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Health Information
Infant and Toddler Health
Learn about infant and toddler health
Babies are a joy. They can also be a little overwhelming at times. When is a fever something to worry about? What’s the difference between colic and normal crying? What immunizations does your toddler need? Our topics can help you find the answers to these and other common parenting questions.
Get help making decisions or find how-to tips in our Growth and Development topics and topics such as:
Health Topics
- Abdominal Gas and Colic
- Abdominal Pain, Age 11 and Younger
- Acetaminophen Use in Young Children
- Alcohol Effects on a Fetus
- Amblyopia
- Appreciating Your Child's Personality
- Ashkenazi Jewish Genetic Panel (AJGP)
- Asthma in Children
- Asthma: Overuse of Quick-Relief Medicines
- Atopic Dermatitis (Eczema)
- Autism and Vaccines
- Avoiding Mercury in Fish
- Avoiding Temper Tantrums
- Babies' Sleep Position and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- Barking Coughs in Children
- Birthmarks
- Biting
- Blocked Tear Ducts
- Blocked Tear Ducts: Probing Procedures
- Bonding With Your Baby
- Bonding With Your Newborn
- Bottle-Feeding
- Bottle-Feeding: Disadvantages for Babies
- Bottle-Feeding: Weaning a Toddler
- Bottle-Feeding: When Baby Doesn't Want to Stop
- Bowel Movements in Babies
- Breast-Feeding
- Breast-Feeding a Sick Baby
- Breast-Feeding After a C-Section
- Breast-Feeding After Breast Surgery
- Breast-Feeding More Than One Child
- Breast-Feeding Multiple Infants
- Breast-Feeding Positions
- Breast-Feeding When You Have Diabetes
- Breast-Feeding: Avoiding Toxic Substances
- Breast-Feeding: Baby's Poor Weight Gain
- Breast-Feeding: Hindmilk
- Breast-Feeding: Tobacco, Alcohol, and Drugs
- Breast-Feeding: Waking Your Baby
- Breast-Feeding: Weaning a Toddler
- Breast-Feeding: When Baby Doesn't Want to Stop
- Breath-Holding Spells
- Breath-Holding Spells: Helping Your Child Avoid Injury
- Breath-Holding Spells: Keeping a Record
- Bronchiolitis
- Brushing a Child's Teeth
- Brushing and Flossing a Child's Teeth
- Burping a Baby
- Caring for Baby's Nails
- Caring for More Than One Baby
- Caring for Your Baby's Nasal Cannula
- Cataracts in Children
- Celiac Disease
- Cerebral Palsy
- Cerebral Palsy: Bathing and Grooming Tips
- Cerebral Palsy: Controversial Treatments
- Cerebral Palsy: Early Signs
- Cerebral Palsy: Help for Speech Problems
- Cerebral Palsy: Safety Tips
- Chickenpox (Varicella)
- Chickenpox: Preventing Skin Infections
- Child Abuse and Neglect
- Child Abuse: Signs of Neglect
- Child Car Seats
- Child Care Providers: Licensing Standards
- Child Care Providers: Safe Child-Staff Ratio and Group Size
- Child Care: Hidden Costs
- Child Care: Interviewing Care Providers
- Child Care: Qualifications for Providers
- Child Care: When to Keep Your Child at Home
- Child Safety: Air Pollution
- Child Safety: Bathing
- Child Safety: Bicycles and Tricycles
- Child Safety: Fires
- Child Safety: Guns and Firearms
- Child Safety: Pets
- Child Safety: Preventing Burns
- Child Safety: Preventing Drowning
- Child Safety: Preventing Falls
- Child Safety: Streets and Cars
- Child Safety: Strollers and Shopping Carts
- Child Safety: Swimming Pools and Hot Tubs
- Child Safety: Washing Toys to Prevent Germs
- Children and Malaria: Reducing the Risk
- Choking Prevention in Small Children
- Choking Rescue for Babies
- Choking Rescue Procedure (Heimlich Maneuver)
- Choosing Baby Bottles and Nipples
- Choosing Child Care
- Chronic Lung Disease in Infants
- Chronic Lung Disease in Infants: Caring for Your Baby
- Circumcision
- Classification and Types of Hydrocephalus
- Classification of Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
- Classification of Juvenile Arthritis
- Cleaning Your Young Son's Natural (Uncircumcised) Penis
- Cleft Lip
- Cleft Palate
- Cleft Palate Treatment After Surgery
- Cleft Palate: Feeding Your Baby
- Clubfoot
- Cognitive Development, Ages 1 to 12 Months
- Cognitive Development, Ages 12 to 24 Months
