Blog Archives

Kindnesses

6/26/2017

"You can never do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Say, 'I love you' to each of your loved ones as soon and as often as possible." -- Dr Chris Baker

“You can never do a kindness too soon, because you never know how soon it will be too late." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

You can change someone’s day - and maybe their whole life...

• With a small kindness.

• Say “I love you” to each of your loved ones as soon and as often as possible.

• Help someone who is struggling to carry something.

• Say “good morning” or “good afternoon” to people around you.

• Hold a door for someone.

• Bring or pour coffee for your assistants.

• Say “Please,” and “Thank you," and really mean it.

• Allow a driver to merge into your lane.

• Take a stray shopping cart from the parking lot into the store, as you walk in.

• Bring some breakfast snacks to your office.

• Take time to give compliments about someone to their supervisor as you are shopping or traveling.

It will make people happy and you the happiest!!

Love,

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The Best of the Best

6/19/2017

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Those with a personal commitment to excellence live life differently than most.

The best of the best, whether dentists, nurses, teachers, surgeons, lawyers, preachers, salesmen, musicians, soldiers or sailors, athletes, gardeners, artists, all do some things differently than most everybody else.

And they end up the best of the best.

And happier.

• They decide to live their dreams.

• They set goals and review them very frequently, at best, daily.

• One of their goals is CANI - Constant and Never-Ending Improvement

• They do course correction. If things aren’t working, they change their strategy a bit, and don’t assume it will never work. They don’t give up. Their goals await.

• They believe in possibility.

• They are actively grateful.

• They smile - a lot.

You can be one of the best of the best. Go for it!!

Love,

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Encouragement!

6/13/2017

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"We all appreciate encouragement -- every day."

Dr Chris' book, REAL, encourages readers to lead a life of positive action and change.

Are you needing encouragement today?

We all appreciate encouragement - every day. How good does it feel when someone comments on how well you are doing?

How incredible it is when someone notices you are kind.

Guess what?

When you encourage others, their appreciation encourages YOU.

As you make them feel better, you feel better. As you lift their spirits, not only do they go away more committed to doing well, so do you!

Uplift them and make them feel great!

What an easy, easy thing to do for others - encourage them! Tell them they can do it! Tell them they ARE doing it!

It goes right into their hearts. It is so easy. And you walk away happier and more encouraged!

Be an encourager. Always.

Love,

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Whatever You Need Is On Its Way

6/6/2017

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"Each fragile moment brings a lesson, every burden brings a treasure, and every difficulty, opportunity. "

"There are so very many things for which to be grateful. Dwell there."

Each person you need to meet, each message you need to hear, and each challenge you need, will show up — just in time.

Truly! Keep your eyes and ears open. Be watchful.

Each fragile moment brings a lesson, every burden brings a treasure, and every difficulty, opportunity. Every complication, chance for wisdom and every mishap, a setup for a comeback.

“There are no accidents - just a purpose that is as yet not understood.” ~ Deepak Chopra

There are mishaps. There are traumatic mishaps. But studies show these are much less in people who are optimistic - who dwell in belief in purpose and growth and CANI-Constant And Never-ending Improvement. And, finding reasons to be happy takes you to happy.

Spending a little time each day dwelling on what you feel grateful for, moves you forward to happy.

Be grateful for...

• the morning light,
• your feet, able to swing over and touch the floor in the morning,
• the warm water washing over your awakening body in your shower,
• your sips of coffee - notice what part of your palate keeps the flavor the longest, and what flavor the coffee leaves behind after you swallow (most of your taste actually comes from the nose receptors in the back of your mouth, so you may taste more after you swallow).

Maybe you’ll have the luxury of an early morning walk. There are so very many things for which to be grateful. Dwell there.

Know that all you need or desire is on its way. It will arrive on time, and in even greater amounts than you have imagined.

Just think - you can wait watchfully for what you need to show up, all the while thinking about your gratitudes and living your day!

Love,

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Five Things that Parents of Successful Children Do and Five Things that Parents of Successful Children DO NOT Do

6/5/2017

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Albert Schweitzer said, "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success."

Dr. Chris Baker's book, REAL, reveals successful strategies for raising healthy, sane and responsible children.

The best way for a parent to teach his child to share is for the child to see the parent sharing with others. (Wikimedia Commons photo)

A child learns courtesy and good manners when he or she sees their parents being courteous.

Dr John Rosemond's book, New Parent Power! is a great resource for parents who want to raise responsible children.

As parents, we all want our children to be successful. We strive to help our children become “successful” so they will be “happy.”

But - as Albert Schweitzer said, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.”

Scientists studying the psychology of happiness have discovered that:

• Happiness isn’t genetic.
• Happiness isn’t luck.
• Happiness isn’t dependent on our circumstances.
• Happiness is created by us.
• Happiness is created by simple disciplines practiced every day, over and over.
• And, unhappiness is created by errors in judgement repeated over and over.

Now we know it is our parenting behaviors that help train our children to be happy. And their happiness will lead to their successes.

