Keep Them Little Ones Rolling: Rolling Toys

Bring in the holiday cheer because One Sassy Doctor presents (get it, presents!) our final post in the series BACK TO THE BASICS – THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD TOYS!

Playing with your baby is one of the most enjoyable duties of parenthood. Not only do you get to spend quality one-on-one time with your precious one, you also help him develop the skills and strengths he’ll need as he grows. Toys are a great way to make playtime even more fun.

Last week, we talked about toys for creative play. This week, we’re talking about rolling toys.

Getting Creative: Toys for Creative Play

It’s been a ball spending this month on BACK TO THE BASICS – THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD TOYS! We have explored various aspects of the basics, and ways Sassy Baby can help fill those baby and toddler dreams

A well-stocked toy box will give you ample tools to help your child develop their fine- and gross-motor skills—and give you plenty of ways to bond over belly laughs.

Last week we talked about the value of rattles and rings. This week, we’re looking at the benefits of creative play.

Creative play lets your little one build real-life skills while enjoying herself and exercising not only her body but also her brain. Toy pots and pans, play kitchens, baby dolls, dress-up clothes—all of these let her act out the activities she sees you engaging in.

Shake, Rattle And Roll: Baby Rattles And Rings

We’re talking BACK TO THE BASICS – THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD TOYS this month, because when it comes to babies, playing is serious business. Stocking your toy chest with the right playthings will not only prompt plenty of giggles but will also help your little one develop the important developmental skills he needs to grow big and strong.

Last week, we talked about the benefits of stacking toys. This week, we’re focusing on baby rattles and rings. It’s the holidays, right? Do you hear the bells?

When we think about baby toys, the rattle is one of the first toys that come to mind. These simple playthings help babies tune into their senses. Shake the rattle and see their heads turn toward to sound. Move it back and forth in front of them, and watch their eyes track the rattle. Choose a soft rattle that can be attached to her wrist or ankle, and, when she’s old enough, she’ll have a great time making sounds all by herself!

Stacking Up The Fun: Stacking Toys

This month of BACK TO THE BASICS – THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD TOYS, we’ve explored play mats, balls, musical instruments and now… we’re stacking up the fun even more!

Playing with your child is great exercise, for both the body and the brain. Not only do you get a workout, so do they! When it comes to toddlers, all play is physical and toys that they can manipulate will be among their favorites.

Stacking toys are not only fun, they are among the hardest-working toys in your child’s collection. If you choose a toy that has colorful rings, you can work on your child’s colors with her. The act of stacking requires sorting for size, and placing the rings on the stacker requires fine-motor skills. 

Making Music: Musical Toys for Baby

We’re continuing these super fun holiday months with BACK TO THE BASICS – THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD TOYS with a musical break.

Playing isn’t just for fun—when a baby plays, he’s really learning and growing! Fine-motor skills, critical thinking and hand-eye coordination are crucial for achieving these important milestones, and playtime helps encourage growth in all of these areas. Music is a big part of this development!

Last week, we focused on how balls can improve hand-eyecoordination and harness the energy of a newly walking toddler. This week, we’re hoping you and baby can make beautiful music together with toys that mimic instruments.

Toy Balls: Having a Ball With Baby

We hope you’re ready to play, because we’re all about BACK TO THE BASICS – THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD TOYS for the entire month of December. If you’re looking for great, age-appropriate toys for you and your baby, you’re in the right place!

Last week we talked about the fun you and baby can have with a set of building blocks and the week before, we worked out on a play mats

This week, we want you to check your toy box to make sure you have a ball or two ready. Balls are great toys for an active toddler, giving them ample opportunity to practice walking (by chasing the ball) and they also work wonders for hand-eye coordination. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, kids should be able to throw a ball by the age of 2, but you can have plenty of fun with younger tots, as well.

Toy Blocks: The Building Blocks of Fun

As you know, the One Sassy Doctor blog is devoting this entire month to BACK TO THE BASICS – THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD TOYS! This week, just in time for the holidays, we’re all about BLOCKS.

