February Awareness Activities:

National Children's Dental Health Month Give Kids A Smile Day.

Written Messages

Morning Announcements
Did you know problems with your teeth can affect, your ability to talk, how you feel about yourself, and even learning in school. February is National Childrens Dental Health Month. You can protect your teeth by: eating regular nutritious meals and avoid frequent betweenmeal snacking, using fluoride (or drinking fluoridated water), and going to the dentist regularly.

February is National Childrens Dental Health Month. You can protect your teeth by Eating regular nutritious meals and avoid frequent between-meal snacking. Using fluoride (or drinking fluoridated water) Going to the dentist regularly)

Valentines Day

For fun activities related to keeping your teeth healthy, look here http://www.ada.org/5578.aspx#sheets. Other references: http://www.cdc.gov/oralhealth/topics/child.htm http://www.mchoralhealth.org/PDFs/learningfactsheet.pdf Happy Valentines Day! Do something nice for someone else; it is good for your health. Research shows that kindness and helping others is related to living healthier and longer. So help a friend, it will make you feel happier and be healthier.
Talk with your child about respecting others. Encourage him to help people in need.

Have you helped a friend today? Valentines Day is all about love. How about helping someone out and improving your health as well? Research shows that kindness and helping others is related to living healthier and longer.

For more on this research see: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1207%2Fs15327558ijbm1202_4?LI =true# American Heart Health Month

Show Your Love with a Healthy Heart February is American Heart Health Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, but heart disease is preventable and controllable. Show your heart some love and

In February we think about hearts because of Valentine's Day, but it's also American Healthy Heart Month. All over our country, people are being reminded about how to make healthy

give your children the gift of a healthy role model. The following are tips from the CDC about how you can live heart healthy: Eat a healthy diet. Maintain a healthy weight. Exercise regularly. Monitor your blood pressure. Don't smoke. Limit alcohol use. Manage your health conditions.
For more information see: http://www.cdc.gov/features/heartmonth/ http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/ February is National Boost Your Self Esteem Month. Childrens self esteem is related to their success in school and life. Kids who know
their strengths and weaknesses and feel good about themselves seem to have an easier time handling conflicts and resisting negative pressures. As parents we play a critical role in raising happy, confident

choices to care for our hearts. Being physically active is a super important part of taking care of your heart. Ideally, you need to be moving for at least 60 minutes EVERY day. Get that blood pumping this afternoon, boys and girls and then give yourself a pat on the back for taking care of yourself!

National BoostYour-Self-Esteem Month

children. Using positive parenting to guide and support our children can help us do this.

Show affection for your child. Recognize her accomplishments. Talk with your child about school, friends, and things she looks forward to in the future. Help your child set her own achievable goalsshell learn to take pride in herself and rely less on approval or reward from others. Use discipline to guide and protect your child, rather than punishment to make him feel bad about himself. Follow up any discussion about what not to do with a discussion of what to do instead. Praise your child for good behavior. Its best to focus praise more on what your child does ("you worked hard to figure this out") than on traits she cant change ("you are smart"). Support your child in taking on new challenges. Encourage her to solve problems, such as a disagreement with another child, on her own. Remember to be a good role model for loving yourself.

Its National Boost Your Self Esteem Month. Self esteem is a word that means how good you feel about yourself. There is only one you out there in the world, remember how special you. Everyone is good at some things and not as strong at other things, it is important to be happy with your whole self. This morning try to think about one thing you love about yourself; and feel great about who you are.

More information on positive parenting and boosting childrens self esteem can be

found here: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/middle.html http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/ http://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/familydynamics/pages/Positive-Parenting-How-To-Encourage-Good-Behavior.aspx http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/child-rearing-and-development/12-ways-helpyour-child-build-self-confidence http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/feelings/self_esteem.html#