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Healthy Habits
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- Limit television viewing and encourage reading and storytelling.
- Practice food safety: washing fruits and vegetables and not eating undercooked meats or poultry.
- To avoid having to supplement with fluoride, use fluorinated tap water. If you are using bottled or filtered water only, then your child may need fluoride supplements (check with the health dept. or manufacturer for your water's fluoride levels).
- You should begin to clean your child's teeth by wiping them with a moist washcloth or a soft child's toothbrush. Use a small, pea-size amount of fluoride toothpaste, or a non-fluoride toothpaste (like Baby OraGel) while cleaning and brushing his teeth, until your child is able to spit it out (too much fluoride can stain their teeth). Also, do not put your child to sleep with a bottle, since the sugar in the formula/juice will pool around their teeth all night and cause cavities. You can begin regular dentist visits once he is three years old or sooner if he has any risk factors for getting cavities.
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Passive Smoking
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Children that are exposed to parents that smoke have been shown to have more problems with allergies and asthma, have higher rates of SIDS, and more ear and upper respiratory tract infections and it is therefore important to raise your child in a smoke free environment. See your doctor for tips/medicines to help you stop smoking. It is not enough to simply smoke outside or in another room from your baby.
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