Dr. William Sears

Lots of moms like to think out loud, and MiaFT is one of them. This is an excerpt from one of the latest posts on her Baby Love blog.

If you're a mother, then obviously you have heard of Dr. Sears. But did you know that he now makes snacks and supplements for kids? We were lucky enough to be able to try the Popumz. They are 100 percent natural whole grain crisps, and they have all of the important stuff like fiber, protein, and Omega 3. At first I was skeptical, because they look like those rice cakes for dieting. I wondered how they could be healthy and tasty? So of course I had to have a taste, and they really were yummy!  Audrey inhaled the chocolate and vanilla flavors!

They also have BBQ, cheddar, and ranch, which are a great alternative to giving Audrey potato chips. She loves them just as much, and that's because they taste exactly like chips! They are really good, I could have eaten the whole bag myself!

Even though they are healthy, they are really delicious! Dr. Sears also makes snack bars, drink boxes, and even vitamins! 

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Parenting trends come and go, and in his 30 years serving parents and children, Dr. Bill Sears has seen it all. The pediatrician, author of more than 30 baby and parenting books, and founder of the attachment parenting movement has some strong views on how we are raising our tots today, and he's not afraid to voice them.

I spoke with the doctor at the launch of his new Dr. Sears Family Essentials line of all-natural snacks, beverages, and baby care products. After discussing the importance of adding DHA to kids' diets, our conversation shifted to current parenting issues. See what he had to say!

LilSugar: How concerned should parents be with environmental health issues, and how can parents reduce their effects on kids?
Dr. Bill Sears: Very concerned. But they can talk about it. But the fact of life is, they can make changes in the food issue much quicker than environmental issues.

LS: In all of your years of watching babies and parents, what trends do you find most interesting now, and which do you find most disturbing?
Dr. Sears: The best trend right now is parents finally taking nutrition seriously. They're making the connection between what my child eats and how my child's brain grows, how my child learns to behave. They've always known that, but they're now doing something. For the first time in history, we're seeing an action plan.

The second trend is pediatricians are not being so wimpy. We used to say, "Oh you're child needs to eat healthy," or "Your child's a bit overweight." We don't use the term overweight anymore. We use the term prediabetic. For a mom, sitting in my office, and I say to you, because I care, that Susi is prediabetic, you're going to make a change much more than if I say she's a bit overweight. So that’s a trend that we’re seeing, because the old things are not working.

My concern still is that parents have not gotten the message that my child is what he eats. We cannot blame the food industry. The food industry will make what parents will buy. If you don't buy it, they won’t make it.

Keep reading to see what Dr. Sears had to say about the Tiger Mom movement!

It's time to shape young taste. That's what Dr. Bill Sears is doing as he delves into his latest endeavor. The pediatrician, author of more than 30 books, and founder of the attachment parenting movement is moving out of the bookstore and onto grocery store shelves with the introduction of the new Dr. Sears Family Essentials line of all-natural snacks, beverages, supplements, and baby care products.

In an effort to teach children to make healthier food choices, while helping to fight childhood obesity, doctors Bill and Jim Sears, the latter of whom can be found on The Doctors each day, have created a line of snack foods microinfused with omega-3 DHA and effective doses of protein and fiber to give tots a healthy start in life. I sat down with the doctor to learn about the line, and discuss some of the most pressing issues facing parents today.

LilSugar: What are the biggest health risks facing babies and kids today?
Dr. Bill Sears: The biggest health risk is NDD (Nutritional Deficit Disorder), and the reason is that the brain, above all other organs, for better or worse, is most affected by what you eat. The brain grows the fastest in the first two years. You put those two together and in the first two years, children need to eat the best. Really in the first five years, because 90 percent of brain growth occurs in the first five years.

LS: You have a whole line of omega-3 fatty-acid products. Why is it so important to include the nutrient in a child’s diet?
Dr. Sears: Simple – they are growth foods. They are the best growth food for the brain, the heart, the body, the eyes, and they’re the number-one deficiency. (They are) the most thoroughly scientifically researched nutrient, with over 22,000 medical journal articles about them. I’m a show-me-the-science guy, and I’m not putting anything in those packages that is not backed up by good science.

LS: How important is it to feed kids organic foods? Does it really make a difference?
Dr. Sears: Go organic. It's very important (and a) good investment. A child’s body does not get rid of pesticides like the adult body does. Their kidneys are immature, what we call their "garbage disposal system" is immature. Secondly, a child, especially a baby, has more fat tissue than an adult, proportional to their amount of weight, and fat is where toxins are stored. Growing cells – multiplying cells – are more affected by pesticides than we as adults who are finished growing.

Want to see more of the legendary doctor's thoughts on parenting – including the Tiger Mom philosophy? Tune in tomorrow for more of our conversation.

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite. If only those phrases were all it took to put baby down. Getting a newborn to sleep through the night is one of the most talked about issues in infant care. Parents become fiercely supportive of their chosen sleep training method and its guru. Marc Weissbluth, one of the nation's most popular pediatricians and author of Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child that advocates a modified "cry-it-out" philosophy, is using his blog to take on Dr. William Sears, author of The Attachment Parenting Book: A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby, which calls for soothing baby until it falls asleep.

On his blog, Dr. Weissbluth discredits several studies Dr. Sears uses to prove that "crying-it-out" actually harms a child. According to Dr. Weissbluth, the studies show that allowing a tot to "cry-it-out" does not affect self-esteem, relationships with parents or the bond between parent and child. What's your opinion on cry it out?