National Children's Oral Health Month with Firefly

It's National Children's Oral Health Month, in case you haven't already heard, and that means it's an extra good time to check in on your children's teeth! Here at Kerrific we are making that happen with a visit to our local dentist, something that's not nearly as horrible as my kids pretend it is, and new toothbrushes and mouthwash from Firefly.

There are so many great things about Firefly that I can't even begin to tell you about them all but I'm going to try anyway. Probably my favorite thing is their awesome toothbrushes. Since teeth brushing is an ongoing habit at our house, we've been through lots of different toothbrushes and the Firefly brushes are my favorite yet.

So why do I love the kids' Firefly Toothbrushes? The number one reason is because of their lights. That's right, I love them for the same reason my kids like them. They have buttons and lights. But it's so much more than that. These innovative toothbrushes have eliminated the need for me to keep a timer in the bathroom for oral care. That also means that I don't have to start all the kids brushing at the exact same time. Each toothbrush has a lighted timer that goes from green, to yellow, to red, to help the kids know how long to brush their teeth. They simply have to follow the lights twice, once for the top and once for the bottom. Even my two year old can do it and loves watching in the mirror.

So what else is there to love? Firefly has partnered with Oral Health America (OHA) and is donating thousands of toothbrushes to underserved children through the "Smiles Across America" program. I just love that this program serves over 400,000 children. I know when you make a difference in the life of a child you create change and I just love that Firefly has taken the time to do just that.

If you aren't yet celebrating National Children's Oral Health Month there is still time! Call and make an appointment with your dentist today. Then leave me a note and let me know how you plan to help make a change for better oral health!

Project: Play Silks

C is super sensory seeking right now and is driving me crazy! I have been looking for simple projects I can do to help him have toys to feel his sensory needs rather than filling them by doing things like biting and licking walls.

I found these play-silks over at The Evolving Homemaker and think this will be our project of the week. Rather then spending the time to order scarves as she did however I think I'm going to use some of my old slips. If I cut them up and finish the edges my kids will never know the difference.

Please let me know if you have a favorite sensory toy that is easy to make. We'd love to try it out!

Game: Ring Around the Rosies

Today I thought I would share with you a simple game most of you probably played when you were young. I had forgotten all about Ring Around the Rosies until our therapist introduced it to us as a therapy game with B.

B was, what am I say he still is, a very stubborn little boy. The final goal he needed to achieve before graduating from PT was to stand up in the middle of the floor without assistance. We tried everything to get him to do this but because we live in a small home he would simply crawl to the furniture and stand up using it. At one point we even tried taking him to an empty gym and playing in the middle of it but he still refused to stand up without using something for balance. Then one day his awesome therapist Ms. T. came with no tools other than this song. And guess what, it worked. It took a few times but soon enough B was so excited to be playing that he forgot all about crawling to the couch to stand up. We haven't had a problem since. It always amazes me how the simple games used with children, that we think nothing of, can be such a huge help in their development. Below are the words in case you've forgotten.

Ring around the rosies
A pocket full of posies;
Ashes, Ashes
We all fall down.

Cows are in the meadow

Eating butter cups;

Thunder, Lightning

We all stand up.

B Update

So I've been promising you an therapy update on B. Well here it is.

Speech - Mrs. B is great! B has come so far with her help. His new favorite words are "maybe", "probably", and "honey" (we really need to start calling each other mom & dad apparently).

Physical - We had an evaluation and it seems he is keeping up. We were a little worried he was falling behind again but the therapist says he is staying at the same level (comparatively) that he was at a year ago when he stopped getting PT.

Developmental - Mrs. E is still working with B. She is the only therapist that has been with us since the very beginning. We're working on colors, stringing beads, and making lines & circles in paper. So far B loves learning new things and is continuing to catch up.

We will have a transitional meeting this month as B will no longer be eligible for therapy through this program once he is 3 and his "progress" will than be monitored by the schools.

So far so good. I still can't believe how far he has come!

C's update tomorrow. :)