ATTACK OF THE HALLOWEEN SUGAR MONSTERS!!!

Trick or Treat time is Sugar Time, but thanks to some helpful parents, your child doesn't have to be carried off by the Sugar Monsters this year.

KidsHealth asked parents to share how they handle Halloween. Most mom and dads — 82% — set limits using a variety of strategies to keep kids from going overboard on the Halloween treats.

Many parents said that after letting kids indulge in some treats right after trick-or-treating, they limit their kids to a certain number of pieces each day or put the candy stash out of reach and out of sight. Then kids have to ask for it — that is, if they remember that it's there!

One parent tried to limit the amount of sweets while also making sure that it was served up alongside something healthy. "They are allowed to select three items per day from the bag stored in the refrigerator, and they must have a glass of milk or water for each treat. After a week, they usually lose interest in the candy — maybe just coming from the fridge it doesn't taste as good or is harder to chew with the item being cold. Or by the time it comes to room temperature, they've gotten full!"

Of parents who try to limit treats, most said that they successfully kept their kids from overindulging. Those who said that their efforts failed cited a variety of reasons — from kids finding parents' secret hiding places to kids creating secret hiding places of their own. Other parents said that a big obstacle was having different caregivers for kids, from grandparents to babysitters, with different rules for the candy.

Just 15% of parents said that they offered trick-or-treaters healthy non-candy alternatives, ranging from bags of pretzels to small toys like yo-yos and temporary tattoos. About 37% said that they offered toys and candy. Nearly half of all parents just gave out candy.

Parents had a number of good tips to share about candy-limiting schemes that had worked in their houses, ranging from using the candy for craft projects to trades with their kids' dentists for small toys.
Here are some other tips from moms and dads:

• "Feed them before they go out to discourage snacking while out."
• "Tell them about the Halloween Pumpkin that will come by and leave a toy in place of the bag of candy."
• "Toss out the most brightly colored candy!"
• "Let kids know ahead of time the limits and reasons for those limits."
• "Remind the kids that if they don't eat it all now, they'll have more for later. Encourage sharing the candy with friends. Not only does it thin out the candy supply, it enforces sharing."

More Tips and Tactics

Use your best judgment given what you know about your child's personality and eating habits. Before kids go trick-or-treating, try to serve a healthy meal so they're not hungry when the candy starts coming in.
Kids who generally eat just a couple of pieces and save the rest might be trusted to decide how much to eat. But if your child tends to overdo it, consider setting limits.
Other insights for handling Halloween treats:

• Consider being somewhat lenient about candy eating on Halloween, within reason, and talk about how the rest of the candy will be handled. Candy and snacks shouldn't get in the way of kids eating healthy meals.
• If a child is overweight — or you'd just like to reduce the Halloween stash — consider buying back some or all of the remaining Halloween candy. This acknowledges that the candy belongs to the child and provides a treat in the form of a little spending money.
• Be a role model by eating Halloween candy in moderation yourself. To help avoid temptation, buy your candy at the last minute and get rid of any leftovers.
• Encourage your kids to be mindful of the amount of candy and snacks eaten, and to stop before they feel full or sick.

Here are some ideas for alternatives to candy to give to trick-or-treaters who come to your door:

• non-food treats, like stickers, toys, temporary tattoos, false teeth, little bottles of bubbles and small games, like tiny decks of cards (party-supply stores can be great sources for these)
• snacks such as small bags of pretzels, sugar-free gum, trail mix, small boxes of raisins, and popcorn
• sugar-free candy
• small boxes of cereal

Steer clear of any snacks or toys — like small plastic objects — that could pose choking hazards to very young children.
And remember that Halloween, like other holidays, is a single day on the calendar. If your family eats sensibly during the rest of the year, it will have a more lasting impact than a few days of overindulgence.

The 20 Best Snacks for Kids

Parents Magazine has published The 20 Best Snacks for Kids.  So rather than do our own witty, spiffy article, we'd like you to click HERE instead!  Happy Snacking, and don't forget the Luna and Lara (shameless self-promotion...so unbecoming).

