Today's Headlines

Article first published as Children who Play Outdoors are More Confident on Technorati.

A few days after we moved into our new house, our doorbell rang. Obviously I was expecting a new neighbor. What I wasn’t expecting was a five-year old all alone, asking if our daughter could come out to play. I was very shocked that a parent would allow their child to run around the neighborhood alone at 7:00 at night. What kind of parent does that? Don’t they know the rate of kidnappings in this country? Not to mention the risk of getting hit by a car. Since that day, I haven’t lost the memory of that little girl all alone on our front porch, and I’ve been very vigilant about always being outside with the kids and never leaving them alone for even a second. That’s just smart parenting, right?

Maybe not. An article was recently published in USA Today that is a stark contrast to my idea of good parenting. This article discusses an idea that is truly revolutionary to me. You should let your kids play outside. Unsupervised. Often.

According to this article, allowing the kids to play outside is one of the best ways to ensure that a child grows up with high self-esteem and the ability to solve problems. Of course I want my kids to grow up healthy and happy, but by closely supervising them, I may not be giving them the tools they need in life to learn how to be healthy and happy.

In the past, when I did let the kids play outside, I tried to keep out a sharp eye for any behavior that needed to be fixed. If I saw my daughter hit someone, I intervened and explained that there is no hitting. I expected other parents in the neighborhood to do the same. I also tried to keep them from eating dirt and bugs and I tried to keep them out of the mud. All this time I was convinced I was doing the right things, so I was shocked to read this article and learn that I may be depriving my children of some of the basic foundation they need to grow up confident and happy.

I have definitely seen it firsthand: when children play outside, there is no doubt they get time to interact with other kids in a totally unstructured and unsupervised way. Proponents of this free outdoor play argue that children learn to stick up for themselves. They learn to think creatively to come up with games to play and they learn to be assertive. According to this article, kids today who don’t have the chance to play outside have a tendency to be more depressed and ridden with anxiety. I don’t want that for my kids! Yet creative outdoor play has always taken a back-seat in my mind to safety, mostly because I didn’t understand the full benefits of free outdoor play.

An article was also released on this topic in the Journal of Play that closely mirrors the USA Today article. Lenore Skenazy wrote the book, A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting, and she was interviewed with a colleague named Hara Marano about the results of the research they have done over the years on the decline of free play in the United States.

“Kids need to play outdoors where they have space to explore and run around. Also, playing in the dirt seems to strengthen the immune system…without free outdoor play, kids lack the ability to gather and play spontaneously, and that in turn causes a serious lack of social skills. Gathering and playing freely with others lets kids practice many aspects of democracy and when free play is denied, so are these opportunities.”

Again, this is a very new idea to me. As a Mom, I take responsibility for my kids. I have always felt that I should be teaching them right from wrong. How will my kids learn not to hit if I don’t tell them? I am ashamed to say that it never occurred to me to just let the kids learn the lesson the hard way. If my daughter hits someone and they hit her back, will she hit again? Possibly not.

However, I have a very hard time with this, because I don’t want anyone to hit her. I don’t want to watch my son ram his toy car into our neighbor’s bike. It goes against every Mommy instinct I have to watch my child struggle with getting their bike off the curb and not run out and help. If someone pushes her at school, I want to be able to step in and demand that someone make the child stop pushing. However, Ms. Skenazy would probably tell me that if I don’t let my kids work it out on their own, they will be prime suspects for bullies in the years to come. In her interview, she tackles the subject of bullies:

“By playing regularly with other kids – playing freely- kids gain social skills that become a natural deterrent to bullying. They learn how to handle disruptions. They learn how to negotiate disputes….And they learn how to be assertive, which is the single best defense against bullying.”
By giving the kids the opportunity to play outside I am giving them the gift of independence and confidence. The problem with all this is that I also looked up the statistics on kidnapping. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, every day over a thousand kids are reported missing in this country. How can I possibly even consider not supervising the kids while they play outside?

For me, I think I will have to come up with a happy medium. I will have to find a way that I can watch from a distance and make sure there are no strange trucks lurking around the corner. Ms. Skenazy also gives some tips on ways to create a safe environment for unsupervised outdoor play that I intend to follow.

One thing I am certain of is that I will not judge parents who do allow their kids to wander around unsupervised. After all, the kids are really learning the great life lessons of independence, assertiveness, and how to eat bugs without getting sick.


Katie Mullen is the busy Mom to two toddlers, ages 3 and 1. She works full-time doing sales to support her husband through medical school and beyond. Katie’s husband is a surgeon in training, which means he is often gone and works grueling hours, leaving Katie to be a single Mom for much of the week. Despite this, Katie is a big believer in always looking for the positive in life and writes about how she does this in her blog, Mommy with Selective Memory Katie is a former athlete and is still active in running and training. Her husband is an orthopedic surgery resident and has a special interest in triathalons and is even doing clinical research on barefoot running. The happy but very busy family resides in the Mid-west where they enjoy being outdoors.

I have one active toddler and she is such a great eater! One of the things that I can credit to her great eating habits is the fact that I exposed her to a wide range of foods including fruits and vegetables once she started eating solid foods. Apples, kale, pear, peas, avocado...you name it, I probably steamed it, mashed it or purèed it several times over.

By the way, making your own baby food is not only cost effective; it is healthier for your baby and can be more convenient than you think. It does however require three essential steps:

· Planning/Preparation
· Determination
· Follow-Thru

Planning

When I was preparing my daughter's food at home I used a steamer or steamer insert as part of some food preparation. I prefer to steam foods like broccoli, peas, spinach and carrots to make sure that we are getting the best nutritional value. Boiling can cause nutrients to leach into the water, which is often thrown away after the food is prepared.

A blender or food processor will be necessary if you want to make your own baby food at home. Using this tool will not only give you the consistency that you desire but, it will also cut down on meal preparation time (as mashing foods can get quite labor intensive).

