brush up for better grades - my childrens teeth · 2013. 2. 6. · brush up for better grades...
TRANSCRIPT
TEXT BY Holly Pevzner
CLEAN TEETH, FRESH BREATH—GOOD
REPORT CARD? Recent research found
that children with poor oral health are four
times more likely to have below average grades
than kids with healthy choppers. They also typi-
cally miss two school days a year because of
dental issues. But there are easy ways to keep
tooth pain from getting in the way of learning.
Brush your child’s teeth yourself until age 6
and supervise her until age 8; she won’t have
the dexterity to do it e� ciently on her own
until then. Using a kids’ fl ouride mouthwash
twice a day and noshing on healthy snacks
like apples (which promote the production of
saliva, a plaque deterrent), can also help.
Source: Joel H. Berg, D.D.S., president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
Brush Up for Better Grades
happy+healthyYOUR FAMILY AT ITS BEST
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buckle up!Remember to remove
bulky coats before
strapping in your tot.
A Drive for SafetyAn alarming number of parents don’t follow car seat guidelines. What to know
IT’S BEEN ALMOST TWO
YEARS since the American
Academy of Pediatrics
shook up their car seat rec-
ommendations, but accord-
ing to a new study, most
parents haven’t gotten the
memo. Researchers found
that only 3 percent of 1- to
3-year-olds were strapped
in properly and even
fewer older kids were. One
mistake: Transitioning to
the next seat too early, says
study author Michelle L.
Macy, M.D. Here, your seat-
by-seat safety guide:
Rear-FacingUse a rear-facing seat with
a 5-point harness until age
2—or when he’s at the max
height and weight set by the
manufacturer (generally 35
pounds). “Riding rear-facing
can reduce the risk of injury
in a crash by as much as fi ve
times,” says Mark R. Zon-
frillo, M.D., principal inves-
tigator at The Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia’s
Center for Injury Research
and Prevention.
Forward-Facing Strap your growing child
into a forward-facing seat
with a 5-point harness
until he exceeds the seat’s
size recommendations.
“Although many parents
move kids to a booster seat
at preschool age, the major-
ity of forward-facing seats
go up to between 65 and 80
pounds and most 4-year-
olds weigh 27 to 50 pounds,”
says Dr. Zonfrillo. “If your
forward-facing seat maxes
out at 40, it’s best to get one
with a higher limit. If that’s
not possible, you can use a
high-back, belt-positioning
booster seat, but it’s not
ideal.” Boosters don’t attach
to the car as securely as
car seats, so they can move
around in an accident, mak-
ing an injury more likely.
BoosterUse a booster once your
child is past the limits of the
car seat: his shoulders are
above the top harness slots
and his ears are at the top
of the seat. “The idea’s not
to keep every child out of a
booster seat until he is 80
pounds,” says Dr. Zonfrillo.
“It’s to put a child in a seat
that’s best for him.”
Seat BeltKids usually outgrow the
booster seat between ages
8 and 12, when they reach
a height of about 4' 9". At
that point, just wearing a
seat belt is fi ne, says Dr.
Zonfrillo. But keep them in
the backseat until at least
13—it’s simply a safer place
for them to ride.
42 SCHOLASTIC.COM/PARENTANDCHILD | DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013
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{My Magical Wand Cinderella is the perfect best
friend to light up your daughter’s imagination.
With a swoosh of her magic wand, young
Cinderella’s dress lights up in sparkly light
patterns as she sings “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo”
and says 15 charming phrases such as
“I believe dreams come true!”
Explore the magic of all the My First Disney
Princess dolls, and find special promotions
waiting for you at facebook.com/tollytotstoys
®Disney
Gold’s Gym From karate
to yoga to aerobics, the kid
courses here run the gamut.
And they all emphasize fun!
goldsgym.com
My Sports Clubs The All-Star
Sports classes teach age-
appropriate basics of a new
sport each week. Perfect for
little jocks. mysportsclubs.com
YMCA Many centers of er
awesome dance classes ranging
from hip-hop to classical Indian
routines. ymca.net
Breathe Better It’s no surprise that there’s an app for asthma: After all, it’s the most common chronic ill-ness among kids. AsthmaSense, a new app, makes managing it easier. It offers a medication reminder and lets you enter your child’s peak fl ow measure-ments and wheezing rate. If it seems like his symptoms are not well controlled, you’ll get an alert. Now that’s pocket pro-tection! For iPhone, iPad, and Android. iSonea, free.
WANT TO HIT
THE GYM BUT
DON’T HAVE
A REGULAR
SITTER? THESE
CHAINS
OFFER EXER-
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YOUR KIDS
CAN ENJOY
WHILE YOU’RE
GETTING FIT
WORK
IT OUT
-
New Year, New LunchFive moms—dieticians all—share their lunch box resolutions
THE HURDLE
Boredom
“Most days I pack the
same old thing,” admits
Susan Greeley, R.D.,
mother of four and author
of Cooking with Trader
Joe’s Cookbook: Lighten Up!
RESOLUTION
Mix It Up “I’m going to try to do
more meal swaps. Like
breakfast for lunch. It’s
fun! I may pack the kids
a homemade pasta dish
or multigrain-and-banana
pancakes instead of the
standard sandwich.”
THE HURDLE
Freshness
“It’s really hard to keep cold
lunches cold and warm ones
hot,” says Heidi McIndoo,
R.D., author of The Complete
Idiot’s Guide to 200-300-400
Calorie Meals.
RESOLUTION
Experiment“I’m going to pack hot meals
in a Thermos—but I won’t
put it in their lunch bag. I
realized that the keep-warm
insulation doesn’t work well
when it’s stuck inside a cold
lunch box.”
THE HURDLE
Produce Pressure
“I often struggle to get
a variety of fruits and
veggies into my children’s
lunches,” says mother-of-two
Shelly Summar, R.D., weight
management program
coordinator at Children’s
Mercy Hospitals and Clinics
in Kansas City, MO.
� RESOLUTION
Go Seasonal
“I’m going to look for fruits
and veggies that are in
season. They taste better
and it guarantees a good
variety of options.”
THE HURDLE
Not Enough Time“Lunch periods are very
short and my kids often
have trouble fi nishing their
food,” says Victoria Shanta
Retelny, R.D., author of
The Essential Guide to
Healthy Healing Foods.
RESOLUTION
Get More Bang for the Buck “My goal is to maxim-
ize the nutritional value,
but with smaller portions,
so instead of a turkey and
mustard sandwich on whole
grain, I’ll pack my daughter
half a sandwich with cut
fruit and a small yogurt.”
THE HURDLE
The Cool Factor
“My 8-year-old forbids me
from packing some things
she likes, like bean burritos,
for fear her friends will
say, ‘Ewww,’” says Angela
Lemond, R.D., spokes-
person for the Academy
of Nutrition and Dietetics
and mother of two.
RESOLUTION
Be Creative
“I’ll work on presentation
of the food, like using cookie
cutters to make fun shapes
with bread,” says Lemond.
Best Breakfast BarsWhen paired with a banana and a box of
milk, these babies can be a good on-the-go solution. But not all breakfast bars are created equal. Choose those
with whole grains at the top of the ingredient list—and make sure sugar isn’t
one of the fi rst three ingredients.
Source: Joanna Dolgo� , M.D., spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and author of Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right
{ Blueberry Oatmeal Square,
Corazonas, $12 for 12
Cherry Vanilla Soft-Baked Cereal Bar,
Kashi, $4 for 6
Almond Crunch Bar, Mrs. May’s
Naturals, $15 for 12
44 SCHOLASTIC.COM/PARENTANDCHILD | DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013
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