Ask doctor Cory.

Dear Dr. Cory:

My mom says that I need to brush my teeth for two minutes. Why is that?

Meganne * Oak Park, Illinois 

Dear Meganne:

Your teeth do an amazing job of tearing, mashing, cutting, and grinding your food before you swallow. In order to do their job, your teeth are built with a lot of places for food to hide. So it is important to brush each tooth really well--in front, back, inside, outside, top, and bottom. You also need to floss between your teeth where food gets stuck and your toothbrush can't reach.

Dentists agree with your mom. They say that you should brush your top teeth for one minute and your bottom teeth for one minute. That's a total of two minutes.

Brush your teeth gently in little circles away from your gums. To help you brush long enough, try humming a song or ask your parents if you can use a timer. Some toothbrushes have built-in timers.

Note to Parents: In general, children under seven years of age do not have the motor skills to brush their teeth well without your help. When your child can tie her shoes by herself, she is probably ready to brush and floss her teeth by herself-but still with supervision from you. The use of automated toothbrushes and toothbrushes with built-in timers also require adult supervision.

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With a squeeze of the handle, the FireFly[R] toothbrush blinks for one minute--so you know when to stop brushing your upper teeth and start brushing your lower teeth. The FireFly[R] toothbrushes can be found at such stores as Wal-Mart, Target, and Walgreens, or go to www.drfresh.com.

Dear Dr. Cory:

Our son will be starting kindergarten next year. He "reads" back his favorite stories to us but has not yet started to really read. Besides reading to him almost every night before bed, what else can we do to help him learn to read?

Marcia Schneider * Madison, Wisconsin 

Dear Marcia:

Reading to your son every night is one of the most important activities you can do to help him develop his reading skills and a love for reading. You might also want to create a special place where your son can easily reach his favorite books or magazines and sit in a comfortable place to read, draw, or write. Limit daily 13/or computer time, or better yet, turn off the TV and spend more time cuddling and reading together.

Educators also suggest the following ways to help.

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* Let a child go at his own pace. Children develop at different rates.

* Move your finger under the words as you read.

* Let a child finish lines in the story or join in on repeated phrases.

* Ask him to point out letters or words that he might know.

* Once he knows his alphabet, help him separate and sound out new words.

* Give praise for all of his small successes.

* Make stories more fun by using different voices or noises as you read.

* Look at pictures in the book and ask him to tell you about them.

* When a child asks a question about the story, stop and answer it.

* At the end of the story talk about how it is different or similar to your life.

Use community libraries as often as possible. And, set a good example by being a reader and writer yourself!

Dear Dr. Cory:

What keeps small children from falling out of bed during sleep? Is there something in their makeup that prevents them from falling when unrestrained by side rails?

Patricia Lewis * Nova Scotia, Canada

Dear Ms. Lewis:

Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., sleep researcher and author of Sleeping Through the Night: How Infants, Toddlers, and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night's Sleep, tells us that experts actually do not yet know what keeps small children in bed.

"When they are quite young," Dr. Mindell explains, "children often fall out of bed and it is the reason we highly recommend bed rails. Young children are also much more active in their sleep since they spend more time in REM sleep (dreaming sleep) than adults.

"There are no clear guidelines on what ages bed safety rails should be used by children. In general, bed safety rails should always be used when you first transition your child to a bed.

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Continuing to use them until age 5 or 6 will help keep your child in his/her bed without rolling off it during the night."

Do you have a question about your child's health? Send it to:

"Ask Doctor Cory"

Humpty Dumpty's Magazine

P.O. Box 567

Indianapolis, IN 46206