Your Healthy Kids

I can’t believe the number of high sugar / high fat fundraising campaigns that have come home in her ‘Mister Zippy’. Cookies. Candy. Popcorn Day. Chocolate milk (you can order white milk, but be prepared for the kiddo being sad she doesn’t get the chocolate milk EVERY DAY). Birthday treats that have been brought in for the class and come home already half eaten. Halloween candy bags (trick-or-treating is more than enough, thanks very much). And if you don’t partake, you’re the parent who has singled your kid out as the one who doesn’t get to participate in the sugary fun. Awesome.

Celebrating a birthday during the holidays? Birthdays that fall during the holiday season are sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas and the candy and cookies that go along with both! I try a little harder to make loot bags as fun and healthy as possible. Instead of including sweets in the loot bags, I would substitute a healthier item, yet one still considered a treat for the kids.

He was a champion breastfeeder, is an authentic foodie (preferring pan-seared scallops over chicken fingers any day) and demands enjoys a cup of warm white milk before bedtime. And, every single day of his life, he has been below the 5th percentile for weight.

Looking down the list at the options, there is dance, gymnastics, outdoor day camp and of course soccer! So I asked the kids “Who wants to play soccer?” and I got a big fat “NOT ME” from all 3 girls! What? Isn’t soccer just part of summer? Don’t ALL your friends play soccer? Isn’t this just what we do in our family? Apparently not.

I have waited years for this day to arrive! My 3rd and youngest daughter has finally learned to ride a two wheeler and yes, you read it right, it means this mama now has HER freedom! While many parents watch their children learn to ride a two wheeler for the first time they are teary realizing their babies are growing up, they are proud of the independence the kids are gaining and sad for the baby tricycle and training wheel stages now behind them. I too felt all of these things for my first 2 daughters when they learned to ride, but when it’s your youngest it’s different. Don’t get me wrong, I was still the proud Mom out there snapping photos, taking videos and cheering her on, but I was also doing a giant happy dance for ME!

I am all about having fun with food and sometimes that food *gasp* is candy! Easter is my time to go candy crazy because I focus more on healthy memories at this time of year than I do hiding healthy bunny treats. Instead I make up for it with a little breakfast balance!. I fill them up with a healthy Easter Brunch and add in extra veggies and fruit, wholes grains and good food to leave little room for sugary eaters treats. Try serving scrambled eggs with cauliflower, fruit kebobs and muffins made with flax

One of the things I royally reek at is getting a healthy, balanced breakfast from the boys’ plate to their mouths. Like, I fail at this EVERY morning. In all fairness, they don’t put up too much of a fuss at lunch and dinner; there’s just something about the 8:00 a.m. meal which has them pushing the food away in frustration, irritation and downright hostility. I like breakfast. In fact, it’s probably the meal I look forward to most!

Healthy living is a very important part of our lives and I do everything I can to ensure that my kids are healthy and active getting all the nutrients that they need and eating correctly. With four kids making sure everyone is eating stuff that is both healthy for them and they like can be a challenge. We do our best to prepare meals that everyone likes but pretty much every night someone complains about what we cook.

When my son was a little boy I was really worried about him. He was tall, thin, very pale and a picky eater. I took him to our family Dr and had him checked out. I was informed, he was healthy. My Dr told me not to worry. He told me he was growing quite quickly and to give him a daily vitamin. This comforted me. Fast forward ten years later and my son has grown to be quite the young man. He is very tall, and very strong. He is now 14 years old and he has become the star athlete at school as well.

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology recommends that children get sixty minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each and every day. And while something more sedentary like brisk walking is a fine choice for an adult, children tend to thrive on more challenging and imaginative forms of exercise! So to help make sure your kids are getting all the activity they need, here are five tips for easily working exercise into your family’s everyday routine.

The sun is starting to shine, snow is melting, tulips are popping up..... it is SPRING! Time to shed the winter coat, break out the runners and get outside. There is always so much excitement in the first few warm days of each year - getting out of the house and not needing to worry about boots, coat, snow pants, hats, and of course we can't forget the mitts! There are so many great ways to get kids active in the warm weather. And of course the best way to raise active children is to be active with them!!!

Everyone knows that having a balanced diet is a key component to healthy living but sometimes that is a lot easier said than done. Many families face very real meal-time challenges, everything from picky eaters to allergies and special needs. Here are a few tips on how to make mealtimes healthier and less stressful!

The interesting thing about having a 3 and 6 year old is they watch everything we do…and I mean everything. From what we eat, to what we say, to what we do. This is the most evident with our 3 year old. My wife brings our 3 year old to her workouts and when they return, my 3 year old gives me a play by play about what they did. She even demonstrates some of the exercise. Our next generation watches the way we look after ourselves.

These days, it can be easy to let careers, responsibilities and technology get in the way of being active and having fun. I allowed myself to spend too much time in front of the computer and not enough time moving, and as a result I have gained some weight, and more importantly, lost strength and energy. Since I don't want to live an unhealthy life, and I don't want my children to think that it is okay, I have had to find ways to get back into shape. Here are the steps I've been taking to lose weight and get in shape.

