Healthy Habits
When practiced regularly, these are life enhancing:

• Supervise activities with friends.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Encourage exercise, good personal hygiene.
• Limit television, computer and video games.
• Observe reading, television and computer choices for appropriate content.
• Make sure there is opportunity to sleep at night, typically 9 to 12 hours.
• Counsel about drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Social
These are some behaviors that promote healthy interactions:

• Encourage discussions and expression of feelings.
• Praise your child.
• Give individual attention.
• Create opportunities for family activities.
• Reinforce limits and provide consequences.
• Encourage positive interactions with teachers and other adults.
• Assign chores.
• Allow for personal space.
• Reinforce conflict resolution and how to handle anger.

Safety
Injury prevention is proactive. Consider the following:

• Children should be seat belted in the back seat of the car.
• Wear appropriate helmets and safety gear while biking, skating and rollerblading.
• Ensure that safety is a priority when participating in team sports.
• Trampoline use should be discouraged unless supervised by a trained professional.
• Review neighborhood, water, sports and bike safety.
• Use sunscreen and limit sun exposure.
• Maintain smoke-free environment.
• Test smoke detectors and review the escape plan in case of a home fire.
• Keep matches, poisons, ammunition and guns locked up.
• Review rules for being at home alone.
• Provide a safe after-school environment.

Oral Health
Health maintenance is essential to a child's well-being.

• Brush teeth twice a day.
• Make sure fluoride intake is adequate.
• See the dentist regularly.

Parenting
These activities provide good examples for modeling important skills and encourage your child to grow in a healthy and happy way:

• Promote independence and responsibility.
• Serve as a role model for ethical behavior and healthy habits.
• Show respect and listen; provide and maintain active communication.
• Show affection and pride.
• Spend time with your child.
• Set reasonable expectations.
• Follow through on consequences.
• Know your child’s friends and their families.

Nutrition
Good nutrition is essential to a growing body. Tips include:

• Make meal time a good family time whether at home or on the go.
• Provide healthy choices for meals and snacks.
• Offer children a variety of healthy foods.
• Eat breakfast daily.
• Maintain appropriate weight through frequent exercise and sensible eating, not dieting.
•Provide calcium rich foods three to four times a day such as dairy products or calcium-enriched foods.

Sexual Education
The onset of pre-adolescence will bring questions and concerns:

• Answer questions.
• Read age-appropriate books together.
• Discuss your school’s family life education.

Resources
The following items may be useful:

• American Academy of Pediatrics. Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5 to 12.
• Briggs, Dorothy Corkville. Your Child's Self-Esteem Preparing for Adolescence.
• Dobson, James. Preparing for Adolescence.
• Dreikurs, Rudolf. Children: The Challenge.
• Faber, Adele. Siblings Without Rivalry.
• West, Richard. The Complete Guide to Childhood Ailments.