How to Ensure Your Holiday Dinner Guests Leave Smiling Not Sick

Last updated on December 13th, 2025 at 04:38 pm

Every host wants guests to leave the table with a full stomach, not a stomach bug. Unfortunately, 76 million cases of food-borne diseases occur in the United States each year, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 325,000 of those cases result in a trip to the emergency room. This time of year, with heaps of food and extra guests, it’s all too easy to contaminate meals with food-borne bugs or a nasty flu virus.

Luckily, there are a few simple safe-cooking precautions that will keep your friends and family safe and healthy this holiday season. Barbara Kowalcyk, director of food safety at The Center for Foodborne Illness Research & Prevention in Grove City, Pa., shares her tips to help prevent both food poisoning and germ-sharing.

At the Store

Keep raw meats and poultry separate from packaged foods in your cart. The outside of meat packages can be contaminated with bacteria, and touching them means you can easily spread germs and bacteria to other products. “Don’t be afraid to use a plastic bag from the produce department as a glove when handling meats,” says Kowalcyk. “A little precaution now can save you from a big mess later.”

At Home

Proper preparation is the key to safe cooking. Before cooking any meals, clean your hands and all work surfaces. Designate different cutting boards for different types of foods to help prevent cross-contamination. It’s also important to pay attention to what you’re doing. “Don’t go from cutting a chicken to making a salad. Wash your hands,” says Kowalcyk.

Knowing which foods to wash also prevents illness. Always wash the tops of cans and all fruits and vegetables. “People are often surprised to learn that something like a salad can make them sick,” says Kowalcyk. She recommends skipping prepackaged bagged leaves and buying the whole head instead. Remove the outside leaves as well as any with tears, which are the most likely to be contaminated.

Don’t put meat and poultry in the sink. “It doesn’t need to be washed,” says Kowalcyk. Washing raises the risk of contaminating other surfaces in your kitchen. It only takes between three and 10 microbes to start an infection (more than a million can fit on the head of a pin). Just a few drops of dirty water can really wreck havoc on your kitchen. Washing the food won’t kill bacteria, but cooking your food to the proper temperature will.

If You’re Sick

If you’re fighting the flu or a cold, you should stay out of the kitchen altogether. Give instructions to another family member or consider wearing a mask as you prepare the food. If nothing else, wash your hands more often — especially after you cough or sneeze.

In the Oven

Testing meat for color, touch or until juices run clear is not a good way to tell if food is done. “Testing the internal temperature is the only way to know if it’s cooked to a safe temperature,” says Kowalcyk. She recommends you ditch the dial thermometers and pop-up buttons included with some prepackaged turkeys since both may not be calibrated properly. Instead, use a digital thermometer to test meat at its thickest point and poultry at the joint between the thigh and leg.

The United States Department of Agriculture recommends cooking foods to the following minimum temperatures to ensure safe consumption:

• Beef, Pork, Veal & Lamb (steak, chops, roasts): 145 F (62.8 C) and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
• Ground meats: 160 F (71.1 C)
• Ham, fresh or smoked (uncooked): 145 F (62.8 C) and allow to rest for at least 3 minutes
• Fully Cooked Ham (to reheat): Reheat cooked hams packaged in USDA-inspected plants to 140 F (60 C) and all others to 165 F (73.9 C)
• All Poultry (breasts, whole bird, legs, thighs, and wings, ground poultry, and stuffing): 165 F (73.9 C)
• Eggs: 160 F (71.1 C)
• Fish & Shellfish: 145 F (62.8 C)
• Leftovers: 165 F (73.9 C)
• Casseroles: 165 F (73.9 C)

At the Table

Don’t let food sit out for more than two hours. This includes the time it may be on the counter or table before you serve it. Keep hot foods hot in the oven and cold foods cold in the refrigerator. “Don’t let your foods get to room temperature,” says Kowalcyk. “That’s where bacteria likes to grow. And the longer it sits out, the more you increase your risk of getting sick.”

After the Meal

Transfer warm leftovers to shallow dishes so they’ll cool down evenly and quickly in the fridge. Also keep in mind that the temperature increases in an overstuffed fridge, so you may need to adjust yours for a few days after a big meal to make sure it stays at a safe 40 F.

The Next Day

Everyone loves leftovers, but not everyone should reach for the cold turkey. Those vulnerable to illness — young children, pregnant women and people with chronic conditions — should reheat leftovers to 165 F before eating them. “Most people will be OK, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry,” says Kowalcyk.

