Parenting Solved

Goodbye Prevacid Oral Suspension

It seems that TAP Pharmaceuticals has recognized that their Prevacid oral suspension may not be the best way to deliver acid suppression to kids. The word in the nursery is that it's going the way of the hula hoop and will soon be phased out of the pediatric market. If it bears out, this is a good decision. The confusion about its proper use by parents is surpassed only by the confusion seen among pediatricians. Most common misuse: Splitting the packet into “two doses” which many times lead parents to dispense strawberry flavoring during the first administration with a double dose of medication during the second administration (the packets consist of flavoring and medicated time release beads which often settle away from one another). While this type of use was never the intent of the manufacturer, the market has a funny way of doing its own thing, especially when it comes to giving medication to kids. But even when properly suspended in 30 cc of water as recommended, this volume is often too much for a toddler to consume.

Kudos to our friends at TAP for recognizing what’s not working and innovating new ways to keep our kid’s stomachs happy and healthy.

Bikers Against Colic

It’s me and a biker in the green room. We were waiting for the taping of a cable show in Dallas. I’m dressed like the poster child for Brooks Brothers, he’s tattooed to beat the band with a bandana and the stereotypical leather jacket. I’m thinkin’ he spends his days snatching purses from old ladies. Turns out I’m way wrong. He’s with Bikers Against Child Abuse. We shake hands and it turns out we have friends in common at Houston’s Children’s Assessment Center. And he’s well-connected with the Houston biker community! Apparently these BACA guys adopt abused kids and look after them, accompanying them to court, etc. Think of them as the pediatric social work arm of your local biker gang.

Another green room acquaintance and another lesson learned. Check out their site and learn what the bikers are doing for our kids. I asked about a splinter organization for screaming babies. No word yet.

Toddler Tackle and Lack of Parental Accountability

This story about the 4-year-old pummeled on the sidelines of a recent CSU football game is remarkable. The child, Caden Thomas, is portrayed as a victim-cum-celebrity as the parents make the morning network television circuit. Beyond the light banter and charming close-ups of young Cameron, what’s absent is the discussion of why a preschooler was left unattended so close to the field of play at an NCAA football game. This is no different than leaving a toddler unattended at the side of a major roadway. Mom’s laissez-faire attitude demonstrated during a recent Today Show interview supports the idea that parental accountability is so 20th century.

Why Do I Blog?

Okay, okay. I normally don’t fall into lockstep with silly chain-blogging gimmics but since Flea has tagged me I’ll chime in. Why do I blog? Damn good question since I’m not sure I’ve quite figured it out myself.
How about…

Offer a unique point of view. I would agree with Flea that there’s an abundance of regurgitated pap published in the parenting genre. I like to think that my POV offers something a little outside the bell curve. I'm not quite pediatrics but not all parenting.
It’s just fun. I honestly get a kick out of posting a unique perspective on an issue and seeing how it’s received in the blogosphere. I desperately work to avoid obsessing about my blog. While it’s important, it isn’t my life.
It’s the network, stupid. Blogging opens my world up to a whole new set of folks with similar interests.
Exposure. An author-friend suggested blogging as a means of exposing your writing style to millions. Can’t hurt, might help and so far it’s helped.

So put that in your pipe and smoke it. And by the way, I was just linked by The Militant Breastfeeding Cult. I have arrived.

Black & White Parenting

New mothers are obsessed with numbers. I’ve always known this but the point was driven home this week during the California leg of my Babies R Us Colic Solved Seminar which was heavily penetrated by expectant mothers. While I never thought I’d see more creative questions than those from the mothers in my clinic, it seems first-time pregnant moms worry more about details and numbers. There's an obsession with black and white understanding. Perhaps it’s the nesting instinct or their abundant free time. Once with a baby you have less time to spend contemplating the subtleties of such things as ‘what constitutes a good burp’ or ‘how much gas is too much gas.’

One of the key messages that I convey in my seminars is that no two babies are alike. There’s a lot of variability in infant activities like feeding and elimination. I make it my job to detail the variants of normal and illustrate just how individual a baby can be. This offers young and expectant parents the freedom to truly relax. While we all want to believe that our babies will eat, feed and sleep by the book, such a book has yet to be published.

Ultimately as parents we learn as we go. And hats off to those parents who take the time under the glaring fluorescent lights of a big box retail store to ask questions and learn about what will make their baby tick … or poop.

Vanity Affair

While in LA I stayed at a hotel that happened to be hosting a modeling convention. At this event participants pay a chunk of change “to be scouted by top modeling agencies.” You pay and they bring the agents to you. This morning while enjoying my coffee in the hotel lobby, I found the place teeming with kids and teens of all ages looking for their shot. Impeccably primped and clutching the glossy promotional materials that attracted them here, the sense of anticipation is palpable. Sadly I get the impression that many don’t stand a snowball’s chance in Hell of ever seeing the working end of a photographer’s lens. But money talks and baloney walks. This is LA. Everyone has a dream.

Get Neocate Covered by Insurance

Parents faced with feeding their baby's Neocate are often struck by its cost. What’s even more striking is the fact that nutritional products like Neocate aren’t covered except in unusual circumstances. And at over $500 a month for the typical 4-month-old baby this can represent a real burden for some families.

So what can you do? I’ve seen lots of ideas fall flat but there’s one that seems to do the trick if you can pull it off. If you work for a moderate-sized company approach the most senior member of human resources and discuss your dilemma. Ask if they would be willing to discuss the case with the insurance carrier’s representative. The insurance companies know that the HR folks have an impact in choosing next year’s insurance carrier for the company. And no one wants an unhappy customer. As a rule, a health insurance company would rather cover your formula cost than lose all the insured bodies of your company.

Of all the Neocate insurance hacks that I’ve seen, this one seems to be the most reliable.

Is Anheuser-Busch Marketing to Children?

I’m no marketing expert but the pitch for Anheuser-Bush’s Spykes is compelling. Parents of teens and tweens should take note. While the product is reportedly targeted to “contemporary adult consumers looking for innovative alcoholic beverages to match their lifestyles,” it’s conveniently in time for prom season and comes in quaint 2-ounce bottles that are just perfect for a clutch purse or rented tuxedo vest pocket. And for those contemporary adult consumers who are so inclined, there are downloadable AIM icons. While I’ve been accused of cultural retardation, this sounds like kid stuff to me. You decide. Check out both sides of the story on MSNBC’s Health page.

And here’s one to keep you up at night: Teens make up 12-20% of the alcohol market according to the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.

Online Catalogs Gone Wild

Put the Capt’n Danger Stuntmonkey Baby Chute on your list of items that should have been recalled before release. But you won't find it on Amazon. Sold by Archie McPhee as an obvious gag, this contraption epitomizes irresponsibility. In fact, it's only a matter of time before someone actually tries to test the Baby Chute from a second story balcony. Yikes.

Via Seth Godin’s Blog