• Health Habits
• Safety
• Eating Well

At this early age, a child learns by watching others. Parents are usually the ones the child sees. Parents’ health habits have a big impact on the child.

Do you smoke, uses seat belts, watch a lot of television?

Parents can help their kids learn simple good habits such as:

• hand washing and keeping clean
• brushing teeth at least twice a day
• using sun screen and bike helmets
• being aware of dangerous situations
• following rules if approached by a stranger
• wearing seat belts
• limiting screen time (TV, computer, hand-held devices)

Accidents are the most common cause of death for children between the ages of 1-14. Traffic accidents cause about half of these deaths, falls and drowning for about 25%, and fire for 10-15%. The other common causes are poisonings and gun injuries.

Think about this list! Many of the "accidents" really do not happen by chance or bad luck. They can be prevented by carefully watching children near traffic and having them use car seats that are the right size for them. Accidents can be reduced by storing poisons, paints, cleaning liquids, medications, lighter fluids, and matches IN A PLACE A CHILD CAN NOT REACH!

• make sure toys have no sharp edges or small parts that might block breathing
• keep guns locked and unloaded
• have a fire extinguisher
• store sharp scissors, pencils, razors in a safe place
• watch your child near lawnmowers, overhead garage doors, streets, and traffic
• teach the child to be gentle with pets and animals
• keep gates on stairs and latches on windows to prevent falls
• check the playground for safety
• keep electrical outlets covered and cords out of reach
• check your smoke detector to make sure it is working
• turn pot handles toward the back of the stove when cooking
• stay with your child whenever you are near bathtubs or pools
• don’t keep buckets of water in the yard
• keep toilet lids close

Most persons who are reading this on the internet live in countries where the biggest problem with childhood nutrition is eating too much. On the "Action Form" look for your child’s "BMI". It should be less than 25. If your child has a BMI of 25 or greater the child has a very good chance of becoming overweight as an adult. Overweight adults are at great risk for (sugar) diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart problems.

Children are growing rapidly and need proteins, vitamins, and minerals every day. Proteins are the building blocks for your body. Proteins come from meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts, or peanut butter.

Children should eat several servings each day from the high protein and high vitamin and mineral food groups. A lot of vitamins and minerals are found in fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, and enriched breads or cereals.

Try to change snack habits. Replace chips, candy, and cookies with crackers, cheese, nuts, fruit, juices, low- fat yogurt, and vegetables.

Children who drink one sweetened soda or juice a day are more likely to become overweight than kids who do not drink sweetened juice or soda. (This has been studied and is True!). Try to cut back on sugar. Keep the sugar bowl off the table. Decrease candy and pastry consumption. Avoid desserts made with sugar. Avoid soft drinks and fruit drinks high in sugar. Check the ingredient label and avoid those that have sugar high on the ingredient list-- this includes such sugars as glucose, sucrose, fructose, and corn syrup.

Try to cut back on some fats in your diet. Broil or bake foods rather than frying them. Chicken may have less fat than beef but when deep fried, chicken has twice as much fat as a hamburger. Select lean cuts of meat. Eat fish and poultry instead of red meats. Cut down on hidden fat in foods served with heavy sauces or gravies, pastries, and even chocolates. Reduce milk to 2% fat or less. Your child won't notice much difference in taste.

Kids 2-3

Remember kids can choke on grapes, popcorn, peanut butter on a spoon, hot-dogs, raw carrots, round candy, and pretzels.

Kids 4-8

Best snacks are: cut-up vegetables and fruits, low-fat yogurt, mozzarella cheese sticks.

We have tried to make the How's Your Health error-free. However, those involved in its preparation can not warrant that all of the information is accurate and complete. When you use How's Your Health as a guide for your health and medical care, be sure to discuss any questions about it with your doctor, nurse, or other health care worker.