Happy Healthy Childhoods

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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Over the past couple of months we have provided tips about the fun, family friendly places to visit in Southwest Florida with your children. Whether you have lived here your entire life or just moved to the area, we hope you have learned about the great places to take your kids. In case you haven’t read this information, you can download it as a FREE eBook. Or simply click “read more” where we’ll give you a summation of our posts on the fun places in Southwest Florida.

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This is the eleventh installment of 12 Fun Things to do With Your Children in Southwest Florida which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

If your kids need to cool down, why not spend a day at the Sun Splash waterpark? This Cape Coral attraction features 14 acres of pools, slides and watery fun. There are lifeguards stationed throughout the site.

Your youngest children will enjoy the Tot Spot, where they can splash around with kids their own age. Older children will enjoy the thrilling, highspeed water slides like:

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This is the seventh installment of 12 Fun Things to do With Your Children in Southwest Florida which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

The Six Mile Cypress Slough (pronounced “slew”) Preserve is a wetland park that’s home to many native Floridian plants and animals. It’s a protected area and an official Lee County park. The Slough is located off Six Mile Cypress Parkway in Fort Myers. The park is open 7 days a week from dawn to dusk. It includes:

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This is the sixth installment of 12 Fun Things to do With Your Children in Southwest Florida which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

If your kids are animal-lovers, then a day at the Naples Zoo might be just the ticket! Southwest Florida is home to the Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens – a great non-profit zoo located off Goodlette-Frank Road. This attraction has been voted “Best Place to Take Kids” by Gulfshore Life Magazine. The zoo is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and ticket sales close at 4 p.m. Ticket prices will vary based on age and residency. Look for special prices or discounted tickets, which are often available.

At the zoo, your children can see all their favorite animals – like monkeys, lemurs, apes, bears, lions and even kangaroos! Adventurous kids can even feed the giraffes. The zoo’s path is nearly a mile long, so start early and bring a stroller for young children.

There are always special shows and exhibitions going on at the zoo. Some child favorites include watching professional snake handlers, a daily alligator feeding, a zookeeper demonstration, and a Primate Expedition that cruises through monkey, lemur and ape enclosures. Other special attractions include:

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This is the fifth installment of 12 Fun Things to do With Your Children in Southwest Florida which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

Lakes Park is literally packed with enough activities to last you the whole day. From a two and a half mile long paved path, to a playground and a miniature train ride. Lakes Park is a perfect place for family fun. Lakes Park has been an asset to Lee County since its grand opening in 1984. Children have enjoyed its playgrounds and grassy spaces for over 25 years!

Lakes Park is located off Gladiolus Drive. Although it’s in the busy center of South Fort Myers, it’s really an oasis in the city! The park’s biggest draw is its enormous freshwater lake, as well as:

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This is the fourth installment of 12 Fun Things to do With Your Children in Southwest Florida which can also be downloaded as a free eBook.

What a perfect way to spend the day with the family. Enjoy Southwest Florida’s own natural oasis, and little slice of paradise on the beautiful islands of Sanibel and Captiva. People come from all around the world to experience the island life of Sanibel and Captiva. Sanibel & Captiva Islands have a charm that’s all their own. On the islands, you’ll find a variety of quaint restaurants, featuring every style of cuisine and atmosphere ranging from casual and beachy, to upscale and elegant. You can spend the day browsing through the island shops and art galleries, or observe an abundance of wildlife on kayaks or nature strolls.

To keep the natural, island feel, Sanibel and Captiva have some rules in place that add to the charm. Can you guess what the rules are?…

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