Your 16-Month-Old

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YOUR CHILD'S HEALTH AND SAFETY

Protect your child against carbon-monoxide poisoning. You've installed smoke detectors throughout your home, but have you given a second thought to installing a carbon monoxide detector? Carbon monoxide gas is both odourless and colourless, but it can be deadly. Without proper detectors, there is no way to know of its presence. Protect your family now by installing detectors on all levels of your home.

Make television viewing safe for your children. There has been much debate about television's effects on children, which can range from eyestrain to exposure to violent images. But TV can also be a wonderful educational tool, and can provide a few minutes of much-needed entertainment and relaxation. Here's what you can do to limit the effects these images have on your children:

Watch TV together. Maintain an open dialogue during and after the programme. If you are there in the room with your kids, you'll be able to address any situations you feel are inappropriate. Your kids will also have the ability to ask any questions they may have. Just don't allow them to have television sets in their rooms. This offers easy, unsupervised access.

Preview the programmes your children watch. You might also want to consider taping programmes that are appropriate for their ages.

Set limits. Determine how much television you want your kids to view, then stick to your decision.

Observe your own TV habits. You may find that you always leave the TV on while you cook or clean. Consider turning on the radio instead. You'll be surprised at how many violent and inappropriate images and sounds your children will be exposed to if you use the TV as background noise.

Temper your toddler's sweet tooth. There are many things that you can do to reduce sugar intake while satisfying your little one's sweet tooth. Fresh fruits are a wonderful alternative to desserts. Not only will your child be enjoying a sweet treat, she'll also be adding much-needed nutrients to her diet. Be creative and enjoy these foods with her. Don't ban sugar altogether, but do limit the number of desserts your child eats. Save sweet puddings for special occasions. You'll find yourself well on the way to a healthier diet.