Eat, Save, and Be Healthy

Summer brings the wonderful advantage of some unstructured time for children. As the days permit, make sure to use the nature in your backyard for children to learn. Following are some tips that were featured in a newsletter I receive (The Well-Centered Child) and I thought you might be motivated to ponder the possibilities they encourage. For those of us without young children, just remember that being outside is a stress release and a great way to be more active.

*Grow a garden, even a container garden for your child to grow  vegetables or flowers that are theirs to care for and pick. Flowers that work well are zinnias, daisies or marigolds. Vegetables that work well are lettuce, radishes and some tomatoes, they can “grow a salad”

*As reminders for care, make sticks with yarn or ribbon on them to help them to remember. Red ribbon could me “weed me” or blue ribbon could mean “water me”, etc. Move the sticks as needed. As you are showing them what’s a weed, make it a learning experience by asking questions like: Is there more of the weed above or below the ground? Can you find weeds with shallow branching roots? How about one with a long taproot? Who can find the biggest weed?

*When the wading pool needs to be emptied, scoop the water and water the trees instead of just dumping it on the lawn.

*Secure a place outside where children can just dig in the dirt. Occasionally you might hide small objects (as age appropriate) for them to find while digging. 

*Old cups bowls and containers like margarine or cottage cheese are great for molding and playing in the sand or dirt. Let their imagination go!

*Use a bucket of water and a paintbrush as a great activity for them to “paint the house” or “the fence” and watch how the water evaporates (it also is a help in keeping things clean!)

*If your looking for ways to use those outgrown shoes, plant a flower in them. Add a little dirt and try something like dwarf sunflowers in them for a pleasant addition to your garden.

*Who says learning numbers and letters need to be done on paper alone? Use something like a cereal box and cut out large numbers and letters. Take them outside and lay them on the lawn (in a place with permission) and put a couple of rocks on top of the cardboard. After a week, let the child remove the cardboard and observe the yellow grass underneath. Plants need light to produce chlorophyll, which makes them green. They can trace the letters with their fingers and replicate the tracing on the sidewalk with chalk or in the sand or dirt. By the way, the yellow will turn to green again.

*Hollow out part of a potato and fill it with cotton balls and grass seed. Slide the potato with the filled “hat” into an old hose or knee-hi and keep it watered. Soon it will begin to grow “hair”. You can also decorate the potato to be a real “potato head”

Remember children need to have at least 60 minutes of physical activity to increase their heart rate and develop their large motor skills. Set a good example by joining your children in some of their play. It’s good for them to have time to fill on their on by entertaining themselves, but it’s also great for you to spend time with them a get a little exercise too.

We eat a lot of salt in the US. In fact, data just published say only 1 in 10 adults met their recommendation for sodium intake. The average intake was 3,691 mg, well over the <2,300 mg recommendation set forth by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Too much salt may lead to high blood pressure, stroke, and stomach cancer.

Why are our levels so high? Processed and restaurant food. An estimated 77% of dietary sodium intake comes from processed and restaurant foods and approximately 10% comes from table salt and cooking. That means your salt shaker is not to blame. Grains contributed the largest amount of sodium, then meats. Main culprits in the grains group included grain-based frozen meals and soups and foods eaten frequently, such as breads. Intake of sodium from meats was likely because the category includes lunchmeats and sausages. In contrast, fresh fruits and vegetables naturally contain little sodium. Yet, vegetables were the third largest contributor, partly because the vegetable category contained vegetable-based soups and sauces, white potatoes (including potato chips, fries, and salads), and canned vegetables.

To help reduce sodium intake to below the recommended limits, food manufacturers and retailers are being asked to reduce sodium content in processed and restaurant foods. In your home, you can:

* Choose fresh fruits and vegetables
* Rinse canned beans and vegetables
* Cook with herbs, spices, fruit juices, and vinegars rather than salt
* Request your salad dressing on the side when ordering out at a restaurant
* Select low-salt frozen meals

Cheers, Julie

The public is increasingly turning to fish oil supplements as a source of omega-3 fatty acids.  The benefits of omega-3s include reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke while helping to lessen symptoms of high blood pressure, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), joint pain, as well as certain skin conditions.  Some research has even shown that omega-3s can boost the immune system and help protect us from many other illnesses including Alzheimer’s disease.  Fish is the most potent source of omega-3s in the diet, but Americans rarely meet American Heart Association guidelines to eat fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, etc.) twice a week.  Nutrients from food are best, but fish oil may offer many of the same benefits. 