Order Online!

Here's your big chance to show your kids you're cool

Give them COOL drinks and may healthy the rule.

There's only one thing that you have to do,

and the Springdom of Water will come straight to you.

Just click on this LINK and it will come to your door,
so you won't have to cart your drinks home from the store!

Kids Nutrition: More is Caught Than Taught

• 

  By Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.

3 comments posted

• Read comments
• Post a comment

At a recent picnic with my extended family, my 8-year-old child and a 12-year-old nephew were discussing the calorie content of a certain food. My mother commented to me that she didn't even know what a calorie was when she was their age let alone be worried about it.

And as a parent, my mother certainly didn't worry about whether I was getting the right number of minutes of physical activity each day.

Times have changed. Obesity and eating disorders are on the rise among children under the age of 12. One might lay the blame on any or a combination of the following: technology, safety, shifts in parents working more or outside the home, or food choices.

Rather than playing the blame game, however, perhaps we need to step back and reflect on our reaction to weight and childhood obesity.

In our well-intended fight against obesity, have we yelled too loudly, sending the wrong messages to children? Put too much emphasis on weight rather than health? Created feelings of anxiety and regret around food and numbers on a scale?

How do you talk to kids about food, health, exercise and weight?

Here are few suggestions:

• Be a role model. Actions speak louder than words. Let your children see you enjoying all food — in reasonable portions and in the context of a nutritious diet.
• Get up and play. Be active inside and outside. Dance, hop, jump, skip. Visit a park. Don't just sit on the bench.
• Be happy in your own skin. Negative talk about your weight puts the focus unnecessarily on appearance rather than health and a positive body image.
• Don't treat food as a reward. Remember food is first and foremost nourishment. This one gets complex as food is ingrained in our culture, making it difficult to separate food from emotions. But try to focus on the occasion (for example, a birthday) and not the food (cake).
• Stay connected. Plan, cook and eat meals together. You can see firsthand how your child chooses foods and portion sizes. Gently guide his or her choices. Watch for red flags of a possible eating disorder, such as eliminating foods or entire food groups, and strange behaviors with food or at meal times.
• Talk about cues. Educate kids about listening to their body's hunger cues rather than eating in response to external cues such as "it looks good" or "I'm watching TV so I need a snack."

As kids grow and mature, their body image and self-esteem evolve. If you have concerns that your child has issues related to weight or food, talk to your health care provider, sooner rather than later.

Source:  Mayo Clinic

The Story of Luna and Lara

There’s a magical Springdom near Sligo Bay

Where glows Luna by Night and shines Lara by Day

Luna the moon and Lara the sun

Take turns keeping watch over everyone

So close your eyes and get carried away

To where children drink water four times a day

Luna glows brightly and lights up the night

Whilst Lara made sure that their daytime was bright

The Springdom of water is warmed by her rays

The children play happily in them for days

Tabby the Cloud Prince flies on his cloud

To tell you the reason he’s so very proud

“I came down through the rivers and oceans

To tell you boys and girls about a magical potion

When I was born I was given an order

To show you all the wonders from the Springdom of water”

Now Tara the Star Princess has something to say

About drinking water four times a day.

“It helps you do sports and your favourite hobbies

It keeps you cool, strong and clear and cleanses your body

When I was born I was given an order

To tell you all the wisdom of the Springdom of water."

Now Tabby and Tara have a dear friend,

For an Aquanaut’s faithful, right to the end.

“I’m the world’s only Aquanaut and I’m worth knowin’

I keep the pure water in the Springdom flowin’

Water keeps the plants and the animals growin'

I got a lot to do so I'd better get goin'!"

At breaktimes, lunchtimes, bedtimes and tea

Lets drink lots of water for them to see

Drinking more water’s the smart thing to do,

For all the dear children and that includes YOU!

Luna and Lara have a message that’s right

Always drink water from day until night!