Storage containers are also a necessity in order to make puree's convenient for feeding and transportable for travel. Consider making certain foods puree’s in bulk, freezing the food in ice cube trays, then transferring the "food cubes" into plastic food bags for storage.

Determination

As a parent, if you deem making your own baby food to be important then you need to do whatever you can to make it work. Keep fresh fruits and vegetables replenished and abundant in your home. Keep a grocery list on your refrigerator at all times so that you can easily add an item to your list once it is finished. You can even make a chart with all of the fruit/vegetable combinations that you would like for your baby to try, a menu of sorts. Remember to allow at least 3 days between introductions of new foods to see if there are any allergic reactions.

Follow Thru

When you really think about, there is only a 6-8 month window where you will be preparing your own baby food. Even if you do work outside the home most "meal prep" can be done on the weekends or your days off. If you have older kids, get them involved in washing and even peeling or prepping some of the foods. Allow this meal planning for your baby to carry over into other areas of your life. There is no reason that the rest of your family should not be eating more meals and fresh fruits and vegetables at home either. Stop making excuses, buy the tools, plan ahead and make it work.



Lisa Leslie-Williams, Pharm D is a wife and the devoted mother of one active toddler. She quickly realized after the birth of her daughter that she was not only destined to be a mom but that her true passion lies in empowering women to live life at home with finesse and style. Even as a licensed health care professional, Lisa has spent the last 10 years living and fine tuning her “domestic life style lessons” on budgeting, beauty, family health, entertaining and all things in the kitchen. She shares these lessons and other home management tips as a life style consultant,  a featured contributor and as the author of her blog, The Domestic Life Stylist.  Lisa's blog was voted in the "top three", in the Circle of Moms Top 25 Home Management blog contest where she has also become a featured contributor.

http://thedomesticlifestylist.blogspot.com/

To read more articles written by Lisa go to: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Leslie-Williams

Lisa is also the author of the ebook “21 Smart Ways to Save Money Now”.

“Empowering women to live life at home with finesse and style”.

Kind Snacks is on a mission to spread acts of kindness everywhere. On the first Tuesday of every month they challenge their customers and local communities to carry out a specific Kinding mission. If enough people sign up for one of these "missions" they will carry out a big world Kind act.

In August, 2011 more than 10,000 KINDAHOLICS nationwide gave a cold beverage to someone working outdoors - including construction workers, mail carriers, lifeguards and more! Kind snacks partnered with Denver area Whole Foods Markets and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless to equip hundreds of homeless children with the backpacks and supplies they so desperately needed for the start of school.

This October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Kind Snacks encourages everyone to send a thoughtful note or email to a woman who has impacted your life. If enough people accept this KINDING Mission, KIND will partner with National Breast Cancer Foundation to hand deliver care packages to women undergoing radiation and chemotherapy, bringing them comfort and support during their courageous battle.

Please visit: http://www.kindsnacks.com/world/mission to accept this mission. One small act of kindness can go a long way!

About KIND

KIND is a brand of all natural whole nut and fruit bars made from ingredients you can see and pronounce and it's also a movement that gives new purpose to snacking.

At KIND we do things a bit differently.

KIND was founded on the principle of holistic kindness, and we pride ourselves on creating new paths that avoid false compromises. Instead of "Or" we say "And". We choose healthy and tasty, convenient and wholesome, economically sustainable and socially impactful. KindSnacks.com

You know how life seems to go in stages? Well now that I’m a grandmother to four adorable little boys, my friends are also becoming grandparents. So I am in the throes of sending out new baby gifts frequently.

I used to mull over the gift, trying to decide exactly what the new parents would like for their baby. Of course, it is easy to go to the gift registry and purchase something that the young couple picked out themselves. I used to do that all the time. Sometimes that worked fine when there was an item that I liked priced within my budget. At other times the items on the registry were either out of my price range or not a gift I was interested in giving (bottle warmers or diaper caddies!). On a few occasions the registry was pretty sparse and there was not much to choose from and I was at a loss for what to buy. So, needless to say, while it is a viable option for many, the baby registry was not doing it for me!

I felt I wanted to give a gift that had a more personal feel to it and yet be something very useful and appreciated. Through the years, I've found a few unusual but fantastic baby gifts that always seem to be well received!

My Songs - This CD was a lifesaver for both my daughter and son when each of the babies was born. The songs on the CD incorporate the baby’s name and the tunes are delightful. The singer, who introduces herself as Mary, becomes an instant friend! Some tunes are soothing and others have a nice beat to them. My son would sing along with the CD as he rocked his son and seemed to be enjoying the music as much as the baby. When any of my grandsons would be upset (babies cry sometimes!), the CD would go on and very quickly the baby would be soothed. My young grandsons still enjoy listening to the tunes that have their name in the song!

My Very Own Name Storybook - This book by I See Me! uses delightful animal characters to spell out the baby’s name. While it is not something a newborn will appreciate, it did become a very special book for each of my grandsons when they became old enough to listen to a story. They just loved that a book was written just about them. There are beautiful pictures and lovely rhymes which makes the book enjoyable to read and share.

Corduroy book and plush toy - The picture book Corduroy by Don Freeman is a classic. It is a heartwarming story about a little girl’s love for this adorable stuffed bear. What makes this gift so cute is that the story is about a stuffed bear and then the child has his own Corduroy bear to love.

Knuffle Bunny book and plush toy - Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems is an adorable story about a little girl who loses her beloved toy when out on an errand with her father. Because this little girl is not old enough to talk, she tries very hard to let her father know that she lost her bunny. Finally her mother understands and the little girl is reunited with Knuffle Bunny. The unique pictures combine cartoon-style drawings with photographs.

What are some of your favorite gifts to give to new moms?

