Here’s where to go in an urgent medical situation

First Port of Call

Here’s where to go in an urgent medical situation

Dr. Jennie Berkovich

One of my least favorite places in the world is an ER waiting room. The good news is that often you can avoid it.

Urgent cares are similarly overused. So what’s a parent dealing with trauma, injury, or a broken bone to do? How do you know where to go and why?

Your child’s pediatrician or PCP should be your go-to for most health concerns. They know your child’s history, what’s typical for them, and how to guide you through both everyday illnesses and more complex issues. For most mild to moderate symptoms — like fevers, coughs, rashes, ear pain, or minor injuries — your pediatrician is the best first stop.

But here’s where things can get a little nuanced: Not all pediatric offices offer the same level of access. Some practices have nurses manning 24/7 advice lines or on-call doctors who can help you decide what’s urgent and what can wait. Others may have more limited after-hours options. If your practice does offer round-the-clock advice, don’t hesitate to use it. Sometimes, a quick call can save you a trip or help you get the right care faster.

Urgent care centers are designed for problems that need attention soon but aren’t life-threatening. These clinics are open evenings and weekends, which is helpful if your pediatrician’s office is closed. Urgent care is ideal for things like sore throats, earaches, pink eye, mild asthma symptoms (as long as your child is breathing comfortably), minor cuts that might need stitches, sprains, or possible minor fractures (as long as there’s no obvious deformity). It’s also a good option for fevers in older infants and children (but not in babies under 30 days), or mild allergic reactions that manifest without breathing difficulty.

If you’re not sure whether urgent care is enough, a call to your pediatrician’s advice line can help you decide if you should go to urgent care or head straight to the ER.

Some situations are true emergencies, and you shouldn’t wait. Go to the ER or call Hatzalah or 911 if your child under 30 days old has a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, or if any child is struggling to breathe, has blue lips, or is gasping for air. Other emergencies include seizures that don’t stop; seizures in a child who hasn’t had them before; unresponsiveness or sudden confusion; severe injuries (like a broken bone with obvious deformity, a large burn, or severe bleeding); swallowing a battery or magnet; or signs of severe dehydration (such as no urine for 12+ hours, very dry mouth, or lethargy).

If your child ingested something they shouldn’t have (like medications, soap, or detergent) call the national toll-free Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. It connects you to your local poison control center anywhere in the United States and is your resource for help in a poisoning emergency.

Every family and every practice is a little different. If you’re ever unsure, turn to your pediatrician’s office to start with. Ask what their after-hours availability is and post their number in an easy-to-see place so you’ll remember to call them for the next emergency — big or small.

Dr. Jennie Berkovich is a board-certified pediatrician in Chicago and serves as the Director of Education for the Jewish Orthodox Women’s Medical Association (JOWMA)

Good Kids, Digital Dangers

Shona Kaisman Schwartz

“Not my child.” I hear this refrain constantly from parents when I share troubling statistics about kids and screen use. Their eyes glaze over as they mentally exit the conversation, secure in the belief that their “good kid” exists in some protective bubble that research data simply doesn’t penetrate.

But I’m here to deliver an uncomfortable truth: The distinction between “good kids” and “vulnerable kids” doesn’t exist in the digital landscape. The algorithms targeting our children don’t care about their middos, family background, or frumkeit.

The most conscientious student in your child’s class might be the one who got a little curious with AI. The best bochur can go down rabbit holes of extremist content more easily than we want to accept. The quiet, responsible daughter might be the one silently spiraling into comparison-driven depression.

This isn’t because these kids are secretly “bad kids.” It’s because digital platforms are masterfully engineered to exploit developing brains. When we dismiss concerning research with “my child would never,” we’re not showing faith in our parenting; we’re demonstrating dangerous denial. The digital world doesn’t respond to our children’s inherent goodness; it systematically targets their neurological vulnerabilities.

I’ve sat across from countless devastated parents who never imagined their child would:

• Participate in cyberbullying
• Access inappropriate content
• Develop anxiety from digital comparison
• Share private information

The common thread in these conversations? “We thought they knew better.” Your child is a good kid. And good kids, with still-developing frontal lobes, make regrettable decisions when placed in environments designed to manipulate them. The real question isn’t whether your child is “good,” but whether you’re ready to acknowledge that even the best kids need protection in a digital landscape designed to trap them.

Shona Kaisman-Schwartz is an educational consultant.She is the author of How To Stop Caring What Others Think: For Real and the book, Always On: An Interactive Parents’ Guide to the (Dis)Connected Generation.

Take a Reset

Sara Eisemann

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

— A. Lamott

You know that feeling of relief you feel when a noisy fan suddenly goes quiet? Often we don’t realize how much the background noise agitated us until there’s silence.

Many of us may feel like we’re navigating challenging lives with a background hum we may not be consciously aware of. We’ve been valiantly trying to go on against a backdrop of war, anxiety, and unpredictability. And then we’re surprised when it takes a toll, when the slightest disruption makes us feel unhinged.

We, too, need to unplug. Everyone needs a reset. Whether it’s a chunk of time when we don’t check the news, a quiet walk around the block, or some quality time spent with our favorite coffee, everyone needs to turn it all off for a few minutes and let the mind, body, and soul rest. And hopefully, when we turn it back on, everything will be good as new.

Sara Eisemann, LMSW, ACSW, is a licensed therapist, Directed Dating coach, and certified Core Mentor.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 950)