Articles

Abnormal Head Shapes in Infants

ACL Injuries in Children

American Academy of Pediatrics Offers Advice for Kids' Sports Safety

American children not drinking enough milk

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injuries in Children

Avoiding Overuse Injuries and Burnout in Kids

Back Pain in Children

Backpacks: Keep Your Load Light This School Year

Bike and Helmet Safety

Bow Legs in Children

Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of the Day

Broken Bones in Children: How to Tell and What to Do

Calcium Supplements for Children Who Don't Eat Milk Products

Carefully Supervise Preteen Weight Training

Check for the Curvature of the Spine

Children's Common Orthopedic injuries

Danger Afoot

Developmental Dislocation of the Hip

Disorders That Affect Adolescents

Dose of Ibuprofen in Children

Exercise: Kids Go For It

Flat Feet in Children

Football Gear Safety Tips

Fortified Cerals can help fill clacium gap

Four Stay-Safe Tips for an Active Summer

Growing Pains are a Genuine Ailment

Healthy Feet are Happy Feet

Healthy Start for Heathly Bones

How many Pitches Should I Let my Child Throw?

Ibuprofen: An Injured Child's Best Friend

Illnesses Caused by the bite of a Tick

Injuries Occurring at Birth

Injury Prevention

Investigate the Cause of Limping

Is it Growing Pains or Something More?

It's a Stretch!

January Is Birth Defects Prevention Month

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Kids and Sports Injury: Pre-Game Strategies

Kidsgrowth Parent Guidelines

Knee pain can plague fragile bones of youngsters

Legg - Calve - Perthes Disease

Minor Problem or True Emergency

Muscle Cramps and what to do about them

My Baby's Head is Flat!

My child complains of chest pain

New Vitamin D Recommendations from American Academy of Pediatrics

Nursemaids Elbow

Osteogenesis Imperfecta

Overuse Injuries in Children

Parents: Don't Cut Children's Ingrown Toenails

Prevent Heely Injuries

Preventing Spills and Falls

Put Your Legs in Gear before Opening Your Mouth!

Putting your child's best foot forward

Reducing Heat-Rated Injuries in the Child-Athlete

Rheumatic Fever

Set Aside Time to Exercise with your Kids

Shoe Shopping Tips for Parents

Shoes for your Infant

Signs of Childhood Cancer

Solving the Mystery of Growing Pains

Sports Related Brain Injuries

Summer Break - Tips For A Healthy Summer A Guide for Parents of Young Teens

Summer Play can bring broken bones

Summer Sports Without the Sprains

Supplement's Safety still in Question

Sweaty Sock Syndrome

The Care of Blisters

The Importance of Calcium

The Importance of the Sports Physical

The Lowdown on Food borne Illness

The Newborn: When it's normal
to be abnormal!

The Terminator Attacks Steroids!

Unraveling the Mysteries of Muscular Dystrophy

Weight of the World on Their Shoulders

What is a "Clubfoot?"

What Is a Bone Fracture and How Is it Treated?

What is Cerebral Palsy

What is Craniosynostosis?

What is Neurofibromatosis?

What is Osteomyelitis?

What is Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis?

What Parents should know about Ibuprofin

What Your Pediatrician is Reading:
Quick Tool May Help Identify Victims of Abuse

When Back Pain Needs Further Evaluation

Which Sports When?

Why steroids are the new teen drug

Wrestling: What Parents and Teens should know

Health Information from our Experts

I have a four month old daughter who likes to stand up when I hold her. Is it true that she could develop bowed legs if she stands at this age?...

My toddler suddenly stopped using her arm and I took her to the pediatrician. He said she had "nursemaids' elbow. What is this condition? Should he have gotten x-rays?...

My son recently started running cross country. He describes a dull aching pain on the lower front part of his shin bone. His running coach says he has shin splints. What are shin splints?...

What should I do about my daughter who refuses all dairy products. I am worried she is not getting enough calcium....

I have been told that the bump on my child's writs is a ganglion cyst. Is it serious?...

My 13 year old son is very active in sports and has grown 5in. in the last three months. He has also been diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter disease, what is this condition and how can we treat this? ...

