The Best KidNurse Posts of 2017

As we approach the end of the year, and reflect on the big moments, it’s fun to look back at all of the blog posts I’ve published here on KidNurse this past year. 2017 had some truly wonderful highlights. These are some of my favorites!

1. TEDx Talk | Why I Changed My Mind On Vaccines

It was such an honor to share my message on the TEDx stage in March of 2017. The months of prep work leading up to that moment was unlike anything I’ve ever done before! In addition to explaining why I left vaccine-hesitancy behind, and now advocate for immunizations, I explored the critical need for people to depolarize the vaccine debate by communicating with kindness. This continues to be a passion of mine, and while we still have work to do around the vaccine conversation, I’ve been really encouraged this year to see people talking about kindness (I LOVED the kindness theme in the Wonder movie) and all of the supportive responses I’ve received from people who watched my TEDx Talk.

2. Introducing The KidNurse Community

This is not only one of my favorite blog posts of the year, but also one of my favorite things about 2017 – launching the KidNurse Community group on Facebook! In less than a year, we have grown to 1,000 members, and I love logging into Facebook every day to chat with the moms and nurses in our community. I launched this group to truly create a kind, encouraging, educational space to discuss real life pediatric issues and questions. The positive response to that mission from moms and nurses has been astounding! If you haven’t gotten a chance to join our private community, please do so here!

3. Your Kids Aren’t Dry Drowning (Because It’s Not Real)

You know there is an issue when medical providers are learning medical terms from social media, and not the other way around. That’s exactly what happened to many medical professionals and dry drowning. The conversation really blew up this summer, as media outlets spread fear and misinformation as they reported on dry drowning. In response, I broke down exactly what drowning is and isn’t and shared real water safety tips. Much to my surprise, the post was read by well over 400,000 people and received roaring support from both medical providers and parents alike!

4. Charlottesville And How To Teach Your Children About Racism Now

This year was full of heavy news stories. I shared my thoughts and experiences about a few of them throughout the year (the Utah nurse arrested for defending her patient and my #MeToo story in academia among them), but one of the hardest things to see this year was the racism displayed in Charlottesville. While it can seem overwhelming to have conversations about race with kids, I truly believe it’s important to start these lessons early.

5. Benadryl Dosage Chart

Overmedication is something that pediatric providers see every day. In response to repeated questions about Benadryl use and dosages for children, I created a dosage chart to share with my patients. I didn’t expect it to be one of my most visited posts of the year, because it’s not really the most exciting thing I wrote about this year, but people are reading it every day! It’s great to see that so many people have been able to use this resource. In addition, we also added an Advil dosage chart and a Tylenol dosage chart. Accuracy in pediatric dosing is so important for parents to understand.

On a personal note, we added Abby to our family this fall. While I chuckle to myself about all the similiarities between taking care of puppies and babies, she has added lots of joy to our 2017. She is a pro at eating, doubling in size, pooping, and waiting for her mom to finish writing so we can go play.

In 2018 I’m looking forward to more pediatric health innovation with the KidNurse community and more time spent with my amazing pediatric patients. Since creating KidNurse, I have always focused on “healthy kids, happy parents.” While I want parents to be happy, in 2018, I will focus more on healthy kids and empowered parents. This shift in mindset is simply because I strongly believe that empowered parents become happy ones. KidNurse will continue to empower parents through:

1. Transparency with pediatric education and
2. Innovative access solutions for delievering that education to today’s parent

At KidNurse, we are transparent with pediatric information. Pediatric information is no longer exclusive to an exam room, it is information that should be at the fingertips of every parent. We also believe in breaking down barriers to access that information by publishing resources online, answering questions and fostering relationships between healthcare professionals and parents in our facebook community, and using social media to spread quality pediatric information and updates. As I work towards our new initiatives for 2018, I am beyond exciting to continue with this mission. I so appreciate everyone that has contributed to KidNurse in 2017, and I’m excited to reach more parents in 2018!

Author: Dani Stringer, MSN, CPNP, PMHS – founder of KidNurse and MomNurse Academy