As I sit here typing this, my three-year-old -- according to her anyway -- desperately needs a cookie. The trouble is, it's only 8:44 A.M. and she just had breakfast. It's not easy being being the one who has to enforce healthy habits, because I'm sure things would be a lot more pleasant around here if I'd just give her the cookie. But teaching kids good healthy habits are part of being a parent.

Denying a poor little child an A.M. cookie and giving her some fruit instead isn't really all that tough. But when kids get older, we not only give up some of our influence over them to friends, teachers, and TV commercials, we also aren't with them every minute of the day.

I like the idea of "family health rules." Just as kids know that they need to look both ways before they cross the street, they should also be taught about the importance of healthy lifestyle habits. FamilyDoctor.org has some great suggestions for laying the groundwork for family health rules. Teaching healthy habits is a lot easier when kids learn them from the get-go (like no cookies for breakfast), but even if you're just now making lifestyle changes for yourself and your older children, it's not too late to teach them healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

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We're almost set for soccer to start in September. The Sweetie Pie is signed up, birth certificate faxed, volunteer coach appointed (my husband) and the hunt for tiny shin guards is about to commence. Shin guards. For a 3-year-old.

But, hey, it's a chance to get out in the back yard, run around and practice kicking goals into a mini goal sent by Gramma and Grampa as a Father's Day gift. It made for a great goal-kicking contest at her birthday party. Great way to wear down nine kids.

We also watch the bigger kids on the field down the street, and attempt to mimic their moves at the park. For my husband and I, it's more of a mental workout than anything. Getting into a toddler's head in an attempt to figure out the best way to convey the rules of a sport and work as a team. My husband's definitely got his work cut out for him as coach. I figure it's also a chance to start building the habit of exercise in our child. Every Saturday morning, we'll have soccer. Every Saturday morning, we'll have soccer.

Vitamin D is critical for bone health and also plays a role in immunity. But many US infants and toddlers aren't getting enough vitamin D. According to research from the Children's Hospital in Boston, a full 40% aren't getting the appropriate amount of vitamin D.

Breast milk doesn't contain high quantities of vitamin D, so if you're breastfeeding your infant ask your doctor if supplementing the vitamin is a good idea. Toddlers can benefit from vitamin D-fortified milk. Perhaps the best source of vitamin D is sunlight. While it's, of course, important to protect your child's skin, some exposure to sunlight is healthful as it triggers the production of vitamin D in the body.

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Mommy and Daddy can't decide what we want to do today. Haul the jogging stroller to a hiking trail along the Potomac River? Hook up the bicycle trailer and head out on the Washington and Old Dominion trail?

Either way, stuff with wheels will make a good workout in the nice weather possible with our toddler. Some might think it's crazy to have three strollers, as we do. But once your kid weighs more than 30 pounds, putting them in a body carrier just doesn't work. We've put plenty of miles on the jogging stroller, and not all of them jogging. Trekking over grass, mud and stone is nearly impossible without one. Certainly, an urban or suburban walk around town serves as a wonderful workout with a conventional stroller, too. We just love being among more trees, water and wildlife. And the jogging stroller makes it possible.

As for the bicycle trailer, that was last year's Father's Day gift before we spent a family weekend vacation in Chincoteague and rode rented bikes around the nearby Assateague Island. Our daughter loved cruising along, looking out the plastic windows, safe from the mosquitoes that seemed to be hatching faster than you could say no DEET please. The really cool thing is that mosquitoes couldn't make a swift landing on our skin with the breeze whisking past as we peddled.

My point is that stuff with wheels have been a crucial element for our active family activities that have been well worth the investment. You don't need to spend a lot, either. Both the jogging stroller and bicycle trailer were purchased at Target for a little more and a little less than $100, respectively.

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When you're trying to raise a healthy child, you have to start early. So this Christmas, instead of buying your little one something that keeps them sitting in one spot, why not buy them something interactive that will them moving today and hopefully for life too?

Fitsugar has some great suggestions:

• YogaKids 2: ABC by Gaiam will introduce them to the basics of yoga
• Hullabaloo gets them spinning, dancing, twisting and more.
  
• The Smart Cycle is like an exercise bike but more fun and for kids.
  

The best gift my brother and I got as a kid was a little car that we had to peddle ourselves -- we spent so much time on that, both in the house and outside. What fit gifts are your favourites?

