Most sleep experts recommend beginning formal sleep training between 4-6 months of age when babies are developmentally capable of sleeping longer stretches and self-soothing, though healthy sleep foundations can start from birth with consistent routines and safe sleep practices. Before 4 months, focus on establishing good sleep habits like consistent bedtime routines, putting babies down drowsy but awake, and creating optimal sleep environments. Every baby is different, and readiness for sleep training depends on your child’s weight gain, feeding patterns, developmental milestones, and your family’s readiness. Beverly Hills parents should discuss sleep training timing during well-child visits, and I’ll help determine when your baby is ready and which approach best fits your family’s needs and parenting philosophy.

Extreme picky eating where toddlers accept only a handful of foods is very common and usually temporary, though understandably concerning for parents. Most children naturally expand their diets as they mature, especially when parents avoid pressure and power struggles around eating. However, I evaluate whether limited diets provide adequate nutrition, whether supplements are needed temporarily, and whether feeding difficulties involve sensory issues, anxiety, or control battles requiring different approaches. During nutrition consultations, I assess your child’s growth, nutritional status, and feeding behaviors to determine if this represents normal developmental pickiness that will resolve with patient, pressure-free exposure strategies, or if referral to feeding therapists is warranted for more intensive intervention.

Sleep needs vary by age with newborns requiring 14-17 hours including naps, infants 6-12 months needing 12-16 hours, toddlers 1-2 years requiring 11-14 hours, preschoolers 3-5 years needing 10-13 hours, school-age children 6-12 years requiring 9-12 hours, and teenagers 13-18 years needing 8-10 hours daily. However, individual children vary, and appropriate sleep amount is determined by whether your child wakes rested, functions well during the day, and doesn’t show signs of sleep deprivation like irritability, hyperactivity, difficulty concentrating, or falling asleep in inappropriate situations. Beverly Hills children often have demanding schedules that compromise sleep, and I help families prioritize adequate rest even when activities and commitments compete for time.

Vegetable refusal is extremely common in young children due to evolutionary preferences for sweet and salty flavors over bitter vegetables. Rather than battles, I recommend continuing to offer vegetables alongside accepted foods without pressure, involving kids in selecting and preparing vegetables which increases acceptance, trying different cooking methods and presentations as texture often matters more than taste, pairing vegetables with preferred dips or sauces, modeling vegetable eating yourself as family meals, and maintaining patience as repeated exposure without pressure eventually increases acceptance in most children. If your child’s overall diet includes fruits, whole grains, and protein, temporary vegetable avoidance won’t cause nutritional deficiencies. I assess whether supplementation is needed and help distinguish normal pickiness from concerning food restriction requiring intervention.

Yes, I screen for eating disorders and disordered eating patterns during adolescent visits and provide initial assessment, medical monitoring, and referrals to eating disorder specialists when needed. Warning signs include significant weight loss or gain, obsessive calorie counting or food restriction, excessive exercise, secretive eating, bathroom trips after meals suggesting purging, preoccupation with body shape or weight, and social withdrawal around food. Early intervention dramatically improves eating disorder outcomes, so I take any concerning patterns seriously. Treatment typically involves a team including therapists specializing in eating disorders, nutritionists, and medical monitoring, which I provide as your child’s pediatrician. Beverly Hills teens face significant pressure around appearance and achievement, and I proactively promote healthy body image and relationships with food in all adolescent care.

Frequent night waking in children who previously slept well warrants evaluation for underlying causes including sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, anxiety, nightmares, medical conditions causing discomfort, or behavioral factors. For young children, night wakings often result from sleep associations requiring parent intervention to return to sleep, inappropriate bedtimes causing overtiredness, or developmental phases. I assess your child’s complete sleep picture including bedtime routines, sleep environment, daily schedules, medical factors, and family dynamics to identify causes and develop solutions. Treatment might involve sleep training approaches, adjusting schedules, addressing medical issues, managing anxiety, or referring to sleep specialists for disorders requiring specialized evaluation like sleep studies for suspected apnea.

For most Beverly Hills children eating varied diets including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and dairy, daily multivitamins aren’t medically necessary, though they aren’t harmful either. However, specific supplements are recommended for certain situations: vitamin D for breastfed infants and children with limited sun exposure or dark skin; iron for exclusively breastfed babies starting around 4 months and for toddlers with limited meat intake or documented deficiency; and sometimes B12 for vegetarian or vegan families. I assess your child’s individual diet, growth patterns, and medical conditions to determine whether supplementation is needed. Rather than supplements compensating for poor nutrition, my priority is helping families establish healthy eating patterns, providing nutrients from foods that include beneficial compounds supplements can’t replicate.

Bedtime battles often result from inconsistent routines, developmentally inappropriate bedtimes, insufficient wind-down time, or power struggles over control. Solutions include establishing consistent bedtime routines starting 30-60 minutes before sleep with calming activities like baths, stories, and quiet time; ensuring bedtimes match your child’s sleep needs and natural rhythms rather than parent convenience; providing choices within boundaries like “would you like to read two books or three?”; using visual schedules or timers helping young children understand bedtime progression; limiting screen time especially in the hour before bed; creating positive sleep associations through pleasant bedtime routines rather than rushed or negative interactions; and responding to curtain calls and stalling tactics with brief, boring responses rather than engaging. Consistency is key – bedtime routines must happen every night, not just when convenient.

When mealtimes cause significant family stress, anxiety, or conflict, professional support can transform dynamics and improve everyone’s well-being. During nutrition consultations, I assess what’s contributing to feeding stress – parent anxiety about nutrition, child control issues around eating, sensory problems that make eating uncomfortable, pressure and battles that create negative food associations, or medical factors affecting appetite. Solutions focus on removing pressure, establishing healthy feeding dynamics through the division of responsibility, addressing underlying medical or sensory issues, teaching parents about normal eating development, and, when anxiety or control struggles dominate, referring to feeding therapists or mental health professionals. Feeding should be pleasant and connect families, not create daily battles, and I’m committed to helping Beverly Hills families restore positive mealtime experiences.