Our Monthly Calendar

Learn more about our upcoming events sponsored by Premier Pediatrics. When it comes to taking care of your child, there is so much that you can learn. At Premier Pediatrics, we celebrate growing families by providing the kind of care you and your child deserves.

My Child, My City

We are proud to care for families in the greatest city in the world. There’s raising kids—and then there’s raising kids in NYC. That’s why we created My Child, My City, a series of articles dedicated to helping families raise healthy children in the city we love. Our goal is to help you tap into all that New York has to offer so your kids can grow up resilient, curious, confident, and healthy—true New Yorkers.

Building Healthy Habits for NYC Kids

Happy new year to everyone. This might be a little out of season but in the spirit of new year’s resolutions, let’s agree to encourage our kids to walk NYC in 2026. Whether you are inspired to walk home from school, travel by foot to the supermarket, adventure in one of New York’s amazing parks, or take your family across the Brooklyn Bridge, there is always a way to get out and walk our great city.

Walking is a wonderful and efficient form of exercise. Walking briskly provides significant health benefits similar to biking or running. These include benefits to heart health, bone health, metabolic health, and mental health (ADHD, cognition and anxiety). In addition, becoming a great walker as a child creates lifelong good habits and additional health benefits throughout your child’s life.

As a rule, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children 6-17 years of age engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to strenuous exercise every day. If you and your children hit these numbers, congratulations! If you don’t, that’s cool too. You are still deriving significant benefits with any level of brisk walking. So if your child walks 15 minutes a day, celebrate those 15 minutes instead of knocking your kids for not reaching a specific number.

Finally, when possible, make it a fun family activity. The modeling, social connection, and creation of walking culture in your family goes a long way to creating life long walkers.

See you in the park!

Office Closures

On January 19th, our office will close early in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Asked and Answered

Questions posed by patients and parents this month.

Q: Am I infectious for flu or COVID before symptoms develop?

A: Yes, individuals can be infectious before developing symptoms with both influenza and COVID-19, though the timing and extent differ between the two viruses.  For COVID-19, presymptomatic transmission is substantial. Viral shedding begins approximately 2–3 days before symptom onset, with viral load peaking around the time symptoms appear.

For influenza, pre-symptomatic transmission occurs but is more limited. Individuals can be infectious approximately 1 day before symptom onset. Viral shedding in influenza B may begin up to 2 days before symptoms, while influenza A typically peaks within the first 1–2 days after illness onset.

Q: How much saturated fats should my child have in a day?

A:According to an invited review in The New England Journal of Medicine, less than 10% of daily calorie intake from saturated fat is considered acceptable in the United States diet, beginning at 2 years of age, as recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020–2025. Saturated fat should be replaced with polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat rather than refined carbohydrates and sugars.

Practical strategies to reduce saturated fat intake include replacing frying with steaming or boiling, trimming visible fat from meat, choosing reduced-fat dairy foods and lean meats, and reducing consumption of desserts and sweet snacks. Limiting saturated fats will have a beneficial consequence on your cardiovascular health over your life.