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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on Pediatric Safety in November of 2010. The chart has been updated to include the most current information available on the minimum safe internal temperatures for food. If you’re preparing dinner for guests, print a copy and keep it handy. Wishing all of our readers a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Preventing, Detecting and Treating TMJ in Children

Last updated on December 13th, 2025 at 04:35 pm

Almost everyone, including children, experiences soreness and discomfort in the jaw from time to time, and most times these symptoms fade and disappear in a few short days. Those other few instances where the pain lingers and increases should raise alarm for parents. Continued soreness and tightness in the jaw as well as difficulty chewing, smiling and even breathing are all symptoms of TMJ, or temporomandibular joint, disorder.

The TMJ is the joint that connects the lower jaw to the skull. Overuse or irritation to the joint can result in headaches, neck aches, and jaw or face pain, problems chewing or biting, popping and clicking sounds when opening and closing the mouth and extreme cases cause the jaw to lock open or closed. TMJ can occur to anyone at any age, but is especially prevalent in teenage girls.

Unfortunately, it is often unclear what causes TMJ disorders in children. Contributing factors include can include: stress, clenching or grinding of the jaw or other oral or overall health issues. Stress frequently results in the grinding or tightening of the jaw in children. Many do not even realize they are doing it as it becomes habit. Also, if your child has a bad bite, muscle problems or has had face or jaw trauma, they are more likely to experience the discomfort or TMJ.

Thankfully, there are many treatment options to relieve the pain of TMJ disorder.

• The simplest fix, depending on the severity of the condition, is to encourage your child to rest their jaw for a few days. You can assist in this by having soft foods for meals and snacks, and discouraging aggravating activities such as gum chewing, open-mouth yawning and clenching or grinding. Also apply ice or heat as needed to relieve pain temporarily.
• For the more involved cases, further treatment will need to be explored. Dentists may provide a device for your child to wear at night to minimize grinding or prescribe medication to relax the jaw muscles. Braces or corrective dentistry may be needed if the disorder is stemming from a misaligned bite.
• Rarely, surgery will be recommended.

To help your child avoid TMJ disorder, bring to their attention bad grinding or clenching habits. The habits often coincide with certain behaviors – being upset, studying for tests, etc – so teach your child to pinpoint their trigger behaviors so they can consciously combat the bad habits. Allowing plenty of time for exercise and play will also help keep stress levels down.

If you think your child is exhibiting symptoms of TMJ, contact a local dentist today. The earlier TMJ can be treated, the better.

Kids and School – a “Germy” Combination

Last updated on November 24th, 2025 at 06:19 pm

Now, your children are in school and the initial trauma is over —for you. This is great; Mommy or Daddy’s day out every day, meetings at Starbuck’s, play a round of tennis, make dinner and await the arrival of your kids coming home. I’m sure things aren’t quite that way but you do have time to do things you did not have the time for before school, additionally you may very well still have a young one or two at home.

If your child is busy enjoying the challenges of his/her first encounter with a classroom setting, he/she is also busy adding to the petrie dish of viral and bacterial flora that decorate every nook and cranny of their little classroom. Not to worry parents, this petrie dish is actually world wide; doorknobs, telephone handles, handshaking, etc. This is not meant to worry you more but to help put your mind at ease. If, in fact, the entire tangible world is covered with a thin layer of “slime”, there are relatively very few people getting ill because of that contact. As a matter of fact, contact with these organisms can result in a certain amount of immunity while not actually imparting visible disease. Tough concept to understand but it is the same with your school age children and whether you worry about it or not, this contact will surely take place.

Add to that the possibility that your school aged child may then carry home the very “germs” you are worried about exposing your younger child to and it’s enough to pack up your entire family and seek shelter in the closest sealed balloon- like chamber.

Things are not as bad as all that. The coexistence of man and bacteria, mostly in a benign synergistic manner, has been well documented over time: we are better off because they are around and in turn they are better off because of our presence. There are far more harmless microorganisms in our environment than those causing disease, as a matter of fact some are even helping us come up with new and effective medications and products.

Certain bacteria can be coaxed into producing human-helpful by-products much easier and in far greater quantities than we can produce with our highly sophisticated technology. Bacteria and viruses are much “smarter” than you and me; whenever we come up with a defense, they find a way to get around our barriers with intricate defenses. Hence, the development of resistances to antibiotics, etc.

Sure it is reasonable to take practical precautions to protect your children, but their exposures are not necessarily a bad thing and no matter what you do some contact will be inevitable. Once entering a school setting a child can be expected to have 6-8 significant, although usually mild illnesses, per year for the first year or two, but guess what, after that time the illnesses become fewer and fewer.