For babies, play is hard work and they need the best tools possible to do their jobs right. The right toys can help make sure your precious wee one meets all her developmental milestones, and it’s a sweet way to spend time bonding.

In our last post, we talked about play mats, and this week we’re focused on having fun with building blocks.

Blocks help to build a great foundation for physical dexterity and problem solving, and babies can begin to grasp and hold blocks as early as six months. By the age of 12 months, most babies will be able to stack blocks on top of one another, making a simple structure. Stacking helps hand-eye coordination, reaching for and grasping blocks develop fine-motor skills.

Going to the Mat: Playmats and Your Baby

As we’ve been talking about for over two years now on the One Sassy Doctor blog, playing is a wonderful way to bond with your baby, and it’s also a serious developmental workout! This month, just in time for the holidays, we’re BACK TO THE BASICS – THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD TOYS! Choosing your child’s toys carefully can make playtime even more fun, for both of you.

This week, we’re talking about an overview of play mats – as you know we devoted an entire previous month to our new Inspire the Senses developmental playmat. (One Sassy Doctor is a little play mat obsessed!).

A truly versatile toy, a play mat gives baby a soft and stimulating spot to work on her gross motor skills—and it’s a great place to get plenty of tummy time.

Sensory Play with Baby on the Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat

This is the last post in our series about Sassy’s new Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat by Sassy. We are going to spend some time discussing the unlimited interaction possibilities the playmat Sassy provides, and why they are important. Gosh, a whole month on one product – we’ve never done that before! We’ve gone over:

• the playmat's safety, versatility and ease
• the 5 advantages of the playmat
• the important developmental aspects of the playmat
• fine motor development learned using the playmat
• developing vision using the playmat
• language and hearing development using the playmat
• benefits of tummy time on the playmat

Today, as a wrap up (and let me give you a hint – this is a GOOD THING TO WRAP UP BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS!), I’m going to share some of my favorite Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat by Sassy features that encourage contact, communication and collaboration with your little one.

Benefits on Tummy Time Using the Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat

As you know, this month we’re focused on the development of your baby, and the benefits the Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat by Sassy provides.

In this post, we will focus more on why your baby needs to spend some time on their front. First, I’ll briefly explain the concept of Tummy Time. Then, I’ll discuss three important benefits.

Language and Hearing Development from the Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat

This month, we have discussed the many benefits of the amazing, stupendous, terrific Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat by Sassy. We’ve reviewed its safety, portability and ease as well as the developmental attributes. In this posting, we’re going to focus on using the playmat to foster your little one’s language and hearing development!

In infancy, listening to sounds and voices is critical for strong language development. Here are my four favorite sound features on the Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat by Sassy:

Vision, Mirrors and Color on the Inspire the Senses Playmat

This month, we are focused on the all-new Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat by Sassy. I am loving all of the developmental benefits the playmat gives your baby. In the last few posts, we have touched on safety and structure benefits, and the versatility and adaptability of the playmat in the development of gross and fine motor skills.

This week, I am going to focus on vision, mirrors and color.

Fine Motor Development and the Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat

The month of November is dedicated to Sassy’s brand new Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat by Sassy. In our first three posts, we talked about the safety, versatility and ease of the playmat, the 3-leg structure benefits, and gross motor skill development benefits on the playmat.

This week, we will spend some time talking about the development of fine motor skills.

Important Developmental Aspects of the Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat

This month, we are focused on the Sassy Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat by Sassy. In the past two posts, we discussed the safety, versatility and ease of the Inspire the Senses™ Developmental Playmat by Sassy, as well as the benefits of the 3-leg structure. This week, I want to discuss baby’s gross motor development stages. You can use the Inspire the Senses™ Developmental Playmat by Sassy to help develop and foster these important developmental steps in your little one’s life.

Five Advantages of the Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat

This month, we are dedicating our posts to Sassy’s spectacular new Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat by Sassy. Last week, we focused on the basic safety, versatility and ease benefits that the Inspire the Senses™ Developmental Playmat by Sassy offers. In this post, we’ll focus on why the unique arch structure of the playmat is so cool and why Sassy Baby developed this totally new concept in arches.

