Guest Author - Gwenn Schurgin O'Keeffe, M.D.,F.A.A.P.

How well do you know pediatric lingo? I'm not talking "doctor" or "test" but the buzz words of my biz. I'll give you a hint, just look around your pediatrician's office. Listen to the words he or she uses when talking to you and your kids. Pay attention to the lingo used on pediatric handouts and parenting handouts. Politely eaves drop on the nurses in the halls. I promise the words are not secrets - just words you may not have right at the tips of your tongue.

Understanding more of the lingo your doctor uses will help you use that lingo back when talking to your doctor about your child. That can be really, really helpful especially when sickness or a crisis hits. The better you can communicate the better you'll be able to understand what is happening and make the best informed decisions you can.

Of course, in the end, lofty goals aside, I can think of many, many other reasons to test your brain with word games. For example,

Word Games
1. are fun!
2. help you discover words and ideas you may not have thought of
3. test what you know.
4. give you a small dose of distraction to your busy day.
5. give your brain a break from the myriad of "have tos" on your plate each day.
6. help you learn some new tidbits of information.
7. get you in touch with your inner child.
8. are fun!
9. are fun!
10. are fun!

The bottom line, is word games are fun and can help expand your mind, give you new things to ponder, and new words to use in scrable.

I have three word games up and running for you to test your knowledge: hangman, word scramble, and word search.

You know, you can turn this into a family thing - what better way to help your kids understand their doctor's visits than learning the lingo!

Pediatric Word Scramble

Pediatric Hangman

Pediatric Word Search