children

Early childhood exposure to screen time is becoming more common as mobile devices and televisions are part of most households. That is the same time when children, especially those in their first 3 years, are having an explosion of language and acquiring their speech and language skills. Screen time, especially on mobile devices, can be useful to keep children entertained at home and on the go. However, children who have more screen time may have fewer chances to talk with others, affecting their speech and language development. Current guidelines recommend that children younger than 18 months should not have any screen exposure, and children aged 2 to 5 years should be limited to 1 hour of screen time per day.

Current studies show that screen time keeps children from hearing adult words. Children and parents both vocalize or talk less when children engage with screens. There are also fewer back-and-forth conversations between children and caregivers. Spending more time with screens, even background television, may result in reductions in speech. Having a language-rich home environment promotes strong language skills, school readiness, and healthy brain development. If a child does engage with screens, there are ways to support speech development. Some ways to watch and use screens are better than others.

Author/s:

Lillian E. Sutton, Lindsay A. Thompson

Does This Child Have a Concussion?: The Rational Clinical Examination Systematic Review

Megan George — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:08:13 +0000

Date Added:

April 9, 2026

Journal/Publication:

JAMA

Publication Date:

April 6, 2026

URL:

Does This Child Have a Concussion?: The Rational Clinical Examination Systematic Review

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Poster

DOI (1):

10.1001/jama.2026.1233

Keywords

PMID (1):

41941197

MeSH

A review of the evaluation of children with head injuries to detect evidence of concussion. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Importance: Concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury with associated abnormalities in brain function, rather than structural injury. An estimated 1.1 million to 1.9 million pediatric concussions occur annually in the US.

Objective: To determine the accuracy of clinical history and physical examination findings for identifying concussion in children and adolescents who have had a plausible mechanism of injury.

Data sources and study selection: PubMed, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched from January 2002 through December 2025 without language restrictions. Observational studies including patients aged 2 to 18 years evaluated for concussion in outpatient, emergency, or inpatient settings were included.

Data extraction and synthesis: Four reviewers independently extracted study characteristics and diagnostic accuracy data and assessed study quality with the Rational Clinical Examination levels of evidence.

Main outcomes and measures: Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios (LRs) for symptoms and physical signs associated with concussion were calculated using random-effects meta-analysis when summary measures were appropriate.

Results: Of 7110 screened abstracts, 23 studies (level 4 evidence; case-control design) met inclusion criteria. The presence of mental fog (LR, 11.8-12.0; specificity, 0.96), noise sensitivity (LR, 6.9; 95% CI, 3.6-13.1; specificity, 0.94), nausea (LR, 6.7; 95% CI, 3.1-14.6; specificity, 0.93), and light sensitivity (LR, 6.4; 95% CI, 2.1-19.7; specificity, 0.93) were most useful for increasing the likelihood of a concussion diagnosis. The absence of headache was the most useful symptom for decreasing the likelihood of concussion (LR, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.10-0.39; sensitivity, 0.74). Signs that increased the likelihood of concussion were abnormal near-point convergence, which is the inability to maintain ocular convergence on a near target (LR, 7.0; 95% CI, 2.0-24.9; specificity, 0.97); abnormal smooth pursuits, which are jerky, irregular eye movements when tracking a target (LR, 6.5; 95% CI, 2.4-17.5; specificity, 0.96); and saccades, which are inaccurate or slow eye movements with overshooting or undershooting when looking between 2 or more targets (LR, 4.8; 95% CI, 1.8-13.1; specificity, 0.92); however, none of these findings had a sensitivity of more than 0.40. A consensus statement by the International Conference on Concussion in Sport recommends the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool to systematize the comprehensive evaluation of patients with symptoms concerning for concussion.

Conclusions and relevance: While no single finding was sufficient to confirm or exclude concussion, the presence of mental fog, noise and light sensitivity, nausea, or ocular abnormalities were most useful to identify patients more likely to have had a concussion, while absence of a headache made a concussion less likely. These symptoms and signs are integrated into structured clinical assessments to support the clinical diagnosis and management of pediatric concussion.

