Monday Message from March 28th

Family Play Time



Try to involve the whole family in physical activity. Your child is more likely to be active if you are active.


Choose some of your family's favorite activities, and come up with a few new ones. Then decide how many times each week you can add them to your activity schedule. Work up to sixty minutes of physical activity per day, five to seven days a week.


Before you begin family activities or encourage your child to become more active, keep the following points in mind:

•Overweight children may not feel comfortable in organized and competitive games. Choose activities where winning or performing well doesn't matter (like biking or walking the dog).

•More activity won't just happen. You need to help your child plan for it. Plan a family walk right after dinner. Arrange a family activity on weekends.

•Physical activity can be increased in small ways. When you go to the store, park farther away and walk. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Or have your child push the shopping cart if he or she is able. Even daily chores can burn calories.

•Choose fun activities. When children have fun while exercising, they are more likely to continue enjoying it for the rest of their lives.

•Let your child try lots of activities. Offer choices like baseball, basketball, tennis, track and field, or soccer. Then let him choose what he likes to do best.

If Your Child Is Overweight: A Guide for Parents, 3rd edition. Susan M. Kosharek, MS, RD.

Monday Message from March 21th

Do Babies Need Extra Water?


by Roberta Duyff, MS RD FADA




Newborns need little or no extra water. Except for periods of hot weather when your baby perspires, breast milk or infant formula usually supply enough fluid. If water is needed, offer one to two ounces of plain water after a feeding; water shouldn't take the place of breast milk or formula. For safety's sake when your baby is less than four months of age, boil water first, then chill it or offer sterilized bottled water. When babies begin eating solid food, offer plain water.

Your child needs water to replace fluids lost through diarrhea or vomiting. Diarrhea and vomiting can lead to dehydration – and it's complications – if fluids aren't replaced. Rather than water or juice, your doctor or pediatric nurse may recommend an oral electrolyte maintenance solution, sold near baby foods in your grocery store, to prevent dehydration. Besides fluid, the solution contains glucose (a form of sugar) and minerals (sodium, chloride and potassium) called electrolytes. Electrolytes help maintain fluid balance in your baby's body cells. These minerals are lost through body fluids.

Consult your doctor or pediatric nurse before feeding an oral electrolyte maintenance solution to children under two years of age (or older children, too). Besides the risk of dehydration, diarrhea and vomiting signal possible illness that may require medical attention! If diarrhea, vomiting or fever persist longer than 24 hours, consult your doctor or pediatric nurse. An electrolyte maintenance solution won't stop diarrhea or vomiting, but it does prevent dehydration

Monday Message from March 14th

Food, Nutrients and Your Teen


by Roberta Duyff, MS RD FADA



Puberty marks the start of the teenage growth spurt. That time differs for each child. For girls, puberty typically begins at about age 12 or 13, about two years younger than for boys. From the school-age years through the teens, the average youngster grows to be 20 percent taller and 50 percent heavier. Body changes that happen as children mature are stressful for some, and may affect their self-image and perhaps the choices they make about eating and physical activity. (Some overweight children may start puberty sooner, but for now, there are too many unanswered questions to know why.)

How your teenage child grows – when, how and how much – has more to do with genes than with food choices. However, smart eating does help determine if your child grows to his or her maximum height potential – with strong bones and a fit body.


All teens need enough calcium for bone growth and strength, protein for every body cell including muscles, carbohydrates and fats for energy, vitamins and minerals for the "sparks" that make it all happen, and enough water. Energy and nutrient needs increase to meet the growth demands of adolescence. Teens need understanding parents who appreciate that their adolescent's growth pattern, although different from a friend's, is perfectly normal.

Monday Message from March 7th

Your Pre-Teen’s Weight


by Susan Moores, MS RD




Are you worried that your pre-teen may be gaining weight? A major growth spurt often occurs during the pre-teen (middle school) years. Every part of a child’s body changes in size and proportion. Appetite increases, eating increases and often kids become heavier before their height takes off. The extra weight gain can concern parents. Should it?


It depends, says registered dietitian and ADA spokesperson Sarah Krieger. “More homework, more computer time, more snacking, less parental control over what’s eaten and fewer kids playing sports can put on pounds.” Add in their sense of uncertainty and cascade of emotional changes, and you have the perfect storm for weight issues.


How a parent deals with these changes is important, notes Krieger. “Done well, a parent establishes a solid foundation for a lifetime of healthy habits; if not, a child’s relationship with food may suffer and even result in pre-eating disorder problems.”


Pinpointing if Weight Gain is a Concern

The best way to determine if weight changes are worrisome is to plot a child’s weight, height and body mass index (BMI) on growth charts, says Roberta Anding, MS, RD, Director of Sports Nutrition at Texas Children’s Hospital. BMI charts help measure weight-for-stature against age and, when plotted over several years (from age 2 on is recommended), they show weight and growth trends. With the help of your health care provider you can see if your child’s weight is moving in a good direction or if a notable change has occurred that needs attention.


Easy Does It if Weight’s an Issue

If the trend in your child’s weight should be addressed, take the high road, says Anding. “Preaching, nagging and constant comments about food choices is counter-productive.” Research suggests that parents who try to keep their child thinner by restricting and restraining foods, actually raise heavier kids. Krieger and Anding offer these tips for helping your pre-teen achieve a healthy weight:

•Schedule annual check-ups with your health care provider. Ask that he or she plot your child’s height, weight and BMI on the growth charts each year. Together review and discuss the trends.

•Talk with your health care provider before you go in for an appointment. If you have concerns, talk by phone pre-appointment to discuss the best way to address the topic and best action plan for helping your child. Be on the same page. Keep the conversation in front of your child positive and constructive.

•Establish a positive environment at home.

•Position changes as being for the whole family vs. calling out special foods/special actions for one child in particular. Everyone in the family benefits from a “new and improved” healthy home.

•Practice the “division of responsibility” approach to feeding your family: A parent’s job is to determine which foods are available and served at home, when they’ll be served and where they’re served. It’s a child’s responsibility (and his or hers alone) to decide if and how much to eat of those foods.

•Stock your home with primarily healthful (tasty) foods. Make them easy to get to – and make them enticing. Celery sticks won’t do it for many kids, but jicama or sugar snap peas with hummus or a zesty yogurt dip might. Juicy fruits, crispy vegetables, hearty whole-grain crackers and cereals are wonderful grab-and-go foods.

•Walk the talk. Set some guidelines for snacking (steering clear of snacks close to meal times) and how much time can be spent on the computer or watching television. Be sure to adhere to the “rules” as well. Eat healthful foods in front of your kids; weave physical activity into the errands and leisure things you do together.

•Have calm, enjoyable sit-down family meals. There is a direct correlation between eating together as a family and healthful lifestyle habits in kids. Happy family meals offer structure, support and a good opportunity to connect with your kids.

•Convey a positive body image. How you feel about your body influences how kids feel about theirs. If you have a positive body image, your kids will see that. If you don’t, they know that too. In the best interest of their health, “mums” the word if you’re less than happy about your jiggly thighs or a wiggly tummy.