PARENTING  A study published in an online medical journal of my field, Pediatrics, wound up in the headlines recently. “Study Links ADHD in Children to Pesticide Exposure.” Whoa! That sounded like bad news, for sure. With all the efforts to get our kids to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, were we inadvertently causing another problem? Were parents going to storm my office irritated with conflicting advice — after all, in the last issue of InHealthNW, I wrote about helping kids eat more fresh fruits and veggies? I knew I’d better look into it more. But once again, the study, fetchingly titled “Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Urinary Metabolites of Organophosphate Pesticides,” didn’t exactly show what the headlines proposed. Read More>>

SPECIAL SECTION  No, your eyes are not deceiving you. Our children are the heaviest they have ever been, with three times as many obese children and adolescents compared to the 1970s in the United States. Read More>>

PARENTING  You may have heard of agoraphobia, or claustrophobia, but have you heard of fever phobia? I sure have. I would define it as the grave concern that any temperature greater than 99 degrees Fahrenheit heralds certain peril. Some parents have the belief that if a fever rises too high, bad things will happen: poaching of the brain, melting of teeth or something equally horrific. In actuality, any serious consequence of fever itself would require a sustained fever north of 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Read More>>

PARENTING  Why should I get the flu vaccine? I’m not in a risk group and they get the vaccine wrong sometimes anyway. And by the way, what is the deal with H1N1? I am pretty skeptical about that new vaccine. Is it safe? Read More>>

PARENTING  My child was recently diagnosed with kidney stones. It was awful. What can we do to prevent this from ever happening again? Read More>>

PARENTING  A: Be grateful that in the Inland Northwest, bugs primarily just bug people. Yes, West Nile Virus hits the radar every summer, but fortunately, serious complications are rare. We have ticks as well, but they’re quite human-friendly, with complications such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever essentially non-existent in our region. There is still good reason, however, to avoid bites — they itch, which leads to scratching, which can lead to skin infection. So what to do? Read More>>

PARENTING  A. ‘Tis the season for sneezing, so get your tissues. For those prone to seasonal allergies, beautiful weather and blooming can herald a sea of mucus and misery. What is going haywire to produce hayfever? Try this analogy: Think of an allergic person’s nose as a prison, whose inmates (histamines and other chemical trouble makers) are kept in their cells (mast cells) behind lock and key. Things are fine until the keys show up, releasing the captives from some or many of the cells. Some noses are like country club prisons with mild-mannered accountants while some noses are like the state penitentiary with dangerous inmates. Therefore the severity of a prison break will vary, from mild sniffles to hives, swelling, breathing difficulties and possibly dangerous situations. Read More>>

PARENTING  Q. My 6-year-old son still needs to wear a pull-up at night. How can I help him be dry at night?
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PARENTING  Q: I have three kids and someone is always sick. Yet now I read that I’m not supposed to give them over-the-counter cold medicines. Why not? What should I do instead? Read More>>

PARENTING  What can I do to make my child behave? I am at my wit’s end trying to encourage, punish, and cajole my way to a well-behaved kid. Help! Read More>>

PARENTING  Q: How should I choose shoes for my kids?

A: I have few memories more magical than rolling up to the Buster Brown store at NorthTown to score a new pair of waffle stompers. They had to accelerate well, stop tight, jump high with a zig for every zag — if they did not, they would not be mine. Through the years, I ran Zips, Kangaroos, Keds, simple swoosh Nikes, Saltwater Sandals, Sperry Topsiders. My mom bought the propaganda that a child needed new shoes frequently or their feet would explode. Read More>>

PARENTING  Q: We are having a baby next month and I’m confused about car seats. All I hear is that they aren’t used correctly very often. What is the safest car seat and how do you use them properly? Read More>>

PARENTING  Q: A friend of mine has a child who has a metabolic disorder that wasn’t diagnosed with routine newborn screening even though screening for the disorder does exist. How could that happen? Read More>>