Cloudy with a Risk of Children

Sleep is as natural to the human condition as breathing — and just as critical.  Without it, we wouldn’t survive. Despite that, sleep often doesn’t always come naturally, especially as we get older. But one would thing it should come naturally when we’re young.  And it does, of course.   But dealing with the seemingly random and choppy sleeping patterns of newborns can drive parents to distraction...

Raising children to be healthy eaters is a major focus for parents.  One of the most common questions pediatricians field from parents is "What can I do about my child's picky eating?" In this episode we interview Anne Blocker, a dietician and the Executive Director of the Ellyn Satter Institute ( https://www.ellynsatterinstitute.org/ ), an organization dedicated to fostering healthy attitudes and...

Losing a child is every parent's worst nightmare.  On today's show we tackle that topic head on as we interview a mom, Cheryl, who lost her little daughter Emma to cancer. Cheryl shares Emma's — and her family's — journey through her illness.  She shares the shock of diagnosis; the details of Emma's medical journey and her passing; what little Emma was like; how her family survived her departure;...

Lisa Dixon-Wells is a former champion swimmer and Founder of Dare to Care, Canada's leading anti-bullying organization. Bullying is as old as the human race itself.  Social media, however, has amplified this age-old scourge beyond anything we've ever witnessed — especially for our youth.   With Lisa's help, we explore the definition and roots of bullying; the impact of social media; bullying in sc...

Imagine a world without kids – or at least one with far fewer of them. Darrell Bricker, co-author of Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline, joins the podcast to discuss the profound demographic shift sweeping the globe — a seismic change that will leave us with a much greyer world populated by significantly less children. Fifty years ago, 3.5 billion humans populated the planet; and...

So far on this show we've covered issues that are obviously pertinent to children's health — issues like the role of fever, the use of antibiotics, and the risks of cannabis use.    In this episode we discuss the importance of financial literacy for kids, which may not seem as relevant to children's health — but in fact is hugely important.     Kids who understand from an early age that money is a...

Is the pot of today the same as the pot of yesterday? Is cannabis actually toxic?  And if so, in what way? Is vaping or eating pot safer than smoking it? Is pot a so-called "gateway drug"? Cannabis has been legal for adults in Canada for almost five years — what have been the implications of that for teens? As a parent, how should you deal with a teen who is struggling with cannabis overuse or add...

Antibiotics are unquestionably one of the greatest gifts ever bestowed on mankind; and they are a key reason why humans live as long as we do in the present day.   But have we abused this gift?  Are we at risk of losing this astonishing tool?  Join us as we discuss penicillin, probiotics, prescribing, and "poop pills".   ----- A full transcript of today’s episode can be found at riskofkids.substac...

Join us as we take a close look at the hot topic of fever in children. We demystify the fever response, and peel back the layers of parental worry that have sprung up around this important — and natural — response to infection.   We ask:  Why do kids make a fever?   Can a fever go too high? When should parents worry about a fever?  Should they ever worry? What about fever, or febrile, seizures? An...

Having kids is awesome, but raising them is challenging and filled with ups and downs. Sometimes the downs threaten to drown out the ups. In short, having kids is risky. We get it: we're parents too; but we're also pediatric emergency doctors. We have unique insight into risks, and how to keep them in perspective. Welcome to Cloudy With A Risk Of Children. Join Dr. Ed — that's me! — and my co-host...