As I mentioned last week, the arch is made up of three posts that insert into a green piece, creating a three structure rather than the standard two arch, four leg structure of most mats. This has five advantages:

Why Dr. Jen Loves the Inspire the Senses Developmental Playmat

We are dedicating a full month to the inspirational, sensationally new Inspire the Senses™ Developmental Playmat by Sassy! This is a first on the One Sassy Doctor site, simply because there is so very much to dive into!

One Sassy Doctor loves the new Inspire the Senses™ Developmental Playmat by Sassy for so many reasons – enough so that we’re devoting eight postings to it!

As you know, there is a real mom of four/pediatrician behind One Sassy Doctor and anything and everything you read on this site is genuine.

To kick off the month, I’ll start by talking about the first reasons I love this playmat by Sassy - It is safe, versatile and easy!

Developmental Insight into the All-New Soft Set Toys: Object Permanence

Last week, I talked about the benefits of Sassy’s new soft set toys.This week, I will spend some time discussing the developmental concept of object permanence. As your baby grows and develops, she will begin to understand that objects continue to exist, even when she cannot see them! Object permanence emerges in babies around 8 months of age. (Fun fact- the concept was coined by psychologist Jean Piaget.) In this post, I’ll discuss a couple of ways to help your baby develop object permanence.

Why One Sassy Doctor Loves the All-New Soft Set Toys

In the last few posts, we have mentioned some of the new toys Sassy has created to help your child grow and develop. One Sassy Doctor predicts this new line of toys will be the new GENERATION of baby toys. Sassy GRANDCHILDREN (I predict) will be playing with this line! Why? Because they are DEVELOPMENTALLY BORN – started with pages and pages of developmental insights as a start and then the vision turned over to design & production. The heart and spirit of Sassy is about development… and that brings One Sassy Doctor to mailing a letter (not such a Sassy writing transition there!!)


The Grow Up Golf Set, Feed ‘em Up Fill n’ Dump, and My Own Mail toy sets were designed with elements of tactile development, color contrast and many familiar developmental features baby will enjoy. What makes these special are the imitation and modeling attributes, a developmental feature we will explore further in our next posting.


Grow Up Golf Set: Not a golfer yet, I love this golf set. Even though a day at the golf course is not something everyone partakes in, golf is a sport that your little one will probably be exposed to. As your baby gets older, it lets them pretend to be like Mom, Dad or a favorite golfer! The set is soft and made up of bright colors, designed for your baby to differentiate. I also love the different textures . And of course, I am always a proponent of toys you can bring on the go. The golf set has a carry-around handle that makes transporting it everywhere easy!

Developmental Insight on the All-New Loopy Ball and Bumpy Ball: Exploring Textures

We’ve already told you all about the All-New Loopy Ball and Bumpy Ball. There were endless developmental topics to choose in expanding upon what One Sassy Doctor affectionately calls “loopy and bumpy” – and we chose: Exploring textures.

Ahhhh the smell and sensation of smooth baby skin. We grown-ups get a lot out of the sense of touching our smooth and delicious babies, and baby gets comfort and developmental promotion in return.

When Does A Baby Start To Explore Textures?
Babies are exposed to endless textures and sensations starting from the time they are in the womb. As baby enters the world into the delivery room, for example, they go from wet and warm momma tummy to cold bright room to warm soft towel. The process has begun! As baby grows, more and more textures and sensations enter the context of daily living. Each of these new magical sensations promotes sensory and tactile (touch) development – and the more the better!

Why One Sassy Doctor Loves the All-New Loopy Ball and Bumpy Ball

As I mentioned in earlier posts this month, when it comes to recommendations and advice on product, know these reviews are genuine – coming from a real mom and real pediatrician.

As your baby grows, his sense of smell, sight, taste and touch are developing magically and FAST. This period of time in the life span is the maximum momentum of development (aka – it’s all downhill from baby time, moms!). As we discuss regularly on this blog, it is important to introduce your baby to new sensory stimuli during his development at every opportunity and setting that may present.

The Loopy Ball and Bumpy Ball are absolutely perfect products to foster hand-motor coordination, visual development and tactile sensory stimulation.

