What are you teaching your child about food?

What kind of relationship do you want your child to have with food? In this society, many women are consumed with the desire to be thin and as we've seen with the Anna Nicole tragedy, children are not immune to our hang ups and desires. The first two years of a child's life are not the time to impart societal values on a child, especially with regards to weight and food.

This research shows the importance of a maintaining a healthy approach to eating for your toddler.

Parental Control of Eating Leads to Lighter Toddlers

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, January 7, 2008; 12:00 AM

MONDAY, Jan. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Controlling what your toddlers consume, either by trying to get them to eat less or to eat more, can lead to a lower weight by the age of 2, new British research suggests.

While a lower weight may be desirable in adults, it's not always in the best interest of a young child, according to the report in the January issue of Pediatrics.

"Nutrition is extremely important in infancy and childhood. In the first two years, the child is growing in height and weight and the brain is growing, so it's extremely important that proper nutrition is provided," explained Dr. Brenda Kohn, a pediatric endocrinologist and an associate professor at the New York University School of Medicine and Medical Center in New York City...

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Parental Control of Eating Leads to Lighter Toddlers

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Bye Bye Tooth Fairy

Tonight was the night my daughter grew up...just a little bit more. She's six and a half (going on thirty six) and just lost her second tooth today. Finally. That thing was hanging there for at least three more days than it should have. Finally settled in to bed this evening and she says "mommy, can I ask you something..."

"sure honey..."

"I had this thought in my head that maybe there really was no tooth fairy and that it was really the moms and dads that put the money under the pillow..."

silence

"honey, what if I told you you were right?"

"oh my gosh!"

(I can see her mouth hanging open in the dark of the room)

We then had a little talk about all sorts of things and about 'younger' kids and how not to spoil it for them. I am still not sure what I think of the lesson I am teaching her, but then again, I have always struggled with the legendary lies, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny and yes, even Santa...

She did ask about Santa, but prefaced it with "I know he's real so what I really want to know is this...."

We got around that one...for now.

My little girl is growing up, and asking all the right questions.

I hope I continue to have the right answers for her.

Wishing you all health and happiness this season,
Kathleen

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'Helicopter parents' hover over kids' job search

Parents - Listen up. Being a helicopter parent is no way to raise a child who is strong, capable, and can make his or her own decisions. I see it in my daughter's elementary school, kids forget their lunch or their homework and run straight to the office to make the phone call and minutes later a parent arrives at school, homework or lunch in hand.

Where are the natural consequences? What are these kids really learning?

I don't know about you but I want my daughter to take responsibility for her actions and deal with the consequences of her mistakes. Fortunately, she is young, and the price tag is small. Forgotten homework is one thing, a forgotten report or presentation for work is another.

Check out this article and let me know what you think!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15607602/

CHICAGO - Some parents are writing their college-age kids' resumes. Others are acting as their children's "representatives" hounding college career counselors, showing up at job fairs and sometimes going as far as calling employers to ask why their son or daughter didn't get a job.

It's the next phase in helicopter parenting, a term coined for those who have hovered over their children's lives from kindergarten to college. Now they are inserting themselves into their kids' job search - and school officials and employers say it's a problem that may be hampering some young people's careers........

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15607602/

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Keep Your Kids Safe Tonight

Parents, Halloween is a famously loved holiday by kids everywhere. It’s a fun time to dress up like silly or scary characters and go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Be sure your kids are safe while trick-or-treating with these quick tips:

Wear Bright Colors
Both parents and kids should wear brightly colored clothing. If you are wearing a costume that is dark in color, apply reflective tape to parts of your clothes or shoes. (Many communities now enforce a trick-or-treating curfew to prevent children from roaming after dark. Be sure to check for any curfew rules that may apply to your community.)

Be Sure Your Child Can See
Smaller children love store-bought costumes that come complete with a facemask. Before you leave the house, double-check to make sure your child can see through the eyeholes of the mask. This will help to prevent them from tripping, falling or running into something while they trick-or-treat...

Obey The Rules
If you are trick-or-treating in a city, remember to follow traffic safety rules. Always look both ways before crossing the street. Stay on the sidewalks and walk at a normal pace.

Visit Familiar Places Only
Take your children to trick-or-treat at places where you know people. Try not to take them to strange houses or places that look unsafe. Remember the “never talk to strangers,” rule!

Inspect All Candy
This is a commonly known rule of trick-or-treating, and yet so many parents don’t follow it. Parents should remove all unwrapped candy from buckets (cupcakes, homemade candy, etc.). There are just too many dangers to eating unwrapped candy or treats to take a chance with your child. Look for holes in plastic wrappers as well.

Have a Safe And Happy Halloween!

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Halloween Treats

It's not too late to put together some fun treats for Halloween!

Getting ready for a howling Halloween party this year? Spruce up your party this year with some icky, but yummy party food. Here are some fun food ideas for your ghostly Halloween party:

Snot cubes
Refrigerate yellow and green Jello (any flavors) in ice cube trays. Serve chilled.

Worms in snot
Make snot cubes, as directed above, out of Jello. Insert gummy worms in each cube of Jello then refrigerate. Serve chilled.

Bad apples
Using a small, sharp knife cut a small, round hole in one side of the top of an apple. Insert a gummy worm inside the hole. Create display of "bad apples" in a wooden bucket...

Monster Mash
In a large bowl, combine the following ingredients:

* 10 cups popcorn
* 1 pound plain M&Ms
* 1-14 oz. jar dry roasted peanuts
* 1 cup raisins (optional)
* 1 cup Reese's pieces (found in baking isle by chocolate chips)

Bowl of Brains
Scramble several eggs. To get the gray brain color, mix in green, red, and blue food coloring as you beat the eggs before cooking them.

Buggy Ice Cubes
Insert gummy worms or raisins (for bugs) in ice trays with water and freeze. Insert frozen buggy ice cubes in your bowl of party punch.

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What To Do When Your Toddler Bites

It can upset and alarm you when your toddler bites. Some experts say when toddlers become frustrated because they haven’t yet learned to speak they resort to extreme measures like biting.

Biting can become a dangerous problem if it isn’t properly handled. It is extremely important for parents to learn how to deal with this and meet it head-on. The following tips will show you how to cope with your biting toddler:

Get to the Core of Your Toddler’s Anger – If your toddler bites in anger, ask yourself what might be causing this change of mood in your toddler. Have there been any changes in your toddler’s life lately? Is your toddler reacting in anger? If your toddler hasn’t been socialized with his children his age, this could be another cause of anger...


Stay Calm – If you are already dealing with a biting problem and have lost your cool with your toddler, don’t feel bad. Parents commonly overreact to toddler biting. However, shouting or spanking your child probably will not help the situation. Model the behaviour you expect from your child. Take a deep breath and count to ten. When you are calm, you are better able to handle a bite incident.

Warn Her of the Dangers of Biting – Even though toddlers are just learning to talk, they are old enough to understand pain. They are also old enough to understand cause and effect. In a calm, but firm voice, explain to your toddler why she shouldn’t bite. Let her know that biting hurts and she shouldn’t do it.

Teach Him To Use His Words – Some toddlers start talking earlier than others. As your toddler grows and learns how to talk, teach him to use special words to express his feelings. “Tommy mad,” or “Suzie sad,” are just a couple of examples. If your toddler is biting but is still too young to speak, try using baby sign language instead. You can make up your own signs for pain, hurt, no, bad, etc.

Set Her Up for Success – If your toddler seems to have trouble socializing in certain situations, don’t place her in that situation. Give your toddler the best chance of success by placing her in a situation where there is no opportunity for trouble. By setting your child up for success, you can show her that she can play and socialize with other children without biting. As you see your toddler’s behaviour improving, gradually introduce her to more challenging situations.

Praise Your Toddler – Calling attention to negative behaviour and its consequences is important. Don’t forget to praise your toddler when he does well, though. Pointing out and rewarding positive actions will help your toddler to remember the desired behaviour and reaction.

Be sure and leave your comments!

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Fun Halloween Games

Fun Halloween Games

Make a Spider Web
All you need for this fun game is a ball of black, white, or silver yarn or string and a few kids. Have everyone stand around in a circle. Ask one child to hold one end of the string and then toss the ball to another kid. Each child holds on the string and then tosses it to someone else. Before you know it you’ll have a great spider web.

Mummy Contest
Grab a few rolls of toilet paper and match the kids up in pairs. Of course you could also have them choose partners. Ask each pair to decide which one of them will be the mummy and who will do the wrapping. Then – you guessed it – have one of the children wrap the toilet paper around the other, creating a mummy.

You can either make it a contest of speed or one of creativity. For the first, the team that has a completely wrapped mummy first wins. For the second contest, the kids take as long as they need to and you get to play judge and pick the best looking mummy.

Eyeball Race
Start with a plain ping-pong ball for each child. Use a Sharpie marker and draw on it to turn it into an eyeball. You can simple draw the pupil, or for a scarier version, add some red wiggly lines to make the eyeball look bloodshot.

Give each child a spoon and drop one of the eyeballs in each spoon. Now it’s time to race. The child that reaches the finish line with the eyeball in the spoon first wins.

There you have it – three fun games you can play with your kids to pass the day until it is time to go trick-or-treating. These games are also a lot of fun at a Halloween party. Get your kids playing them and watch all the spooky fun.

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Tell Kids About Your Day

You love hearing about what your child did while you were apart, but have you ever stopped to think she might like hearing about your adventures? Even very young children can relate to some of the emotions you experience on the job, like enthusiasm or frustration. Some easy ways to share...

Blow off a bad day: Explain, "My boss was crabby. I'm going to 'shake it off.'

Talk about job satisfaction: "I was happy today because I know I helped people."

Explain how you tackle challenges. For instance, say, "I've got a speech to make and I'm a little scared, so I'm going to practice." (Older kids can make the connection between practice and performance.)

Celebrate triumphs: Say, "I just got a promotion because I've been trying so hard. Let's do something fun!"

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