That's Fit

It's spring and in my Northern Virginia neighborhood that means kids and parents are hitting the playgrounds again. Kids are flocking to swings and slides while parents, mostly moms, sit on benches and gossip, read or do some crafty thing with their hands. Well, here's a novel idea. Get up and get moving with your kids because it's a good chance to get some exercise.

My daughter often yells, "Your turn, Mommy!" after her spins on the slides. Climbing the steps and going down the slide over and over has got to be worth something. Then she runs over to the swings and I run after her. Then I push her hard because she wants to go "super high." At one of the bigger, more elaborate playgrounds there's a zip cord. And it's a big hit. My little one isn't quite big enough or strong enough to do it herself, so I prop her up on one arm and run back and forth with her holding on. Believe me, it's a workout.

So put away the phone, reading material and knitting and shut your trap and get moving next time you take a trip to the playground with your kids. You'll be the "cool mom" in your kids' eyes and your body will thank you.

All those talk shows that host the "Who's Your Daddy?" episodes are soon to be out of commission. (What was with all of those anyway, Maury Povich?) Meijer and Rite Aid stores are going to start stocking low-cost paternity tests. I can't imagine there's a huge market for such an item, but the manufacturer, Identigene, feels that there are people that would like to solve paternity disputes quietly and economically -- without involving lawyers.

The kits retails for $29.99. They include cotton swabs for taking cell samples from inside the mouth. The swabs are then sealed and sent to a lab with an additional $119 processing fee. Results can be accessed online within three to five business days.

Parenting is not easy. Even the best of moms deal with tantrums from toddlers. But would you believe a statistic that says mothers and their young children argue upwards of 20 to 25 times an hour?

It sounds sensational, especially when displayed as a headline. But there's more to this study than a bunch of strife. Researchers watched 60 pairs of moms and toddlers in a lab to try out various conditions that would make the child more prone to having a temper tantrum. The mothers were told to play with their child, but enforce rules that would make him or her likely to argue.

This was done at a little over two years of age. A second phase observed similar situations six months later. The findings reveal that under strenuous circumstances, the number of arguments was up to two dozen on average. However, my only problem with this study is that it's easy to infer round-the-clock temper tantrums. In reality, the scientists purposefully set it up that way. They're quick to note that these conflicts are normal for that age -- it's just interesting to see concrete stats applied to child rearing tendencies.

Parents are the first line of defense in protecting their children from poor diets, says Dr. Gerard J. Musante, founder of the residential weight loss program Structure House.

Think of obesity the way you think about the diseases for which you get your child vaccinated, Musante tells Scholastic's Parent & Child Magazine. The "shot" your kids need in the diet arena is your behavior and good example.

Musante has a few tips for getting your kids in tip-top shape.

The first two years of life are critical for teaching kids how to eat right and move right, he says. So make sure you have the right foods in your house. If you don't, forgo the complaints later down the line about school vending machines. If the same junk fills your cupboards, you have no room to grumble.

Be a good role model too. And take your children to gymnastics, swimming, or dance classes. This will teach your kids to crave activity, not food. Combine with limited TV watching and computer time and you've got the makings for positively healthy kiddos.

Fed up with the lack of treatment options for some of their children when it comes to diseases and conditions, some Boston parents have banded together to fund research into things like Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma, or JPA.

JPA is a kind of brain tumor and the treatment options are very limited from current medical science. What to do? If you can't get something done right, you have to do it yourself, believe these parents. Who could blame them? Decades of cancer research and what's the result?

Ask this parent group and you'll probably get a mouthful. They've raised over $6 million in three years after being tired of drug companies or others to address the cancerous nature of their children. Let's hope they fare a little better than research into the past (as it were).

Are obese kids fat, or just big-boned? That seems to be the division between how parents see their kids. According to a study, over forty percent of parents whose children are extremely overweight reported their offspring to be "about the right weight." Thirty-seven percent actually admitted their kids as being overweight at all, while a startling response of "slightly underweight" was reported by others.

Is this even an issue needing to be addressed? After all, if that's how the parents want to see their children, that should be their prerogative right? Well, I'm all for parental freedom, but unfortunately for the kids, the denial of their parents could lead to adult complications later on. Diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol issues could come from growing up overweight.

They aren't necessarily talking about baby fat either. The age criteria for the kids had to be between 6 and 11-years-old. And all those evil complications weren't direct side-effects either, but rather byproducts of a chronically unhealthy lifestyle. Maybe this is just a case of parents underestimating their kid's weight. After all, moms and dads are not being malicious or anything -- some actually recognize the issue! Hopefully the others can realize what's going on before their children suffer any consequences of being obese.

Binge drinking has been getting a lot of bad publicity lately (and for good reason; it's dangerous!), but when it comes to excessive imbibing, we tend to point the finger at young people, ranging from teens to those in their mid and late-twenties. But it's not always the kids that are tying one on; recent studies show that parents and older adults partake in binge drinking too, although they're more likely to be 'in denial' about their drinking habits.

This makes sense to me -- technically, binge drinking involves have more than four drinks, and a drink's a drink, regardless of whether you're doing body shots of tequila or drinking a fine wine. However, I'm inclined to think that older adults are more responsible with their drinking -- they're less likely to get involved in dangerous situations or abuse alcohol in an unhealthy manner.

