Fun Christmas Craft Ideas!

With the kids out of school for Christmas Break, we know that sends some parents into a scramble to find things to keep their children occupied and busy throughout the holidays. We have gathered some fun craft ideas from various sources that will help to entertain your children this week -- and add some more decorations to your home, too!

Ice Cream Cones Turned Christmas Trees!

This is a very fun and inexpensive activity that is a change-up from the usual gingerbread house. 

Snowman Cookies!

Sugar cookies, decorated with icing and a jumbo marshmallow for the Snowman's head.

Pom Pom Ornaments!

Elmer's glue, pom poms, cardboard from a cereal box!

Reindeer Cookies!

Cookie of your choice, pretzels for the antlers and M&Ms for the eyes and nose! 

Felt Finger Puppets!

All you need is felt, scissors and glue!

Cup Cozies!

You only need felt, scissors and glue for this one, too! 

Bottle Cap Magnets!

Magnets are inexpensive at any craft store or Wal*Mart. Simple glue them to the back of bottle caps, decorate the inside, and there you have festive magnets for your fridge! 

Photo credits: http://blog.amyatlas.com/2010/12/christmas-guest-dessert-feature-2/, http://www.tipjunkie.com/activities-for-kids-christmas/, http://urbancomfort.typepad.com/urban_nest/every-days-a-holiday/page/2/

TV Junk Food Ads Make Kids Crave Sweet Treats!

There has been considerable debate over whether exposure to food advertising affects incidence rates of childhood obesity. While the positive correlation between the hours of television viewed, body mass index, and obesity incidence has been documented, the exact mechanisms through which this occurs are still being investigated. Recently, there has been an increase in calls to ban junk food advertisements aimed at children as these ads have been found (findings published in Pediatrics) to increase children's appetites for sweet and high-fat foods. While these types of foods are not only unhealthy for our children's growing bodies, they are unhealthy for their growing teeth! 

• It has been estimated that the average child currently views more than 40,000 commercials on television each year
• More than 50 percent of television advertisements directed at children promote foods and beverages such as candy, convenience foods, snack foods, sugar sweetened beverages and sweetened breakfast cereals that are high in calories, fat, and sugar and low in fiber and nutrient density. (http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/child_obesity/)

Below is part of the Article "Television ads for junk food really do make children hungry for those treats, especially if they watch a lot of television, according to a study"  from  Reuters.com 

Reporting by Amy Norton at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies

In tests with 6- to 13-year olds, researchers led by Emma Boyland of the University of Liverpool in the UK found that a DVD featuring commercials for fast food and junk food seemed to [enhance] children's appetites for sweet and high-fat [food.]

The children involved in the research reported a greater desire for sweet and fatty foods after viewing the junk-food ads compared to days when they watched commercials for toys.

This was especially true for children who usually watched a lot of TV in their everyday lives, with "a lot" defined by the researchers as over 21 hours a week. But researchers said the effects of the food ads were modest, making only a small difference in the average number of food items the children said they wanted "right now."

On average, kids wanted more high-carb, high-fat foods after watching food commercials. In real life, as well, a lot of other factors would be at work, including parents' willingness to buy those foods, which makes it impossible to fully and experimentally study the effect of ads and childhood obesity.

"This study confirms the cumulative, sustained effect of food marketing on TV: the more children watch TV, the more susceptible they are to advertising," said Lori Dorfman, who directs the Berkeley Media Studies Group in California and has studied food marketing to children.

"This might not be so bad if food marketers put their best foods forward, but they don't," Dorfman, who did not take part in the study, told Reuters Health by email.

Dorfman noted that children now watch TV on their computers and mobile gadgets as well as at home on TV, which can add up to a lot of hours. Dorfman said that parents should limit TV time, but added that they need help. "It's simply not fair to expect parents alone to counter the $2 billion food companies spend each year targeting their kids with fun, irresistible ads for sugary, high-fat, salty foods," she added.

What Other Countries are Doing to Regulate "Junk Food" Advertising Towards Children

• United Kingdom: Children's Food Bill 
• In November 2006, the Office of Communication announced that it would ban television advertisements for junk food before, during and after television programming aimed at ages 16 and under in the United Kingdom.
• Sweden: All advertisements aimed at children 12 and under is banned, including fast food ads.
• Malaysia: Fast food advertising during children's television was banned in 2007 

Do you think the U.S. should take stronger initiatives to regulate "junk food" ads targeted at children? 

Post credits: 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/28/us-junkfood-tv-idUSTRE75R04H20110628 

http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/child_obesity/

Be the healthy example for your kids!

While dental cavities are one of the most prevalent, chronic diseases of children in the U.S., more than half of children still don't visit the dentist on an annual basis. Here are some hard facts from the study "Association Between Parents' and Children’s Use of Oral Health Services":

• Children were more likely to have visited a dentist in the previous 12 months when their parents also had a dental visit. 
• Of 6,107 child-parent pairs, 77 % of children and 64 % of parents had a dental visit in the previous 12 months. 
• Among parents who had seen a dentist, 85 % of their children also had a dental visit. 
• Among parents who had not seen a dentist, 62 % of their children had a dental visit. 
• Children whose dental care was deferred due to cost were more likely to have parents whose dental care was deferred for the same reason.

Based on these research findings, if parents go to the dentist, children most likely will, too! And that makes for one happy, healthy, and smiling family! Call us today and we'll get your little one scheduled for a FUN visit at Kid's Dentistree!

Post credits: http://www.healthychildren.org/English/news/Pages/If-Parent-Visit-The-Dentist-Children-Probably-Will-Too.aspx 

Gotta Grinder? 6 Q + As on Little Grinders

1. Why do kids grind their teeth? Does the answer change depending on the age of the child?

Children exhibit teeth grinding very commonly. We see it in children younger than 7-8 years old often.  A lot of children will stop grinding once their six-year permanent molars erupt. Their permanent teeth bite begins to establish itself once those molars erupt. 

Prior to this, children's bites are very flexible and subject to changes as they grow. Occasionally, children will exhibit an abnormal bite causing them to grind because of the placement of their teeth.

2. Could it be stress-related? Do children grind their teeth for some of the same reasons adults might grind their teeth? 
More common is stress related grinding in students of middle school age and high school when (final exams and other) major testing occurs. This is the stress more common to this age group.

3. What should parents do if their child is grinding his or her teeth?
If the child is still very young with baby teeth still present, nothing needs to be done as we do not want to affect their growth. If the child is older, intervention may be necessary. The plan is to protect the permanent teeth while not negatively affecting their normal growth.

4. What should they look out for? When should parents worry?
Their dentist will notice and track wear patterns and recommend treatment when appropriate.

5. How common is teeth-grinding?

It is very common in children less than 7 years of age. There are adults that do this so not all children outgrow grinding. According to some studies, there is also a correlation between children grinding their teeth and those children that have sleeping disorders.

6. Any other tips for parents who are concerned about their children's teeth-grinding issue?

Our major concern is that permanent teeth are not affected and normal growth is allowed to occur. Many children do this and this does  not mean that they are stressed, rather sometimes this is a natural expression of frustration until their vocabulary increases and they can verbally express their frustrations. In most cases this is a subconscious response and will change with age and growth.

Post credits: Link from AAPD.com