Do you remember helping your parents bake cookies or make dinner as a child? Did you realize you were learning skills such as how to count, measure and read recipes? Cooking activities for kids can help them develop confidence and skills naturally in the kitchen. Cooking together also can help your family commit to healthy…
We often give reminders to our kids and family members about washing their hands. After all, it’s a do-it-yourself vaccine that can help prevent flu and other disease, and keep infections at bay. Did you know that when you’re in any kind of medical setting, whether it be your pediatrician’s office or a hospital, you…
Parents and kids are back to morning routines and nightly homework. Yet for many, the school year can come with unwelcome health issues. Shared classroom supplies, seasonal viruses and close contact on the playground can lead to illnesses, injuries and other conditions. Libby W. Mims, M.D., pediatrician with Norton Children’s Medical Group – Shepherdsville, highlights several…
An American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report in the August 2019 edition of Pediatrics says that too many U.S. children start kindergarten without adequate social, emotional, cognitive and physical development critical to school success. The article “School Readiness” features rapidly expanding research that shows how these gaps can be lowered or eliminated. Providing developmentally sound…
If you have a college freshman heading off to campus, you know it is an exciting time, full of promise. When you think of this time in your child’s life, the phrase “estate planning” doesn’t exactly come to mind. However, an advance directive could help your child should he or she experience a health crisis…
A recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA has prompted worries about sunscreen ingredients such as oxybenzone that can be absorbed into the bloodstream, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop protecting your family’s skin from ultraviolet rays. Indeed, the risks of skin cancer and other effects of overexposure to…
Germany had more than 300 drownings in the summer of 2018. The German Lifeguard Association (DLRG), the world’s largest lifeguard organization, issued a warning to parents in response: There is a direct link between being distracted by smartphones and child drowning deaths. Studies show that cell phones are a growing distraction for parents who should be supervising…
It’s fun to play with fireworks — until it’s not. Emergency departments across the country see an increase in burns and hand injuries around the July Fourth holiday. Charity S. Burke, M.D., hand surgeon with Norton Louisville Arm & Hand, has treated such fireworks injuries. Norton Louisville Arm & Hand The skilled surgeons with Norton…
Every summer, children are lost or suffer long-term disabilities related to submersion injuries. Submersion injuries include drowning and near-drowning incidents. Frightening stories about “dry drowning” go viral on social media. You may scroll past them, thinking dry drowning is not a real threat. But it is. And it can be life-threatening. Nonfatal dry drowning refers…
Two-thirds of all drownings happen between May and August, according to Safe Kids Worldwide. The Norton Children’s Hospital emergency department typically sees an average of 19 drowning victims a year in these months. Sadly, most drownings are completely preventable. Know the signs of drowning. “There are some safety precautions you can take to prevent drowning,…
The number of sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) cases fell by more than half in Kentucky from 2016 to 2018, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health. In 2016, 103 SUID cases were recorded in Kentucky. The number dropped to 84 in 2017 and 48 last year. Expectant parent classes “Childbirth 101,” infant care…
The Kentucky Poison Control Center of Norton Children’s Hospital has been working to reduce illness and death from poisoning in Kentucky for 65 years. The center provides 24/7 free and confidential access to specially trained nurses, pharmacists and physicians. The nurses are nationally certified specialists in poison information, and the physicians are board certified in…