Holiday road

What’s your idea of adventure travel? Scuba-diving with sharks? Scaling glaciers? Child’s play. I am about to spend 2 weeks driving around the western United States with five kids. Are you not yet afraid? Three of them are teenagers. Still not afraid? We’re taking away their iPhones. Now tell me you don’t feel the cold sweat.

Jupiterimages

We’re not broaching any whining, either. After all, we’re renting an SUV large enough to be seen from the International Space Station. And there will be old-school entertainment: travel BINGO, Mad Libs, and I-swear-if-you-don’t-stop-fighting-I’m-leaving-you-both-here-in-the-desert-to-walk-home. Then, when we reach our destination, my wife and I will play who-can-finish-their-wine-first. Depending on how this trip goes, we may make it a tradition, but just in case, save me a spot in the shark cage.

Make it work

Okay, y’all, I’m calling a moratorium on Jenny McCarthy jokes. I know what you’re thinking: “But she’s comedy gold! What else are you going to make fun of?” There’s always gross stuff guaranteed to get a laugh like baby poop, spit-up, and drug reps, but that’s not the point. The point is that no one would listen to vapid celebrities spouting antivaccine rhetoric if they didn’t have the support of a couple of actual pediatricians (let’s call them “Dr. Rob” and “Dr. Kay”) who’ve made lucrative careers selling pseudoscientific, legitimate-sounding arguments with all the integrity of, well, baby poop.

I know these guys  are tempted to rest on their laurels, having done their fair share to ensure that the next generation of doctors gets firsthand experience of measles and whooping cough, but thanks to a new study, they’re going to have to step up their game.  In order to argue against vaccines, you need to convince people of two things that are patently false: that vaccines are somehow dangerous, and that vaccine-preventable diseases are somehow safe. Oh, and one more: that you are somehow credible.

In order to better define what we mean when we say that vaccines are “safe,” Margaret A. Maglione, MPP of the Rand Corporation evaluated 20,478 studies of vaccine side effects. I can only assume that Ms. Maglione has no hobbies. The results would surprise only those people who have shelled out good money for books full of bad science.

Let me sum up: Measles/mumps/rubella vaccine does not cause autism, but it can cause febrile seizures which, unlike measles, mumps, and rubella, are harmless. (“Dr. Kay” doesn’t think measles is so bad because, you know, since no one he knows has died of it yet.) Varicella vaccine can cause problems for immunocompromised patients, which is why we don’t give it to immunocompromised patients. Rotavirus vaccine may cause very rare cases of intussusception, which must be weighed against its ability to prevent nearly 70,000 hospitalizations and 60 deaths a year in the U.S. alone.

Of course, I don’t think for a minute that solid science will cut into anyone’s book sales or the growing rates of preventable life-threatening diseases. If we’ve learned one thing from recent history, it’s that facts are never a barrier when people have a vested emotional or financial interest in ignoring them. After all, have you ever seen a baby run out of poop?

Kids' size

There are some experiences that really should wait for adulthood to be fully enjoyed: drinking champagne, gambling in Las Vegas, standing in line at the DMV. To this list I propose we add looking critically at your body. Kids should still just be amazed to have a belly button, not looking in the mirror and wondering how they can lose some of that applesauce weight. A new study out of Australia, however, suggests that body dissatisfaction starts at an alarmingly young age: 8-9 years old. And that’s only because that’s the age group the authors studied. For all we know, there are infants out there comparing themselves to Cabbage Patch Kids and thinking, “I wish my cheeks weren’t so chubby...”

The study, headed by Dr. Ben Edwards of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, tracked more than 4,000 children from age 8 to age 11 years, comparing their perceptions of their bodies to their actual sizes. More than half the children said they desired a body size that was slightly thinner than average, making me wonder what sort of scrawny superheroes they show on Australian television. By age 11, 61% of boys and 56% of girls had tried to do something to manage their weight, with the most effective intervention being “not moving to America.”

Just like adults, kids who were unhappy with their bodies also had more problems being social and enjoying exercise. I think it’s tragic that children this young are already developing body issues, and in a country with distractions as amazing as actual kangaroos! And of course it won’t be long before the hucksters exploit this market: Who wants a Garcinia gummy?!

