: North Texas Kids : Your family guide to raising happy, healthy kids

Play Safe This Fall Sports Season: Protect Your Child’s Teeth

Tips to Protect Your Child’s Teeth during Sports Activities

by Dr. Monica Anderson

Fall sports season is here and student athletes are heading to the fields to compete in organized sports such as football, soccer or field hockey. Keeping the season fun means playing safe, and that includes protecting your child’s teeth. More than five million teeth are knocked out each year through sports injury, accident or play. One in four teens is seen annually in the emergency room or admitted to the hospital for a sports-related injury.

So what can you do to keep your child smiling through the whole season? Below are some actions you can to take to help protect your student athlete’s oral health:

Tips About Managing Asthma in School

American Lung Association Recognizes Asthma-Friendly Schools and Offers Checklist for Students with Asthma

As summer winds down, families in Texas are beginning to prepare for the new school year. A new school environment can sometimes be difficult for children with asthma. This back to school season, the American Lung Association highlights tips for families of children with asthma and stresses the importance of crafting a plan to properly manage asthma in a school environment.

Healthy Lunchbox Ideas

Why is it important to pack a healthy lunch?

by Dr. Keith Kantor

Recent studies have predicted our children’s generation will be 50% obese. Obesity is defined as a BMI (body mass index) of 30 or more. Obesity is a precursor for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, thyroid disease and cancer. Obesity will affect a child’s quality and overall health.

Start implementing healthy habits by making small changes, the first thing that you can do as a parent is make your child’s lunch every day. Take control of your child’s nutrition. If you think your child is getting a healthy lunch at school visit them one day and observe what they actually eat (or do not eat).

Tips on Taking Great Photos of Kids Playing Sports

Freeze Frame: Taking great sports photos easy as having the right equipment

by Misty Hoyt

With an early Saturday morning Starbucks coffee in one hand and a brand new Rebel Canon camera in the other, today’s the day Dad’s going to get that perfect shot of Braylen scoring the winning goal.

After every click of the shutter, Dad checks the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD). Although certain he captured Braylen’s magnificent header, to Dad’s disappointment only the before and after shots appear, neither of which included the ball. That’s ok, however, as he continually checks the LCD, there are plenty of fairly good action shots. That is, until Dad gets home, pops the memory card into the computer only to discover that blown up to larger than a 3-inch-by-2-inch image, the ball, Braylen and even the grass are out of focus. Even the newest technology can’t fix motion blur. Darn! Back to the drawing board.

Tips for Back to School Transitioning

How to Help Your Kids Transition Back to School

by Dr. Craig Pierce

Dr. Craig Pierce, founder and president of the Southwest Family Guidance Center and Institute, and author of Parenting Without Distraction: The Attunetion^® Approach, is offering tips for parents to have a smooth transition back to school. Preparing for school, and readjusting to the new routines after the summer break can be stressful for parents and children alike.

I Need Lunch Money Mom

Teaching Kids How to Stay Within their Lunch Money Budget

by Lorraine Brock

It’s that time of year that as parents we will hear the weekly, “Mom, I need lunch money”, from our kids. Normally my struggle is teaching my kids to stay within our allocated budget by purchasing the basic plate lunch and not buying individual items. It is well known that buying a la carte costs more: hamburger $3, side of fries $1.50, scoop of fruit salad $1.00, two chocolate milks $2.00. What seems like the perfect meal for your child, becomes a $7.50 budget buster for one day.

10 Ways to Beat the Summer Heat

10 Tips Regarding Summer Heat Safety

When Texans think of summer, only one thing comes to mind – the heat. According to the National Weather Service, heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States resulting in hundreds of fatalities each year. With the summer heat upon us, First Choice ER Executive Medical Director, Dr. Mike Muzzarelli offers 10 tips for beating the heat.