If you are looking for stilletto recommendations, you are in the wrong place. I need to be able to run after my kids without falling on my face. Want to know your smartphone's metapix? Sorry. I only write about whether it can survive 5 minutes in the hands of my kids.
For the six months, we have been diligent about making sure our 3.5 year old toddler brushes his teeth every night before bed. However, on a recent trip to the dentist for his first dental cleaning, we learned that we should be also floss his teeth every night too.
Now, if I had thought about it, that would make sense, but since my own flossing is sporadic, it is not something I really did think about teaching my son.
I don’t floss often because I hate how the floss gets stuck in my teeth and then I have this string of floss that I try to shake off to throw away, and it keeps getting stuck on my hand as I try to do that. Making it a big pain in the butt. I mean, as a busy Mom, brushing my teeth is a feat enough before I pass out flat on my face at night. I should get a pass, right?
Hmmm.
Okay, better set an example for the kiddos.
So I signed up for a blogger sponsored campaign where I would try the Oral-B® Glide Glide Floss. I’ve heard it is good in that is “glides” through your teeth making it easy to floss – about 50% easier. (Number one concern of mine addressed.) So I figured I’d give it a go and then also teach my son how to floss too, since we all know it helps fight cavities, plaque, gingivitis and other mouth monsters (that is what we call them). Plus, if we (and you) upload a picture of us each flossing on the Oral-B Facebook App, we can be entered to win cool prizes. Sweet!
Now I keep it in my purse for those steak-stuck-in-your-teeth-dinners-out and next to my toothbrush at home, and it is a nightly routine (okay, more-often-than-not nightly routine) for all of us.
Next up? My ten month old.
Well, when she finally gets her teeth….
But here are some ideas on how to floss your teeth with the kids:
1. Set an example. Let your kids see you brushing and flossing your teeth.
2. Start early. The earlier you start the habit and they get the sensation of flossing, the easier it will be to do with the kids.
3. Take it slow. Teach them to hold each end of the floss and to put it in between their teeth. Once they get that, then teach them to glide it back and forth.
4. Consider alternatives. If they can’t handle floss, then get the floss picks for easier handling.
You may have to do it early on for them, but over time, they should the hang of it. Just know that you might need to stock up on the dental floss, as my 10 month old shows in this video, (they make take more than they need.)
Happy Flossing!
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Image Credit: My own. All Rights Reserved with the exception of the Oral-B® logo.
Disclosure: I received a small stipend and product for this post. All content, however, is my own.
New Year, new you, right? Even if you aren’t big on New Year’s Resolutions (I’m not), you still can set personal goals or must-dos for the New Year. One thing I am making certain to do for myself this year is to start taking care of my health. I do it for my kids, but I need to do it for me too.
Since eyes are the window into overall health and often overlooked (no-pun intended), scheduling regular eye exams is essential to an overall health care strategy. While I have a father-in-law who is a retired optometrist (it’s fabulous to have an eye professional in the family), what if you don’t have that person in your family tree? What steps do you take, and who do you see, to make your eyes your first priority in 2013?
The first thing to realize is that it is never too late. So don’t let your embarrassment hold you back from booking your first appointment. Trust me, you are not the first 40 year old to see an eye doctor for the first time. Once you realize that having an eye exam is not as scary as it may seem, then these are the next steps:
Pick a provider.
Decide if you want to see an optometrist or opthamologist.
An Optometrist is a health care professional who is licensed to provide primary eye care services, like examining the eye, diagnosing and treating various eye diseases, treating visual conditions like near sightedness or far sightedness, and to prescribe glasses or other corrective lenses. They are a Doctor of Optometry, an O.D. (not to be confused with a Doctor of Medicine, an M.D.). To become an optometrist, one must complete pre-professional undergraduate college education followed by 4 years of professional education in a college of optometry. Some optometrists also do a residency.
An Ophthalmologist is an eye M.D., a medical doctor who is specialized in eye and vision care. Ophthalmologists are trained to provide the full spectrum of eye care, from prescribing glasses to performing eye surgery. After 4 years of medical school and a year of internship, every ophthalmologist spends a minimum of 3 years of hospital-based residency in ophthalmology.
Once you decide which type of vision provider you need or want, then check to see what vision care service plan has the best selection of quality optometrists or ophthalmologists, like VSP Vision Care’s network of 28,000 private practice optometrists. If you are booking appointments for your kids, ask questions on what they do to make kids feel comfortable and and how many pediatric patients they have! While all eye care providers are trained in all areas, it may make you feel comfortable to know they are prepared for a squirmy preschooler or toddler tantrums or five-year old fears! Once you have a plan and provider that you are happy with, familiarize yourself on what happens during an eye exam. It is not as scary as you might think.
Medical and eye history.
The doctor will ask you about your medical past. This will help your doctor evaluate your risk for vision problems, eye diseases, and other medical conditions.
How far can you see?
The optometrist or opthomologist will ask you to look at a Snellen Chart. (The image above.) It tests how well you can see far away. The smaller the letters you can read, the better your distance vision.
What is your eye strength?