Turning Indoor Kids into Outdoor Kids

Growing up, I was an indoor kid. Severely lacking in any form of physical coordination (can you say ‘last girl picked for school sporting teams’), I would rather curl up with a good book or direct my younger siblings in a theatrical performance than hit a ball or climb a tree (which I had a propensity to fall out of anyways!) Most kids have a natural inclination for particular types of play and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, I do believe it is important to encourage children to engage with other playful activities, especially when it comes to spending time outdoors.

And if a call of “Just go outside and play” doesn’t work in your house, here are nine ideas for encouraging your indoor kids to play outside.

1. Take the indoors out: Taking toys that children already enjoy inside outdoors can encourage them to play and explore with them in new ways. Blocks and figurines, dress ups,playdough and other creative materials are all open to a world of new possibilities when taken outdoors.

2. Use outdoor spaces as an extension of your indoor space: A patio, verandah or cubby house can provide shelter for play outdoors during the hotter and colder months, and extend your family’s playful spaces at any time of the year.

3. Spend time together outdoors as a family: Whether it be an evening walk together or involving your children in washing the car, being outdoors yourself is a great way to encourage children to be there too. Here are 25 more ideas for having fun together outdoorsand a great collection of ideas for family friendly weekend adventures.

4. Take time to explore a range of outdoor environments: Think beyond your own backyard when it comes to kids playing outdoors. Depending upon where you live, a visit to the beach, a river, a botanical garden or nature reserve, or even a farm, will provide your children with more of the great outdoors to explore.

5. Make it social: Inviting a friend over to play may be just the incentive your child needs to play outdoors. Set up a fun outdoor invitation to play (or two) and leave them to it.

6. Involving children in outdoor chores: Whether it be washing or walking the dog, pulling weeds, hanging washing or harvesting the vegetable patch, involving children in chores in and around the home is essential for the development of practical life skills.

7. Just add water: Kids love playing with water! As a sensory activity it aids brain development, and as a cognitive activity it lays a foundation for later scientific and mathematical learning, not that kids care about that at all, they just like to splash, pour, stir and get wet! Here are 10 fun ways with water play to get you started.

8. Don’t stress about the mess: For those mamas with a lower tolerance for messy play, being prepared with a tub of water, soap, facecloth and towels by the back door will help to minimise the likelihood of sand, mud and water being traipsed through the house at the end of playtime.

9. Make it a habit: You might like to try instituting a daily ‘green hour‘ as consistently spending time outdoors everyday is important to encouraging a child’s engagement with natural places as playful spaces.

How do you encourage your children to play outdoors?

source:  childhood101

Battling the Back to School Butterflies

Patience is a virtue...especially at back to school time.  Pay special attention to your child to look for warning signs of anxiety.  Some children will come straight out with it, by creating a new and life-threatening ailment  in their imaginations each morning to keep from going back to school.  Other children are far more introspective, but a watchful eye can still pick out the warning signs of anxiety.  You know your children best, so you will be best qualified to identify warning signs of back to school butterflies.  Whether their summer was jam-packed with activities or filled with complaints about being bored with nothing to do, kids often have a tough time making the back-to-school transition.

As with any new or potentially unsettling situation — like starting school for the first time or entering a new grade or new school — allow kids time to adjust. Remind them that everyone feels a little nervous about the first day of school and that it will all become an everyday routine in no time.

Emphasize the positive things about going back to school, such as hanging out with old friends, meeting new classmates, buying cool school supplies, getting involved in sports and other activities, and showing off the new duds (or snazzy accessories if your child has to wear a uniform).

It's also important to talk to kids about what worries them and offer reassurance: Are they afraid they won't make new friends or get along with their teachers? Is the thought of schoolwork stressing them out? Are they worried about the bully from last year?

Consider adjusting your own schedule to make the transition smoother. If possible, it's especially beneficial for parents to be home at the end of the schoolday for the first week. But many working moms and dads just don't have that flexibility. Instead, try to arrange your evenings so you can give kids as much time as they need, especially during those first few days.

If your child is starting a new school, contact the school before the first day to arrange a visit. And ask if your child can be paired up with another student, or "buddy," and if you can be connected with other new parents. This will help both of you with the adjustment to new people and surroundings. Some schools give kids maps to use until things become more familiar.

