• Ensure proper nutrition (eating three meals a day and two nutritious snacks, limiting high sugar and high fat foods, eating fruits, vegetables, lean meats and low fat dairy products (for children over 2-3 years old), including 3 servings of milk, cheese or yogurt to meet their calcium needs), regular exercise, adequate sleep, and participation in age appropriate extracurricular activities at school and in the community.
• Visit your doctor for regular well child exams and keep up to date on all of the recommended vaccines.
• Set a good example for your child.
• Provide your children with a safe environment that gives them lots of opportunities to explore without danger to themselves or your home.
• Be prepared by knowing your local poison center's phone number and keep it posted with a list of emergency numbers by your phone.
• Always use the proper age appropriate car restraint system for your child. Use a rear facing infant or convertible car seat in the back seat until your baby is 1 y/o and 22lbs. Next use a forward facing toddler/convertible safety seat in the back seat until your child outgrows it when he is about 40lbs and then use a booster seat until your car's lap and shoulder belts fit correctly (when your child is 60lbs and 8 years old). Remember that children under 12 are safest in the back seat. Be careful if your car has side impact air bags and never place your child in the front seat of a car with a passenger side airbag.
• New! Do not allow your child to ride in the cargo area of a pick up truck, even if it is enclosed. In an accident, children in the back of a pick up truck have little protection from serious injury or death.
• Review the risks factors for lead poisoning.
• Learn effective discipline techniques. Keep in mind that discipline is not just punishment, but instead is a "system of teaching and nurturing that prepares children to achieve competence, self-control, self-direction, and caring for others." (AAP definition)
• Avoid physical punishment, including spanking or yelling, that just reinforces to your child that these behaviors are acceptable.
• Learn to pay positive attention to your child and give frequent praise, so that he feels secure and loved.
• Limit television viewing and encourage reading and storytelling.
• Practice food safety: washing fruits and vegetables, not eating undercooked meats or poultry, and not drinking unpasteurized milk or juices.
  
• Brush teeth with a fluoride toothpaste (use a non-fluoride toothpaste until your child is able to spit it out) twice a day and have your child seen regularly by a dentist (after age three). Encourage flossing each day once your child is about eight years old.
• Supervise your child's use of the computer (younger children should not have unsupervised access to the Internet), computer games, movies, and know what they have access to at their friend's homes.
• Learn to communicate with your child, by avoiding too much criticism, actively listening to his problems, and showing respect for his ideas.
• Help build your child's self esteem.
• Prepare your school age child for puberty and sexual development and begin sexuality education, including that abstinence is the safest way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
• It is also very important to begin communicating with your school age child to help prevent them from picking up bad habits, including the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs (including the use of inhalants; especially aerosols and glue). Children whose parents talk to them regularly are at much less risk for experimenting with cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. Teach them how to avoid situations where drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes are present and to choose friends who also choose not to use these substances. Emphasize to them that these substances can hurt them, can make them sick, can cause decrease lung function and problems playing sports, and that it is OK to say no. Also, do not let them attend parties that are unsupervised by adults and let your child know that they can communicate openly with you about these difficult subjects. Watch for the warning signs of drug use, including a sudden change in your child's behavior or personality, decreased performance in school, or changes in what friends they associate with.
• New! Injuries related to using a scooter are up 700% this year, especially fractures and dislocations. If you child has a scooter, be sure that he uses the proper safety equipment, including a helmet and knee and elbow pads.

Children are also more likely to smoke when they are older if a parent smokes.

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Also visit:
ADHD advice and information
Expert Pediatrician - child health and parenting advice
About Pediatrics - Expert Pediatric Parenting Advice
Father's First Year - read about Dr. Iannelli's new book