With childhood obesity becoming a national focus due to First Lady Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, many families are beginning to think about ways to help their children understand the many issues at play with health eating and staying in shape. One of our most powerful assets as parents is to use books aimed that not only educate our kids but due so in a fun and humorous way. For childhood obesity, Fat Tale, by librarian and puppeteer Karen Land, is one of the best.

What sets this book apart from many others on the market is that it is written for kids, it is simple, and it focuses not only on eating but on empowerment. This book has a happy ending and shows kids how easy it is to not only create a problem due to food but turn it around by being honest about the issues that created the weight gain. And, that working as a team with your family is the way to get to that happy ending.

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Childhood obesity is a challenging problem. As difficult as it is for a parent to acknowledge that their child is overweight, it is even more daunting for that parent to figure out how to even being to talk to the child about loosing weight. Many parents wonder if they should have the discussion at all.

Some experts worry that discussing weight issues with kids may create body image problems, problems. But many experts, including me, feel the exact opposite. It is crucial to talk with your child because overweight kids know they have a problem and are in huge pain as a result.

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The last decade has produced some amazing changes in child health. Recently, I consulted some of the top pediatricians in the country to figure out where we’ve come from and where we are going next.  Some of these changes may surprise you, so hold on to your seat!

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Got milk? Most refrigerators do, but most kids’ bodies do not once they get past the ripe old age of 2. It’s like an unspoken force in the universe that says to all toddlers at some point “thou shall not drink milk!”  With future bone health at stake, the path to breaking this force within our kids turns out to be one of the most counter intuitive, yet simple methods there is: flavoring the milk.

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Fostering healthy eating and fitness is often a wrestling match of Olympic proportions. In one corner, our kids highly motivated but under trained in the rules of health. In the other, the tag team of activity and food which can change as fast as a chameleon from working for the health of your child to a pure health enemy.

You never know what you’ll get in the ring – exercise or video games. Cookies or carrot sticks. You, the parent, are the referee, and get to play dirty. This is one match where referee interference is not only expected but crucial for our kids to have the winning move.

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My daughter made a simple request for her 10th birthday – to bring in Dunkin’ Hines triple chocolate brownies to share with her class. What more could a busy mom ask for? Easy to prepare, quick to cook and “homemade” all from one little box. But what about the kids in the class with food allergies? Her best friend in that class was deathly allergic to egg-whites. My daughter’s friend had grown accustomed to bringing in herown “safe” snack to have during birthday celebrations but my daughter was determined to find a snack the entire class could enjoy – as long as it involved chocolate brownies. The information on the box and company web site yielded little useful information but the child’s mother had discovered through trial and error that the same brownies could be made with egg yolks alone. I never imagined the solution would be so simple. Continue Reading

My family has a tradition of getting all our back-to-school shopping completed just before our big end of the summer vacation. Lunch boxes used to be big ticket back to school items but since my girls are tweens now, as Hilary Duff once sang, “that’s so yesterday”. Plus on most school days we’re lucky if their lunches make it from the frig to their backpacks!

If only the choice of what to have for lunch these days were as easy as whether to brown bag it or have a fancy lunch box. With the confusing food pyramid and ever changing food guidelines coupled with school days that barely allow for time to eat lunch, it is truly a challenge to get kids a proper lunch.

Let me give you a preview of what’s about to come: don’t view nutrition as one meal but view it as a group of meals that balance out together and function like a bank; lunch may very well be the new breakfast, meaning our kids most important energy meal.

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