Holistic Pediatricians

Dr. Chheda – You want to take your infant to the beach? That’s wonderful! What can you do?

You really can’t put sunscreen on because your skin is too thin, so you want to try to keep your baby in the shade as much as possible. You don’t want them to get sunburn. You are welcome to go to the beach, but keep them in the shade, and so they will be drinking a lot more and come inside for the rest of the day, and that’s okay. As long as they’re provided plenty of shade to stay hydrated, you can take your infant to the beach. After six months of age, and then have them sit outside in the sun, you know, a little bit of time, and they will get hungry and thirsty. Otherwise, have fun at the beach!

Well, for the first six months of life, and the sunscreen will be absorbed, and you definitely don’t want them to get dehydrated. So yes, know that they will be a little bit more thirsty. Maybe spend an hour or two in the early mornings, and making sure that they’re drinking and urinating.

You can start putting sunscreen on your baby for 30 minutes or so. They will get a little bored, so make sure that you pay attention to their cues.

Dr. Chheda – 💊 Which vitamins should you give your child? So just so you know, the FDA doesn’t really regulate vitamins. Centrum can do whatever they want, One A Day can do whatever they want. It’s really up to you to read the vitamin ingredient list and see which one has the most vitamins and minerals for your child.

Now one of the most complete multivitamin, multi-mineral that is great for children is the Flintstones Complete Chewables. So not the gummies, but the actual chewables – the little chalky little men that we all grew up with 30, 50 years ago. Those are still the best.

They are the most complete, and also because they’re not in gummy form, you don’t have to worry about them sitting on the molars and possibly causing cavities. So that is one of the most complete vitamins that you can give to your child: The Flintstones Complete Chewables.

Dr. Chheda – 💊 Which vitamins should you give your child? So just so you know, the FDA doesn’t really regulate vitamins. Centrum can do whatever they want, One A Day can do whatever they want. It’s really up to you to read the vitamin ingredient list and see which one has the most vitamins and minerals for your child.

Now one of the most complete multivitamin, multi-mineral that is great for children is the Flintstones Complete Chewables. So not the gummies, but the actual chewables – the little chalky little men that we all grew up with 30, 50 years ago. Those are still the best.

They are the most complete, and also because they’re not in gummy form, you don’t have to worry about them sitting on the molars and possibly causing cavities. So that is one of the most complete vitamins that you can give to your child: The Flintstones Complete Chewables.

Dr. Chheda – 💊 Which vitamins should you give your child? So just so you know, the FDA doesn’t really regulate vitamins. Centrum can do whatever they want, One A Day can do whatever they want. It’s really up to you to read the vitamin ingredient list and see which one has the most vitamins and minerals for your child.

Now one of the most complete multivitamin, multi-mineral that is great for children is the Flintstones Complete Chewables. So not the gummies, but the actual chewables – the little chalky little men that we all grew up with 30, 50 years ago. Those are still the best.

They are the most complete, and also because they’re not in gummy form, you don’t have to worry about them sitting on the molars and possibly causing cavities. So that is one of the most complete vitamins that you can give to your child: The Flintstones Complete Chewables.

Dr. Chheda – Yay, your child’s first tooth came in! Now what? Well, in the beginning it’s okay to just take a washcloth with a little bit of water and just kind of wipe the tooth. You want to make sure that there’s no food, especially milk, sitting on the teeth all night long. This will help prevent cavities.

As soon as more teeth start coming in, you do want to introduce a soft brush, a toothbrush. You can use a finger toothbrush, you can use a washcloth, you can also use your own finger and put some fluoride on the teeth at nighttime.

The goal is not brushing for two minutes. The goal is to make sure the fluoride is on the tooth. So you can take your finger and just smear a little bit of fluoride, and you want just a little smear. You know, less than the size of a rice grain – that’s how much fluoride you should be using for all the teeth in the mouth until your child is about 2 years old.

After the age of 2, then you want to start using a pea-size amount, so the size of a small green pea, twice a day. Brush the teeth, and that should be enough to help prevent cavities.

Dr. Chheda – Yay, your child’s first tooth came in! Now what? Well, in the beginning it’s okay to just take a washcloth with a little bit of water and just kind of wipe the tooth. You want to make sure that there’s no food, especially milk, sitting on the teeth all night long. This will help prevent cavities.

As soon as more teeth start coming in, you do want to introduce a soft brush, a toothbrush. You can use a finger toothbrush, you can use a washcloth, you can also use your own finger and put some fluoride on the teeth at nighttime.

The goal is not brushing for two minutes. The goal is to make sure the fluoride is on the tooth. So you can take your finger and just smear a little bit of fluoride, and you want just a little smear. You know, less than the size of a rice grain – that’s how much fluoride you should be using for all the teeth in the mouth until your child is about 2 years old.

After the age of 2, then you want to start using a pea-size amount, so the size of a small green pea, twice a day. Brush the teeth, and that should be enough to help prevent cavities.

Dr. Chheda – A compassionate look at why teens might resist personal care:

Body changes and self-consciousness

Common hygiene resistance patterns

Why forcing habits often backfires

Natural motivation development

Tips for patient parenting

🌱 How do you teach your kid to be conservation minded? Um, my kids are in Scouts and one of the rank requirements is actually to go on a picnic or a trip with your family and take note of how much trash you produce during that trip.

That’s a good one!

That’s a good one. And then similarly, on another trip you wanna talk about, kind of think about ways that you would eliminate that extra trash, that extra baggage.

Oh, that’s nice.

And so things that you hit on are recycling, reducing, reusing.

That’s right, yes.

I like it. So I do challenge you guys – go on a trip, go outside, enjoy this lovely weather, and take note of the trash you produce, and then hopefully minimize it the next time. Bye guys!

Dr. Chheda – After 6 months of age, if your child is running a fever, you want to treat your child, not the number. Doesn’t matter what the number is. Yeah, and we’ll get to that, and the pediatrician will always ask.

But is your child active or are they really lethargic? Are they eating? Are they running around? They’re not eating? Are they not drinking and possibly getting dehydrated?

You want to know what your child’s symptoms are and treat your child’s symptoms with either Tylenol, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, Motrin, Advil.

You want to treat your child, not a specific number.

Dr. Chheda – Let’s talk about a universal truth of adolescence: the “invincibility complex.” Every teenager goes through this phase where they believe nothing bad can happen to them.

You’ll hear thoughts like: “I don’t need a seatbelt” “It won’t happen to me” “I’m not going to get hurt”

For parents, this can be terrifying. But here’s what you can do: Keep repeating safety messages

Consistently model good behavior

Understand that some mistakes are part of growing up

The goal isn’t to prevent every mistake – that’s impossible. Instead, focus on preventing those permanent, life-altering ones. That’s every parent’s real concern.