Parents today recognize the importance of feeding their children healthy nutritious foods. The problem is that the cafeteria has become just another franchise; foods aren’t healthy and well-balanced. Vending machines offer chips, cookies, sodas and a myriad of other junk foods that children shouldn’t be eating. This creates a challenge to parents that many have decided to ignore.

Assuming that it’s a lost cause, some parents have rationalized that the rest of their meals are healthy and nutritious so why worry about what their children are eating for lunch. This is a dangerous misconception considering what is being served in the majority of school cafeterias.

What’s being served?
Although programs have begun to appear over the past few years addressing the problem, the fact is that not much has changed. The majority of entrees served on school campuses include pizza, Sloppy Joes, cheeseburgers, spaghetti, hot dogs and corn dogs.

It’s rare that you will see anything made with fish and chicken; unless it’s fish sticks and chicken nuggets, which contain processed meat that is breaded and deep fried. This is not nutritious.

The Traditional Sandwich
Commonly found in the packed lunch is a sandwich; the problem is that bad choices can be made here as well. White bread bought at the store contains bleached flour. And don’t be fooled by the word “enriched”, as adding back a portion of the vitamins removed during the bleaching process doesn’t undo the damage.

Additional poor sandwich choices include peanut butter which has hydrogenated oil; and as much as parents want to believe differently, jelly is not a source of fruit but is high in processed sugar. Pre-packaged, processed meats and cheeses should also be avoided as they are high in chemicals and salt.

Better sandwich choices include whole wheat bread with a lot of grains, and almond butter instead of peanut butter. Also, be creative. Try to put vegetables into a sandwich as much as possible.

Another great sandwich option is a healthy wrap. This can be done by purchasing whole grain tortillas and wrapping up healthier protein and vegetable sources.

For instance, baked turkey or chicken with lettuce, cucumbers, sprouts, red peppers – maybe even some beans sprinkled inside make a tasty protein.

Perfect Packing
Part of putting together a healthy packed lunch is having the right storage containers. Be sure to use an insulated lunch box that will hold up to four small food containers and a thermos.

When purchasing the containers you should buy at least two sets; this will help you to avoid having to wash them each night. As for the thermos, be sure that it is the wide mouth variety; this will be necessary if you wish to use it for beans or soup.

The Beverage
When it comes to healthy lunches, milk, juice and soda should be avoided at all cost. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that juice consumption is contributing to cavities and gastrointestinal issues for children.

The best choice is a small bottle of water: open the bottle, remove an extra tablespoon or two of the water to avoid expansion problems when freezing, then put it in the freezer with the lid off. In the morning replace the lid then put it in the lunchbox. This will not only be a healthy beverage at lunch, but will succeed in keeping the other items in the lunch box nice and cold.

The Entrée
Great sources of protein that can be put in a small lunch container are cubes of baked chicken, turkey or ham. This does not include processed meat that you buy at your grocery store; but should be prepared at home and cut into bite sized pieces. Remember that you can freeze these in small portions and use them randomly over several weeks.

A hard boiled egg is also a great source of protein. And don’t forget that wide mouthed thermos you purchased; beans are an excellent source of protein and can be served in a thermos with organic tortilla chips for dipping. You may also consider providing your child with some of last night’s stew heated up.

The Side Dishes
Most children don’t consider a meal as lunch unless there are chips and cookies though these must be avoided at all cost. The side dishes for your children should be tasty green vegetables; remember that greener is better.

Fruit is also a great side dish, but while it is healthy, it is also a source of sugar and not as rich in vitamins and minerals as vegetables. Serve fruit just once for every five servings of vegetables. Remember that it should be fresh, organically grown fruit; fruit roll-ups are not fruit.

Also consider inviting your child to help you prepare vegetable soup or vegetarian chili. These can be put in a thermos and taken to school over the span of a week.

Consider putting together a grain salad. This can include couscous or steamed long grain brown rice with chopped cucumbers, red peppers, baby carrots, or any other similar vegetable. You may also choose to marinate the chopped vegetables in a salad dressing for a few days prior to preparing the salad. Drain the vegetables and then mix them in. This will add moisture to the salad without having to add excess dressing.

Going Organic
Organically grown foods are slightly more expensive but worth it. The price of providing foods that are free of pesticides, growth hormones, hydrogenated oils and artificial additives and preservatives is high.

It’s important to note that organic foods are also more filling. By providing your child with smaller portions of healthier foods you’ll be spending the same amount of money without providing them with the cheaper foods. These cheaper foods are not just less expensive, but they lack nutrition. You’re paying less but you’re getting less in return.