Framed

In school, kids used to call me “four-eyes.” Then I’d  explain calmly that I didn’t actually have four eyes, it was just that due to the high refractive index of my glasses, light traveling at certain angles would produce duplicate images, which I’d then go on to demonstrate with a simple diagram and a protractor, which did nothing to stop the name-calling. Now a group of ophthalmologists from Germany have used science and technology to prove that the stereotype of the squinting intellectual is based in truth. I hate stereotypes, and anyway, could anything be more German?

The study found a strong correlation between years spent in school and myopia, bolstering theories that staying indoors and staring at books actually contribute to the changes in eye structure that cause nearsightedness. The authors suggest that if kids spend more time outdoors, fewer of them will need glasses. It’s already too late to save two of our children from my fate, but I think taking away the iPhones is a good start, and if that doesn’t work, there’s always that walk in the desert.

David L. Hill, M.D., FAAP, is the author of Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro (AAP Publishing, 2012). He is also vice president of Cape Fear Pediatrics in Wilmington, N.C., and  adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as Program Director for the AAP Council on Communications and Media and as an executive committee member of the North Carolina Pediatric Society. He has recorded commentaries for NPR's All Things Considered and provided content for various print, television, and Internet outlets.

What’s your idea of adventure travel? Scuba-diving with sharks? Scaling glaciers? Child’s play. I am about to spend 2 weeks driving around the western United States with five kids. Are you not yet afraid? Three of them are teenagers. Still not afraid? We’re taking away their iPhones. Now tell me you don’t feel the cold sweat.

Jupiterimages

We’re not broaching any whining, either. After all, we’re renting an SUV large enough to be seen from the International Space Station. And there will be old-school entertainment: travel BINGO, Mad Libs, and I-swear-if-you-don’t-stop-fighting-I’m-leaving-you-both-here-in-the-desert-to-walk-home. Then, when we reach our destination, my wife and I will play who-can-finish-their-wine-first. Depending on how this trip goes, we may make it a tradition, but just in case, save me a spot in the shark cage.

Make it work

Okay, y’all, I’m calling a moratorium on Jenny McCarthy jokes. I know what you’re thinking: “But she’s comedy gold! What else are you going to make fun of?” There’s always gross stuff guaranteed to get a laugh like baby poop, spit-up, and drug reps, but that’s not the point. The point is that no one would listen to vapid celebrities spouting antivaccine rhetoric if they didn’t have the support of a couple of actual pediatricians (let’s call them “Dr. Rob” and “Dr. Kay”) who’ve made lucrative careers selling pseudoscientific, legitimate-sounding arguments with all the integrity of, well, baby poop.

I know these guys  are tempted to rest on their laurels, having done their fair share to ensure that the next generation of doctors gets firsthand experience of measles and whooping cough, but thanks to a new study, they’re going to have to step up their game.  In order to argue against vaccines, you need to convince people of two things that are patently false: that vaccines are somehow dangerous, and that vaccine-preventable diseases are somehow safe. Oh, and one more: that you are somehow credible.

In order to better define what we mean when we say that vaccines are “safe,” Margaret A. Maglione, MPP of the Rand Corporation evaluated 20,478 studies of vaccine side effects. I can only assume that Ms. Maglione has no hobbies. The results would surprise only those people who have shelled out good money for books full of bad science.

Let me sum up: Measles/mumps/rubella vaccine does not cause autism, but it can cause febrile seizures which, unlike measles, mumps, and rubella, are harmless. (“Dr. Kay” doesn’t think measles is so bad because, you know, since no one he knows has died of it yet.) Varicella vaccine can cause problems for immunocompromised patients, which is why we don’t give it to immunocompromised patients. Rotavirus vaccine may cause very rare cases of intussusception, which must be weighed against its ability to prevent nearly 70,000 hospitalizations and 60 deaths a year in the U.S. alone.

