Dr. Lisa Belisle

Farewell to the Queen

 by Lisa M. Belisle, MD, MPH
Originally published May 2006, Community Leader

April 23, 2006, was a day of both joy and sorrow. On April 23, Stella Pearl Libby was christened at Sacred Heart in Yarmouth. On April 23, Pearl Mary O’Brien Emery died at Ledgeview Assisted Living in Cumberland. In the morning I experienced the sweetness of my infant niece smiling her way through a post-Easter baptism. By the afternoon, I was mourning the passing of her namesake, my ninety-three-year old Nana. It is said that to everything there is a season: a time to weep and a time to laugh. On April 23, it happened that these seasons were one and the same.

Beyond “Birds & Bees”: Talking to Kids about Sex & Development

By Lisa M. Belisle, MD, MPH
Originally published May 2006, Parent & Family

My five-year-old loves to tell people about her ‘boyfriends.’ By her report, she has a man in every port: one at preschool, one at daycare, and several younger brothers of her sister’s friends. Obviously Sophie’s interactions with her paramours are not physical in nature, and certainly don’t represent the type of intimacy that she will likely encounter with her future loves. She’s simply playing a game, as she seeks to understand what happens when individuals care for one another. Our children begin this process at a very early age. As parents, we should feel comfortable discussing relationships, physical development and sex, and take advantage of the many resources available to us on these topics.