Create a Menu
No one knows better than your own child what they’re going to eat, so let them help you prepare their lunches. Remember that if they like what their eating they will bring home an empty lunchbox.

The best way to accomplish this is to insure that their options are only healthy choices but with variety. This can be made easy by creating a mix-and-match menu. Using a white board, poster board or similar display, draw out five columns and label them for each day of the week.

Then using color-coded post-it notes, index cards or by printing on colored paper, create a square for each lunch option. For example, their protein options would be on blue, vegetables would be on green and fruits would be on yellow.

Every Sunday, let your child help you prepare their menu by picking the appropriate cards and placing them in the column for each day. You and your child can then begin prepackaging those options that can be frozen or stored for a few days.

In Summary
It’s important that your children like their lunches but it’s more important that their bodies get the vitamins, minerals and nutrients they need to develop and grow properly.

As parents we want what’s best for our children: a warm, loving home, a good education, all the things that we didn’t have, all wrapped up with a bright future. This is all well and good, unless we become so focused on our desires that we forget what’s inherently best for the child.

What is Hyper-Parenting?
This phrase was coined to describe a dangerous trend being seen in the past several years. Parents in middle and upper-middle class homes are becoming so involved in every detail of their child’s academic, athletic and social lives that they’re not allowing their children to just be children. They’re unnecessarily augmenting their environment and over-scheduling every minute of their day.
These parents have forgotten that childhood is the preparation, not the event. Children aren’t supposed to be perfect, well-rounded, miniature adults; they’re supposed to be children.

Over-Activities
It’s not unusual for a mother of two pre-adolescents to never have a free minute on a weekday afternoon. With all the extras on the calendar many parents are running their children to as many as four extra-curricular activities a week, including:

Sports and travel teams
Clubs
Dance lessons
Music and art lessons
Additional tutoring

Individually these activities are valuable, but combined they have a tendency to leave parents and children feeling overwhelmed.
Some parents claim that they involve their children in these activities to avoid the risk of boredom. What they are forgetting is that boredom is a catalyst for creativity. Boredom can fuel a child’s imagination, while over-scheduling the child doesn’t allow them the opportunity to exercise their innate ability to entertain themselves.

Competitive-Parenting
Raising the perfect child has almost become a competitive sport, with the prize being speaking early, qualifying for gifted and talented programs, or earning admission to an elite university. These things, and not a well-balanced and happy child, have become the new measure of parental accomplishment.
According to Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D., “The competitive parent reacts to the latest science reported in the media – which professionals know is of dubious validity – by broadcasting Mozart into their infant’s nurseries to stimulate mathematical ability, enrolling toddlers in organized gymnastics programs (to fine-tune large motor development), and putting children too young to comprehend the rules in competitive team sports. They insist that kids who are barely awake sit for 7 AM piano lessons and that high-schoolers manicure their resumes to fit profiles elite colleges supposedly are looking for.” [1]

Many parents may recognize these characteristics in themselves but, despite the fact that they know their children are over-scheduled, they will choose to keep up the pace for fear that cutting back may harm their beloved child’s future.

Healthy Skepticism
Parents today lack conviction in their own ability to parent; mostly due to the latest parenting expert’s advice. There was a time when Dr. Spock urged parents to trust themselves and their instincts, but that’s not the case today when experts routinely imply that every decision made for a child will have critical future implications. With their tone of urgency and authority they raise parental anxiety to a fever pitch that brings out the worst in all concerned. What happened to taking a little time to consider the information being provided? Every “scientific report” or “research study” isn’t going to be the one thing that is going to turn a family around yet parents respond like it is, making immediate and drastic changes to their children’s lifestyles. It’s wiser to develop a healthy amount of skepticism because these “experts” aren’t alleviating stress but are actually adding pressure to an already tense situation. If this expertise works then implement it, but if it doesn’t, this isn’t a sign of failure as a parent; there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all expert advice.

The End Results
We have to wonder how this kind of life is affecting the children. What are the children feeling when faced with an endless parade of activities and a constant schedule? Consider what damage this could be doing to a developing self-esteem. The subliminal message that kids are getting from this constant scrutiny and hyperactivity is that they are inadequate in their current unpolished state. They convince themselves that if they were acceptable just as they are, then they wouldn’t need all of this improvement. They begin to feel inadequate and inferior, like there is something innately wrong with them. Children need to be taught at an early age that it’s okay to be “unproductive”. When a child grows up with a schedule that has them on the run from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM, they have a tendency to be workaholics, keeping this same hectic schedule well into adulthood.

