Children's Health
Learn about children's health
Children grow and change so quickly. Our Growth and Development topics can tell you what to expect at each stage of childhood. And our health topics can help you care for them when they're sick.
You can find information you need to keep your child healthy and thriving in topics such as:
- Abdominal Pain, Age 11 and Younger
- Abuse: Signs of Abuse-Related Injuries
- Acetaminophen Use in Young Children
- ADHD and Hyperactivity
- ADHD Myths and Facts
- ADHD: Impulsivity and Inattention
- ADHD: Social Skills Training
- ADHD: Taking Care of Yourself When Your Child Has ADHD
- ADHD: Tests for Other Disorders
- Adolescent Sensory and Motor Development
- Aggression in Youth
- Alcohol Effects on a Fetus
- Amblyopia
- Ashkenazi Jewish Genetic Panel (AJGP)
- Asthma Action Plan: Green Zone
- Asthma Action Plan: Red Zone
- Asthma Action Plan: Yellow Zone
- Asthma in Children
- Asthma in Children: Knowing How Bad an Attack Is
- Asthma: Educating Yourself and Your Child
- Asthma: Overuse of Quick-Relief Medicines
- Asthma: Peak Expiratory Flow and Personal Best
- Asthma's Impact on Your Child's Life
- Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Autism and Vaccines
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Autism: Behavioral Training and Management
- Babies and Older Adults Have an Increased Risk of Cold Injury
- Back Pain in Children and Teenagers
- Barking Coughs in Children
- Basic Dental Care
- Bed-Wetting in Children
- Behavior Rating Scales for ADHD
- Behavior Therapy for ADHD
- Bipolar Disorder in Children and Teens
- Bipolar Disorder in Children: Other Health Problems That May Occur
- Bipolar Disorder in Children: School Issues
- Biting
- Brace (Orthotic) Treatment for Scoliosis
- Breath-Holding Spells
- Breath-Holding Spells: Keeping a Record
- Bronchiolitis
- Brushing and Flossing a Child's Teeth
- Bullying
- Bullying: Building a Child's Self-Esteem
- Bullying: How to Help Your Child Who Bullies
- Bullying: Signs a Child Is Bullied
- Cancer Treatment and Infertility
- Cerebral Palsy
- Chickenpox (Varicella)
- Chickenpox: Preventing Skin Infections
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- Child Abuse: Emotional Abuse by Parents
- Child Car Seats
- Child Safety: Air Pollution
- Child Safety: Bicycles and Tricycles
- Child Safety: Drowning Prevention in Pools and Hot Tubs
- Child Safety: Guns and Firearms
- Child Safety: Pets
- Child Safety: Preventing Burns
- Child Safety: Preventing Child Abduction
- Child Safety: Preventing Drowning
- Child Safety: Preventing Falls
- Child Safety: Streets and Motor Vehicles
- Child Safety: Strollers and Shopping Carts
- Child Safety: Washing Toys to Prevent Germs
- Child Who Is Overweight: Evaluating Nutrition and Activity Patterns
- Child Who Is Overweight: Medical Evaluation
- Childhood Fears and Exposure to Violence
- Childhood Immunization Record
- Childhood Immunization Schedule: Ages 0 to 6 Years
- Childhood Immunization Schedule: Ages 7 to 18 Years
- Children's Growth Chart
- Choking Prevention in Small Children
- Choking Rescue Procedure: Heimlich Maneuver
- Cholesterol in Children and Teens
- Choosing Child Care
- Cleaning Your Young Son's Natural (Uncircumcised) Penis
- Cleft Lip
- Cleft Palate
- Cognitive Development From Age 6 to 10 Years
- Colds
- Comforting a Child Who Has a Respiratory Illness
- Common Types of Birthmarks
- Comparing Symptoms of Normal Moodiness With Depression in Children
- Complications of Ear Infections
- Conditions Related to Dyslexia
- Conditions With Symptoms Similar to Depression in Children and Teens
- Congenital Heart Defects in Children
- Congenital Heart Defects: Caring for Your Child
- Congenital Hydrocephalus
- Congenital Syphilis
- Constipation in Children
- Constipation, Age 11 and Younger
- Corporal Punishment
- Cough Symptoms in Children
- Coughs, Age 11 and Younger
- Crib Safety
- Croup
- Crying Child and Possible Abuse
- Crying Child That Is Not Acting Normally
- Crying: Tired or Overstimulated
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Daytime Accidental Wetting (Diurnal Enuresis)
- Dealing With Emergencies
- Dehydration: Drinking Enough Fluids (Babies and Young Children)
