ParentWatch presents Dr. Katz!
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| Dr. Katz, a leading Harvard pediatrician, has answered some of our parents most frequently asked questions pertaining to child care.
He completed his residency in pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He is Board Certified in Pediatrics.
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| Q: My son is five and a half years old and will start Kindergarten this fall. He brought some school-work home from Day Care the other day where he had written out the entire alphabet (which he was very proud of) but it was written in mirror image, right to left. Could this be a sign of Dyslexia? Where can I go for information and help? I called the school district and they said they didn’t/t even check of Dyslexia until 3rd grade. That seems a little late. |
| A: Learning disabilities, including dyslexia are common conditions in the pediatric population. I suspect that the advice you received from the school district was based on when they felt testing can more accurately identify the dyslexic child. I agree that it may be a bit late, depending on the circumstances. One way to look at this is that while many dyslexic children reverse letters—letter reversal occurs frequently in many young children who do not have dyslexia.
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| Q: My baby daughter is 2 months old and always hungry. I have been told that I should wait until 4 or 5 months to start solid foods. Is it wrong to start any earlier? |
| A: Not all appetites are created equally, and the same goes for baby’s digestive systems and developmental readiness for solids. Some infants are ready at 2 months but most others not until 4 to 6 months. How do you know when? It can get confusing because of conflicting advice from just about everyone, mainly friends and family. Actually, usually your baby usually knows best supplemented with advice from your primary care clinician. Not knowing your child, I can’t be specific but am pleased to provide some general guides.
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| Q: My 3-year-old wakes up several times a week and cries with pain in his leg, usually behind the knee or on his calf. His grandmother says it’s growing pains and will go away. Do you think I should see a doctor? |
| A: Contrary to what many parents believe, so-called growing pains actually have nothing to do with growth. These pains actually occur in children at a time when growth is slowing. No one knows the exact cause of these excruciating pains, but most believe they are related to a day of increased muscular activity.
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| Q: My daughter just turned 13-months-old. She is climbing on everything and I am afraid she will climb out of the crib and hurt herself. When is a good time to move her to a toddler bed? And if we move her now, how do we keep her in the bed? |
| A: You are right to be concerned, but 13 months is a little young. The switch usually occurs when a child has grown to a height of 35 inches. With an average height of 29 inches for 13-month-old girls, there is still time to prepare. You are correct to be thinking about it now.
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| Q: My 7-year-old was playing with a neighbor’s pet dog and was bit on her hand when she pulled on his ear. I called the doctor’s office because I thought she should have a tetanus shot. They told me it wasn’t needed. What do you think? |
| A: You were given the correct advice if, as I assume was the case, your child was up to date on all of her DPT (T for tetanus) shots. Routinely, by age 7 children should have received 5 doses of tetanus vaccine with their DPT shots. The next tetanus booster, given as Td (adult tetanus and diphtheria) is due as a teenager and then every 10 years for life. However, there are other times when tetanus immunization is advised for bites and cuts in certain individuals.
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| Q: Some people have suggested that my 5-year-old son be tested as gifted. What are the signs? And what is an appropriate age for testing? Do I contact our local school district or how else do you test a child? |
| A: How to identify and deal with a “gifted” child can be tricky. On the one hand, parents should encourage and help a child develop specific talents. However, labeling a child as gifted can also lead to undue pressures on a child and a sense of feeling different which may interfere with his or her emotional and social development.
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| Q: My child is 2 ˝ years old and has weighed the same (23 pounds) since she was 18 months. She is getting taller and although she is little she doesn’t look too skinny. She drinks a lot of milk but doesn’t eat much. Do we need to see the doctor? How much should she be eating? |
| A: Yes, you absolutely need to see your doctor. Based on this information, there has been no weight gain over the past year. Twenty-three lbs. is the average weight of an 18-month-old child and placed her at the 50th percentile on the female growth curve a year ago. At the age of 30 months or 2 ˝ years, that same weight of 23 lbs. could be an average weight for a child at the lower end of the normal weight curve at the 5th percentile. This means a child has dropped from the 50th percentile to the 5th during the past year.
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| Q: A major baby food manufacturer sells infant vitamins. I think that they would be beneficial, especially Vitamin C. What are the benefits and risks for a 6 month-old baby? |
| A: One of the most common questions I am asked is, “does my child need vitamins?” Absolutely. But the key other part of the question is how much and from what source. Vitamins are essential for everyone, and especially for infants who are in a rapid growth phase during their first year of life. Weighing benefits against risks is a great way to look at every treatment at any age, including vitamins.
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| Q: My daughter has contracted the Hand, Foot and Mouth virus. The doctor did not give us much information on it, so if possible I would like some information about the virus. |
| A: Hand, foot and mouth (H-F-M) syndrome, not to be confused with hoof and mouth disease in cattle, is a common viral infection that occurs primarily in young children.
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| Q: When I was young, I was never given antibiotics. As an adult, I am immune to most types of infections. Children these days are prescribed antibiotics frequently. What long-term effect does this have on the health of the child as he/she develops? |
| A: This is a wonderful question! It used to be, “why can’t my child have an antibiotic for this cold?” It is refreshing to hear, “can antibiotics be harmful.” The answer is yes- when they are unnecessary.
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