 Two simple ways to keep children safe and healthy in the
pre-school years are:
- Make sure your child has health
insurance and gets consistent medical care. For information on
free or low cost health insurance contact Health Care for All:
1-800-272-4232 or
www.hcfama.org).
- Practice good health habits at home.
 Health Insurance: In our state, every child is eligible for some type of health insurance.
Call the Mayor’s Health Line at 617-534-5050 to learn the options and get help
enrolling in a program.
Visits to your pediatrician: During the pre-school years, your child should have a general check up
each year. At these visits, you will
- get the
immunizations your child needs to start school,
- have your child checked for exposure to lead and
tuberculosis,
- be able to talk to the doctor or nurse about any health,
emotional, behavior or discipline concerns you may have, and
- get a copy of the exam and shots to bring when you
register for school and to give to the nurse at your child’s school.
 Teeth: By age
2, children should see a dentist, and should be brushing their
teeth twice a day. (Young children usually need parents to help them brush well.)
You can find a dentist by calling your neighborhood health center or the
Massachusetts Dental Society: 1-800-342-8747.
Food: To help the brain and the body grow,
try low-sugar snacks, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, milk and foods with
calcium.
Habits: What children do in these early
years (and what they see us as parents doing and eating), helps to shape their
health habits for life. Two of the best things for children’s minds and
bodies are to limit
TV watching to no more than 1 or 2 hours per day, and do some sort of exercise
regularly.
Injury prevention: Young
children are adventurers and explorers, and often can’t judge yet what is safe.
For safety information, call the Childhood Injury Prevention Program at the
Boston Public Health Commission: 617-534-5197. (They can tell you how to
find bike helmets and other safety items at low-cost.) Some tips:
- Make sure your child rides in the
back seat and uses a car seat or booster seat.
- Check all smoke detector batteries regularly. (A good
rule is to change your batteries when you change your clocks in the fall and
spring.)
- Keep emergency numbers by the phone.
- Keep all medicines, household cleaners and other
poisonous materials out of children’s reach.
- Consider putting window guards on your windows above the
first floor.
- Make sure your child wears a helmet every time she/he
rides a bike, rollerblades, roller skates, or scooter.
- Don’t let children cross the street alone.
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