Happy Healthy Childhoods

This is the twelfth installment of 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

A recent Reader’s Digest article entitled, “Foods that Harm, Foods that Heal” listed some excellent “Do’s and Don’ts” to follow in regard to your child’s nutrition. Some of these have been mentioned in our eBook, but this is a quick, simple reminder of what you should and shouldn’t do in order to keep your children eating healthy!

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This is the eleventh installment of 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

On a rainy day, it’s difficult to avoid the rut of television or video games as the primary activity for your child. However, it’s still important to find ways to get in at least an hour of activity, even if you’re stuck indoors.

It may be hard to get your child to do a work-out video with you, so you have to be a little more creative. Here are some ideas for indoor activities for kids that will keep them active, but don’t involve running through the house!

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This is the tenth installment of 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, Children and teens should participate in at least 60 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity most days of the week, preferably daily. Unfortunately, for many children, biking to the playground and playing kickball in the backyard have been replaced by watching television, playing video games, or surfing online. These types of sedentary activities, combined with the sedentary time required from sitting in a classroom, reading, and doing homework, makes for a very inactive child.

Although quiet time for reading and homework is fine, you should try to limit the time your children are watching TV, or playing video games or on the computer to a maximum of 2 hours per day. Then, encourage them to do something active! How do you do this?

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This is the ninth installment of 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

Maybe you’re taking all the precautions to ensure that your child has a balanced, nutritious diet. You make sure they are active, and that high-sugar or fattening snacks are kept to a minimum. But, as soon as you send them off on the school bus, it’s out of your hands. So, how can you ensure that these healthy eating habits are maintained while your child is at school? Although some public school systems are beginning to offer healthier lunch choices and restrictions on vending machines, this is not always the case. Or, sometimes your child may simply not opt for the healthy choice.

Here are a few suggestions to help your child maintain healthy eating habits, even when they are in the lunchroom.

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This is the eighth installment of 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

Numerous studies have shown that the rate of childhood obesity continues to rise in the United States. Doctors are particularly troubled by this problem because it can lead to very serious health risks, such as:

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This is the sixth installment of 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

An easy way to begin a healthier lifestyle for you and your children is to do a little “tweaking” to the recipes that you prepare regularly and that your family enjoys. With just a few changes, these dishes can be healthier and just as satisfying. Here are a few suggestions:

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This is the fourth installment of 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

Many habits can take only days to form, but may take weeks or months to break (or more, depending on the habit). This stands true for good habits, as well as bad habits. If you instill good eating and activity habits in your children from the start, it will make proper nutrition much, much easier to sustain. Here are some tips that can help your child develop good eating habits early on:

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This is the third installment of 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

Sometimes children are more likely to eat something if it looks like “fun”…even if it’s good for them! Think about it. Which looks more fun and appealing to a child, a fun shaped, frosted cookie with brightly colored sprinkles? Or, a stalk of broccoli? Most children would immediately reach for a cookie, but turn their nose at a vegetable. But, what if that broccoli stalk was actually a tree in a “forest of fun”?

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Nobody ever said that teaching children to eat healthy is easy! You can spend hours preparing a delicious, nutritious meal for your little ones only to have them take one sniff of the food and decide they don’t like it. How deflating!

At Child Care of Southwest Florida, sometimes we deal with these issues too. As disheartening as it may be, feeding children healthy food is imperative to help your children develop good habits, prevent childhood obesity, and promote a healthy lifestyle.

If you’re having trouble convincing your children to eat good foods and teaching them healthy habits, 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children is an excellent resource for you to reference when you’re struggling with your kids. In this free eBook, you’ll learn how to:

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