The "Standard American Diet" The classic American kids’ menu is generally the same at all restaurants: grilled cheese sandwich, chicken nuggets and fries, macaroni and cheese, or pizza, and a juice box. In far fewer restaurants, kids’ menus may provide apple slices or carrots. This is now becoming more common even...
My colleagues, naturopathic doctor moms enthusiastically recommend The Whole Brain Child to any caregiver who is experiencing difficulty with behavior and communicating with their toddlers and children. The book was SO GOOD that I read it twice and wrote this “book report” post for parents who were interested but not yet...
To help you decide whether Elimination Communication is right for your infant or toddler, this post dissects the what, when, and how of elimination communication....
Everyone experiences anxiety at some point in their life. It can act as a motivator to help achieve goals, increase awareness of stressful situations, and even help to protect us from potential danger. But when children feel anxious, is it normal? Anxiety can be a normal part of your child’s...
Springtime celebrations across cultures share the theme of resilience & renewal. Children have a natural ability to ‘bounce back’ when they encounter significant challenges and parents can play a critical role in helping to further develop this skill. When resilient kids are faced with life's obstacles, they can use them to spring forward. As parents, we are accustomed...
Packing healthy lunches that kids will eat can sometimes be tricky. Many factors make it even more difficult: conflicting dietary advice, financial and time restrictions, food sensitivities or strong preferences, and school lunch policies. Our family faces all of the above issues, and has found an approach that works. We are...
Sleep does wonders for our bodies...
Last week, on a beautiful walk along the river here in Missoula, I had a good talk with another Mom. We talked about life, kids, and Dr. Google. My new friend conveyed her thoughts on how helpful Google has been, and how she has found many more answers on the...
Update from Dr. Erika: I want parents to understand that this article is not meant to place blame, or to make parents feel guilty in any way for giving their children Tylenol. I also want parents to understand that development of autistic spectrum disorder is a multifactorial process. There is no...
{This is a re-post Dr. Erika originally wrote for Mothers Organic Health. Check 'em out!} We’ve all got ‘em: things that we know aren’t good for us, but we do anyways. The Frappuccino addiction, potato chip binges, sushi in excess (that’s a lot of mercury!), the chocolate bar dependency, energy drinks,...
Bedroom monsters can be a serious medical condition contributing to fear, insomnia, irritability and fatigue. Bedroom monsters frequently occur in closets, dark corners, under beds and cribs, or behind lamps and dressers. How do you know if your child suffers from bedroom monsters? The symptoms typically present as reluctance to go...
I did a bad thing. I Googled. Annika is due for her 12 month appointment in a few days and she's been speaking a couple of words (and rapidly picking up more it seems). I know that's pretty normal, but I wanted to find out how many words other kids are...