Advanced Family Medicine

Love & Logic: Is it the Right Approach to Parenting? There’s no doubt that being a parent is a huge source of happiness, but it also represents a significant amount of responsibility. And no matter how good of a parent you might be, all parents encounter moments of doubt, anxiety, and uncertainty, which can place us outside our comfort zone and impact our personal development. In this way, because our children can help us learn more about ourselves, they can act as our teachers. At the same time though, our children deserve our  unconditional love , a huge part of which involves teaching them life’s true values and sowing the seeds of their own personal development. And in our opinion, one of the most effective tools for learning this is a parenting system known as Love and Logic. What is the Love & Logic Parenting System? Founded in 1977 by Jim Fay and Foster W. Cline,  Love and Logic  is a parenting system that focuses on practical tools and techniqu...

How Tylenol Works, & How It Can Help Your Child Find Relief You’re a great parent. You do a lot for your children, and you never want to see them hurting or ill. Unfortunately, a big part of life is dealing with various levels of pain and getting sick, so it’s inevitable that, at some point, your child’s going to hurt themselves or fall ill. And for toothaches, minor bumps and bruises, and other types of “owies,” it’s likely that—after giving your child a big hug and wiping away their tears—you give them a dose of Tylenol or a generic form of acetaminophen. However, did you know that the next time you child comes down with the  flu or another illness , Tylenol can work as an effective treatment to reduce their temperature? How Does Tylenol Help Reduce Fever? Surprisingly, the answer to this question is that we really don’t know. Despite acetaminophen’s  widespread use , “experts aren’t quite sure how the drug works.” However, some researchers think that this dr...

Walking the Tightrope of Unconditional Love If you’re reading this, you almost certainly love your children unconditionally. In other words, there’s essentially nothing that your children could possibly do that would make you love them any less. This is fantastic though, because unconditional love is a cornerstone for raising happy, healthy, well-rounded children. The Difference Between Unconditional Love & Influential Parenting However, the fact of the matter is that many modern parents have taken the concept of “unconditional love” and turned it into “my child can do no wrong” or into “my child will never be disciplined,” which can be equally as damaging as not showing them unconditional love in the first place. In fact, according to  this article , approaches such as this simply lead to children that are “lazy, disinterested, and out of control.” In order to stop yourself from falling into this dangerous trap, when talking about unconditional love, a good way to ...

7 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Health Through Effective Communication As an adult, you recognize the importance of communication in a relationship, whether it’s between you and the checkout person at the supermarket; between you and those you work with; or between you and your spouse. But did you know that forming an open line of communication with your children is equally as important? It’s true. Not only does consistent, effective communication with your children help you to understand them better, while helping them to become better at speaking what’s on their minds, it also works as a solid bonding agent. In fact, if your otherwise healthy child is regularly misbehaving, there is often a strong correlation between this behavior and impaired communication between them and their parents. This is because children tend to act out when they don’t have the ability to negotiate, when they feel insecure, or when they feel like they’re not being heard. With this in mind, what are ...

The Very Real Physical Effect of Anxiety & Tension on Your Child In today’s modern age,  stress is a very real part of most people’s lives , and is something that can be experienced at work, at home, and even at play. But while these types of external stressors can often be alleviated by simply removing yourself from the situations, mental stress is much more insidious. This is because we as humans are often the cause of our internal tension, which can be brought about by a wide variety of factors, but which is immensely more difficult to escape from. And when your body consistently undergoes stress without any form of relief, it turns into  distress , which can manifest itself physically and result in chest pain, upset stomach, headaches, and elevated blood pressure, and can even make existing diseases worse. In fact, according to  WebMD : 43% of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress 75%-95% of all doctor's office visits are for stress-rel...

The Danger of Meningitis: Hemophilus Influenzae Type B Vaccination Meningitis is a very scary word for any parent to hear. However, there are vaccinations for certain strains of meningitis. One strain that can easily be prevented is Hemophilus Influenzae type B (Hib). What is Hib? Hib is a severe and potentially deadly illness that affects the coverings of the brain and spinal column; it can also lead to developing: pneumonia, infection of the blood (bacteremia), bones (osteomyelitis), joints (septic artritis), reoccuring ear infections and the heart condition known as pericarditis. Of all HIB cases in children 3-6% are fatal, brain damage occurs at a rate of 10-30%, and 1 in 5 children has permanent hearing loss.  How is Hib Spread? Hib is contracted mainly thru contact with the nasal mucus and/or saliva of an infected person. What are the symptoms of Hib? Symptoms may include fever, lethargy, vomiting, and stiff neck. Other symptoms depend upon the part of the...

Why Get Vaccinations? Tetanus In the office we see many parents refusing to vaccinate their kids. We understand that vaccinations have a certain stigma, but we want to protect the health of children, and as a result we spend a lot of the time explaining to parents the importance of vaccinations. One particular vaccination that is of utmost importance is a tetanus shot. What is Tetanus and why is it so important? Tetanus is a serious infection of central nervous system, caused by the potentially deadly bacteria Clostridium Tetani. This bacteria causes muscle stiffness and spasms; these spasms can be so violent that they can tear muscle and cause fractures of the spine. Tetanus is caused by exposure to bacteria that lives in the soil, it can be found around the world, and can remain infectious for more then 40 years in the soil. They primary means of transmission are through a cut, scrape or burn that are subsequently exposed to the bacteria either by contact with the soil ...