Hilltown Families 
Enter to Win a Mini Retreat for Busy Moms How do you model self-care to your children? What tools help you take a breather when needed? What do you do to...
The thrill of the hunt is fun! Angie found this when searching for violets to come up with a remedy for a sick kid. The thrill of the discovery in the...
Violets You know it’s spring in New England when it snows on Memorial Day weekend, right? As my family made a journey to New Hampshire for this three day weekend, a...
QUESTION AND ANSWERS Have your kids asked yet how babies are made, or where babies come from? What did you say? If they haven’t asked yet, how might you reply when...
Environmental Working Group 2011 Shopper’s Guide Helps Cut Consumer Pesticide Exposure Environmental Working Group has released the seventh edition of its Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce with updated information on...
QUESTION AND ANSWERS Can anyone recommend a good place for kids to take swim lessons this summer? Megan Rubiner Zinn recommends: “Craig Collins at the Valley Swim School (at the Clarke...
Dear Dr. Markel, “My eight year old son has moderate hay fever. This time of year for the past two his nose runs, his little eyes glaze over and he sneezes...
Question and Answer Do you have a pediatric dentist you love here in Western MA? Share here for other families looking for dental services for their kids. Jessica Grant writes: I...
Dear Dr. Markel, I was wondering your opinion on thumb sucking. My son is 7. He sucks his thumb a lot, except never at school. I feel he doesn’t “need” to,...
Herbal Medicine for Children and Babies Four Fall Classes at Blazing Star Herbal School Hilltown Families and Blazing Star Herbal School (BSHS) in Ashfield, MA have partnered up to offer one...
World Breastfeeding Week in Western MA The week of August 1st, breastfeeding advocates all over the world will be celebrating World Breastfeeding Week for the 19th year with the theme “Breastfeeding:...
Victoria Worth of Ashfield, MA writes: There is a good article in the New York Times about sunscreens. Below is the beginning of the piece and HERE is the link to...
Food Allergies and Summer Camp By Hilltown Families Guest Writer, Karen A. Jordan It’s that time of year again…the final countdown of school days, warmer weather, and plans for summer camp....
QUESTION AND ANSWERS Summer is turning the corner on us and the sun is a blazing. Can anyone recommend a kid-friendly sun-block they like to use on their family, and where...
It Takes A Village Hosts an Open House February 28th, 2010 in Cummington, MA ‘It Takes a Village‘ is a free-of-charge, community service that supports families for the first three months...
Advocates Urge American Academy of Family Physicians to End Coca -Cola Partnership Things don’t always go better with Coke. That’s why the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has launched a letter-writing...
Kids Spoon-Fed Marketing and Advertising for Least Healthy Breakfast Cereals The least healthy breakfast cereals are those most frequently and aggressively marketed directly to children as young as age two, finds...
Your Daughter’s Halloween Costume: Tips for Dads The search for your daughter or stepdaughter’s Halloween costume can be treacherous, filled with over-sexed and stereotyped “choices.” Here are some healthy ideas from...
Research Shows Children are Critically Susceptible to Pesticides By Michael Jolliffe A new study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives has revealed that children are dangerously vulnerable to the effects...
Cooley Dickinson Hospital Childbirth Center takes baby steps toward national initiative Cooley Dickinson Hospital’s Childbirth Center in Northampton, MA has received a certificate of intent from the UNICEF/World Health Organization Baby-Friendly...
Tanya Lieberman of Northampton, MA writes: I’m helping to recruit nursing mothers for a breast cancer study based at UMass, and am hoping that you might know of mothers who would...
The band Five for Fighting is generously donating $0.40 to Autism Speaks each time this video is viewed. The funds raised will go towards research studies to help find a cure...
80% of mothers experience some symptoms of postpartum depression or anxiety within the first year of motherhood!
Tucker Kueny, MD Accepts Offer of Midwifery Medical Director Post Cooley’s midwifery practice to progress at quicker pace; certified nurse midwife recruitment continues with a practice opening planned for June 2008....
HOSPITAL RESPONDS TO LOCAL COMMUNITY CONCERNS In response to questions from the community, Acting CEO Carol Smith says “fit with this community is essential!” Cooley Dickinson Hospital (Northampton, MA) has a...
From the Apothacary: Families Can Find Some Itch Relief! By Tony(a) Lemos, HF Contributing Writer To follow are a couple herbal recipes to relieve the summer itch of bug bites or...