Developmental Insight on the All-New Terry Teethers: Teething

As we mentioned last week, teething can be a tough time for both mom and baby. In this post, we discuss teething symptoms, so you can be ready for this stage in your baby’s life. Sometimes, you might not recognize that your little one is teething until you feel or see a tooth! However, if you can recognize teething symptoms early, you can be ready to help your baby ease the pain.

When your baby’s first little pearly white breaks through the gums, it can be uncomfortable or even painful. It usually begins when your baby is about 6 months old. As with many developmental phases, do not be concerned if your baby begins teething before or after the 6-month mark.. Again, it is important to understand what your baby is going through.

Here are 5 symptoms to help you determine if your baby is teething:

Why One Sassy Doctor Loves the All-New Terry Teethers

Before we start this month of product reviews on the One Sassy Doctor blog - a reminder for all of our readers: One Sassy Doctor (me, Dr. Jen®) is a real mom (of two sets of twins) and a real pediatrician. Everything you read on this blog is genuine. So when you read that I XOXO something here, it’s coming from years of experience as a pediatrician and mom.

Teething can be a challenging time for baby and parents! At around 3 to 6 months, your baby will most likely begin the teething process. In this post, we will discuss the benefits of the all-new Terry Teethers and why this unique, innovative and simply SASSY concept is One Sassy Doctor’s absolute favorite teething idea around. Next week, we will explain how to recognize teething signs, and the symptoms of teething.

How to Teach Your Baby Math Concepts

In our last post, we talked about why it’s important to teach your baby math. As promised, we’ll give you some tangible ideas and activities to start teaching your baby concepts! Don’t worry, it’s nothing too tricky. Here, I’ll give you three concepts, and three very easy ways to bring them to life.

Observation
Help your baby begin to learn the ability to focus and grasp the essence of an object. Keep it simple! The possibilities are endless! Your child may not have the answer yet, but you can answer as both verbal and math skills are fostered together. Try these Sassy questions as starters!

• What color is that house?
• How many legs does that dog have?
• How many plates are on the dinner table? How many prongs does this fork have?

Exposure to Numbers at a Young Age, Why?

OK, I’ll admit it, I am a math geek. And my sassy momma (One Sassy Grandma) may have something to do with it…

Exposing your children to math concepts and numbers at a young age is a great way to give them a jump start. Don’t worry, we know your tot is young, but it’s never too early to start exposing them to math. In this post, we’ll talk about why math concepts are important for your little one. In our next post, we’ll provide some great ideas and activities to help you get started.

Childcare Transition

Transitioning to childcare could be difficult for young ones- especially if you have been your child’s primary caregiver previously. Going to a new location, or having a new person in your home can be challenging for a baby. Here are some sassy tips to ease the transition to childcare.

Take A Trip! 
One of the best ways to transition smoothly to childcare is by having your child visit the facility prior to attending. Let him meet the caregivers and other children, this will comfort your child when the time comes to start fulltime childcare. Be careful to not push your little one to interact with the others. He may not be ready to play with the other tots. Surprise is not the way to go in One Sassy Doctor’s opinion. We did field trips galore with every new step (day care, nursery school, kindergarten).

Safety Checklist for Childcare

During this month’s series on back to school for toddler and babies, we have to think about child care options for the working parent who is not home all day.

When you’re looking for a childcare provider or facility for your little one, it is number one that you feel COMFORTABLE. Mom knows best (or dad!) - your heart has to feel right, and trust those voices inside if something doesn’t feel right. Having peace of mind that your little one is being safely cared for is invaluable. When you are looking for providers, be sure to check or ask for each of these items:

• A center that is licensed and inspected for health and cleanliness
• Clean, age-appropriate toys that are in fair condition
• Safe sleep environments
• Separate and clean diapering area
• Covered electrical outlets

Activities for When Big Brother and Sister Are at School

This month, we’re focusing on how to help your little ones when big brother and sister go back to school. While your older kids are off at school, help your babies explore and learn at home. Here are some fun, easy and cheap at-home activities to try!

