Happy Official Turkey Day!

Yesterday's Thanksgiving dinner was a success and everyone enjoyed the turkey and trimmings, which is a good thing because tonight's menu will be a repeat performance :) I found enough to eat and stayed true to my vegetarian lifestyle - the mainstay of my meal consisted mostly of yams, mashed potatoes and various veggies. I skipped the protein part of it and had two pieces of pumpkin pie with whipped cream in its place. I have been avoiding sweets, but on this special occasion decided to indulge a bit. I am back on track today and even added a half hour workout for good measure.

Speaking of workouts, I really need to start being more consistent with mine. A bout with a rather stubborn and nasty UTI that eventually went into my kidneys, has me convinced that regular workouts are a priority if I want to safeguard my health. Having an illness makes you realize how valuable good health really is, and while nothing is a given, proper nutrition and regular physical activity can give you a bit of an edge in staying that way. Now there is more and more evidence backing this up. According to a recent "New Science" article, healthy living consisting of proper nutrition, regular exercise and stress management can actually turn off the cancer gene. This is good news and something we should all take heed of not just for ourselves but also for our children.

Children learn by example so do what you can to teach your kids the importance of healthy eating, regular exercise and positive ways to deal with stress. After all, we want the best for our children and good health will help to ensure them of a brighter future. In Tuesday's blog I will discuss the importance of stress management for parents as well as well as children.

Happy Monday,

Monicka

Here Comes Summer

Hello All!

It is getting close to the first day of summer and time once again for the next issue of the Kidsgoals newsletter. With summer comes summer holidays and of course that means school will soon be out.

The June issue of the newsletter focused  on how to keep your kids busy during the summer, as well as a bonus article on Bike Safety for Children. I am taking the lazy way out and using two brilliant articles that were submitted by Kidsgoals subscribers. Please feel free to submit articles anytime. Just go to the "Write for Us" link on the Kidsgoals website home page. If the content suits Kidsgoals and we use it for the website, we will allow one link to your business or cause within the article.

Have a great week and Happy Parenting :))

Monicka

Exercise for kids

Exercise for kids should be a high priority for parents these days. There are huge health benefits to getting a habit of regular exercise from an early age - not just for overweight children but for ALL children.

The generation of kids growing up today has, for the first time in many generations, a shorter life-expectancy than their parents. That fact alone should shock us into taking action and ensuring our kids get an appropriate amount of exercise!

Happy exercise with your kids!

Cassie

Exercise for kids

Exercise for kids

The issue of ensuring our children get sufficient exercise is becoming more and more important.

I was shocked to learn that, for the first time in U.S. history, children's life expectancy is lower than that of the previous generation. Worse, many of today’s kids are not expected to outlive their parents - mainly because of childhood obesity. (Source: Prentice A, Jebb S.,2006)

Kids should be getting a minimum of 60 minutes of exercise per day. Some at least should be aerobic enough to get them out of breath.

Click here for suggestions to get your kids exercising.

Exercise for Kids

Do kids exercise enough in this day and age? Whenever I'm in town I see dozens of children with trainers that have wheels in them. (I'm sure they have a special name, but I'm guessing you know what I'm talking about?!) These devices look like great fun, but it makes me wonder when these kids are getting the recommended 60 minutes of exercise a day if even an outing to town involves considerably less walking than ever before...

For suggestions on getting your kids exercising:

Kids Exercise Article

Exercises for babies / kid exercise

If you like sarcastic humor, you might have a giggle when you read this book review: http://www.artybees.co.nz/bizarre-book-pages/everyhome-exercises-for-your-baby.htm

I happened across it while randomly surfing the internet and it brought back memories for me! I remembered finding this very book in the library when I was 13 years old and my brother was just a baby. I thought it was super and used to do daily little exercises with him, "bicycling" his tiny legs and helping him do mini-situps!

The person writing the review has a very good point right at the end though: "If you have ever had kids or even babysat, you'd know you generally can't keep the little guys still, all you have to do is turn your back for one moment and they're gone."

Gotta laugh!

For less tongue-in-cheek ideas on exercise for kids and babies, you might be more interested in Exercise for Kids on the Kids Goals website.