- Cognitive Growth in Newborns
- Colds
- Colic
- Colic Diary
- Colic: Harmful Treatments
- Combining Breast-Feeding and Bottle-Feeding
- Communicating Effectively With a Child Care Provider
- Complications of Ear Infections
- Complications of Whooping Cough
- Congenital Heart Defects
- Congenital Hydrocele
- Congenital Hydrocephalus
- Congenital Syphilis
- Congenital Torticollis
- Connection Between Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
- Constipation, Age 11 and Younger
- Coping Strategies to Avoid Harming a Baby
- Corporal Punishment
- Cough Symptoms in Children
- Coughs, Age 11 and Younger
- Cow's Milk Protein Intolerance
- Cow's Milk Sensitivity in Babies
- Cradle Cap
- Craniosynostosis
- Crib Safety
- Croup
- Crying Child That Is Not Acting Normally
- Crying, Age 3 and Younger
- Crying: Tired or Overstimulated
- Cup-Feeding
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Cystic Fibrosis: Alternate Ways to Clear the Airways
- Cystic Fibrosis: Getting Enough Calories and Nutrients
- Dealing With Emergencies
- Dehydration
- Dehydration: Drinking Enough Fluids
- Dental Care From Birth to 6 Months
- Dental Care: 3 Years to 6 Years
- Dental Checkups for Children and Adults
- Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip
- Developmental Problems: Testing
- Diaper Rash
- Diarrhea, Age 11 and Younger
- Diseases That Affect Breast-Feeding
- Doctors Who Treat Cleft Lip and Palate
- Domestic Abuse
- Domestic Violence
- Domestic Violence: Checklist of Things to Take When You Leave
- Domestic Violence: Getting a Protective Order
- Down Syndrome
- Down Syndrome, Ages 1 Month to 1 Year
- Down Syndrome, Ages 1 to 5
- Down Syndrome, Ages Birth to 1 Month
- 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
- Ear Infections
- Ear Problems and Injuries, Age 11 and Younger
- Early Disease Detection
- Emotional and Social Development, Ages 1 to 12 Months
- Emotional and Social Development, Ages 12 to 24 Months
- Emotional and Social Growth in Newborns
- Epinephrine for Croup
- Evaluating Pain in a Child
- Evaluating Your Child's Hearing
- Eye and Vision Tests for Children and Teens
- Failure to Thrive
- Feeding Schedule for Babies
- Feeding Your Child Using Division of Responsibility
- Feeding Your Infant
- Feeding Your Premature Infant
- Fetal Alcohol Effects: Behavior and Learning Problems
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Caring For Your Baby
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Signs That Your Child Needs to Be Evaluated
- Fever Seizures
- Fever Temperatures: Accuracy and Comparison
- Fever, Age 11 and Younger
- Fifth Disease
- First Aid for Head Wounds in Children
- Fontanelles and Sutures of the Infant Skull
- Gastroesophageal Reflux in Babies and Children
- Getting Children to Brush Their Teeth
- Getting Enough Calcium and Vitamin D
- Glucocorticoids for Croup
- Goniotomy for Congenital Glaucoma
- Group B Streptococcal Infections in Newborns
- Group Child Care Center Policies
- Group Child Care: Activities
- Group Child Care: Health and Safety
- Growth and Development, Ages 1 to 12 Months
- Growth and Development, Ages 12 to 24 Months
- Growth and Development, Ages 2 to 5 Years
- Growth and Development, Newborn
- Gynecomastia
- Hand-Foot-and-Mouth Disease
- Hand-Washing
- Head Injuries in Children: Problems to Watch For
- Head Injury, Age 3 and Younger
- Headaches in Children
- Health and Safety, Ages 2 to 5 Years
- Health and Safety, Birth to 2 Years
- Healthy Eating for Children
- Healthy Habits for Kids
- Heat Rash
- Heat Waves
- Heat-Related Illnesses
- Heatstroke Prevention: Acclimating to the Heat
- Heatstroke Prevention: What to Wear
- Help for Anger Problems
- Helping Children During Immunizations
- Helping Your Newborn Learn
- Hip Injuries, Age 11 and Younger
- Hip Problems, Age 11 and Younger
- Hirschsprung's Disease
- HIV Treatment in Children
- Hospital Policies and Breast-Feeding
- How Asthma Develops in Children
- How Cystic Fibrosis Affects Breathing and the Lungs