Color
As I mentioned earlier, let your little one choose some safe and inexpensive school supplies when you’re doing back-to-school shopping for your older kids. If your little one is ready for it, crayons are a great choice. These days, there are lots of varieties; some with easy-grip for toddlers. Let your child be creative with the crayons (or finger paint: on paper, not the walls!). I’m a big proponent of using blank paper, not coloring books to really let their creativity bloom. Talk to them about colors and shapes.

What to Do When Big Sibling Goes Back to School

For Sassy September, we’re focusing on the baby and toddler side of “back-to-school”! You may ask, “why think about back to school for babies and toddlers?” Well, we are going to show you in our next 8 posts!

Our first post focuses on an important topic that many parents with older kiddos face: What happens when older siblings go to school and how may this impact baby or toddler?

When a big sibling starts school for the first time, or goes back to school after a long summer, your younger child might struggle with the adjustment. Suddenly, big sis or bro isn’t around during the day. It’s important to help your little one to make this transition as smooth as possible. Here are Dr. Jen’s Sassy tips to help your tots!

Day Trip Packing Tips—Part II

In our postings, we explored day trip packing tips for a trip to the zoo. Today we’ll venture off to the pool or beach with your tots! Whoo hoo!

1. Water bottle - filled (freeze half full and then fill to the top) 
2. Basic first aid kit
3. Camera 
4. Hand sanitizer 
5. Beach towels 
6. Snacks! 
7. Hat- keep the sun from beating down on your head! 
8. Sunglasses 
9. Sunscreen- this is important! Remember to reapply often. There’s nothing worse than a painful sunburn. 

Day Trip Packing Tips—Part I

In our last few postings, we explored healthy and fun snack ideas for families to make & enjoy together so take them along on your day trips! In our next two postings, we will explore day trip packing tips. Today is all about taking a day trip to the zoo or amusement park.

When you're heading off for a full day of fun at the zoo or park, you must be prepared! You'll be walking a lot in the bright sun. You don't want to forget any essentials and have to cut your day short. And we don't have to tell you what happens if you forget snacks...

Sassy Toddler and Big Sibling Art With Fruits and Veggies

Summer is the perfect time to be creative with your children. I love to get artistic with fruit and veggies to get those healthy juices flowing both in the mouth and the brain! Food art not only improves hand-eye coordination, it's a great opportunity to discuss different shapes and colors. My kids love it, because it's not often I let them "play" with their food! Here's the recipe to a fun food-art session.

Healthy, Fun Snack Ideas

Parent, baby & toddler summers are usually busy, busy, busy! Between summer strolls, a big sibling’s soccer game, water fun and simply enjoying family time in bright & awesome weather. Preparing for those long days of summer means we have our work cut out for us. Make your life a little easier with these fun and healthy snack ideas. They are perfect for busy and sassy families on the go.

Sassy Color Pops

One thing borrowed, one thing blue, one thing FROZEN for me and for you (familiar?). In our continuing series on healthy fun snacks that you can make and enjoy with your little one, we introduce Sassy color pops – a way to:

1. Encourage fruity fun even for little ones just starting to enjoy pureed fruits
2. Learn about colors  
3. Learn about the magic of texture and temperature – the room temperature blueberries mix with the cold yogurt and then become SUPER COLD in the freezer.  
4. Buy some wooden popsicle sticks or use plastic reusable ones  
5. Get an ice cube tray, popsicle mold or a small paper cup 
6. Pick out your fruit combo with your little one, thinking about the colors you’ll end up with. Bananas mix well with just about any fruit (mango, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries) and are simple DELISH frozen  

Sassy Kabobs and Sassy Chachos

Back to healthy & fun snacking with your toddler! We explored cereal necklaces and our sassy version of pizza, now we’re giving two ideas for fun activity based healthy snacks! Healthy food projects you can do with your little one create opportunities for healthy modeling, physical development and bonding. Getting your little one in the kitchen and part of the preparation process is a great way to start healthy eating habits. So, here we go with Dr. Jen’s SASSYKABOBS and SASSYCHACHOS! As always, follow our food safety tips and make sure to accommodate any allergies or special needs your child may have!

