Last Monday I had a meeting with my son's teachers to set up a plan to help him succeed at school this year. My son has some residual emotional issues left over from his years in foster care; his anxieties can generate some behavior issues in school. In addition, he has ADHD which creates many classroom challenges.

Though I know he's a difficult student to have in class, I always hope his teachers see how bright and creative he is. My son has enormous potential and possesses one of the most brilliantly free-thinking minds I've ever encountered. Luckily, his teachers this year have already noticed that about him and they're ready and willing to work with him and help him succeed.

Since meeting with them, I've been searching for other tips and tricks to help my son succeed in class. This article has some great points. However, it's missing an important component -- exercise.

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Just pulled an elementary school newsletter from my kid's backpack and as always, there's a blurb about health featured on one of the pages, not too far from the print-out of the cafeteria lunch menu, in all of its unhealthy glory -- corn dogs, country fried steak, and pepperoni pizza are some of the school's staples. I guess I can't have it all -- a healthy newsletter and a healthy lunch menu. At least some of what comes from school is nutritionally sound.

Don't reward kids' good behavior with food, says our school PTA -- especially not candy, soda, and other sweet stuff. These rewards produce short-term behavior changes and long-term health implications. The folks at the Action for Healthy Kids Virginia say to use the following prizes for your pint-sized ones -- they'll inspire good behavior over the long haul and might result in better school performance too.

• Read a favorite book together.
• Play a challenging board game together.
• Take a special trip to a museum or park.
• Listen to music of your child's choice -- and dance.
• Work together on a project of your child's choosing.
• Play an outdoor game together -- try a water balloon toss or snowball toss, hide-and-seek, or tag
• Create a treasure box of small items, like stickers, pencils, and sidewalk chalk, and let your well-behaved kiddo choose a token.

Or, you could reward your kids by allowing them to pack their own healthy lunches -- no corn dogs that way.

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America runs on Dunkin', at least that's what the advertisements for Dunkin' Donuts coffee tell us. And if it's not Dunkin' Donuts, it's Starbucks, Seattle's Best, The Coffee Bean, or Tim Horton's that provides us with our daily cup of joe. However, our friends across the pond apparently still prefer to get their caffeine fix from the more traditional spot of tea. Perhaps making this switch is something us Yanks should consider, since researchers have discovered that drinking tea may help reduce stress.

In a U.K. study, researchers had a group of men drink either 4 cups of black tea daily. Another group drank a placebo beverage that contained the same amount of caffeine. After six weeks, the men were asked to engage in stressful activities while scientists kept record of their behavior and anxiety. It turned out that the tea drinkers had 20 percent lower stress levels than the men drinking the caffeinated placebo. What's more, the tea drinking men stated that they also felt more relaxed.

Don't worry, if you make the switch to tea, it doesn't mean that you also have to start calling soccer football, using the letter U when spelling certain words that normally wouldn't contain it, or insist that Oasis is still the greatest band in the world.

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My son has ADHD and I know how important a good breakfast is for him. When he gets a nutritious breakfast -- preferably with some whole grains -- and gets good exercise in the morning, he's always more focused and better able to control his behavior. Previous research has confirmed what I (and probably every other parent) knew: Breakfast does a kid's body -- and mind -- good.

A new study supports this previous finding and takes it one step further. It turns out that, while beneficial for all, the benefits of breakfast vary in boys and girls. Researchers had half of students in the study eat a standardized breakfast while the other half didn't eat breakfast. All students later took a test to measure cognitive ability and mood. A week later, the test was repeated except the previous non-breakfast eaters ate a morning meal and vice versa.

While there was measurable improvement in focus, all of the students who ate breakfast reported feeling more alert. In addition, boys reported having an elevated mood and the boys performed better on visuospatial memory tests.

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I'm thinking back to the dinner I had last night. I'm visualizing it: Spinach lettuce, red grapes, shredded carrots, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, topped with salmon. No dressing. Just a bowl full of healthy stuff, all mixed together, simply scrumptious.

This visualization exercise is intended to cause me to eat fewer calories today. Not sure it's working. I think it's making me hungry instead.

According to the August issue of The Oprah Magazine, the findings of a study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior (2008) reveal that women who wrote a detailed description of their last meal (it happened to be lunch for this study) ate fewer cookies than those who didn't. OK, so maybe I should have written down my dinner items. No. I don't think that would have worked any better. Obviously, for some, journaling past meals does work. Might want to try it and see if it works for you.

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Like Rocky said to Adrian, some people think being shy is a disease. But that doesn't bother him! For some people though, being shy is a lot worse. In fact, some degrees of acute social embarrassment are considered "social phobia" that require medical attention.

That's a far cry from the schoolyard timidness shown by kids at a young age. One commenter conveyed exactly what it feels like: "Social Phobia has destroyed my life. ... Walking into a room full of people causes me to almost have a breakdown." When pictured like this, extreme shyness can seem like a mental health problem.

Symptoms can include chronically stressing over conversations: 'What should I say to this person? Did I say the right thing? What should I have said instead?' According to the article, this acute shy behavior is the most under-recognized mental health problem out there. But thankfully for those people there are treatment options. Medication is available, but therapy has been shown to help better in the long run. If you'd like to check out more, continue reading the article!

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In an intriguing study released this week, researchers from Northwestern University said that preschool math and reading skills are more important at predicting future academic success compared to behavioral issues and social skills.

This kind of debate has been fought for decades when it comes to proponents of private home schooling compared to public schooling. On one hand, one-on-one interaction can produce superior academic skills. The other produces superior social skills -- but which one is better for the overall future?