For more information on making sure your child (or a friend's child!) starts school ready to excel, please visit www.schoolsparks.com for a free kindergarten readiness test and kindergarten worksheets you can do at home with your child to help develop critical school readiness skills.

"Stop it!", a mother at my child's birthday party ordered her child. I looked to see if she was using the couch as a trampoline or hanging from the ceiling fan. All she was doing was playing our piano sitting in the corner of the dining room. I smiled reassuringly, "Oh, it's all right! I don't mind if she plays." The mother gave an emphatic shake of the head, "No, none of my children can play the piano unless they are taking lessons."

As a piano teacher, I've watched many children over the years "take lessons", but I've only taught a few who love music. I've taken children through the mechanics of scales and quarters notes and half rests and made the introductions to beautiful music. However, I realize that my hands are partially tied if the parent is not involved in encouraging that love for music in their child.

When a student comes to my home for the first time, I ask them if they have something they can play for me. They'll look at me quizzically since they've never had a lesson before. I get a feel for which students will be a success when they give me a shy smile and say, "Well, I kind of made up this song." This doesn't usually happen if they've never been allowed to touch the piano before.

With my own children, here are a few things we do to encourage the love of music in our home:

• Listen to good music. Yes, I play music at home and in the car. I play it on the piano...just for fun. I play it on the CD player in the living room. I play it over the speakers in the car. My 2-year-old memorized an entire CD this way. My older children learned a hymn by heart and sang it for relatives just by listening to it in the car as we ran errands.
• Get them involved. As we sit in church, I tap my baby's hands to the rhythm of the music as soon as they can sit on my lap. I don't know if it actually makes a difference in their musical knowledge, but it sure makes them enjoy the worship service. I encourage my children to "play" our piano whenever they are interested. Our only rules are not during mealtimes or quiet times and only play with fingers (trust me that this rule is born of experience!). My brother and I used to sit on the front seat of church with a toy guitar and a keyboard with volume on low and play along with the music. This gave us confidence we needed and we still play today...except we have real instruments now that are even connected to the sound system!
• Give them lessons. Not everyone can afford private lessons especially with multiple children. However, this is one item we budget even at small sacrifice. If they learn enough to play for themselves, they will enjoy music for a lifetime.
• Make it a family activity. I have fond memories of road trips when the miles melted away as we sang every song we knew. This is how we learned harmony, though we didn't know it at the time since we were having so much fun. My husband's family likes to sit around and play guitars together. In our house, we sometimes play a song and "act it out" by tiptoeing during soft parts, "dancing" quickly to fast parts and hopping on staccato notes.

Dr. Heather Manley the creator of Human Body Detectives workbooks and audio CD's has just launched her new curriculum for elementary schools. The Healthy Moms Magazine and Dr. Manley agree that through education we can win the battle against childhood obesity.

Human Body Detectives Go to School Curriculum is designed to provide kids a solid foundation on how their bodies work and how food directly influences how their bodies function. Kids deserve this knowledge so that they can live healthily now and be set up for a lifetime of optimal health.

Every elementary school should use this curriculum for their health classes. It meets the national standards and benchmarks for health and nutrition, is smart board friendly, ideal for grades 3 to 5 and is an exciting part of the movement to get our kids optimally healthy.

"Dr. Heather Manley's The Human Body Detective series is a collection of books that are long over due. These beautifully illustrated adventure stories should be a part of every primary school curriculum. The sooner children are educated about how their bodies work and what they need to eat to support healthy body function, the better! Aimed at parents and children, these books can help a family address the many health problems created by our modern diet of convenience foods." Julie Daniluk R.H.N.

If you are unhappy with your current home, but are not ready to purchase another, consider renovating all or part of your home. Renovating a home can be as basic as making repairs, to a major addition. Before you renovate, assess your needs. Would the home benefit from cosmetic repairs, such as a coat of paint or new shutters? Is a new roof in order, or should you add a new bedroom?

Home repairs

Repairing weathered and worn parts of the home is one way to breathe new life into your dwellings. If your roof is old and discoloured, and you have had it patched to prevent links, it maybe time to replace it. A roof replacement can give home a bold new appearance. For example, if you’re old roof was originally a light colour, but over the years has become stained from smoke, dirt or fungus, going with a new dark coloured roof, or a different shingle style can give the home an updated look. If wood trim is rotting or the paint is peeling, give the home a clean and new appearance by replacing old wood trim and giving all of the trim a new coat of fresh paint.

Update your bathrooms

A bathroom renovation can be as simple as a new paint colour, or new light fixtures with a modern flair. Get rid of the rows of backstage light bulbs and go upscale with sconces, or a decorative chandelier. For a more striking look, go for a spa tub, and granite countertops. The key is to do what fits your budget.

Renovate the kitchen

A kitchen remodel can be as simple as changing the hardware on cabinets, and putting in new matching stainless steel appliances. Take the kitchen renovation up a notch by installing new granite countertops and kitchen cabinets. If adding new cabinets will bust your budget, consider cabinet refacing. Refacing the cabinets gives them a brand new look without the expense of ripping out cabinets, walls and floors.

Beef up the basement

If your home has a basement, the sky is the limit for what you can do with renovations. An unfinished basement can become a playroom, “man-cave,” recreation room for the family, den, or extra sleeping space. Add partitions, install a ceiling, add spacesaver stairs, and drywall, and paint the basement in a sunny colour light yellow to make the best limited natural light. Renovating a basement can bring thousands of extra dollars should you decide to sell your home. A basement can also be renovated into a small studio apartment that may be used as a residence for young adult’s family members, or rented for extra income.

My name is Nisha Sharma, I am the Editor for LoftCentre.co.uk. I offer parenting advice and tips for designing and decorating the home.