Parents need to recognize that little minds have to be allowed “down time” such as:

Reading together
Taking walks
Shooting hoops
Playing board games
Sitting and talking

It is during this down time that parents and children can truly discover and enjoy each other; boosting children’s self-esteem and helping them recognize their value.

Conclusion
Hyper-parenting has become a problem for both the child and the parent. The child can suffer from severe self-esteem issues while the parent, in their desire to do what’s best for their child and help them to grow up healthy and happy, may actually be creating the opposite effect.
Every child wants to be loved and as a parent the best we can do for our children is to love them for who they are: praising their accomplishments and nurturing them where they’re weak.

With the weather turning colder, your family will be spending less time outside and more time inside with the heater running. Your body’s natural immunity against common illnesses will be put to the test now more than ever and it’s no wonder that this is the time of year when you and your children are most likely to come down with a cold or the flu.

What is Immunity?
Immunity is defined as having resistance to infection or a specific disease; and your immune system is the network within your body that recognizes and destroys invading or foreign bacteria, viruses and germs.
The immune system is like no other bodily system, as it is not just one organ but an interaction between many organs, structures and substances within the body. Your immune system has the task of patrolling and protecting the body, and does this using white blood cells, bone marrow, the lymphatic system, specialized cells and body tissues, and specialized substances that are present in the blood. All of these components must work together to protect the body against viral or bacterial infections and disease.

Immunity Status
It’s not difficult to tell when your immune system is being overly taxed; one of the first symptoms is going to be fatigue. Other symptoms to look for include:

1. Chronic infections
2. Frequent colds and flu
3. Frequent cold sores
4. Sore or swollen lymph glands

A poorly functioning immune system can be caused by many factors. These can include any of the following:

1. Emotional state/stress
2. Abrupt lifestyle changes
3. Dietary habits/nutritional intake
4. Surgical/medical treatments
5. Prescription medications

When your immune system is not functioning at its best, any exposure to germs, bacterial or viral infections can lead to a serious health risk.

Herbal Remedies
The most popular natural remedy for boosting the immune system is the herbal supplement. These are Mother Nature’s cure for a poorly functioning or over-taxed immune system.
• Astragalus Root is used to treat viral infections including the common cold. It helps to stimulate white blood cells and protects from invading organisms. Additionally, it enhances the production of an important natural compound produced by the body to fight viruses known as interferon

• Bayberry has antibiotic effects for sore throat, coughs, colds and the flu
• Garlic is effective against many types of bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi, as well as having anti-inflammatory and astringent properties
• Aswagandha is a general stimulant of the immune system; this herb is known to counteract the effects of stress and promote general well-being
• Ginseng is popularly known to provide support to the immune system
• Goldenseal strengthens the immune system, cleanses and detoxifies the body, and has antibacterial properties
• Echinacea is an herb that will help to stimulate a variety of immune cells

Dietary Changes
Another wise approach to boosting your immunity naturally is to consider your diet and nutritional intake. What you consume daily can either improve or weaken your immune system.

To strengthen your immune system, increase:

1. Fruits, beans, seeds, whole grains and nuts
2. Vegetables high in carotenes such as: yellow and orange squash, dark greens, carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, red peppers and tomatoes
3. Leafy green vegetables such as: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, etc.
4. Healthy protein (fish, chicken, etc.)
5. Red wine and other antioxidant rich foods

Avoiding the following will also help to give your immune system a boost:

1. Red meat
2. Refined sugars and bleached or enriched flour
3. Dairy (specifically milk)

Other Tips and Recommendations
To help support your immune system and keep it operating at peak efficiency, consider the following healthy lifestyle choices for you and your family:

• Increase your water intake: you should be drinking at least 8-10 glasses of water per day to boost the immune system and flush out toxins

• Exercise regularly: daily physical activity for 30 minutes a day will improve your overall health and give your immune system the boost it needs

• De-stress: be sure to include regular relaxation and down-time into your weekly schedule as stress will quickly wear down your body’s natural defenses

The Chiropractic Factor
Your immune system is a bodily system and, as such, is controlled by your central nervous system. When your spine is out of alignment or subluxated, your nervous system suffers and this will affect all of your body’s natural systems, including your immune system.
Your Doctor of Chiropractic is the only healthcare professional dedicated to the understanding that a properly functioning central nervous system will improve your and your family’s overall health. Many patients report an improvement in their family’s quality of life after beginning wellness Chiropractic care.

