Healthy Teeth

• Help your child brush his teeth twice a day.
  • After breakfast
  • Before bed
• Use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste with fluoride.
• Help your child floss her teeth once a day.
• Your child should visit the dentist at least twice a year.

Ready for School

• Take your child to see the school and meet the teacher.
• Read books with your child about starting school.
• Talk to your child about school.
• Make sure your child is in a safe place after school with an adult.
• Talk with your child every day about things he liked, any worries, and if anyone is being mean to him.
• Talk to us about your concerns.

Your Child and Family

• Give your child chores to do and expect them to be done.
• Have family routines.
• Hug and praise your child.
• Teach your child what is right and what is wrong.
• Help your child to do things for herself.
• Children learn better from discipline than they do from punishment.
• Help your child deal with anger.
  • Teach your child to walk away when angry or go somewhere else to play.

Staying Healthy

• Eat breakfast.
• Buy fat-free milk and low-fat dairy foods, and encourage 3 servings each day.
• Limit candy, soft drinks, and high-fat foods.
• Offer 5 servings of vegetables and fruits at meals and for snacks every day.
• Limit TV time to 2 hours a day.
• Do not have a TV in your child’s bedroom.
• Make sure your child is active for 1 hour or more daily.

Safety

• Your child should always ride in the back seat and use a car safety seat or booster seat.
• Teach your child to swim.
• Watch your child around water.
• Use sunscreen when outside.
• Provide a good-fitting helmet and safety gear for biking, skating, in-line skating, skiing, snowboarding, and horseback riding.
• Have a working smoke alarm on each floor of your house and a fire escape plan.
• Install a carbon monoxide detector in a hallway near every sleeping area.
• Never have a gun in the home. If you must have a gun, store it unloaded and locked with the ammunition locked separately from the gun.
• Ask if there are guns in homes where your child plays. If so, make sure they are stored safely.
• Teach your child how to cross the street safely. Children are not ready to cross the street alone until age 10 or older.
• Teach your child about bus safety.
• Teach your child about how to be safe with other adults.
  • No one should ask for a secret to be kept from parents.
  • No one should ask to see private parts.
  • No adult should ask for help with his private parts.