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markham h w 3 protecting their teeth restoring or replacing injured teeth is a very expensive process as parents who foot the bill can attest so how can you help protect the teeth of your children parents teachers playground or sports supervisors all have a role involve chil dren themselves and get them thinking ab out safe practices a few things to talk about dangers to teeth from fighting and pushing at the drinking fountain perhaps a cheerful sign can discourage pushing problems with fighting shoving and trip ping another child safety practices to help avoid falls from bicycles tricycles trees or jungle gyms or falls caused by objects lying on the floor stairs or sidewalk buckling up in a car or truck compulsory wearing of mouthguards andor helmets with a face mask for sports such as hockey football lacrosse and baseball explain that any accidents which might still happen may not be as severe when these points are understood by your children theyre much more likely to follow safe practices that prevent most de ntal accidents and theyll be proud of their smile smoking a costly habit based on todays prices it may cost 30000 in a lifetime if a young person starts to smoke cigarettes children are starting to smoke at an ear lier age these days if your youngster has thoughts of starting or has already bought a pack or two on the quiet you might men tion the cost factor of course there are the warnings about serious hazards to health fitness and lifes pan but the cost of cigarettes may have an impact too you might tell your child that 30000 will buy a lot of things he or she likes roughly 3500 large pizzas 200 10speed bikes 600 stereo headsets 3000 records admission to 8500 movies 60000 ice cream cones 20000 hamburgers or 600 pairs of ice skates few youngsters would want that many pizzas bikes or hamburgers but putting the cost of smoking in a perspective they can understand may make them think twice hnniiniiniitiiiiinnihiiiiiiiiiiiihiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiumihiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiuiiifiimiiiikiiitiitiifiiiihtiiiiiiiiifi stop look be aware tnhiithmh ttt 1 child protection on the road s s your child b exposed lo many health hazards but the most important of these b traffic accidents they are the h leading cause of death to children in canada 3 young children under five are twice as likely to die in a motor vehicle accident as they are lo drown they are 20 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle accident than from accidental poisoning your child is safer when 1 he or she travels in an infant or child car seal or if over 1 kg40 lbs wears a properly adjusted lap belt 2 you have taken a driver education course 3 you maintain an appropriate distance between your vehicle and the one in front 4 your vehide has had a complete safety check within the past year pndtfalc dite of chock here j jj traffic hazard is increased when 1 you drive at speeds exceeding the posted speed imil 2 youre dtstraced from driving by your childs behavior 3 you drive after youve taken certain prescription drugs or other medications check with your phanrudsl 4 you drive after consuming more than one drink within the preceding hour 5 your child bin the front seat immunization urged against red measles among communicable diseases in canada red measles is still a problem and health authorities remind parents to have their children immunized against it- measles is not trivial contrary to common belief there may be com plications such as middle ear infection and pneumonia in one out of every 15 cases inflammation of the brain with subsequent mental retardation may also occur between 1970 and 1980 119 patients died from measles in canada of these 22 per cent were infants 57 per cent were under five years of age and 75 per cent were under 10 in an effort to eliminate measles the national advisory committee on im munization has called for a compulsory measles vaccinationprogram the committee encourages provincial leg islation requiring that children be vac- cinated before they startschool new brunswick and ontario have already gone this route advocates of compulsory immuniza tion compare the situation in canada with that in the united states where immunization is mandatory the two countries have about the same number of measles cases even though the population of the us is 10 times grea ter than canadas in some areas of this country more than 90 per cent of children are immu- nized by the time they reach school age but epidemics still occur among groups of susceptible children the national advisory committee on immunization recommends that all children should be vaccinated against measles at one year of age or as soon afterthat as possible unlessthcre are- sound medical reasons for non- immunization older children and adolescents should not be overlooked either if theres some doubt as to when or if vaccination was done and if there is no history of having had the disease epidemiologists say a shot of live vac- cine may be in order its not harmful to have measles immunization repeated public health authorities arc also concerned about the incidence of rubel- la german measles women exposed to this contagious disease during the first three months of pregnancy run a high risk of giving birth to children with heart defects deafness and cataracts immunization is a simple procedure carried out in a community clinic school or doctors office every mem ber of the family should be protected against preventable disease its just common sense and an uptodate re- cord should be kept somp meat alternatives think about dried legumes such as peas beans and lentils as flavorful versatile and inexpensivemeat alternates soybeans are especially nutritious as they contain a higher proportion of protein than other dried beans and peas in ancient china soybeans were called meat of the soil remember bigger isnt cheaper if stor age is a problem or if the item spoils before all of it is used look for sliced or diced canned peaches and pears as theyre often a better buy than canned halves crushed pineapple is usually less expensive than slices comparison shop look for less familiar brands and store brands theyre often less expensive than popular brands eat beforeyou shop for food you wont be as tempted to buy more than you need use the stoopandrise way of shop- ping as products on shelves above or below eye level may sell for less than items close at hand questions on alcohol do you have clear attitudes towards alcohol use think about these situations and how you might react to them or what you might do t i youre under the legal drinking age and some friends ask you to down a few what would you say youre challenged to a chugalug con test by some of your friends what would you do a person you dont know very well offers you some unidentified- pills while youre both drinking he says youll get a kick out of them what would you do some of the kids from school take alcohol on a school camping trip even though the teacher has said no alcohol is to be brought along what would you do about it youre leaving a party and a good friend who is drunk offers you a ride home how would you respond you know your best friend drinks too much but wont admit it would you talk to him or her about it youre invited to a friends home to have a few drinks from the parents liquor cup board while theyre away what would you do remember choosing not to drink or not to use other drugs like tobacco is your right any friends who lean on you about yourdecision are chipping away at your rights as a free individual you pan remind them of that if they get on your back- besides you dont need alcohol to have a good time and it may impair your ability to really enjoy yourself