I have a 12 yrs. old son who complains of occasional tingling feeling in his arms. He describes it as the feeling you get when you have your blood pressure taken and feel the pulsing. Usually it is in the left arm, and is not in the joints area. It m...

The doctor at my daughter's last well child checkup (3 months old) could not feel her soft spots any longer. Is this serious?...

The breast bone of my son has caved inward since he was a baby. As a teenager, he is now embarrassed by the deformity and will not take off his shirt. What can be done about this condition? ...

I went in for my baby's four month check up and had x-rays taken because her head was flat in back. The x-rays reveal that the plates are starting to fuse. We have been referred to a specialist, but my question is how serious is this?...

At my twelve-year-old daughter’s sports physical our pediatrician noted a curve in her spine. He suggested that we see a specialist, but we could not get an appointment for two months. I am worried that she will need an ugly brace or worse, surgery. Can...

My doctor says calcium is important for teenagers. How can I tell if I’m getting enough calcium? ...

I am the mother of a happy 5 ½ year old boy who for the first time last night experienced what I’m hearing are “growing pains”. He is 53” tall and weighs 52 pounds, so as you can see he is quite tall. I’ve been told that this strange phenomena occurs mo...

My five month old grand child’s head is flat in the back. He seems normal otherwise. His pediatrician does not seem worried about it, but I am. Is this normal for a baby’s head to be flat? I think it's because he is always on his back....

At my daughter's last checkup (6 months) at the doctors, he noticed that the thigh creases did not match each other. When I asked if this meant anything, he pushed up on her hips and put her knees together etc.. He said it was nothing, but I am still c...

My four-year-old son complains of pain in his left hip. It only occurs every several weeks and only when he wakes up in the morning. To relieve his pain we give him Motrin and put him in our Jacuzzi. It seems the warm water relieves his pain. We had take...

At my child’s last checkup, the doctor noted that the skin creases behind her knees were at different levels. Is this something to worry about? ...

I am 14 years old and want to lift weights to become stronger. Is it okay to do that at my age?...

My son is 13 months old and has a head circumference of 51 cm. It has been over the 95% on head size since birth. The doctor recently ordered a CAT scan to rule out a problem. Both my husband and his mother have large heads. He does not walk or crawl as ...

My daughter just turned one last week. She has just started walking. Probably for about 2 weeks on her own. Are there a particular type of shoes that you should have them wear ? Probably a silly question. ...

What is Turner’s Syndrome? My 9 month old son is in the 50th percentile for height, but has always been in the 5th percentile for weight. My pediatrician says that we may test him for Turner’s syndrome if his weight does not increase. ...

How long after a child is exposed to mono do symptoms develop? My daughter was around her older sister ten days ago who has mono and now my little one has a sore throat. Could it be mono? ...

My son is 15 years old and is a toe walker. His doctor asked us to take him for a neurological evaluation which we did. The neurologist said he had some weakness in his hands and feet and would like to do further testing. Do you know what they are looki...

My two week old daughters’ joints pop when she stretches. It seems to be the legs, hips, and occasionally the back. It does not happen every time however, and it does not seem to cause her any pain. Should I be worried about this?...

Our two year old tends to walk on her toes quite a bit. Should we be concerned that there may be some underlying reason for this?...

During my recent visit for my son's 2 month check-up The doctor could not feel his softspots any longer. She ordered x-rays but did not inform me as to the reason for the x- rays. With this little information is there any way you could help me understand...

My doctor wants to do a bone age test on my daughter. Can you explain what this test will show?...

My 6 month old granddaughter was just at her pediatrician's office for a checkup. This time the pediatrician said that her had was larger than it should be. She wanted to see her again in 1 month to measure again. A two months her head circumference was ...

During her routine 18-month check up my daughter had her head measured and the doctor told me that it had not grown since the last visit three months earlier. I find this hard to believe, since she is very advanced, her motor skills, thinking and reason...

Our 9-year-old son has been playing soccer in the Fall/Spring months and basketball in the Winter/Summer months. He has been doing this since he was five years old. Are we putting him at risk for any type of joint degeneration? His father is currently be...

