November 6, 2010

Listerine and Reach: An Oral Care Challenge

I have to confess I’m happy that Halloween is over. While I love to drag out the spooky decorations and take the kids trick-or-treating (and yes, chocolate is my weakness), I worry about the impact all that candy has on my kids’ teeth and I’m a wee bit obsessive about making sure they brush often.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) states that despite parents’ best efforts, 50 percent of children will have a cavity between the ages of five and nine. We all know that candy and soda are often to blame, however even seemingly healthy foods like fruit juice and milk can be the source of cavities. My own dentist shared (horror) stories about some infants having tooth decay from always walking around with a bottle of milk.

Protecting our kids from cavities should be a parent’s top priority. The AAPD recommends that parents schedule an appointment with a dentist as soon as the first tooth appears. I’m sad to report I didn’t know this until now, and Dawson has had a cavity before entering kindergarten, even though he brushes morning and night. Getting him into the habit of taking care of his teeth was not easy. I had to practically force him to open his mouth those first few times.

Recently we had the opportunity to participate in the Listerine and Reach Oral Care challenge as part of a blog tour sponsored by Mom Central Consulting. We received an array of tooth brushes and flossing tools, as well as 7 different mouth washes (Listerine Smart Rinse, Listerine Zero, Cool Mint, Agent Blue pre-rinse and more!).

Our family brushed daily and used Listerine mouth wash after flossing. My husband likes the mint flavor best. I’m not really picky as long as my mouth feels clean. Dawson loved the batman tooth brush and after bribing him with TV time he tried the “Batman” Smart Rinse and didn’t complain too much. The goal was to complete this oral care routine for a month, and we managed to get 3 weeks in before this review.

Dawson loves the Batman toothbrush, too. This brush helps easily clean those hard to reach places. I like the soft bristles that are designed for new and developing teeth. The brush head is not too big, so it fits well into a child’s mouth and the ergonomic handle helps Dawson hold the brush in his hand.

Our family dentist was extremely happy that Listerine and Reach had teamed up to encourage families to get involved in oral hygiene. I’m just glad that we’re setting a great example for our boys. The makers of Listerine and Reach have also teamed up with America’s Toothfairy to launch “Trick or Treat for America’s Toothfairy,” a campaign to raise awareness of pediatric dental disease and help provide life changing care to underserved children. Please visit the America’s Toothfairy website for more information.

——————————————-

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of LISTERINE and REACH and received products to take the Oral Care Challenge. Mom Central Consulting also sent me a Global Giving gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

November 5, 2010

Outside Our Window

Well, this explains why the Hummingbirds didn’t hang around this summer.  This little guy took over the feeder.  I love watching him (or her, maybe?) in the tree outside our living room window.  There is something so calm about it.  Soon he’ll be hibernating for the winter.

November 4, 2010

Bullies on the Bus

I got a call at work this afternoon from the nurse at Dawson’s school.  It seems my little boy was feeling sick and wanted to come home.  The nurse explained he didn’t have a fever but had said his stomach and head hurt.  The flu had been going around and she was concerned he may have been coming down with it.

When I arrived to pick him up, Dawson looked sad and worried.  I asked if he was feeling okay and he simply shook his head.  We walked from the nurse’s office to his classroom so that he could get his coat and backpack.  His teacher stopped to talk to me in the hallway.

Mrs. T made mention that Dawson was feeling some anxiety about riding the bus home from school.  I knew exactly what she was talking about.  A few weeks ago, Dawson told me some of the older kids (fourth and fifth graders) on the bus were poking him in the back of the head and calling him names.  Being a Love & Logic parent, I told Dawson how sad I was to hear this and asked him what he thought he could do about it.

After talking it over, he decided he would tell the bus driver if things got out of hand, and he would try to sit in the front of the bus whenever possible.  Dawson is the last one on the bus in the morning, so all the seats at the front are usually taken and he makes his way to the back where the naughty kids wreck havoc.

I discussed the situation with his teacher and she explained that Dawson becomes nervous just before the end of the day.  She thinks he may be worrying about the bus ride and it’s making him feel sick.  It broke my heart to hear these words.  The thought of my son enduring such torment is frustrating and infuriating.  I honestly had no idea it was causing him such anxiety.

Dawson is a polite child and he’s painfully shy.  He doesn’t cause trouble.  He doesn’t fight. He doesn’t talk back.  He will sit quietly and ignore anyone who intends to bring him harm.  This child has more patience than any adult I know.  I try to teach him to stand up for himself, to use descriptive words to tell the bullies that he doesn’t like what they are doing.  I’ve told him to politely ask them to stop.  Dawson tells me he did tell them to quit bothering him but it sounds like the bad behavior is persisting.

After school I called the school bus garage and left a message for the bus driver.  When she returned the call she told me that Dawson is one of the best kids on the bus.  He never yells or causes a distraction.  He always says hello and goodbye to her when getting on and off the bus.  She also told me she has been keeping an eye on the situation to the best of her ability, but that driving children safely to their destination is her first priority so she can’t always see everything that goes on.  I told her I understood; I know the drill.  My mother has been a school bus driver for 23 years.

The plan is to save a seat in the front of the bus for Dawson so that he doesn’t have to deal with the rotten kids in the back.  I’m so mad at those kids.  Shame on them for picking on someone littler than they are.  I am so upset that they cause my son so much anxiety.  It brings back memories of the same crap happening to me when I was in elementary school. I never fought back, I was too scared.  I often cried all the way home.

I sure hope this arrangement doesn’t single Dawson out and cause more teasing, but I don’t know what else to do.

November 3, 2010

Shutterfly: One Stop Holiday Card Shop

Since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (hello! chocolate!) I decided to take a picture of my sweet boys in their Star Wars costumes and then create a photo card to send to the family. Dawson dressed up as a Shadow Trooper this year and little Owen donned the cutest Yoda costume ever. His chubby cheeks definitely made the costume work.

Here’s my creation, made at Shutterfly:

The thing I love most about photography is setting the scene of my photos. I love finding the perfect backgrounds and capturing a smile or twenty from the the boys. What I love most about Shutterfly is the great number of creative options for my photo cards.

Shutterfly offers great value when it comes to cards and stationary, but you can create photo books as well as order prints, calendars and photo gifts, too. The possibilities are endless.

Last year I designed our Christmas photo card using Shutterfly. I wanted to get that perfect picture of then 5-year-old Dawson and 2-month-old Owen and make the sweetest holiday card. Fifty less-than-stellar photos later, I decided to throw in the towel. Both kids were crying and I snapped a picture. Then creative genius hit. I decided to use the crying shot and this is what I came up with:

How can you not love that? I can’t wait to make our 2010 Christmas card.