- Dental Care: 3 Years to 6 Years
- Dental Care: 6 Years to 16 Years
- Dental Checkups for Children and Adults
- Dental Sealants
- Depression in Children and Teens
- Diabetes in Children: Care Plan for School or Day Care
- Diabetes in Children: Food Issues at School
- Diabetes: High or Low Blood Sugar in Young Children
- Diarrhea, Age 11 and Younger
- Differences Between ADHD and Bipolar Disorder in Children
- Disc Battery in the Nose
- Down Syndrome
- Down Syndrome, Ages 1 to 5
- Down Syndrome, Ages 5 to 13
- Down Syndrome: Helping Your Child Avoid Social Problems
- Down Syndrome: Helping Your Child Dress Independently
- Down Syndrome: Helping Your Child Eat Independently
- Down Syndrome: Helping Your Child Learn to Communicate
- Down Syndrome: Helping Your Child Learn to Walk and Use Other Motor Skills
- Down Syndrome: Training and Therapy for Young People
- DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis) Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Dyslexia
- Ear Infections
- Ear Problems and Injuries, Age 11 and Younger
- Early Treatment for Malocclusion
- Educational Rights for Children With Disabilities
- Effective Parenting: Discipline
- Egocentric and Magical Thinking
- Emotional and Social Development From Age 6 to 10 Years
- Emotional and Social Development, Ages 11 to 14 Years
- Emotional Development, Ages 2 to 5 Years
- Encouraging Language Development in Your Preschooler
- Energy and Sports Drinks
- Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68)
- Epilepsy: Atonic Seizures
- Epilepsy: Tonic Seizures
- Establishing Limits With Your School-Age Child
- Extracting Teeth for Malocclusion Treatment
- Eye and Vision Tests for Children and Teens
- Family Life Cycle
- Family Therapy for Depression in Children
- FDA Advisories for Antidepressants
- Fever or Chills, Age 11 and Younger
- Fever or Chills, Age 12 and Older
- Fever Seizures
- Fever Temperatures: Accuracy and Comparison
- Fifth Disease
- Fitness: Getting and Staying Active
- Fluoride During Childhood
- Gastroesophageal Reflux in Babies and Children
- Genital Warts (Human Papillomavirus)
- Getting Enough Calcium and Vitamin D
- Goniotomy for Congenital Glaucoma
- Grief: Helping Children Understand
- Groin Pain
- Growing Pains
- Growth and Development Milestones
- Growth and Development, Ages 11 to 14 Years
- Growth and Development, Ages 2 to 5 Years
- Growth and Development, Ages 6 to 10 Years
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease
- Head Injuries in Children: Problems to Watch For
- Headaches in Children
- Health and Safety, Ages 2 to 5 Years
- Health Screening: Finding Health Problems Early
- Healthy Attitudes Toward Food and Exercise
- Healthy Eating for Children
- Healthy Eating in Children: Problems Caused by Poor Nutrition
- Healthy Eating in Children: Things That Influence Food Choices
- Healthy Habits for Kids
- Hearing Loss in Children, Age 4 Years and Older
- Heat Rash
- Heatstroke Prevention: What to Wear
- Help Your School-Age Child Develop Social Skills
- Helping Adolescents Develop More Mature Ways of Thinking
- Helping Children During Immunizations
- Helping Children With Disabilities Stay Active
- Helping Kids Handle Peer Pressure
- Helping Your Child Avoid Tobacco, Drugs, and Alcohol
- Helping Your Child Build a Healthy Body Image
- Helping Your Child Build Inner Strength
- Helping Your Child Transition Into Middle School or Junior High
- Helping Your Child Who Is Overweight
- Helping Your School-Age Child Learn About the Body
- High and Low Blood Sugar Level Record for a Child
- High Blood Pressure in Children
- Hip Injuries, Age 11 and Younger
- Hip Problems, Age 11 and Younger
- Hirschsprung's Disease
- HIV Treatment in Children
- How ADHD Affects Your Child
- How Asthma Develops in Children
- How Reading Helps Language Development
- HPV (Human Papillomavirus) Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Hypospadias
- Ibuprofen Use in Young Children
- Immunization Safety
- Immunization Schedules
- Immunizations That May Cause Fever
- Immunizations: Questions Parents Ask
- Impetigo
- Importance of Immunizations
- Interactive Tool: What Is Your Child's BMI?
