October 8th is the national Walk to School Day.  The goal is to promote family fitness by encouraging safe walking and/or riding a bicycle to school year round.

Here is a CDC fact:  Only 15% of students walk to school.  40 years ago 42% walked to school.

We have to improve our family health through more exercise and healthy eating.   This is a good way to start incorporating more activity in your child’s habits.  Another good benefit is some gas savings and of course it is environment friendly!

You can register your school’s event or sign up to a resource person for your state.  Register for 2008, http://www.walktoschool-usa.org/

The organization Healthy Kids Challenge is promoting a  national celebration of dance as a healthy activity for the entire family.  Dance for Health™ is an event designed to raise healthy lifestyle awareness and get kids and adults moving through dance.

It is a national fundraising event where proceeds  will be used to support Healthy Kids Challenge initiatives in your community. 65% of the funds raised stay with your school or youth program to further healthy eating and physical activity efforts.

Just set your Dance for Health™ event anytime between October 3rd and October 25th, 2008. Here are all the details  for how to host a Dance for Health ™ event in your area.

I love to dance and think this is a great idea and a way to raise some funds that you can benefit directly from.

Kudos to Desperate Housewives for introducing a storyline about the struggles of having an overweight child.

It really showed in one episode something that parents across America, and globally are facing, childhood obesity.

Surprising, they hit a lot of key challenges face:

• A parent’s denial that their child is overweight is not uncommon.
• How to handle the situation sensitively so that the child does not develop body image issues.
• Conflicts between parents on how to address the issue
• The resistance to discuss health with their child
• attempts to trick the child into exercising and the child’s rebellion
• shopping for the overweight child
• parent’s feelings of concern and doubt
• hearing other parents’ comments about their child
• a parents need to protect their child

Lots of real life struggles.  But one thing that I really loved, was how the father, Carlos, tried to get his child to eat vegetables by drowning it with fattening cheese sauce.  Essentially, taking away all the health benefits.  We laugh, but….

Changing a child’s diet first starts with family changes.  The focus should not be on the child, but on the family.  We need to emphasize the importance of healthy living not weight and clothing size.  And honest discussion as a family to agree and set goals for healthy STEP changes.  Not dramatic life changes that will make it hard to succeed.  But step changes, one step at a time.

We have healthy nutrition goal worksheets (we call them family agreements) and tracking sheets to help you work on one healthy change at a time.

Keep it simple, be patient and stay positive.  If this becomes a negative experience for your child then they will begin to associate “healthy” with “NO fun”.  And let’s not forget, the kids are hearing all about how much fun it is to eat the high sugary, fatty foods.  We have to fight fire with fire or maybe I should say FUN with FUN.

We have to make nutrition and exercise fun to learn about.  That starts with a positive attitude and family creativity.

It’s Friday and I, like so many Americans are worried about this bailout package.  If it passes, what does that mean to our economy, will it solve the problem, or is it just a quick fix, a band-aid?  It is doesn’t pass, then what will happen, will we plummet into a depression?

I feel the stress growing inside from a sense of powerlessness, worry and fear.

It is possible that your children may be hearing much of this news and not really understanding what it all means.   Kids are really sensitive and can feel concern, fear and worry.  So what can we do as parents to help them?  No easy answers here but just some suggestions:

• Depending on age, this could be a great opportunity to talk a little about responsible spending and use of credit.
• Depending on their age, ask them what they are hearing so you can clarify facts and give them some assurance
• Exercise and family activities is another great way to relieve some of that pent up concern and release some of the stress.
• Family activities is a great way to forget about the problems of our country, for a little while, and build up some great memories with the kids.

Hard times often represent an opportunity to bring families closer through communication and taking control of immediate goals that can give us some sense of control.  Healthy family goals, being more active, making positive changes in family nutrition.

I am not sure what will happen with the economy and the banking system.  But  know we can be confident that focusing on healthier eating, healthier living and being more active is something that will pay in short and longterm dividends for the family (pardon the pun)

Have you been moving.  It is not too late.  We are only half way through September so there is still plenty of time to get the family’s activity going.

The YMCA reminds us that September should be STEPember.  These are two simple recommendations your family can do to prevent the 1-2 pound weight gain that occurs for many Americans.

1. Move More – take 2,000 additional steps each day
2. Eat Healthfully – Reduce your daily calorie intake by just 100 calories each day.
To read more about America on the Move, click here.

Well, I guess I should get off this computer and get a movin’ !!

With the continued concern over the health of our children.  Many school districts are beginning to take action.  But my concern is that action is often tied up in “assessment”, “policy writing” and “lack of funding”.

So what can we as parents do.  Well, I think the first step is to find out what kind of physical activity program your child’s school offers.  We know they need an hour a day.  So how much are they getting of structured activity everyday?  every week?  We may not be able to wait for the schools to implement their policies and meetings to figure out when they will implement their new policies.  This could be too long and meanwhile, our  children are growing up.

You may have to find after school activities to get that daily hour in.  Of course there is sports, but sports is not the answer for all kids.  It is not always about competition, how about just plain old fun.  YMCAs are starting to offer after school exercise programs, families can be active together as well.

Check our our new Tips for Getting Active for some good suggestions, ideas and guidelines.

If you have a good way of keeping your family active, please share that with us!!

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

On vacation this week? Look for walking tours. Wherever you are, there’s bound to be an organized or self-guided tour. So hoof it to see the sites. There’s no telling what you may find. It’s the best way to discover those out-of-the-way shops, interesting architectural details, little-known museums, forgotten parks and hidden gardens

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Tan healthy this week. More than 90 percent of all skin cancers are caused by sun exposure – and new cases of skin cancer exceed rates of the breast, prostate, and lung cancer combined. So wear a hat or visor and use sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. And if you’re enjoying water sports, remember to reapply sunscreen often.

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Get wet! Celebrate summer this week by splashing around a pool, a pond, a lake, or the ocean. Swimming laps is a terrific cardiovascular workout. And using handheld aqua weights in the pool can really help firm and tone upper arms

According to the latest study published by the National Institutes of Health, children between the ages of 9 and 15 were not getting the recommended amount of daily activity. According to the the new MyPyramid guidelines, children need at least one hour of activity every day. According to this study, one of the largest and most comprehensive studies done, the activity level dropped sharply for children in this age range.

• At age 9, children averaged roughly 3 hours of moderate to vigorous activity during the week
  • 49 minutes per weekday
  • 35 minutes per weekend

The real concern is the long term effects of low activities level. Children are forming habits that will be harder and harder to break as they get older. This can lead to early weight problems and associated obesity diseases like diabetes and heart disease… at a younger age.

How can we instill the value of exercise in our children at a young age. That is the question. Trying to find an activity or sport that your child really enjoys and can continue into adult is the challenge. Reinforcing the message that daily exercise is so important and needs to be part of a daily routine.

I know for me, it was different with each child. And not easy because I was a working mom. Try different activities to give them a chance to see what they may enjoy. I say activities because not all children like or want to do sports. Whenever possible, family outings can be a great way to promote activity, build family memories and reinforce the importance of daily activities.

To read more about how to get your child more active, click to visit our newsletter for fun activities and exercise tips for kids.