January 2021 1

We are an E.O.E. Employer and Provider www.childdevelop.org 570-544-8959 January 2021 2 January 2021 3

In last month’s newsletter we talked about childhood tooth decay—what causes it, why it’s so bad, your child’s sipping habits, keeping your child’s mouth clean and your child’s first dentist visit. This month we’re going to focus on what things can rot not only your child’s teeth but your teeth as well!

You experience loss of tooth enamel with a pH of 4.0 and less! Water (neutral) = 7.0 Milk = 6.7 pH 3.5 tsp sugar Acid Levels In Popular Acid pH Acid Levels in Popular Acid pH Sugar*

Candies: (Low=Bad) Drinks: (Low=Bad) Per 10 oz. Spree 3.0 Barq’s Root Beer 4.0 11 tsp. Sour Gummy Bears 3.0 Minute Maid Orange Juice 3.8 9 tsp. Gummy Vitamins 2.5 Grape, Apple, Cranberry Juice 3.4 15 tsp. Airhead Extreme 2.5 Propel Fitness Water 3.4 1 tsp. Sour Punch Straws 2.5 Red Bull 3.3 10 tsp. Shockers 2.5 Sprite 3.3 10 tsp. Skittles 2.5 3.3 12 tsp. Baby Bottle Pop 2.5 Diet Coke 3.1 0 tsp. Brach’s Gummy Bears 2.5 3.1 10 tsp. Laffy Taffy 2.5 Full Throttle Energy Drink 3.0 11 tsp. Starburst 2.4 Diet 3.0 0 tsp. Sweet Tarts Shockers 2.4 2.9 10 tsp. Lemon Heads 2.4 Sunkist Orange Soda 2.9 13 tsp. Mentos Fruit Chews 2.4 Dr. Pepper 2.9 10 tsp. Sour Skittles 2.2 AMP- Mountain Dew 2.8 11 tsp. Grape Nerds 2.0 SoBE Energy Soda 2.6 12 tsp. Now and Later Chews 1.9 Minute Maid Lemonade 2.6 10 tsp. Pixy Stix Powder 1.9 Pepsi 2.5 11 tsp. Wonka Fun Dip 1.8 Diet Schweppes Tonic Water 2.5 0 tsp. Warheads Sour Spray 1.6 Coca-Cola Classic 2.4 10 tsp. Source: Dr. John Ruby, University of Alabama Birmingham school of Dentistry 2007 Copyright, Minnesota Dental Associa- tion. All Rights Reserved January 2021 4

Beverly Weikel, LCSW Mary Louise Fanelli, LBS Stacy Meredith, LPN Mental Health Consultant Behavioral Specialist Health and Development Manager

The Winter Blues (Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD) affects about 10 million Americans. It can affect people of any age, including children. Here are 20 helpful tips to wait out winter with a smile on your face:

1. Take a Walk— A daily one hour walk in the middle 11. Brighten Up Your Surroundings—Make your envi- of the day could be as helpful as light treatment for ronment brighter by opening the blinds and curtains coping with the winter time blues. and trim back tree branches that are set closer to the windows 2. Get Outside—Go outdoors in natural daylight as much as possible, especially at midday and on mood and relieve brighter days. Inside your home, choose pale colors anxiety. Other foods like candy that reflect light from outside, and sit near windows whenever you can. 3. Keep warm—

4. Eat healthy—A healthy diet will boost your mood, give you more energy and helps you from putting on weight over winter. Balance your craving for carbs, such as pasta and potatoes, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. 15. 5. See the Light—Sit in front of a light box for up to fitness goals and are willing to push you when you two hours a day can be helpful. Light boxes give out need it. very bright light— 10x stronger than ordinary light- ing. Some people find that using a dawn simulator 16. Increase your omega—Eating more fatty fish like as their bedside light connected to an alarm clock, salmon can actually make you feel more positive. mimics sunrise and wakes you up gradually. 17. Prep your meals—Instead of reaching for a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates, prepare some 6. Take up a new hobby—Keeping your mind active healthy meals—check out some new healthy recipes with a new interest seems to ward off symptoms. It could be anything, such as playing bridge, joining a gym, keeping a journal, or writing a blog. The im- 18. Seek out motivation—Watch motivational movies, read inspirational books and quotes. 7. See your friends and family—It has been shown 19. Set Some Goals—Set small goals one each day that socializing is good for your mental health and that will keep you positive and on track. No more helps to ward off the winter blues. Make an effort to keep in touch with people you care about and accept invitations you get to a social event, even if you only go for a little while. 20. Try Some Cool Ways to Embrace 8. the Winter—