For more information please visit:
www.icpa4kids.org/links/family.htm
www.mothering.com
www.wholefoods.com
www.naturalhealthnewsletters.com

It seems that this particular time of year has become synonymous with “stress”. From November through early January, our lives become a hodge-podge of special meal preparations, shopping and traveling. It can be a little overwhelming and very taxing on our health; yet it doesn’t have to be. With just a few simple decisions, you can have a wellness holiday.

Holidays at Home
Probably one of the most stressful events during this time of year is the “family gathering” especially if you’ve been elected to have it at your house. This can mean days of cleaning and hours of cooking.
Some ideas to help avoid this added stress include the following:

• Don’t try to be Martha Stewart – Ask everyone to bring a dish and offer to be the one who prepares the turkey
• Ignore the heavy-duty cleaning – If your house is clean overall, then who cares if the baseboards are a little dusty?
• Rent a hall for larger family gatherings – many American Legion or community and church halls are available for rent even if you aren’t a member and include full use of the kitchen facilities.

This is supposed to be the most joyous time of year, not the most stressful. Be willing to admit that you want to enjoy your family, not resent the work involved in getting together, and seek a compromise that makes everyone happy.

Holidays Away
For many, the holiday will include a long distance trip by automobile. If this traveling includes children between the ages of two and ten you’re going to have your hands full. You want to arrive with all the children alive and your sanity intact, so here are a few helpful hints to avoid the stress of traveling with little ones.
“Are we there yet?” The four words in the dictionary that, when strung together, will irritate a parent in a matter of hours. Yet, if you’re traveling with children, can this question be avoided? Yes, it can.

For the younger child, draw a map on a piece of construction paper that gives the child things to look for on your trip. Is there a particular gas station that you always use on this trip? Draw it on the map. Is there a rest stop where you stretch your legs? Draw it on the map. Any landmarks that the child will recognize should be put on the map. As you pass each landmark remind the child that it is on their map and that they should mark it off along the way.

With the older child who can tell time you’ll want to provide them with a digital clock and a clipboard. Go online to Mapquest or Google Maps and print a map with directions from your home to your final destination. Help the child to figure out how long the trip will take (this is usually provided on the map) and put the map and a blank piece of paper on the clipboard.

The child will want to keep track of each stop for gas or food and how long that stop takes, and then add it to the final destination time. This will keep them occupied and ensure that they won’t need to ask, “How much further?”

Holiday Parties
Whether at home or away the obligatory holiday parties are going to include the usual fares; many of these foods and, for some, alcoholic beverages, will contribute to stress and fatigue during what is already a busy time of year.

If you want to avoid some common holiday pitfalls, consider the following:

• Protein before the party – Make sure to have a small amount of protein before you leave for the party (or the guests arrive). This will give you energy and help you to avoid the temptation of over-indulging in unhealthy foods.
• Water, Alcoholic Beverage, Water – Alternate every alcoholic drink with a glass of water before and after; this will help to eliminate a majority of the empty calories found in most alcoholic beverages.
• Send home the leftovers – Make sure that each of your guests leaves with a small plate of food or throw away the leftovers. This will help you and your family avoid eating the same unhealthy foods.
• Relax and Rejuvenate – Pick one day a week to have Holiday Movie Night and spend time with your family watching “Miracle of 34th Street”, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, “The Santa Clause”, etc.
• Don’t forget routine exercise – It’s really easy to say, “I’ll get back to it after the first of the year,” but the year goes fast. Whatever you’re doing now you should keep doing through the holidays and, if you don’t have a routine, now’s a great time to start. Just walking ten minutes a day can increase your health and wellness while giving you ten minutes to plan your schedule or menu for the day.

The Chiropractic Factor
Your Family Wellness Chiropractor is dedicated to helping you maintain a healthy spine and nervous system. If you’re not careful this time of year can be exhausting, and stress works against your body. Take time today to speak with your Doctor of Chiropractic about ways that you can stay healthy and stress free this holiday season and make sure to keep up with your routine adjustments.

Top Five Tips for a Stress Free Holiday
The most important part of having a stress free holiday is to be healthy. So here are Dr. Davis’ top five tips for a healthy holiday.
#5 Get plenty of rest – A restful, rejuvenating sleep can mean a stronger healthier immune system
#4 Delegate – Learn to share the load. Your tasks may not be done as well as if you had been in charge, but at least they will be done and with fewer things on your list
#3 Plan Ahead – Expect the unexpected. Always have two or three extra gifts (good for both men and women) wrapped and ready to go for that unexpected visitor
#2 Say NO – You can’t be everything to everybody. It seems so wrong to say such a thing during this time of year, but you are only one person with one family and you can only be in one place at one time. There comes a time when you need to be able to just say NO.
#1 Get adjusted – Make your regular Chiropractic checkups a priority and stay healthy for the holidays.

