Kids Health Info

Winter can be a tiring time of year and when multiple family members get sick at once, exhaustion levels can peak. While some illness is inevitable, especially when children are young and their immune systems are developing, there are steps you can take to prepare for the season ahead.   In this episode of the Kids Health Info Podcast, your host Dr Anthea Rhodes is joined by Infectious Disease Exp...

We know that parents want to keep their children as safe as they can at all times. But when it comes to traveling in the car, the law and the safety advice aren’t aligned, making it tough for parents to know what to do. In this bonus episode of the Kids Health Info Podcast, your host Dr Anthea Rhodes is joined by Trauma Specialist, Dr Warwick Teague, to discuss the choices that parents can make to...

A healthy night’s sleep is key to a child’s overall health and wellbeing, but what can parents do to help make that happen? In this bonus episode of the Kids Health Info Podcast, your host Dr Anthea Rhodes, paediatrician and Director of the National Child Health Poll chats to Dr Moya Vandeleur, respiratory and sleep paediatrician. Dr Moya offers advice for parents on how to create healthy sleep ha...

Finding the cause of pain in children and what to do about it can be one of the trickiest things for parents to manage. In this episode, Anthea is joined by Dr Nadine Sharples from the Emergency Department at The Royal Children's Hospital to share lots of practical advice on pain and pain relief in kids.  For more information RCH Kids Health Info fact sheet - pain relief for children Victorian Poi...

Hand, foot and mouth disease is one of those things that seems to always be "going around". In fact, it's one of our most asked about topics. In this episode, Lexi speaks with Dr Gabrielle Haeusler, an infectious diseases specialist, to understand the signs of HFMD and discuss some prevention and treatment strategies. Click here to read our RCH Kids Health Info fact sheet on Hand, foot and mouth d...

When a child is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, it has a profound impact on their life and family. Diabetes requires strict management every single day. Added to that burden is the confusion and misunderstanding that others might have about the disease and its cause. In this episode, Margie and Lexi are joined by Professor Fergus Cameron, Director of Endocrinology and Diabetes at The Royal Childre...

Growing up can be tiring work. But what's the difference between general tiredness in children and young people, and relentless fatigue that turns the simplest things into a challenge? Dr Lexi Frydenberg is joined Dr Colette Reveley, a paediatrician in the Department of Adolescent Medicine at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, to unpack the mysteries of chronic fatigue syndrome. They chat a...

Ah-choo! It feels like children everywhere are coughing and sneezing their way through this winter. So is it worse than usual? And what is 'RSV'? In this episode, Anthea and Margie are joined by paediatrician Dr Suzanne Boyce to chat about the most common respiratory viruses going around. They talk through the symptoms of COVID-19, RSV and flu, how to know when to seek help and the best ways to st...

Mealtimes can be a stressful experience when you've got a little person who pushes away their plate. Especially when you've put a lot of effort into a wholesome meal or the rest of the family is ready to eat. In this episode, Lexi and Anthea are joined by special guest Dr Kathleen McGrath, a paediatric gastroenterologist with a special interest in child nutrition. Together they pick though the com...

As more children return to fields, courts and ovals around the country, common sports injuries and accidents are on the rise. What is the best first aid for sports injuries and how do you know when to go to emergency? Margie and Anthea are joined by Dr Peter Barnett, an emergency doctor at the RCH with an interest in sports medicine and Greg Cull, a physiotherapist at the RCH, to chat about managi...

Sadly, burns are still a common injury in childhood. To coincide with National Burns Safety Awareness Month, hosts Anthea and Lexi are joined by Warwick Teague, surgeon, clinical burns lead and Director of Trauma at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. Warwick gives us the absolute must-do when it comes to burns first aid (hint: it involves a lot of cool running water) and explains the steps...

Influenza, or the 'flu', has almost disappeared for the last two years. But it's back, and already bringing children to hospital for treatment. In this episode, Dr Anthea Rhodes is joined by Dr Margie Danchin as our expert guest to discuss the flu. As well as being a paediatrician at the RCH, and regular host of the this podcast, Margie is an expert in immunisation and a research leader in vaccine...

