A Kids Guide to Keeping Your Teeth and Body Healthy

When you’re a kid, your body needs healthy food so you can grow and get big. Your body also needs daily exercise to make sure that you stay healthy and strong. Everyone also needs to learn how to do daily chores to take care of their bodies, such as bathing, brushing your hair, and brushing your teeth. After you learn how to keep your teeth and body healthy, you can do these things every day to take care of yourself.

Eating Healthy

For the best health, it’s important to eat a healthy diet. Everyone needs the right amount of nutrients to keep their body strong and healthy. These nutrients include proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Although kids and adults both need these nutrients, it’s especially important for kids to eat right as they grow. Proteins come from meats, poultry, seafood, eggs, beans, dairy products, soy products, nuts, and seeds. Complex carbohydrates come from whole grains like wheat, oats, rice, quinoa, and spelt. Eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables every day will give your body the vitamins and minerals it needs. Try to choose different fruits and vegetables whenever you can. Some people like to try to “eat the rainbow,” which means that you look for fruits and vegetables that are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. It’s best to try to limit the amount of fat and sugar you eat because foods that are high in sugar and fat are often unhealthy and contain lots of extra calories. Healthy fats are found naturally in nuts, seeds, avocados, and olives.

Exercising

Adults often understand the importance of regular exercise, so you might see them exercising every day. They might run, walk, lift weights, or attend exercise classes. Kids also need regular exercise to stay healthy. Doctors recommend that kids get at least one hour of exercise every day. This exercise helps you stay at a healthy weight, it helps you feel less stressed, it helps you sleep better, and it helps you build healthy bones and muscles. Kids can have health problems just like some adults do if they don’t exercise. Staying active will help you keep your blood pressure at the right level, and it can help you reduce your risk of diabetes. Going outside to play in your yard with friends is one way to get exercise. Running around outdoors during school recess is also a good way to get physical activity. You might take your pet for a walk or help your parents out in the yard to get exercise, too. Exercise can be both healthful and fun if you do activities you enjoy.

Brushing Your Teeth

Your teeth are very important, so it’s wise to take care of them daily. If you don’t brush your teeth at least twice each day, bacteria can begin sticking to your teeth. If the bacteria stays on your teeth long enough, it can turn into plaque. Plaque can damage your teeth and gums, and it can be hard to get off your teeth. When you brush your teeth, brush for at least two to three minutes, and make sure you brush all of your teeth well. Some kids like to sing a song or use a timer to make sure that they brush long enough. Flossing is important to help you clean your teeth along the gum line. This is often the place where plaque develops, and your toothbrush bristles won’t remove all of the plaque in these areas. Visit your dentist twice a year to have your teeth examined and cleaned professionally. Your dentist will probably tell you to eat lots of fruits and vegetables and to avoid sugary foods and drinks because they can cause cavities. Cavities are holes in your teeth that may happen if you don’t brush often enough. When you get a cavity, the dentist has to clean out the decayed area and fill it to keep the hole from getting bigger.

• Nutrition Tips for Kids
• Healthy Eating
• Eat Healthy
• How to Teach Kids to Eat and Love Healthy, Plant-Powered Foods
• MyPlate Crossword Puzzle (PDF)
• Ideas to Help Children Maintain a Healthy Weight
• Teacher Tips: Cooking With Kids
• Help Your Child Grow Up Healthy and Strong (PDF)
• Importance of Good Nutrition
• Improve Kids’ Health
• ABC for Fitness (PDF)
• All About Exercise
• Physical Math Activities
• Get Kids Moving
• Track and Field Game
• Shape Your Family’s Habits: Helping Kids Make Healthy Choices
• Physical Activity
• Yoga for Kids (PDF)
• Nutrition and Children’s Teeth
• Brushing Your Child’s Teeth
• Children’s Oral Health
• Healthy Teeth, Healthy Kids
• Keep Your Kids Cavity-Free
• Take Care of Your Teeth
• Tooth-Brushing Songs (PDF)

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