Health and Nutrition

Eating Healthy/Nutrition

This website has lots of fun games to help teach nutrition, it also has some fun print outs for kids to color.

We taught our kids about the food pyramid and proper nutrition while playing with blocks. Here is a picture/example:

We also took our children grocery shopping with us and talked about healthy food choices while shopping. I let my toddler pick out apples and bananas and put them in the cart and he loved it. (It was fun for me to see how something that I do every week could be an educational and fun experience!)

Another simple thing we did was let our children help prepare meals with us. We talked about what food group each ingredient would go into…it became a fun, hands on guessing game.

You could also pull photos of food out of magazines and then ask your child to pick out which ones are healthy and which ones are not. You could even glue the healthy pictures to a piece of paper and let your child hang it on the fridge as a reminder of picking healthy foods rather then junk.

ChooseMyPlate.gov has some great advice for parents on ways to develop healthy eating habits. They also have some fun ideas of activities to try.

Mayo Clinic has 10 great healthy snack ideas for kids.

Fitness/Excercise
For some it’s hard to get your children involved in exercising and for others they can’t get their kids to slow down. Here are a couple examples of way to involve your children and get them excited to exercise.
~Play Tag or hide and seek
~Play the basket game (We put a basket at each end of the house and have our kids thrown little plastic balls into them)
~ Do the hokie pokie or Head shoulders, knees and toes
~Turn on the music and dance
~Throw a football while doing sit-up's
~Get in a good run with the kids-they will like getting out too.
~Go to the zoo or a Museum and walk around
~ Ride Bikes or walk to a nearby park
~ Do a work out movie (We love doing Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred…our kids get into it too)
~Have your child model your behavior while you exercise
Just remember when movement is fun your kids will love exercising…it doesn’t have to be a chore!

Ways to avoid Sickness:
Flu season is here and it seems like everywhere we go someone is coughing. Here are a couple reminders on ways to avoid getting sick and some activities to teach your children about germs.

The best way to avoid sickness is to wash our hands. Most kids only rinse rather then wash…here is a little video to remind us of how to properly wash our hands.

It is also fun to come up with a Hand Washing song. You could try using the tune of “ABC,” “Yankee Doodle,” “Happy Birthday” (sung twice), or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

Here are a couple activities to try with your kids:

Apple Activity:
Infecting an apple is a fun way to learn about how disease can spread. Drop an apple or find one that’s already starting to rot. Insert a toothpick into the rotten part of the apple and then insert the same end into a clean apple. Put the apples aside for a few days. What do you notice?
Do the same, only this time wash the toothpick well with soap. Did you notice a difference? Encourage your child to notice that washing the toothpick lessened the transmission of disease.

Hand Lens Activity:
Have your child look at his or her hand through a magnifying glass. Encourage your child to draw a “map” of their hands. Can they see all the nooks and crannies where germs might hide? You can extend the activity by having your child make handprints on a piece of paper and having them observe their prints. Then your child can practice washing their hands by using warm water and soap. The ink will show them all the spots they need to reach when they wash their hands.

Make a Hand Washing Chart:
Create a chart with your child that has spaces for each day. Then have your child record when they washed their hands. Your child should recognize if she or he is washing their hands enough and change their behavior based on what they have learned. Discuss when a person should wash their hands and set up a plan to remind everyone in your family about hand washing so that all family members can practice healthy habits.

Also, teach your child to cover their cough/sneeze (preferably with their elbow or shoulder).

We made this hand out of edible play dough while reviewing why it’s important to wash our hands!

Be sure to drink lots of water and stay hydrated. Also, be sure to eat healthy and get plenty of sleep.
My little guy loves these mini water bottles with a sport top. I love them too!

Easing the Ouch of Sickness:
It’s a great idea to keep a first aid kit close by if you don’t already have one Family Fun has a great checklist of what you might want to put together.

Click here to view 10 home remedies every mom should know.

This is a fun Website with some fun home remedies to try…or just read about.

Have fun playing doctor with the kids…they will love it and you might be lucky enough to get a laugh from them. (My little guy loves to be pampered with 7up and what he thinks is strawberries in a special hospital cup when he is sick.)

I saw this snack on pintrest and didn’t know what to think about it but tried it and my little guy loved them. We just did band-aid without the blood. It was super easy…just graham crackers with frosting:)

I loved these Feel Better Felt Bandages from PinkandGreenMomma. She has a tutorial on how she make them and they are super easy! We copied her and made some when my little guy broke his arm. He loves to put them on his animals!


Tip to Keeping Up on Hygiene
I had a patient that shared with me how she keeps up with her 5 children's hygiene needs. She does what she calls a "Hygiene Day" each week. Every Saturday she makes sure each child gets a really good bath. She pulls out her little "tool kit" and goes to work clipping finger nails and toe nails, cleaning belly buttons and ears, and making sure the little things that often get forgotten are done for each of her kids each week. What a great idea. I have adopted the tradition. ; )

Here's whats in my little tool-kit! Perfect to grab while we are cuddled up watching a movie or have an extra minute!


Have another wonderful week!

