Teaching Children Healthy Dental Habits

Perhaps the most important part of a parent's job is teaching one's children effective and healthy habits to last a lifetime. While parents often have a large amount of control of very young children's diets and dental routines, children will gain more independence as they age. If they have been taught basic oral health skills and why they are important, they will hopefully continue to follow a healthy regimen even without parents looking over their shoulders.

One of the most basic skills any child should know is how to brush teeth. Just as important, children should understand why this process is necessary. The effects of inadequate brushing can take years to show, so kids do not always grasp why they need to clean their teeth every night and morning.

In order to encourage this important habit, you may try making it a game. Have your child "follow" a certain character around his or her mouth to make sure the entire mouth is being cleaned. Your child may enjoy chasing plaque "bugs," or trailing a character he or she likes from books or movies. Small rewards can also help; receiving stickers to place on a chart is a common motivator.

To help your child understand why this no-fun process is necessary, you may choose one of a wide variety of children's videos and books illustrating this concept. You may also want to show your child pictures of tooth decay that are not too graphic to illustrate what can happen. A good dentist will also be able to explain the importance of this habit, and demonstrate how to do it correctly.

Of course, brushing is not the only aspect of dental health. Following a good diet can also contribute to strong teeth in addition to overall physical health. In general, children who have been taught to eat healthily from a young age will find it much easier to do so as adults.

 For example, try to use healthy foods as treats and rewards, rather than overly sugary snacks. This can help teach kids to enjoy fruits and vegetables, rather than seeing them as something dreary that their parents force them to eat. Keeping glucose and caffeine to a minimum can greatly reduce a child's risk of forming cavities, and may even contribute to improved behavior.

Teaching a child good habits is not easy. Many parents have to try a variety of tips and techniques before they find something that works well. The important thing is to not become too discouraged and to keep focusing on children's health.

For more children's oral health advice, contact Chicago family dentist Dr. Bagai.

Joseph Devine

Painting With Children

Children love color and the best way to introduce color is by using and mixing paint. You may think painting with children sounds daunting, but it is possible to teach children to paint when given the right tools and directions. Expecting to produce a good painting with a cheap watercolor paint set is not the answer. The brush is poor quality and much too small. The paint color is too light. Tempera is a good alternative and the colors are thicker and richer.

First you need to purchase:

Flat brushes

Round brushes (tear drop shapes)

Tempera Paint in bottles of the primary colors, red, blue, yellow as well as white, brown, and black

Paper plate to be used as a palette

Plastic tub like a used plastic butter or yogurt carton for water,paper towels

Start by covering the table with newspaper or plastic cloth. Fill up the tub with water and squeeze out paint on to your paper plate. Teach the child how to use the brush. Many children will swish the brush side to side when they first start to use it. It takes showing them often to change this kind of brushing. It will not produce good color and usually gives the painting a messy look.

Show them how to wash the brush after using one color to keep the colors pure. Have them dip into the paint, brush on to the paper and then wash the brush. Illustrate that the brush should not be pushed down too hard on to any surface because it ruins the hairs. After washing they are to dab slightly on to a paper towel to remove too much water. Then pick up another color

To mix colors, one of the primary mistakes is to add a light color to a darker color. For example, when mixing white and red to make a pink, do not start adding white to a large area of red. It will take much more paint than is needed because of the intensity and darker nature of the red color. Put the white down on the palette and add a small amount of red to the paint a little at a time to achieve the color you want.

To mix the primary colors such as red with yellow, put your yellow down first (the lightest color in the mixture) and then add the red. If you want to keep the red pure then wash the brush before mixing again. These colors will produce orange and adding more or less of each will produce either a yellow orange or red orange. At this point if you add any blue, your color will become more and more brown. Tempera colors can become muddy if the mixture is not done properly so try to keep the children from mixing all the primaries together.

Instead of trying to produce a "picture" of something, explore different lines and shapes while trying out the paint and brushes. In this way, there is no frustration on the part of the child to produce something recognizable. It frees the child to experiment with color.

Begin a short session in painting and you will find your child truly enjoying not only the process but also the creative aspects of painting. To further develop your children's painting, look for other articles about projects for painting with children.

Beth cook is an artist who loves to write about art. She suggests you also check out art classes Plano, TX and Allen TX art classes.

How to Prevent Bad Dental Habits in Children

Parents feel happy if they find their children are in good health. They remain anxious for the dental health of the kids. The parents take different measures to develop good habits among the kids as some of them do not want to take care of their teeth in the beginning or do not take it seriously. What should the parents do to take care of their children's teeth and to groom them accordingly may be summed up in the following lines.

1. Natural Acceptance:

Parents should aim at finding that the kids are accepting the daily practice of the cleaning of their teeth naturally and that this habit becomes a part of their nature.

2. Model Oneself:

As the children love to imitate the parents by nature the parents should stand as the models and should practice the cleaning of their own teeth before the children daily.

3. Tasks For The New One:

When a child passes through the teething trouble, that is, when his/her teeth start appearing caring should be initiated. Gum of the teeth, generally when they are at least six months or so, are very soft. So, very soft and clean cotton should be used to clean the teeth daily. After the growth of several teeth a tender baby brush should be given in his hand and help him showing how to clean the teeth. When he starts going to school he can learn to take care of his teeth independently.

4. For A Reluctant Child:

As the children must be taught even if he does not feel comfortable in it, the following steps may be taken.

a) Stories may be told to draw their attraction.

b) They may be involved in a kind of game.

c) Books with pictures explaining the teeth may be read jointly.

d) Movie or Video program illustrating the cleaning of the teeth may be shown.

e) Casual discussion may be made to persuade the kid.

f) One good dentist may be consulted to motivate the child.

5. Teeth should be cleaned with a tooth brush twice a day, in the morning and at the night.

6. Tooth Brush:

The tooth brush should have soft and nyloned bristles and it must have a round head. The head of the brass should be small enough, 1" x 1.50" or so, so that it gets excess to the most remote part of the teeth and do not cause harm to the gum or enamel of the teeth or let any adjacent part bleed.

7. Child's Diet:

Dental health depends on diet too. Sugary snacks and fruit juice or chocolates with every meal are sure to cause tooth decay. Fructose found in the juices covers the teeth and the region becomes a play-field of the bacteria which will surely cause damage to the teeth. Fresh fruits, full grains and varieties of vegetables are nutritious and keep the tooth healthy. Washing of the mouth in full after each intake should be a must always.

8. Importance of One Dentist:

Consultation with a good dentist and visit to him regularly at a convenient interval on his advice is really a necessity for the caring of the teeth of the children.