Sassy Pizzalicious Pizza

Welcome back to our series on healthy and fun snacking for toddler & family to enjoy. We covered healthy carb necklaces in our last post. Remember, our Sassy Suggestion is for a balanced colorful plate—so go ahead and switch these projects up—and we’d love to hear more about what you do on Facebook or Twitter.

As always, follow our food safety tips and make sure to accommodate any allergies or special needs your child may have!

Today we’ll focus on two super-sonic fun toddler foods that include various food groups:

Twist It Up Cereal Jewelry

In the next five posts, we’re going to explore cute, fun and healthy snacks for the family to make and enjoy together. Remember, our Sassy Suggestion is for a balanced colorful plate, so go ahead and switch these up, and we’d love to hear more about what you do on Facebook or Twitter.

As always, follow our food safety tips and make sure to accommodate any allergies or special needs your child may have!

Today we’ll focus on a super cool snack & some education about whole grains!

Dogs & Pups—Safety in Summer Time

There are close to 5 million dog bites each year in the United States (!!!!) with 800,000 requiring medical care; half of those are children. Dog bites are most frequent in summer months, likely because children are outdoors more often and playing in environments where dogs are present (parks, beaches, etc). Also, dogs themselves can have moods—and hot weather may lead to increased agitation and aggression, So, however cute and adorable doggies are, there are also important safety considerations—and summer is a great time for us to explore safety around doggies on the One Sassy Doctor blog. Here are some interesting facts and tips!

Realities of Water Safety

Water is fun! There’s a whole lot of developmental exploration and play that takes place in a bathtub or swimming pool. As we all know, however, water and safety are two words that go back to back.
As we’d expect, babies who are under 12 months of age are most likely to drown in a bathtub, toilet or a bucket. Babies can drown in just a teeny bit of water and can happen in seconds.

Drowning is the second cause of unintentional injury-related death among children between the ages of 1 and 14 (2005-U.S. Centers for Disease Control). In 2005, drowning accounted for 30% of unintentional deaths in children ages 1 to 4 years old. In University of Chicago economist Dr. Steven Levitt’s book “Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything”, the professor says that children are 100 times more likely to die in a given year from swimming pool accidents than gun accidents.

How to Protect Babies from Overheating

Over-bundled babies concern me more than babies who may be a little bit “chilly”—overheating can lead to unnecessary fever evaluations (checking blood, urine and spinal fluid) because of elevated body temperature as well as serious medical issues. In fact, over bundling and excessive overheating is a risk factor for unexpected infant death. Summer is a time to think about the appropriate amount of clothing for babies and toddlers.

Signs of Overheating in Babies & Toddlers

Summer is a time to learn the signs of overheating (also known as heat stroke). It doesn't take much to offset overheating, and it’s an important issue for parents to be aware of. Heat-related illness results in many children being admitted to emergency departments each year and also is a cause of infant and child mortality. This can happen in babies, toddlers and parents—and the symptoms are actually quite similar. In our next post we will explore some easy ways to avoid overheating—today we will share some tips on recognizing overheating or heat stroke:

How to Choose and Use Sunscreen

When my now 5 and 9 year old twins were young, sun screen before 6 months was a huge no-no —now the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending sunscreen for infants under 6 months because the risk of skin cancer outweighs the concern over possible irritation of the skin. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics:

“For babies younger than 6 months, use sunscreen on small areas of the body, such as the face and the backs of the hands, if protective clothing and shade are not available”

Sun Protection in Infants & Toddlers—Practical Aspects

Here are eight Sassy suggestions for keeping infants and toddlers protected from the sun. If you do them all, your baby will be protected, and may also look like James Bond (think sunglasses, hat, and covered clothes…you get the picture):

1. Be shady! Summer time is all about the pool, the beach, and outings at the park—always be conscious of sun exposure and seek out shady areas when possible. If at the beach, assure there is an umbrella or other safe cover to shade baby. As we talked about in our last posting, baby skin needs protection from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays whenever outside.

