Welcome to September! We hope that everyone had a wonderful summer.

In late August, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published their 2025-2026 flu and covid vaccine guidelines. We, at Premier Pediatrics, endorse these guidelines and will vaccinate our patients accordingly.

“The AAP strongly recommends annual influenza vaccination for all children 6 months and older, unless there are medical contradictions. For COVID-19, the AAP recommends vaccination for children aged 6 months through 23 months and also for older children who are at high risk for severe illness.”

For more information on the flu vaccine, please visit AAP Influenza Vaccine Recommendations for 2025-26 Season webpage, and keep your eyes open for emails about our annual flu clinics.

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.

When are you old enough to ride the buses and subways independently?

Let’s start by saying that there is no set age when kids develop the level of executive function and maturity necessary to navigate NYC mass transit independently. Although the MTA recommends that children under 8 should be accompanied by an adults, we kind of feel like this is still a little young.

We usually think of 12 and older at an appropriate age. Around this age, many middle schoolers are getting their first metro cards and becoming more comfortable with their expanding independence. Although we have given you the age of 12, this is nowhere near as important as gauging your own child’s maturity.

Here are some simple tips to make the transition towards transit independence a bit easier and to give you confidence when you are standing on the outside, hearing “stand clear of the closing door” and watching the doors shut closed.

  • Practice runs together: Build confidence and familiarity.
  • Teach route awareness: Know alternative paths, exits, and emergency steps.
  • Prepare for hiccups: What to do if the train is delayed or they get off at the wrong station
  • Use tools for safety: Smartphones with location sharing, or family messaging systems

ADHD 360 Updates

The ADHD Annual Visit

As a part of ADHD 360 at Premier Pediatrics, we offer students annual ADHD visits in addition  to the traditional annual wellness visit.   We conduct these visits in October and November in order to evaluate our current management strategy given the challenges of a new academic environment.   If your child is a part of the ADHD 360 program, please reach out to set up your visit!

New Rules on Prescribing ADHD Medication in NYC

Premier Pediatrics is serious about meeting the increasing demand for ADHD medicine as the prevalence of this disease continues to climb.  Every Premier physician is now trained to prescribe ADHD medicines.   We plan to accommodate our patients whenever possible but there have been some important changes that affect the way in which we prescribe.

Most importantly, we are only allowed to prescribe stimulant medications and conduct telehealth visits within the state where we are licensed.  Therefore, please provide a New York pharmacy or home address when asking for a stimulant medication or signing up for a telehealth encounter.

If you are using a mail order pharmacy, please confirm that the address to which the medications will be sent is within NYS.

If you need a supply greater than 1 month  (i.e. camp), please provide a mail order service.

Finally, when asking for a refill, please send your request 1 week before you need the new prescription.  Please send the request via text to 212-598-0331 and include the name of the medication and the pharmacy you typically use.

Good Reads

generation-sleepless-by-heather-turgeon-julie-wright

Generation Sleepless by Heather Turgeon and Julie Wright dives into the teen sleep crisis and why so many kids today aren’t getting the rest they need. The authors break down how things like phones, homework, and busy schedules interfere with healthy sleep, and they share realistic tips to help teens (and parents) reset routines. It’s an eye-opening read for anyone raising or working with teens.

Back to School

Elementary school years are a critical time for emotional growth, and supporting children’s mental and behavioral health early can make a lasting difference. This article explores strategies to help kids build resilience and thrive in and out of the classroom. Read more HERE.

Office Closures

Our office is closed on September 1st in observance of Labor Day.

Aditi’s Kitchen

canva-kitchen-cooking-248x300Cilantro Mint Chutney

  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • 4-5 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger
  • 1 lemon’s juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-2 jalapeños
  • 1 tbsp peanuts (if salted adjust added salt)
  1. Trim cilantro ends leaving only tender parts of the stem as the woodier bottoms can be bitter.
  2. Combine the above into a smooth chutney.

Bombay Chutney Sandwich

  1. Toast your bread, spread butter followed by chutney on each side.
  2. Layer thin slices of tomato, cucumber, boiled potato, and a few thin slices of raw beets.
  3. Sprinkle of salt and enjoy. Tastes great with tomato soup!

Asked and Answered

Questions posed by patients and parents this month.

Q: Is creatine safe for teens?

A: Creatine supplementation in adolescents has been shown to produce small but measurable improvements in short-duration, high-intensity, anaerobic performance (e.g., resistance training, sprinting, jumping), with no demonstrated benefit for aerobic or “on-field” athletic performance. Randomized controlled trials in adolescent athletes (e.g., soccer and basketball players) report increased muscle power output and improved jump and scoring performance when creatine is combined with structured training.

The American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness states that, while short-term use at usual adult doses appears safe in healthy adults, safety data in the pediatric and adolescent population are limited, and there is concern for potential renal effects, particularly in those with underlying kidney dysfunction. The society specifically recommends against use in athletes at risk for kidney dysfunction and notes possible side effects such as water retention and impaired endurance performance.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition also recognizes that creatine supplementation is generally well-tolerated in healthy adolescents, with no significant adverse effects reported in short- or moderate-term studies, but emphasizes the need for further long-term safety data in this age group.

Q: Is fluoride in drinking water safe?

A: Fluoride in drinking water plays a critical role in the prevention of dental caries (tooth decay). Community water fluoridation, which involves adjusting fluoride concentrations to an optimal level, has been recognized as a safe, effective, and cost-efficient public health intervention that reduces dental caries by approximately 25% in both children and adults. The U.S. Public Health Service recommends a target fluoride concentration of 0.7 mg/L (0.7 ppm) in community water systems to maximize caries prevention while minimizing the risk of dental fluorosis, a cosmetic condition resulting from excess fluoride exposure during tooth development.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the American Dental Association all recommend fluoride supplementation for children whose primary water source is deficient in fluoride, particularly for those at high risk for dental caries. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets a secondary safety standard of 2.0 mg/L to prevent dental fluorosis and a primary maximum contaminant level of 4.0 mg/L to prevent skeletal fluorosis.

Fluoride’s caries-preventive effects are mediated by enhancing enamel resistance to acid, promoting remineralization, and inhibiting bacterial activity in dental plaque. The World Health Organization and the FDI World Dental Federation also support the use of systemic fluoride in public health policy for caries prevention.