Can't get the kids to eat their fruits and veggies? In this video, Einstein dietitian Caitlyn Crosby, RD, LDN, gives parents some tips on how to get their picky eaters to eat healthier.

A slight cough, just a stomach ache, or is it the flu? If your child is in day care or school, you know that they’re being exposed to lots of new things—building their knowledge and their immunities.

While these are all good things, it’s important to know when your little one needs a day (or more) off.

Use this handy infographic to determine when your child is too sick for school, and when it’s safe for them to return.

Emiliano Tatar, MD

The kids have gotten the required vaccinations and physicals. From a health perspective, at least, they’re ready to start school.

Still, as parents take their children to visit the pediatrician to take care of the basic school health requirements, other subjects do come up, says Emiliano Tatar, MD, a pediatrician at Einstein Physicians Roxborough. Many of those issues should remain on parents’ radar all school year, he says.

Schedule an appointment with Dr. Tatar.

Obesity. It's one of the key medical concerns that presents itself, Dr. Tatar says. Although addressing obesity doesn’t fall into the category of a school district health requirement, it is something parents need to recognize as a problem and take steps to address.

Babies falling out of their cribs account for 66 percent of crib injuries—but that’s not the only thing to worry about. Provide a safe place for your baby to sleep by following these simple tips:

• Avoid blankets and pillows
• Keep toys and stuffed animals away from the crib
• No crib tents
• Never use drop-down sides
• A firm mattress is a must
• Maintain at least 26 inches between the mattress and the crib rail

When your child reaches 35 inches tall, it’s time for a new bed.

Check out this handy infographic for details:

Parents go through many transitions along with their kids, from the first day of preschool to college graduation and beyond. Very often, each new stage is just as hard on parents as it is on kids – and often it’s even tougher.

Many people’s sense of identity and self-worth comes from their roles as parents. This can make it especially hard to let go and give kids the independence they need to turn into full-functioning adults.

One study found when parents hover, kids can be more vulnerable, anxious and close-minded than kids who are given more freedom and responsibility. Other research shows that kids with overly involved parents may be less engaged in the classroom and have lower self-esteem. They are also more likely to get involved in high-risk behaviors, such as binge drinking.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Einstein Healthcare Network (Einstein) today announced they will form a unique alliance to provide neonatal, newborn, maternal care, and pediatric emergency services in one location on the Einstein Medical Center Montgomery campus (Einstein Montgomery), in East Norriton, Pa.  

Einstein’s exceptional women’s health and maternity care and CHOP’s world-class neonatology and pediatric emergency services will be available to families at one easily-accessible location. This alliance will also support opportunities for Einstein and CHOP to work together to identify enhancements in care delivery to maternal and pediatric patients at Einstein Montgomery.

“CHOP is very excited by the endless possibilities to bring world-class neonatal care to area families,” said Madeline Bell, president and chief executive officer of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  “We have formed an alliance that will extend the delivery of CHOP’s top-rated care to communities surrounding the city of Philadelphia. Einstein Medical Center Montgomery has become known for its dedicated and skilled doctors and nurses and we are happy to have CHOP clinicians collaborate with them in their efforts.  We know this program will become a centerpiece for medical excellence in the region.” 

Maybe your children can’t bear to think of it, but the start of school is just a few weeks away. And for athletes, practices and workouts of one kind or another will be here sooner than that.

As important as it is for parents to think about academic readiness, it’s also essential that they weigh children’s health concerns before school begins. Healthy eating, sufficient sleep, and reasonable limits on access to electronics … these issues and more can make a big difference in how well your child learns.

We checked in with two Einstein pediatric specialists to help parents focus on the essentials. Here’s what to think about as the time for school draws near.

You’ve probably seen it: Young children intently thumbing away on smartphones as their parents do something else, like talk over dinner in a restaurant.

What you probably didn’t know is that nearly 75 percent of those kids are using smartphones, tablets and other media devices before they reach the age of 2—and many of them are tapping away before they’ve taken their first steps.

Hilda Kabali, M.D., a third-year pediatrics resident at Einstein Medical Center, observed digital device behavior among children visiting a pediatric practice and also outside the hospital settings. Her findings, presented at the recent Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in San Diego, have attracted a lot of attention.

“We were curious to understand what was happening,” she says of the children and their devices. “We wanted to find out what they were doing with them." All of the 370 children included in the study, ages 6 months to age 4, had access to some type of mobile device.

The most surprising aspect of the study, Dr. Kabali says, was the observation that many children began to use mobile devices when they were as young as 6 months old. Some of them were on-screen for as 30 minutes at a time. “They started very young,” she says.