Peds Grand Rounds is Coming to Town

This edition (Volume 2, Edition 12) of Pediatric Grand Rounds is presented in the context of that familiar ode to the jolly fat man. Some readers may bristle at the extent to which I conformed to the hegemony that Christmas has over the month of December, but the truth is that kids love Christmas. What I didn’t realize before compiling these entries is the extent that Santa Claus prescribes prevention in this instructive carol.

Before we strike up the band, Pediatrics Grand Rounds needs a new home. Clark Bartram did a great job initiating the tradition of collecting interesting pediatrics articles, but PGR is now in search of a new administrator. Please consider whether you could host or coordinate future editions. If you are interested, please comment on this post or send an email to Clark or me. Do the same if you would like to host January’s issue. With thanks to Thomas Nast and without further ado...


You better watch out for the greatest threat to kids’ health. Steven Parker brings home a topic that is close to my heart and flies under the radar too often in this country.

You better not cry, or is it actually okay to cry sometimes? Kristen Heinan at The Differential offers a connection between the difficult experiences in the PICU and the world outside.

You better not pout, I'm telling you why: the person responsible for your care, protection and nutrition might forsake you.

Santa Claus is coming to town and he’s bringing a new puppy. Curious about whether new puppies and new babies combine to produce pediatric allergies? Med Journal Watch digests the answer for you...

He's making a list of effective parenting techniques; or at least Dave Munger and his readers at Cognitive Daily are. Scientific studies of parenting are common, but studies linking parenting to morality are scarce. That’s why you should check this post out.

Checking it twice, just like you need to do with those pediatric liquid medicines. Mexico Medical Student helps you out with the not-so-simple math.

Gonna find out who's naughty - I bet you thought internet trolls were just bad for your blog. Sandy at Junkfood Science explains how trolls can turn into killers.

or nice. The Thinking Mother knows who is naughty and nice at home and in the classroom. She also offers ideas about how to facilitate more nice behavior.

Santa Claus is coming to town, and he’s got great gifts for kids of all ages. And Dr. Gwenn compiled them all into this handy compendium for your holiday shopping.

He knows you when you are sleeping, and Michael Breus thinks we all should be paying more attention to how much our teenagers sleep.

He knows when you're awake, and if you’re in between being awake and asleep, chances are you have yawned recently. Now is that because you’re tired? Dr. Deb thinks not.

He knows if you've been bad or good, but can dear old Santa resolve the dilemma about the 14-year-old Jehovah’s Witness who refused blood transfusion in Seattle and as a result died last month? Several bloggers have offered their perspectives critical of this situation including Beast at Atheist Haven and Orac at Respectful Insolence. Not happy with unbalanced perspectives, I offer my own assessment.

So be good for goodness sake! Sometimes, however a 3-year-old’s conception of good is a little different than yours or mine.

Santa Claus is coming to town! Be sure to email him before it’s too late. That's it for this month. Keep track of the next PGR at this site.