There was an interesting article recently in the Wall Street Journal discussing this very question (thank you to my patient JW for pointing me towards it!).  In an excerpt from her upcoming book, this British mother living in France addresses some differences she has noted in the parenting of French children.  The thoughts are very interesting, as all of us can admit seeing children in restaurants or museums who are poorly behaved and have no regard for their parents authority.


Among the highlights of her thoughts:
- she feels French parents are much better at discipline, and that they do so not through physical means, but with stern words that say to their children that they mean business

- she thinks that French children eat only at mealtime, which creates better structure and more patience
- she notes that when parents buy treats for their children in France, they must wait until later to eat the treat, and this teaches them both patience and delayed gratification (she implies everything in America is immediate with children these days)
- she notes that French children are encouraged to learn to play by themselves from a young age, and so are better able to occupy themselves and less in need of constant attention or stimulation from parents or other children or adults

As many of us know, there has been a significant increase in asthma, allergies, and eczema over the past 30 years.  There have been many theories postulated to explain this rise, but none that have been definitively proven.  Now, another theory is making the rounds, and this one blames Tylenol; this theory has gotten alot of attention recently, including pieces in the New York Times, Fox News, and CNN to name a few.  In short, many years ago, we became aware of the dangers of Aspirin in children, as it can cause Reye's syndrome, which is a potentially lethal liver disease.  As a result, many families stopped using Aspirin and switched over to Acetaminophen (most commonly Tylenol).  It is around that time that the increased asthma and allergy rates began...

So what are the details?  What further data exsists?  What should we do now?  Needless to say, there are no definite answers at this time.  Some experts feel this theory may be correct, and are recommending that kids with a personal history of asthma or a family history of asthma should avoid all Acetaminophen products including Tylenol.  Other experts feel the data is not convincing, and are holding off on making recommendations until more information is available.  At the very least, its an interesting idea and worth thinking about if asthma runs in your family.

For more information, please see the following links:
- New York Times story
- Fox News story and video

Another topic that has received lots of attention recently is cyberbullying.  It is an issue that affects many children in this day and age, though it is something that parents are often not fully aware of.  Below are some nice videos detailing bullying-related issues:

• Think Time, How Does Cyberbullying Affect You? (2:20)
  
• Words Hurt (0:31)
  
• The Price of Silence (Anti-Bullying PSA) (1:59)
  
• Once Posted, You Lose It (1:39)
  

Recently, there has been lots of media attention given to concussions.  This is a good thing, because we are seeing more of them occur in kids every year, as kids play more organized sports and are more active than ever before.  Fortunately, with all this attention, we are gaining a better understanding of what concussions are and what should be done for a child or teenager who has a concussion.  For example, in the past, athletes with concussions who felt better in 15-20 minutes were allowed to return to the game that day; now, we know this is unsafe, and any athlete with a concussion MUST be held out of the game in which they are playing.

With all this attention has come new legislation.  There is a new Illinois law mandating that school boards and the IHSA work together to better education schools, teams, and coaches on concussions and how to manage them.  The following is actually part of the new legislation: “In cases when an athlete is not cleared to return to play the same day as he/she is removed from a contest following a possible head injury (i.e., concussion), the athlete shall not return to play or practice until the athlete is evaluated by and receives written clearance from a licensed health care provider to return to play.”

Any athlete with a concussion must be evaluated by a health care provider.  This will help determine any treatments that might be needed as well as establish a plan for return to athletic activity.  Here are some resources for more information, from Children's Memorial Hospital and from the CDC.

Unfortunately, we are again seeing cases of whooping cough in the north suburbs of Chicago.  Although most children have been vaccinated, the cases we are seeing are generally mild cases that are occurring in children who received their last whooping cough vaccine several years ago.  The high risk age groups include infants under 6 months old, and 8, 9, and 10 year olds.  Typical symptoms include cough, which is sometimes the only symptom.  Other symptoms may include fever, nasal congestion, fatigue, or headache.

If you are concerned your child may have the whooping cough, we will test them in the office to see if they do in fact have it.  This is done with a nasal swab that is sent to the hospital, and we typically have results within 24-48 hrs of performing the test.  If it is positive, your child will receive antibiotics, and the entire family will need to receive antibiotics as well.  In addition, typically, any child with pertussis is held out of school until they complete the mandated 5 day course of antibiotics.

Finally, if your child does not have any symptoms, but was closely exposed to another child who has pertussis (whooping cough), please contact us.  In certain cases, we may prescribe prophylactic antibiotics in order to prevent the development of illness in somebody who had a very close exposure history.

