Kids and Cavities, Sugar and Water

Kids are getting more cavities these days. Be A Good Dad posted good thoughts on oral hygeine that I suggest you check out.

In our household we make the kids brush twice a day. That hasn’t really been a problem.

Consumption of sweets is strictly managed. Everyone has a bag (high out of reach) with their respective candy stash of candy from Halloween, Easter, parties, etc.

We don’t let the kids drink soda yet.

Getting them all to drink water instead of apple juice has been a huge headache. Awesome Mom and I try to set a good example and drink water all the time. Not a problem since we genuinely love water.

My six year old drinks nothing but filtered water. His younger brother loves both milk and water. That’s great.

Our oldest twin (age eight) gets angry if he can’t have apple juice and screams at his six year old brother who loves water. The countless fits and arguements are mind-numbing.

For us, a little over a year ago we had a terrible scare. Our youngest (then age three) had to be hospitalized for dehydration. He had gotton a rhino virus and wasn’t eating or drinking. He was lathargic and his skin was pale. In the hospital, they had him hooked to an IV for a day and a half.

I think that incident left a positive impression about drinking water in at least three of my four boys.

As we head into the summer months, be sure to keep your little ones hydrated on trips to the ballfield, parks, city, mall, etc.

-BD