Author/s:

Sonal N. Shah, Haley M. Chizuk, Hiu-Fai Fong

What Parents Need to Know About Moles in Children

Megan George — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:05:04 +0000

Date Added:

April 2, 2026

Journal/Publication:

JAMA Pediatrics

Publication Date:

March 30, 2026

URL:

What Parents Need to Know About Moles in Children

Type:

Patient Education Materials

Format:

Poster

DOI (1):

10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.6312

Keywords

Sun Protection Factor

Sunscreening Agents

PMID (1):

41910995

MeSH

children

Dermatologists

Melanoma

sun protection factor

sunscreening agents

Information for parents about moles in children. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Moles can be seen at birth, but most appear during childhood, increase in adolescence, and can continue to increase in number until about age 40 years. Most moles are harmless, and these benign moles can grow as the child grows. However, when moles change in certain ways, as described below, a skin specialist (dermatologist) should evaluate and possibly monitor them, as they might develop into a type of skin cancer called melanoma. In general, melanomas are rare in children and are treatable if found early.

Author/s:

E Meryl Shychuk, Elyse M C Harris, Lindsay A Thompson

What Parents Should Know About Fire Safety

Megan George — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 20:14:44 +0000

Date Added:

January 28, 2026

Journal/Publication:

JAMA

Publication Date:

January 26, 2026

URL:

What Parents Should Know About Fire Safety

Type:

Patient Education Materials

Format:

Poster

DOI (1):

10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.5724

Keywords

PMID (1):

41587069

MeSH

Fire safety information for parents. James W. Mold, MD, MPHJ

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Many of these injuries are preventable by taking simple steps to make your home safer and knowing what to do when a fire occurs. Most accidental home fires start from cooking, heating equipment, electrical items, or smoking materials. Never leave food unattended on the stove while cooking. Use the back burners, when possible, to keep the hot stove surface and the hot pots and pans out of young children’s reach. Keep a fire extinguisher readily available in the kitchen, and make sure all caregivers know how to use it. Place space heaters away from anything that can catch fire, and always turn them off before going to bed or leaving the room. Ensure fireplaces and wood stoves are screened so that young children are not accidentally burned. This ensures embers stay inside, too. To prevent electrical fires, cover all unused electrical outlets, avoid overloading outlets, and replace any old cords. If you smoke, avoid doing so in the home, especially in bed. Carefully dispose of smoking waste, such as cigarette butts, used matches, and ashes.

If there is a fire, a smoke alarm can warn you to leave the home early and safely. Ensure that a smoke alarm is present on each floor and near every bedroom, avoiding areas like the kitchen to prevent false alarms. Check your smoke alarms monthly and change the batteries once a year unless your alarm has long-life batteries. If you need help, the local fire department can check your fire alarms and can often provide free new ones or replacements. Families with caregivers or children with hearing impairments should use alarms that include flashing lights.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas created from fuel-burning heaters, cars, generators, and appliances. Many smoke alarms are combined with carbon monoxide detectors. If your smoke alarms are not, install a separate carbon monoxide detector on each floor of your home.

A fire escape plan prepares families to understand how to safely exit each room in the home during a fire. To create a fire escape plan, draw a simple map of your home showing 2 escape routes from each room. If you live in an apartment, talk to your children about the importance of using the stairs and avoiding elevators during fires. Establish a common meeting place outside the house. Review the plan with your whole family and with caregivers, such as babysitters, so everyone knows what to do. Practice your escape plan every 6 months so everyone becomes familiar. Children younger than 5 years will need a caregiver to help them during a fire.

Author/s:

Mickey A Emmanuel, Mikhail Goldenberg, Lindsay A Thompson

What Parents Should Know About Preventing Accidental Poisonings

Megan George — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 15:14:21 +0000

Date Added:

October 28, 2025

Journal/Publication:

JAMA Pediatrics

Publication Date:

October 27, 2025

URL:

What Parents Should Know About Preventing Accidental Poisonings

Type:

Patient Education Materials

Format:

Poster

DOI (1):

10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.3703

Keywords

Poison

Poison Control

analgesics

Accidental Consumption

PMID (1):

41143820

MeSH

Information for parents about accidental poisonings. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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This JAMA Pediatrics Patient Page discusses the most common causes of poisoning in children and safety tips to prevent poisoning.

