—Emily Elveru... CONTINUED
WHAT’S THE
PARENTS AAP PANEL?
We’ve partnered with the
American Academy of
Pediatrics to create a special
group of pediatricians
(who have kids ages 10 and
under) to weigh in on
health issues and offer
advice IRL.NE WS T O
SMILE ABOUT
1
Chronic illness doesn’t impact a kid’s
overall satisfaction in life.
Parents were asked to assess their child’s
physical, mental, and social health.
Though kids with chronic illnesses (such as
asthma, obesity, digestive problems,
depression, and epilepsy) were reported to
have lower general health, they were
found to lead just as happy and
satisfying lives as their healthier peers,
according to a Pediatrics study.2
The FDA approved the first nondrug
therapy for ADHD.
Monarch eTNS System, a device that
connects to a patch worn on the forehead at
night and electrically stimulates the trigeminal
nerve, is thought to target the brain
regions that regulate attention, emotion, and
behavior. It’s intended to be used at
home and is for children ages 7 through 12
who aren’t taking ADHD meds.3
Growing up near green space
may improve mental health in adulthood.
Kids who are surrounded by more nature
during childhood have up to 55 percent less
risk of developing various mental disorders
later in life, found researchers at Aarhus
University, Denmark. Now get out and play!
—E.E.Lakeside Pediatrics, in Burbank,
California, and a member of the
Parents AAP Panel. But physicians
like Dr. Obradovic understand your
concerns about vaccines. They’re
parents, too, whose kids probably
hate shots just as much as yours do.
We asked our panel what they really
wish people knew about vaccines.
Here are their thoughts.
Think of them as seat belts.
Three of the doctors use this analogy:
Whenever you get in the car, you
buckle up your child to prevent a
severe injury in case you’re in an
accident. Even though crashes are
rare, you take this step to minimize the
potential impact. The same goes for
vaccines: When you vaccinate your
child, if she’s exposed to a vaccine-
preventable illness, she’ll be much
less likely to catch it. Even if she does,
she’ll probably get a milder form than
an unvaccinated child would get.
Ask your doctor as many
questions as you’d like.
Are you concerned about the number
of shots? Side effects? Ingredients?
Nearly all the docs said that they want
to hear and understand your worries,
so spill! “Even though I am a strong
proponent of vaccines and well versed
in the literature around them, I had
my own moment of discomfort before
my child got his first shots,” says
Nathan Chomilo, M.D., a pediatrician at
Park Nicollet, in Minneapolis. “Anytime
I give my child a new medication
he hasn’t had before, I feel the same
way. But, as with a vaccine, I am
quickly reassured by remembering
its safety and effectiveness and the
possible suffering my child would
avoid by having it.”
Vaccines don’t
cause autism.
In fact, research has shown that
autism rates have continued to rise
despite a decrease in immunization
rates. Vaccines are given during the
time when young kids experience
rapid development, which is also the
time when symptoms of autism begin
to emerge. It is a coincidence if a
child’s behavior seems to change
around the time he gets shots, but it
is not a cause-and-effect situation,
explains Hillary Zieve, M.D., a
pediatrician in Orange, California.There’s a mountain of
research supporting them.
“Vaccines are not perfect, but they are
far better regulated and extensively
studied and tested for safety and
efficacy than any other medical
intervention we have—better than the
antibiotics your child might take for
pneumonia or the cast for her broken
arm or the breathing treatment for
his asthma,” says Laura Brown, M.D.,
a pediatrician in Salt Lake City.An unvaccinated kid can
get really sick.
“As a pediatric emergency medicine
physician, I see kids with vaccine-
preventable illnesses like pertussis,
influenza, and, recently, measles,”
says Elizabeth B. Murray, D.O., a
pediatrician at the University of
Rochester Medical Center, in New
York. “Time and time again, parents
say, ‘We didn’t really think this was
going to happen.’ ”Vaccines protect the
whole community.
That’s why we talk about herd
immunity. Babies who can’t get
vaccinated yet and people with
compromised immune systems (such
as cancer patients) are at risk of
getting sick. When most of the healthy
people among the general public have
been immunized, highly contagious
illnesses like measles and influenza
decrease because fewer people have
a chance to get infected. “Vaccinating
may be scary in the moment, but for
the rest of your child’s life, you can
feel confident that you did your best
to protect him and others from a
preventable disease,” says Meghan
Rioth, M.D., a pediatrician at Children’s
Hospital Colorado, in Aurora.IS YOUR KID
ON T RACK?
Hover your phone’s camera
over the smart code to
find the CDC’s vaccination
schedule. Print a free
copy to keep in your wallet.
SARA FORREST/GALLERY STOCK.PARENTS 20 SEPTEMBER 2019
KIDSÑNews + Ideas