Bonfire Night can be great fun for the entire family as people across the country light up bonfires and fireworks to mark the foiling of Guy Fawkes’ notorious plot to blow up the British House of Parliament back in 1605. But it is important to ensure that all the fun and excitement of the celebration is not marred by tragedy. Every year people, most often children, suffer serious burns as a result of poor planning, carelessness or the mishandling of fireworks. Whether you are planning to celebrate November 5^th in your back garden or at a large public gathering, there are some common sense precautions you can take to keep your family safe from harm.

Bonfires can easily get out of control if not planned well. If you’re building one in your garden, site it well away from buildings, fences, overhead cables, trees and shrubbery. Don’t build your stack too high and make sure it’s stable enough that it won’t topple over, sending a shower of sparks over everyone and everything. Never use any type of flammable liquid to start the fire. To avoid excessive smoke, only burn dry materials and ensure that nothing is added to the pile that might produce toxic fumes or explode, like foam-filled furniture or aerosols. Keep a fire extinguisher, garden hose or bucket of water handy just in case and once the fire dies down, thoroughly soak the site with water to prevent the embers from reigniting.

Regardless of whether you are celebrating with family and friends in your back garden or attending a big public bonfire night event, keep everyone well back from the fire. Flying sparks can ignite clothing, and all clothes, even those that are flame retardant, can burn. Talk to your children about fire safety and set some clear ground rules in regard to how close they are allowed to get to the fire. If you are attending a public event, you also need to take precautions to make sure your children don’t get lost in the crowd. Public events, where there is likely to be a fair bit alcohol, may not be appropriate for a family outing; alcohol and fire is a dangerous mix.

Firework displays, the other staple of bonfire night, are another source of safety concerns. Once again, planning is the key to a safe and enjoyable celebration. Fireworks need to be set up in a way that will prevent them from being launched into the spectators or surrounding buildings if they misfire. It’s important to remember that not all fireworks are the same. Each comes with specific instructions on how to use it safely. Always read those instructions in advance and double-check them before lighting the firework. Also ensure that the unused fireworks are stored safely away from sparks, cigarettes, naked flames or anything else that might ignite them. Check the direct.gov.uk website for information on firework safety and the laws governing their use.

With a little planning and forethought, you can enjoy the spectacle that is bonfire night, secure in the knowledge that you have taken all the steps necessary to keep your family safe.

My name is Nisha Sharma, I am the Editor for FireSafetyStore.co.uk. I am a mother of one who loves to write especially about parenting advice, baby products and family advice. It’s always good to hear the point of view from someone with experience. If you would like to find out more information about fire safety products, such as fire blankets, fire extinguishers, or for safety items around the home feel free to visit my site.

It is that time of year again. When the temperature drops and the wind and rain pick up coughing and nose blowing begins. If a child is sick it may only take a few days for that virus to spread to all the kids in his class at school. How do you protect yourself and your children from the cold and flu viruses?

Here at The Healthy Moms Magazine we strongly suggest that everyone get a flu shot before the peak flu season hits. It is your responsibility as a parent to make sure your child is vaccinated. Even the healthiest child who has never had seasonal influenza is at risk. According to PreventChildhoodInfluenza.org, "Influenza claims the lives of about 100 children in the U.S. every year and hospitalizes around 20,000. About half of children who die because of influenza were previously healthy. And influenza is the 8th-leading cause of death in the United States among people of all ages." Get a flu shot. It is as simple as that.

The flu vaccine will not protect you from the common cold.

How can you tell if you have a cold or the flu?

The cold and flu are two different viruses although they may appear to have similar symptoms. Influenza usually begins with a fever, fatigue and muscle soreness and can last up to two or three weeks. If you have the flu you may also have a stuffy nose, headache, cough or sore throat. If you have the common cold you will not have a fever, muscle aches, or extreme fatigue. The cold can begin with a sore throat and lead to nasal congestion, sinus headache or a cough. Symptoms subside after seven to ten days.

Proper hygiene including hand washing can help prevent the spread of these infections. You can also treat your cold and flu symptoms with natural remedies. Herbal supplements such as Echinacea are safe and effective for treating the cold and flu in children. You can also treat cold symptoms with homeopathic medicines. Regulated as drugs by the FDA, homeopathic medicines are safe and reliable and are used by millions of children and recommended by thousands of pediatricians around the world.

The Healthy Moms Magazine and Mom's Natural Health and Wellness want you and your family to be protected during cold and flu season. All natural cold and flu remedies are on sale from now until October 31 at Mom's Natural Health and Wellness. Don't forget to wash your hands frequently and go out and get your flu shot!

About This Author


Cascia Talbert is a busy blogger, publisher, freelance writer, online merchant and mother of five children, living in The Pacific Northwest. With a B.A. in history and law and a passion for writing and staying healthy, she started The Healthy Moms Magazine in 2007. The Healthy Moms Magazine is currently ranked the top health blog for moms and features several health expert writers and mom bloggers. Ms. Talbert believes that if mothers are well educated on health issues and how to stay healthy, they can pass that information down to their children and reverse the childhood obesity statistics in the U.S.

Ms. Talbert is a featured health blogger at Wellsphere.com and her articles can also be found on ezinearticles.com. She also runs the Healthy Moms Social Network on Ning, manages Mom's Natural Health and Wellness Store, and is on the Social Media Advisory Board for America's Wellness Challenge.

Cooking or baking with your child is a simple and fun activity that also fosters wonderful skill development. So not only do you get quality time with your child in the kitchen (plus a yummy treat when the activity is finished!) but you get to help your little one learn and grow.

For example, most kitchen work requires basic cutting, mixing, measuring and pouring. These activities require your child to use his fingers and hands in small, controlled movements. When cutting, your will need to hold the knife steady in his dominant hand while his non-dominant hand holds the item being cut. And when your child is stirring he will need to use his non-dominant hand to stabilize the bowl as his dominant hand stirs.

