Families Celebrate Halloween, Learn about Oral Health at VVMC

On Tuesday, October 29^th, a bumble bee, a cat, a football player, a ninja turtle, a cowboy, a dinosaur and more than a dozen other little creatures could be seen parading the halls of the Verde Valley Medical Center, stopping by staff offices to ask for a treat.  The procession is a yearly Halloween tradition of Verde Valley Healthy Families and Parents as Teachers, which are both free home visitation programs for families with young children ages birth to five years. Both programs are funded by First Things First.

Through the programs, families with young kids partner with a family support specialist, who visits their home every two weeks and provides them information and activities to help their child grow and learn, assesses the development of their child, and connects them to other community resources.

“We love this program and tell our friends about it all the time,” said Stacey Adcox, who is enrolled in Parents as Teachers with her husband Adrian and their 18-month old son, Adrian.  “We learn activities we can do with him that are based on his stage of development.”

Every month, Verde Valley Healthy Families and Parents as Teachers hold a joint playgroup for their participating families to come together, learn and have fun. Each October, the playgroup is held at the Verde Valley Medical Center, where parents and kids don their Halloween costumes to trick or treat around the hospital offices. Besides giving out the traditional sweet treats, hospital staff also gave out oral health friendly items, such as bubbles and pencils.

4-year old Kyra practices good tooth brushing techniques

 on a set of giant teeth at the Halloween playgroup at VVMC.

 

Verde Valley Healthy Families recently received a grant from Delta Dental, which gave them the ability to bring dental health information, activities and materials to their family playgroups. This year, Dr. Mitzi of Cottonwood Children’s Dentistry also donated toothbrushes so that every child could bring one home with their Halloween treats. “We’re grateful to both Cottonwood Children’s Dentistry and Delta Dental because they have enabled us to educate families on early oral care,” said Susan Lacher, Director of Verde Valley Healthy Families. At the Halloween playgroup, families learned important dental health tips, including cleaning teeth every day, limiting sugar, and making sure their children have regular dental checkups beginning at age 1.

For more information on Verde Valley Healthy Families, a program of Verde Valley Medical Center, please call (928)-639-6566. For more information about Parents as Teachers, a program of Arizona’s Children Association, please call 1-888-771-3425 X 2026.