That's Fit

It was back-to-school for New York students this week, but there was a new policy in place. This year, a new policy went into effect, and students are being weighed as part of their health certificate. The data will enable health officials to map childhood overweight and obesity trends based on location.

There are 12 other states -- Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia -- with some form of student BMI reporting.

As a parent, I'm not overtly opposed to it. In fact, I remember getting weighed in gym class and during all of my physicals in order to play school sports. I do have a couple of concerns, though. I would hope that student privacy is maintained and their weight isn't being taken in a line where all the kids could see the number on the scale. I would also hope that health and a positive body image is being promoted -- the self esteem of children can be a fragile thing and I hope it's being protected.

My son attended summer day camp this year, so I haven't had a break from lunch packing. As kids are apt to do, my son and his friends liked to trade items. I was always amazed at the packaging waste that would come home with my son -- a lot of parents opt for those individually wrapped items. They're convenient, sure. But they're expensive, and they have an impact on the environment.

When packing your child's lunch, keep their health and the health of the environment in mind:

• Use reusable packaging. For example, instead of individually packaged pudding, make your own in small reusable containers. It's significantly less expensive and there's very little container waste. Also, look for options like the Wrap-n-Mat that reduce throw-away packaging.
  
• Go meat-free. Meat production is hard on the environment, so pack veggie lunches as often as possible.
• Don't over pack. If your child throws away much of what you pack, your green efforts are somewhat mitigated. Pack what they need and no more.

Quite a few years ago, a friend of mine had breast augmentation surgery. Nothing outlandish -- in fact, you could barely notice a difference. She just wanted to restore herself to the nicely-filled B cup she was before her pregnancies. She said that after her pregnancies and the subsequent years of breast feeding, she had "deflated." (Her words, not mine.) As a result, she felt self-conscious and didn't even like to wear t-shirts because she didn't feel good about herself.

Post-surgery she had two young kids that wanted their mom to lift them and play with them like she always did. She kept the explanation simple and just told them that mommy had an "owie" and wouldn't be able to lift them up for a while. When Jacki had her tummy tuck, she also had to find an age-appropriate way to explain her surgery to her young kids.

It can be scary for kids to see their parents hurting. And plastic surgery -- where a parent might end up looking a little different than they did before -- can be even scarier. A plastic surgeon has written a book called "My Beautiful Mommy" to help explain plastic surgery to kids in a positive, non-frightening, and age-appropriate manner.

Is your child heading back to school soon? If so, be sure to get an A on the healthy lunches you provide.

Good nutrition can improve kids' concentration and help them get through the school day successfully. If your child is lucky enough to attend a school with healthy hot lunch options, then your job is a bit easier. But if your child's school is like my son's, pizza and chicken nuggets just don't make the grade.

Foods that are high in fat and/or high in sugar will only lead to an energy crash later in the day. You don't want your kiddo zonking out in the middle of math class, so be sure to provide long-lasting energy with good nutrition. First, make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast. Oatmeal, fruit, eggs, and whole-grain (low-sugar) cereals all make good options. For lunch, pack lean protein such as tuna or turkey, whole grains such as whole-wheat crackers or pita, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and 100% juice.

My little guy loves brown rice salads. He cannot wait to see what "chunks" I have included in my latest recipe. If your kids (or significant others!) are plain rice eaters, why not help them branch out a bit by adding some nutritious "chunks" to their rice.

You may be dealing with picky eaters, so start slowly, adding things you know they'll love. Some pretty safe bets:

• corn kernels
• sweet peas
• steamed carrots
• raisins
• slivered almonds

Now you've been successful, so push the envelope a bit and try:

• chick peas
• chopped spinach
• zucchini
• broccoli
• butternut squash

Nearly every time my son and I go grocery shopping, he begs me to buy children's vitamins. I know parents tend to disagree when it comes to children's vitamins. Personally, while I don't think they're harmful, I don't think they're necessary. My son eats plenty of fruits and vegetables, he gets sufficient calcium from milk, yogurt, and fortified orange juice, and he eats a broad range of other healthy foods as well.

But my kid LOVES his candy. And I'm quite certain that is why he wants those gummy vitamins he sees in the store so badly.

Angie over at ParentDish recently wrote about a study regarding children's vitamins. The study reviewed 14 types of vitamins and found that only five of the reviewed brands had the 12 essential vitamins you would expect. Some brands had as little as four vitamins. The researchers state that the vitamins are little better than candy.