Plus, whether you are following a recipe or making a boxed cake mix, nearly everything on your counter as you cook will have words and letters on it. While cooking, your child will see you reading the words on the recipe and also reading the labels of the various food items to make sure you have the correct item. This process will reinforce the idea to your child that letters and words have special meaning and must be read carefully and in a particular order.

Tips for getting started!
When first bringing your child into the kitchen with you, start small. A boxed cake or brownie mix is the perfect first recipe for children ages four and older, as it requires measuring only 2 or 3 ingredients and does not require a formal process of adding ingredients in a very specific order.

Make sure you have enough time to complete the entire recipe. As a general rule, consider how long it would take you to make the specific recipe and then triple the time. Your child will likely want to stop periodically to smell the ingredients or touch the consistency of the mix, or he may want to stir far longer than the recipe calls for. Allowing extra time will encourage your child’s natural curiosity, ensuring he gets the most out of the experience.

Before beginning, set the stage for your child by putting all ingredients, spoons and measuring cups out on the counter and within his reach. Then, regardless of your child’s age, look at the recipe together with him. Older children can read aloud a few words from their sight word vocabulary or sound out a few basic words like “water” or “stir.” Younger children can point to the words as you read them and you can challenge your child to “point to the letter e in the word ‘egg’ in the recipe,” for example.

Empower your child to attempt each step of the recipe, from opening the box to adding the ingredients to pouring the mixture into a baking pan or serving dish. Also, to increase your child’s likelihood for success, plan for a family-style presentation of the dessert. That way your child only needs to pour the batter or mix into one large baking pan or container, rather than into individual-sized pans or bowls.

At meal time, let your child introduce the food you created together. This will give him a sense of ownership over the created dish and will allow him to feel the pride of sharing something he worked hard to create. For more information on helping your young child succeed, please visit www.schoolsparks.com for a free kindergarten readiness test and free kindergarten worksheets.

Have fun and enjoy!

About This Author

According to a new study by researches from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia adding talk therapy (cognitive behavioral therapy) to medication helps some kids and teens with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Most kids with OCD are treated with fluoxetine (Prozac) or sertraline (Zoloft). Although, experts believe that even on medications kids with OCD still have symptoms.

Researchers estimate that one in every 100 kids in the US has OCD. It usually begins with the child washing his hands repeatedly until they are chapped and raw. These kids think that they need to do these behaviors in order to calm themselves down.

As a parent I worry about the possible side effects of over medicating our children. This study proves that medication alone does not always work and there are other alternatives to help our children with disorders.

The study looked at 124 kids between the ages of seven and 17 with OCD. All of them had been taking at least one drug but still displayed OCD symptoms.

The children stayed on their medication throughout the study. Researchers also split them into three groups; one that did not get additional treatment, one that had one hour long cognitive behavioral therapy sessions once a week, and the third group just talked with doctors briefly during their regular medication check-ins.

After three months the children who had the full cognitive behavioral therapy along with their medication were better off than the other participants. About 70 percent of them showed an improvement in their OCD symptoms, compared to 35 percent who had gotten brief instructions about CBT, and 30 percent of kids who did not have any extra treatment.

If your child has OCD or a related disorder and is on medication you may want to consider adding cognitive behavioral therapy as a treatment for him. Before you begin any form of treatment first discuss your child's symptoms with his doctor.

About This Author


Cascia Talbert is a busy blogger, publisher, freelance writer, online merchant and mother of five children, living in The Pacific Northwest. With a B.A. in history and law and a passion for writing and staying healthy, she started The Healthy Moms Magazine in 2007. The Healthy Moms Magazine is currently ranked the top health blog for moms and features several health expert writers and mom bloggers. Ms. Talbert believes that if mothers are well educated on health issues and how to stay healthy, they can pass that information down to their children and reverse the childhood obesity statistics in the U.S.

Ms. Talbert is a featured health blogger at Wellsphere.com and her articles can also be found on ezinearticles.com. She also runs the Healthy Moms Social Network on Ning, manages Mom's Natural Health and Wellness Store, and is on the Social Media Advisory Board for America's Wellness Challenge.

American Academy of Ophthalmology teaches the prevention and treatment of the common eye infection

SAN FRANCISCO - September 20, 2011 - According to the American Journal of Infection Control, more than 164 million school days are missed annually in U.S. public schools due to the spread of infectious diseases. An astonishing 3 million of those school days are lost as a result of acute conjunctivitis, also known as “pink eye.”

In recognition of September’s “Children’s Eye Health Month,” the American Academy of Ophthalmology wants to teach parents and educators how to prevent the spread of pink eye in the classroom.

“Pink eye is all too common amongst children, it is one of the most common conditions I treat,” says Lee Duffner, MD, ophthalmologist and clinical correspondent for the Academy. “The only way to really prevent pink eye from spreading is to practice good hygiene.”

What is conjunctivitis?
Conjunctivitis is the term used to describe swelling of the conjunctiva — the thin, filmy membrane that covers the inside of your eyelids and the white part of the eye, known as the sclera. There are three forms of conjunctivitis: viral, bacterial and allergic.

Viral conjunctivitis, the most common form of pink eye, is caused by the same virus that causes the common cold. Just as a cold must run its course, so must this form of pink eye. It is also very contagious.

Bacterial conjunctivitis is a highly contagious form of pink eye, caused by bacterial infections. This type of conjunctivitis usually causes a red eye with a lot of pus.

Allergic conjunctivitis is a form of conjunctivitis that is caused by the body's reaction to an allergen or irritant. It is not contagious. This type of conjunctivitis is usually associated with redness in the white of the eye or inner eyelid.

How do you get pink eye and how do you prevent it?