To help ease back-to-school butterflies, try to transition kids into a consistent school-night routine a few weeks before school starts. Also make sure that they:

• get enough sleep (establish a reasonable bedtime so that they'll be well-rested and ready to learn in the morning)
• eat a healthy breakfast breakfast (they're more alert and do better in school if they eat a good breakfast every day)
• write down the need-to-know info to help them remember details such as their locker combination, what time classes and lunch start and end, their homeroom and classroom numbers, teachers' and/or bus drivers' names, etc.
• use a wall calendar or personal planner to record when assignments are due, tests will be given, extracurricular practices and rehearsals will be held, etc.
• have them organize and set out what they need the night before (homework and books should be put in their backpacks by the door and clothes should be laid out in their bedrooms)

Although it's normal to be anxious in any new situation, a few kids develop real physical symptoms, such as headaches or stomachaches, associated with the start of school. If you're concerned that your child's worries go beyond the normal back-to-school jitters, speak with your child's doctor, teacher, or school counselor.

Source:  KidsHealth and The Pin

"Mom I can't concentrate in school"

W-O-W!  Wiseup-On-Water.  Poor hydration adversely affects a child’s mental performance and learning ability.  Symptoms of mild dehydration include light-headedness, dizziness, headaches and tiredness (18), as well as reduced alertness and ability to concentrate.(19,20)Once thirst is felt, mental performance including memory, attention and concentration can decrease by about 10 per cent. Mental performance deteriorates progressively as the degree of dehydration increases.(19,21,22)  Thirst is usually felt when dehydration reaches 0.8-2 percent loss of body weight due to water loss.(18)  For a 10-year-old child weighing 30kg this is the equivalent to one or two large glasses of water (300ml each).

Water consumption also has an immediate “alerting” and “revitalising” effect.(19)  In schools taking part in the Food in Schools water provision pilot project, teachers reported that “enhanced water provision contributed to a more settled and productive learning environment, as well as helping instill good habits”.(23)

18 Kleiner SM. Water: An essential but overlooked nutrient.
Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1999:99:201-7
19 Rogers PJ, Kainth A, Smit HJ. A drink of water can improve or
impair mental performance depending on small differences in
thirst. Appetite 2001;36:57-58
20 Sherriffs SM, unpublished data, as quoted in Maughan RJ.
Impact of mild dehydration on wellness and on exercise
performance. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003;57
(Suppl 2):S19-23
21 Gopinathan PM, Pichan G, Sharma VM. Role of dehydration
in heat stress-induced variations in mental performance.
Archives of Environmental Health 1988;43:15-17
22 Sharma VM, Sridharan K, Pichan G, Panwar MR. Influence of
heat-stress induced dehydration on mental functions.
Ergonomics 1986;29:791-99
23 Food in Schools: Water Provision Toolkit.
http://foodinschools.datacenta.uk.net/home.asp?idTopic=0&id
Page=1
1996;5:161-166 

On Yer Bike! (How to train your child to ride)

-->

I remember tearing out my front door on a Saturday morning and throwing my skinny frame onto my yellow banana seat bike.  Michigan blue sky and massive puffy clouds above and the open road ahead, I’ll never forget the feeling of freedom as the wind built up in my face and blew my hair back.  My first bike meant freedom, adventure and an expanded world.  Banana Seat Bliss.

Do you remember your first bike?  Cycling is a fantastic way to get the kids away from the TV and computer screens.  Get your child a bike and give them the gift of the outdoors, exercise, freedom and increased motor skills.

Most children get their first bike between the ages of 3 and 6.  I got mine at five and immediately began testing the laws of physics and gravity.

As a parent and caregiver, it’s a great time to teach and bond with your child.  Not only do you get the opportunity to help your little one to grasp the basics of cycling, you can also help your child learn how to face their fear and to conquer the unknown.

