Healthy kids, happy parents

While you can't completely prevent the spreading of germs, there are things you can do to help keep your children healthy, says a Yuma pediatrician.

One of the biggest concerns is infectious diseases, said Dr. Bart Bernstein, pediatrician and infectious disease consultant. And toddlers are at high risk of contracting viral and bacterial infections.

So Bernstein recommends that parents try to avoid putting children under 2 in day care centers, especially crowded ones. Centers with 10 or 15 children "definitely" increase a child's chances of getting sick as opposed to those with just a couple of children, he said.

Another thing parents should do is routinely wash their own and their children's hands throughout the day and before they sit down to eat, he said. And try to limit the amount of cup and utensil sharing among children of all ages. "This will help to limit respiratory and gastrointestinal infections."

Make sure you are up to date on your child's immunizations, too. Until children have undergone the complete series, they are not fully protected against diseases such as whooping cough and chickenpox, Bernstein said.

Teach your child to keep a personal space distance of about an arm's length from others, especially during fall and winter, he said. This will limit the spread of germs caused by sick people breathing and coughing near the child.

Bernstein urges parents, day-care personnel and anyone with a lot of visiting children to clean tables and other surfaces daily with a 10 percent bleach solution.

"This will kill common viral and bacterial germs that would otherwise survive on surfaces up to two or three days. It will not kill all germs, but it will take care of the vast majority of germs."

Administer your child's medication safely

- Be sure the doctor knows all medications - including over-the-counter medications and herbal and vitamin supplements - that your child takes.

- Read the label before opening the bottle. Make sure you are giving the proper dosage. If the medication is liquid, use a special measure: a cup, a teaspoon, a medicine dropper or a syringe. Often a measure comes with the medicine. If not, ask your pharmacist which measure is most suitable to use with the medication your child is taking.

- Always use child-resistant caps and store all medications in a safe place.

- Never decide to increase or decrease the dosage or stop the medication without consulting the doctor.

- Don't give medication prescribed for one child to another child, even if it appears to be the same problem.

- Keep a chart and mark it each time the child takes the medication. It is easy to forget.

Source: National Institutes of Health Web site (www.nih.gov)

Baby dental health:

Prevent baby bottle tooth decay

Do not put your baby to bed with a bottle at night or at naptime. (If you do, fill it only with water.)

Milk, formula, juices, and other sweet drinks such as soda all have sugar in them. Sucking on a bottle filled with liquids that have sugar in them can cause tooth decay. Decayed teeth can cause pain and can cost a lot to fill.

During the day, do not give your baby a bottle filled with sweet drinks to use like a pacifier.

If your baby uses a pacifier, do not dip it in anything sweet like sugar or honey.

Near his first birthday, you should teach your child to drink from a cup instead of a bottle.

Take your child to the dentist

Ask your dentist when to bring your child in for his first visit. Usually, the dentist will want to see a child by his first birthday. At this first visit, your dentist can quickly check your child's teeth.

Source: National Institutes of Health Web site (www.nih.gov.)