I love the start of a new year. It just feels like a fresh start - out with the old and in with the new. I must admit I'm not very good at resolutions though. I usually forget about them a few weeks into the year, like most people.

This year my resolution will be more of a lifestyle change. I'll spend more time with my family, spend less money on things that I don't really need and focus on keeping us all healthy. We've had enough health issues over the past year to last us a decade, so I'm hoping 2010 will be better to us in that department.

If you have similar goals for the new year, I have lots of tips to help you. Here are just a few:

• How to Prevent Colds and the Flu
• Stay on Track With Healthy Mondays
• Make Sure Your Kids Wash Their Hands

Wishing you all a happy and healthy new year!

The CDC is estimating that nearly 60 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine have been administered in the United States. Unfortunately, officials have said that millions more need to get the vaccine to provide adequate protection against the 21st century's first flu pandemic.

I know many people were hesitant to get it when it first came out and with the recent recalls of some pediatric doses, some of those fears have been reignited. Personally, I am more concerned about my youngest son getting the virus because he is at high risk for complications, so we have all had the vaccine. My kids will have to go back to get their booster dose in a few weeks.

I do realize that not everyone feels the way I do about the vaccine. When I took a poll earlier in the flu season, a majority of people were not planning to get it. I am curious to see if that has changed. Have you or your family had the vaccine?

Another batch of children's H1N1 vaccines have been recalled by their manufacturer for decreased potency. The same problem occurred a few weeks ago when nearly a million doses of the injected were recalled by a different manufacturer.

This recall involves close to 5 million doses of the nasal spray form of the H1N1 vaccine produced by MedImmune. However, officials believe that most of the doses have already been given and that they were fully effective when they were administered. There is no concern that anyone affected by the recall needs to be vaccinated again.

Just like with the previous recall, CDC officials are stressing that there are no safety concerns with this vaccine.

The makers of Vicks Dayquil are recalling about 700,00 packages of the Cold & Flu liquicaps. There is nothing wrong with the medication, but it is not in child-proof packaging and does not contain the warning that is required by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission stating that "this product is for households without young children".

Because it contains acetaminophen, if a child were to ingest several of the pills, it could cause serious illness or even death. No injuries have been reported.

The recalled medication is Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu 24-count Bonus Pack Liquicaps. The products were sold between September 2008 and December 2009 with UPC # 3 23900 01087 1. If you have one of the recalled packages of Vicks Dayquil, you can contact Proctor & Gamble Co. for a refund or a coupon at 1-800-251-3374.

While this recall seems almost silly since there is nothing wrong with the medication, it serves as a good reminder that we should keep all medications out of the reach of children because they do pose a danger to them. The warning is supposed to be on the package for a reason - children have become very sick and even died from accidentally ingesting medications that they were not supposed to take.