Doctors’ Tips for Keeping Your Kids Healthy

Insiders on what they wish parents knew (and where they slack off with their kids).

Toys Can Be Simple

What the doctor wants you to know: “A colleague of mine gives a box of tissues to one-year-olds as a birthday present,” says Maia Magder, a speech-language pathologist in private practice in Washington, D.C. “It teaches great fine motor skills and language skills―‘In,’ ‘Out,’ ‘All done,’ ‘More.’ Really, the most important piece of equipment you need to foster language and communication in a baby is you. Just play with your child.”

Where she slacks off: “For infants, ‘tummy time’ [when you place the infant on his stomach] is something you’re supposed to do to encourage increased trunk tone. I knew I was supposed to do this, but my son hated it, so I never did.”