adult social life that they will want to imitate, according to a study in the Sep…

Cars: Hotter Than You Think
Kids (and pets) left alone in cars have died from heat stroke on days as cool as 70 degrees Fahrenheit. How can this be? We all know that on hot August afternoons the inside of cars can become unbeara…

Family Mealtime: All for One and One for All
When I was a child and my family was gathered together for a meal, my father would sometimes look each of us in the eye and say, "All for one, and one for all." We eagerly repeated this to each other,…

Eczema Treatment Warning
The breezy television ads for certain steroid-free eczema treatment products have always bothered me. While they don.t say anything untrue, they do incorrectly imply that this treatment is gentler and…

Fast-Food Fallout
Does stopping by a fast food restaurant a few times a week with your kids really make a difference in their health? A major long-term study has found a strong association between eating fast food more…

A Child’s Nightmare
More than a million children will go to bed tonight having lost their parents or having been made homeless by the devastating tsunami. And when they awaken, their communities in tatters, they will fac…

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…