9. Join a Support Group—Sharing with others who have experienced the same feelings and symptoms can make your symptoms more bearable. 10. Seek medical help—If your symptoms are so bad that you can't live a normal , see your doctor for hold on tight. help. SPRING IS ON THE WAY! January 2021 5

January ...... Opioids and Medication Assisted Treatment February ...... Alcohol Use Disorder March ...... Stimulants Education Series Set to Bring Important In- April ...... Inhalants and Huffing formation on Substance Use to Community May ...... Nicotine and Vaping Does someone you love struggle with substance June ...... Seniors and Substance Use use? Would you like to know how you can help and July ...... Marijuana support them? Are you a parent with concerns about August ...... Adolescents and Substance Use, your child and substance use? Would you like to Trauma & ACE (Adverse Childhood know more about the signs and symptoms of com- Experiences) monly used drugs? Are you a grandparent raising a September ...... Stigma and Substance Use grandchild with questions about how to help a child October ...... Women and pregnancy with Sub- manage treatment and recovery? If you’ve answered stance Use Disorder yes to any of these questions, join us! November ...... Grandparents raising grandchildren Dr. Gregory Dobash, MD from St. Luke’s Ashland December ...... Signs of Substance Use, How to Family Practice along with St. Luke’s Rural Family Help Medicine Residents will share their mastery on topics related to substance use as part of a virtual pilot edu- “No matter the adjective used to describe addiction, cation series that will begin this month and be availa- the impact on children and families is the same. ble to the general public. The first presentation is set Treating addiction requires knowledge and compas- for Wednesday, January 27, 2021 with others follow- sion. The more everyone knows and understands this ing on the last Wednesday of each month from 2:30 – disease, the better the outcome may be for those 3:30 PM. struggling with substance use”, said Marissa Nes- goda, LCSW, Integrated Health Case Manager at St. Dr. Dobash and his team of family medicine residents Luke's University Health Network. invite community members to join them in learning more about commonly used drugs, physical and psy- For more information on this virtual education series chological effects, prevention, and available treat- and how you can participate, contact Angela Morgan, ment/recovery support for family and friends strug- Community Health, Geisinger St. Luke’s (570) 645- gling with substance use. The line-up for this educa- 0183 or email at [email protected]. tion series includes: can be found on Child Development’s website: https://childdevelop.org/resources/ January 2021 6

Things you need to know—all in one place!

January Holiday Closing Friday, Jan. 1, 2021

Monday, January 27th Color Time Fun! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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PROGRAM AND PERSONNEL POLICIES COMMITTEE MEETING FRIDAY, Jan. 8 at 10:00 AM Zoom Virtual Meeting Link for meeting will be emailed to members ______

COMMUNITY OUTREACH COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, Jan. 21 at 3:00 PM Zoom Virtual Meeting Link for meeting will be emailed to members January 2021 7

We also use this calling system to inform and reminder families of other important Program and center events.

Directions: Color the mittens. Cut and paste them in the correct number order. January 2021 8

Date: ______Enrolled Family: ______Enrolled Child’s Name: ______Referred Family: ______Child Name: ______DOB: ______Telephone Number: ______Best time to call: ❑ Morning ❑ Afternoon

This family is interested in the following center: ❑ Fountain Springs ❑ Mahanoy City ❑ Pottsville ❑ Pottsville 2

❑ Saint Clair ❑ Sch. Haven ❑ Shenandoah ❑ Tamaqua

Early Years, Child Development, Inc.’s newsletter is distributed monthly. If you are a non-profit Schuylkill County agency that is offering a free service that you feel our families might be interested in or benefit from and would like an announcement placed in our newsletter please let us know by the 10th of the previous month. You can send your event to: [email protected]