Free Developmental Screening

Dear Parents,

Our Children's House at Baylor will be at "It's a Sensory World" ( 13617 Neutron Rd. Dallas, TX 75244) on 31st May 2008 to conduct free developmental screenings for children Ages 6 months to 6 years.

This screening is absolutely free and neither Baylor nor "It's a Sensory World" will charge any fee. There is also no obligation to sign up for services with either organization.

Early detection and treatment of developmental delays is extremely important. Teachers, parents and therapists alike often feel that they could have optimized a child's rehabilitation if only they had started treatment earlier. Many parents also worry about whether anything is "wrong" with their child when they have quirky behaviors or are just not at the level developmentally as their neighbor's child.

This is the perfect opportunity for parents to get their doubts put to rest or have their concerns confirmed, and thus focus on the treatment process.

If you have any questions about this event, please call (972) 239-8100.



Deborah Bain, MD

The Omega 3 marketing deception

More and more, people are realizing the importance of Omega 3 essential fatty acids in maintaining optimal health. And that's a good thing, right? Well, sort of. The problem is, the consumer knows just enough about the benefits of omega 3 fats to make him an easy target for the food industry's marketing strategies. You may have noticed more and more products containing omega 3 EFA are lining the shelves in the grocery store. You may have also wondered if those products are worth buying. Here is an excellent article from the mercola website that clears up this confusion.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/10/20/beware-of-misleading-omega-3-claims.aspx

Stress is everywhere

As I was reflecting on the events of the week, I realized just how easily stress can creep into our lives. It is so easy for the everyday things we do to pile up and become a source of chronic stress. You may not notice it at first, but the little things we do like laundry, dishes, supervising our kid's homework, cooking dinner, getting kids to bed, grocery shopping, meeting deadlines, not to mention the every day pressures of our careers, become the source of our stress. We often pride ourselves on being such good "multi-taskers." The problem is, we often loose sight of our own needs while putting everyone else's needs before our own. Frankly, ladies, it is just in our nature. I am here to tell you that pressures will always be there. Our in-baskets will never be completely empty. We need to find ways to achieve balance in our lives, not just become better jugglers. This is breast cancer awareness month. I cannot help but be disturbed by the latest statistics stating that 1 in 7 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetimes. I am one of those statistics, and am now a breast cancer survivor. As we all buy our breast cancer awareness t -shirts, mugs, and jewelry to support "finding a cure," shouldn't we be asking ourselves what we can do to prevent cancer from developing in the first place? Does your lifestyle promote health or illness? Can you relate to being overworked and stressed, and to not having any time for yourself? You could make some basic foundational changes in your diet or lifestyle that will add years to your life such as exercising 4-5 times/week or choosing to eat healthier. So what’s stopping you?I know I am able to get through stressful weeks so much better than I used to by continually feeding my body what it needs through good nutrition and supplements. I have a hard time finding time to work out, but I always feel better when I do. A final point to ponder: How can we expect to be there for our kids tomorrow if we do not take care of ourselves today? The best legacy we can leave for our kids is showing them how to live a lifestyle that promotes health. What legacy are you going to leave?


To your health,
Deborah Z. Bain, MD

The Very First HKP blog

The first blog is probably the hardest one to write. I guess I can start with why I am so passionate about what I do at Healthy Kids Pediatrics. I think the name of my practice says a lot. Many of you do not know that my son, Chris, actually helped to name my practice as we were brainstorming at the Rough Rider Baseball game one Saturday night. I still have the notebook that I used to jot down all my ideas about what I wanted to create in a practice.

I became so frustrated with issuing prescriptions for this and that, without really affecting the child's overall health and wellbeing. Well checkups seemed to be more about the shots at the end, then about teaching parents about nutrition and how to keep their child well. Pediatrics has changed since I started practicing 11 years ago. It seems like we do more to put bandaids on diseases then we do to cure them. We offer more drugs and procedures then we offer ways to restore one's health.

I wanted to make a stand in my own community for the wellbeing of children in ways that I felt I could not do in my previous practice. I wanted to bring a wellness model of medicine to Frisco, one that teaches parents how to get their families on the right track by addressing issues such as nutrition, exercise, and achieving balance. I have a very strong nutrition message. Why?

Because kids are growing up not knowing what is healthy and what is not. I am a mom too, and I know first hand how hard it has become to feed our kids a fast healthy meal and still have time to help with homework, play, get baths done, have any time for your spouse or significant other. Oh, did I mention time for yourself too?

I have brought practical parenting to the forefront of my checkups and have created a simplistic guide to nutrition for kids and parents. Our incredibly processed food diets, devoid of nutrition, but chalked full of calories is a major contributor to the scarey trends I see in children's health such as the increase in diabetes, obesity, ADHD, and behavior problems. I am here to make a lasting difference in these kids lives, not by giving them medicines for everything, but by teaching them and thereby empowering them to take control of their health through lifestyle changes that embrace health and wellness, not disease.