- How Cystic Fibrosis Affects Digestion and the Pancreas
- How Cystic Fibrosis Affects the Bones
- How Cystic Fibrosis Affects the Sweat Glands
- How Normal Vision Develops
- How Reading Helps Language Development
- Hypospadias
- Hypothyroidism in Infants, Children, and Teens
- Ibuprofen Use in Young Children
- Immunization Safety
- Immunizations
- Immunizations for Premature Infants
- Immunizations: Questions Parents Ask
- Impetigo
- Importance of Immunizations
- Infant Formulas
- Infant Massage
- Infantile Spasms (West Syndrome)
- Inguinal Hernia: Surgery in Children
- Interactive Tool: From Embryo to Baby in 9 Months
- Introducing Solid Foods to Your Baby
- Intussusception
- Iron Toxicity
- Jaundice in Newborns (Hyperbilirubinemia)
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Adult Treatments That May Be Used in Children
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Balancing Rest and Activity
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Deciding About Total Joint Replacement
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Features of DMARD and SSARD Drugs
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Inflammatory Eye Disease
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Range-of-Motion Exercises
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: School Partners
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Serial Casting
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Stretching and Strengthening Exercises
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Treatment With Heat, Cold, or Water
- Kangaroo Care for Premature Infants
- Kawasaki Disease
- Kawasaki Disease: Criteria to Diagnose
- Kernicterus
- Language Development in Newborns
- Language Development, Ages 1 to 12 Months
- Lead Poisoning
- Lice: Cleaning Lice From Combs, Clothing, and Other Items
- Lice: Removing Nits From Hair
- Making Decisions About Very Premature Infants: Personal Stories
- Managing Your Toddler's Frustrating Behaviors
- Measles (Rubeola)
- Medical History and Physical Exam for Nearsightedness
- Medicine Use While Breast-Feeding
- Meningitis and Listeria Monocytogenes
- Meningitis: Long-Term Problems
- Milestones for 3-Year-Olds
- Milk Sugar Tolerance
- Molluscum Contagiosum
- Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
- Nail Problems and Injuries
- Nasal Potential Difference Test for Cystic Fibrosis
- Nausea and Vomiting, Age 11 and Younger
- Necrotizing Enterocolitis
- Newborn Rashes and Skin Conditions
- Newborn Reflexes
- NICU: Communicating With the Staff
- Nursery Equipment Safety Checklist
- Nurturing Your Child to Improve Learning and Attention
- Nutrition While Breast-Feeding
- Object Stuck in a Child's Airway
- Oral Rehydration Solutions
- Orchiopexy for Undescended Testicle
- Overfeeding and Colic
- Pavlik Harness
- Pediatric Preparation for Medical Tests
- Phenylketonuria (PKU)
- Phototherapy for Jaundice in Newborns
- Physical Abuse
- Physical Abuse: Common Injuries in Children
- Physical Development, Ages 1 to 12 Months
- Physical Development, Ages 12 to 24 Months
- Physical Growth in Newborns
- Picky Eaters: Planning Nutritious Meals
- Playground Safety
- Positional Plagiocephaly (Flattened Head)
- Premature Infant
- Premature Infant: Safe Travel With Your Baby
- Premature Infant: Signs of Overstimulation
- Premature Infant: Treating Underdeveloped Lungs
- Preventing Breath-Holding Spells in Children
- Preventing Choking
- Preventing Poisoning in Young Children
- Preventing Tooth Decay in Young Children
- Protecting Your Child From Infections
- Pyloric Stenosis
- Questions About Inguinal Hernia Surgery
- Quick Tips: Baby-Proofing Your Home
- Quick Tips: Getting Baby to Sleep
- Quick Tips: Giving Over-the-Counter Medicines to Children
- Quick Tips: Successful Breast-Feeding
- Radial Head Subluxation
- Radiation Exposure: Risks and Health Effects
- Rash, Age 11 and Younger
- Rectal Prolapse in Children
- Recurrent Abdominal Pain (RAP)
- Recurrent Ear Infections and Persistent Effusion
