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:

Transitional Objects—Uses

In our last two posts, we explored the origination of the term “transitional object” and some of the foundations of Dr. Winnicott’s research. As a refresher, transitional objects (also referred to today as comfort objects) are those special items babies and toddlers (and some grown-ups!) associate special meaning with.

In learning more about the research and writings of Dr. Winnicott, we learned that it is the use of the object that he focused on rather than what the object actually was. In other words, some children have a pacifier, some a blankie, some a soft toy—yet most use these self soothing capacities in a similar manner. We also learned the connection between the transitional object and the mother's breast stressing the smells and textures babies gravitate to.

Transitional Objects - What & Why?

In our last post, we learned where the phrase “transitional objects” originated, and a little bit about Dr. Winnicott, the pediatrician/psychoanalyst who coined the phrase in the 1950s. As a refresher, a transitional object is a material object such as a blanket or soft toy that a baby or child associates a special connection.

Dr. Winnicott studied babies between the ages of four and twelve months and noted that these babies would often become attached to an object to which they associated “primordial” significance. Primordal means “characteristic of the earliest stage of development”. The babies would manually manipulate or stroke, suck or otherwise self soothe with the object. These objects were also very commonly a necessary object for a child to fall asleep. As an aside (a One Sassy Doctor safety disclaimer) this was the 1950s; when safe sleep research and the understanding about soft toys and bedding hadn’t originated.