Holistic Pediatricians

Dr. Chheda – A series of books that helped my kids get through middle school is The Big Fat Notebook. And they have a book for every subject. But I think it really helped my kids understand some of those concepts that maybe they weren’t quite getting when the teacher explained it. And in the book, it’s very colorful it’s very short, but I find that it was very easy to understand. Not only for my kids but to help me remember that topic and then tutor my kids on it. So I am in no way affiliated with this publisher or with this book, but just to be helpful, this series really helped my kids in middle school. Maybe it might help your kids. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate .

Dr. Chheda – Menstruation in girls starts at the age of 12. Now a lot of people think that might be the start of puberty. Actually menstruation is the very last thing that happens in puberty. There are things that happened before puberty including breast development, pubic hair, underarm hair and especially height. Most of the height that girls get is before menstruation. Now menstruation like I said you on average starts at around the age of 12. Four years prior to that is when the hormone starts, so eight year old girls are already having hormones. Those hormones are cycling, going through their brain, and starting that whole physical development. So when your eight year old girl starts to become a little sassy, you know it’s all hormones. And a great book that I recommend is the American Girl book called The Care and Keeping of You. There is a part 1 and a part 2, um but I recommend getting it at the age of 8 and bringing it out every couple of months, reviewing the next section so you know what to expect. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate

Dr. Chheda – Menstruation in girls starts at the age of 12. Now a lot of people think that might be the start of puberty. Actually menstruation is the very last thing that happens in puberty. There are things that happened before puberty including breast development, pubic hair, underarm hair and especially height. Most of the height that girls get is before menstruation. Now menstruation like I said you on average starts at around the age of 12. Four years prior to that is when the hormone starts, so eight year old girls are already having hormones. Those hormones are cycling, going through their brain, and starting that whole physical development. So when your eight year old girl starts to become a little sassy, you know it’s all hormones. And a great book that I recommend is the American Girl book called The Care and Keeping of You. There is a part 1 and a part 2, um but I recommend getting it at the age of 8 and bringing it out every couple of months, reviewing the next section so you know what to expect. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate

Dr. Chheda – I’m always talking about a well-balanced diet, which means including a rainbow of fruits and vegetables. Look at this beautiful bento box that a patient shared with me! We’ve got all the colors of the rainbow represented here. We have red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple (blueberries). This is a wonderful idea – bento boxes are great so that you can provide a well-balanced rainbow of fruits and vegetables to your child. Having all the colors of the rainbow represented ensures a variety of nutrients and makes meals visually appealing and fun for kids. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate

Dr. Chheda – You see a lot of advertisements for infant sleep trainers. Why? Because infants don’t really sleep all that well. There are a number of reasons: they have to wake up frequently to eat because they’re growing. Just know that infants do not sleep well, meaning they won’t sleep more than a couple hours at a time until they’re several months old. But by six months, they should be able to sleep close to 10 to 12 hours in a stretch. If you want them to sleep well in the long term, you need to prevent short-term habits. We, as parents, get over-exhausted, which leads us to give in day to day. But these short-term habits lead to long-term habits which can be impossible to break. So if you can just make it through that initial time period, you will probably have a good sleeper. In the meantime, reach out to your pediatrician because there are lots of tips we have about how to help you and your baby sleep. Remember, if you can avoid creating bad sleep habits early on, you’ll be better off in the long run. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate

Dr. Chheda – This is the perfect time of year for the flu vaccine. Try to get the flu vaccine before October 15th for maximum benefits during the flu season. There are two types of flu vaccine: the flu shot and the flu mist. Anybody 6 months and older can get the flu shot. If you’re under the age of 9 years and it’s your first time getting the flu vaccine, you’ll get a two-series vaccination, meaning one now and one month later, to give you adequate protection for the flu season. If you’ve had the flu vaccine before, you’re only going to get one per year. Now, if your child is over the age of 2 years, they may also qualify for the flu mist, which is a nasal spray and much easier than the flu shot. In most kids, both the shot and the mist have equal efficacy – they’re both just as effective. It doesn’t matter which one you choose. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate

Dr. Chheda – What about graphic novels? Graphic novels are perfectly fine for your child to read. Reading should be for fun. You want to have your child read for joy. I read medical journals in the office, but I don’t come home and read them for fun. I read mystery novels. The same, your child should read their books that are assigned at school for the intellectual purposes, but at home they should read for fun, whether it’s the back of the cereal box or magazine articles or graphic novels. That’s perfectly fine. Reading should be a joy. Anyone, encourage them to read. So, let them read whatever they would like. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate

Dr. Chheda – At around 18 months of age, kids become grazers. They take a bite, run off and play, take a bite, run off and play. I tell my parents, for the next two years, between 18 months to three and a half, don’t even think about taking your toddler to a restaurant because they’re not gonna sit down. They’re going to be running all over the place. But if you think about how children naturally eat and how they grow up, we used to live in extended families. And what would happen is that the toddler would come up to the mom, take a bite, run off and go up to grandma, take a bite, go off to uncle, take a bite. So this is natural for toddlers to do this, to take a bite and run off and take a bite and run off. So grazing during the toddler period is very normal. Just make sure they’re eating lots of nutritious things when they are grazing. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate

Dr. Chheda – Parent-teacher conferences are coming up, and a lot of you may hear, “I wish I had 20 Johnnys in my classroom.” And you’re thinking to yourself, “This is not the same child that the teacher is talking about.” But no, it is. And what happens is that kids are really good, and they can hold it together. But when they hold it together, it’s almost like shaking a soda bottle. Where they hold it together, they hold it together, they hold it together so well, then they come home and they explode. Home is their safe place. They’re allowed to be a little bit more free here. Think about what you do when you go to work. You hold it all together, you don’t curse out the boss, and then you come home and you vent. That’s what kids do as well too. Give them their safe space. They’re going to be a little bit more rambunctious when they get home than they are at school. But the fact that they can hold it together at school means that they’re completely normal. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate

Dr. Chheda – You know, there’s some days when you just feel bloated or constipated and you’re just off. Well, think about if you are a child, especially if you are a nonverbal child. If they seem to be a little bit more challenging that day, they’re just not in a good mood, they might be constipated. And there are several natural ways to get rid of constipation. You know, water, fiber, apple juice, prune juice. And you know, sometimes you might need something a little bit extra. Talk to your pediatrician and just realize that your challenging child might just be having a bad poop day. Transcriptions from AI and may not be 100% accurate