- Intussusception
- Iron Toxicity
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Deciding About Total Joint Replacement
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Inflammatory Eye Disease
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Pain Management
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Range-of-Motion Exercises
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Stretching and Strengthening Exercises
- Kawasaki Disease
- Klinefelter Syndrome
- Language Development Between 12 and 24 Months of Age
- Language Development From Age 6 to 10 Years
- Lead Poisoning
- Learning Disabilities
- Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
- Little Leaguer's Elbow (Medial Apophysitis)
- Malocclusion and Orthodontics
- Measles (Rubeola)
- Media and Your Child: Making Choices
- Medical Checkups for Adolescents
- Medicines That May Cause Rashes in Children
- Menarche
- Meningitis
- Meningococcal ACWY Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Meningococcal B Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Milestones for 10-Year-Olds
- Milestones for 4-Year-Olds
- Milestones for 5-Year-Olds
- Milestones for 6-Year-Olds
- Milestones for 7-Year-Olds
- Milestones for 8-Year-Olds
- Milestones for 9-Year-Olds
- Milestones for Ages 11 to 14
- MMR Vaccine (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella): What You Need to Know
- MMRV Vaccine (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella): What You Need to Know
- Moisture Alarms for Bed-Wetting
- Molluscum Contagiosum
- Motivational Therapy for Bed-Wetting
- Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)
- Mumps
- Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
- Nausea and Vomiting, Age 11 and Younger
- Nephrotic Syndrome
- Nightmares and Other Sleep Problems in Children
- Nonverbal Learning Disorder
- Object Stuck in a Child's Airway
- Oral Rehydration Solutions for Children
- Orchiopexy for Undescended Testicle
- Orthopedic Surgery for Cerebral Palsy
- Osgood-Schlatter Disease
- Peanut Allergy
- Pediatric Preparation for Medical Tests
- Physical Activity for Children and Teens
- Physical Development From Age 6 to 10 Years
- Physical Development, Ages 11 to 14 Years
- Pinkeye (Conjunctivitis)
- Pityriasis Alba
- Pityriasis Rosea
- Playground Safety
- Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV13): What You Need to Know
- Polio Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Preparing Your Child for the Hospital
- Preschoolers: Building a Sense of Security
- Preschoolers: Building Self-Control
- Preschoolers: Building Social Skills
- Preschoolers: Encouraging Independence
- Preschoolers: Helping Your Child Explore
- Preventing Breath-Holding Spells in Children
- Preventing Children's Injuries From Sports and Other Activities
- Preventing Choking
- Preventing Poisoning in Young Children
- Preventing Tooth Decay in Young Children
- Procedural Sedation
- Protecting Your Child From Infections
- Protecting Your Skin From the Sun
- Puberty Issues
- Questions Your Doctor May Ask Before Prescribing Medicine for Depression in Children and Teens
- Quick Tips: Helping Children Take Medicine
- Quick Tips: Helping Your Child Stay Safe and Healthy
- Quick Tips: Safely Giving Over-the-Counter Medicines to Children
- Radial Head Subluxation
- Rash, Age 11 and Younger
- Recognizing and Developing Your Children's Special Talents
- Rectal Problems Caused by Abuse
- Recurrent Abdominal Pain (RAP)
- Recurrent Ear Infections and Persistent Effusion
- Regular Checkup for a Child
- Respiratory Problems, Age 11 and Younger
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection
- Reye Syndrome
- Roseola
- Rotavirus
- Rotavirus Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Safety Plan: Preparing to Leave a Violent Relationship
- Sample School Plan
- Scoliosis in Children and Teens
- Scrapes
- Screening for Hearing Problems
- Self-Esteem, Ages 6 to 10
- Sensory and Motor Development From Age 6 to 10 Years
- Sensory Processing Disorder
- Sexual Abuse: Signs and Symptoms
- Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Sibling Rivalry
- Sickle Cell Disease: Splenic Sequestration
- Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis
