Halloween is a day full of excitement, imagination and fun frights, but it poses extra safety risks for kids and teens. Before your little hobgoblins head out for Halloween trick-or-treating, it’s important to plan ahead so they stay safe and avoid injuries. From tips on wearing safe costumes to [...]
For tweens and teens, the feeling of not fitting in can be distressing. Peer pressure and the adverse effects of social media—unrealistic comparisons to other teens and celebrities, fear of missing out and the well-documented addictiveness of social platforms—can compound the problem and undermine a young person’s mental health [...]
Before your child heads back to school, ensuring they have a properly fitting backpack should be at the top of your to-do list. Improperly worn or too heavy backpacks can cause acute and chronic back, neck and shoulder pain notes CentraState sports medicine specialist, Arth Patel, MD. Dr. Patel [...]
Cutting-edge technology is helping patients with brain and balance issues learn to adjust their movements to become more stable – and more confident when walking. Ataxia is a type of poor muscle control that can affect everything from walking and eye-hand coordination to speech and swallowing. It is typically [...]
While every child is different, some may need additional help to meet developmental milestones. CentraState speech-language pathologist Danielle DaCunha, MS, CCC-SLP, and occupational therapist Diana Cruz, MS, OTR/L, CSRS, share five signs that your child may benefit from a speech or occupational therapy evaluation. They have trouble meeting developmental [...]
For kids, nothing beats summer’s bright and balmy months for rest, rejuvenation, and fun. But the season is always fleeting – and back-to-school concerns may soon present themselves, especially for adolescents transitioning to new schools. According to CentraState child and adolescent psychiatrist Ankur Desai, MD, the transitions from elementary [...]
When kids and teens play sports, they can improve their mental and physical health, learn to work with others and build coordination and confidence. But safety is often a consideration. According to Safe Kids, more than 3.5 million children under age 15 receive medical treatment each year due to [...]
Five-year-old Mikey Mendez loves sea creatures and is obsessed with letters and numbers. His brother, Max, lives up to the term “terrible twos” by being a bit mischievous; he enjoys taking things apart and putting them back together. Their mother, Lauren, says both of her boys are very smart, [...]
The holiday season is a time to be thankful and appreciative of the good things in our lives. For parents of young children, it’s also an ideal time to introduce some teachable moments that help kids understand the true importance of the season. “The outcome of this effort is [...]
Family medicine physicians serve as the hub for a patient’s care—and often, they are the center of an entire family’s health and well-being. These specialists see patients at every stage of life, including newborns, children, and teens. “We want our pediatric patients of all ages to know that their [...]