Of course, I don’t think for a minute that solid science will cut into anyone’s book sales or the growing rates of preventable life-threatening diseases. If we’ve learned one thing from recent history, it’s that facts are never a barrier when people have a vested emotional or financial interest in ignoring them. After all, have you ever seen a baby run out of poop?

Kids' size

There are some experiences that really should wait for adulthood to be fully enjoyed: drinking champagne, gambling in Las Vegas, standing in line at the DMV. To this list I propose we add looking critically at your body. Kids should still just be amazed to have a belly button, not looking in the mirror and wondering how they can lose some of that applesauce weight. A new study out of Australia, however, suggests that body dissatisfaction starts at an alarmingly young age: 8-9 years old. And that’s only because that’s the age group the authors studied. For all we know, there are infants out there comparing themselves to Cabbage Patch Kids and thinking, “I wish my cheeks weren’t so chubby...”

The study, headed by Dr. Ben Edwards of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, tracked more than 4,000 children from age 8 to age 11 years, comparing their perceptions of their bodies to their actual sizes. More than half the children said they desired a body size that was slightly thinner than average, making me wonder what sort of scrawny superheroes they show on Australian television. By age 11, 61% of boys and 56% of girls had tried to do something to manage their weight, with the most effective intervention being “not moving to America.”

Just like adults, kids who were unhappy with their bodies also had more problems being social and enjoying exercise. I think it’s tragic that children this young are already developing body issues, and in a country with distractions as amazing as actual kangaroos! And of course it won’t be long before the hucksters exploit this market: Who wants a Garcinia gummy?!

Framed

In school, kids used to call me “four-eyes.” Then I’d  explain calmly that I didn’t actually have four eyes, it was just that due to the high refractive index of my glasses, light traveling at certain angles would produce duplicate images, which I’d then go on to demonstrate with a simple diagram and a protractor, which did nothing to stop the name-calling. Now a group of ophthalmologists from Germany have used science and technology to prove that the stereotype of the squinting intellectual is based in truth. I hate stereotypes, and anyway, could anything be more German?

The study found a strong correlation between years spent in school and myopia, bolstering theories that staying indoors and staring at books actually contribute to the changes in eye structure that cause nearsightedness. The authors suggest that if kids spend more time outdoors, fewer of them will need glasses. It’s already too late to save two of our children from my fate, but I think taking away the iPhones is a good start, and if that doesn’t work, there’s always that walk in the desert.

David L. Hill, M.D., FAAP, is the author of Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro (AAP Publishing, 2012). He is also vice president of Cape Fear Pediatrics in Wilmington, N.C., and  adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as Program Director for the AAP Council on Communications and Media and as an executive committee member of the North Carolina Pediatric Society. He has recorded commentaries for NPR's All Things Considered and provided content for various print, television, and Internet outlets.

What’s your idea of adventure travel? Scuba-diving with sharks? Scaling glaciers? Child’s play. I am about to spend 2 weeks driving around the western United States with five kids. Are you not yet afraid? Three of them are teenagers. Still not afraid? We’re taking away their iPhones. Now tell me you don’t feel the cold sweat.

Jupiterimages

We’re not broaching any whining, either. After all, we’re renting an SUV large enough to be seen from the International Space Station. And there will be old-school entertainment: travel BINGO, Mad Libs, and I-swear-if-you-don’t-stop-fighting-I’m-leaving-you-both-here-in-the-desert-to-walk-home. Then, when we reach our destination, my wife and I will play who-can-finish-their-wine-first. Depending on how this trip goes, we may make it a tradition, but just in case, save me a spot in the shark cage.

Make it work

Okay, y’all, I’m calling a moratorium on Jenny McCarthy jokes. I know what you’re thinking: “But she’s comedy gold! What else are you going to make fun of?” There’s always gross stuff guaranteed to get a laugh like baby poop, spit-up, and drug reps, but that’s not the point. The point is that no one would listen to vapid celebrities spouting antivaccine rhetoric if they didn’t have the support of a couple of actual pediatricians (let’s call them “Dr. Rob” and “Dr. Kay”) who’ve made lucrative careers selling pseudoscientific, legitimate-sounding arguments with all the integrity of, well, baby poop.