10 Home Remedies every Mom should know

1. The best way to remove excessive earwax or annoying water from swimming is to put some hydrogen peroxide or alcohol on a cotton swab tilt your head to one side and drip it into your ear. It may fizz as it dissolves earwax or brings the water to the surface. After about 25 sec drain your ear onto a washcloth, repeat up to 3 times.

2. Remember B.R.A.T. for diarrhea Stands for Banana, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast (with white bread). Eat these things to help get rid of diarrhea.

3. Give children who are teething a frozen bagel, carrot sticks or otter pops. They act as chew toys and numb the gums.

4. For earaches apply heat. I like to have my kids lay on a hot pad.

5. Black licorice, high fiber foods and lots of water will cure constipation.

6. The chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar creates a cooling effect that will soothe burns. Next time someone gets burned mix equal amounts of both ingredients and apply to burned area.

7. For sore throats sip this mix: heat up 1-cup water, add 1-Tbsp lemon juice, and 1 &1/2-Tbsp. honey.

8. Gargle with warm salt water to help relieve sore throat pain or mouth sores.

9. Put mud or baking soda mixed with water over bee stings to remove the sting.

10. The best way to get ride of dry chapped lips is to rehydrate yourself! Just drink lots of water. Chapstick can help too but often times is dries the lips out more.

Homemade Edible Play Dough!

My 2 and a half year old loved playing with this play dough. He didn't realize that he could eat it but once I told him he could.....play time was over. He liked it a lot! It reminds me a lot of peanut butter cookies. It's pretty good, give it a shot and let us know what you think.

Family

Here are a couple things we did this week:

~ Wrote a letter to a family member. We wrote a handwritten letter and then took it to the Post Office. My little guy loved carrying the letter and dropping it off :)

~ Made a short video and e-mailed it to grandparents/siblings.

~ Did something nice in secret for another family member.

~Took a new Family Picture.

~Made a Family Tree Filing Folder Game. As the kids Velcro the family members unto the tree have them say the names of the relative or friend. Here is what ours looks like!

Their are lots of file folder games at Mormon Chic. That's where we found the tree layout for this game. We just personalized it with real family pictures. ; )

~I thought this hand print idea was super cute, This idea is from The Naptime Decorator Blog.

~ I loved this idea to help children get to know family members and what a fun way to play a game. I plan on doing this for a Christmas gift. Idea taken from Organic Families blog.

Moments That Matter Most

I saw this clip the other day and wanted to share it. I love the title of it "Moments That Matter Most." It was a great reminder to me of the things that truly matter most!

The Hanger Trick

I have read a ton of books on the best way to get organized. I love to organize and am told I re-organize way to often. Anyway, the one thing that I have learned through my reading is to try things quickly after learning about them...otherwise you'll forget. I tried this trick last time I cleaned out my closet and it made going through it this time so much easier. I was surprised at how many shirts I didn't wear...time to donate! Here is the hanger trick:

Next time you organize your closet (I try to do this at the beginning of each new season) hang items with the hook facing towards you. When you return worn or clean clothes to your closet, hang them the normal way with the hangers facing the wall. At the end of the season or next time you clean your closet you will know exactly what you wore and didn't wear and will have an easier time knowing what to donate.

Also, try not to hang sweaters. It's best to fold them to avoid stretching.

Thanksgiving

We wanted to do some fun activities with our children to get them excited for the holiday and to help teach them about gratitude. It was a pretty broad topic but we had lots of fun and can't wait for Thanksgiving day! Here are a few activities we enjoyed with our kids and lots of yummy snack ideas.

Activities
Trace your hands on different colored card stock, trace your feet with shoes on to make the turkey's body. Cut out the hands and feet and glue together like the picture to make a turkey. Add eyes, a mouth, and feet!

Here is a turkey with just our hand:

Go on a nature walk and collect some leafs! Peel the wrappings off of your crayons and use the crayon to rub across the leafs that are under a plain white piece of paper. Ta-da you now have beautiful fall decorations!

Here is a picture of everything we used:

And here is our finished project:

Get creative with pipe cleaners! We made this cute turkey just following the picture that came on our package of pipe cleaners. (If you decide to do these a little hint is to start with the wings and work your way forward.)

Snacks
This is a super easy and fun treat to make and enjoy together. All you need is 2 bags of popcorn, 1 cup of Karo Syrup, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 (3 oz) package of your favorite jello mix, we used raspberry! Bring the syrup, sugar, and jello to a boil for about 3 minutes stirring continuously and pour mixture over popcorn, shape into balls and enjoy! Also if you want a more fluffy mixture just mix in a little baking soda to the sugar when through boiling. ; )

We made the next 2 snacks in the same day because they use a lot of ingredients. The picture below is of all the ingredients you will need to make turkeys and pilgrim hats.

(Big Marshmallows or mini resses pieces work too, 1 package of Fudge stripe keebler cookies, some camels, 2 blocks of dark almond bark or preferred melting chocolate, some candy corn, a red fruit roll up and frosting)

We have been making these little turkeys for thanksgiving for lots of years! I remember making them with my mom and have carried on the tradition with my kids.