It’s a tossup which is more difficult:  learning to ride or teaching someone to learn to ride.  Your patience will be pushed to the max, but oh what a result when they finally get the hang of it!  Neither of you will forget that moment for the rest of your lives.  Experience always eventually kicks in and the initial roughness and hesitation slowly ebbs away.  Some take to it quickly, some take ages, but in all cases it’s a worthwhile investment of time and energy.

There are a couple of basic ways to teach your child to balance on two wheels:  training wheels, assisted two-wheeling, and un-assisted two wheeling.  Each has its advantages, and best results will often be obtained by a mixed, graduated approach.

You need to adjust to your child’s learning style and aptitude to determine which approach to take.  First thing’s first:  find a safe, spacious learning ground, the place where the indelible memory will happen.  If you go with training wheels, be sure there’s plenty of space to turn around because the training wheels require a larger turning radius.

It’s easy to topple with training wheels if the bike gets going much faster than a walk because the weight is shifted to one of the training wheels if the child leans the bike to one side, which is inevitable.  Toppling is inevitable, so we’ll get to the safety in just a bit.  Stay very nearby until your child gets the hang of turning and braking.  Set up the training wheels so there is a bit of lean on both sides, but not so much that they don’t do their job of keeping your child vertical not horizontal.

Once your child has become accustomed to pedaling, steering and braking, the training wheels should be raised slightly, a bit at a time.  As the child becomes more adept, the bike will spend more and more time with both training wheels off the ground.

The day will come when it is obviously time to take off the training wheels.  This is when the real fun begins.

Running alongside

Now you’ve got your bike and are ready to either take off the training wheels or you want to skip that step altogether, here comes the really fun part. 

Hold onto your child by the shoulders and run along behind.  Don’t hold the handlebars; let them learn the feel of balancing themselves.  Hold onto the saddle or any part of the bike so that your child will not necessarily realize you are holding them. And leaning to one side or the other.  Instead, hold them by the shoulders, so that as they lean to one side or the other they will feel the side pressure, and can learn to reduce it by turning into the lean.

This should be done in a wide-open space such as an empty parking lot or large driveway.  Don’t try to steer, just make let the bike go where it will.  Make sure you don’t bang into the pedals or trip over the wheels (ouch).  Easier said than done!

As in life, falling is absolutely inevitable.  I fell so many times I could not count them.  Even though we never had them, teach your child the importance of wearing ahelmet from the outset.  Gloves and kneepads are also a good idea as they will help keep the scrape factor to a minimum, keeping your child encouraged to keep trying.  Reflective clothing on your child and on the bike are also a good idea, so they look like a meteor to cars in the area, especially when riding at dusk or in the evening.

Foot brakes and hand brakes have their strong and weak points.  Foot brakes get in the way at times if your child suddenly puts their feet down to stop.  Kids do this involuntarily when they feel frightened of falling.  They forget to use the pedals.  Hand brakes require a certain amount of strength in the hands.  Little hands may not be able to pull the lever all the way to a stop.  Practice will tell you which one works best.

Before your child ever gets on the bike, teach them the rules of the road, such as:

·      Always ride with a helmet

·      Always ride with your hands on the handlebars

·      Always stop and check for traffic in both directions when leaving the driveway, alley or curb

·      Cross only at intersections

·      Ride on the same side and in the same direction as the cars

·      Never ride against traffic

·      Use bike lanes or designated bike routes whenever possible

·      Don’t ride too close to parked cars as doors can open suddenly

·      When passing other bikers or people on the street, always pass on the left

·      Call out “on your left” when passing

·      Stop at all stop signs and obey traffic lights just as the cars do

·      Ride single file on the street when riding with friends

·      Learn hand signals for turning left, right and stopping

Exercise, freedom and mobility are just a few of the benefits of riding.  It’s also a great family activity.  Every hour spent on the bike is an hour away from the telly or computer screen.  And of course, keep your child hydrated as cycling really burns up the water and calories.  We’re not bothered how you get the water down them, but if you need a suggestion which water to use, we may be able to be of service!  Now on yer bikes and let the good times roll!