I know these guys  are tempted to rest on their laurels, having done their fair share to ensure that the next generation of doctors gets firsthand experience of measles and whooping cough, but thanks to a new study, they’re going to have to step up their game.  In order to argue against vaccines, you need to convince people of two things that are patently false: that vaccines are somehow dangerous, and that vaccine-preventable diseases are somehow safe. Oh, and one more: that you are somehow credible.

In order to better define what we mean when we say that vaccines are “safe,” Margaret A. Maglione, MPP of the Rand Corporation evaluated 20,478 studies of vaccine side effects. I can only assume that Ms. Maglione has no hobbies. The results would surprise only those people who have shelled out good money for books full of bad science.

Let me sum up: Measles/mumps/rubella vaccine does not cause autism, but it can cause febrile seizures which, unlike measles, mumps, and rubella, are harmless. (“Dr. Kay” doesn’t think measles is so bad because, you know, since no one he knows has died of it yet.) Varicella vaccine can cause problems for immunocompromised patients, which is why we don’t give it to immunocompromised patients. Rotavirus vaccine may cause very rare cases of intussusception, which must be weighed against its ability to prevent nearly 70,000 hospitalizations and 60 deaths a year in the U.S. alone.

Of course, I don’t think for a minute that solid science will cut into anyone’s book sales or the growing rates of preventable life-threatening diseases. If we’ve learned one thing from recent history, it’s that facts are never a barrier when people have a vested emotional or financial interest in ignoring them. After all, have you ever seen a baby run out of poop?

Kids' size

There are some experiences that really should wait for adulthood to be fully enjoyed: drinking champagne, gambling in Las Vegas, standing in line at the DMV. To this list I propose we add looking critically at your body. Kids should still just be amazed to have a belly button, not looking in the mirror and wondering how they can lose some of that applesauce weight. A new study out of Australia, however, suggests that body dissatisfaction starts at an alarmingly young age: 8-9 years old. And that’s only because that’s the age group the authors studied. For all we know, there are infants out there comparing themselves to Cabbage Patch Kids and thinking, “I wish my cheeks weren’t so chubby...”

The study, headed by Dr. Ben Edwards of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, tracked more than 4,000 children from age 8 to age 11 years, comparing their perceptions of their bodies to their actual sizes. More than half the children said they desired a body size that was slightly thinner than average, making me wonder what sort of scrawny superheroes they show on Australian television. By age 11, 61% of boys and 56% of girls had tried to do something to manage their weight, with the most effective intervention being “not moving to America.”

Just like adults, kids who were unhappy with their bodies also had more problems being social and enjoying exercise. I think it’s tragic that children this young are already developing body issues, and in a country with distractions as amazing as actual kangaroos! And of course it won’t be long before the hucksters exploit this market: Who wants a Garcinia gummy?!

Framed

In school, kids used to call me “four-eyes.” Then I’d  explain calmly that I didn’t actually have four eyes, it was just that due to the high refractive index of my glasses, light traveling at certain angles would produce duplicate images, which I’d then go on to demonstrate with a simple diagram and a protractor, which did nothing to stop the name-calling. Now a group of ophthalmologists from Germany have used science and technology to prove that the stereotype of the squinting intellectual is based in truth. I hate stereotypes, and anyway, could anything be more German?

The study found a strong correlation between years spent in school and myopia, bolstering theories that staying indoors and staring at books actually contribute to the changes in eye structure that cause nearsightedness. The authors suggest that if kids spend more time outdoors, fewer of them will need glasses. It’s already too late to save two of our children from my fate, but I think taking away the iPhones is a good start, and if that doesn’t work, there’s always that walk in the desert.

David L. Hill, M.D., FAAP, is the author of Dad to Dad: Parenting Like a Pro (AAP Publishing, 2012). He is also vice president of Cape Fear Pediatrics in Wilmington, N.C., and  adjunct assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as Program Director for the AAP Council on Communications and Media and as an executive committee member of the North Carolina Pediatric Society. He has recorded commentaries for NPR's All Things Considered and provided content for various print, television, and Internet outlets.