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I'm not sure if I want to make this recipe more for my kids or for me. Containing just 115 calories per serving, along with 5 g protein, 3.5 g fat, 143 mg calcium, 14 mcg folate, 1.5 g fiber, and 18 g carbohydrates, this light little treat is quite temping. But it caught my eye because of my kids -- with whom I was sitting in the pediatrician's office while reading Toddler Magazine -- so I'm going to test it out on them one of these days. And yes, I'll be sampling it too.

Apple and Cheese Quesadilla

Here's what you need:

• 1/3 cup finely diced Gala, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, or Cortland apples
• 8-inch whole-grain flour tortillas
• 1 tablespoon apple butter
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat shredded cheese
  

Here's what you do:

• Spread apple butter almost to the edge of of two tortillas.
• Sprinkle half of each tortilla with shredded cheese and diced apples.
• Fold tortillas in half and heat in hot skillet with nonstick spray for 2 to 4 minutes per side, until tortilla is browned and cheese is melted inside.
• Cool and cut into bite-size pieces.
• And then finally -- enjoy!

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The toddler ship has sailed for me, and I don't think I'm ever going back to port. But I do have some great information for all you toddler parents out there, tidbits I wish I'd known when I was trying so valiantly to entice my wee ones into ingesting healthy morsels of food. You see, there are certain nutrients little tots need every day, according to the Fall 2007 issue of Toddler Magazine. And you'd be wise to jot them down so you know just how much fiber, fat, protein, carbohydrates, and calories your littlest loved ones need.

Carbohydrates
Toddlers need 130 grams daily. Here's a fun fact: Women ages 19 to 50 need the same amount. Healthy carbohydrates are the main source of energy for developing brains. So serve up the whole-grain cereals, veggies, whole grain breads, waffles, and pasta.

Fiber
Fiber should total 19 grams each day. It will prevent constipation and help digestion. Give plant-based foods a go, as well as whole grains, fruit, vegetables, beans, and legumes.

Fat
Little tikes need 30 to 40 grams -- that's more than adults need. Fat is a great energy source that helps absorption of vitamins. It helps feed the brain too. Think fish, nuts, nut butters, canola oil, eggs, and sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

Protein
Pack in 13 grams of protein and you'll be set. Protein -- found in meat, poultry, fish, cheese, yogurt, eggs, nuts, and beans -- is the building block for every cell in your toddler's growing body.

Calories
Two-year-olds need 1,000 calories per day
Three-year-olds need 1,000 to 1,400
Four-year-old boys need 1,200 to 1,600
Four-year-old girls need 1,200 to 1,400

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The term "terrible two's" didn't get coined by accident, as I'm sure any parent would tell you. It seems to be the age when kids discover the word 'NO' and aren't afraid to use it -- as much as possible and often for no real reason other than to be difficult.

As surprising as it may be, having a willful toddler is actually a good sign. Recent studies have found that toddlers who are more defiant usually have parents with more positive parenting skills, and that the defiance may actually be a healthy sign of confidence.

So next time your disciplining your child just remember: it could be worse! They could be well-behaved and unhealthy.

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New information is challenging the accepted rules regarding how much weight is "healthy" to gain during pregnancy: studies show that women who gain pregnancy pounds within the acceptable range are twice as likely to have over-weight toddlers (3yr olds) than women who gained less than the recommended amount.

But don't make any decisions about how to handle your pregnancy just yet -- pretty much all the experts agree it's too early to change the standard, and your baby's health (as well as your own) isn't something to play around with. At most, aim for the lower end of the currently accepted range.

Hopefully they clear this up soon -- there's enough anxiety around having a healthy pregnancy without throwing more "unknowns" into the mix.

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Fish oil is apparently made of magic. It can help with menstrual cramps, combat depression, and now, according to a recent study, may help with toddler's eye-hand co-ordination.

98 pregnant women in Perth, Australia were given either 4g of fish oil, or 4g of oil olive from 20 weeks until birth. At age 2 1/2, their children were tested, and the fish oil group scored slightly higher on understanding, comprehension, average phrase length and vocabulary. The same group scored far higher on eye-hand co-ordination.

No word on yet on why fish oil might be linked to eye-hand co-ordination, and, according to this study's authors, "Further studies are needed to determine the significance of this finding."

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Writing for Shape magazine, Dr. Ann Kearney Cook suggests indulging all your senses if you happen to be a person who can't stop thinking about eating and loves too much food. "Food is one of life's great pleasures," she writes, "but if it's your only or most prominent one, it's a sign that something else is missing."

I love this idea and can't stop thinking about how I could feed all my senses to keep me from thinking about peanut butter ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry, or salty hot macaroni and cheese, or...or...

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