So relax, do what you can reasonably do, but realize you can’t ever keep your child completely germ free. Get your child completely up to date with the recommended immunizations and vaccines before school entrance and keep him or her that way always.

10 Kidpower Safety Tips for Parents of Young Children

Last updated on November 24th, 2025 at 06:19 pm

Long before they can talk or move on their own, babies are getting lessons from their adults about what it means to be safe and to be important. Our job as adults is to provide nurturing, love, guidance, and protection. As toddlers and preschoolers start to develop more mobility, understanding, and language, our job is also to start teaching them how to be safe in their world and with other people. When it comes to safety, the earliest teachable moment is the best teachable moment as long as this is done in a way that builds understanding and skills rather than creating anxiety or fear. The following safety tips are from Kidpower’s newest book, Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers.

1. Put Safety First. Kidpower’s Underlying Principle is that, “The safety and healthy self-esteem of a child are more important than anyone’s embarrassment, inconvenience or offense.” Putting safety first seems obvious, but can be hard to uphold in daily life. Don’t let reluctance to inconvenience someone or to be inconvenienced, worry about embarrassing someone or about being embarrassed, fear of offending someone or of feeling uncomfortable, stop you from protecting the emotional and physical safety and well-being of your child.

2. Stay calm and upbeat. Children learn better and feel safer when their adults sound hopeful. Worrying and talking about the bad things that might happen can make everyone anxious without making anyone safer. Instead, focus on all the positive ways you can protect your child from harm most of the time.

3. Stay in charge. Young children do not always have the understanding, skills, or life experience to recognize potential danger – whether from an animal, a cliff, a piece of glass, an electric outlet, a car, or a person who might be unsafe. They are too small and too precious to have their safety left to chance. Make sure you always know who is with your children, where they are going, and what they are doing.

4. Pay attention to your own intuition. If you are even a little bit uncomfortable about a person or a situation involving your child, take action rather than hoping that the problem will go away by itself. No matter what the relationship, your job is to speak up, stick around, intervene, and keep watching until your concerns are addressed.

5. Set a good example. Model staying respectful even if you are frustrated, using your words to solve conflicts, moving away from trouble, advocating for your child and yourself, waiting your turn when you want something, interrupting to get help if you have a safety problem, and being careful.

6. Give your kids practice in taking charge. When playing tickling or roughhousing games, teach children that their “No” means “No” and their “Stop” means “Stop.” For example, when playing a chasing game such as “I’m going to get you!” – sometimes have children stop you by turning, making a stop sign with their hand, and yelling, “STOP!” You can give children practice in throwing hurting words away instead of taking them into their bodies. By stopping, you are teaching children to use their personal power. You can teach preschoolers to imagine that someone is acting scary and coach them to run yelling “I NEED HELP!” to their adult and have that person tell the child, “I will help you!” Give children practice in moving away from anything or anyone they don’t know well and checking first with their adult.

7. Accept children’s right to be upset or have unhappy feelings when you need to set limits. For example, in stopping a child from running off, you might say in a compassionate and firm way, “I see you are angry that I am holding your hand. You want to be able to run without being stopped. Staying together here is not a choice. Holding hands helps keep you safe.”

8. Empower children with choices when you can. Allowing children to choose between the red cup or the blue cup, walking by themselves or being carried, doing something right away or in five minutes, helps children develop decision-making skills and confidence in their personal power.

9. Remember that affection should always be a child’s choice. Let children choose hugging or kissing, even with Grandma. Teach children how to move away from unwanted touch or teasing and say, “Stop. I don’t like that.” Tell adults or other children to respect the child’s wishes by listening and stopping. Remember that forced affection is not love.

10. Listen to Children! Even if their fears seem insignificant to you, listen with compassion and calmness, without lecturing or getting upset. Be a supportive adult for them to come to.

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Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International is a global nonprofit leader in child protection, positive communication, and personal safety skills for all ages and abilities. Since 1989, Kidpower has protected over 2.5 million children, teens, and adults, including those with special needs, from bullying, abuse, abduction, and other violence through workshops and educational resources. Instead of using fear to teach about violence prevention, Kidpower makes it FUN to learn to be safe. Visit www.kidpower.org to learn about our extensive free online library, affordable books, and workshops. Kidpower’s new book, Earliest Teachable Moment: Personal Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers, is also available on Amazon.

Irene van der Zande is also author of another great book for parents of young children, 1,2,3…The Toddler Years: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers, which includes a forward by child development expert, Magda Gerber. The book can be found on Amazon.