2023 Blog Posts

How to Manage Diabetes During the Holidays

By: Maria Paula Criado on December 05, 2023

Navigating the holiday feasts while maintaining a healthy weight can be difficult. For those with diabetes who are also trying to manage their blood sugar, it can be exceptionally challenging. Maria Paula Criado, Registered Dietitian at Nicklaus Children's Hospital, shares tips to help manage diabetes and healthy weight during the holidays.
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How Holiday Traditions Can Make Your Family Closer

By: On Our Sleeves on December 01, 2023

During the holidays, having family traditions can help to bring deeper meaning to your celebrations. When your customs and traditions include togetherness and fun, they may boost your child’s mood.
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Talking to Kids about Breast Cancer

By: Sara Rivero-Conil, PsyD on October 25, 2023

Women diagnosed with breast cancer who have children face the additional challenge of having to explain the situation to their children. This can be difficult and even traumatic. Considering that, it’s important to handle the discussion with care.
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When a Child Has a Loss or Big Change

By: On Our Sleeves on October 24, 2023

Children experience grief over many life experiences that don’t involve a death in the family – a friend moving away, a divorce, or even a favorite teacher leaving their classroom. Sometimes these kinds of losses cause complex feelings in children, and if it’s not talked about or is misunderstood, it can be even harder for them to cope with.
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Navigating Trick-or-Treating and Children’s Food Allergies

By: Jorelis Frias, MD on October 19, 2023

For children with food allergies and their parents, trick-or-treating can be scary, but we've got tips on how to navigate the Halloween festivities.
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Practicing Friendship Skills with Children

By: On Our Sleeves on September 29, 2023

Friendships build mental health in a number of important ways, but making friends can be hard. Here are six ways to help children make friends and be a better friend.
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Teaching Kids About Emotions Is Good for Mental Health

By: On Our Sleeves on August 22, 2023

Teaching children to notice emotions is one of the first steps in helping them develop coping skills. It’s good for a child’s mental health to understand and manage feelings.
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Why Belonging Matters

By: On Our Sleeves on July 19, 2023

Belonging is a basic human need and children who feel connected to their family, community and school see big mental and physical health benefits.
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Helping Children Who Compete Handle Pressure

By: On Our Sleeves on June 23, 2023

Sometimes the pressure to win in sports can feel overwhelming. For children competing in sports, constantly focusing on always on winning can harm a child’s mental health.
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6 Ways to Prevent the Educational 'Summer Slide' in Your Kids

By: Saneya H. Tawfik, PhD on June 06, 2023

All kids look forward to summer and the break from school that it provides. When it comes to their education, however, there can be a drawback: summer learning loss, also sometimes referred to as "the summer slide". Luckily, there are simple strategies parents can use to prevent the summer slide.
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Understanding Your Child’s Behavior

By: On Our Sleeves on June 01, 2023

When children act out, whether they’re 3 or 13, it can be challenging to know what to do. Once you understand more about why they act the way they do, you can react more calmly. And noticing and praising “good” or positive behavior can really help encourage them to change their behavior.
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The Importance of Reading to Your Kids

By: Saima Aftab, MD on May 04, 2023

Child development experts have long known the importance of reading and talking to your young children to give them a leg up in their academic development and other crucial milestones in life. It builds your baby’s brain and helps them on their journey to communicating and reading themselves earlier on.
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How to Advocate for Children’s Mental Health

By: On Our Sleeves on May 01, 2023

You know that children’s mental health is important. But how can you make a difference on such a big issue? Your actions and your words matter – and can have an impact. The On Our Sleeves experts have some ideas for you.
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Are Your Kids Behind on Vaccinations? Now’s the Time to Catch Up

By: Gloria Riefkohl, MD on April 24, 2023

All vaccines are preventative treatments that are designed to stimulate the immune system into creating antibodies to fight a specific disease. Vaccines the best way to protect your child from dangerous diseases, but they help protect the entire community, as well.
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How Your “Dad Jokes” Can Keep Kids Healthy

By: Vanessa Molina Santamaria on April 13, 2023

When Dad cracks another one of his corny jokes, the family often groans and may even describe the joke as “painful.” Ironically, the latest research seems to indicate the opposite to be true: Dad jokes may be good for your children’s health.
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Helping a Child With Anxious Feelings

By: On Our Sleeves on April 07, 2023

We’ve all felt nervous or worried from time to time and our kids are no exception. Did you know that avoiding anxiety can make it stronger? By helping kids move forward while still feeling anxious, we can help them to do things while afraid.
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5 Ways to Help Your Child Get Enough Sleep

By: Sara Rivero-Conil, PsyD on March 15, 2023

Every evening, a similar routine plays out in many households: Parents try to get their children off to bed, and this starts a complex back and forth of demands, pleading, extra snacks, trips to the bathroom, and a stressful end to the day. You may occasionally give in and let your child stream another video or stay up late reading, but ensuring your child consistently gets enough sleep is crucial to their mental and physical health.
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How to Eat Healthy Amid Rising Food Costs

By: Tania Koerber, RDN, CSP, LD/N on March 08, 2023

Rising food costs are prompting consumers to get creative with their grocery-buying habits. This may be an ideal time to rethink how you spend your food dollars, with a focus on making budget-savvy and healthy choices simultaneously!
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How to Talk to Kids About Social Media

By: Sara Rivero-Conil, PsyD on February 17, 2023

Whether your child has started exploring social media or not, your family can work together to come up with a plan that everyone can agree on. By knowing the risks and benefits, talking to your child and working on a social media plan together, you’re building the relationship between you and your child.
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How Social Media Impacts Our Children’s Mental Health

By: Melanie Suaris, MD on February 14, 2023

Tablets and smartphones are a present and growing part of our daily lives. If you’re a parent to tweens or teenagers, their use of technology and social media is likely a primary concern. As social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram rise in popularity with our children, it’s relation to mental health has come to the forefront.
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Prioritizing Family Mental Health in 2023

By: Sara Rivero-Conil, PsyD on January 24, 2023

We all have resolutions that we focus on this time of year. This year, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital would like to shift some of that focus from physical goals to mental ones: Specifically, the mental health of you and your loved ones.
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