Category: Parenting

Oral health in a child is one of the keys to their overall health. The habits that you instill in your children get carried on with them into adulthood. When you teach them how to care for their teeth and gums, you set them up for a future of good oral hygiene. They will be inclined to brush and floss correctly for the rest of their life. 

Your kids idolize you, and they often follow what you do. Take advantage of those little eyes that are studying you, and use this attention to develop their healthy oral habits. Studies have shown correlations between parent’s and children’s good oral health habits.

Follow these simple tips to become a worthy dental health role model to your kid:

A brushing and flossing routine

Your child’s mouth is prone to many different microbes and germs daily. You need to ensure that food particles don’t get left behind in their teeth overnight. If plaque and bacteria accumulate on their teeth due to these food particles for a prolonged duration, it can erode their enamel, impact gum health and cause cavities. Good oral hygiene of brushing with fluoride toothpaste and flossing are both essential to prevent cavities in primary teeth and provide more effective support to your child’s permanent teeth.

Dental Cavities:

Bacteria and food build-ups known as plaque are primary causes of tooth decay. It arises when a lack of thorough brushing leaves foods containing high amounts of unhealthy carbohydrates such as sugar and starch behind. Some high carb foods which you should avoid as much as possible include milk, soda, candy, cakes, fruit juices, cereals, and bread. That is because the bacteria that live in our mouth convert these into acid. Over time in case of absence of correct removal methods, the acidic deposit of plaque will harm your child’s enamel, becoming a significant cause of cavities.

Proper Diet:

As a parent, you should teach your children how to eat rightly. Introduce them to the benefits of eating balanced, healthy meals early on. Avoid processed sugars as a family, and stay away from sodas, candies, or starchy foods. Advise them to drink plenty of water. Good hygiene at home and in school goes hand in hand with a healthy diet. 

Well developed teeth:

If you fail to introduce a healthy and sustainable oral hygiene routine in your child’s life during their learning age, it can lead to a variety of oral health problems for them. Around the age of 10-12, your kids can start getting teeth problems. Between the ages of 17 and 25 there is there is the issue of wisdom teeth, which will only be worse without healthy teeth and gums.  

One of the most important steps for oral care to visit a family orthodontist to figure out an early orthodontic treatment and help your child avoid any unnecessary hassle later.

As a parent, you are the first line of defense against poor oral health in your children. You can teach them relevant habits which will get them long-lasting beautiful smiles. But remember, regular checkups, cleanings, and suitable orthodontic treatments are also vital for your child’s comprehensive oral health.

You can also do things to make their next dental visit more than simply tolerable.  Make it fun!  Explore ways to help your kids enjoy the dentist, so that becomes something they look forward to. Learn more about encouraging lifelong oral health for kids in this infographic:

Parents-Oral-Health-Checklist-for-Kids Open PDF

Creating perfect smiles is what Dr. Satish Pai is committed to. An orthodontist by profession, he believes that a perfect smile is a powerful part of a person’s personality. When he is not working hard on perfecting his patients’ smiles at Putnam Ortho, he is busy writing engaging articles about everything related to healthy and perfect smiles. His other passions include golf, yoga and surfing. Spending time with his family always brings a smile on his face.

Your mind is amongst the most powerful resources you have, and there’s nothing like a jack of all trades. Dabbling into a little bit of this, and a little bit of that can even shape you into a more flexible person. Knowing this, it’s important for children to be taught lifelong learning skills in preparation for their future. This way, they can learn to do anything – fast.

Furthermore, lifelong learning can help your child develop a positive outlook on life – helping them build confidence and make amazing self-improvements. In times of unanticipated change, such as a job loss or technological advances, the cards will always be in the favor of a lifelong learner.  It begins when teachers and parents help kids develop effective learning habits, which in turn gives them a passion for learning.

Learning Driven by Interests

This is not to be underestimated: 88% of Americans have pursued learning about an interest to make their life fuller. Even more, our brains love it! Every time we learn something new, our brain chemistry changes – stimulating our neurons to create new connections. The more comfortably we know something, the easier it is for our brain to do the task. By introducing lifelong learning to your child, you can prepare them for a bright future.

On the other hand, it’s also important to teach your child the benefits of failure. For example, ask them to try completing a difficult task without any assistance or instruction. According to Singapore’s National Institute of Education, people who try to solve math problems alone don’t come up with the right answer. However, the process generates ideas about the nature of potential solutions. This leads to a better ability to solve similar problems in the future.

Setting Goals to Learn Skills

With that being said, here’s how your child – and you – can learn any skill fast. Set a goal, then break it down. After this, use the D.I.S.S. Method. The “D” is for ‘Deconstruction,’ i.e., “How can I break down what I need to know?” The “I” is for ‘Selection,’ i.e., “Which steps should I focus on first in order to get the ideal outcome?” The first “S” is for ‘Sequencing,’ i.e., “In what order will it be easiest to learn these steps?” The last “S” is for ‘Stakes,’ i.e., “What are the consequences if I am not able to complete my task?” Finally, practice this method while visualizing success.

87% of learners feel their new skills make them more well-rounded and capable. Perhaps this is why 73% of American adults consider themselves to be lifelong learners. Teaching your child lifelong learning skills in their early years will set them up for an easier future.

Infographic: Learn Any Skill

For a far more specific breakdown on lifelong learning, read the infographic below.

Discover ways to improve your child’s leaning skills outside school.

As online learning becomes more prevalent with the growth in technology related to communication, students can often feel more stressed out working apart from friends within a classroom environment. A fall in grades may result if special attention is not paid to potential problems related to virtual education.

