Bay Street Pediatrics

Caring For Your Children From Birth to College Since 1978 - Westport, CT

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Healthy Foods For Healthy Teens

Does your teen leave the house each morning without grabbing breakfast, not even a piece of toast with peanut better? A recent study shows that nearly 75% of teens don’t eat breakfast, and we here at Bay Street Pediatrics know this is a real obstacle to good health, mental wellbeing and academic success.

As children grow, they normally gain more and more freedom to make their own food choices. Unfortunately, because of busy schedules, parents may not notice what teens are actually eating. How can we help our teens make healthier food choices to enhance their wellbeing, help prevent chronic disease and eliminate obesity?

Recent research shows that America’s teens are struggling to maintain a healthy diet. Just over 50% of American teens are averaging one or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily; nearly 50% of still-developing children are not getting important nutrients on a regular basis. And those 75% of teens starting their day without a breakfast of any kind are compounding nutritional deficits and impairing their physical, mental and academic functioning.

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The AAP’s Updated Screen and Media Guidelines

About 10 years ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidelines for media use and exposure and many, many things have changed. As a matter of fact, things may have changed in the minutes you started reading this article.

Fortunately, Dr. David Hill of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine realized this huge shift, both the available forms of media and the understanding of media use on pediatric health outcomes and updated AAP guidelines to reflect those changes.

Bay Street Pediatrics is there to provide you with a summary of that guidance: [Read more…] about The AAP’s Updated Screen and Media Guidelines

Give Them This Instead Of A Screen

As parents, we seem to be lectured about the dangers of screens and social media ad nauseam. The data is clear that kids who use screens excessively are more likely to be overweight or obese. Kids have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, which negatively impacts their physical health. Children who use screens are more aggressive and more likely to be anxious or depressed. They don’t develop robust emotional coping skills and they have higher levels of frustration. They also perform poorly in academics.

The problem is that, while all the experts are feeding parents the latest news about the negative effects of screens, very few are giving them tools to radically limit screens. Bay Street Pediatrics is here to provide strategies – supplying ideas of what you can offer your children that isn’t a screen.

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Keeping Your Family Safe This Summer

Summer is nearly here! As parents, we try any way we can to get kids to go outside, move, breathe fresh air and use their imagination. If you love the water, you may get a backyard pool. You might build a swing set or playground for play and exercise. At night, a backyard fire pit is always a magnet especially if a s’more and storytelling are involved.

At Bay Street Pediatrics, we know the best way to enjoy summer is to enjoy it safely. Start with the basics of encouraging kids to drink water frequently, wear proper clothing and apply sunscreen amply every few hours. No matter what the games are, cooling breaks are important. Depending upon your backyard, we have additional safety protocols to keep your kids healthy and well.

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Do you have a fire safety plan?

For most of us, home fire safety means installing smoke and fire alarms and using care with gas and electric appliances. We install a fireplace screen if we have a fireplace. However, to be as safe as possible, experts in fire prevention, insurance, and disaster assistance all recommend we add the most important factor of all: planning and practicing for an evacuation when the alarm goes off. [Read more…] about Do you have a fire safety plan?