Shopping around the internet for my kids' elementary school lunch menu, I came across a healthy snack list, which I quickly downloaded and printed. Here it sits in front of me, with its 52 snack ideas and accompanying nutritional information. Some items are undoubtedly nutritious: Apple slices, banana, orange, strawberries, grapes, and hardboiled egg all make the list. But the rest are a little iffy, in my opinion. Check these out -- then let me know what you think.

• 100-calorie Chips Ahoy: One 100-calorie serving packs 3 g fat (3 g saturated), 140 g sodium, 7 g sugar. Do cookies count as a healthy snack?
• Baked Goldfish Crackers: 28 g serving size contains 140 calories, 5 g fat (5 g saturated), 230 g sodium, 2 g sugar. Bev just told us to avoid this kid food. Why, then, does it make this list?
• Scooby-Doo Baked Graham Cracker Sticks: 9 sticks have 130 calories, 4 g fat (4 g saturated), 125 g sodium, 7 g sugar. I've had these, and they're yummy. But a healthy option? I don't think so.
• Triscuit, Baked Whole Wheat: 6 crackers come with 120 calories, 4.5 g fat (0.5 saturated), 180 g sodium, 0 g sugar. I like the whole wheat part and the no sugar thing. Next to fresh fruit, this may be one of the best choices on the list.

Take a trip over here (click on Snack List, under Downloadable Menus) and check out the other 48 snacks. Tell us: Are they healthy or not?

My son has attended the same summer camp for two years now. Throughout the summer there are specialty camps kids can opt to attend. Last summer he signed up for an intense biking camp. At the beginning of the week, there were more than 30 kids signed up. By day three, the numbers had dropped to about 12. By the end of the week, only 6 kids remained.

On the first day of camp, the kids and their counselors rode a total of 10 miles. But the rides were short and they stopped at several fun locations to play and rest in between rides. Still, my very fit and athletic son needed to take a bath that night to relax his muscles.

The second day, the kids rode about the same distance, but with only one, longer break in between. It was a hard day, evidenced by the fact that more than half of the kids dropped out after day two. My son mentioned that he thought maybe he'd like to quit, too. But day three was too intriguing for him to give up.

With the start of school just around the corner, it might be time for that annual trip to buy a new backpack for your child. Parent Center has put together a list of tips to help you choose the right backpack, and also to teach your child how to properly use his backpack, to avoid injury.

Some of the tips I found the most helpful and enlightening:

• Backpack loads should be no more than 15-20% off a child's body weight. The means if your kiddo weighs 45 pounds, her lunch, books, and goodies should never add up to more than 9 pounds. That doesn't seem like much, especially on library day!
• Teach your child to bend for his backpack with his knees, to protect from back injury.
• Pack the heavy items toward the middle of the pack, and teach kids to use both shoulder straps.

You can read the full list of backpack safety items on Parent Center, before you head out on your shopping trip.

Has Olympic fever hit your household? If your kids are broad-jumping the family room or breast-stroking in their bathtubs, perhaps a more organized kid Olympics is in order.

Parent Center has compiled a list of three kid activities that will help you put together your own Kid Olympics.

1. Obstacle Course -- Set this one up outdoors for fresh air and exercise. Aside from things to run around and through, add an element of skill with a golf or croquet aiming station.
2. Balance Beams -- Start your toddlers off with phone book balance beams, then get narrower as your kids get older. Remind them that practice is the key in this event, and teach them balancing tricks, like holding out their arms.
3. Broad Jump -- All you need are ropes and a motivated kid, and you've got yourself an Olympic sport.

The best part about these Olympic-inspired activities? They get your kids off the couch and moving. Yet another way to convince them that fitness is fun!

Summer is quickly drawing to a close, so why not take advantage of these last days before the school year starts and spend some fun, active time with your kids?

My son has been going to a great day camp this summer. He loves it, he gets tons of physical activity, and he's always filled with stories about the fun things he did. It's a great program. But, in some ways, the schedule keeps it from really feeling like summer at our house. So last week my son stayed home from camp. I still had to work, but I made sure we did at least one special, fun thing a day. We walked to the park and went fishing, visited the BMX track, stopped at the skate park, used a rock climbing wall, and went to the community center's pool. Even though we're nearing the end of the season, last week felt more like "summer" to me than any of the weeks before. I really enjoyed the special times with my son ... and I think he had a great time, too.