Flu vaccines have arrived.  As always they come in two forms, nasal spray and injection.  They are once again recommended for all children 6 mos of age and above, as well as any family members of infants or asthmatic patients, who are considered more high risk.

As always, we will be scheduling flu clinics throughout the fall to begin vaccinating patients and families.  Stay tuned for more information.  However, if you would like to receive your vaccines before the clinics begin, you may call to schedule an appointment for your family at any time.  You may do this by calling our main number at 847-501-4040 and scheduling a nurse visit for flu vaccine administration.

Congratulations to Dr Levin on the birth of his daughter, Hallie Sophia Levin, who arrived at 6:01 PM on Tuesday, August 16.  At birth, Hallie was 7 pounds 12 ounces, and was 19.25 inches long.  She did great in the hospital and went home on the 18th of August.  Hallie has been doing well since, and as the daughter of two pediatricians, is in good hands for sure!  Dr Levin will be taking some time off to be with his family, but plans to return to the office later next week.

Although summer itself is not over, the summer relief for allergy sufferers seems to have ended.  This week, allergy levels have been on the rise, and this weekend, they are at a sky high level.  What does this mean??  Its time to go back on your allergy meds, and if you have asthma triggered by allergies, its likely time to start back on those meds as well.  Whatever it is that your family uses, whether its oral anti-histamines (Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra, Benadryl), nasal steroids (Nasonex, Nasacort, Rhinocort, Flonase, Omnaris, Veramyst), nasal anti-histamines (Asteiln, Patanase), oral anti-leukotrienes (Singulair), steroid inhalers (Flovent, Pulmicort, Advair, QVar, Asmanex, Dulera), nebulizers, or others, its probably time to get back on those meds.

Pollen levels are useful to track in order to know when symptoms are coming and when they may be going.  It allows us to PREVENT symptoms in patiens we know will have them, rather than just TREAT them when they occur.  This is the key to starting meds early.  Pollen levels can be seen locally on several websites; one of the easiest is on pollen.com.

Please note, we have moved!!  After months of discussing, planning, organizing, and re-organizing, we have finally moved our office.  Don't fear, we have not gone far.  We are just 1.5 blocks away, on Lincoln Avenue one block north of the Lincoln/ Elm intersection and one block East of Green Bay Road.

Our office is located on the ground floor at 572 Lincoln Avenue, Suite #3.  Suites #1 and #2 are located on the street; our office is off the street, to the back of the courtyard.

Parking is available both on the street in front of the office, and in the parking lot on the northwest side of our office.  See here for details.

We are still putting the finishing touches on the office, but we are excited about it, and look forward to seeing you there.  Office hours continue at the new location on Monday, July 25th, and are the same as they have been all year.  Thanks for your patience with the move.

See you soon!!

Everybody knows about the importance of sunscreen.  It protects the skin from sunburns, reduces the formation of freckles and sunspots, and significantly reduces the risk of skin cancer in the later years.  However, there are so many sunscreens out there these days, it may be hard to know which ones to use.  Here are some tips about sunscreen use for the summer:

1. Remember to re-apply frequently.  This is perhaps the most often overlooked sunscreen rule.  Many parents are great about remembering the first layer, but for an all-day sun adventure, please remember to apply a second and even third time if staying in the sun for long periods of time!  Most dermatologists recommend re-applying every 3-4 hours, and after playing in the water.
   
2. Contrary to popular belief, sunscreen IS ok for infants under 6 months of age.  The safest method of sun protection is wearing hats and keeping them in the shade, but sunscreens are the next best thing.  A physical-based blocker, such as Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide, is recommended, and select one that is fragrance free and hypoallergenic for your infant.   Some good options include Neutrogena Sensitive Skin SPF 30, Neutrogena Pure and Free SPF 60, and Vanicream Sunscreen for Sensitive Skin SPF 30 or 60.
3. The higher the SPF, the better.  At least SPF 30 is always recommended.
4. Protection against both UVA and UVB light is best (ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B rays).
   
5. Avoid buying sticks and sprays for the best results.  Sprays certainly are convenient, and of course are better than nothing, but typically are less effective than creams or lotions.
6. Make sunblock part of the daily routine for sun-exposed areas and use it on the face year-round.  If you start young, it will become a habit and less of a struggle.  
7. Do not rub sunblock in, as this is really rubbing it off.  Put on a thicker layer, let the little one run around for 5 minutes, and then rub in whatever is left visible on the skin. 

Enjoy the summer and enjoy the sun, but be smart about it!  And if you have any questions at all, call