Child Abuse: Pennsylvania Mandated Reporter Training
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PANDAS in Practice: Untangling the Controversy Around Sudden-Onset OCD and Tics in Kids
Posted by Jenny Huynh, BSN, RN, NCSN
Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections—more commonly known by its acronym, PANDAS—is a term that’s been circulating in pediatric circles for a few decades now, often with a mixture of curiosity, skepticism, and frustration. If you’ve been in practice long enough, chances are you’ve either heard about it from a concerned parent who came in with a printout from Google or you've encountered a kid whose Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms came on like a switch had been flipped. So let’s talk shop—what PANDAS is, what we know, and why it's still a hotly debated diagnosis. What Is PANDAS? Origins, Criteria, and Proposed Mechanisms The idea of PANDAS came into the picture in the late '90s when researchers at the NIMH noticed something odd. Some children, often previously healthy, developed sudden and severe obsessive-compulsive behaviors or motor tics after what seemed to...
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Helping Children Build Healthy Peer Relationships and Social Skills
Posted by Nicole Ricketts-Murray, RN
  Healthy friendships are not just a minor part of childhood—they are fundamental developmental tasks within child social development that can impact learning, behavior, and long-term health in measurable ways. In clinical settings, issues with social functioning may manifest indirectly, such as through physical complaints, refusal to attend school, irritability, or sleep problems; often, these stem from challenges in children's peer relationships. For pediatricians and primary care providers, offering brief, age-appropriate advice on social skills and relationships can strengthen early guidance, identify risks sooner, and help families build resilience and support childhood mental health.   The Health Impact of Peer Relationships Children develop socially through everyday interactions, such as sharing, taking turns, interpreting facial expressions, resolving conflicts, and correcting misunderstandings. These experiences are central to child social d...
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Winter Safety Risks for Children and When to Act
Posted by Nicole Ricketts-Murray, RN
January often brings extreme-cold advisories, school delays, and sudden schedule changes—exactly the conditions that can increase winter-related injuries and expose gaps in a child’s basic care. For mandated reporters (including educators, childcare staff, and many healthcare professionals), winter is also a time when potential neglect can become more visible: repeated inadequate clothing, unsafe supervision during closures, or prolonged exposure to cold. This article focuses on (1) preventing and recognizing hypothermia and frostbite, (2) winter-specific supervision risks, and (3) how to distinguish “supportive help” from situations that may require a mandated report, with Pennsylvania-specific references. Why cold hits kids hard Cold injury risk isn’t just about temperature—it’s about time, wind, wet clothing, and supervision. The CDC notes that hypothermia can occur not only in severe cold but even above 40°F if a person bec...
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Preventing Abuse in Sports: What Coaches and Volunteers Should Watch For
Posted by Mary Thompson
Youth sports play a powerful role in shaping children’s lives. From building confidence and discipline to encouraging teamwork and resilience, sports can be one of the most positive influences in a young person’s development. Yet, these environments can also become unsafe when proper safeguards are not in place.   Coaches and Volunteers often hold significant authority over athletes. That power comes with responsibility–not just to teach the rules of the game, but to protect the well-being of every child in their care. In Pennsylvania, anyone working with children in a supervisory role, including coaches and sports volunteers, is considered a mandated reporter under state law. This legal and ethical duty means recognizing the warning signs of abuse and taking action when concerns arise.   The purpose of this article is to help coaches and volunteers identify the different types of abuse that can occur in sports, understand the risk factors, r...
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Where in the U.S. Are Children Most Likely to Be Bullied and Bully Others?
Posted by Claire Whitmore
Bullying is a widespread problem affecting millions of children across the United States, with more than one-third of children aged 6 to 17 having experienced it at least once in the past year. From school bullying to cyberbullying, the issue has only grown in recent years.  A survey conducted by The Child & Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative shows that bullying is much more prevalent in certain states than others. Using data from their 2022–2023 National Survey of Children’s Health, the team at PARequirements.com created a graphic highlighting the U.S. states with the highest rates of children who are bullied and those with the highest rates of children who bully others.  The National Survey of Children’s Health provides data on the percentage of children aged 6–17 who have either experienced bullying — meaning they were “bullied, picked on, or excluded by other children in the past 12 months” — or who have bull...
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Recent Posts
PANDAS in Practice: Untangling the Controversy Around Sudden-Onset OCD and Tics in Kids
Helping Children Build Healthy Peer Relationships and Social Skills
Winter Safety Risks for Children and When to Act
Preventing Abuse in Sports: What Coaches and Volunteers Should Watch For
Where in the U.S. Are Children Most Likely to Be Bullied and Bully Others?
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