Stool Questions

Parents often ask questions about their babies stool. So let’s discuss what is normal and what’s not.

Color. The stool is usually yellow in a breast-fed baby, greenish in a formula-fed one. When to worry? If you see blood, especially a lot of it. What to do? See your pediatrician.

Expected Frequency. Can be up to ten times a day in a breast-fed newborn; passing of the stool by a newborn is a sign of a good food intake. Babies should have at least one stool a day. There may be occasional healthy infant (not a newborn) that may have one stool in five days; this child is not constipated [Continue reading…]

Biting Behavior in Children

Recently I saw a young boy who attends the same preschool as my son. At the end of the visit his mom shared with me a concern that her son started biting. I reassured her, explaining that biting is a common behavior at this age, and recommended that she should stop him if she notices it but should not make a big deal out of it.

Young children may bite for different reasons. Infants may bite when they are teething. Toddlers usually bite out of frustration, inability to use words to express their feelings or wishes, or to exert control. Children older than 3 years of age with a history of frequent biting may need to be seen and evaluated [Continue reading…]