Summer fun doesn't necessarily mean time-consuming, expensive outings either. Check out the gallery to see some fun ideas of easy, low-cost activities to do with your kids. For more kid-oriented, summer fitness opportunities, check out this great article by Ace Fitness.

This morning was a special day for the mommies in my playgroup and I. Today we donated over 150 stuffed monkeys to the children being cared for at North Florida Regional Medical Center (NFRMC) in honor of our Angel Odessa. Odessa Virginia Webster was born at NFRMC on February 24, 2003, and landed back at the same hospital on March 25, 2004 for care after a fatal head injury. At thirteen months old, Odessa was stolen from her parents Matt and Anita, her loving family, and our already tight playgroup family. It was devastating for all of us, and out of our grief came an intense drive to honor our "Angel O".

To back up a bit, our playgroup began when our infants met at a "new mommy" luncheon hosted at NFRMC when they were two weeks old. Well, the infants didn't exactly meet each other, but us moms did ... and we decided then and there that we wanted to stick together. That made ten families dealing with the insanity of newborns and leaning on each other for friendship, advice, stress relief, and fun. We literally have been getting together for "playgroup" every Tuesday since, and our children are all addicted to each other; the best of friends. At the start, we would have never imagined what would come for us, for her, the following year. I just remember checking my email one day and opening one from Anita with "Odessa Virginia Webster" as the title. I expected to see a new photo from a portrait studio. A portrait was included, but it went along with a letter written by Anita informing us that her daughter was gone. "Please don't call now. I'm not ready to talk" she wrote. I simply can't describe the agony that followed for all of us.

A recent study found that kids who were less physically coordinated or less athletic are at a greater risk of obesity.

The long-term study, published in the British Medical Journal, involved more than 11,000 people. Teachers and medical personnel conducted tests to assess coordination. When those students reached age 33, their body mass index was recorded. In the case of kids whose coordination was deemed poor at age 7, the risk of obesity was doubled.

While researchers didn't venture a guess as to why the results were as they found, other experts surmise it's because less coordinated kids aren't as likely to join in team sports or other active play. If your kids are the most coordinated on the block, there's no need to force them into team sports or programs they don't enjoy. Just make a regular habit of going for walks with your kids, visit the playground frequently, encourage them to ride bikes, kick a soccer ball around the backyard ... the list of activities goes on an on. Just find something your kids enjoys and foster that interest.

The other day, I told you to how to turn fun games you played as a child into more adult-like exercise activities -- remember: if you liked four-square, try tennis or racquetball? -- and now I'm here to tell you to forget the grown-up spin on things -- just play the kid games. That's what some folks in Newport, New Hampshire are doing in an effort to get in shape while having the time of their lives.

Forget the treadmill and the gym. Old School P.E., a two-hour exercise program for adults only, is built around gym-class staples, and is anything but boring. Think Spastic Ball -- a blend of soccer and basketball -- and floor hockey with a dodgeball, or maybe some Ultmate Frisbee. Anything really, minus all the rules, and you've got the idea.

Sound like fun to you? Some say it allows you to be distracted while working out. And some women get really ripped in just six weeks -- OK, probably not a result of Duck, Duck, Goose, a game that may at least serve as a proper warm-up. Regardless, kid games are all the rage. Read more about them here.

In my expert opinion, yes! Disney World is the healthiest place on earth. I just returned from a five-night, six-day vacation with my husband and two children and was blown away by the amount of physical activity both offered and required of ourselves in order to indulge in the full Disney experience.

We pushed our double-stroller miles through two theme parks, climbed thousands of stairs and jumped an equal amount of waves at two water-parks, danced our tushies off to live bands at various Disney resorts, and played game after game with our children as we giggled, oohed and ahhed at all the Disney magic. As a fitness trainer, one of my biggest obstacles is convincing my clients not to trash their fitness efforts when they head out on vacation. Disney offers the perfect opportunity to not only maintain one's fitness level, but improve it.

The physical adventures are endless, and Disney World has made a deliberate effort to increase the availability of legitimately nutritious, low fat, and lower sugar foods. Fruit stands have popped up all over the theme parks, and children's dining has switched from burgers and fries to grilled chicken with carrots and grapes offered as side dishes. Soda has been dumped for low fat milk! I can't get food that "clean" in my own neighborhood, unless I cook it myself! Of course, the old junkie favorites like popcorn, fries, and ice cream are still available, but if you do care about your health and want to maintain it on vacation ... Disney makes it easy.