This study would seem to suggest that intellectual academics are better indicators to future learning ability rather than social skills or even the display of behavioral problems.

What's your take on this latest research?

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While at Canyon Ranch -- a health, healing, and fitness resort in Tucson, Arizona -- a nutritionist told me to take a breather from hard-core healthy eating once in a while. "Order a pizza once a week," she told me. "Everyone needs a break." At the time, before I embarked on my strict diet overhaul, this seemed like sound advice. It was an invitation to let loose. I liked it. But now, five months and 15 pounds later, I can't seem to let go of my nutrition reins and give in to that cheesy, greasy pizza.

Is my diet behavior too extreme? Should I loosen up? Perhaps. But what about those who go to the other extreme? The one where letting loose is practiced a bit too often.

While every health nut should lighten up now and then and a short hiatus from the gym is certainly OK, it's not wise to go overboard. Practicing a healthy diet all week long only to guzzle beer on the weekends, shovel in the junk food, and party until the wee hours of the morning is simply counterproductive.

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Turning off the tube is a great practice for many parents, but unfortunately, many use the device as a pacifier and/or babysitter. The thing is, more television viewing can lead to increased behavioral problems, according to a new study.

Two or more hours of watching television was found to lead to more behavioral issues in younger kids, including sleep, attention, and aggressive behavior problems. The kids that were observed for the study ranged in age from two-and-a-half to five-and-a-half.

But, even more disturbing, the research showed that those children aged at five-and-a-half developed fewer social skills if permitted to watch more than two hours of TV per day. Moral of the story: cut down on that television watching for those younger kids. Come to think of it, we could all use less of the tube in our daily lives.

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Here's an interesting thought -- maybe the colour of your tablecloth can affect your eating habits. According to this post on Fitsugar, tablecloths in bright shades of red, orange and yellow are conducive to overeating, while tablecloths that are navy, coffee-brown or forest-green help curb your appetite, supposedly because they are unappetizing colours (I don't know if I agree with that, however. Brown reminds me of chocolate.)

I've hear that colours can affect your mood and behaviour but honestly, I think this is going a bit far. What do you think?

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There's lots of talk about doing good things for your heart, but there's another organ that you should be particularly concerned: Your brain.

A book called The Brain Diet by Dr. Alan Logan, N.D focuses on keeping your brain healthy, and brings up some shocking facts about the state of our brains these days, including:

• All mental health disorders are on the rise
• Hardly any of us are getting enough Omega-3, which is important your brain
• Cell phones and cell phone towers have a growing link to brain problems
• Blueberries can help improve cognition and behavioral problems.

For more info on the Brain Diet, check out this post on Diet Blog or, better yet, read the book!

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Staying aware of the emotional health of your family members can also include the four legged members in your household. Does your dog have separation anxiety? Many bad behavior problems stem from separation anxiety. Know the below symptoms of canine separation anxiety and some of the things that can help ease their distress.

Your dog follows you around everywhere you go. Your dog acts overexcited when you return home or when you prepare to leave. Your dog whines and barks while you are gone. Your dog's appetite decreased while you were gone or will only eat when you are at home. Your dog develops digestive problems, and urinates or defecates excessively. Your dog becomes so upset they throw up. Your dog becomes destructive, and digs excessively, or chews only certain items while you are gone.

Here are some suggestions to help decrease the separation anxiety your dog may be experiencing.

Get another pet to keep them company. Take your dog to day care, or have a friend visit and walk your dog. Keep your TV or radio on. Give your dog a really great toy with your scent on it that it only receives when you are gone. Get your dog used to your routine when you are getting ready to leave. Keep your dog well exercised.

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In a study that followed over 500 men for the last 30+ years some disturbing, but perhaps helpful, information was discovered: boys who display antisocial behavior in childhood and through young-adulthood grow up to be unhealthy adults. The negative outcomes later in life include injuries, STDs, heart problems, decreased immunity, and even poor dental health.

Researchers believe now that helping children with antisocial behavioral problems at a young age could help decrease many of the health issues doctors see in adult men. I do, though, have a question that this article doesn't address: what was their definition of "antisocial behavior?" How can you tell if your child is just shy, versus actually antisocial?

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One of the largest studies in child care and development by the National Institutes of Health has come to the conclusion that daycare, particularly poor quality daycare, can have a significantly negative impact on your child's vocabulary and behavior patterns, especially when they're young and just starting school. Experts say that the study results are definitely measurable and therefore concerning, although they also say they aren't so obvious that a person could walk into a classroom of youngsters and pick out who had had quality child care and who hadn't.

Regardless, it definitely makes a strong case for serious examination of your child care situation: quality counts.

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My four year old daughter has a 'star chart' up on our fridge where we monitor her accomplishments throughout the day and give her something to strive for. Things on Ginger's list include: say "please" and "thank you", put laundry in basket, no yelling, eat healthy and exercise, pick up toys, listen to Mommy and Daddy, and brush hair without yelling. The star chart is simple. It's magnetic and when she accomplishes a goal, we move a star into that block for the day. If she earns all stars for several days in a row we reward her with a treat, a new dress or small toy.

I think we could all use a star chart. It would remind us of what we need to do and allow us to reward ourselves when we accomplish our goals, especially in the area of fitness. Long term goals are terrific and essential, but I love it when my clients do what I ask them to do one day at a time. Maybe a star chart would work.

You don't necessarily need the magnetic one, although if you do....you can pick one up at Target or any office store. Just make a chart on paper and use a marker. Whatever! Just set goals, and keep track of your achievements on a daily basis. Hang it on your wall of fridge to keep it fresh in your mind, and reward yourself for great achievements. Clothes or toys will do.