My three-year-old son’s legs do not look even from the knee to the ankle. His pediatrician said that he was a little “knock-kneed” when he was checked at age two. His knee caps are very large and one leg is slanted out more than the other. This has not i...

My 5 year old daughter was recently diagnosed as possibly suffering from osteochondritis. Can you explain what this is and what treatments are necessary?...

Can my emotions and stress levels affect my fifth grader’s growth and development? What can I do to help him (he is a sensitive kid)? ...

My 4 month old grandson keeps his head turned to the right almost all the time. You can't even distract him with a toy or anything. He continues to look to the right, but will look straight ahead sometimes, but rarely to the left. Is this something no...

My daughter is almost eight years old and is 42 inches tall and weighs 40 pounds. Since birth she has always been below the chart in the minus percentile range. She has made her own curve and it had been slowly going up but now seems to be leveling off...

I was alarmed to notice that my 10-year-old son's feet and ankles look very strange. He bears his weight on the insides of his feet and his ankles turn in toward each other dramatically. When he stands he literally has no arches. Can you picture this? Ca...

My 10 year old 5'1" 145lb son is playing tackle football in full gear. He enjoys it very much. He will not be allowed to play next year based on his weight. I believe that at this weight he should be able to play. The league currently has 11-13yr olds pla...

My son will be 3 years old in January 2000 and has been walking since just a week before his first birthday. My concern is that lately we have noticed a sort of "lazy" walk where he points his toes inward, especially on the left foot. My pediatrician has...

My son (aged 8) has complained consistently for the last three weeks of pain in the middle of his chest. His sternum area appears quite sensitive to touch. Today the pain was worse after gym class. What could it be? ...

My son is 8 years old. For several months I have noticed him walking funny. We took him to an orthopedic doctor and he was diagnosed with metarsus adductus. He said he would outgrow this but I am still concerned of his limp when he walks. Could there ...

I have an active 5year old son. This spring he had Scarlet Fever and he now complains of different joint pains. Some days his wrists hurt, other days it is his elbow, knees, or ankles. He seems to always say his neck and spine hurt. It appears to alway...

I have a eight year old boy, whom just had a C T Scan done and it showed his top vertebrae still separated. (He injured himself by flipping in the air and landing on his neck and head.) The doctor said that the CT Scan shows he is two years behind in his ...

I have a two year old who has been walking for a year now. I have had him checked out, and the only thing that was said, was that he may have a slight problem with his femur. He cannot run without tripping over his left foot. His feet appear straigh...

All of my six year old daughter's joints pop all the time,she does not complain.Should such a young body have this problem?It worries me,should it?...

My four month old daughter appears to favor her holding her head to the left most of the time. Her features appear symmetrical to me and I have seen her hold her head up straight. What is the reason for this? Is this a potential problem? Could this ha...

My ten month old daughter likes to stand up holding on to furniture and window ledges. She often stands on her tip toes. Last night she fell down, a regular occurance, but, she cried for over an hour after the fall. She did not bump her head in fact it ...

Can you tell me approx. when he will start his growth spurt and how tall will he be. I am 6ft., my husband is 6 ft., 3. My son is 15. Height age is 15.4, current height 170,5 cm., pubic hair Tanner 3-4, bone age 13.3, weight 56.4 kg. Thank you!...

I have a 19 month old son who is perfectly healthy. My concern is that his right foot is a whole shoe size smaller than the left and his right leg is about 1 cm shorter than the right. He has been given x-rays to confirm this but I wasn't told if this coul...

My knee makes an odd cracking noise whenever I walk up the stairs. It doesn’t hurt now, but it did for about two days. I think it is from dancing a lot. What is wrong with my knee and how can I prevent this in the future? ...

I sprained my ankle in December of 1999. It was bad and the bruise went half way up my calf. I didn’t play basketball for about a month and took it easy on the ankle. I even used crutches and a brace for a while. Recently, I fell on it again, I didn’t spra...

My son's preschool teacher told me that she has heard that tiptoeing in young children can be an indicator of certain neurological development (she did not know what specifically). The teacher recently attended a meeting in which an area pediatrician ment...