Conjunctivitis, whether bacterial or viral, can be quite contagious. Children are usually most susceptible to getting the condition from bacteria or viruses because they are in close contact with so many others in schools or daycare centers. Some of the most common ways to get the contagious form of pink eye:

• Reusing handkerchiefs and towels when wiping your face and eyes
• Forgetting to wash hands often
• Frequently touching eyes
• Using old cosmetics, and/or sharing them with other people
• Not cleaning contact lenses properly

Prevention:
Practicing good hygiene can help prevent the spread of conjunctivitis. If a child is infected, make sure to do the following to help prevent the spread of the illness:

• Encourage children to wash their hands often.
• Tell them to avoid touching their eyes.
• Discourage the reusing of towels, washcloths, handkerchiefs and tissues to wipe their face and eyes.
• Change their pillowcase frequently.

Treatment:
With viral conjunctivitis, symptoms can last from one to two weeks and then will disappear on their own.

For bacterial conjunctivitis, an ophthalmologist (Eye M.D.) will typically prescribe antibiotic eye drops to treat the infection.

Allergic conjunctivitis treatment often includes applying cool compresses to the eyes and taking antihistamines.

Home care tips:
A compress applied to closed eyelids can relieve some of the discomfort of pink eye. To make a compress, soak in water then wring out a clean, lint-free cloth. If a child has conjunctivitis in one eye only, don't use the same cloth on both eyes in order to avoid spreading the infection from one eye to the other.

If a child has bacterial or viral conjunctivitis, a warm compress is usually best. If their eyes are irritated by allergic conjunctivitis, try a cool water compress. Over-the-counter lubricating eyedrops - artificial tears - may also provide relief from pink eye symptoms.

If these symptoms persist, be sure take your child to see an ophthalmologist to receive proper care.

To find out more information on pink eye and other eye conditions and diseases, visit www.geteyesmart.org.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons — Eye M.D.s — with more than 30,000 members worldwide. Eye health care is provided by the three “O’s” – ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases, infections and injuries, and perform eye surgery. For more information, visit www.aao.org. The Academy’s EyeSmart® public education program works to educate the public about the importance of eye health and to empower them to preserve their healthy vision, by providing the most trusted and medically accurate information about eye diseases, conditions and injuries. Visit www.geteyesmart.org to learn more.

Today I tried to drag myself out of bed to work out. I really did try, but I just couldn’t do it on a Sunday morning. I started feeling guilty later that morning so I pondered my options. It was raining outside, so taking the kids in the stroller was out. Instead, I decided that I would try that Yoga DVD I ordered a long time ago. It’s the one by the lady who trains Jennifer Anniston. I thought it sounded like a great idea. I’d love to look like Jennifer Anniston.

The kids were both playing quietly for once, so I popped in the DVD and started to get in my best meditation mode. There was lots of quiet breathing and stretching and I started feeling really pleased with myself. What a great way to multi task. The kids are happy and I am going to soon be relaxed and flexible. Supermom, right?? Unfortunately, the kids soon became interested in my stretching. Soon Munchkin Girl joined me. At first, she was quietly stretching and I smiled and wished I could somehow take a picture of us. Things quickly went south in a hurry when I was in plank position. She climbed on top of me and started laughing hysterically.
I tried my best to hold my plank position while she climbed on top of me. And jumped off. And did it again and again. She was laughing so hard I couldn’t help smiling, but this wasn’t exactly the relaxing Yoga workout I had in mind. Then when I went to being on my hands and knees she scrambled under me and looked straight up at me and laughed. She wiggled all around while I dutifully tired to follow the instructor by flexing my back up and down.

Pretty soon the dogs started to think this would be fun too. I have two Golden Retrievers so they’re huge. They started wrestling and barking right next to us. They kept bumping into me and knocking me over. Munchkin Girl began shrieking every time the dogs barked.
Soon I decided it was time to wind down. I lay flat on my back and closed my eyes and tried to end in a meditative position, as I was instructed. Before I knew it, Little Buddy decided he wanted to sit in my lap so I could read him a book. Instead of sitting on my legs, he plopped flat down on my face. My eyes were closed at the time, so I was totally unprepared for a huge diapered 25 pound behind landing on my face.

I jumped up and turned off the TV. Lessons learned? Yoga + toddlers = bad idea. Very bad idea. The good news is that next time I will probably have the motivation to get out of bed.

About This Author


Katie Mullen is the busy Mom to two toddlers, ages 3 and 1. She works full-time doing sales to support her husband through medical school and beyond. Katie’s husband is a surgeon in training, which means he is often gone and works grueling hours, leaving Katie to be a single Mom for much of the week. Despite this, Katie is a big believer in always looking for the positive in life and writes about how she does this in her blog, Mommy with Selective Memory. Katie is a former athlete and is still active in running and training. Her husband is an orthopedic surgery resident and has a special interest in triathalons and is even doing clinical research on barefoot running. The happy but very busy family resides in the Mid-west where they enjoy being outdoors.

America’s Tofu Specialist Emphasizes Tofu’s Health Benefits During National Cholesterol Education Month

Garden Grove, CA, September 15, 2011—High cholesterol affects over 65 million Americans according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. With this epidemic in the spotlight during National Cholesterol Education month in September and the USDA’s new MyPlate healthy eating campaign, House Foods America, tofu specialists since 1983, invites the public to incorporate tofu into their diets for overall wellbeing.

“Tofu is a cholesterol-free super food that has been linked to heart health benefits. It is high in protein, and low in fat and carbohydrates which makes it ideal for individuals seeking healthy alternatives to fattening proteins,” said Yoko Difrancia, marketing supervisor at House Foods America Corporation. According to the FDA, consuming just 25 grams of soy protein a day as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce your risk of heart disease.

Incorporating House Tofu in your diet is easier than you think. The MyPlate campaign launched this year by the USDA helps Americans include plant based proteins such as tofu into their diet by illustrating the new dietary guidelines, which include soy foods for the first time. Tofu is an easy substitute for your favorite protein and a versatile staple that takes on the flavor of marinades and seasonings. It can even be used as a protein extender without entirely replacing the meat or chicken you love. House Tofu comes in a variety of firmness levels from soft (silken) to super firm, lending it to everything from desserts to grilled dishes.