IronKids are very healthy and good and strong. This one is fish (holding up Omega 3s), this one is the sun (vitamin D), this one is apple (Multi) and I like this one because they are so yummy and healthy. This one and this one and this one and this one are my favourite (pointing to all of them!). I remember to take my vitamins everyday. Yay! Boohyah!!

Spring always makes me glad, because with spring comes less likelihood of having to deal with S.A.D. I’m not talking about the regular, every once in a while ‘sad’ feelings we all have, but rather about Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). S.A.D. is a more serious winter-time depression, thought to be related to a lack of sunlight that causes an imbalance of serotonin, a brain chemical that affects mood. At 10 years old, my son is already aware of how much sunshine and Vitamin D help with how we feel. We work together to make our shorter winter days are less S.A.D.

I don't like cauliflower. It's not the same as brocooli it looks the same as brocolli, but it's not. I don't like fish it's too stinky, but the fish in the can is OK. (herring). I love the IronKids Gummy vitamins. They are really good. The apple (multi) vitamins are my favorite. I pick the red ones. Vitamins make you stronger and healthy.

I’ve have been active all my life. I got a bike when I was 3 and it was my mode of transportation before I could drive. I took swimming lessons forever and was a lifeguard throughout High School and University. I grew up in an active family and I’ve been running since I was 10. After the birth of all 3 of my babies, my husband and I ran a ½ marathon in a different city with baby in the jogging stroller when they were only 8 months old. It seems only natural that I would eventually do a triathlon . . .

Every fruit and vegetable is healthy. I know that Apples are healthy and bananas. My favourite vegetables are carrots. I think I could eat a rainbow of fruit and vegetables every day. I would eat lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, lemons, grapes, and blueberries. I don't like cabbages (brussel sprouts) and I don't ever want to see them on my plate.

My favourite flavour is orange and the calcium one is my favourite vitamin type. Calcium is good for the growing of bones and the body. It's good to eat IronKids because one makes us think better, one makes us grow better, one gives us vitamin D one gives us more energy. I think I need to eat vitamins because some of us don't like certain foods and IronKids can give you the vitamins you're missing in your body.

I fully admit to being a winter hermit. While it was common for me to shy away from the cold during my working days, being at home with kids has only intensified my dislike for the three S’s: snow, slush and sleet. In fact, if I hear the words “minus” and “degrees” in the same sentence, chances are I’m shacking up for the day. . .

It is important to get all the nutrients you need. To get them all you need to have your fruits, milk products, meat alternatives, and grain products. My favourite of all the five are the veggies and fruit. My favourite milk product is cheese, cheese and more cheese. Vitamins play a very important role in our life. I like IronKids because they taste great and they give you all you need for the upcoming day. . .

She didn’t want to go today.
I picked up my oldest after school and she had tears in her eyes. For about five minutes she denied anything was wrong and then, as soon as we were alone…..the floodgates opened. She was missing the dance AGAIN because of gymnastics. . . .

You make the announcement on a sunny Saturday morning, “let’s go for a family hike!” The support pours in immediately, ‘do we have to’, ‘it’s cold out there’, ‘how long will we be gone?’ Kids! How to get them outside!

It wasn’t just the kids getting active that struck me; it was the kids along with the teachers and moms....the smiles, the chuckles, the fun! This has led me to create a Mom&Kid class - a class that moms can do with their kids. This is definitely a class you won’t find in any gym. Moms that are active have kids that are active, won’t you agree?

My older kids were barely visible among the 790 tall adult runners ready for the 5km challenge! They were never once intimidated by the people, the distance or the time of day. They were so excited when that starting gun went off at 9:15pm . . yes, it was a late one and yes, we would be doing our first 5km race together in the dark! The race was on! After the pack thinned a little, the kids were thrilled to literally "run into" their school Vice Principle, Music teacher and Kindergarten teacher . . .each was impressed that the other was out running a 5k!!

When each of my 3 girls were 8 months old, my husband and I completed a ½ marathon WITH our newest addition in the jogger. They each have their own finish line photos and medals proudly displayed in our hallway. Medal bearing babies!! Now that they are 5,7 and 9 and way too heavy to push in jogging strollers, it is time for them to learn to run!

When my daughter was born, I was flooded with emotion. I looked into her eyes and felt a deep sense of responsibility. In the days following her birth I was overwhelmed by thoughts of all the things in this world that could hurt her and I wanted to protect her from them. The frightening fact is that we are living in a time where our children have a shorter life expectancy than us . The culprit: sedentary lifestyle choices leading to poor health outcomes, such as obesity. Did you know that in Canada 21% of toddlers are obese?

A year ago I made a personal choice to cut preservatives out of my diet. After a few weeks I realized that making a dinner from scratch was going to have a few challenges. Everyday I'd find myself singing and dancing around the kitchen with my clingy 1 year old on my hip and a 3 year old twin firmly attached to each ankle. While I enjoyed the giggles, and dragging them around the kitchen was a great work out, it simply wasn't conducive to getting dinner on the table. So I started a new regime in our house.