My 7th month old son has been constantly wanting to stand pretty much since the day we brought him home. The past two months we have been trying to get him to crawl by putting him on his stomach, at which he schreeks uncontrollably until either we pick hi...

My 5 month old son's pediatrician has commented twice, once at his 2 month wcc and once at his 4 month wcc that his hips were very tight. He is scheduled for a hip ultrasound on Tuesday. What are they looking for? What is tight hips an indication of? ...

Would like to know more information about weightlifting in teens....my son is 13 and wants to start a weight training program...we are at odds with the "squats"....I say squats puts compression on the spine, can cause growth plate damage..hence stunting gr...

I have looked over the site and noticed there were alot of questions on tiptoeing and how some of the kids ankles turned out. I have a 2 yr old son and his ankle does just the oppisite when he walks it looks like he is almost walking on the inner side of h...

Our 14 year old daughter with cerebral palsy recently underwent scoliosis surgery. She has had a lot of pain in her right tummy and has not been able to eat for weeks now. Is this normal? I am very worried that this is a serious situation. ...

My son just turned 5 and has been delayed since birth. We have done all to rule everything out including Genetics Testing. They could not find anything that "stood out" but found just a few minor imperfections that they could only suggest was possible NOON...

My 8 month old granddaughter is not crawling and does not even try to pull herself up on anything. Is this normal? Her mother was born with a problem with the hip and I was wondering if this could have been passed on to her baby. Thanks....

Please tell me the weight that a 5 years old child can put on his back (with schools books and other materials) Thaks a lot and best regards ...

My 18-month old son has low muscle tone with gross motor delays. He is not standing alone or walking yet but goes to physical therapy once a week and is making some progress . His pediatrician and development pediatrician do not think a neurological eva...

I found out that the assistant in my (just turned) 2 year old's daycare has been giving him "small" amounts of chewing gum. This concerns me greatly and is not something I would do. Can this cause a digestive problem and any other problem for that matter. ...

Our 7 month old son's back "cracks" every time we pick him up from a lying or sitting position. It feels as if there are 5-10 individual cracks as we pick him up. The cracking sounds and feels awful (for us) but it doesn't appear to cause him pain. What is...

My 13 year old son was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. He wants to play football this fall and I would like to know if he should or not. I am concerned an injury may harm his growth plates. ...

How Healthy are sports drinks (gatorade) for children? My brother's kids drink only gatorade and only an occasional glass of chocolate milk. Their ages are 4,6,&8. They aren't particularly active and play inside most of the time. I bring our own drinks whe...

My son just got through with "Spring football" practice and was told by the coach that he had a "hip pointer." What is that injury and is it serious? ...

My 16 year old son had been told by the high school nurse that he has moderate sway back. Is this something to be concerned about and could it cause the muscle pain he feels on the right side of his mid-back when he plays hockey or is using that muscle whe...

My normal three-year old niece was diagnosed with "general laxity" recently. My sister took her to the doctor after noticing that my niece falls diwn easily when she walks and runs. Apparently, my niece's ligaments are weak. what causes "general laxity' an...

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My daughter is almost 4 years old and for the past three nights has cried in pain that her upper thigh is hurting. It was her knee last week. Cries off and on during the day about it. Is this growing pains? And what ages do children have these night pains?...

For the past two mornings my 5 year old son has woken up complaining that his hands and feet hurt. Once he is up for a while the pain stops. He does not have a rash, fever ect... He has been spending quite a bit of time at the pool getting in and out of th...

My 2 year old daughter is a very active child. She runs, jumps, dances,and anything else a normal happy two year old would do. However, her legs structure has me slightly worried. Her knees touch when she tries to put her feet together and she stands in a ...

My 12-month old daughter crawls along on her butt and crues when we place her in a typical crawling position. She will not pull herself up but will stand with assistance. We saw a neurologist and he recommended physical therapy. Do you feel that is necessa...

My 20 month old fell down stairs today and was x-rayed from right hip bone to tip of her toes. The x-ray came back negative for any fractures , but the doctor said he thought he noted as a "growth arrest" on her right femur. What exactly is growth arrest a...

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My six month old baby has recently started tilting her head back as if she is cheking out the ceiling and also moving her head as if she is nodding. Her neck muscles have always seemed really strong and she has had no problem holding her head up for quite ...