Author/s:

Mickey A Emmanuel, Ava Mascarenhas, Lindsay A Thompson

How to raise kids who can overcome anxiety

Brian Desmarais — Thu, 28 May 2020 19:45:00 +0000

Date Added:

May 28, 2020

Journal/Publication:

TEDMED

Publisher:

TEDMED Foundation

Publication Date:

May 1, 2020

URL:

How to raise kids who can overcome anxiety

Type:

Clinical Research Results

Format:

Video

Keywords

MeSH

parent-child relations

This 15 minute video could be very helpful to clinicians who care for children. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Not available.

Author/s:

Albano, A.M.

Managing Asthma during COVID-19: An Example for Other Chronic Conditions in Children and Adolescents

Brian Desmarais — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 23:55:59 +0000

Date Added:

April 22, 2020

Journal/Publication:

The Journal of Pediatrics

Publication Date:

April 17, 2020

URL:

Managing Asthma during COVID-19: An Example for Other Chronic Conditions in Children and Adolescents

Type:

Meta-analyses, Reviews, and Guidelines

Format:

Article

DOI (1):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.04.049

Keywords

treatment

asthma

2019 novel coronavirus

MeSH

This might be useful information for those taking care of a number of children with asthma. James W. Mold, MD, MPH

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Not available.

Author/s:

Abrams, E.M.

Pediatric Healthcare Update

Tracy Ashby — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Date Added:

October 27, 2018

Journal/Publication:

OUHSC Family Medicine Grand Rounds

Publication Date:

October 24, 2018

Type:

Public Health Announcements

Format:

Article

Keywords

MeSH

Some pediatric updates regarding car seats, HPV vaccine, flu vaccine, food contaminants, and JUUL.

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Pediatric healthcare update from OUHSC Family Medicine Grand Rounds.

Author/s:

DeLeon, Stephanie

Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) Questionnaire and Resource Packet

Jeffrey Wilson — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 16:45:33 +0000

Date Added:

October 18, 2018

Publisher:

The Child & Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative

Publication Date:

October 18, 2018

Type:

Clinical Decision Aids, Practice Management Research Results

Format:

Article

Keywords

ACE

children

child

adverse childhood experience

patient health questionnaire

MeSH

patient health questionnaire

ACE

children

child

adverse childhood experience

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are strong predictors of subsequent adverse health outcomes. Helping patients deal with the effects of ACEs can be very helpful. This is a summary of information about ACEs and a screening test that can be used to reveal and quantify ACEs.

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What is the role of healthcare providers?
The healthcare system is a natural place to respond to ACEs and promote resilience in children,
youth and families. Guidelines for well childcare are extensive in the early years – 13 visits in
the first three years of lifei --, which is a crucial period of child development. Health systems,
and in particular pediatric providers, are in a unique position to identify issues for both children
and their families that contribute to either promoting or inhibiting healthy development. The
American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a policy statement in 2012 that encourages,
among other things, pediatricians to take a more proactive role in educating patients and
families about the impact of toxic stress and in advocating for the development of interventions
that mitigate its impact. ii

What is trauma-informed care?
Trauma-informed care encompasses three levels of focus from a systems level: addressing
policy and procedures, creating approaches for organizing and delivering services and providing
specific programs or interventions for families.

The federal agency Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has
outlined six principles for trauma informed care: (1) creating a culture of physical and
psychological safety for staff and the people they serve; (2) building and maintaining
trustworthiness and transparency among staff, clients and others involved with the
organization; (3) utilizing peer support to promote healing and recovery; (4) leveling the power
differences between staff and clients and among staff to foster collaboration and mutuality; (5)
cultivating a culture of empowerment, voice and choice that recognizes individual strengths,
resilience and an ability to heal from past trauma; and (6) recognizing and responding to the
cultural, historical and gender roots of trauma.