Among House Foods’ latest ambassadors is Steve Smith, All-Pro Wide Receiver, who values the importance of a healthy diet on and off the field. Tofu has become a go-to food for Smith who first tried the super food in 2007 as part of a healthy eating and training regimen while training for the NFL Draft. Smith now encourages fans to join him in embracing the health benefits of tofu.

“House Foods looks forward to helping Americans on their journey to improved health and wellbeing,” said Ms. Difrancia. “Incorporating nutrient-rich foods such as tofu into a balanced diet is an attainable year-round goal for the entire family.”

Visit the House Foods website and newly launched Facebook page to learn more about making House Tofu a part of your balanced, heart-healthy diet, new products, giveaways, and recipes. A few easy-to-make House Tofu dishes to get you started include:

· Spicy Tofu Chili—House Foods Firm Tofu replaces fattening ground beef in this heart-healthy dish that’s perfect for the football season.

· Turkey Tofu Burger—Gradually introduce your family to House Foods Tofu by adding it to these crowd-pleasing burgers.

· Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry—Use House Foods Extra and Super Firm Tofu in place of your favorite protein and serve a nutritious, delicious dinner in minutes.

I’m working with the doctors who created Proactiv Solution to launch their new Anti-Aging product recently featured in Allure, Vogue & on the Today Show.

Diane Busey-BirdExecutive Consultant Partner w/Rodan+Fields Dermatologists

website:
For products: http://smoothskinbydiane.myrandf.com/

Photos and blog updates:
http://smoothskinbydiane.blogspot.com/

For business opportunity:
http://smoothskinbydiane.myrandf.biz

Partner with the Doctors who created Proactiv® Solution … the best spent minute in anti-aging. Come join my organization. The time is now! Let's talk. http://smoothskinbydiane.myrandf.biz

The pendulum is swinging and your metabolism is slowing. It is time to swing back. As we age, hopefully the years grant us wisdom, unfortunately weight can come along for the ride. It is a naturally occurring phenomenon that is likely but not destined to occur. Thankfully, there are a few things that we can do to fight back.

Exercise

I know what you are thinking… I never had to exercise when I was younger. You may have been able to drink three milkshakes a day when you were younger and loose ten pounds, but this will not be the case as you continue to age and the demands of family, motherhood and life begin to take their toll. I am so sorry. You are going to have to blame biology for this one. You can look forward to 0.5-1% of muscle loss per year after the age of 25. So ladies, while exercises such as aerobics and walking may get your heart pumping, don’t forget to include some resistance training in your routine to get those muscles pumping. As far as metabolism goes, muscles burn more calories than fat. Isn’t that reason enough to pump some iron ladies?

Change Your Diet

If you are going to “jump start” your metabolism you are going to have to change your diet period. When I use the word “diet” I am not referring to that word used to describe what some celebrity is eating at the moment or a new food trend that is plastered on the cover of a magazine. I am talking about your food habits, it’s a lifestyle. First of all, you should always have breakfast. Skipping breakfast is not good for anyone and it does not send a good example for your kids either. The word breakfast itself came from the fact that you are indeed breaking a fast after sleeping at night. Your body was without food for at least 8-10 hours. Ok, I know that it is more like 5-8 hours. I thought that you could use a laugh. And forget about it if you are nursing. Wait, where was I? Oh, yes…if you are consistently skipping breakfast or other meals you are setting yourself up for failure. Indirectly, you are telling the body that there is a lack of food and the body will react by storing available calories as fat. Skipping breakfast is also a bad idea because people that do, tend to consume more calories during the day.

Drink to Your Health

Drinking water is the one of the best things that you can do for your body. Water flushes out toxins and impurities allowing the body to function at peak capacity. Studies support that people who drink more water also burn more fat. Do you need another reason to drink up? Add a green tea bag to that water and get even more metabolism boosting benefits. Follow these tips and you will be a “hot mama” for years to come.

Get more tips and free articles at: http://thedomesticlifestylist.blogspot.com

About This Author

Lisa Leslie-Williams, Pharm D is a wife and the devoted mother of one active toddler. She quickly realized after the birth of her daughter that she was not only destined to be a mom but that her true passion lies in empowering women to live life at home with finesse and style. In addition to being a licensed healthcare professional, Lisa has spent the last 10 years living and fine tuning her “domestic life style lessons” about budgeting, beauty, family health, entertaining and all things in the kitchen. She shares these lessons and other home management tips throughout her community, writing articles and on her blog:

http://thedomesticlifestylist.blogspot.com

To read more articles written by Lisa go to: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Leslie-Williams

Lisa is also the author of the ebook “21 Smart Ways to Save Money Now”.

“Empowering women to live life at home with finesse and style”.

New Healthy School Meal Recipes and Technical Assistance Available

Free to Any School Through Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program

(NEW YORK) September 13, 2011 – In celebration of September’s National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, television personality, author and founder of the Yum-o! organization, Rachael Ray, and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation have collaborated to create healthy school food recipes that will be available for free to every school in the U.S., reaching more than 30 million students. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation is a non-profit organization founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation working to combat childhood obesity.

By working together, the Alliance and Yum-o! have developed a series of scratch cooking recipes appropriate for school settings that are nutritious, delicious and meet the taste expectations of today’s students. Parents and school staff can access Rachael Ray’s Yum-o! school meal recipes by visiting the Alliance’s website at www.healthiergeneration.org.

“Getting students excited about the food they eat in school and giving them access to flavorful choices made with more fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains is so important when it comes to teaching them about making healthy food choices,” says Ray. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and provide schools nationwide with nutritious recipes that kids will enjoy eating.”