Sun Protection in Infants & Toddlers—The Evidence: Part Two

In our last posting, we began to explore the landmark 2011 article by Dr. Amy Paller published in the journal Pediatrics: "New Insights About Infant and Toddler Skin: Implications for Sun Protection". Today, we’ll explore the three common negative effects of sun exposure.

We all know sunburns hurt, but what really happens to the skin itself and why is sun exposure harmful. Is skin cancer the only negative consequence of sun exposure? Before we go back to Dr. Paller’s article, let’s explore what Ultra Violet Radiation is all about:

Sun Protection in Infants & Toddlers—The Evidence: Part One

It is widely known that sun exposure is closely linked to skin cancer in adults. What about babies and toddlers? With information being relayed to parents about the importance of sun exposure for small babies with elevated bilirubin, and for the Vitamin D required for healthy growing bones, it can be confusing. How much sun is healthy and okay? What are the true risks of sun exposure in young children?

In the next two postings on One Sassy Doctor, we’ll review the fantastic research article from the 2011 Dr. Amy Paller published in the journal Pediatrics: "New Insights About Infant and Toddler Skin: Implications for Sun Protection." There is tremendous evidence support from research linking excessive sun exposure in the baby and toddler years to skin cancer later in life. Some interesting facts:

Healthy Bodies—On the Go!

Positive Modeling & Promotion of Healthy Bodies – A Four Part Series with Pediatric Obesity Specialist Dr. Dyan Hes

Part Four—On the Go!

We’ve so enjoyed our series with Dr. Dyan Hes; we learned about activity, portion control and the basics of preventive approaches to keep kids and families healthy. For our final installment (unless Dr. Hes agrees to come back again!), we’ll cover the challenge of how to maintain modeling and provide healthy options while on the go. We know Sassy families are hopping and bopping a lot!

Healthy Bodies—Stay Active!

Positive Modeling & Promotion of Healthy Bodies – A Four Part Series with Pediatric Obesity Specialist Dr. Dyan Hes

Part Three—Stay Active!

In our last installment of this four part series with Dr. Dyan Hes, we learned about portion control and how to model this for children starting from the time they are babies. Today, we’ll focus on being active!

Dr. Jen: Parenting is so... tiring! Dr. Hes, how do you suggest parents of young children model exercise and even get kids moving the appropriate amount?

Healthy Bodies—Portions!

Positive Modeling & Promotion of Healthy Bodies – A Four Part Series with Pediatric Obesity Specialist Dr. Dyan Hes

Part Two—Portions!

In the first installment of this four part series with Dr. Dyan Hes, we learned what being a pediatric obesity specialist was all about and the sensitive, positive, preventive approach that’s most effective. Today, we’ll focus on portion control.

Healthy Bodies—Choosing Language & Setting the Tone

A Four Part Series with Pediatric Obesity Specialist Dr. Dyan Hes

Part One—Choosing Language & Setting the Tone

For this exciting four part series, One Sassy Doctor had the opportunity to interview one of a select few of certified pediatric obesity specialists in the country. Dyan Hes, MD is board certified in both pediatrics and obesity medicine and a member of the inaugural American Board of Obesity Medicine. You can learn more about Dr. Hes by visiting her website.

Dr. Jen: Dr. Hes, thank you so much for spending time with us on the One Sassy Doctor blog. We’re all about healthy, happy, playful (and Sassy) babies, toddlers and families and are excited to learn from you. What does it mean to be a specialist in Pediatric Obesity and what got you interested in this field?

3 Main Emotional Components of Transitional Objects

In our last three posts, we explored the psychology behind transitional or comfort objects and learned quite a bit about Dr. Winnicott, a pretty cool (and sassy!) pediatrician and psychotherapist who researched this topic in the 1950s. In our last posting in this series, we’ll explore the three main emotional components to this amazing phenomenon. This is only a summary; and a very general overview of what is actually truly fascinating and deep psychological aspects of development—we learned a lot in reading these materials and plan to include what we’ve learned here in the Sassy Baby toy development stages. Let's explore why babies use transitional comfort objects: