Newsletters

Healthy Child Fall/Winter 2001

Questions & Answers 

by SUSAN J. MARGOLIN, M.D., M.P.H.
CHIEF, GENERAL PEDIATRICS

If you have a question for the pediatrician, please e-mail it to ESALAMON@SBHCS.COM or mail it to Elizabeth Salamon, Public Relations, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, 95 Old Short Hills Road, West Orange, NJ 07052

Q.
Is it safe for a child of 10 to wear antiperspirant/deodorant?
A.
It is safe for a child to wear deodorant when the changes that occur during puberty cause increased underarm perspiration and odor. Parents can recognize pubertal development in their children and can then counsel them to use deodorant, should it be needed. Before pubertal development begins,deodorant is not necessary---lots of warm water and soap will do.

Dear Dr. Margolin,

Q.
My daughter is four years old and my husband and I are wondering how long it is appropriate for him to help out with her bath. We usually take turns helping to wash her hair. Also, at what age should she be able to completely handle bath time by herself?
A.
Children tend to let a parent of the opposite
sex know when it is time to stop helping out with the bath. By the time they are six or seven,most children will ask that the parent of the same gender be the helper for hair washing. The vast majority of children at that age will want to do most of the bath themselves. It is important at that age to leave the bathroom door ajar so that a parent can keep an eye on the child in the tub. Children of eight or nine are capable of taking care of the whole job without parental intervention.

Dear Dr. Margolin,

Q.
My son is in ninth grade and he seems to spend a great deal of time sleeping on the weekends. Usually he is in bed by 11 p.m. on Friday and can sleep as late as 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Do teenagers need extra sleep and what is appropriate?
A.
We know that additional sleep is required for growing teenagers, generally an hour or so more each night than will be required by them as adults. However, just as some adults manage very well with six hours sleep nightly and others require nine hours, teens will also vary in their need for sleep. It is impossible for them to fulfill that need during the school week, but, if possible, parents should allow some "catch-up" sleep during the weekend. The amount of sleep that is "appropriate" depends on the particular need of that adolescent and should be determined by him or her.

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