Any parent with a newborn to preschooler knows about car seats; a necessary evil that comes with any automobile trip. Whether it is a short jaunt to the grocery store or a three hour drive to visit relatives, the child restraint system is required by law for your child’s safety. But how safe is it?

NHTSA Recommendations
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that for your child’s safety you should consider the following guidelines:

• Infants (birth to one year of age or weighing at least 22 pounds) require a rear-facing convertible seat
• Toddlers (over one year of age and weighing 20-40 pounds) can be in a forward-facing convertible seat.
• Editor’s Note: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children remain rear-facing until they are too big – which means they are either too heavy (usually 30-35 pounds for most convertible car seats) or too tall (there is less than one inch of space between the top of a child’s head and the top of the car seat). Note that the length of the child’s legs or the fact that they touch the back of the vehicle seat are not safety issues nor comfort factors in terms of keeping a child rear-facing.
• Young Children (ages 4 – 8 years, unless at least 4’8” tall and weighing more than 40 pounds) need a seat belt-positioning booster seat in a forward-facing seat position
• Any children ages 12 and younger should ride in the backseat at all times.

Additional Features
The pursuit of the perfect car seat has created a variety of systems, checks and balances in the hope of making our children’s safety a little more secure.

LATCH, an acronym for the “Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children” system is one of the latest attempts to decrease the problems related to improperly installed car seats. As of September 2000, all new automobiles (except convertibles) are required to have a special attachment that secure the tether strap found on most new child restraint systems. The purpose of the adjustable straps is to secure the seat to the rear window shelf, floor or back of the vehicle seat. The strap will keep the top of the car seat from moving too far forward, reducing the possibility of head injuries during crashes.

In September 2002, a second feature was required: a lower attachment bar with a matching feature on a car seat (buckle, hook or connector) that snaps onto the lower anchor bar f the vehicle. You would think that with all of these new safety measure being taken and car seat laws in every state, children would be completely safe during an auto accident: you could be wrong.

Still Number One
Despite all of the latest changes to car seat safety, injuries caused by motor vehicle collisions remain the leading cause of death in children 2 to 14. It is also the leading cause of disabling injuries in that age group. Just as a seat belt is meant to restrain an adult during an auto accident, the car seat has the same purpose; they are called child restraint systems not child life preservers for that very reason. Parents mistakenly believe that if their child is in a car seat that they are immune from injury during a motor vehicle collision; when, in reality, the purpose of the car seat is only to lessen the degree of risk to the child.

Child Injury
Most insurance companies and many parents mistakenly believe that a child in a car seat is somehow invulnerable. The parent will rush to the chiropractor immediately after an automobile accident to get adjusted, not realizing that their child may be suffering the same discomfort.

Why is this? Generally, if a child doesn’t complain of pain, it never occurs to a pediatrician or parent that any injury was sustained during the collision. Due to their inability to communicate their pain or discomfort, symptoms such as irritability, lethargy, restlessness, night terrors, poor focus and/or appetite, change in bowel movements and being very clingy, may be the only signs that an infant or child has suffered an injury. It is important to realize that even a child in a safety seat can be injured. They’re not being thrown around the car or into the back of the seat in front of them, but they are still suffering from the impact. Their body is held to the car by the restraint but their head and arms are thrown forward, which can cause mild to severe damage to their spine and nervous system.

Even the best-positioned and properly installed car seat can only afford your child a certain amount of protection from injury.

The Safer Car Seat
Despite all the best intentions, there is no perfect car seat, safety seat or child restraint system because they all require installation. The NHTSA reports that more than 80% of all car seats are improperly installed and when properly installed, they reduce the risk of childhood mortality by 54% when compared to a child riding completely unrestrained.

In Summary
No car seat, no matter how well it is installed, will guarantee that your child will not suffer injury in an auto accident. If you and your child have recently been involved in a motor vehicle collision, contact your doctor or family wellness chiropractor to schedule a brief examination. It is better to have your child checked and find out that there is nothing wrong, than to assume they are fine and find out later that there was severe damage done to their still developing spine.

Read the Clever Parents interview with The Car Seat Lady: Surpising Information About Car Seats & Safety, published in May 2006.

It’s the most natural thing in the world, but if you’re considering conceiving for the first time then you probably have a lot of questions.