Because supplements are not regulated in the US, some may contain concentrated amounts of the same toxins (like mercury) found in fresh fish.  How do you know which fish oil supplements are safe?  Look for your brand on the Environmental Defense Fund site.  This site solicited information from 75 companies, and then categorized their supplement into one of three categories: Best Choice, Incomplete, and Worst Choice.  A majority of manufacturers are purifying their fish oils to meet stringent safety standards.

Still, fish oil supplements should be taken with your doctor’s consent.   Your doctor can determine the right amount for you to avoid overdosing.  Too much can increase risk of bleeding or bruising.

Cheers, Julie

There are several payment systems now in place when buying items online. These systems PayPal, Ebillme, Bill Me Later and Google Checkout may save you time with a few clicks compared to waiting on the phone to place an order. But you may want to check out some of the possible drawbacks to their systems. Their is always the possibility that their system could be compromised by a hacker and your personal data taken.

Check out their policy for returns and disputes. It is better to link to your credit card that will back you usually during disputes.

If a credit check is run on your credit card will that influence the number of hits to your credit card? It could if you have had several recent inquiries. Ask if they check your credit report each time you make a purchase.

It is suggested that you choice one service to start. Ask questions, keep their answers for future reference and link to a credit card with a low limit, such as $500.

Also, remember when you shop on the Web check to make sure the beginning of the web address starts with “https” and that a lock-and-key icon appears on the bar at the bottom of the page. This ensures that your personal information will be encrypted.
Source: Consumer Report
Written by: Cora French-Robinson, CFLE, Extension Educator

What do you do when your teen brings home a “C” on a test or report card?  Do you feel pressure to make sure your child is in on the honor roll and in all the “right” classes?

Often times in parenting, especially through the teenage years, it is easy for parents to get overwhelmed by what is wrong and what is not going well, especially when it comes to school success.  However, in his new book, Strong Families, Successful Students: Helping Teenagers Develop Their Full Potential, Dr. Steve Gavazzi, an OSU family researcher and therapist, urges families to focus on their strengths.

When teens are criticized, they may tune out their parents and can begin to emotionally start to shut down. A perfect child or parent is impossible to find and there will always be faults to find if you are looking for them.  Gavazzi, in his research has found that it’s much more healthy and beneficial to focus on the positive aspects of your child and your family.   By emphasizing the things that your teen is good at, parents may begin to define success a little differently.

Families who focus on their strengths:

–Share a common ideology, including having a common understanding of what family success looks like

–Are patient and kind to each other and to others

–Look for unique strengths and talents in each family member

–Know how to solve problems together as a family

–Know how to find and use resources to help them

The author also wants to empower parents to become more confident about the role that they play in the lives of their teens.  He believes that parents are the best experts about their family and are best suited to understand what is going on in the family and make decisions based on that.  Again, he encourages the parent to focus on what is going right in the family and to play off those strengths.

Gavazzi points out that families function within the context of a larger environment.  For example, in an interaction, there is usually not clear cause-and-effect. Each interaction can be affected bymultiple factors including personality, environments such as school and culture, and friends or peers.  Therefore, the family cannot be viewed exclusively through the lens of what is happening in the home or in the classroom, rather it can be more helpful to look at the whole system.

This perspective is especially important when thinking about school success, which is the main focus of this book.  The author has found in is studies that if a teen is not doing well in school, there are usually many factors that are leading to this.  This is why, in a book about school success there is so much emphasis on the family and family functioning.

The book is written based on years of research that Gavazzi and his team have been doing on a project called, “Growing up FAST”, a youth delinquency program.  However, the book is not targeted towards other researchers.  The author combines stories and advice based on his research to reach out to the many families that are struggling to help their children succeed in school.

The teen years are important times of growth and development.  Doing well in school is one aspect of growth that can help your child move toward success as an adult.  By focusing on what your child is talented at, the positive aspects, you can help shed light on how to improve those things that may be more difficult for your child.

To learn more about Dr. Gavazzi and his work, you can check out his new book, Strong Families, Successful Students: Helping Teenagers Develop Their Full Potential, or you can an interview with him, discussing his book on YouTube at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H40sFp0hBxM .

Dr. Gavazzi also writes a blog for the Columbus Parent Magazine called, “Strong Families, Successful Teens” http://blog.dispatch.com/successfulteens/ where he covers many helpful topics on parenting teens.

It’s the season for graduations, family reunions, and many other outdoor activities.  Check out the link below for information on keeping your food safe while cooking outdoors.

Safe Summer Grilling – eXtension.