So what are these things that we do that work to train our children to be happy?

1. Simple Daily Disciplines - Yourself!

Learn, practice and train yourself to practice simple disciplines every day, over and over. Let your children learn from you that you are grateful. Let them learn that you do kind things for others, not just for them. Let them learn that you eat well, exercise and stay fit. Let them learn most of all that these simple daily disciplines occur over and over.

A recent article from Harvard University, points out that “the result you wish to see in your child comes from the effort you put into yourself.” Your children will mimic and learn from you.

2. Show Encouragement and Compassion for others - all others.

Children have to see and hear their parents caring about and for others. From the time a toddler is just beginning to get the idea that we want them to “share”, they need to see their parents encouraging other children and other adults, as well as them.

Children need to see their parents being compassionate of others -
* holding a door for the next person,
* picking up trash as they walk (take a plastic bag to put over your hand),
* say thank you - and mean it,
* give genuine compliments to people you meet,
* praise others every chance you get,
* write handwritten thank you notes -
* focus on the person speaking to you - NEVER on your phone while they are talking,
* and teach your child to do so.

Give EVERYONE you meet the gift of your smile, ask about the other person’s family, or work, or children. Let your children see you care very much about the others.

3. Always, Always, Keep High Ethical Standards - did I say always?

Let your children see that you have good manners, graciousness, humility, and above all, honesty. Let them be able to trust that what you say is what you mean.

Counting, “I’m gonna count to three…” merely means that you don’t mean what you say until you get to three. Saying, “I promise you,” means that if you don’t say that, you may not mean it. Earn their respect and trust. Of course they will learn that we are all human, yet they will be so proud of an honest and trustworthy parent!

4. The Big and Real Picture is Inside

As things happen around you, and TO you, let the children see that the only things that matter are the things that happen IN you. In other words, help them learn that it is not what happens, but how you look at it, and how you take it.

Be the victor, not the victim. Let them see that when hard things happen, you work to accept and to use it as a lesson. Make every day a day of victory!

5. Allow Problems to Happen and Allow Your Child to Solve those Problems.

We never “wish” hard things on our children, of course not! But the reality is that life has lots of challenges, and since your child will encounter these many lessons, childhood practice coping is critical..

Doing pediatric dentistry and orthodontics has taught me how fortunate is the child with a parent who helps the child cope with the dental situation. This is especially true if it seems hard for the child.

I have seen over and over, the incredible result in how well a child copes when the parent is matter-of-fact and believes their child can handle it, and stays right beside the child to just “be there.”

The most successful appointments are those with parents who tell the child “You can do it. I’m here with you,” and then the parent goes on to talk with us, holding the child’s hand, but not over-focusing on the child. And guess what? The child believes the parent - the person they trust the most - that it’s all ok.

The child may cry. The child may worry. But the child will get through it ever so much better than if a parent is worrying and saying, “It won’t hurt - I promise!” (How does the parent know? “Hurt” is a very personal definition - don’t “promise” such things!)

Allow your child to solve the problems, and to learn to cope with the challenges!

What are some things parents of happy children (who become successful adults) DO NOT do?

They do not rescue their child to prevent the “hard stuff.” They do not let their child “quit”.
They do not give in.
They do not worry when their child is “mad at them.”
They do not reward their child for good behavior, good grades Material things - money, shopping trip, new toys, etc, do not teach a child to cope. They bribe the child to learn to manipulate to get their way.
They do not allow the child more than 30 minutes a day of screen time - including TV, computer, games, social media, iPad, and phone - other than the least time it takes to complete their homework or assignments.

We can develop “happy habits” and help our children to do so as well! We can teach them how to be happy. And they will be happy for a lifetime!

Happiness is created by simple disciplines practiced every day, over and over.

Unhappiness is created by errors in judgement repeated over and over.

For more reading:

Link to Forbes article on crippling parent behaviors.

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Synthetic Scents Are Deadly

6/3/2017

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Unlike the natural scents given us by nature, artificial "fragrance" can contain many petroleum-based toxins.

While chemicals are meant to imitate the scents of nature, their effects on the human body are much more harmful.

A great guide to healthful living and thinking, Dr Chris Baker's book REAL, is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

A safe replacement for many cleaning fluids is pure white vinegar.

On a recent flight, I noticed a strong perfume-y scent that made my throat feel tight and my head ache. I asked the flight attendant if the jet's air circulation system scented the air as it blew through the vents on the plane. He assured me that it did not.

The scent was so strong that I thought he probably did not know and was answering an easy “no.”

Then, Claude thought the scent came from the lady who sat right behind us, who wore a potent amount of cheap perfume. That turned out to be the case. Poor thing - she had no idea what she was doing to us!

When you read a label on a cosmetic or household product, including perfume, lotion, shampoo, laundry detergent, cleaning product or room fresheners, the ingredient, “fragrance” means a synthetic chemical that is potentially LETHAL over time due to its toxicity.

