The Learned Mom

It’s been over a month since I posted my 2016 goals. You can see that post here: My Goals for 2016. In order to keep myself motivated and to see where I stand, I thought I would try to give a monthly update on how I am doing with these goals. One thing I realized is that I set way too many goals and I will keep this in mind for next year when I repeat this process.

(Disclaimer: Some of the links are my Amazon affiliate or referral links).

Personal Goals:

1. Eat a healthy diet and cut down on the number of fast food trips we make. I am doing a fairly good job with this. While we still pick up food on an average of once per week, I had a three-week stretch in January where we ate all home-prepared meals. This required a large amount of planning on my part, but I was able to do this through the help of Emeals.  Every week I try to change our diet up a little bit by eating fewer processed foods or by eating Paleo.  My kids have eaten more vegetables this year and enjoy the clean eating and paleo plans on Emeals. This has been great especially for my youngest daughter who ate a large diet of plain noodles prior to these meal plans. While I have not eliminated the noodles completely (this is what she eats in her lunch most days), she is getting a balanced dinner most nights. What has helped tremendously is to have them each pick out a meal every week that they help prepare. This ownership in the meals has helped increase their desire to eat vegetables. My kids actually fought over who ate more than their share of brussel sprouts….true story! (This is the only vegetable they absolutely love, but I’ll gladly accept that.) read more

If you have been following along in my reading series (links contained at the bottom of this post), I mentioned introducing your children to rhyme through story books. One of the first steps to learning how to read is learning to enjoy and recognize rhymes. You can read that post about rhyming book suggestions here: Great Rhyming Books. Not only should you read rhyming books to your kids, but there are also some interactive activities you can do to teach them rhyming skills.

According to the chart located at Reading Rockets, the next step for building phonemic awareness skills is for kids to recognize rhymes and be able to play “odd word out” type games. An example of an “odd word out” game would be to ask which of these words do not belong? cat, boy, hat, mat. read more

Recently, I was contacted by Intellident to see if I would try out their Toothbrush Shield.  Intellident  is a company founded by Susan Klinsport. In 2008, Klinsport developed this product as a way to help protect the oral health of her own family.  Many years of testing and collaborating went into the production of this product.  Prior to receiving a package of toothbrush shields, I had often wondered about the nasty germs which may land on my children’s toothbrushes. I have heard various things about toilet germs spraying onto the toothbrushes…..Ewwww!  And, the back of the Intellident Toothbrush Shield’s box makes that same claim. Intellident states that flushing the toilet can contaminate objects within a 6-foot radius. This fact is a great reason to protect your toothbrush.

Reasons to Use Intellident Toothbrush Shields

There are various methods of how one should store a toothbrush. My husband and I have a toothbrush holder which keeps our toothbrushes upright (and exposes our brushes to the “elements”). Even though they are exposed, this seems to work well for us and we have not had issues with illnesses.  The standard upright toothbrush holder doesn’t work for my kids. They used to use this, but the toothbrushes would only end up on the sink countertop sitting in puddles of water from when they washed their hands. They have started storing them in the medicine cabinet which is much better than the countertop, but I still feel like they end up in a pile of filth which accumulates throughout the week. I looked up toothbrush storing recommendations from the American Dental Association.  You can read the recommendations at the following link: ADA’s recommendations.The ADA states that toothbrushes should be stored upright and that they should not be covered. Covering toothbrushes creates a humid environment and makes the toothbrushes more susceptible to bacteria growth. The ADA also lists many other recommendations which are worth reading at the above link.   The Intellident Toothbrush Shield covers your toothbrush. However, it is different from the plastic travel covers you often see. On the Intellident site, you can read that “plastic caps and covers retain moisture and constrict air flow making them a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.”  The Toothbrush Shield is made from a “breathable” mesh cotton material. The packaging states that the shield “blocks microbes as it wicks moisture away from brush bristles.” It has been tested to be 99.9% effective barrier against airborne and surface bacteria. If you are going to cover your toothbrush, this could be the way to go because the air circulation isn’t as much of an issue. Plus, you are instructed to replace the shield every 7 days. For maximum protection, Intellident recommends changing it every 3-4 days. For our family, changing them once a week is preferable because we can schedule it on the same day each week, making this task easier to remember. Each package contains 10 disposable shields. Each shield is individually packaged in a peelable paper cover which is a little difficult to open. There is  an opening for your toothbrush. My youngest daughter needs help getting the toothbrush into the slot the first time it is used, but she can do it independently after that. Both of the girls like the shields and I like knowing that their toothbrushes aren’t sitting right on top of germs. I also like that my oldest daughter can throw the toothbrush into her ballet bag and the shield sits on her brush securely. I’m not as worried about her storing her toothbrush in her ballet bag. The only negative I can see for these covers is that you have to be vigilant about changing them. Intellident also sent me a mouthguard shield which I didn’t use since we don’t have a need for that. You can read more about that and the Intellident Company on their website https://www.intellidentproducts.com/. The toothbrush shields run $2.99 on both Walgreens.com and Drugstore.com at the time this writing.  Walmart.com sells them for $2.47 at the time of this writing and I am able to order these for free pickup at my local Walmart. The toothbrush shields are an item I would recommend especially if your kids are on the messy side. *Disclaimer: I received this product for review purposes only. I was not paid to write this post and all opinions are my own.