However, teachers and parents can work together to help students minimize their distractions and improve their remote learning experience. While technology itself can also divert the student’s attention away from curriculum during eLearning hours, there are practical things that can be done to help.

Remove Distractions

Disabling phone notifications and turning on “do not disturb” mode can help. A step further, Apple’s “screen time” and Android’s “focus mode” can help limit distractions. Screen time allows users to set time limits on specific apps and features, and focus mode allows users to block access to specific apps on a set schedule. 

Setting a new life schedule can be helpful, too. It’s easy to let normal schedules slip when everyone is home, but you don’t have to keep your old schedule to have a consistent routine. Students with schedules built around a type of activity rather than specific plan may have greater success improving each child’s focus during online learning.

Furthermore, a schedule with announced transitions to keep your child engaged when switching tasks.

Give time warnings before a transition, and stick to them.

Get your child’s attention, give directions, then say “go.”

Using a visual timer can help your child understand how much time is left before switching gears. Try the “Time Timer app” for this.

Incorporate Fun

When learning is fun, it’s easy to get kids engaged. Schedule virtual playdates for your child to catch up with friends, let students collaborate and help each other with school work through digital, and keep in touch with other parents to share ideas on what works.

Find more tips to enhance home learning in the infographic below.

Lost Learning Time during the Covid Era, how worried should parents be?

Stuttering is a socio communicational problem which is a common problem among adults and children. Undoubtedly, it has negative effects on individuals’ mental, social and emotional aspects. Its causes are often numerous but mainly they are precipitated by accidents or head injuries or are simply presented during childhood.

Due to its effect on social life, it is advisable to seek help and overcome the issue as its damages become more severe. Stuttering is very common in kids, but it is not entirely in-existent in adults. This involuntary fluency disorder is known to precipitate socio communication problems in toddlers. The question many people ask, however, is whether or not the disorder has an impact on the Quality of life (QOL) in adulthood. What is its effect on individuals’ mental and emotional health?

To answer this question, we must look at stuttering from a multidimensional perspective and we must look at different aspects of a stutterer’s life. Of course, there are tons of studies that try to investigate and estimate the impact of stuttering on QOL, but most of them have registered little to no success.

One thing is certain, though: Stuttering has a negative effect on most quality of life (QOL) dimensions in adults. It is important that additional research is done in order to get the exact extent of the negative impact for better treatment planning. This will also be instrumental in preventing any future mental, emotional, or social disorders that could stem from adult stuttering.

Causes of Stuttering In Adults

Understanding the causes of stuttering in adults is the key to understanding a stutterer’s quality of life. Some speech issues start in childhood while others are precipitated by head injuries after an accident or a prolonged illness. People who suffer from neurological diseases sometimes find trouble producing sound and developing speech. They often find themselves making a slurred speech or lacking the right words to form complete statements.

There are qualified speech and language pathologists who help such people to improve speech. You can sign up for speech therapy for adults, for example, to have a professional help you deal with language issues. Speech therapy for adults also applies to patients with cognitive difficulties, particularly short-term memory.

The Impact on Socio‐Emotional Development and Quality Of Life of Language Impairment

Adults with severe speech impairment tend to have a worse QOL compared to those that stutter just a little. Research shows that as an individual tries to regulate and manage his/her speech impairment, his/her quality of life improves.

People who struggle with speech and language problems right from childhood have a normal QOL. Studies show that such people get used to the life of stuttering, since they know no other life, so they don’t really care how others think of their stuttering. That is different from people who develop speech impairment in adulthood, say due to stroke or any other illness.

Poor social interaction skills sometimes precipitate shame, embarrassment, and frustrations. People with speech impairment are easily irritated and are more vulnerable to depression. Note that speech impairments can be very isolating, so you must do all you can to prevent that from happening.

Studies also indicate that many people who struggle with speech issues through school are affected negatively in their academic life. Without positive emotions towards their time in school, such kids have problems making friends and establishing healthy relationships with teachers. If not addressed early enough, this problem can adversely affect an individual’s later life, say in terms of limiting their career options.

Speech issues can also affect your ability to obtain work or to relate well with colleagues, bosses, and clients. That can reflect in a bad way your work performance, hampering your chances for promotion. The good thing is that with speech therapy for adults, you can successfully reverse the effect of speech impairment on your professional life.

Problems with stutter are problems that also impact the student’s academic and social life within the school premises. Especially for teenagers, such a problem may impact their social life considerably. Thus, it is very important for teachers to know how to behave in such cases and help the student overcome the challenges.

There are several steps that teacher can do to help students such as:

• Talk slow so that the student feels comfortable when he then speaks slow.
• Do not tell the student to relax or slow down.
• Convey to the student that you are listening to the content said rather than the way it was said.
• Look at them with interest when they are talking.
• Repeat and rephrase what the student said to let them know your understood what was said.
• Research new technology available for students who may need additional resources.

As well, if the student is already visiting a speech therapy specialist, the teacher must coordinate with the speech therapist and let him/her know where the student is struggling most, so that practices are made in that context. Provide the speech therapist with classroom materials so that they can use them as part of the practice sessions.

The speech therapist and teacher must also coordinate on the technique they want to follow to push the student because it would be confusing, ineffective and unsuccessful to use different approaches to push the children to talk normally.

Final Thoughts

It is advisable that you seek medical attention as soon as possible in case you experience a sudden onset of impaired speech as that could be a sign of an underlying health condition. As we have mentioned, impaired speech in adulthood is in most cases a product of illnesses such as stroke, or severe head injuries. These conditions can be life-threatening if not addressed early enough.

Explore the top benefits of speech therapy for kids.