More than 95 percent   of these chemicals are made from crude oil. They include benzene derivatives, aldehydes, phthalates, formaldehyde, toluene, and many other known toxins. These can cause cancer, birth defects, autism, ADHD, (see work by Dr. Philip Landrigan, et al) nervous-system disorders, kidney damage, lupus and other immune illnesses.

These health effects can also include allergic reactions and endocrine disruption which can lead to weight gain, and, even worse, reproductive system cancers including breast, prostate, testicular, ovarian and uterine cancers as well as liver cancer.

There are about 3,000 different chemicals which can be called "fragrance", some of which   are on the EPA’s hazardous waste list.

People are being poisoned with fragrance ingredients that go straight into their bloodstreams, and their precious children’s bloodstreams, after they are absorbed from the skin, inhaled into lungs, or eaten and in one's gut.

They make us sick. Really, truly sick, and shorten lives. They also cause short term headaches, respiratory distress, nausea and brain fog.

You know how it works - everything is “worse” for the pregnant woman, infants and the elderly, oh - and for children of course. But they are bad for YOU TOO! You want your child to have a parent for many years to come.

Don’t be fooled.   Avoid these synthetic scents.

How?

• Read the labels of your products. If you read “fragrance”, avoid that product. Completely. That includes shampoos, conditioners, lotions, (even BABY lotion), perfumes, colognes, talcum powder, baby wipes, air fresheners, candles, detergents, stain removers, dryer sheets, deodorizers, liquid soaps, antiseptic washes. Don’t buy them.

• Even if the front of the bottle or spray says, “fragrance-free”, read the label. Many STILL have “fragrance” to cover the nasty chemical smells of the product. READ THE LABEL!!

Why do companies use these toxins in consumer products if they are bad for us?

• These ingredients are cheap, and most people won’t notice the masked, nasty chemical smell of the product's other chemicals.

Doesn’t our government ban all harmful substances?

Nope. The FDA website explains they cannot legally require companies to warn about toxicities in products that aren’t food. Look for labels that list ingredients that are not chemical names and fragrances.

Some countries like Canada, South Korea, Japan, China and the European Union have banned certain chemicals - but not all.. The U.S. government demands such a high level of proof of harm that many agree it is simply impossible to reach — and our government is slow to respond, banning only a few chemicals in its history.

Many people are starting to speak up and voice their concern. Some of the well-informed are even reluctant to wash their hands in a public restroom because of the toxins and scents that are in the soaps and lotions provided there. Surveys say about 23 percent of people will avoid places and other people that have scents.

Keep these poisons away from your family. Read labels and don’t buy the products which contain these chemicals. .

Here are some ideas for household products that you can make at home, instead of buying poisons:

1. Whlte vinegar is an amazing household cleaner. Clean your computer mouse with a 50/50 vinegar/water solution and cotton swabs. Let dry.

2. Vinegar can remove ballpoint pen ink, fabric stains, carpet stains, remove candle or other wax and furniture polish buildup, water rings on furniture, piano keys, and in a spray bottle is as good as any glass cleaner!

3. A disposable aluminum cake pan with table salt and vinegar will clean your silver jewelry. Put the salt and vinegar into the pan, lay the jewelry in and after a few moments, you can rinse off and polish the jewelry. Be sure not to put opals or other fragile stones into the mixture.

4. Baking soda down in your slow drain, with vinegar poured over will both deodorize and unclog the drain. Wait til the foaming is done, then flush with hot tap water, then with cold water. Kills bacteria as well!

5. Clean greasy stoves with vinegar, and put some vinegar in your liquid (natural dishwashing soap) for more grease removal.

6. Vinegar through your coffeemaker or in your french press will clean the nasty odors old coffee leave. Be sure to rinse thoroughly afterwards.

7. A small dish of vinegar with a few drops of liquid dish soap will attract the fruit flies, or pantry moths that plague you occasionally.

8.    Mix 4 oz. baking soda, 1 T dish soap, 1/4 c hydrogen peroxide, used with a toothbrush, will clean the grout between your bathroom tiles beautifully.

9. Clean your oven: remove the racks. 2 spoonfuls of baking soda and water in a bowl. make a paste and spread on the inside of the oven. let it sit at least 12 hours. The next day, with a wet rag, wipe out as much of the baking soda paste as you can. Spray all areas with a spray bottle with vinegar in it. Wipe with another wet rag. Turn the oven onto a very low temp for 15-20 minutes. You can do the oven window with the same technique.

10. Search Google, Bing, Yahoo, or your favorite Search Engine for more ideas!

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Dr Chris Baker

Dr. Chris Baker is Past President of the American Orthodontic Society, a pediatric dentist and teacher of orthodontics, An author, dental practice consultant, mentor, and a current or former faculty member of three U.S. dental schools, Dr Chris practices and blogs in beautiful Abu Dhabi, UAE, and glorious Texas, USA.

Kindnesses

The Best of the Best

Encouragement!

Whatever You Need Is On Its Way

Five Things that Parents of Successful Children Do and Five Things that Parents of Successful Children DO NOT Do

Synthetic Scents Are Deadly

Dr Chris Baker

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