Good dental health has huge benefits for our general wellbeing and quality of life, and it starts the moment that very first tooth pops through in babies. In this episode we're joined by special guest Dr Mihiri Silva, a paediatric dentist from The Royal Children's Hospital. If you've ever wondered when and how to start brushing teeth, how tooth decay happens, or what to do if a tooth gets knocked...

Witnessing a seizure can be a frightening experience for parents and carers, and raises so many questions. What's going on when a child has a seizure and what could it mean for their ongoing health? Does it mean they have epilepsy? To make sense of seizures, Margie and Lexi are joined by Associate Professor Andrew Kornberg, Neurologist at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. As well as unders...

A restful sleep is so important for children’s health. But sometimes, a stuffy nose or blocked passages get in the way of a good sleep. In this episode we’re joined by Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon, Dr Eric Levi, to find out why snooze turns to snoring, and what can be done to get children back on the path to sleep success. For more information, check out these helpful resources: RCH Kids Health In...

**a quick correction: During the conversation Margie says the twice-weekly rapid antigen testing will be for the first week of term. What Margie meant to say was that it will be for the first four weeks and then reassessed. We apologise for the confusion. As schools return to in-classroom learning next week, we know that students, families, and teachers are busy preparing for the term ahead and ma...

For many of us, the new year has not started as we had hoped. With the Omicron variant so prevalent in the community and the start to the school year just around the corner, many parents may be wondering what the latest news is with COVID-19 and children. In this podcast episode, host Dr Anthea Rhodes is joined by Dr Sarah McNab, Director of General Medicine at The Royal Children’s Hospital to unp...

Do you have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine for five to 11 year olds? Our latest RCH National Child Health Poll found that 30% of Australian parents of children aged five to 11 years were undecided about COVID vaccination for their child, with questions around the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Following the Government’s approval of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine for children aged five year...

Have you had the experience of holding a baby and they just won’t stop crying? Soothing an unsettled baby can be a trying task for anyone, particularly new parents. Crying is a baby’s way of communicating with us, but when the crying doesn’t stop, how do we know when to seek help? In this episode we’re joined by expert paediatrician, Dr Valerie Sung, who works in the RCH unsettled babies clinic, t...

Many families have questions about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but may not know where to start. It can be a complex topic, and because it is a spectrum, there is huge variation. In this episode we’re joined by expert Paediatrician Dr Deb Marks, who sees patients with Autism every day, to go through common questions about what Autism is, what signs parents can look out for, how to seek a diagnos...

Toddlers and preschoolers bring so much joy and fun to family life. But there are also those times when their behaviour causes a lot of stress for everyone, whether it's in the supermarket aisle or at the dinner table! In this episode we unpack what's behind toddler tantrums, fussy eating and more, with Dr Billy Garvey, a developmental and behavioural paediatrician from The Royal Children's Hospit...

Whether it's for a vaccine or for medical care, nobody especially likes having needles. But for some children and teens, it can be a big hurdle to overcome. And now, with the COVID-19 vaccine being rolled out to more and more Australians, having an injection is something we're all too familiar with. In this episode, we're joined by two special guests - Sonja Elia, an Immunisation Nurse Practitione...

In this episode, hosted by Dr Lexi Frydenberg, we bring you the latest on what's happening with children and COVID-19 in Victoria. Our special guest is Dr Sarah McNab, Director of General Medicine at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. Lexi and Sarah cover: the current situation with COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations how COVID-19 is affecting children and teenagers COVID-19 and childr...

It seems like allergies affect so many children these days. In fact, our home town of Melbourne is sometimes called the allergy capital of the world. So what really is an allergy, how does it show up, and what is anaphylaxis? And what does it all mean for children with an allergy? To answer these questions and more, we're joined by Dr Joanne Smart, Director of Allergy and Immunology at The Royal C...

It’s common for children to experiment with gender roles throughout childhood. However, up to two per cent of Australians identify as transgender or gender diverse. Being trans or gender diverse is part of the natural spectrum of human diversity. In this episode, we sit down with Associate Professor Michelle Telfer, Director the Gender Service at The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. As well a...