Though I could be totally off-base -- what do you think?

I picked up a copy of Curves' diane magazine while waiting to get my mammogram last Thursday. To pass the time before having my own curves examined, I read this enlightening bit about how having kids makes us fat.

It seems having kids predisposes moms and dads to gain weight. One study reveals that adults living with kids eat 4.9 more grams of fat daily. And 1.7 of those grams are saturated. Yikes. Hey, no one ever said having kids was easy.

Apparently, it's all the kiddie convenience foods -- pizza, burgers, chips, and whole milk -- that cause the damage. Have no fear, though, say nutrition experts. Just cut out the fatty snacks, skip the beef and take up turkey burgers, and trade whole milk for the low-fat variety and you'll be on your way to trimming that waistline. Oh, and don't forget to work in some exercise, a task that often slips off the radar once kids come barreling into our lives.

I was absolutely astonished to see that the state of Maryland wants to arrest parents who refuse to have their kids immunized for various childhood diseases.

Apparently, a medical police state mentality has taken over some thinking in some states and parent's rights have been shoved aside. While immunizations are very helpful to many kids who are in daily contact with other kids, should parents be forced to have their kids get those shots?

What do you think? There are positives to both sides of the argument here, but one erases a part of the culture that defines America -- free choice in the democratic way.

Kids in the UK who are obese could be getting noticed by the government -- or rather, their parents could be receiving attention in the form of a letter warning them of the dangers of obesity, according to this article. This could warn unaware parents of the health risks they are putting their children at by allowing them to eat junk food and avoid activity. But there are critics of this idea too. Some say it 'stigmatizes' children by bringing attention to a negative aspect of themselves.

Whether letters to the parents are the right step or not, it's crucial that some sort of action be taken now against childhood obesity. But I'm curious what you think. Are letters to the parents inappropriate? What is appropriate?

If you have an overweight child, you might be tempted to tease them into eating healthier or not eating as much during the day. But, a recent bout of research concluded that you'd be better just relaxing, shutting up and cooking healthy dinners instead.

You may not want to promote dieting as well. Instead of all the negative connotation surrounding the many ways to get kids to eat better and drop weight, your best bet would be to have frequent family meals while promoting physical exercise every chance you get (without overdoing it).


Want more? Promote self-esteem as well with your child so they won't turn to laxatives, weight loss drugs and other potentially destructive behavior to lose weight as a result of constant reminders. As always, positivity wins.

Pretty much everyone was bullied at some point in their childhood. Whether it was by the dominant kid in a social group who never let anyone else decide what games to play, or the traditional big kid on the playground who terrorized every other child, chances are you've had to deal with some form of bullying when you were little.

Many of us think that all gets left behind when we grow up into confident adults, but unfortunately that's not always the case. Have you ever been to one of your kids' sports matches and seen another parent blow up at a referee? Or perhaps you're a part of the PTA and one of the other parents consistently refuses to listen to your suggestions or ignores you altogether? Maybe you dread going to work every day because a gossipy co-worker tries to belittle you with the information he or she spreads to your fellow workers?

According to this, all of the above constitute adult bullying. Even as a grown-up there are people who will try to boost their own confidence by intimidating others and trying to cut them down. If you think you may be a victim of adult bullying, take a look at the piece for suggestions on how to deal with it. If you know someone at work or in your social circle who is being picked on, stand up for them. Much like when with kids, a bully will often back down if they know that no one else is willing to stand for it.

We're almost two weeks into October, the month designated as Walk to School Month. Are your kids walking to school?

Millions of children, parents, teachers, and community leaders across the globe have put on their walking shoes and are logging steps in celebration of this international event. Some are committing to walk for one day; some once per week; some for the entire month. The event, intended to remind parents and kids alike of the simple joy of walking to school, also serves to focus attention on the importance of physical activity and overall fitness.

So lace up those shoes and do your part this month, and for all months that follow -- because it's not really about October. It's about walking. So keep on trekking this month, and next month, and the month after that. You get the drill. For those who live a good distance from school, just drive and park a mile or so away. Then walk the remaining distance. For those looking to spice up this walking challenge, check out this idea: the walking school bus.

Are you a believer in medication for that ADHD-diagnosed child? To many parents, this is the single-largest decision that requires attention when ADHD presents itself in the household.

Some parents take away processed and chemical-laden foods (and drinks), while others use other methods to determine if environmental variables can affect their child's hyperactivity.

In order to help parents make the decision about which course of action to take, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry guide was released this week to guide parents in the right direction. With more parents becoming frightened about prescription medication, the timing of this new guide is perfect, as each case needs to be scrutinized individually instead of 'treated' like a statistic. It's now available at ParentsMedGuide.org.

I picked up my Pre-K kid from school today and checked his cubby for take-home items. His little wooden box typically contains artwork, parent notes, and an occasional permission slip. Today, I found a magazine that read, Parents' Game Plan for Good Health. It peaked my interest -- so I flipped through the pages before I even left the school parking lot. What I discovered was pretty good. It went like this:

Get the Family Moving
Walk the dog or toss a football. Just move. And do it together.

Cut Screen Time
Ditch TV and video games, and your kids will spend more calories.