Reproductive Health
One of the first things to consider when contemplating pregnancy is your reproductive health.

• Do you have regular menstrual cycles?
• Are you seeing your chiropractor regularly?

Yes, the two are most definitely connected since a healthy nervous system may be directly related to a healthy hormonal and menstrual cycle, and a healthy menstrual cycle is key to conception.

A Wellness Prenatal Strategy
A true wellness prenatal strategy begins six to eight months prior to conception. Do not wait until after you’re pregnant to prepare for a healthy pregnancy. It’s important to make a conscious decision to prepare your body. The reality is that most prenatal care is started too late; and your first stop should be a prenatal wellness appointment with your chiropractor six to nine months prior to pregnancy.

Take fifteen minutes and discuss your desire to have a baby with a chiropractor. Allow them to help you consider things that you might never have considered otherwise. Such as:

• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Decreasing stress
• Prenatal Chiropractic Care

Nutritional Recommendations
You don’t have to eat tofu to be healthy, but what you do eat is important when considering pregnancy. Take the time to keep track of what you eat and drink the week prior to your prenatal wellness appointment and allow your chiropractor to make suggestions. It may be that you’re eating perfectly and that your nutritional needs are being met, but we’re talking about the nutritional needs of you and your future child here. It may be that a few minor adjustment need to be made and these can include:

• Decrease and eliminate caffeine, sodas, and artifical sweetners
• Increase water intake
• Decrease fast and processed foods
• Increase fresh organic fruits and vegetables
• Decrease junk food, white flour and processed or refined sugar
• Increase healthy snacks; including brown grains and whole bread
• Decrease skipped meal times
• Switch to six small meals!

Healthy eating habits are a vital part of a healthy pregnancy – you can’t have one without the other.

Exercise Plan
When monitoring your food intake for a week, take a moment to monitor your exercise as well. Write down what kind of exercise you are doing regularly. Pregnancy doesn’t mean that you have to make an extreme lifestyle change. If you exercise regularly the truth is that you can continue to do so up to within days of your delivery, depending on the kind of exercising you’re doing, of course. If you like to go for a walk three or four times a week then continue to do so.

If you aren’t into moving much then it’s time to change your prenatal lifestyle. Start with a short walk twice a week, twenty minutes is a great start. Then in a few weks increase it to three to four days a week. It may not seem like much but it will make a huge difference in the long run.

Walking 30-45 minutes three or four days a week can increase your stamina, raise your metabolism, lower your cholesterol and increase your overall health. Nothing is better for a woman preparing for pregnancy. Other great exercise ideas include:

• Upper body weight training – this will be helpful later for breastfeeding and llifting the baby carrier
• Yoga – flexibility and breathing control
• Water Aerobics

Dr. Davis’ Top Five Prenatal Tips
5. Journal your nutritional intake and exercise output.
4. Start a walking program (at least 20 minutes a day two days a week to start).
3. Decrease stress, consider joining a yoga class.
2. Begin taking prenatal vitamins prior to pregnancy.
1. Maintain regular chiropractic care prior to conception and throughout your pregnancy.

From toddlers to teens we need to be concerned about what choices our children are making when they’re thirsty. Even noncarbonated drinks, such as fruit drinks, ades, iced teas, etc., are adding empty calories to our children’s diets every year. So, what are our children reaching for in their thirst?

• Sports drinks
• Energy drinks
• Soft Drinks
• Juice

If you have a teen, it may be possible they already have a Starbucks addiction. Consider what your kids are consuming and make appropriate changes. It’s a matter of health.

Sports Drinks

Lauded as the best way to re-hydrate, these drinks are advertised as full of electrolytes and all “that an active body needs”. What they don’t tell you is that these drinks contain high fructose corn syrup (sugar) and unhealthy additives.

Researchers at the University of Maryland exposed teeth enamel to a variety of sports beverages, including energy drinks, fitness water and sports drinks. They found that the damage to the enamel was up to eleven times greater with the sports drinks than any other refreshment because of the acid from the additives [1].

Energy Drinks

Sports drinks on steroids, these are a drink of choice for many teenagers. With late nights studying and getting up early for school, often teenagers will reach for this canned “pick me up” to help them get through after-school activities and studies.

Energy drink commercials are geared toward our youth, the magic potion that will give them the energy to get the job done but at what expense to their health? For example, the Red Bull drink gets its energy-giving powers from a mixture of caffeine, taurine (an amino acid) and a special sugar, glucuronolactone [2]. That’s it, just caffeine, amino acids and sugar.