Here is a picture of the back:

Here are the Pilgrims hats:

We made these yummy pumpkins and they were so simple!

~We used 1 package of marshmallows, 3 tsp of butter and 6 cups of rice krispies.

~We just melted the butter and mallows in the microwave for about a min and a half, mixed in 3 drops of yellow food coloring and 1 drop of red, and then stirred in the rice krispies.

~We then formed balls and added a tootsie roll for the top and green frosting for the leaves!

The kids LOVED them!

My little guy loved helping make "Gratitude Carameled Apples" even with a broken arm he helped unwrap every caramel!

We just stuck Popsicle sticks into the tops of clean washed apples and dipped them into caramel. We talked about things we were grateful for and then wrote a few on the sticks.

Ideas from Other Blogs
Through starting this blog we quickly learned that there are so so many other blogs and websites out that have wonderful ideas too. Here are a couple we really liked:

The gratitude tree from Ashleyannphotography.


The gratitude turkey from Toddler Approved.

Hand traced turkey from Busy Bee Kids Crafts.

Hand printed framed turkey from Kaboose.

Pilgrim Hats from Lake Shore Learning

Free Printables to help decorate the Thanksgiving Kids table from Shindig Parties To Go.

These adorable finger puppets from The Idea Room.

These fun Indian and pilgrims and decorated sugar cookies that look like corn from Family Fun.

Gratitude Rolls from Beauty and Bedlam.

Turkey Pop from Tippy Toes and Tantrums.

Yummy donut hole acorns from Gacious Rain.

More cute turkeys from 7th House on the Left.

These cute teepees with a tutorial on how to make them from Stiesthoughts.blogspot.com.

More acorn treats from The Crafty Crow.

What Matters Most

Teeth

Believe it or not we both graduated with our bachelor’s degrees in dental hygiene so we really just couldn't help giving our kiddos a lesson on teeth.  

Education

What are we supposed to be doing to take good care of our teeth? We should:

• Brush our teeth 2 times a day for a full 2 minutes! I always tell my patients that 2 is the magic number when it comes to brushing! ; ) Make sure not to scrub too hard...over time you can brush away your gums causing recession.
• Floss Daily. Make sure you are wrapping the floss like the letter "C" around each tooth. Even the very back ones.
• See your dentist regularly, every 6 months.
• Replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months.

We also recommend Fluoride especially if it is not in the water where you live.

For details on the correct way to brush and floss click here.

Have you ever wondered when teeth are supposed to come in and fall out? Here is a helpful link!

These timers are wonderful for helping kids to brush longer...the full 2 minutes. Another helpful hint is to turn off the water while they brush. It not only saves water but they tend to brush longer!

Kids tend to get excited about new toothbrushes and special toothpastes. If you want your kids to have a visual of the areas they are missing when they brush have them chew on a disclosing tablet- it will turn the plaque on their teeth red and show them where they need to brush.

A lot of parents have difficulty brushing little ones teeth because they fight it. This is one of our favorite positions for brushing young children s teeth. (Put their hands under your legs)

Activities

We had a lot of fun doing these activities and tried to be creative. We made these yummy snacks to eat from a roll and candy corn and made an activity out of it too by flossing in between the teeth/candy corn.

We made these mouths by cutting a big oval out of paper and then folding it in half. We then added marshmallows for teeth. You could also make this a game by having your kids take turns rolling a dice to determine how many teeth they can add to the paper.

We made this toothbrush out of a tissue and construction paper.

We also had a lot of fun practicing our flossing with play-doe, string and a muffin pan. The play-doe acts like plaque on the side of the pan. Teach your child that the string is like floss. It helps us to get the plaque out from between our teeth

Make oral hygiene fun by brushing together as a family

Let your kids dress up like a dentist and talk to them about visiting the dentist

Egg in vinegar
Put an egg in a jar of vinegar. Ask your child about the purpose of the shell. Discuss how the egg shell helps to protect the rest of the egg and compare the egg shell to your teeth. Ask what will happen to the egg in the vinegar. After a night or day (at least 10 hours) remove the egg. Explain that the same thing happens to our teeth if we don't take care of them. That's why it's so important to brush and floss regularly!

Above: Notice the egg on the Right is soft, it also looks more yellow then the other one.

Some other fun activities ideas are:

Teach your child about the tooth fairy-make a pillow or drawing.

Put on a puppet show all about teeth and how to take care of them.

Examine your toothbrush and determine if you need a new one. The toothbrush on the left is still good to use. The orange one on the right needs to be replaced.

Take care of your smile and it will take care of you:)

Snack: smile snack with apples, peanut butter and marshmallows.

Another great snack is Cheese or Milk...both help to neutralize the PH in the mouth which helps to fight cavities.

Oh, and just one more little tip. When it comes to the health of your teeth....It's all about the amount of times you eat or FREQUENCY. Every single time you eat something realize that your teeth are under acid attack for about 15 minutes after the food has been swallowed. It's best to eat everything at one sitting vs the alternative of taking little bits throughout the entire day.