07-17-2020

There are few things more frustrating for a parent than a kid who can’t sleep. Exasperated parents come into my office everyday stating that they’ve tried everything and STILL they can’t get their child to sleep. The child is exhausted and ornery. The parent is exhausted and short-tempered. Everyone is in desperate need of a (...)

02-28-2018

My 7 year old had one of those mornings. You know the kind; she went crazy on me when I tried to help her get dressed (to hurry her along since we were late). You would have thought I was stabbing her for the screaming that ensued when I tried to brush her hair. Her (...)

02-06-2018

My patients don’t smoke cigarettes. They have heard the message that cigarettes are bad for you and contribute to lung cancer. Instead they are turning to Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes, vape pens, personal vaporizers, and e-hookah. Unfortunately, kids/teens haven’t been given the correct message that ENDS are also dangerous. They somehow (...)

09-17-2017

I was recently on a long flight, late at night. The infant in arms 2 rows ahead of me, cried for the whole first hour straight. I seriously debated whether or not to go up and offer to help, but ultimately decided it would just make that poor mom who was already trying her best, (...)

08-03-2017

My parents didn’t really talk to me about pornography when I was a kid. They didn’t really have to, it didn’t seem like it was as prevalent back then. There were kids who had “dirty magazines” or who had watched “x-rated” movies, but it wasn’t everywhere like it is today. Because more than 90% of (...)

07-06-2017

In my office, I regularly hear teens justify their marijuana use as “no big deal.” Every teen believes that they aren’t addicted, can stop at any moment, and it doesn’t affect them negatively. The parental responses are much more varied, anywhere from smoking with their teens to being so horrified that they want to kill (...)

06-25-2017

Not too long ago, we were sitting at family dinner when my 6-year-old informed me that she had to sit on the “friend bench” at recess. Upon further questioning, I discovered “the friend bench” was the kindergarten teacher’s clever way of helping kids recognize and include other kids who were being left out and needed a (...)

06-18-2017

The taboo topic of masturbating comes up surprisingly often in my office. Parents are afraid to talk about it, but are concerned that their child is doing it. The ultimate question is what do I do about it? What is masturbating? Masturbating is self-stimulation of the genitals. It is a normal part of development in (...)

06-09-2017

One sure-fire way to rip your parental heart out is to find that your kid has no friends at school or is being left out. As parents, we all want to help our kids. The problem is, we can’t navigate the social nuances of the playground or party invitation list. While you can’t do everything, (...)

06-01-2017

I was a worrier as a kid. I was sure my dad, who traveled a lot, was going to die in a plane crash. I thought the night stalker I heard about on the news was going to climb into my room at night and kill me. The funny thing is, I never told my (...)