Soft Drinks

The absolute worst of the caffeinated bunch, soft drinks are nothing more than carbonated, liquid candy bars. Would you allow your child, adolescent or teen to eat three or four candy bars a day? Of course not, yet up to 13 percent of the average teenager’s caloric intake in a day is from drinks (carbonated sodas, and non-carbonated sports, energy and juice drinks). Perhaps it’s no surprise that researchers in Massachusetts found a direct link between obesity and increased soft drink intake.

Soft drinks are a problem for our children, not just for what they’re adding to their diet but what they aren’t leaving room for. What is your child not drinking because he or she is drinking a can of Coke or Pepsi? The child that reaches for a soft drink is not reaching for a glass of water to quench their thirst.

What is Caffeine?

Considered to be the most widely used drug in the world, caffeine is a stimulant to the central nervous system that causes increased heart rate and alertness. Caffeine is found in tea leaves, coffee beans, chocolate, most soft drinks, pain relievers and other over-the-counter pills.

When taken in very moderate amounts, many people feel that caffeine increases their mental alertness but higher doses of caffeine have been known to cause the following:

• Anxiety
• Dizziness
• Headaches
• “The Jitters”
• Insomnia

Caffeine is addictive and can cause withdrawal symptoms when consumption is abruptly halted. These can include but are not limited to:

• Severe headaches
• Muscle aches
• Temporary depression or irritability.

What does this mean for the teenager reaching for the energy drink? Although he or she may think she’s doing a good thing, the caffeine is actually working against the body. First, by increasing the need to urinate, which leads to dehydration. Second, by causing the body to lose calcium and potassium, resulting in sore muscles and delayed recovery times after exercise.

Juice

Apple Juice, Grape Juice, Orange Juice and more, these are certainly better choices than sports or caffeinated drinks, but not much. The truth is that the majority of juices found in the average household are not actually 100% fruit juice but fruit drinks, with the worst culprit being the juice pouch or juice box.

Fruit drinks are nothing more than water, sugar and artificial flavoring. They have little or no nutritional value; and yet, even the 100% fruit juices can be a problem when not given in moderation.

The average baby bottle is 8 to 10 oz; ask yourself how many full bottles of juice you give your little one each day? How many ounces of fruit juice is your little one drinking each day?

In a recent report, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that children are consuming too much fruit juice and not enough fruit [3].

“A 6-oz glass of fruit juice equals 1 fruit serving. Fruit juice offers no nutritional advantage over whole fruit. In fact, fruit juice lacks the fiber of whole fruit. Kilocalories for kilocalorie, fruit juice can be consumed more quickly than whole fruit.”

In response to a growing concern they set forth the following guidelines:

• Juice should to be given to infants before 6 months of age
• Children should not be given juice from bottles or transportable covered cups that allow them to consume juice easily throughout the day
• Children should not be given fruit juice before bed
• Juice intake should be limited to
o 4 to 6 oz for children 1 to 6 years old
o 8 to 12 oz for children 7 to 18 years old

Considering the fact that a drinking glass holds at least 12 oz., an average glass of 100% apple juice is the equivalent of three apples. What child needs to eat three apples, much less in the space of ten minutes?

While fruit juices are certainly a better choice than the other options out there, the best choice is water with juice being given in moderation.

What can I do?

Face it, most children don’t like drinking water and they aren’t going to be thrilled about giving up their sodas, sports drinks and juice. But there are a few things you can do to make this easier for them to accept.

1. Take all sports drinks, soft drinks and fruit drinks out of your home, leaving only water and 100% fruit juice as an option.

2. If this seems too extreme, make it a point to go with your thirsty child to retrieve their refreshment. Then, don’t open the refrigerator asking, “What do you want to drink?” but instead ask, “Would you like water or a glass of juice?” If they’ve already had their allotted glass of juice for the day then don’t give them a choice, just hand them a glass of water.

References

1. www.agd.org/media/2005/feb/sport_bev.asp
2. www.ohioaap.org/softdrinks.htm
3. The Use and Misuse of Fruit Juice in Pediatrics; Pediatrics, Vol 107, No. 5, May 2001, pp. 1210-1213

The Well-Balanced Child

Every parent wants to raise the perfect child: healthy, happy, loved and respected with high achievements and even higher goals. We want our children to “have the things we didn’t have” and to achieve their dreams. This is all well and good, unless we become so focused on our desires for our child that we forget what’s inherently best for the child.

Hyper-Parenting

“Hyper-Parenting” is a phrase that has been coined to describe a dangerous trend in child rearing in middle and upper-middle class homes. In these families, parents become overly involved in every detail of their children’s academic, athletic and social lives. They unnecessarily augment their children’s environment and over-schedule them.