Ray first began to provide recipes to schools in a partnership with the New York City Department of Education in 2009. The success of that program led to Ray’s desire to bring her healthy recipes to schools across the United States. The collaboration with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation is a natural fit, as the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program is one of the largest school-based childhood obesity programs in the country, supporting more than 12,000 schools in their efforts to create healthier places for students to learn and staff to work.

The school-friendly recipes were piloted in nine school districts throughout the U.S., including California, Florida, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, North Carolina, Indiana, and Texas. Recipes were evaluated based on food service staff and student feedback.

“We are always looking for fun and innovative ways to introduce healthier options to students,” says Sal Valenza, food service director at West New York, N.J. who piloted the recipes with his students. “The recipes Rachael Ray, Yum-o! and the Alliance created not only got rave reviews from the students, but they are created in a way that is easy and affordable to make from a school food service perspective.”

The eight new recipes meet the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s school nutrition guidelines. The science-based guidelines, which meet or exceed USDA guidelines, focus on increased lean protein, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat and fat-free dairy in addition to reduced total fat, saturated fat and sodium levels. Recipes available to school food service professionals include:

• Southwestern Turkey Cobb Salad: Uses USDA turkey roasts and Rachael’s special Yum-o! Southwest Ranch Sauce to create a salad with a taste as big as Texas.

• Silly Chili con Fusilli: Five-alarm fun served over fusilli pasta including a “fixin’ bar” that gives students a chance to customize their own meal.

• Orange You Glad its Glazed Chicken and Noodles: Add some zing to USDA chicken with this new “a-peeling” Orange Glazed Chicken. Serve with chopsticks for added fun.

Additional recipes include: Yakitori Chicken Noodle Bowls, Cheesy Mac & Trees, BBQ Turkey Sloppy Joes, Mexi-Mac and Cheese, and Turkey Tacos. In addition to providing the recipes, shopping lists and nutritional information for each recipe, the Alliance also provides best practices for preparing, introducing and serving these recipes to students. Additionally, Yum-o! has created “at-home” versions of these recipes, which will be available on the www.yum-o.org website, so kids and their families can recreate the meals in their own kitchen.

In an effort to educate school food service professionals about the availability of these recipes and a multitude of other free tools and resources for healthier school meals, the Alliance is announcing a new collaboration with the School Nutrition Association (SNA). The Alliance and SNA will work throughout the coming year to inform, educate and activate school food service professionals across the country through promotional campaigns, webinars, speaking engagements, and educational materials – all with a goal of increasing the availability of healthier options to students in every school in the country.

“School nutrition professionals are constantly working to offer healthier choices to students, but we will always welcome a helping hand!” says Helen Phillips, SNS, president of the School Nutrition Association and Senior Director of School Nutrition for the Norfolk Public Schools (VA). “The programs and materials created by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, including these wonderful recipes from Rachael Ray, are great tools for SNA members working to improve school menus. We are excited to work with the Alliance on new national initiatives to support school food service professionals.”

“Through the development of healthy and nutritious recipes specifically created to be easy to prepare in school cafeterias, the Alliance is broadening its efforts to increase the availability of healthy school meals across the country,” said Ginny Ehrlich, CEO of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. “Working with passionate allies like Rachael, Yum-o! and the School Nutrition Association is critical to the success of our efforts. Together, we are changing the landscape of school food and ensuring that millions of students have the opportunity to live long, healthy lives.”

The launch of these recipes is just one solution the Alliance has developed to increase access to healthier school foods. Earlier this year, the Alliance announced ground-breaking industry agreements with food manufacturers, group purchasing organizations and technology companies to develop, market and competitively price products that will lead to healthier school meal options; streamline the ordering process; and make identifying healthy options easier.

The effort to increase the availability of healthier school meals follows the success of similar industry agreements brokered by the Alliance. Voluntary agreements with the snack food and beverage industries initiated in 2006 have resulted in healthier choices available to students in schools across the country—including an 88 percent decrease in total beverage calories shipped to schools between 2004 and the 2009 school year.

As a result of these school meal agreements, more than 30 million students across the country will have access to healthier school meals – including at least 14 million students who currently qualify for free and reduced lunches.

About the Alliance for a Healthier Generation

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation works to address one of the nation’s leading public health threats – childhood obesity. The goal of the Alliance is to reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015, and to empower kids to make healthy lifestyle choices. Founded in 2005 by the American Heart Association and William J. Clinton Foundation, the Alliance works to positively affect the places that can make a difference to a child’s health: homes, schools, doctor’s offices and communities. To learn more about the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, visit www.HealthierGeneration.org.

About Rachael Ray

Rachael Ray is best known as the host of the hit syndicated Emmy Award winning daytime television show “Rachael Ray” produced by CBS Television Distribution in association with Harpo Productions, Scripps Networks and Watch Entertainment. Rachael's warmth, energy, and boundless curiosity also reaches scores of fans through her popular Food Network shows, bestselling cookbooks, her own line of cookware created by Meyer, knives by Furitechnics, signature food ingredients by Colavita and lifestyle magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray. In 2007, Rachael launched the Yum-o! organization, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking. In 2008 she partnered with Ainsworth Pet Nutrition to create a line of pet food of which all her proceeds are donated to organizations that help animals in need. For more information, visit www.rachaelray.com.

About the Yum-o! Organization

Yum-o!® is Rachael Ray's nonprofit organization that empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking by teaching families to cook, feeding hungry kids and funding cooking education and scholarships. By providing the tools to create easy, affordable and delicious meals,

Yum-o! is changing the way America eats. For more information about the Yum-o! organization, please visit www.yum-o.org.

About School Nutrition Association

The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is a national, non-profit professional organization representing more than 50,000 school nutrition professionals across the country. Founded in 1946, SNA and its members are dedicated to making healthy school meals and nutrition education available to all students. To find out more about today’s school meals, visit www.TrayTalk.org.