Sincerely,
The Pin

Don't Raise a Junk Food Flunkie

"Junk food diet 'makes children more likely to fail at school'" is the headline in The Daily Telegraph. It reports on a study that showed “even when other factors, such as low income or poor housing were removed, diet significantly affected the children's development". Children who "lived on sweets, crisps and chicken nuggets from an early age were 10% more likely to be failing between the ages of six and ten than their classmates”, the newspaper reports.

The main result of the study was that eating a lot of junk food at age three was associated with slower progress later in primary school. An extra finding highlighted by the researchers was that eating either packed lunches or school meals made no difference to children’s educational attainment. This finding is less reliable because of the small number of children involved.

Where did the story come from?

Dr Leon Feinstein and colleagues from the Institute of Education at the University of London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Bristol carried out this research. Core support for the study was provided by the UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust and the University of Bristol. It was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

What kind of scientific study was this?

This was an analysis of data from a cohort study. The data came from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), an ongoing population-based study designed to investigate the effects of environmental, genetic and other influences on the health and development of children. Complex statistical methods were used to assess the relative importance of diet on school attainment at different ages.

The participants were pregnant women who lived in the former Avon health authority in south-west England and were expected to give birth between April 1 1991 and December 31 1992. Of all the potential mothers in this area, the researchers recruited a group of 14,541 pregnant women and their 13,988 children who were alive at 12 months old. The mothers completed questionnaires during pregnancy and when the children were various ages. Children’s educational attainment at 6–7 years and 10–11 years old was assessed by obtaining the Key Stage 1 (KS1) results for reading, writing and maths and Key Stage 2 (KS2) results for English, maths and science from the relevant education authorities. Key Stages are national standards for what children should be taught at particular ages, children’s levels of attainment of the set curricula are assessed at each age or Key Stage.

Information about the children’s diet was collected from mothers or main female carers using a food frequency questionnaire, which asked about their child’s consumption of food and drink at about three years, about four years and about seven years old. The researchers identified three different patterns in the children’s diets: “junk food”, containing high-fat processed foods (sausages and burgers), snack foods high in fat and/or sugar (such as crisps, sweets, chocolate, ice lollies and ice creams), fizzy drinks and takeaway meals; ‘‘health conscious’’, comprising vegetarian foods, nuts, salad, rice, pasta, fruit, cheese, fish, cereal, water and fruit juice; and ‘‘traditional’’, typically meat and cooked vegetables.

"Early eating patterns have implications for attainment that appear to persist over time, regardless of subsequent changes in diet"

Leon Feinstein, lead author

In the questionnaire about the seven-year-old children, the mothers also reported whether their child ate meals served at school or packed lunches provided from home, and how often they did this. Frequency was recorded as: rarely, once in two weeks, once a week, two to four times a week or five days a week. Details of socioeconomic, demographic and lifestyle factors were also collected.

Of the 13,988 children in the original set of data, dietary information at all three ages was only available for 7,703 children and, of these children, only some had information on both KS2 and KS1 scores. The final study sample therefore consisted of 5,741 children with complete information on food frequencies and both school attainment scores results (41% of the original sample of 13,998 children).

What were the results of the study? 

The data collected in the questionnaire about seven-year-old children showed that 29% ate school dinners five days a week and nearly half (46%) ate packed lunches five days a week.

The researchers found that higher ‘‘junk food’’ dietary pattern scores at three, four and seven were associated with lower average KS2 results. In contrast, a positive association was shown for the ‘‘health conscious’’ dietary pattern and KS2 results. The ‘‘traditional’’ dietary pattern showed no association with KS2 results. When potential confounding factors were taken into account, a weak association remained between “junk food” at age three and lower attainment.

There was no evidence that eating packed lunches or eating school meals affected children’s attainment, once the impact of junk food dietary pattern at age three was accounted for in the model.

What interpretations did the researchers draw from these results?

The researchers conclude that “early eating patterns have implications for educational attainment that appear to persist over time, regardless of subsequent changes in diet.”  Translation:  Start your child eating and drinking healthy food, water and milk when they're infants and your child will benefit throughout life.

Luna and Lara