In parents’ heartfelt desire to help children succeed, they hinder the kids by not allowing them to be, simply, children.

Over-Activities

Children today are getting so much more than just basic schooling. Many participate in several of the following extra-curricular activities:
• Sports
• Clubs
• Music lessons
• Art lessons
• Foreign language lessons
• Necessary tutoring
• Internet

Individually these activities are valuable but combined they can leave parents and children frazzled.

Some parents claim that they involve their children in these activities to avoid the risk of boredom. [1] What they are forgetting is that boredom is a catalyst for creativity. Boredom can fuel a child’s imagination; while over-scheduling the child doesn’t allow them the opportunity to exercise their innate ability to entertain themselves.

Competitive-Parenting

Raising the perfect child has almost become a competitive sport, with the prize being speaking early, qualifying for gifted and talented programs, or earning admission to an elite university. These things, and not a well-balanced and happy child, have become the measure of parental accomplishment.

Many parents may recognize these characteristics in themselves but, despite the fact that they know their children are over-scheduled, many parents will choose to keep up the pace for fear that cutting back may harm their beloved child’s future.

The Pressure

Where is this pressure coming from? Why do parents feel this overwhelming drive to push their children to not only succeed but to excel? There are several different factors, the first being the latest parenting expert’s advice. There was a time when Dr. Spock urged parents to trust themselves and their instincts. Not so today, when experts imply that each decision made for children will have crucial future implications and, with its tone of urgency and authority, raises parental anxiety to a fever pitch and brings out the worst in all concerned.

The pressure also comes from the schools that find themselves at the other end of a pass-the-buck relay race to produce the best and most highly educated children. They have to show results for those tax dollars they’ve been receiving and they react to the pressure by placing higher demands on the children, usually in the guise of increased homework that is supposed to enhance future performance. [3]

The End Results

We have to wonder how this kind of life is affecting the children. What are the children feeling when faced with an endless parade of activities? Consider what damage this could be doing to a developing self-esteem. The subliminal message that kids are getting from this constant scrutiny and hyperactivity is that they are inadequate in their current unpolished state. They convince themselves that if they were acceptable just as they are, then they wouldn’t need all of this extra enrichment. They begin to feel inadequate and inferior; this results in children spending more time buried in the Gameboy, Nintendo, or latest computer games. Taken to the extreme these children will sometimes go so far as to drop out of school; feeling that they’ll never measure up anyway they quit trying. [2]

It’s clear that possibly hyper-parenting may be a contributing factor to the increased incidence of teen-age depressions, substance abuses and other forms of acting out.

Conclusion

It’s time for parents to realize that their child may not be the next prima ballerina, concert violinist, quarterback, infielder or President of the United States, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t have equally fulfilling lives. What a lot of parents don’t realize is that even without all of the extra-curricular activities their children are well on their way to being everything they could hope for and more.

Ten Recommendations for the Over-Scheduled Family

10. In a family with three or more children, each child should have just one outside activity – this will sometimes mean choosing between two favorite activities.
9. To add an activity the child must give up a current activity.
8. Set family nights on your calendar and make them a priority.
7. Help your child learn to say “no” to activities that don’t really interest them; make it a point not to live vicariously through your children.
6. Do not say “yes” to any new activity for yourself or your child without careful consideration.
5. Assess your irritability quotient. How often are you yelling at the kids to hurry up because you’re running late to a function?
4. Resolve to eat dinner together as a family every night. This may take some time but it’s worth the effort.
3. Schedule “goof-off” time for your family. Give your child down time to spend on a hobby or just playing outside.
2. Make spending time together as a family every week a priority. Go to the park, the batting cages, the zoo, the museum, etc. at least once a week.
1. Get adjusted regularly and ask your family Chiropractor for advice on how to better schedule your children.

References:

1. A Little Boredom is Healthy by David Elkind enews.tufts.edu/stories/083002BoredomHealthy.htm
2. The Overscheduled Child – Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap by Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D. and Nicole Wise (Griffin 2001)
3. Reclaiming Childhood: Letting Children Be Children in Our Achievement-Oriented Society by William Crain

Recommended Reading:

Putting Family First: Successful Strategies for Reclaiming Family Life in a Hurry-Up World by William J. Doherty

Reclaiming Childhood: Letting Children Be Children in Our Achievement-Oriented Society by William Crain

The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon by David Elkind

The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-parenting Trap by Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D. and Nicole Wise