Happy Healthy Childhoods

If you and your family live in Southwest Florida, congratulations!  You have your own little piece of paradise as your family playground.

Our mission at Child Care of Southwest Florida is to “enhance the lives of children and their families”. One of the most important ways to do this, is by encouraging families to do fun activities together, spending quality time with one another.

There are so many fun things to do in Southwest Florida with your children so spending quality family time is easy.

You may have read about many of these activities in our last eBook, “12 Fun Things to do With Your Children in Southwest FL”. Now, we would like to provide you with a few tips that will help you enjoy these activities, such as knowing what to pack, and learning about the specific destinations that provide you and your family with fun in the Florida sun! Here are the tips that we will be rolling out over the next few months:

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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 Unfortunately, for many children, biking to the playground and playing kickball in the backyard have been replaced by watching television, playing video games, or surfing online.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 seventh installment of 12 Nutrition Hints & Tips for Your Children which can also be downloaded from our free eBook library.

Until recently, the model for healthy eating in the United States was a guide called “The Food Pyramid”.

However, in 2011, the USDA (the agency in charge of nutrition in the United States) switched to a new symbol called MyPlate. This is a colorful plate with some of the same messages as the Food Pyramid such as eat a variety of foods and eat less of some foods and more of others.

However, the pyramid had six vertical stripes to represent the five food groups plus oils.
Whereas, MyPlate features just four sections:

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

“Lead me not into temptation; I can find the way myself.” – Rita May Brown.

If your child sees a jar of cookies sitting on the counter, it will be much harder to convince him to have carrots instead for a snack. However, when all of the options in the house are fairly healthy, then your child will have several snacks to choose from, without the temptation of unhealthy foods. By simply not having the calorie-rich, high-fat, or high-sugar snacks available, it will make things much easier for you and your child. How can you make it easier?

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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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