When your kid gets sick for the first time, it's terrifying — but most parents are doing more than they need to and missing a few key things that actually matter. In this episode, Blueberry Pediatrics doctors Dr. Lyndsey Garbi, Dr. Allison Payne, and Dr. Marisa Quattrone break down everything parents need to know about colds, fevers, coughs, pink eye, and home remedies — including what's a real emergency and what isn't.

Topics covered:

• When to go to the ER vs. stay home
• Fever thresholds by age (especially under 3 months)
• How to treat congestion in babies
• The truth about antibiotics and viruses
• Croup, stridor, and cough red flags
• Pink eye — viral vs. bacterial
• Home remedies: what works, what doesn't, and what's just fine anyway
• How Blueberry Pediatrics has helped families avoid unnecessary ER visits — and catch emergencies in time

Have a question for our pediatricians? Ask in the Blueberry app.

Connect with Dr. Lyndsey:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsey-garbi-48664345/ (Linkedin)

@lyndseygarbimd (Instagram)

Discover more about Blueberry Pediatrics:

https://www.blueberrypediatrics.com/

@BlueberryPediatrics (IG)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we sit down with Emily Oster, economics professor and founder of ParentData, to examine the tension between parental anxiety and statistical reality. Most parents operate in a state of "information overload," yet often struggle to distinguish between a genuine medical emergency and a statistically common childhood milestone.

We explore:

• The Panic Threshold: Why parents "overspend" their worry budget on rare complications while overlooking common risks.
• The "Action Bias" in Medicine: Analyzing why 29% of outpatient antibiotics for children are prescribed inappropriately and the psychological pressure to leave a doctor’s office with a "fix."
• The Economics of Youth Sports: Does early specialization actually lead to elite success, or does the 85% higher risk of overuse injury outweigh the potential ROI?
• Decision Frameworks: How to move from "doom-scrolling" to thoughtful decision-making, specifically during the "3 AM reality check."

The goal of this discussion isn’t to find a "perfect" way to parent, but to provide a process for making choices with clarity. By combining the pediatric clinical perspective of Blueberry Pediatrics with Oster’s economic frameworks, we aim to help families distinguish between fear and danger. Ultimately, having the right data doesn't just change the medical outcome—it changes the psychological experience of parenting, trading late-night "doom-scrolling" for the confidence that you’ve made a thoughtful decision for your family.

Connect with Emily Oster

https://www.instagram.com/profemilyoster (Instagram)

https://parentdata.org/grown-ups/four-books-by-emily-oster-on-pregnancy-and-parenting/ (Emily's Books on Parenting and Pregnancy)

https://parentdata.org/ (Website)

Connect with Dr. Lyndsey:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsey-garbi-48664345/ (Linkedin)

@lyndseygarbimd (Instagram)

Discover more about Blueberry Pediatrics:

https://www.blueberrypediatrics.com/

@BlueberryPediatrics (IG)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oral health is a critical, yet often overlooked, pillar of systemic pediatric wellness. In this episode of the Blueberry Pediatrics Podcast, Dr. Lyndsey Garbi, MD, sits down with board-certified pediatric dentist and First Grin founder, Dr. Ashley Lerman, to discuss the clinical realities of early childhood dental care.

We will discuss:

Preventive Milestones: The clinical rationale behind the "Age One" dental visit.

Trauma Management: Acute protocols for avulsed (knocked-out) primary vs. permanent teeth.

Evidence on Fluoride & Sealants: Reviewing the gold standard for caries prevention and addressing current public health discourse.

Developmental Concerns: Evaluating the impacts of mouth breathing, tongue ties, and bruxism (grinding) on pediatric development.

Behavioral Positioning: Clinical techniques for effective at-home oral hygiene for young children.

Dr. Ashley Lerman is a board-certified pediatric dentist specializing in early intervention and health equity. Through her platform, First Grin, she works to reduce the incidence of childhood caries by providing families with high-quality educational resources and oral care kits.

Connect with Dr. Ashley Lerman

https://www.instagram.com/pediatric.dentist.mom (Instagram)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleylerman/ (LinkedIn)

Connect with Dr. Lyndsey:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyndsey-garbi-48664345/ (Linkedin)

@lyndseygarbimd (Instagram)

Discover more about Blueberry Pediatrics:

https://www.blueberrypediatrics.com/

@BlueberryPediatrics (IG)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.