- Reducing Biting in Children Ages 8 to 14 Months
- Reducing Biting in Teething Babies
- Repair of Choanal Atresia
- Respiratory Problems, Age 11 and Younger
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infection
- Reye Syndrome
- Roseola
- Rotavirus
- RSV: Risk of Complications
- Rubber Bulbs
- Rubella (German Measles)
- Safety Around Irrigation Canals
- Safety Plan: Preparing to Leave a Violent Relationship
- Scalp Problems
- Screening for Hearing Problems
- Sensory and Motor Development, Ages 1 to 12 Months
- Sensory and Motor Development, Ages 12 to 24 Months
- Sensory and Motor Growth in Newborns
- Separation Protests: Helping Your Child
- Shaken Baby Syndrome
- Sibling Rivalry
- Sickle Cell Disease: Splenic Sequestration
- Signs That Your Baby Is Getting Enough Breast Milk
- Speech and Language Delays: Common Misconceptions
- Speech and Language Development
- Speech and Language Development: Helping Your 1- to 2-Year-Old
- Speech and Language Development: Red Flags
- Speech and Language Milestones, Ages 1 to 3 Years
- Speech and Language Milestones, Ages 3 to 5 Years
- Speech and Language Milestones, Birth to 1 Year
- Spina Bifida
- Spitting Up
- Sponge Bath for a Child's Fever
- Staying Safe: After You Leave a Violent Relationship
- Staying Safe: If You Are in a Violent Relationship
- Stimulate Your Baby's Learning
- Storing Breast Milk
- Strabismus
- Stress in Children and Teens
- Stress Management
- Stuttering
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Swallowed Air
- Swallowed Button Disc Battery, Magnet, or Object with Lead
- Taking Care of Yourself When Your Baby Is Fussy
- Tay-Sachs Disease
- Teething
- Teething Products
- Teething: Common Concerns
- Temper Tantrums
- Thinking About Child Safety
- Thrush
- 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
- Tongue-Tie Surgery for Age 1 Year and Older
- Tongue-Tie Surgery for Infants
- Tooth Development in Children
- Toxoplasmosis During Pregnancy
- Trabeculotomy for Congenital Glaucoma
- Transparent Tape Test for Pinworms
- Treating Asthma in Babies and Younger Children
- Tuberculosis in Infants and Children
- Tubes for Ear Infections
- Type 1 Diabetes in Children: Caring for Your Child
- Type 1 Diabetes in Children: Emotional Issues
- Type 1 Diabetes in Children: Safe Exercise
- Type 1 Diabetes: Children Living With the Disease
- Types of Strabismus
- Umbilical Cord Care
- Umbilical Hernia in Children
- Undescended Testicle
- Urinary Problems and Injuries, Age 11 and Younger
- Urinary Tract Infections in Children
- Using Vaporizers and Humidifiers
- Vaccine Information Statements
- Violent Behavior
- Vital Signs in Children
- Ways to Comfort a Baby in the Hospital
- Ways to Comfort a Crying Baby
- Weaning
- Well-Child Visits
- What to Expect When You Have an Extremely Premature Infant
- Whooping Cough (Pertussis)
- Your Toddler: Safe Ways to Explore
Make a Wise Decision
- ADHD: Should My Child Take Medicine for ADHD?
- Blocked Tear Ducts: Should My Baby Have a Probing Procedure?
- Circumcision: Should I Keep My Son's Penis Natural?
- Ear Infection: Should I Give My Child Antibiotics?
- Ear Problems: Should My Child Be Treated for Fluid Buildup in the Middle Ear?
- Umbilical Hernia: Should My Child Have Surgery?
Take Action
- Asthma in Children: Helping a Child Use a Metered-Dose Inhaler and Mask Spacer
- Croup: Managing a Croup Attack
- Diabetes in Children: Checking Blood Sugar in a Child
- Diabetes in Children: Dealing With Low Blood Sugar
- Diabetes in Children: Giving Insulin Shots to a Child
- Diabetes in Children: Preventing High Blood Sugar
- Diabetes in Children: Preventing Low Blood Sugar
- Hip Dysplasia: Caring for Your Child in a Body (Spica) Cast
- Sleep: Helping Your Children—and Yourself—Sleep Well
- Stress Management: Helping Your Child With Stress
- Stress Management: Managing Your Time
Last Revised: April 20, 2012
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review: Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
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