Your eye doctor will shine a light into your eyes to check your vision and estimate your eyewear prescription. To fine-tune your prescription, your eye care doctor places a series of lenses in front of your eyes (not on them, more like eyeglass lenses) and asks which one (if any) helps you see more clearly.
Your vision provider will then ask you to close one eye and look at an object across the room. Your VSP doctor watches how far your uncovered eye moves to see the object.
Check the health of your eye.
The “puff test”—a common test for glaucoma— measures the fluid pressure inside your eyes. It takes just a quick puff of air in each eye. Your VSP doctor may also shine a special blue light in your eyes to test for this condition. If the ‘puff’ test is something you want to avoid (I’m not a fan, to be honest), ask your vision provider what they use before scheduling an appointment, and find another provider if you want something different!
Some other things that may occur is getting dilating drops to enlarge your pupils for a better view inside your eyes to help detect signs of eye and health conditions. The drops may make your vision blurry and your eyes sensitive to light for several hours, but it doesn’t hurt. Just bring some sunglasses with you for when you head home.
Finally, your eye provider will get a magnified view of the front and inside of your eyes using a slit lamp, or biomicroscope. This helps detect signs of eye conditions, like cataracts, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy.
All in all, getting frequent eye exams are important. If you have frequent headaches, find yourself squinting while driving, or having a hard time reading the print on restaurant menus, these too may be signs to visit an eye doctor. Hopefully the steps of what happens during an eye exam will show that it is a simple process that can bring a great ‘vision’ for your future!
{If you are wondering on what steps you can take to prepare your children for an eye exam or other vision tips, check out my post on “Preparing Kids for an Eye Exam“!}
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Disclosure: This post is part of my compensated ambassadorship with VSP Vision Care. This post was reviewed by Dr. Zoey Tolchin of Clear View Eye Associates in Logan Square, MA to ensure that I was providing the correct health care information. She provided valuable tips too!
If you are considering making an eye exam appointment for your kids, here are some “exam factors” and “vision tips”.
Preparing Kids for an Eye Exam
First, the most important way to keep eyesight healthy is to bring your children in for their annual eye exam, ideally starting when they are only six months old. Starting children on yearly eye exams early in life is helpful because it sets a baseline for their eyes, prevents fear down the road if they get used to eye exams when they are young, and an eye care provider can catch any eye issues early – especially ones that you may not be able to see or ones that your children cannot communicate.
Second, if you are seeing your children starting to struggle in school for no reason or squinting at the television, you may want to get their eyes checked. These are signs of eye problems that should be looked at sooner rather than later.
Third, to reduce the risks of eye strain, be sure to limit your children’s screen time! (This is good for you too!) Whether it is TV, the tablet, phone, laptop or desktop computer, it can damage the eyes if you don’t take precautions. Take frequent breaks and limit the total amount of time spend in front a screen during the day. When reading a paper book, make sure it is at least a foot away from your eyes, and make sure there is good lighting. Wear sunglasses all year round (even babies) to protect eyes from UVA/UVB rays. The sun is just a bright in the winter as it is in the summer!
Lastly, before the kids go to their first eye exam, do some role playing. It will get them prepared for what will happen during the eye exam to minimize any fears. Pretend to walk into the office and sit in a chair. Practice putting drops in their eyes by using simple saline drops. Have them put on a pair of sunglasses and shine a (safe) flashlight in their eyes. Maybe have them draw what they think it will be like, or have them make a card to bring to the eye care provider for a great ice breaker. Offering to have a special treat after an exam is always a hit! Just be creative and make it “eye”-citing! For other ideas to help kids prepare for an eye exam, here is a great post to read.
Once you realize there are steps kids can take to protect their eyes and prepare for an exam, pick up the phone and schedule an eye exam! Don’t know who to call? Ask friends with kids, a local playgroup or Mom-group for recommendations! Or visit VSP.com to see its network of 28,000 private practice optometrists.
Disclosure: This post is part of my compensated ambassadorship with VSP Vision Care. This post was reviewed by Dr. Zoey Tolchin of Clear View Eye Associates in Logan Square, MA to ensure that I was providing the correct health care information. She provided valuable tips too!
It has been a week since my surgery and it has been….interesting.
The pain was to be expected, but there were other things that I didn’t expect.
First, I haven’t slept in a bed. While it may look comfortable, after the sixth night, it loses its appeal. So I am not sleeping well and I am uncomfortable, and that combo makes me really cranky.
Speaking of cranky, adding to my pain and sleepless nights, I’m swelled up like a balloon. I feel like I am nine months pregnant in the middle of a heat wave in July in Arizona.
Third, I cannot walk upright, as my son joyfully demonstrates. Which means, in addition to my abdominals, my back hurts. Trying to help my back, I started to squat-walk to take pressure off of it, which means my quads hurt. If you have followed that progression, my whole body is on fire.
Fourth, I try not to gag when taking my medications and vitamins, which I have to do five times a day.
Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to be where I am right now, but at the moment I am one cranky Mom. It will get better, I know. I can only dream about it as I watch informercials at 3am from my make shift chair, looking at my cankles, while gagging on my pain medication.