I have a few questins: (1) My 15-month olf baby was 9 lbs 2 oz at birth but at one year was only 22 lbs. Is that okay? (2) He is taking cows milk from a bottle. How much should he take? (3) He looks a bit cross-eyed. Did we hurt his eyes by taking too man...

My brother has a baby with achondroplasia (dwarfism). I just got married and we want to start a family. What are the chances that I might have a child with the same condition? ...

Is too much soda bad for teenagers?...

My 12 year old daughter has had some minor back pain. We also noticed that her shoulders were not even. Further exam show that her hips are not even and her legs. After a comparison xray of her hip joints knee joints and ankle joints, it looked as if her t...

CHOCOLATE MILK and CALCIUM I realize the importance of giving my child enough calcium, but was told that putting chocolate in their mild would delete the calcuim from the milk. Is this true? ...

I have a question concerning my daughter who will be 13 months on September 15th. I'm sure that there is nothing wrong but I just want to be reassured. My question is: When a baby starts walking(taking a few steps) without holding on should she continue to...

My 11-year old son has a SED rate of 65, which is high. He is really not sick, but has knee pain. He had the following blood tests done: ANA, B-12, RA factor and they all came back normal. What willl cause the sedimentation rate to be so high? What is wron...

I have a 8 month old son and he is trying to start walking. He walks holding on to things very well. The thing that I am worried about is his feet turn outward when he stands up. I try to keep high ankled shoes on him because they seem to help straighten h...

My 15 month old child is bow legged. Her pediatrician says that she will out grow it. Is this true? ...

My baby's shoulders sometimes make cracking sounds when we pick her up. Should we be concerned about her joints? ...

My 2 year old daughter wakes up of a night and comes to crawl in the bed with my husband and myself. This I do not mind but I am concerned about her sleeping on our pillows. Especially my husband's, he sleeps on 2 pillows. I am concerned it may curve her s...

My 5 1/2 year old son has been complaining about lower leg hurting. It has been hurting him for the last 4 to 5 months. At first I thought that it was growing pains until his bottom of his feet started hurted? He will be a sleep and wake up crying because ...

I need a medical note stating that my daugther cannot carry more than 10% of her body weight in her book bag (back pack). She is 11 years old and weighs 62 pounds. Her pediatrician is saying that 20 pounds is OK although all other resources say 10%. Please...

I realize that good nutrition is vital to a child growing to their full potential. My question is this ...Is it possible that milk does not agree with my five yr old? Whenever he has a lot of milk his stools are very loose. I rely on milk giving ...

My three year old son complains a lot of leg pain in one leg. The pain is usually in the evening and he wakes up at night complaining of the pain. What can we do to help him?...

My child complains of joint pain. What is wrong with her?...

I have a 3 yr old daughter. For several months she will wake up in the middle of the night crying that her knees, but especially her ankles hurt. I have to hold her feet tightly in my hand until she goes back to sleep. Her ankles and surrounding bones look...

My 10 year-old son walks almost exclusively on his tip toes, often to the point where he is literally 'bobbing' along. I have always thought that this was just a natural characteristic but a friend has suggested to me that it could be an indication of test...

My 2 1/2 year old son wakes up at night complaining that his feet hurt. Could this be growing pains? What is the best way to treat his constipation besides prune juice. Thanks...

My 2 year old daughter has been diagnosed with Hypochondroplasia. I was wanting to know if you had a growth chart for her. If not, do you know of where I could find one for her. Thank you....

My son is five months old and I have been told he has low muscle tone- that of a newborn. Otherwise he is developing fine. They will be taking a blood test, urine test and checking the nerves in his eye (something like that). Please give me what are com...

My daughter was born 3 weeks premature and was jaundice. She is now a 10 weeks old, breast fed baby and her pediatrician suggested we take a blood test to check liver function (because she still seemed a bit yellow at her 2 month visit). When the tests cam...

I have a question about baby/toddler joint development: My brother-in-law insists on picking up my one year old by one ankle or one hand. I ask him to not do this, but he says it is safe. Is this safe or am I correct that her growing joints can become disl...