- Snack Ideas for Preschoolers
- Special Diets for Epilepsy
- Speech and Language Delays: Common Misconceptions
- Speech and Language Development
- Speech and Language Development: Red Flags
- Speech and Language Milestones, Ages 3 to 5 Years
- Speech Problems: Normal Disfluency
- Spina Bifida
- Spondylolysis and Spondylolisthesis
- Sponge Bath for a Child's Fever
- Staying Healthy Around Animals
- Staying Safe: After You Leave a Violent Relationship
- Staying Safe: If You Are in a Violent Relationship
- Steroid Medicine for Asthma: Myths and Facts
- Strabismus
- Stress in Children and Teens
- Stuttering
- Swallowed Button Disc Battery, Magnet, or Object With Lead
- Symptoms of Depression in Children
- Talking With Your Child About Sex
- Tay-Sachs Disease
- Td (Tetanus, Diphtheria) Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis) Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Temper Tantrums
- Temper Tantrums: Keeping a Record
- Thinking About Child Safety
- Thumb-Sucking
- Thumb-Sucking Versus Pacifier Use
- Tips for Parents of Children With Epilepsy
- Toilet Training
- Toilet Training: Knowing When Your Child Is Ready
- Tongue-Tie
- Tonsillectomy and Adenoidectomy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring
- Tonsillitis
- Tooth Development in Children
- Tourette's Disorder
- Tourette's Disorder: Tic Triggers
- Trabeculotomy for Congenital Glaucoma
- Treating Asthma in Babies and Younger Children
- Treatment for ACL Injuries in Children and Teens
- Treatment Plan Record for a Child With ADHD
- Tubes for Ear Infections
- Type 1 Diabetes in Children: Caring for Your Child
- Type 1 Diabetes in Children: Safe Exercise
- Type 1 Diabetes: Children Living With the Disease
- Type 1 Diabetes: Your Child's Role in Care
- Type 2 Diabetes in Children
- Type 2 Diabetes: Screening for Children
- Umbilical Hernia in Children
- Unproven Treatments for Autism
- Urinary Obstruction in Children
- Urinary Problems and Injuries, Age 11 and Younger
- Urinary Symptoms After an Injury in Children
- Urinary Tract Infections in Children
- Using Vaporizers and Humidifiers
- Vaccine Information Statements
- Varicella (Chickenpox) Vaccine: What You Need to Know
- Vesicoureteral Reflux (VUR)
- Violent Behavior in Children and Teens
- Vital Signs in Children
- Warning Signs of Suicide in Children and Teens
- Ways to Comfort a Baby in the Hospital
- Well-Child Visits
- Your Child and the Dentist
- Your Child's First Vaccines: What You Need to Know
- ADHD: Should My Child Take Medicine for ADHD?
- Bed-Wetting: Should I Do Something About My Child's Bed-Wetting?
- Bed-Wetting: Should My Child See a Doctor?
- Depression: Should My Child Take Medicine to Treat Depression?
- Ear Infection: Should I Give My Child Antibiotics?
- Ear Problems: Should My Child Be Treated for Fluid Buildup in the Middle Ear?
- HPV: Should My Child Get the Vaccine?
- Scoliosis: Should My Child Have Surgery?
- Tonsillitis: Should My Child Have a Tonsillectomy?
- Umbilical Hernia: Should My Child Have Surgery?
- ADHD: Helping Your Child Get the Most From School
- ADHD: Helping Your Child Get Things Done
- Allergies in Children: Giving an Epinephrine Shot to a Child
- Amblyopia: Wearing an Eye Patch
- Asthma in Children: Helping a Child Use a Metered-Dose Inhaler and Mask Spacer
- Asthma: Taking Charge of Your Asthma
- Chickenpox: Controlling the Itch
- Croup: Managing a Croup Attack
- Cystic Fibrosis: Helping Your Child Cough Up Mucus
- Diabetes in Children: Checking Blood Sugar in a Child
- Diabetes in Children: Counting Carbs
- Diabetes in Children: Giving Insulin Shots to a Child
- Diabetes in Children: Preparing a Care Plan for School
- Diabetes in Children: Preventing High Blood Sugar
- Diabetes in Children: Treating Low Blood Sugar
- Fitness: Teaching Your Child to Stay Active
- Grief: Helping Children With Grief
- Growth and Development: Helping Your Child Build Self-Esteem
- Healthy Eating: Helping Your Child Learn Healthy Eating Habits
- Sleep: Helping Your Children—and Yourself—Sleep Well
- Stress Management: Helping Your Child With Stress
- Thumb-Sucking: Helping Your Child Stop
Current as of: June 29, 2020
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine & Martin J. Gabica, MD - Family Medicine