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-

CISE CLASSES

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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